Approaching Vixen

To avoid the Ardazirho warcraft guarding Vixen, the Hooligan, engines off, plunges at meteoric velocity. She will be detected but registered as a siderite. Crossing the upper atmosphere, she hits the stratosphere. Flandry and Chives, pinned to their seats, fight to shed velocity. The ship glows red, heats the surrounding air to incandescence, strikes denser atmosphere and bounces around the planet. Reactivating the internal compensators so that there is now an artificial one gee in the ship, Flandry goes to rouse Kit who has passed out.

Looking through the viewscreens, she recognizes the Ridge, Moonstone Pass and the King's Way cutting through the Shaw, 40,000 square kilometers of tall trees, and directs Flandry to land nearby. They are down and their adventures continue tomorrow. It is after 11.30 P.M. here.