His touch upon the 'Tee' bar became light and sure of itself. He
no longer waggled widely or jerked the bar when a deviation became
noticed, Dusty corrected his course with deft touches like the driver
of an automobile. He was learning, and filled with a self-confidence
he had no right to feel, but did not know enough to be scared about.
Dusty Britton, who had never been in a space rocket in his life, drove
a galactic spacecraft across the galaxy under what can be called "Dual
Flight Training."
Which was all right, so long as the trainee has enough space to make
mistakes in. Dusty literally had galactic reaches and these were
well marked against the pitfalls. And if Gant Nerley's face radiated
confidence and his voice sounded cheerful it was due to Gant Nerley's
knowledge that constant admonition, warning, and cries of horror would
only cause more trouble than Dusty Britton's meandering course.
But flight is easy, whereas landing is the most difficult maneuver in
the universe.
So by the time Dusty Britton was homing on the main phanobeacon of
Marandis itself, Gant Nerley had his plans. Dusty Britton was not going
to barrel that spacecraft down tailfins first like a screaming elevator
that might come to Velocity Zero at a plus or minus a half mile from
Ground Zero and maybe a plus or minus thirty seconds of Drive Turnoff;
to drop like a plummet or ram the spaceport with a planet-shaking crash
or burn a crater in the 'port with full drive still warping the space
below the ship's tailfin.
Dusty Britton came to a full zero-zero-zero landing a million miles
above Marandis. He came to a grinding halt high above the planet,
looked around dazedly, and asked Gant: "What makes?"
"Keep your drive at one gravity thrust," said Gant. "Stand by for
Pilot!"
The last order was delivered in a ringing voice as though it were a
standard procedure.
To Dusty, familiar with the tactics used by seagoing liners upon
entering port, standing by for a pilot was quite a sensible practise.
If the Captain of _The North America_ permitted a pilot to bend the
big liner along Ambrose Channel, through The Narrows and into New York
Harbor, Dusty Britton saw no objection to having a pilot come aboard to
bend the big spacecraft down past whatever dangers might be presented
by moons, meteors and cosmic junk.
And Gant Nerley, not knowing how Dusty felt about spacecraft piloting,
hoped that this procedure sounded like Standard Operating Practise.
Dusty replied in ringing tone, "Standing By for Pilot!"
Gant took a deep breath.
Minutes later a small scooter hauled alongside and a Marandanian pilot
came aboard and took over. He smiled at Dusty and said, "I'm Nort
Wilgas, Pilot."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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