Overlooking Earth

"This is the Auspicious..."

"...We've had an unexpected situation here."

After a moment's hesitation, Nie Yun reported it to ground control.

"Professor Lu is aboard."

The ground command center fell silent for several seconds.

Then Hou Guang came on the line.

"Okay. I understand."

Uh, he understood?

That was it?

Nie Yun was still wondering whether to ask what he should do when Hou Guang continued.

"Stay on course. The flight plan remains unchanged... But make absolutely sure Professor Lu is safe."

Changing the flight plan now would only increase the risk of the mission.

Nie Yun knew that too. All he could do was nod.

"Understood."

After ending the call, Nie Yun took a deep breath. He turned to Lu Zhou, who was putting his coffee cup into a storage box, and reminded him, "We're approaching the critical altitude. We'll be switching flight modes soon."

According to the pressure and temperature curves, once they climbed above twenty kilometers, the atmosphere outside would rapidly thin. The wings would no longer provide enough lift, so the shuttle would have to rely on engine thrust to counter gravity and climb at a steeper angle.

From that point on, the crew could no longer move freely around the spacecraft.

"I know."

Lu Zhou needed no further reminder. He had already gone to a passenger seat and opened a metal door set into the cabin wall. With some effort, he dragged out a bulky intravehicular spacesuit.

Watching him struggle with it, Nie Yun hesitated before asking, "Do you... know how to put on a spacesuit?"

Lu Zhou deftly connected the suit's lines to the cabin's environmental control and life-support system. Once he had finished putting it on, he looked back at Nie Yun and raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. I practiced countless times at