//------------------------------// // Return From Space // Story: The Ram Strikes Back // by Robert Emerald Fountain //------------------------------// Unknown to the Young Six; the space station's explosion had damaged their heat shield without them knowing. As they began reentering the atmosphere, the warning came up on their display and Flurry became nervous that they were not going to make it. Just then, Gallus had an idea. "We have a backup tank of coolant. If we vent it, we can freeze the Harmony long enough to get through reentry.", he said. "Worth a shot.", said Smolder. "Better do it now if you think it will work.", said Flurry. Gallus rushed to the cargo bay and hooked the backup tank's hose to an emergency dump valve in order to vent the fluid. "Coolant is pumping.", he said once the valve was opened. "Then you'd better wrap up warm. It's going to become frigid in there very fast.", replied Flurry. Gallus rushed back to the bridge and everyone closed their helmets in order to engage their suits' heaters and keep warm. Knowing that reentry was always a bumpy ride, they fastened their seatbelts. Unfortunately, Gallus hadn't acted fast enough to freeze the ship before their landing gear became welded in place by the intense heat. Once they had passed through the hottest phase, he relayed this to Flurry Heart and they adjusted their course to land with a splash instead of a gentle glide onto the water. "PREPARE FOR SPLASHDOWN!", cried Sandbar as the ship dived for the Celestial Sea. The Young Six shut their eyes and braced for the hard impact until they were thrust forward in their seats as the Harmony splashed into the water at terminal velocity. Once they had slowed to a stop in the water, Ocellus deployed the safety floats so the ship would not sink before they could be extracted. Soon, the recovery ship arrived to extract them from the ocean and take them home.