When the ship finally quit accelerating, Boro looked at his thruster fuel gauge with a worried frown. “I hope that’s all you need.”
“We’ll know in a minute,” the pilot said as she and Sata studied the orbital entry diagram on their screens.
Sata entered another number and the diagram changed slightly.
“According to Manessa, this should work. You just need to adjust speed and nail that entry point.”
Mati glanced at her console. “Yeah, Boro, I need a little more. We’re going too slow.”
“Oh, okay. But you’re doing the dishes next time I cook!”
Pilot and engineer exchanged grins.
For the next two hours, Ilika worked in the galley to finish the soup and make biscuits. Kibi got cleaning supplies from the lower deck and began the long process of washing all the passenger seats, the floor, and the walls.
When Ilika pointed out a bit of the ceiling that also needed work, she burst
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into tears. He surrounded her with his arms, and they worked together to finish the job. The four other crew members stayed at their stations, or slipped quietly into the lift.
Finally Mati called everyone back and raised her flight control. “Inertia straps.”
Ilika remained silent as he pulled down his straps, but as he turned to glance around the ship, Kibi noticed he was holding something in.
Mati remained focused on her work. “The speed matches our calculations perfectly. Just a slight course correction, and we’ll slide right into an elliptical orbit around the first planet. Does it have a name, Ilika?”
“No, just Sonmatia One. No one on your world even knows it exists.”
Mati continued working with her flight control. “Maybe we could name it.
Course looks right. Check me, Sata.”
“Um . . . looks good. Orbital entry in twenty-five seconds.”
Everyone watched their displays as the Manessa Kwi approached the planet, a bright ball of rock floating in space with no water or atmosphere, and no visible surface features.
“Orbit in three . . . two . . . one . . .” Sata narrated.
Everyone watched the course diagram on their screens as the ship flew right past the planet with only a slight change in direction.
Mati and Sata fussed and fumed over the orbit calculations for the next half hour, trying to figure out what went wrong.
Ilika let the others go off-duty, but otherwise remained silent. He stepped into the galley and added a few more spices to his soup.
Kibi joined him to help with trays. “You knew, didn’t you?”
Ilika nodded so only she could see. “Two biscuits for each person.”
Soon the pilot and navigator came to the table. “We give up,” Sata moaned.
Ilika poured bowls of soup. Kibi added biscuits and dried fruit, then carried out the trays.
“Are
you
sure Manessa knows how to calculate orbits?” Mati asked with a slight pout.
“Yes . . .” Ilika said slowly.
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“Mati . . .” Kibi began hesitantly, “I . . . don’t know quite how to say this . . .
and I don’t know the math like you guys do . . . but as we passed the planet, it just felt like we were going way too fast.”
Rini nodded agreement but kept his expression soft.
“But Manessa says the speed was just right!” Mati defended herself with a tone of despair.
“What speed did Manessa calculate for your orbit entry?” Ilika asked calmly as he sat down.
Sata craned her neck to see her display. “Fifty-three thousand five hundred and twenty.”
“And what was our speed?”
“Fifty-three thousand five hundred and twenty!” Mati blurted out with frustration. “We’ve checked it over and over, even reviewed the flight log!”
Ilika took another spoonful of soup. “Relative to what reference point?”
Suddenly both pilot and navigator became deathly quiet. They looked around the table, then at each other. “Um . . .” Mati began in a tiny, sheepish voice, “based on our last navigation point . . . when we were . . . hovering over the sun.”
“And what does a speed relative to that point have to do with orbiting Sonmatia One?” Ilika asked.
Sata swallowed. “Um . . . nothing?”
Ilika nodded. “Let’s eat a good dinner, then Mati and Sata can put us into that elliptical orbit . . . and I bet it will be perfect this time!”
Deep Learning Notes
Do you remember the base eight numerals from Book Four? The number that looks like the word “LIE” is actually the number 107, which would be 71 in base ten. What is the value of the number that looks like “EI” in base eight and base ten?
Instead of making a joke about doing the dishes, what other reaction to Mati’s fuel use could Boro have had? How would that reaction have affected their
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working relationship?
What method of gathering information were Kibi and Rini using when they guessed that the ship was going too fast for orbit around Sonmatia One?
On Earth, we assume that all distances and speeds are relative to the surface of the planet. We just don’t need to think about the possibility of cities or mountains moving (except tiny amounts during earthquakes). In space, many of our earthly assumptions are no longer valid.
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