Chương 16: Chapter 16: Manuel
Manuel followed Miguel, shadowing his brother and keeping Quinn clear as Miguel climbed the turret. He followed his brother up the tower, wanting as much as his twin to put an end to those who attacked their home.
When he reached the top, worry replaced his slow burning anger. His brother seemed to be gripped in some kind of insanity, eyes bulging from their sockets, face deep red, spittle flying from his lips as he grasped the handles of the weapon. Manuel was about to reach for him when the panel lit up and showed him something he wasn't expecting.
Without stopping to think, he turned on his brother. His strong hands engulfed Miguel's and pulled him back away from the handles just as his brother's thumbs tried to engage the weapon. The smaller twin screamed and thrashed, but Manuel lifted him physically from the seat and forced him into submission.
When Miguel fell suitably quiet, Manuel forced him to look down at the shining ship on the panel.
Colony Class Day Wanderer, it said.
Miguel sagged as though the knowledge of what he was about to do left him limp. Manuel set him gently back into the turret seat and deactivated the weapon. He waited there with his now-dazed sibling and watched with great sadness for the loss of such beauty as the massive, glowing ship crashed into the planet.
***
The Day Wanderer breaks its momentum as it hits the atmosphere, but not enough. It has been crippled by the attack and has little left to offer. The thrusters fire, tearing the ship apart. It shudders and sags, burning all the way to the ground, chunks of its skin ripping away. As it nears the surface, the thrusters fire again in one last attempt to slow the too-fast descent. The engines were built for space, perhaps for gentle landings on pastoral worlds, not to slow a dying chunk of wreckage from crashing into a planet.
The prow of the ship slams into the red earth, plowing its way forward toward the colony.
The nose crumples, one star drive bouncing away on its own. The remains of the hull digs a huge gash in the surface, slowly rotating on its side as it grinds its way forward, the dust it raises putting out the fires on its hull. It comes to a final, shuddering stop just outside the first row of buildings marking the colony, settling right on top of an open mine.
The Day Wanderer's halt is sudden and harsh. It has made its final voyage.
***
Quà tặng
-- Nhận quà Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực