"The fuel. I haven't got enough left to brake the ship, to turn it, and then land against Earth gravity."
"No," Norma said. "No! That can't be right!"
Herb re-sorted the information available from the dials, seeking a method to defy the dictates of inertia. Once more he weighed the remaining fuel against that necessary to brake and turn the ship, and still there was none left over to counteract Earth's gravity and the long planetfall. He projected trajectories.
"Maybe I can throw the ship in a long orbit," he said. "If I can kill the speed against the atmosphere...."
"Can you do it?"
Herb's hands eased fuel into the forward port jet and sparked it. "I'm tilting for the orbit."
The gauge dropped alarmingly, and as momentum changed, the center of gravity shifted. The ship nosed up and fell sideways and slipped away to the right.
Norma held her breath, afraid to interrupt even with encouragement.
"It's an ellipse," Herb said. "It's a long fall now, but I'm afraid to make it shorter." He set the controls.