84
85
You do so and the countdown is 
replaced with the words “TARGET 
LOST”. Then Adebeyo talks you through 
a series of complicated numbers that you type 
into the boxes before hitting a button marked 
CALCULATE. A little circle swirls on the screen as 
the computer figures out the maths. Then it flashes 
up TARGET ACQUIRED and the countdown starts 
again. There’s three and a half minutes to go. You 
turn back to Captain Adebeyo and are surprised to 
see that the picture has become blocky. You tell her 
that you’ve done it and when she replies it is patchy 
and interrupted.
“You’ve….great. Th…power is going…to the 
jamming device. We’re losing… contact. Whatever 
happens….. make sure…. That rocket launches.”
“You can count on me, captain.”
“I know I can!”
And she disappears from the screen.
it will smash into lots of pieces that will fly off in 
all directions. Won’t that be a danger to the lunar 
space station? Could some bits hit the Moon’s 
surface? Smash into us here?”
“There is that possibility, yes. But we still can’t talk 
to the space station. What if they’re all in danger 
the same way your crew are? The chance of getting 
hit by debris is a better option than just leaving 
their brains to burn.”
You think about the crew. About what they’re 
experiencing and how they must be in pain. You 
have to save their lives.
“Ok, Captain. I think you’re right. What do I need to 
do?”
“Good, solider,” she replies. “Go to that touchscreen 
in the corner. You see that display? It shows that 
the rocket is tracking the space station. You can see 
the countdown to launch as well. We just need to 
target it at the spacecraft and set the interception 
speed to maximum. So, hit the ABORT button.”

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