A few quite grumbles can be heard from within the crowd.
Cindy understands their concerns, but she has to make this project work. “Those that feel they are unable to adjust can walk down that ramp, right now!” She points over their heads to the open ramp. “There are literally millions of people out there that would do anything to be here.”
John walks up to Cindy with determination, his blue eyes piercing her own. They stare at each other silently for a brief moment. He then turns to face the crowd, his expression stern. Many are expecting a debate, none could have anticipated his response.
“As Captain of the Terran, I concur with Cindy.” He glances briefly down at the shorter woman, offering her an unexpected and supportive smile. A few of those in the crowd stare back at him incredulously. Turing back to face the few complainants amongst those gathered he continues matter-of-factly. “No matter how hard it is for some, we must be on the same page if we wish to make all this work.” He waves his arms to indicate the spaceship they are in. “I suggest we get conversion charts and place them in prominent places.”
When he pauses Cindy speaks up again, her tone softer. “In three days we seal the ship and test her systems. If all goes well we will launch the day after that. Time to get cracking.” The crowd dissipates slowly, some still grumble begrudgingly.
George gazes around the ship he has spent so much time working on. In a few days time you launch, then I get to go back to a normal life with my family. The thought comes unbidden, mixed with a little sadness. He smiles though, as he runs through his own checklist of tasks yet to do. It’s a short list now, but it will keep him very busy.
Pre Launch
The three days are a crazy whirlwind of activity. Amazingly enough everything that had to be done, has been done. Each of the twenty nuclear reactors have been started, the temporary generators removed. Vast amounts of fuel and seemingly mountains of supplies have been loaded in anticipation of a successful test. The Terran rests inside its monstrous cradle, forty-eight massive booster rockets are now attached strategically beneath it. No one really knows for sure if these will provide enough thrust. There are just too many variables and unknowns.
George, totally exhausted from the long days, is sleeping when Cindy comes knocking on their door. Reluctantly, Lisa wakes him up. “Cindy says she needs to speak with you.” Lisa’s hands are on her hips, disapprovingly.
Wiping sleep from his eyes he walks with Lisa to the living room, they find Cindy waiting patiently. “Just getting a nap. What’s going on?” He says, stifling a yawn. Johnny comes out of his room and stands next to his dad, looking up at him, he also wants to see what this is all about.
Cindy glances at Lisa, then Johnny, before she begins.“Well, I had assumed you would be coming with us when we launched. But today I find out that you’re not planning on coming at all.”
George ruffles Johnny’s hair, then smiling at his wife replies politely. “I have done all I can. There is no need for me to go with you when you launch. Olaf can operate the body suit, it was his originally anyway.”
“But, don’t you want to come with us?” Cindy can’t believe that after all his efforts he does not want to go.
“I have neglected my family for long enough, it’s time they received my attention.” George turns and gives Lisa a warming smile.
“But what if we need your expertise?” Cindy is almost pleading now.
“Ohh, I am no expert. Besides, once the test is a success, everything will to be ready to go.” He is quite resolute.
Lisa, with a frown on her brow, looks steadfastly at Cindy as she speaks up. “Won’t this be a one way trip? I mean, even if the ship does take off, it can’t land again? Right?”
It suddenly dawns on Cindy that Lisa is scared her husband won’t be coming back. With an inward groan she realizes that this could very well be a suicide mission. She has no right to demand that of George, nor his family. “You are quite within your rights to be concerned. It will be a dangerous undertaking. There are many things that could go wrong, but these are the very reasons that I want George on board.” Turning to George, his silence is her only reply. With a sigh she turns to leave, then in one last ditch effort quietly adds. “At least consider it. I am delaying the system test until tomorrow. You are going to be there for that, aren’t you?”
George nods, “yes, of course, just not for the actual launch.”
Once Cindy has gone, Lisa considers the situation carefully. She gazes lovingly at her husband, who wears a slightly troubled look on his brow. Walking over to him, she breaks the silence.
