Mara lowered the landing gear.
The plane responded.
Three green indicators.
“Clap.”
They opted for a conservative configuration.
Too much air resistance could require more thrust than the damaged left engine can deliver.
Rain splashed against the windshield.
The coast loomed on the horizon, breaking through the low-hanging clouds.
Dark cliffs.
Green fields.
And then the runway.
Mara’s breathing slowed.
Barrett looked at her hands.
You really have flown in fighter jets.
Mara cast him a sideways glance.
Are you still thinking about that?
I need something to think about, besides the crosswind.
Next, read through the landing checklist.
He obeyed.
Ten miles.
The wind pushed the plane sideways.
Mara corrected him.
Eight miles.
Turbulence arose.
The left wing dropped.
She has recovered.
Six miles.
A gust of wind pushed the nose of the plane off the runway.
Mara steered the rudder and the ramp.
Barrett looked increasingly tense.
The approach is unstable.
» Not yet. «
Another gust of wind.
« No? »
« Still not. »
At an altitude of a thousand feet, the plane was dramatically tilted into the wind.
Barrett looked at the runway.
I wouldn’t blame you if you went around it.
With one damaged engine?
« Nee. »
« Me neither. »
Five hundred feet.
Mara’s eyes moved constantly.
Runway.
Speed.
Sinking speed.
Motor.
Wind.
Center line
Three hundred.
The wind gusts became very violent just above the ground.
Mara’s arms were constantly moving.
Two hundred.
The runway appeared to shift sideways.
Barrett took a sharp breath.
One hundred.
Mara lowered the windward wing.
Heavy rudder.
The nose was straight.
Fifty.
Thirty.
Twenty.
She took a step back.
The main landing gear slammed into the wet runway with a bang.
The plane bounced once.
Barrett shouted: « Come on! »
Mara held it.
The wheels struck again.
Sturdy.
Direct.
Spoilers deployed.
Brakes engaged.
She carefully used only the available counter-pressure to combat the asymmetrical force.
The plane veered to the left.
Mara corrected him.
The speed dropped.
One hundred knots.
Eighty.
Sixty.
Forty.
Eventually, Flight 442 slowed to taxi speed.
Emergency services surrounded them.
Mara brought the plane to a stop immediately on the runway.
For a few seconds, neither pilot spoke.
Next, sound seeped through the cockpit door.
Applause.
No polite applause.
Roaring.
To cry.
Screaming.
People bang on the backs of their chairs.
June’s voice came over the intercom.
We have everyone.
Mara closed her eyes.
Everyone.
Those words broke something inside her.
For seven years, she had thought of that one person she had not been able to bring back.
Tonight, 271 people were behind that door.
Everyone was still alive.
Her vision became blurry.
Barrett saw it.
He said nothing.
Mara opened her eyes and completed the closing procedure.
Only after the engines and systems had been secured did Barrett speak.
» I’m sorry. «
Mara looked at him.
He swallowed.
“I ignored your warning. I made the wrong assessment. Then I panicked.”
Mara was unable to protect him from the confession.
You did that.
“I killed almost everyone.”
« Yes. »
He stared at his hands.
My career is over.
Mara looked through the windshield at the flashing lights blinking in the rain.
That is not my decision.
You could defend me.
I could do that.
His eyes went up.
“Nee.”
Barrett took in the answer.
Then he nodded.
You shouldn’t do that.
They sat still.
Finally, Barrett asked: « Why did you hide who you were? »
Mara took off her regular glasses, which she sometimes wore, even though she didn’t need them to see in the distance.
Because everyone treated me differently once they knew.
And you thought that was terrible?
I found it terrible to constantly have to figure out why they knew my name.
The cockpit door opened.
June stood there crying.
Behind her, passengers began leaving the waiting buses.
« Soon? »
« Yes? »
« There are people back there asking who saved them. »
Mara looked at Barrett.
For once, he did not assert the captain’s authority.
He simply pointed at her.
June smiled through her tears.
Mara shook her head.
« Tell them the crew did that. »
Barrett whispered: « That is not what happened. »
Mara picked up her hand luggage.
« Nee. »
She looked at him.
But this is what should have happened.
By sunrise, the story was already unfolding.
Passengers had made video recordings in the cabin during the engine failure.
One person captured the moment the power went out.
In another recording, June told the passengers that they had to brace themselves during the dive.
Someone filmed the applause after the landing.
News teams gathered outside St. Brendan International even before the investigators had finished questioning the camera crew.
Northstar Airlines initially issued a cautious statement praising « the coordinated actions of the cockpit and cabin crew of Flight 442 ».
That text discussion lasted about two hours.
Then Hollis Barrett changed everything.
During his first official job interview, he refused to protect himself.
He told the researchers that Mara had identified the ashes before him.
He admitted that he had ignored her recommendation to turn around.
He admitted that he had handled the initial engine failure incorrectly.
He admitted that he had steered the aircraft into a stall maneuver after both engines had failed.
Finally, he described how Mara took control.
Down to every detail.
When a researcher asked where a first officer on a commercial ship had learned such an aggressive approach to emergency power supply, Barrett replied:
You should ask the Air Force.
By midday, someone had done it.
Mara was sitting alone in a meeting room at the terminal when two people came in.
One of them was wearing a Northstar executive badge.
The other wore an Air Force uniform under a dark overcoat.
Mara recognized him immediately.
Brigadier General Nathaniel Shaw was still a lieutenant colonel when she last saw him.
Her former squadron commander.
He remained standing in the doorway.
« Raaf. »
Mara looked away.
Don’t call me that.
Shaw’s face softened.
I had already expected you to say that.
The director of the airline looked confused.
Shaw took a seat opposite Mara.
I have looked at the flight details.
Then you know what happened.
I know you traded height for a higher compressor.
I had no better option.
I didn’t criticize it.
You had that face.
Which face?
That facial expression you used before you told me that I had violated three procedures, but had somehow saved the plane.
Shaw almost smiled.
You still remember it.
I remember everything.
The smile disappeared.
Mara knew what was going to happen.
Owen.
She stood up.
I don’t want to talk about him.
Shaw remained seated.
You haven’t spoken about him for seven years.
And I did very well.
Did you do that?
Mara turned around abruptly.
I have a job. A house. Friends. A life.
And every year on November 17, you anonymously send flowers to his mother.
Mara froze.
Shaw continued.
She knows they come from you.
Mara said nothing.
He did not die because you abandoned him.
« Stop. »
He chose to protect you.
« Stop. »
He knew exactly what he was doing.
Her voice rose.
“And does that make it better?”
« Nee. »
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