The stall warning stopped. The Stratos S12 stabilized below 1,000 ft. No one in the control room celebrated yet because Daniel still had to bring the aircraft home. The automated fuel system had been isolated completely, which meant Daniel now had to fly the return manually for the rest of the approach. Nathan guided him to keep the landing gear extended and avoid reactivating the faulty controller by accident.
Fire and medical crews moved into position along the runway. Audrey ordered every guest moved away from the danger zone. Despite the event still broadcasting live to viewers around the world, Daniel brought the S12 around toward final approach. A strong crosswind off the coast pushed the aircraft slightly off center. Nathan did not interfere with the flying itself.
He stayed silent, letting Daniel focus entirely on the controls. Daniel touched down hard, tires striking the runway with force, but the aircraft held its line and rolled to a stop. For a moment, nobody moved. The engines wound down, and the only sound across the tarmac was the distant whale of the emergency vehicle still rolling into position. Arrive as after the danger had already passed.
No one was hurt. Daniel climbed down from the cockpit and walked past Audrey, past Robert, now restrained by security, past the entire crowd of reporters who had gathered again along the fence line. He stopped in front of Nathan. "You saved me a second time," Daniel said. "You're the one who brought it down," Nathan answered.
"But you made sure I still had an aircraft left to bring down. " The two men shook hands. Audrey stood a short distance away, watching. She understood that the man she had humiliated less than an hour earlier had done far more than prove his identity. He had saved a pilot, a company, and everyone standing near the far end of the runway. Security handed Audrey the storage drive recovered from Robert.
Inside, they found more than evidence of a counterfeit part. They found the original design files, each early version carrying Nathan Mercer's name at the top of the page, long before anyone had erased it. It was proof that had existed the entire time, waiting only for someone willing to look. Audrey suspended the entire Stratos program that same day. She ordered the S12 sealed, all data backed up, Robert placed on immediate suspension, and federal investigators along with an independent aviation safety board brought in.
She forbade anyone from deleting or altering a single record. The communications team suggested announcing that the incident had resulted from pilot error, a version of events that would protect the stock price through the afternoon. Audrey refused. She told them that if the company kept hiding the truth, it would be no different from Robert. That refusal marked the second stage of her redemption.