The corridor lights were still flashing.
Chen Hao stood at the rear cabin door, looked up for two seconds, said nothing, and then walked towards the power control room. Susan followed behind, carrying a testing instrument, slightly out of breath. She had just climbed out of the pipeline shaft, her clothes covered in dust, and her forehead glistening with sweat.
“These lights need to be fixed,” Chen Hao said. “We don’t want them all to go out before we land.”
“Let’s deal with the gyroscope first.” Susan looked down at the data board in her hand. “The delay is 320 milliseconds. If we don’t calibrate it soon, we’ll be spinning in circles once we enter the atmosphere.”
"How's Karl doing?"
Karl's voice came through the communicator: "The nozzle alignment is complete, the deflector has been replaced, and lubrication has been added. We just did three ignition tests, and the thrust is stable."
"My life is saved," Chen Hao replied.
“It’s not a matter of life or death,” Carl said in a muffled voice. “It’s a matter of face. Just imagine, after flying for decades, you end up stuck outside the atmosphere, tumbling around, being watched live by people back home. How embarrassing is that?”
"That makes sense." Chen Hao nodded. "For the sake of our reputation, we have to fix it properly."
He pushed open the door to the power control room; it was brighter inside than outside. A row of indicator lights on the wall flashed green, and the main unit hummed. Nana was already there, her fingers sliding across the control panel too fast to see clearly.
“The communication protocol upgrade is complete,” she said. “We are now connecting to the parent system control network.”
"Can you get through?" Susan asked.
“Signal sent.” Nana stared at the screen. “The identification code and navigation log have been transmitted. Awaiting reply.”
A few seconds later, a mechanical female voice came from the speaker: "Unknown spaceship, number Nx-7, has entered the controlled airspace of the G-type yellow dwarf star. Please confirm your landing intentions."
"They're here!" Chen Hao slammed his hand on the table. "Hurry back!"
Nana pressed the answer button: "This is Nx-7, four people on board, requesting landing clearance, destination: South Ring Star Orbital Port."
"Received." The other party paused for two seconds. "Please provide the data for the most recent thirty orbital corrections and submit the attitude control system gyroscope calibration report. At the same time, shut down all non-essential power outputs, and prohibit active scanning and high-power transmission during the approach phase."
“Three requirements.” Susan frowned. “To be completed within two hours?”
“Not only that.” Nana pulled up the timeline. “They gave us a window—the orbital access channel will open in 72 hours. If you miss it, you’ll have to wait for the next cycle, which is 14 days.”
"Fourteen days?" Chen Hao's eyes widened. "I don't want to float in the sky for another two weeks. I'm already tired of the food."
“Then let’s get to work.” Susan turned and left. “I’m going to organize the track correction records.”
Chen Hao grabbed the clipboard and followed him outside: "I'll keep an eye on the gyroscope. Carl, are you done with your work over there?"
"The last deflector is installed," Carl's voice came through the headset. "The outer casing is also sealed. Now we wait for the system self-check."
"Don't let your guard down," Chen Hao said. "The ground just issued a new requirement: all non-essential power must be shut down. Go check the backup battery packs. Don't try to secretly supply power yourself and get shot down as a suspicious target."
"Understood," Karl replied. "I'll go right away."
Nana remained where she was, continuing to listen to the channel. A line of text popped up on the screen: [Landing application accepted, prerequisites being confirmed].
She breathed a sigh of relief, tapped a few times on the keyboard, and brought up the aviation regulations for her home planet system. The robot's knowledge base contained the complete regulatory document, even including the appendices revised thirty years ago.
“Found it.” She said in a low voice, “Article 12, Section 7: Foreign aircraft must be in low-power mode before entering the site, retaining only life support, basic navigation and emergency propulsion.”
She began modifying the spaceship's energy distribution plan. The lighting system was reduced to minimum brightness, power was cut off in non-core areas, and the entertainment terminals were directly powered off. Even the heating modules in the kitchen were locked.
"The food's going to get cold again," Chen Hao glanced at it as he passed by. "We won't even be able to get a hot meal."
“You can eat compressed biscuits raw,” Nana said without looking up. “Anyway, you’ve been eating them with great relish.”
“It’s called habit,” Chen Hao said, leaning against the doorframe. “It’s not that I like the taste.”
Susan returned with the data panel: "The track correction records are ready, I'm sending them to you."
Nana took the data, quickly checked it, and uploaded it to the terrestrial channel.
“First item complete,” she said. “Next is the gyroscope report.”
Chen Hao scratched the back of his head: "This needs to be tested on-site. Let's go to the control panel."