“She is right you know!”
George counters distantly, “it’s too risky, we have done more than enough.”
Johnny being forgotten, looks up at his parents, his voice one of mild surprise. “You don’t want to go? But that would be too cool. My dad the spaceship hero.”
George ruffles his son’s hair again, “I am no hero son.”
“Sure you are, everyone says so. You can do anything.” Johnny replies as he looks up adoringly at his father.
“I have had help,” he says as he subconsciously touches his ear which still has the tiny translator in it. Between that and the ability to use the Gamin body suit, he does not feel special at all. “I just use the tools at my disposal, anyone could have done the same, given the opportunity.”
Lisa casts her eyes down for a moment as she ponders the situation.
“Will the system test be dangerous?”
George considers the question for a moment as his frown deepens.
“You know, I am not sure.”
Turing his thoughts from the test he looks at his wife, really looks at her, as he has not done so in quite some time. Her long dark hair and European features that attracted him many years ago are still there. He runs his fingers over her face, she closes her dark eyes as he touches her high cheek bones. Her beauty and style is almost aristocratic in nature, as though noble blood flowed through her veins.
He sleeps fitfully that night as strange dreams occupy his thoughts. In some he watches the Terran taking off, in others it explodes spectacularly. Lisa lays awake for a long time, she is excited for him, yet nervous at the same time. A part of her is also feeling selfish, she knows deep down that he would like to be on board during the launch.
Systems Test
Cindy, once again, stands before the assembled crowd in the Terran’s hold. “This systems check is crucial folks. I want all department heads at their stations, all support staff are to remain on board as we test the various systems. We will not be igniting the supplementary rockets, but just about everything else will be tested.” She is smiling with excitement, it’s really happening.
George stands hand in hand with Lisa and Johnny as Cindy rambles on, looking down he smiles at his son. “Okay, Johnny you need to go with your mother…”
“Ohh dad!”, he interrupts, “but it’s just a test, I want to stay.”
“Yes, today is just a test. But if something goes wrong, I don’t want to be worrying about you as well as trying to help.” He gives Lisa a meaningful look.
Gazing back at him, her feelings are a mixture of pride and apprehension. Giving him a huge hug and kiss she looks around one more time. “Let’s hope this test goes well. Be safe! See you in time for dinner.”
Johnny drags his feet as he walks reluctantly down the ramp, trailing his mother. The very same ramp that many months ago saw Radclyf and Hayato cautiously leading their teams up to investigate this strange find in the desert. So much has happened since then. With a final wave, George watches his family until they are gone from his sight.
Refocusing on the task at hand George heads to where his body suit is stored, well Olaf’s suit really, but his for now. Stepping backwards into it, the suit closes around him, a helmet swings down, and the familiar kaleidoscope of colors wash over him. Though the suit is a little bulky, he has no trouble maneuvering it around. Checking its power levels, he heads to th
e bridge area. Cindy has insisted that he be on the bridge in the body suit as a precautionary measure.
Arriving at the bridge George spots Cindy seated in the centrally located command chair. Calling it a chair is an absolute understatement. Appearing as though carved from a single multi-colored opal, it dominates the raised central dais. The padded seat and backrest are covered with what appear to be leather hide which adds to the rustic look of this seat. Before this dais are four consoles each with their own large yet less impressive chairs.
Captain John Thompson occupies one of these work stations, while Andrew and Joe each have their own. John switches his attention from the alien console to a conventional one that has been added recently. Andrew and Joe sit quite excitedly, reviewing their own consoles, along with laptop computers that rest nearby. Andrew’s oceanic blue eyes sparkle at the excitement of the days upcoming tests. He turns and smiles, giving George a wave in acknowledgement of his appearance. It’s obvious to George that everyone is a little relieved upon his arrival. His eyes follow the many cables that snake their way to the various bridge terminals from the Japanese built supercomputer. As his eyes rove the room he can see Peter occupying the last of the four main terminals in front of Cindy’s command chair. Before them all is a large view screen, which also doubles as a window. The dry dusty desert synonymous with the Australian Outback stares bleakly back.
