Untimely Excursions
Page 40
“Yes, a lot of the aborigines around there had converted years ago to Christianity. But they still hold onto some of their ancient mystical beliefs. They knew that our father was from sometime in the future somehow. They also knew that he was there to protect all of humanity, including the aborigines. They trusted Father, who in turn, did his best to take care of them even from some government officials in Canberra on occasion.” Beatrice replied.
“Well, I am certainly glad that they are on our side. I wouldn’t want our baby brother to be flying up into space aboard a rocket where someone might have set it up to explode in midflight.” Sarah wryly commented.
“I agree. Even though James can be a pain in the arse sometimes, he’s still our brother. So I want his flight to the space station to go well also. Besides, there are three other people on the space plane too. We have to also think of them.” Beatrice laughed.
Her laughter was joined by that of her sisters as they good-naturedly joked about their absent brother.
Chapter Fifty-Six:
Cavil Aerospace Rocket Launch Center
Kalumburu, Western Australia
December 23, 1958
Judith, Beatrice and Sarah Cavill were all standing there at the launch control center along with Doctor von Braun as they looked out at the rocket waiting at the launch pad. On top of the rocket was one of the small space planes with a pilot and four passengers aboard along with a small amount of cargo. What made this launch particularly special was the fact that one of the space plane’s passengers was Judith’s younger brother James.
“How are you doing up there, James?” Judith asked from the launch control center. She was talking to her brother via a private radio frequency that had been set aside for them before the launch began.
“We are all doing fine, Judith. We are just waiting on the countdown so that we can launch this baby and start our way up to the space station.”
“Well, I guess that when you went ahead and got into that plane, you weren’t going to back out of this after all.” Sarah replied.
“You know that this has always been a dream of mine to fly into space. Now, I finally have a chance to do that. Besides, you know that I will actually have gainful employment up there too.”
“Yes, I know. You are going to be testing some of our new communications and optical technology that we are installing on our space station.”
James was overseeing the installation and testing of several ‘black boxes’ into the space station that the Cavills did not want anyone else to look into. These modules contained advanced technology that had been derived from their father’s twenty-first century computer database.
“That’s right. Once we get this equipment operational, then we will have an even greater degree of control over events. With the sensors that will soon be installed on the station, we will be able to save humanity for many generations to come.”
“You better get ready then because you only have another twenty-five seconds before your rocket lifts off for the space station.” Judith said taking another look at the countdown clock.
“I can’t wait!” The enthusiastic voice practically yelled over the radio.
The last few seconds of the launch countdown soon passed. A flash of light could be seen coming from the vicinity of the launch pad as the three powerful rocket motors ignited. Steam from the superheated water being sprayed on the launch pad poured off to the distance at the same time. Two seconds later, a pair of clamps released and the rocket leapt skyward atop a long column of flame.
Judith joined in applause with all of the people in the launch center as they watched the latest rocket soar higher and higher into the clear blue Australian sky.
The applause only got louder as they saw the successful separation of the first stage and ignition of the second stage. Eventually, the rocket flew out of site. But the telemetry coming into the launch center continued to show a flawless launch continuing.
“It looks like James is well on his way to the space station. I wish that I could join him there.” Werner told Judith.
“I know. Eventually, you will get your chance, Doctor. We still have some more modules to add to the station before it will be ready for you though. When you finally get to fly into space for the first time, we want you to realize your dreams in the fullest measure possible. A half-completed space station would simply not be appropriate for you to fly to.” Judith said with a mischievous smile.
For James, the launch was incredibly exciting. As soon as the retention clamps released after the rocket’s main engines fired, he felt himself being pinned to the back of his seat as the rocket accelerated skyward. James felt such utter joy as the entire space plane shook and rattled from the vibrations of the launch. But the exhilaration of the flight greatly outweighed any degree of discomfort that he felt.
There were a few moments of silence and freedom from the physical stresses of the launch after the first stage was jettisoned and before the second stage engines started. Then there was another kick in the back for James and the others in the space plane as the rocket resumed accelerating into orbit. Finally, the second stage motors shut down and the space plane detached from it for the final stretch to the space station.
The first stage was on its way back to earth. A drogue chute had stabilized the expended rocket in preparation for deployment of the rocket stage’s main parachute. The plan was to try to recover that expended stage, refurbish and reuse it. If successful, this process could substantially reduce the cost of launching even von Braun’s smaller rockets. This process was already being used for the first stage of the Sea Dragon heavy lift rockets.
The extended sensation of weightlessness was incredible for James. He had felt brief moments of it during his training as he spent time in a transport aircraft flying parabolic loops to simulate weightlessness. But this was far better for this first time astronaut. Even so, James had a few moments where he feared that nausea would overtake him as his inner ears fought to adjust to the sensation of weightlessness. But he managed to retain the contents of his stomach and avoid the embarrassment of having to use the nearby motion sickness bag.