Inside the control room, three people sat around the central screen. The gyroscope's response curve appeared, still showing jagged fluctuations.
“The latency is still high.” Susan pointed to the graph. “Although it’s a bit more stable than before, it’s still far from the standard.”
"Try manual calibration." Chen Hao brought up the debugging interface. "The old way, adjust it slowly."
He held the stabilizer bar with one hand and entered values in the parameter bar with the other. The lines on the screen trembled slightly, then slowly straightened.
“It worked a little,” he said. “Let’s try again.”
The process repeated for forty minutes. During this time, Carl came over to report once: "The backup battery pack is off; only the navigation and life support systems are running. Everything else is down."
"Well done." Chen Hao didn't even turn his head. "Once the gyroscope is fixed, we can hand it in."
“Do you know what’s worse?” Carl leaned against the wall. “My plans to take a shower are ruined. Now we can’t even guarantee hot water.”
"You still want to take a shower?" Susan laughed. "It's good enough that we landed safely."
“You have to have dreams,” Carl shrugged. “Otherwise, why fly so far?”
Nana suddenly looked up: "The ground has recovered."
Everyone stopped what they were doing.
A new message popped up on the screen: "[Nx-7, gyroscope data reception is still under review. Please confirm that all inactive detection devices have been turned off?]"
"Have we shut it down?" Chen Hao asked.
“Everything except the passive sensors is off,” Nana replied. “Radar, scanner, laser rangefinder, all stopped.”
"That should be fine."
“Wait a minute.” Susan suddenly frowned. “What about the communication array coupler? Last time you said the signal gain dropped by five percent.”
“That’s not an active device,” Chen Hao waved his hand. “It’s just for receiving signals.”
Nana, however, had already pulled up the circuit diagram: "But it has a weak transmission function to maintain link stability. Under strict standards, it may be considered a potential source of interference."
"Damn it." Chen Hao slapped his thigh. "Did I get rejected because of something like this?"
“We can disconnect temporarily,” Nana said. “It won’t affect receiving commands.”
“Then let’s cut it off.” Chen Hao nodded. “It’s okay to lose a coupler just to get home.”
Nana reached out and pressed the isolation button. A green light on the panel went out.
“It’s been cut off,” she said. “Now only the receive mode is left.”
"Send a message," Chen Hao urged, "tell them we'll cooperate to the end."
Nana did as instructed.
Time ticked by. None of the four people moved.
Finally, the loudspeaker announced: "Nx-7, preliminary landing clearance approved. Maintain current status and proceed to the designated orbit in seventy-two hours for final guidance."
"Approved!" Susan smiled.
“I told you it would work.” Chen Hao leaned back. “See, as long as you obey, the universe will reward you.”
"Don't get too excited," Nana cautioned. "This is only preliminary approval. There will be another verification during the final orbit insertion, and if the system is unstable, it could still be intercepted."
“Then let’s fix it again.” Chen Hao stood up. “The work isn’t finished yet anyway.”
He picked up his toolbox: "Carl, come with me to the engine compartment and check it again. Susan, you check the oxygen recirculation joints for leaks. That was just an emergency measure; we need to make sure there are no leaks."
"I'll go right now."
"Nana, keep an eye on the channel. Call for backup immediately if there are any new instructions."
"clear."
Chen Hao and Karl walked toward the engine compartment. The corridor lights were still flickering, but the two were used to it.
"Do you think we can really land on time?" Karl asked as they walked.
"I don't know," Chen Hao said, "but we have to make people think we're reliable."
"For the sake of saving face?"
"For food," Chen Hao patted his stomach. "I want something hot."
Inside the engine bay, the machine hummed softly. Karl opened the monitoring panel and began reviewing the energy output curve. Chen Hao crouched beside the thrusters, inspecting the seals around the nozzles.
“It’s a little loose here,” he said. “Tighten it.”
“You always say that,” Carl said without looking up, “and it still leaks next time.”
“This time is different.” Chen Hao twisted it hard. “I’m serious.”
"That's what you said last time too."
"This time it's for real."
Nana sat at the control panel, her finger hovering over the send button. The channel was quiet, with only background noise.
She pulled up the ship's status map. Life support systems were showing green, propulsion systems were stable, and navigation was normal. Energy consumption was at a minimum; the entire ship was as if it were asleep.
There are still 63 hours of travel time to reach our home planet.
The repair work is 89% complete.
She glanced at the time and prepared to upload the latest calibration data for the gyroscope again.
Just then, a red light in the lower right corner of the console suddenly lit up.
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