Distant Love (Part 22)

Maeve hears Derek take a large breath. He speaks in a serious tone. “Your ship has no landing gear. To have a soft landing, you will need to initiate the thrusters at certain points as it descends. Even then, it would ordinarily be considered a crash landing.

“I’m going to change the holographic display. You will now see a much smaller ship in front of you and the moon in the distance. Your landing area is marked out, along with the different points on the trajectory you need to take action at.”

The new holographic display appears.

Maeve stares in awe. “I don’t know about. Can you not do it remotely, or maybe get an AI to do it?”

“I’m afraid not. Unfortunately, I will be unable to communicate with you as you near the surface. No AI has been trained on what you are about to do.

It’s up to you, and you alone.”

There is silence. Maeve says, “I understand.”

For the next ten minutes, she watches the ship approach the moon. She launches the thrusters at the first marked point. Then releases.

Derek speaks. She can hear the fear in his voice. “I’m about to lose communications. Best of luck, and I’ll see you soon.”

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