“I’ve got the space station in sight. We are beginning to maneuver to match station roll in preparation for docking.” Robert Cordell, the space plane’s pilot, announced several hours after the space plane had reached its initial orbit.
James felt the space plane begin to roll after feeling several ‘bumps’ as the craft’s reaction thrusters fired. As the space plane closed with the station, a pair of doors opened in the top of the craft, exposing the cargo bay, the passenger module and its attached airlock. The space plane’s pilot caused the craft to rotate in synchronization with the space station’s own rotation.
Robert skillfully maneuvered the space plane with small bursts from its reaction thrusters until it made hard contact with the space station’s lower docking port. Once the space plane was locked into place with the space station’s docking port and pressurization confirmed, the conjoined hatches were opened so that James and the others could float gently ‘upward’ into the space station’s central core.
James got his footing inside and slowly moved over to a nearby communications panel. He then punched a couple of buttons that linked the panel to the main station communications array before speaking.
“Hello, there. This is Cavill Space Station One, James Cavill speaking. I wanted to let everyone from my home in Australia, especially my three sisters, know that I made it up here alright. The view of Earth from here is pretty incredible too.”
Judith was waiting already at the command center’s communications station when James transmitted his message. She quickly picked up the microphone and replied with a huge smile on her face.
“We are all glad to hear of your successful flight to the space station. Are you able to turn on one of the station television cameras for us?” She asked.
A few seconds later, an image appeared on one of the television monitors in the co
mmand center. James appeared on it. He was still wearing his pressure suit, but had removed his helmet. He was still smiling broadly as he looked into the lens of the camera.
“Can you see me now, Judith?”
“Yes, we can all see you now. Werner and everyone else here what to congratulate you and the rest of the crew for a successful flight. We wish you great success with your work on the station. We are looking forward to seeing Robert, Gerhard and Sally in a few days when they return back here to Kalumburu.”
“I’m sure that they are all anxious to get back home as well, Judith. After all, it’s going to be Christmas in just a few hours. In the meanwhile, I am looking forward to checking out my new quarters on the Number Two habitat ring. I am already missing the sense of a real feeling of ‘up and down’ around here. We are basically at zero-G here in the station core.”
“Then I better let you get moving there, James. I’m sure that you have a lot of work to do once you get settled in up there.”
“Thank you. I will talk to you again soon. Cavill Station out.” James replied before the video image from the station ended.
It had been over a week since James Cavill and the rest of the space plane’s passengers arrived at the Cavill Space Station. Three days later, after all of the cargo had been transferred from the space plane to the space station including the four ‘black boxes’ that James would be installing, the space plane detached from the station and returned to Earth. The space plane glided in to a safe touchdown at the Kalumburu landing strip with its pilot and two passengers.
James Cavill was looking down upon the earth from one of the observation windows located on the Cavill’s space station a couple of nights later. The station’s rotation had given him an incredible view of the Atlantic Ocean at what was about 0200 hours Greenwich Mean Time for about thirty seconds at a time before rotating back out towards space.
This was about the eighth rotation that James had spent looking down at the Earth’s surface that night when he suddenly saw a bright flash below somewhere in the South Atlantic, not too far from the West African coast. The flash was immediately followed by a bright orange fireball that slowly rose from the ocean. The fireball was so large that James could clearly see it even from the altitude of the space station.
James had seen that image far too many times before from the video records of his father’s computer data base. He immediately made his way as quickly as possible to the space station’s command center.
“I need some privacy here. Everyone please leave for a few minutes.” James sternly said as he stood next to the station’s primary communications console.
After everyone left, James dialed the main transmitter to a special private frequency and then called the closest Cavill Telecommunications ground station. A priority notification was immediately sent to Derby. Two minutes later, Judith’s voice was heard over the space station’s main receiver.
“What’s wrong, James?”
“I just witnessed a nuclear explosion in the South Atlantic from the space station. What we and our father were so afraid of has happened in spite of our best efforts.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m afraid so. There is absolutely no doubt of what I just saw. Someone just tested a nuclear weapon. The big question now is who?”
“I will start the search with every asset that we have available. We will find out who did this, I’m sure. We are also going to have accelerate our space exploration program as well. I know that once the rest of the world knows about the existence of nuclear weapons, other nations will start or accelerate their own programs to build them too.”
“Yes, but what will we do when we do discover who detonated that device?”
“Hopefully, we can convince them to stop their nuclear weapons program and redirect their expertise into nuclear energy production instead. If we are not successful, we need to start building weapons and other technology to stop these damned weapons too, you know.” James replied.
“Fair Dinkum, little brother. But we still have to be careful not to show off too much, too quickly. We don’t want someone to decide to drop one of those bloody things on top of us because they decide that we are too much of a threat either.”
“Then perhaps we should design defensive weapons that are based in space, far away from prying eyes.”
