This is part nine of the Anton deGama story, Black Ice. Anton's crawler is sliding towards a deep trench on Titan. Anton blew a gigantic boulder of ice in front of the crawler, but it did not stop the slide. So Anton fired a harpoon with cable into the boulder. The cable pulled at the boulder for a few moments - and then snapped...
The
end of the wire whiplashed back, striking the plexiglass canopy and
spreading a network of stars across it. The tough material did not
break, but Anton doubted it would last very much longer without
repair. He struggled to see through the crazed windscreen, feeling
the tracks churning as they lurched onto the boulder he had blown
into the crawler's path. The brief moment the cable had lifted the
boulder had been enough. Instead of tumbling down into the trench, it
spanned the trench in a bridge, of sorts.
Anton spun the crawler's
treads, going with the pressure of the permafrost behind him, trying
to steer across the unstable, uneven chunk of ice.
For a moment, the crawler teetered on
the brink of the drop, and Anton felt the boulder slip. He gunned the
engine recklessly, ingrained habits making him reach for the harpoon
key as well before he remembered that the cable had broken. The
weight of permafrost slithering after the crawler over the bridge
shoved the vehicle forward, past the lethal darkness below, as the
boulder crumbled and disappeared into the depths soundlessly.
A word of advice - don't try this at home...
I'll post the final part, to round off the story now the danger is past, this time next week. As always, comments appreciated!
It's a good thing the boulder fit. I'd hate to see his reaction if it was a size or two too small.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the writer is on his side - or he'd be in big trouble...
DeleteI do question weather ice would be all that slippery at Titan temperatures.
ReplyDeleteI've assumed it's ammonia rather than water ice - and there may be other impurities that make it slippery. That's my excuse, anyhow!
DeleteCowabunga! Surf's up!
ReplyDeleteWhat a way to get your character out of a corner you've painted him into. Nicely done. Can hardly see the footprints in the paint.
First rule of writing - come up with perils and alarums to keep your heroes busy. Second rule - find some way to get them out of it again. Rinse and repeat... ;-)
Delete