Andrijan looked back, a brief look of relief on his face to hear Maggie's voice. He knew he'd lost a crewman, and a friend, but didn't have the luxury of time to linger on it, and every able-body left on the ship increased the odds that maybe, just maybe, he'd have the time later. The pilot's dark eyes shot to Moore, who wiped at his red eyes and continued pounding on the navigation console, flummoxed by its unfamiliar controls, but working quickly nonetheless.<br/><br/>He arched his back, pointing to a square emergency hatch on the floor of the cockpit, about four feet by four feet. Red paint outlined the hatch clearly, and heavy looking lever kept it in place and pressurized. "Maggie, get that hatch open and start emptying it out. Anything in there that isn't pillow soft, you try and stick it behind something sturdy. Got it?"<br/><br/>The hatch was about two feet deep, filled with emergency supplies. Fire extinguishers, a heavy fire axe, several large prybars and tools, a small inflatable raft, and various other survival tools. Why Andrijan wanted them all removed from the space and bouncing around the cabin was not immediately clear.<br/><br/>"Moore," he called out to his younger co-pilot. "I need to know the status of the tethers."<br/><br/>Moore sniffed and looked carefully at a display on his console. "Tethers 3 and 4 are ready to unlock," he reported, stiffening slightly. "Tethers 1 and 2 are still secured." His voice quaked, chilled by the realization that the job was not done. "Someone's got to go out there and release them."<br/><br/>"No go," Andrijan replied, shaking his head. "If you open that door we lose the last of our oxygen. We'll suffocate before we get to the ground."<br/><br/>"Maybe once we break atmo--...." Moore stammered, going through the options.<br/><br/>"Then we'll all fry in re-entry," Andrijan retorted back instantly.<br/><br/>Moore was getting exasperated. "You got a better idea?" he shouted.<br/><br/>Andrijan shook his head. "No. But I got an idea. We're going to have to glide her in."<br/><br/>The young man blinked. "Are you crazy?! Hauling this many containers? They're gonna drag straight into the dirt!"<br/><br/>"Damn straight," Andrijan replied, the first flames beginning to lap at the nose of the ship. "But if we keep her angled up and keep a hard burn, we might just be able to snap the containers off the line and slow ourselves enough to survive the impact." He reached overhead, flipping a switch to enable the use of the boosters. "Might even expend enough fuel to make us less explosive when we hit."<br/><br/>"Jesus, Andi," Moore shuddered, recoiling at how this terrible plan seemed like their best chance for survival.<br/><br/>The storm was now below them, and the ship and their cargo seemed to shudder from a sudden updraft as the flames over the nose cone intensified.<br/><br/>"Maggie," Andrijan called, a sudden, somber tone in his voice, the panic draining from him entirely. "You got that compartment cleared out?"