“That is going to require far more advanced technology, especially in terms of electronics and computing, than anything that we have built so far, even in our data center. But it is likely that no one will be able to build a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on a ballistic missile for at least a decade. That means that the primary delivery system for nuclear weapons will be conventional aircraft still.” Judith noted.
“That’s true. We’ve already started building missiles that can shoot down enemy bombers, even jet propelled aircraft. At least we can counter the potential threat for now.”
At an underground control room, thousands of miles away, several men and women looked over the test results from the nuclear test. None of them appeared to be particularly happy, but they all certainly were grimly satisfied with the results that a series of sensors located on ships near the test site had recorded.
“We must now build these damned things before anyone else can learn how to do so. I pray to God that we never have to use them.” One of the men told the others in the room.
“We have faced extermination far too often in our peoples’ history. Never again will we face it again unless, like Samson, our enemies will join us in oblivion at the same time.” A grey-haired man whose face showed the deep lines of having endured great depravation at some time in his life.
“Selah...” The others replied in unison.
Cast of Characters:
The Australians:
Harold Cavill : Originally James Stevenson from the year 2040
Judith Cavill: Harold and Dorothy Cavill’s oldest daughter
James Cavill: Harold and Dorothy Cavill’s son
Sarah Cavill: Harold and Dorothy’s daughter, twin to Beatrice
Beatrice Cavill: Harold and Dorothy’s daughter, twin to Sarah
Eric Poole: Cavill Ordnance chief weapons designer
Theodore Rosewood: program manager and chief engineer for Cavill Aviation
Tom Franklin: Cavill Industries Engineer
Terrance Cowell: Manager of the Kalumburu Rocket Test Facility
Colleen Taylor: Judith Cavill’s administrative assistant
Colonel Harlan Burke: Previous Australian Army commander of the Derby Militia
Daryl Clinksdale: Official from Australian Ministry of Telecommunications
Admiral Clayton Hawkes: Senior Royal Australian Navy Officer
Alec McClellan: Australian Minister for Trade and Industry
Major Derwin Durham: RAAF Test Pilot
Tim: Local Aborigine Chief
Lieutenant Commander Judson Wilkinson: Commander of HMAS Vampire
Captain Benjamin: Commander of Derby Militia engineer detachment
Alexander Portman: Chief Naval Architect for Cavill Shipyards.
Adam Findler: American-born mechanical engineer for Cavill Industries
Alex Boyd: Cavill Industries’ Industrial Supply and Sales Manager
Tom Franklin: Engineer for Cavill Industries
Warren Lockley: Manager of Cavill Industries’ UK division
Major Alvin Hart: Incoming Liaison from the Australian military for the Derby Militia
Lieutenant Commander William Howard: Commander of HMAS Vendetta
Justin Attaway: Cavill Industries overseas contract specialist
Commander Edward Simmons: HMAS Australia First Officer
Captain Terrance Walker: Commander of HMAS Australia
Lieutenant Angus Hartmann: HMAS Australia naval intelligence analyst
Flight Lieutenant Owen Cambridge: Pilot of Cavalier Flying Boat – Seahawk One
Flying Officer Nigel Powers: Dragonfly-J pilot
Fly
ing Officer Thomas Fortham: Dragonfly-J pilot
Lieutenant Commander Arthur Cadwell: HMAS Australia Alpha Air Strike Commander
Lieutenant Commander Brian Locksley: Seahawk One’s observer and intelligence analyst
Lieutenant Commander Lee Watersford: HMAS Australia Bravo Air Strike Commander
Major Carl Mason: Commander of Australian Royal Marine assault force
Captain Sterling Hawthorne: Commander of HMAS Melbourne
Commander Erik Littner: HMAS Melbourne First Officer
Commander Julian Atworth: HMAS Melbourne Air Group Leader
Captain Adrian Westover: RAN liaison to Cavill Shipyards
Clive Blakeslee: Australian Minister of Transportation
Douglas Morrison: Australian Parliament Member
Robert Cordell: Space Plane Pilot
The British:
Winston Churchill: UK Wartime Prime Minister
Air Marshal Cliff Warfield: Commander of RAF Bomber Command
Squadron Leader Albert Connelly: RAF Bomber Squadron commander
Richard Carter: British Defense Minister
Air Marshall Alexander: Commander of RAF Fighter Commander
Anthony Eden: UK Foreign Secretary
Patrick Montegue: Junior Deputy Secretary for the Foreign Office
Captain Alfred Collingsworth: Commander of HMS Newfoundland
Lord Louis Mountbatten: First Sea Lord
Charles Windsor: Heir to the British Throne
Captain Roger Stewart: Commander of HMS Ark Royal
Commander Timothy Collins: HMS Ark Royal’s First Officer
Admiral Thaddeus Harris: Royal Navy Task Force Commander
Lieutenant Commander Isaiah Penderton: HMS King George V’s Chief Intelligence Officer
The Germans:
Werner Von Braun: Chief Rocket Scientist on the V-2 and later on Cavill Aerospace rocket program