Alice reached up and behind her for the emergency launch wire, but in the dark, her body spinning with the craft’s tumbling roll, she couldn’t find it. She tried again. How long had they been falling? She had no idea; the ground must be seconds away at best. The spin continued, shaking so violently that Alice didn’t know what was up or down. She grasped behind her, desperate, the seat’s hard edges under her fingers, the weight of her helmet crushing. She traced left along its edge, blood filling her mouth. She screamed in fear, found the cable, and pulled hard.