by D A Buckley
“Just great,” Ramos whined again. “My first trip into space is going to be my last.”
“Aw, don’t pay her no never mind,” a male voice came over the earpiece. The Capn’s just joshin’ you. She gets a little annoyed when changes are made at the last minute and cargo that was loaded has to be unloaded and then new cargo that was not loaded has to be loaded. It kinda messes with her biorhythms or so she says. Personally, I think she should have been medically retired years ago. But then she’s the only one that will fly this beat-up old wreck.”
Wanda Mosey and her co-pilot, Theodore Abbot, were both laughing on the flight deck over their antics in intimidating the first human cargo they’ve transported in a long time. Harassing air-breathing passengers, especially these obvious nubes, was just too much to resist. It provided a welcome relief to making one more uneventful round trip to LBA and back. Nothing of interest ever happened on these endless milk runs. Just over a year ago, the last time they had human cargo on board, they actually activated the cargo bay fire alarm just after initiating the engine burn to leave earth. It’s difficult to clean up in-suit accidents on a supply freighter. Especially in zero gravity. Unfortunately, they were big-time contributors. When they over-embellished, in Captain Mosey’s opinion anyway, their little adventure to Mr. Perkins upon arrival at LBA,Wanda and Teddy were grounded and nearly fired. What saved their bacon was when Wanda told the story from her perspective to Mr. Perkins himself. Wanda’s Texas accent and theatrical embellishments of critical aspects of the embarrassed passengers hosing out there suits and then each other with a high-pressure hose in weightless space almost caused Mr. Perkins to wet himself with laughter. He just couldn’t bring himself to fire them but he did threaten to demote them to cargo specialists, which included a very substantial cut in pay. Still, it had been over a year since then and, well, they just couldn’t restrain themselves any longer.
If Ramos had been familiar with the naming protocol for freighters registered to the TRIAD he would know that this was actually one of the newest spaceframes in the fleet. Captain Mosey was one of the most senior pilots and Flight Officer Abbot was being promoted to Primary Pilot and Captain upon return from this flight. Knowing that their breathing cargo lacked that information made the twenty-three-hour flight all the more enjoyable…for them.
“Here we go,” Wanda called over the intercom. And with that, she hit the engine cutoff switch and flickered the cargo bay lights. The flickering lights and the sound of the engines winding down convinced Ramos and his companions that their short lives would soon be over in a ball of fire as they imagined themselves tumbling through space and burning up in the earth’s atmosphere.
“Well blast it all to hell and back,” Teddy complained. “I told you, Cap. You gotta wait until those maintenance pukes leave the exhaust manifold before you start the engines. They’re gonna make you pay for the clean-up, Cap. I don’t know why you don’t just wait until you get the all clear before starting the engines. If you tore up the blast attenuators we could be held up here for days.”
The orbital platform control crew was listening in and couldn’t help but join in on the fun. “Captain Mosey, this is dispatch control. How many engines are you going to destroy before you learn to wait for our All Clear signal? Now this time you’re lucky. The maintenance crew had just come inside before you attempted engine startup but they had not yet retracted the subspace antimatter conversion inhibitor…”
Captain Mosey looked at Teddy with a crinkled nose and squinted eyes and spoke with mocking incredulity back to the control office, “Dispatch control, what in the world is a subspace antimatter conversion inhibitor?”
“I haven’t got time to bring you two losers up to speed on ship control upgrades. If you to cowboys would spend more time in the simulator and less time at the crew bar… Oh, man,” the dispatcher sighed out loud feigning exasperation. “Look at the blinking amber light on the left side of the hyperdrive fuel induction manifold pressure gauge. Do you see the illuminated button that says ‘Safety’ on it?”
“Well, lookie there, Teddy. I ain’t never seen an amber colored button afore.”
“Me neither, Cap. But that sure is a pretty one.”
“Okay Zero-One-Three-Niner-Alpha,” dispatch control answered. “Just press that button and you can restart your engines and resume departure. By the way, have you noticed the biometrics on your three PAX? They’re all three unconscious.” The laughter over the comms was loud. “Looks like you two are fired for sure this time. Hoo, hoo.”
The laughter from the control office faded as Captain Mosey restarted the engines and departed the space dock with a jolt. The jolt shook Ramos and his companions awake, all three screaming as if on the top of a rollercoaster heading straight down. Their sense of terror was so overwhelming that none of them noticed the glow of light coming from the inspection window of the metallic case holding the hard drive that now contained J-Squared. Somebody else was also awake.
*****
“You asked to see me, Ying?” Qing Shan, Director of Biological Research entered the sterile room in the Science Research Work Center, or SRWC.
Ying Yue Jiang turned toward the voice and bowed slightly. “Yes, Director. Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“Ying, you have made more practical breakthroughs than any other researcher in this Work Center. When you call I break into a sweat and my scalp starts itching. One of these days you are going to find a cure for the cold.”
“I have found chicken soup to be a great way to treat for the common cold, Director.”
“Funny,” Director Shan smiled, “you don’t look Jewish.”
