Because, Physics
07 Jun 2023Ryuko Ntsikana
Because, Physics
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The entertaining aspect of being the "good guy" is that there are always those who want to play the role of the "bad guy." And so, even before I had entered orbit, one of these amusing characters made their appearance. Not the brightest of pirates, but certainly playful. I leveled out below the orbital cruise boundary, leisurely cruising along at a speed of 30 km/s. This posed a challenge for the pirate, as they would have to slow themselves down and risk leaving their orbital perch. To solve this conundrum, they thought a series of S-turns behind me would position them to catch up with my lumbering ship.
Sipping on my zero-g thermos of coffee, I turned on some music to brighten the moment and patiently waited for the laws of physics to teach the pirate a valuable lesson. I watched and wondered, with a sense of anticipation, for the pirate to come to their senses. Didn't they realize that having the orbital high ground was the losing side of the interdiction equation?
I observed as they sharply reversed towards the aft of my ship and, in a flash, they vanished. Rolling my ship gently to the left, I glanced out in time to witness a flash far below. That would have been their ship impacting the planet at nearly the speed of light. Aside from the rocks below, I couldn't help but wonder what went through their minds.
Surely, they must have realized that when a ship is in orbit around a planet, it is continuously falling towards the planet due to gravity, but also moving forward with enough velocity to maintain a stable orbit. It's that delicate balance between gravity and velocity that keeps the ship in orbit without crashing into the planet.
During an interdiction, the disruption of the ship's ability to maintain its orbital path causes it to lose its forward velocity and start falling toward the planet under the influence of gravity. The interdictor ship essentially pulls itself out of its stable orbit, resulting in a slingshot trajectory toward the planet.
You would think that would be the end of it, but sadly—or amusingly—it was not. As I prepared for the remaining two jumps before reaching the carrier, I emerged from the wormhole slipstream next to the system's main sequence star. It was a star class from which I could refuel, and although I didn't necessarily need it, I felt it was best to top off my fuel reserves.
A contact appeared on my sensors upon arrival, swiftly approaching me at high velocity. I knew what this meant. It was yet another one of the pirate's "best and brightest" who wanted to say hello. Similar to the previous attempt, this one was about to receive a different but equally enlightening education. I descended into the star's corona, scooping up hydrogen while keeping a close eye on my ship's heat gauge.
A stock Orca was designed to handle heat efficiently, but mine had undergone extensive modifications to be even more so. Observing the pirate ship behind me, executing a series of S-turns, I couldn't help but wonder about the heat levels inside their vessel. My own ship was running at 61% of its design tolerance, while the Cobra Mk III trailing me must have been hot enough to fry an egg on its cockpit dashboard.
I obtained a positive identification from their transponder, revealing that the aspiring pirate Nathanael Page had no idea what they were getting themselves into. I initiated a general hail, urging them to break off their pursuit until I left the star's corona. But instead of complying, they responded with curses, boosting towards me and dramatically raising their heat levels beyond critical.
I could witness the paint on their hull boiling off as they engaged their interdictor, attempting to pull my larger and heavier ship.
My ship's mass was substantial enough to exert its own gravitational pull on the Cobra, effectively dragging it deeper into the star's corona. I sent a second signal to Nathanael, offering them a way out of this dangerous situation if they simply asked me to pull them away from the star. But all I received in response were more curses and a fierce determination to fight against me.
There are some individuals out there whose souls are simply rotten, beyond any redemption or intervention. Nothing can be done to change their course except to put an end to their reign of harm. And so, I maneuvered my Orca through a series of hard corkscrewed movements within the star's corona, forcefully breaking their interdiction. My ship was running hot, but still well within its design limits.
As I pulled out towards the coolness of the void beyond, I watched the Cobra's signal vanish.