Blueman : Chapter 1 : awakening
“Is there enough power to fire the repulsers?”
“All remaining stored power will be drained in one point two seconds under full thrust.”
“Can you determine the weight or density of the precipitation?”
“The capsule has limited external instruments several of which have failed. I cannot provide a meaning full estimate from the data they provided prior to shut down.”
“Well have to hope for the best. Prepare to active all repulsers for full vertical thrust. No wait.” He had an idea. Perhaps he could orientate the capsule vertically so that it would have lest resistance when traveling threw the snow. “Can we attempt to orient the capsule vertically to the gravitational pull?”
“Making preparations.”
“Estimated power usage?”
“I will abort the orientation maneuver if sufficient resistance is detected. Minimum charge usage will result in a time depletion from a full burn by point four seconds.” A third of everything I’ve got. It could mean the difference, reorienting the capsole or it could cost him any chance by failing and expending needed energy.
“Abort reorientation and prepare to fire all repulsers to ascend through the precipitation directly.”
“Making preparations.”
“If we break to the surface cut all power and drain existing storage into your personal storage.”
“Repulser burn ready.” Marro braced himself within the capsule. If the maneuver failed he might be closer to the surface. He’d have to salvage from the capsule a means to dig and breath through the snow covering him and judged he could find sufficient material to do so. Yet success in that regard seemed slim. Likely the capsule would be inundated with snow trapping him at his first attempt to breach the canopy.
“Fire.” He committed. It turned out his concerns had been ill founded. After a shutter at the start the capsule shot up through a thin layer of solidified snow that had become ice then emerged rapidly from the soft powder that constituted much of what covered him. The repulsers shut off just shy of the surface and the remaining velocity carried him well clear of it. He held tight as he became momentarily weightless and fell back into the snow. The capsule fell back into the snow burying its self several inches back into the powdery snow.
Burn completed, remaining capsule power has been diverted to my portable containment unit. Leah whispered into his mind. He asked her how long the burn had taken. Point nine seconds.
Good. You’ll have sufficient power to me in constructing a power collection source.
Stellar radiation absorption materials can be salvaged and integrated into my unit. Leah answered his thoughts. He worked the manual release for the canopy but it didn’t click out like he’d been trained to expect. The weight of the snow on top was still sufficient to jar the locks.
“Is the canopy’s locks disengaged?”
Yes.
With that Marro maneuvered himself so his feet were pressed against the inside of the canopy. He levered himself beneath them then pushed his legs strait. It was more then enough and the canopy snapped off taking much of the snow with it. Snow pored into the capsule chilling him. Marro quickly stood shaking himself free of the snow flakes and surveyed his world. He could see hills to the east rising to mountains. To the north and west the land rolled away into pine forest. Plant life, and a lot of it that is encouraging. He looked south and found the hills rolling down from the far eastern mountains continued there. They were covered in think pine forest as well. Where there is life there is hope. He recalled the mantra of his people.
