Chapter Text
Shit shit shit shit shit.
“Houston, do you read me?”
“Houston, this is Navigator. Do you read?”
“Houston, this is Navigator. Do you read?”
Silence.
Vanessa knew there would be a few minutes the Navigator would lose contact with Houston, but that doesn’t make her feel more confident right now. Only a few more minutes until she hears Joan’s voice. Vanessa prays to Joan’s God, please let me hear her voice again.
“Houston, do you read me?”
Still nothing.
The ship is breaking through the atmosphere and Vanessa can see the flames from the speed of descent right in front of her. She’s sweating from both the heat and the nerves. The rattling around the ship doesn’t help. The payload door better fucking hold.
There are only 7 minutes until the Navigator can land. This beat up hunk of metal only needs to survive 7 minutes.
Beep beep beep. The control panel to Vanessa’s left signals that the Navigator is through the atmosphere.
“Houston, this is Navigator. Do you read?”
Time to focus on what is directly in front of me. I can’t think about Joan or Frances or Lydia or potentially dying right now.
I need to fly this ship and land it at Edwards. Just like Antonio said, this box is built to land like a plane. And I know how to fucking land a plane.
Just take a deep breath and do what I was born to do.
“Houston, this is Navigator. Do you read?”
Altitude is 3,000 feet going 389 miles per hour with a minute left until touch down.
“Houston, this is Navigator. Do you read?”
“Vanessa? Vanessa, are you there?” She hears a breathless Joan ask.
“Houston, this is Navigator. Lydia Danes is alive. I’m about to land at Edwards.” Vanessa says, about to cry. She’s sure Joan can tell.
“Navigator, we read you.”
Vanessa takes a deep breath and whistles. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Joan says.
320 miles per hour and 300 feet until touchdown. I am going to make it.
Landing gear locked. I am so close.
Landing gear touchdown. Earth.
Drag chute deployed. Home.
Nose gear touchdown. I’m alive.
Wheel stop. Maybe they had not asked for too much. Maybe they would get everything they wanted.
She closes her eyes and smiles.
—---------------
Vanessa opens her eyes and sees a rush of people on the landing strip heading toward the Navigator. She moves toward the shuttle door to open it from the inside. Two doctors board the Navigator and move Lydia to a stretcher. They rush her outside and load her onto the ambulance to head to the medical center.
Vanessa heads toward the airlock to retrieve Steve, Hank, and Griff when she hears someone else boards the Navigator through the side hatch.
“Ford.” She turns around and sees a tall man with dark hair and square glasses. “I am John Davidson, Director of Operations here at Edwards. Let me be the first to thank you for your service. We will take care of everything from here. Let’s get you checked out at the medical center and maybe even a nice bed.”
“I want to say goodbye,” Vanessa says, looking in the direction of the airlock door.
“I understand,” Davidson says. “And I will make sure you get that chance. But you have been through enough and you don’t need to see this part.”
Vanessa turns around and takes a deep breath before leaving the Navigator. As she’s walking down the stairs she sees several dozen people looking at her. It takes a moment for Vanessa to realize they are all clapping.
As she touches the ground, she’s awestruck. Vanessa’s about to cry, but she doesn’t want anyone to see. She goes to her knees and kisses the ground. It might be cliche but she deserves it and it’s a moment of peace.
A kind woman approaches her and says, “Why don’t I take you back to the medical center?”
Vanessa gets up and follows her to the truck. Once they are in and heading toward the campus of buildings, the kind woman says “by the way, my name is Janet Lachey. I’m a doctor here at Edwards. If you want to cry, I won’t tell anyone. I know what it’s like in this world.”
At that, Vanessa breaks down.