He heard the explosion as the first stage disengaged, and his mind froze as the pressure shoved harder at his chest. Then suddenly there was a jerk, a bone-crushing jar that nearly broke his neck, and the ship started spinning crazily.
"Scotty—Scotty, can you hear me?" It was Mitch's voice in the earphones, heavy with frantic urgency. "Can you hear me, Scotty?"
Scotty groaned. "I can hear you," he croaked.
"Scotty, the second stage didn't disengage properly—you've got it on your tail yet—"
Scotty gasped for breath, trying to focus his mind on the present, trying to drive out the paralyzing phantoms of the past. "Second—stage?"
"It—wait a minute—you're way off course—there it goes, you've lost it—" There was a scraping sound in the earphones, and then the General's voice snapped out, sharp and clear. "Scotty—listen, boy, you're off course, you aren't out far enough—you'll have to orbit back—"
"Orbit?" The word was wrenched from his throat, and he stared at the viewer in horror.
"Listen, Scotty, get this straight—can you hear me, lad?"
"Yeah, yeah, I can hear—"
"Then listen. Orbit your ship. Slam down the cut-off and—"