Ying smiled back. “There may have been some indiscretion in my lineage generations ago. I have not pursued the knowledge of my ancestry. I’m afraid there might be some dragon thieves back there somewhere.” Ying smiled even more.
“I see your Australian boyfriend is having quite an effect on you. I should never have let you visit the PDC. The only thing more intolerable than a Texan is an Australian from Texas. Yee Haw! Watch me brand my kangaroo,” Director Shan made a branding motion with his hands.
Ying’s eyes brightened as she laughed. “You are such Dag. As Logan would say…mate.”
“Seriously Ying,” Director Shan questioned. “Can we get to your monumental discovery of the day before you try to get me to eat vegemite again?”
“I don’t know what you’re complaining about. Logan loves vegemite.”
“I call it, ‘vomit in a can’, Ying.”
Ying laughed out loud. “So do I. It’s awful. I don’t know how he eats that stuff.” Ying pinched her nose indicating disgust. “Okay then, here it is.” And with that Ying opened a glass cabinet door and pulled out an Ovarian Gel Pack and handed it to Shan.
“This is why you called me down here?” he asked quizzically. “You have already been recognized as one of the greatest minds in science for inventing the OGP. You want another trophy or did you forget your Nobel Prize in microbiology?”
“No, of course not.” Holding up the Gell Pack she continued, “This OGP is filled with over two-hundred thousand microbubbles. Each bubble contains at least ten ova of different species of animal. Each bubble contains a different species. All of them are inseminated. The gel, if kept between one and five degrees Celsius, will be preserved in stasis indefinitely. If the Ark finds a suitable home with no life they can now seed the planet with life from the earth. I believe the OGP’s can now also be adjusted slightly and will do the same with germinated vegetables, insects, even microorganisms. The OGP incubators were over-engineered for the Ark and can easily accommodate the new additions. They can reproduce much of the biological life of the earth if they choose when they arrive.”
“This is wonderful, Ying.” Director Shan’s eyes welled with tears as he shook her hand and flashed a wide approving smile.
Ying saw the director’s response and knowing the reason her eyes also welled with tears. “I am so sorry that
this technology is far too late for the Pandas and the Bengals, Director. I was looking at some archeological carvings at the research library last month. I saw carvings of Emperors being pulled in chariots drawn by dragons, undoubtedly Stegosaurs. I cross-referenced that to twentieth-century finds of Plesiosaurs. There are so many that I have come along too late to save. It breaks my heart.” Tears rolled down her ocre blush covered cheeks.
“Yes, mine too.” Shan straightened himself. “But what you have accomplished is monumental. Will they truly endure four thousand years?”
“I cannot absolutely guarantee that the ova will remain viable that long. But my best studies indicated that, like the human ova, at least some will survive with minimal degradation of the DNA. Either their epigenetic mechanisms will repair the deficiencies or a new catastrophic event will force the human genome to adapt. Whether the adaptation will be fatal or beneficial…I cannot know. But I promise that this is the very best solution that I can provide. The compartment in Ark II where the OGP’s will be maintained will be heavily shielded, including three meters of water, so that the risk of radiation damage should be attenuated almost entirely. But the truth is nothing can be accurately predicted for such a length of time.”
“You are right, of course, Ying. Are you ready to move these to the Ark? The OGP incubators have been installed and tested. I saw them yesterday. I don’t know why it struck me this way but they looked to me like vending machines.”
“With your permission, I would like to place them tomorrow, sir. I have reserved space on the fourteen-thirty shuttle.”
“I will inform Mr. Perkins immediately. I am certain that he will be very pleased. You have made me very proud Ying Yue. Your father and mother will be very proud as well.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“LBA Approach Control this is LBA-0139A declaring an emergency,” Captain Mosey’s voice was level but serious.
“Roger LBA-0139A. This is LBA Approach Control, state your emergency and souls aboard.
“LBA Approach Control we have taken several strikes directly through our antimatter conversion matrix. Indicator gauges are past max critical expect…”
“LBA-0139A this is LBA Approach Control, we did not receive your last…say again all after max critical.”
“LBA-0139A, say again, we can’t hear you. “Oh my God, Jeff look at that.”
All four controllers followed the pointed finger of the Senior Approach Controller upward and saw LBA-0139A tumbling out of control across the dark sky glowing cherry red just ahead of the main engine where the antimatter conversion matrix was located.
“Their matrix is fried,” the senior controller stated matter-of-factly. Reflexively he flipped the protective glass cover of the general alarm impact button and pressed the button hard. Instantly the general alarm annunciator sounded throughout every workstation. All pressure doors immediately slid closed and locked. Everyone scrambled to retrieve and don their pressure suits. “I see one,” said one of the controllers when Wanda and Teddy ejected in the flight deck ejection capsule.
Captain Mosey’s voice was still level and professional when she spoke through her Ejection Activated Rescue Communicator. “LBA Control,” “Emergency, emergency, emergency. This is Captain Wanda Mosey. We have ejected from LBA-0139A. We lost all control functions and sensors showed the immediate risk of an explosion. There are three PAX and a priority package in the hold. Are you receiving the EPIRB Control?”
