06-04-2025, 11:03 PM
The Yeager was clawing her way up the leaderboard, as much through luck as competent piloting, but the race had only just begun. They had to pass within forty thousand kilometres of the comet before slingshotting around it, and the two leading craft were doing just that. If the Yeager was to remain in a competitive position, let alone catch the leaders and stand a chance of winning, they would need to pull something special out. The Wairara craft had stupendous straight-line acceleration, which the Yeager could not match at her current power settings, so they would need to catch up in the corners.
"Steady on course..."
The material surrounding the comet grew denser the closer they got. They passed the forty thousand mark, then thirty thousand. Jenny mumbled incoherencies to herself as she watched the range drop; much closer and they'd be skimming the surface of the comet itself. Had she been alone in the Glennis or another craft designed for such manoeuvres, she would have tried it. As it stood, they needed some form of buffer just in case something went wrong.
"On my mark, roll us ninety degrees to port and adjust course to heading zero-zero-zero mark nine-zero."
The manoeuvre would essentially roll the Yeager so she was "inverted" against the comet. By adjusting their attitude in this manner, they could skim the surface at a much closer distance and use the offset of the Yeager's engines to improve their turn rate. It came with its share of risks, of course; screw up and it would be the upper decks that impacted first rather than the nacelles or vacant lower decks.
"Steady..."
Twenty thousand kilometres.
Ten thousand.
"Mark. Roll ninety degrees, bearing zero-zero-zero mark nine-zero."
"Steady on course..."
The material surrounding the comet grew denser the closer they got. They passed the forty thousand mark, then thirty thousand. Jenny mumbled incoherencies to herself as she watched the range drop; much closer and they'd be skimming the surface of the comet itself. Had she been alone in the Glennis or another craft designed for such manoeuvres, she would have tried it. As it stood, they needed some form of buffer just in case something went wrong.
"On my mark, roll us ninety degrees to port and adjust course to heading zero-zero-zero mark nine-zero."
The manoeuvre would essentially roll the Yeager so she was "inverted" against the comet. By adjusting their attitude in this manner, they could skim the surface at a much closer distance and use the offset of the Yeager's engines to improve their turn rate. It came with its share of risks, of course; screw up and it would be the upper decks that impacted first rather than the nacelles or vacant lower decks.
"Steady..."
Twenty thousand kilometres.
Ten thousand.
"Mark. Roll ninety degrees, bearing zero-zero-zero mark nine-zero."