A big dick in space

The captain’s backside plopped down in her chair as she frantically fumbled with her controls. “Shit!” she cursed. “I wasted a lot of time. I’ve gotta do it myself now and I’ve only got one shot at it.” The captain took a few hasty measurements as the small pod shot nearer.

Assuming the escape pod would be able to comply with its programming and latch on itself, the captain had let the tiny escape vessel get too close to use her ship’s tractor beam. She’d have to connect with the pod manually now. The degree of difficulty when doing this in real-time with a small object catapulting through space was immense.

A bead of sweat developed on the captain’s brow as she gripped the controls so tightly you would have thought they’d crumble in her hands. The captain hoped she was precise enough as she flipped a switch with her thumb that suddenly released a metal strip into space. The rope-like device, being controlled by the captain, sprung on the tiny pod, its tip splitting into a million individual ties which tethered to the flying object as it rocketed by. The thin metal cables entered the pod’s computer and started to slow the object’s main engine whilst simultaneously strengthening their own resistance.