BA+ Volume Final+: Where All Miracles Collide (AtraHasis+)

Chapter 3, Episode 19: Spear of Siduri

Mili: (teleports inside the Veritas room) Hello Veritas.

Maki: (surprised face) Ah! It's the weird rocket scientist!

Hare: She popped through the network again.

Mili: That's Mili to you, second-rate hackers.

Hare: (offended expression) second-rate?

Mili: How are the simulations going? Any progress?

Kotama: Not good. Our data inputs simulate the missile can't take on the new load or else it'll fall apart. The stabilizers, the propulsion systems... they weren't made to handle space travel. The previous launch could reach up to 75,000 meters in the air, but the maximum peak is estimated at around 80,000 meters. Once it reaches the limit, the engine will shut down and fuel could freeze near the edge of space.

Hare: There's more. The ancient missile just isn't capable of traveling with people on board. Even if we try going around it, it could cause too much strain to the crew.

Chihiro: We tried making redesigns for the ship, but none of them worked. Unfortunately, we don't have Utaha or the Engineering club to help with the rocket designs.

Mili: That's because you're focused on spaceship designs rather than keeping its original functionality.

Students: (confused faces) ...?

Mili: The missile can stay as a missile. All we need to do is change the payload. Subtract the onboard warhead from the equation and switch it with an enclosed space for the crew to stay in.

Chihiro: (sweating face) Eh? That's it? But... where would the pilot controls even go?

Mili: Leave that to me.

Hare: How about the heat shielding? Since the payload is located at the top of the rocket, it would need thermal protection against the pressures of the outer atmosphere. Yet, there's not enough of the specific material to put on the transport.

Mili: Not to worry. I have a few "substitutes" that can protect the rocket. All we need to do is make sure the rocket achieves the purpose of reaching the Ark. This is a one-way trip, not a roundabout.

Maki: (sweating face) Wouldn't that mean crashing it directly onto the fortress?

Mili: Fufu, it's not rocket science if you can't crash a few eggs first.

Chihiro: (sweating face) I think the saying goes, "you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs..."

Mili: Case in point. Moving on... (disappears from the room)

[The scene transitions to the Seminar clubroom where Koyuki was working alongside Rio who was still at the control room of Eridu...]