“Roger LBA-0139A, this is LBA Control. We have you and your ship visual. EPIRB is pinging. No explosion is visible at this time. Hoping for the best. We have control of your pod. We will bring you to closest rescue point adjacent to the PDC. How copy, over?”
“Roger, roger, roger. Clear copy, control. We are okay here. Please find my PAX.”
The senior controller grabbed the phone from its cradle and depressed the button labeled “PDC.” It rang twice before it was answered. “PDC, Logan here, mate. We see the escape capsule. It appears to be headed to recovery point two. We are leaving now and will be there in ten.”
“Roger, Logan. Be advised medical is departing LBA Main now in Medical Jumper 004 and will meet you there…approximate same time.”
“LBA Approach Control, this is Mosey, are you launching a Jumper to the crash site? Did you copy there are three PAX on board as well as the special package? LBA Approach, I didn’t see my navigator eject. He was in the loo outside of the capsule when things went south on us. I hit the button but I don’t see him. Can you confirm ejection?”
“Roger Captain Mosey. And negative on navigator eject. No visual confirmation. Captain, the High Guard satellite just pinpointed impact approximately three-hundred twenty klicks northwest of LBA Main. The Med Jumper is lifting off now. ETA crash site is four and a little bit. Sat Cam shows no explosion. We may get lucky.”
“Roger. Mmatrix lockdown initiated upon meteor strike but all indicators went dead before we could verify. There could still be a critical rupture of the overflow lockdown tank. Advise caution to the Med Team and be advised we lost some metal up there.” Wanda’s concern was evident in her voice.
“Debris loss noted, Captain. We all know our jobs. LBA Approach Control out.”
*****
“Man I hate these constant impact drills,” Zero Gravity Welding Specialist Master Grade Neis Frandsen complained stepping out of the jogging wheel. “It’s been more than a week since I’ve been able to get to the gym and do some hard running. I heard that there are at least twelve pneumonia cases on the station right now due to lack of exercise.”
“Get suited up, Neis,” Zero Gravity Welder Specialist Second Grade Ivan Hendrickson cautioned pointing to the camera in the far corner. “Big mother is watching us. Not suiting up during an alarm is a red card. They’ll put your butt on the next freighter home. That would be very bad for me. They will move Nicolas up to your slot and I’ll never get his eyes off of my butt. You know what they need here, Neis?”
“Forget it, Ivan. It’s never going to happen. They are not going to waste space and resources on a red light district at LBA. The wives and husbands back home would go postal at the Corporate Offices.”
“Well, okay, but how about a dating service? Can’t someone organize a dating service for us young and eligibles? Not that I mind watching your glutes in the running cage…but you’re more like a mother figure to me, boss. Dear God, I’m wasting all my free time in the gym with my mother”
Neis sealed the helmet of her pressure suit and then answered, “Well, I can do something about your free time…”
The first indicator of a tragedy was when her ears popped rather painfully from the room depressurization and then the sudden repressurization she felt as her suit instantly inflated. Next was the darkness as the overhead lights went out and the emergency lights kicked in. Then the horrifying and nauseating sight of seeing the cloud of red droplets of blood floating upward from the bottom of the top half of Ivan’s body as it soundlessly tumbled away from the giant sheet of metal fallen from freighter LBA-0139A that had sliced through the thinner top of the observation room and cut him instantly in half at the midsection. As his torso slowly spun around Neis could clearly see an expression of surprise on Ivan’s face as he silently mouthed, “Goodbye, Neis.”
*****
“LBA Approach, this is Medical Jumper Zero-Zero-Four. Approaching the crash site now.”
“Roger Zero-Zero-Four, receiving your camera feed, telemetry and sensor feed. We advise extreme caution. Antimatter is showing way too high on sensors for you to land.”
“Roger LBA Control, we concur. We are following the debris field northwest. One shredded body. Lots of debris. Lots of equipment. Antimatter readings dropping. Wait one…looks like… footprints and drag marks. Sort of wandering. Hold on, I’ve got a flash from our searchlight ahead. Tally ho on a white and red strobe…possible survivor. Rescue do you see what we see?”
“Roger, Zero-Zero-Four. With these readings, you get no more than three mi
nutes on the ground make it count.”
*****
“Well hello, Meri. Two calls in one week. Should I take this as some level of …”
Katherine’s attempt at innocent flirting was abruptly rebuffed. “Katherine, I’m sorry to cut you off but there has been a serious incident regarding J-Squared. The freighter on which they were being transported has crashed.”
“Oh my God, Meri. Oh, my God.” Dr. Mathis dropped her mug of coffee onto the table in front of her. “All these years, all this work, and it ends in a crash?”
“Well, we don’t know…I don’t know for certain that it is over. We have a Rescue Jumper at the crash site. It appears that there might be a survivor. How? I cannot yet fathom, but someone has moved away from the crash site and appears to be dragging something. Let me conference you into the Rescue Jumper Zero-Zero-Four directly. You should have them now, Katherine.”