Editing KSGU:Volume 7 Chapter 3 (section)

===Part 18===

The landing deck at the aft was bent straight and the rear cannon seemed to be packed in under the battleship to hide it. The main thrusters in the middle of the aft were deployed to the back, and once the ballute appeared around the nozzles, the “Nahel Argama” got ready to enter the atmosphere.

“Ballute’s ready.”

“60 seconds till thrust reverse. Everyone, prepare for it.”

Mihiro’s tense voice rang after the navigation officer’s as it echoed through the bridge. Otto put on his normal suit helmet as his hands grabbed onto the Captain’s seat armrests. He went through a similar experience on another ship, but this was the first time he was using the Ballute on the “Nahel Argama”. He looked around at the backs of the crewmen, wearing their heavy normal suits, licked his dry lips, “What’s the movement of our target?” and asked the sensor operator.

“Current altitude is 98km. Course is steady, but it’s not at the speed to leave the atmosphere yet. Estimated point of contact is adjusted at Minus 8.”

“Just like what Commanding Officer Bright, huh…right, continue to send a signal. Our ship[ shall remain right above the thermosphere, and we’ll use the tether cables to pull up this target. All hands, take note of the ship’s height and velocity. If we go in too deep, we’ll be caught by gravity and unable to escape the atmosphere.”

If they become the prisoner of gravity itself, the thruster power of the “Nahel Argama” itself would not be sufficient for them to return to space. Otto did not really hear the tense voices of the crewmen repeating as he looked at the silhouette of Earth that was almost at eye level through the window. It had been less than 2 hours since Commanding Officer Bright suddenly notified them. The entire crew hurried to get ready, and though they managed to catch sight of the target on the sensor, it really felt surreal to him. The target ship got clearer, and he wondered if he got duped by his superior. If the data on the optical sensor was correct, it would be—

“It’s the “Garencieres”—the disguised trading ship affiliated to the”Sleeves”.”

It seemed that Liam too had the same suspicions as she ostensibly talked to herself. Upon hearing this, Otto looked at the tall First Officer standing beside him.

“No doubts about it. It’s the ship that once followed us from “Industrial 7”. Is this fine?”

“There’s nothing good or bad about it. CO Bright gave us this direct order, so we can only follow it.”

“Is that so…”

“Besides, no matter what kind of mission the higher-ups give us is, it’s good to have something to do.”

''This is certainly better than revolving around Earth like a ghost.'' Liam looked back at Otto, who forced this smile, and slowly relaxed her lips as she leapt from the floor. As a comrade who spent the past 2 weeks or so with nothing to do, the First Officer could understand how hard it would be to kill time without a motive. No matter what happened next, it would be better than to feel the emptiness of being unable to do anything. Otto grumbled in his heart desperately, but he found himself much more relaxed than before, and turned his wryly smiling face to the front. Once Liam sat down, “10 seconds to Reverse Thrust.” The navigation officer reported as his vice rang through the corridor. The “Nahel Argama” began its countdown as it hovered in low orbit around the still Earth silently.

Once the countdown reached zero, the reverse thruster flares were lit in unison, and the G-force from behind fell upon the inside of the ship that suddenly stopped. As the ship slowed down gradually, it started to break off from its orbital velocity, and started to fall. The verniers  let out flares to stabilize the “Nahel Argama”, which lifted the only catapult deck it had left as it got ready to head down to Earth from its aft.

The air surrounding the ship got gradually thicker, and as the ship accelerated, it let out a rattling sound as it shook. After falling to below 150km in altitude, the white armor turned red hot, prompting the ballute system, chained with the altitude meter, into action. The armor around the thruster nozzles sprung out, and a large balloon expanded from it, covering the aft of the “Nahel Argama” in an airtight manner. The bowl-shaped air cushion formed a ballute that was 200m in diameter, which worked to negate the resistance from the atmosphere.

The large pressure below the bowl continued to let out high-pressured air, blocking out the frictional heat from the aft. The “Nahel Argama” used its ballute, opened on the back, to dive into the atmosphere. The air in the thermosphere got thicker, and the shock cones surrounding the ship dragged a long tail above the atmosphere.