The amazing computer system has somehow earned the innocuous nickname of, GUS (Gamin Umbilical System). Even when running through a special buffer circuit, the sheer incompatibility of the alien technology makes a direct connection to a Gamin terminal a risky endeavor. Joe found this out the hard way, when his laptop burned out even with a buffer circuit in place. GUS however, is able to handle the data exchange, though it too still requires very specialized buffer circuits in order to avoid an overload. With so much hinging on these buffer circuits working Cindy is relieved that there inventor, George, is with them.
“OK,” says Cindy, “here we go.” Pressing one of many buttons on her chair’s in-built console, she activates the internal communications system. “All stations report.” One by one department heads report their readiness. “Captain John, will you do the honors?”
John looks at his console, its many alien words and symbols supplemented with sticky notes. A temporary terminal connected to GUS sits next to him as the rocket booster control.
“Yes, ma’am.” After a slight pause, he touches a symbol on the console before him. “Closing the ramp.” A symbol on his terminal lights up.
Everyone holds their breath. The ship has a lot more people on board than its official launch crew. Many of these ‘extras’ watch as the massive ramp lifts up. It grinds noisily into place thanks to the sand that accompanies it. With a clang that reverberates throughout the hold, the ramp stops. A few additional noises can be heard from the inner workings as it seals in place. Observers from outside watch in awe as armor plates slide over the ramp area, further sealing the craft. Within one minute of John touching the control, the outer hull over the ramp looks to be one impervious sheet of interlocking armor.
John lifts his hands away from the alien terminal in surprise. “George, what’s this? I just touched one symbol, but come quick, look at my console!”
George steps closer as Joe leans over to look as well. “Well, now that’s interesting!”
“George!” Cindy says with a little too much anxiousness. “Now is not the time to be coy. WHAT is interesting?” She too is leaning forward in her command chair, a little apprehensively.
Before he can reply the sound of hissing fills the bridge, indeed it can be heard throughout the entire ship. George responds calmly. “The ship has detected a ‘seal’ and has automatically enabled life support systems.” He smiles at the simplicity of the system.
“Oh my,” says Cindy in shock as she gets a whiff. “It’s poison! Open the ramp.”
George holds up his arm, which being as he is in the suit, looks pretty menacing. “Hold up on that,” he says calmly. “What did you think the Gamin breathed? This is their ‘air’, we’re fine.”
John, with a finger poised over a symbol on his console, looks back at Cindy. “Your orders?”
She shakes her head and stabs at the communications control on her chair in annoyance. “All hands, do not be alarmed. The air you’re breathing is not harmful.” She glances at George questioningly. As he shakes his head from side to side she continues. “We will provide further details shortly.” Glaring at George she says “You knew this would happen?”
“Of course,” he replies with complete innocence. “This is what they breathe.” Almost as an afterthought he adds. “Oh, you better be ready for the heavier gravity too.”
John glances at the many consoles around the bridge area. It seems as if they are all displaying similarly lit lights and symbols. He watches in fascination, as new symbols light up. “Something is happening, and I think it’s ship wide.” A few of these symbols go blank after a moment, including the first one engaged, but this goes unnoticed, for now.
Cindy again jabs a finger to the communications symbol.
“All hands, prepare for internal gravity.” Lifting her finger up she again glares at George, “how heavy?”
“Ohh, about fifteen percent over Earth’s” It suddenly dawns on him that in all the talks they have had, these minor details never came up.
Reopening communications, Cindy continues. “Expect the gravity to be about fifteen percent over what we’re used to people.” A slight cough escapes her as the nauseating air thickens.
