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<h1> <End></h1>
<p class="comment">
If you are just here to read, skip past the outline.
</p>
<p class="comment">
Outline of this section:
</p>
<ul>
<li class="comment">
protagonists are waiting on top of one of the sky scrapers in
Nova Metropolis
</li>
<li class="comment">
they're having food, potentially cooking it over a camp fire or
gas stove or whatever
</li>
<li class="comment">
Jack's watch starts to beep
<ul>
<li class="comment">
that's the alarm he set for roughly the time when moon girl
should be entering the atmosphere
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
They get up and walk to the edge and start observing the sky with
binoculars
<ul>
<li class="comment">
after a while, the escape pod becomes visible as its heat
shield glows red hot
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
several minutes pass (ChatGPT says a space shuttle would take about
half an hour so let's assume 10 to 15 min
</li>
<li class="comment">
the thing is coming down way too quickly
</li>
<li class="comment">
the rear end of the capsule breaks apart while it's (from their
perspective) still far up in the sky
</li>
<li class="comment">
the capsule plummets into the city leaving a crater where it lands and
taking down some buildings
<ul>
<li class="comment">
they think they just witnessed a horrible accident
</il>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
after a moment, a parachute opens in the distance
<ul>
<li class="comment">
it lands between the buildings
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
In a hunch, one of the protagonists grabs a radio and broadcasts a
message asking if the girl is okay
<ul>
<li class="comment">
very noisy but clearly affirmative response
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="comment">
End of story
</li>
</ul>
<p>
The group sits around the pot with leftovers on the gas stove, enjoying
the view of the skyline from above. They had decided to wait on top of
one of the tallest sky scrapers the city had to offer to increase their
odds of seeing where Emily would land. The intense light of the sunset
paints Nova Metropolis in various hues of vibrant orange and the moon
is already visible in the sky. They are engaged in a conversation about
the mind-boggling vastness of space and all it contains.
</p>
<p class="strong">
bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep bebebebeep
</p>
<p>
The alarm on Jack's watch interrupts them. He presses one of the
buttons and says:<br />
<span class="quote speech">It's time. Emily will be entering the
atmosphere right about now.</span><br />
They get up. James pulls a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Jack does
the same. Annie looks at both of them - her face clearly showing her
disappointment.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Don't worry, I gotchu.</span> says Jack
as he pulls a second pair out of his bag before they start walking
towards the edge.
</p>
<p>
Michelle and James are already leaning against the railing and looking
towards the sky. Jack and Annie join them. Jack takes a compass out of
his pocket and briefly looks at it. Then, he points in a direction in the
sky and says:<br />
<span class="quote speech">The pod should appear somewhere around
there.</span><br />
James hands his binoculars to Michelle for a moment.<br />
<span class="quote speech">I see it! There!</span> she exclaims before
handing them back to him.
</p>
<p>
The capsule looks like a tiny, red glowing dot in the sky, slowly
growing in size. For a few minutes, nothing seems to happen. The dot gets
bigger and bigger turning into a black circle as the glow dims and
finally disappears. The pod sheds its heat shield as it slowly comes
closer.
</p>
<p>
Around the 15 minute mark, Jack notices that it has moved almost above
them.<br />
<span class="quote speech">That's a bit too close for comfort - and
way too fast.</span> he says.<br />
Parts appear to be breaking off from the pod. They watch the last couple
minutes of the fall realizing that something has seriously gone wrong.
It plummets into the city, shaking the ground slightly, and taking
multiple buildings down with it. Nobody says anything for a while as they
watch the buildings around the impact crumble and the remaining parts
rain out of the sky in a mix of awe and shock.
</p>
<p>
<span class="quote speech">Guys, over there!</span> Michelle points into
the sky behind them. <span class="quote speech">A parachute...</span>
<br />
<span class="comment">reaction needed</span><br />
They watch as it disappears between the buildings.
</p>
<p>
Annie walks over to Jack's bag and, on a hunch, unpacks the radio
he had insisted on bringing.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Maybe, she can hear us from here...</span>
<br />
She swiches it on and turns the frequency dial until the needle is in
the position that Jack had marked.<br />
<span class="quote speech">Emily, can you hear us? Are you okay?</span>
<span class="comment">Might benefit from proper radio protocol</span>
<br />
They hear a slightly distorted but clearly happy response through the
noise:<br />
<span class="quote speech">Yes... Yes. I'm alive... I made it.</span>
<br />
</p>
<p class="comment">
This is the very end of the story. I originally didn't plan for
anything to happen after this though I have managed to somehow already
write about an event after this in <a href="./%3F%3F.txt">??.txt</a>.
</p>
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