Normally, there is a specific trajectory a spacecraft, such as a space shuttle, must follow when entering the atmosphere.
By utilizing air resistance effectively, it can decelerate while maintaining a temperature that prevents the craft from burning up.
When an object enters the atmosphere, its leading edge encounters air resistance.
Because the velocity is so extreme, the air molecules cannot be pushed aside fast enough and instead collide repeatedly with the front of the object.
To put it simply, this is the process of adiabatic compression.
In physics, this is explained by the Boyle-Charles Law: "The pressure of a gas is inversely proportional to its volume and directly proportional to its absolute temperature."
In short, compressed air generates heat. And this is no small amount of heat; the temperatures reached can range from 3,000 to over 10,000 degrees.
Spacecraft utilize a specific trajectory to keep this temperature at roughly 1,500 to 1,600 degrees at most, and maintaining that path is critical.
Any unnecessary protrusions or wings only serve to hinder the necessary trajectory corrections.
"Reiko, please deploy the solid barrier over as wide an area as possible."
Instructions arrived from Laojun. The goal was to increase air resistance to aid deceleration and to shield Falcon 1 from as much heat as possible.
Currently, Falcon 1—with Reiko aboard—plunged into the atmosphere while maintaining its solid barrier.
The altitude was approximately 100 kilometers, and the speed was nearly 16 kilometers per second. At that rate, the craft would reach the surface in mere seconds if it failed to slow down.
Because of this velocity, a layer of air turned into high-temperature plasma formed in front of the solid barrier. It glowed a brilliant yellow from the intense heat.
"...Estimated 10,000 degrees, is it?...Cooling!"
Though she was not touching the exterior of Falcon 1 directly, the radiant heat was indescribable. Reiko used the craft magic Cooling to chill the airframe, but it was like pouring a cup of water onto a bonfire.
The nose of the craft began to glow red-hot. The melting point of 64 light silver was between 1,540 and 1,650 degrees Celsius. It could not possibly withstand 10,000 degrees.
The ground drew closer at a terrifying pace. It was a nearly vertical fall. Although the craft was decelerating, there were only a dozen or so seconds remaining before impact.
"Absolute Zero!"
With her strongest cooling magic, the overheating of the fuselage finally slowed. Reiko poured all her focus into controlling the craft.
The speed was now roughly 6 kilometers per second. The altitude had dropped below 20 kilometers.
At this rate, the craft would slam into the surface without sufficient deceleration.
"Reiko, fire the magi jet engines horizontally!"
An instruction came from Jin. Reiko reacted instantly; she leveled the craft's posture and ignited the magi jet engines.
Though it was only a slight shift, the vertical fall trajectory turned into a diagonal path. This bought her a few tenths of a second of margin.
"Reiko, don't give up until the very end! If you release the solid barrier, make sure the nose is pointed as far into the direction of travel as possible!"
"I understand."
The altitude was 10 kilometers. The speed had dropped to 3 kilometers per second. They were less than four seconds from impact.
Reiko decided to take a gamble and release the solid barrier. She bet everything on decelerating all at once through pure air resistance.
"Father, I love you."
After whispering those words toward the manacam, Reiko deactivated the solid barrier.
* * *
"Father, I love you."
In the Hourai Island command room, Jin heard Reiko’s whisper.
"Reiko!"
* * *
At an altitude of 3,000 meters, Reiko deactivated the solid barrier.
A wall of air slammed into the fuselage of Falcon 1. The speed was 2.8 kilometers per second—Mach 8.
The Falcon’s intended maximum speed was 1,000 kilometers per hour. Converted to per-second speed, that was approximately 0.28 kilometers.
She was traveling at ten times the design speed... and yet, the fuselage that Jin had poured his heart and soul into creating withstood that incredible force for several seconds.
In those few seconds, Falcon 1's speed dropped below Mach 1. The price, however, was high: the nose was crushed, and both wings were torn away.
Having lost its wings and with a warped fuselage, Falcon 1 fell in a tailspin into the sea between Hourai Island and the Elias Peninsula.
Having predicted the impact point to some extent, Laojun had already dispatched the Hydro and Mermaid units to the scene.
"Laojun, how is she?"
"My Lord, please rest easy. Reiko's magic signature remains healthy."
The Hydro unit rushed to the coordinates after pinpointing Reiko's location with a magi-detector.
They found Reiko immediately as she bobbed to the surface of the sea.
Meanwhile, the Mermaid unit succeeded in recovering Falcon 1 from the seabed, and they managed to salvage nearly 80 percent of the scattered debris, including the wings.
"..."
In the Hourai Island command room, Jin went limp with relief.
"Jin-kun, whatever is the matter?"
"Did things not go well?"
At some point, Stearena Gamma and Toa Eschenbach had arrived.
Seeing that Jin was acting strangely, they had come over out of concern.
"Ah... because of my mistake, I forced Reiko to walk a dangerous tightrope..."
Jin gave a brief explanation of what had occurred.
Stearena, who possessed basic scientific knowledge, seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, but Toa listened with a face that admitted he was completely lost.
* * *
In the evening, Reiko returned. She arrived along with the wreckage of Falcon 1.
Upon seeing Jin's face as he waited alone in the command room, her first words were:
"Father, I am so sorry for breaking Falcon 1."
"You idiot!!"
Jin shouted in a voice louder than he had ever used before. Reiko literally jumped back.
"I am sorry, Father! I wanted to avoid breaking it as much as possible, but..."
As Reiko bowed her head, Jin approached her in silence.
He gently placed his hands on the shoulders of Reiko, who was shrinking back.
"Reiko, I'm just glad you're safe."
"Fa...ther..."
"It was my poor foresight that caused this in the first place. I don't intend to blame you when you did your absolute best. But I do have to be a little angry at you for being so reckless."
With those words, Jin rapped Reiko lightly on the head with his fist.
"It's not just about the Falcon. If you were hurt, I would be heartbroken."
Reiko, equipped with her tactile sense, understood that the blow held no real force. Along with it, she felt the deep affection Jin held for her.
"...I am sorry..."
As she apologized weakly, Jin embraced Reiko to comfort her.
"I'm sorry, too. You're always such a help to me."
"No, that is my duty."
Jin stroked her head as she spoke.
"How is your body? Is anything wrong?" he asked, his face full of concern.
"No, I am fine. This body you gave me, Father, is perfectly unharmed."
Jin checked Reiko's body with Analyze to confirm she wasn't just acting tough. Once he was sure, he let out a long sigh of relief. And then...
"Laojun, how is the recovered Falcon 1?"
He finally had the mental leeway to turn his attention to other matters.
"Yes. The interior of the fuselage was relatively unscathed. We have recovered the damaged wings. It is fully repairable."
"I see. That's good."
Jin immediately instructed Laojun to begin repairs on Falcon 1.
He then set out to analyze the salvaged control core of Satellite 001 himself, determined to identify and rectify the issues.
"Father, I will help you."
Naturally, Reiko served as his assistant.
In this way, taking failure as fuel for a new challenge, Jin and Hourai Island continued to build their strength.
Though it must be mentioned that before any work began, Reiko and Laojun were subjected to a three-hour-long lecture from an incredibly worried Jin.