Even as her message echoes throughout the ship, objects that are leaning against walls slip and fall to the ground at the extra force suddenly exerted upon them. The wings on all three shuttles dip and flex a little. Kitchen hands curse and swear, as pots and pans fall from where they were carefully stacked.
“George, George, George. We are going to have to talk about this later on. In the mean time, are there any more surprises?”
“I figured that all those science types would have let you know.” He shrugs his shoulders naively.
“Well,” Cindy instructs, “we will need to fix the ‘air’, and the gravity before we launch!”
John, Joe, and Andrew all nod in agreement, looking quite squeamish as the foul air circulates.
George frowns at this. “The air filters may be something we can adjust, but the gravity, I wouldn’t dare touch it.”
John turns to George, his face a little green, “why not?”
George opens his mouth in disbelief. “No one told you how the ‘RMC’ works?”
Even Joe turns with Andrew to look at George now. “RMC? What the heck is that?”
George goes to rub his forehead in frustration, but instead only succeeds in banging his helmet with the suit’s arm. “It stands for Relativistic Mass Compensator, it’s a space flight system.” Sweat starts to drip down his face, all of a sudden he feels very hot.
He steps clumsily over to John’s terminal and points. “It’s that symbol.” George’s eyes open wide as an unease enters his voice. “Umm. Why is it lit?”
“Hey.” Says John in indignation. “I just touched one symbol, all this other ‘stuff’, well it just happened.”
“Reactor control, calling command.” The message comes over the bridge speakers carrying with it an ominous tone.
Cindy, feeling bewildered replies. “Reactor control, we have a lot going on up here, is this important?”
“Well, that depends? We’re monitoring the reactors, and all twenty of them are at one hundred percent. You guys are pulling a ton of juice up there with your tests.”
“One hundred percent...” Cindy is barely aware that she has touched her panel as she absorbs the information.
‘Yes ma’am, and GUS wants more, but the safeties won’t let the computer take more without authorization.”
Cindy looks to her bridge crew. “Well, any theories?”
Everyone shakes their heads, even
George.
“Oh no, no!” George tilts his head to one side as he studies John’s terminal. “Those symbols that are lit, they are not the ramp controls.” He feels sick to his stomach. “That’s auto-navigation.” Sweat rolls freely down his back and arm pits now, pooling at his encased feet.
John looks at his terminal. “But I touched that symbol!” He points indignantly at his terminal, then frowns, failing to understand why it’s no longer lit.
Cindy glances at John’s terminal, then back to George. “But we’re on the ground...”
The bridge speakers startle everyone.“Terran, this is ground control, come in.” All eyes turn to Cindy.
“Cindy here, we’re pretty busy at the moment. What do you want?”
“Well, you do know that the external gravity plating is polarizing, or whatever it is? Don’t you?”
An odd sound carries its way over the speakers, a hum, that gets louder.
“George.” Cindy’s voice is quite authoritative. “Shut everything down!”
“With pleasure,” he says, walking unsteadily to a terminal, each step more difficult than the last. Making a connection with the suit, he swings his visor down, and starts to listen as the translator in his ear does its job. “Uh, who programmed GUS?” His voice is sluggish and filled with disbelief.
Cindy is quite confused at the question. “George, you’re making no sense, what has that got to do with anything?”
He almost whispers the reply. “I think we have been sabotaged!” In the stony silence that follows he continues. “GUS has ordered the Terran to launch. Was a simple command really, we just never thought to look for it.” He opens his visor as the heat builds up to oppressive levels in his suit. Sweat flows freely down his chest and back. Feeling faint he leans against the wall. The suit no longer able to keep him cool.
“Sabotage!” Cindy stands up as she practically shouts the words. “Cut the power!” She slams the intercom selector for the reactor control room. “Shut down the reactors, NOW!” The bridge gets very quiet and tense as everyone waits for a response. “Reactor control, come in.”
Discovery (Terran Chronicles) Page 2