Slingshot

Sweat glistened on their faces as the odor of melting plastic permeated the control room as the ship approached the sun. Alice’s hand rested on a metal lever, her thumb rubbing over faint ridges of rust.

“Marcie!”

“The calcluations are almost done!”

“I thought you upgraded the RAM in that thing!”

“I did!”

Alice’s whole body was shaking. It felt like her very bones were vibrating into dust.

“Got it!”

A wash of icy coolness washed over them as the lever slammed down against the console. Kaliedescope shapes danced about the cabin. Instument readings ghosted in the air, forming tracers of nonsense.

Like a snapping rubber band, the universe around them normalized. On the viewscreen was a small blue planet.

Marcie leaned over Alice’s shoulder, and they both stared. Fingers tapping at the ship’s console, Alice let out a calming sigh.

“No signs of space junk, Marcie. We made it!”