Stress
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2021 by Walter Reimer

Prompt:  https://www.furaffinity.net/view/44654929/ by :iconipoke:

“Flight, G&C.”  The mouse’s voice sounded quite even, almost bored.
“Go,” the mission’s Flight Director said.  The rabbit kept her own voice level.
“He’s yawing again.  If he can’t get the reaction controls to steady down, we may be looking at an abort.”
“Roger that.”
“Flight, Instruments.”
“Go.”
“I’m seeing increasing stress on the hull.”
The rabbit doe suppressed the weary, exasperated sigh that threatened to disturb the decorum of the control room.  This mission hadn’t gone right from the start, and it was always one minor thing after another.  If it wasn’t the RCS, it was the plasma trigger; if it wasn’t the toilet, it was the fuel cells.  
While it made things very interesting, she really could’ve done with a boring shift.  “Capcom, Flight,” she said. 
The capsule communicator, a German Shepherd, glanced up from his console.  “Capcom.”
“Ask him how he’s doing.”
The canine touched their earpiece.  “Silver Bird One, this is Capcom, do you read?”
“Silver Bird here,” the panther’s voice replied.  There was a great deal of static.  “Dealing with a few issues up here right now.”
The German Shepherd frowned.  “Say again, Silver Bird, issues?”
“I said issues.  RCS is firing randomly, I’m getting stress warnings all over the place, and I’ve almost los comms twice.”  There was a pause.  “Shit.”
The rabbit’s ears dipped at the curse.  The panther wasn’t known for swearing, and communication protocols forbade it.  The Capcom asked, “Say again?”
“There’s a crack in the main window – there’s another one.”
“Are you in your suit, Silver?”
“Of course I am, not that it’ll help much.  Gotta get this damned RCS under control . . . window’s cracking further now – SHIT!”  The yelp from the panther was loud and panicked.
All around the rabbit doe, flight controllers went rigid at their posts, studying the onboard cameras and telemetry intently as the German Shepherd tried to contact the pilot.  She struggled to focus as various remarks were directed at her.
“Cabin press zero.”
“RCS still firing randomly.  Flight computer’s fighting us.”
“Stress warning, engine mounts.  Nearing critical.”
Suddenly all the screens went blank, and everyone in the room fell silent.
“Ground Control, this is the Flight Director,” the rabbit said.  “I’m declaring a contingency.”  She swallowed.  “Lock the doors.”

***

A wolf whisked aside a curtain and looked down at the panther’s disgusted face.  “Not going well, I take it?” he asked.
The panther laughed humorlessly.  “I’ve been blown up in this thing so many times I’ve lost track,” he growled as he started to undo his restraints.”  He began to crawl out of the simulator, adding, “I think the idiot designers need to be the first ones to actually fly it.”

end