A weak message came through the communicator.
The prisoner's voice was barely clear. "Control room...open manual route...we can reverse engines...need forward pull disabled."
Lu Zhen found the propulsion display. "The front of the vessel is being pulled toward the alien side by the navigation lock. We need to break that connection while they reverse the engines."
Leng Pan looked toward the gate anchor controls linked to the main system. "We could use the anchor to create a coordinate behind us."
"You mean opening a second connection toward Earth."
"Not a complete gate. We only need enough spatial force to pull the vessel backward."
Lu Zhen studied the controls. "Could you stabilize it without connecting the anchor to your space?"
"I could use the Primary Passage itself. We only need to reverse its direction through the vessel."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It is less dangerous than opening an uncontrolled gate inside the energy chamber."
