The planet before them had grown immensely during this conversation. Now it completely filled the viewscreen, its curvature barely visible. Guybrush thought he could already feel the resistance of the outer layers of atmosphere on Boss Hog's hull.
"Maybe I better pilot us down," said Elaine.
"That won't be necessary," said Guybrush. "All we have to do is plummet and wait for the retro rockets to fire. Just sit back and enjoy the show."
Licks of pale red were flickering at the edge of the viewscreen.
"These retro rockets..." said Elaine, "are you absolutely sure they'll fire at the right time?"
"Completely automatic," said Guybrush. "The firing system is linked to the gravity field and velocity detection systems. We'll land so soft you won't even feel it."
"Yes, but this ship isn't exactly in mint condition..."
The viewscreen was now tinted a deep red. Boss Hog seemed to have grown an outer layer of fire. Through the heat they could see masses of grey cloud and shimmering oceans.
The ship began to shake as the atmosphere grew thicker. Wally, ever helpful, had done some keyboard punching and now there was just a single number displayed on the computer readout - their current speed.
"I'm feeling this," said Elaine.
"Turbulence," said Guybrush. "It'll smooth out when we get into the lower atmosphere. See - velocity's dropping already."
The planet surface was still rushing at them very fast. It was very blue. A new thought struck Elaine. "We are headed for land, aren't we? I'd rather not have us sinking into the ocean."
They lost visibility at the moment - either they'd hit their first cloud, or the shield of fire had become opaque. Their speed had dropped to a thousand kilometres an hour.
"Yes, we're headed for land," said Guybrush, annoyed at all these questions. "A big wide flat piece of land close to a lake, a forest of some kind and some pretty little hills. Now stop worrying and shut up."
The opaque mask in front of them faded somewhat, and they could see the surface clearly. It was a patchwork of gray, green and brown, interspersed with smooth curves of blue sea. Guybrush was right, they were headed straight for a flat, unremarkable piece of land.
Wally watched the viewscreen in awe. To imagine they were the first humans to ever see this world... A whole world that nobody knew about, only them... Before he could finish one thought, he was on to the next. Incredible...
Their speed had dropped below 500 km/h. As the surface before them grew, Guybrush felt like someone examining a specimen through a microscope. Every layer of magnification brought out new details. Their landing site was yellow and sandy. To the north was a thick forest - dark and mysterious. A lake, its surface pale blue, sat somewhere to the southeast. A low, knobbly mountain range to the west.
Now their speed was below 300 km/h. "Slower than a freefalling human," said Guybrush.
Elaine wasn't so sanguine. "We're going too fast. We won't pull up in time..."
The land below seemed close enough to touch. Speed below 100 km/h. Guybrush could see an upright, almost pyramidical rock jutting out of the sand. They were going to land right next to it...
"Hold on..." said Elaine.
With their speed at 5 km/h, Boss Hog hit the surface. There was a slight jarring thud, then they were still.
Elaine looked around, selfconsciously. An anticlimax after all. She looked out the viewscreen.
They all were. Before them was a vista of sand and vegetation.
"We're here," said Guybrush.