High-priority alerts floated all around her and, based on what those were warning her of, there was a real risk they might simply fall out of the sky. And every minute they stayed up, the more certain that became. They clearly weren’t going to make it to high orbit. Or anywhere else, for that matter. ‘There’s been a change of plan,’ she muttered grimly. ‘We’re going to have to put down, and soon.’ Gabrielle’s nose wrinkled in a frown. ‘Is it really that bad?’ ‘Could be worse,’ Megan grunted. Until we hit the ground, anyway. More alerts appeared nearby, and she hoped to hell Gabrielle didn’t know what they meant. They were now arcing high over the Montos de Frenezo, with the coast of the Great Barren Sea clearly visible to the south. The question now was, where could they land? The systems-failure estimates dashed any hopes of their reaching even Aguirre.
