He missed. Or rather, something got in the way. This had happened before, but even those misses were so long ago that the measures taken to avoid them are considered tradition. C42 was important, not just for Tolith, but for the Numitaeran Seat as a whole.
Numerous measures are taken before the launch of a comet, and for good reason. Comets are specially designed for their destination biome. Some leeway is provided curtesy of the Terramancers, but the margin is slim. The host planet is observed for a millennia before it is put in the final candidate pool. It is vital that its orbit, and its system’s orbit, are conducive to the long term survival of the Comet. A great deal of effort is put into picking the exact location for landing, because while Terramancers are good, they aren’t gods.
So, it was quite concerning when C42 missed. Tolith was certain of the launch parameters. Absolutely nothing could go wrong. This was his ticket to Weaver. Not anymore. Not only had he missed, he hit something else. A whole planet, in fact. Of course, it was a little too late to fix it now, and the limitations of Progenitor tech still impose a significant delay compared to lightspeed. It would take another millennia before any conclusive results come back on C42’s success, but current data suggested it landed in the ice. That’s not good; C42 was aiming for 33 degrees north of the equator… of another planet.
…
“What happened?” said Syndra. “I don’t know, ma’am” Tolith averts his eyes. “What do you mean you ‘don’t know’? This was supposed to be a routine launch. What is there to ‘not know’?“. Syndra’s eyes flicker with anger. Tolith looks back at Syndra, “ma’am, all models suggested the system was inconsequential. C42 should have only just brushed passed its outer asteroid field.” What does ‘brushed’ mean?” “It should have missed by 8 lightyears.” Syndra’s eyes twitch and she says with a growl, “then why didn’t it? If every indicator pointed to a smooth launch and arrival, HOW DID YOU MISS?” Tolith inches backwards but Syndra makes up the distance. “ANSWER ME!” Tolith looks away for a second before returning eye contact, tears forming in his eyes. “I do not know, ma’am.” “Tolith, this launch was your last change to prove you’re capable of Weaver. If you dare come to me again without an explanation or with tears on your face, you’re done.” Syndra breathes deeply before continuing, “either get me some answers, or find someone who can. You’re dismissed.” “Yes ma’am.” Tolith quickly clicks his heel, turns, and exits the chamber. …
“So, what do we know?” “Well, we know that the impact planet is not new. Our models showed its existence and orbit well in advanced. What we don’t know is how it, or rather its whole system, moved 8 lightyears sideways.” Ava shuffles her drawings and hands a few off to an assistant, “put these in my archive.” “Do the models detail the planet that C42 hit? My scope wasn’t calibrated before the planet’s rotation obscured the impact zone.” “They do, but only the surface level details. It is habitable, but the ice shelf that C42 likely landed in doesn’t behave like we would expect.” Ava move around to the trance-bronze wall and tins a diagram of the planet before continuing, “at first glance, CL42 appears to be your typical dipole sphere. What doesn’t make sense is the amount of ice. We typically see about 20 to 25 degrees worth of ice caps. CL42 has 40.” She puts her palm on the board and re-tins it. The image is now zoomed in on the ice shelf of CL42. “Two things don’t make sense. First, the ice isn’t uniform around the planet. It only covers about 10 percent of the applicable surface area, but its rotation and tilt would suggest a more uniform distribution, as we see with other candidates. Second, the ice doesn’t appear to melt.” Ava re-tins to zoom in on the southern border of the ice. “It borders directly on a desert. There are no mountains between the shelf and the desert. Whatever is keeping this ice together is not natural. I’ve spoken with our best Terramancers, and every one of them say it has to be some sort of incredibly powerful sorcerer, or even god.” Tolith takes a deep breath and says, “And what did the Terrans say about C42’s chances? It was engineered for a forest, not a blizzard.” Ava sits down and leans back, “it’s fifty-fifty. There’s no consensus with the Terrans I spoke with. Some suggest that the new sanctuary spells will be enough, others say that even with the dome, if the ice regenerates or moves at all, the walls will be crushed one-by-one.” Ava clasps her hands behind her head and leans back further. “We have no choice but to wait and see. We should be hearing from C42 in a century or two. Until then, we can only hope.”