by George Deeb
Chapter 11
Research and Development
1
January 2009
Audible and visible alarms were going off throughout the Orysta and the moon base. Bright lights flashed in the eyes like visual explosions. The sirens were loud, annoying, and no one could ignore them. That's what they were designed to do - get your attention. Hatches and section entrance way doors quickly and automatically closed as soon as sensors detected they were clear of personnel. It took less than ten seconds for most sections of the ship and Trailblazer base to be isolated from every other. It only took a few more for doors that were obstructed to be cleared by personnel and sealed. The isolation protocol wasn't that much of a surprise to anyone on the base, after they had felt the structure shake and heard the loud boom that caused the vibration. Even on the moon with its lower gravity this was a heavy building. It would take a powerful force to shake the whole thing, and everyone knew it. Something had gone very wrong, and in the vacuum of space - which was what the surface of the moon was – it was very dangerous.
“WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED ?” came a loud voice over the base wide intercom. Everyone recognized Travellor's voice.
It was a few seconds before Joshua Kibbee was able to respond. Kibbee was one of four ex-Navy Seals and Army Rangers that provided security for the base. They had all been vetted very thoroughly for this assignment, and had only been on station for a few months. The three others reported to him.
“BREACH IN THE METAL FABRICATION SECTION!” Kibbee yelled back. “WE'VE HAD AN EXPLOSION THAT TOOK OUT ONE OF THE HANGAR BAY DOORS.”
'DAMN IT !' thought Travellor. This was a worse case situation. One he always knew could happen, and always prayed it wouldn't.
“WAS ANYONE HURT ?”
“No assessment yet, sir. Working on that now.” said Kibbee.
“Medical team to the metal fabrication area. All available personnel to assist.” came the words from Travellor's mouth without thinking. He wasn't yelling anymore. His training and experience was taking over. “Orysta, moon base requesting your assistance. We've had a structural failure in the metal fabrication area.” Travellor knew the words were just a formality. The Orysta crew would have already been on their way to help. 'Thank God for friends you can depend on.' he thought.
“All members of Orysta crew accounted for. Moon base Trailblazer missing one personnel.” came the voice over the comm.
Travellor recognized the Orysta's main computer's voice. It had automatically been assessing the damage as the situation unfolded. Everyone on the moon wore either comm badges, wrist devices, or helmets - on or off duty. It was required. Orysta knew who was missing, but didn't specify.
“Orysta – is doctor Blin on station?” asked Travellor.
“Doctor Blin is on the planet.” came the computer's reply.
'And there it is.' thought Travellor. He knew it might happen sooner or later. They had been working in a hostile environment for years, without a single serious incident. When you handle that much heavy and dangerous materials, in an environment that can kill you instantly, you're playing an odds game. 361's doctors had been training with Blin for months now, and supposedly they were capable enough with the Ganaphe' medical equipment to take over her duties while she was gone. He wondered who was in charge of medical right now. Somehow he found his jacket in his hand and the office door opening as he walked through on his way to the accident area. He tapped his comm badge and it beeped twice to indicate it was online and working. He had just entered the stairwell when Kibbee's voice came from the badge.
“Commander, this is Kibbee. Initial review indicates an oxygen leak caused an explosion ignited by a welding torch. I don't know how it happened sir, but we've got five ruptured fuel tanks that were stored in the area. The damage is massive. Outside walls of this section was bowed out by the forced. The blast was strong enough to tear through the structure. One access door is completely missing.”
“What about interior walls?” asked Travellor.
“Interior walls are sound, sir. Looks like most of the force in that direction had been absorbed by interior components. The combined resistance of all the crap in the room was able to reflect most of the force outward.”
Kibbee had just finished his report when Travellor reached the door to the fabrication area, and looked through one of the observation windows. He could see several men in spacesuits checking the room. It was a charred and blackened mess. The exterior walls of the room had been blown out and torn like pieces of thick cardboard. The explosive force must have been tremendous. Crumpled work benches, cabinets, and other furnishings had been blown back against the interior walls, their contents spilled over the floor. Pieces of their steel legs, which had been bolted to the floor, were still attached and sticking up with sharp points, waiting to skewer a body – but there were no bodies. There was no blood anywhere either. It was strange, but a good sign. However the accident happened, the people working in the section had had enough warning of the pending disaster to evacuate the room. So who was missing?
2
Dolores del Rio opened her eyes to the darkest and most sparkling night sky she had ever seen. Her back ached, and the bed felt as hard as steel. She tried to get up but her body wouldn't respond. She felt warm all over, and oddly cold at the same time. She turned her head left and then right, and notice her arms were spread out in crucifixion style. She knew she was still in her clothes, but didn't recognize the outfit. Her mind was foggy and she couldn't think straight. She must have slept wrong and cut off the circulation to her arms. The night was so beautiful. She thought she could reach up and touch every one of those stars, but her arms wouldn't move. And she noticed there was a strange haze over her eyes, like she was looking through a filter of some sort. But she was warm and relatively comfortable, except for that achy back and the intense itch right at the bottom of her spine. It was beginning to drive her crazy, and she wanted to scratch it in the worst way. But her arms wouldn't move. Worse, the itch was increasing. It was getting painful now.
She tried to remember what she had done last night, that put her in this position. Nothing came to mind. Her memory was blank. She knew she hadn't gone out with her friends. She knew she hadn't over indulged in drinking – she never did that anymore, and hadn't done since her early twenties when she spent one memorable evening laying on the bathroom floor, thinking how wonderful and cool the floor and the base of the toilet felt. 'OW !' she thought. The itch was getting really, really painful. It was spreading, and now hurt all over her lower back. What the hell had she done to herself, she wondered. The pain was getting very bad now. A groan escaped from her throat.
The pain was spreading. It wasn't just her lower back that hurt, it was the whole back of her body. More sounds made their way from her throat. She couldn't stop them now. Her head was the only thing that seemed to work. She looked to each side, over and over. Why did her bed have bumps sticking out of it? Who picked those sheets? They were ugly and dull. But her mind seemed to be clearing. She was beginning to remember. She could feel more of her body now also. At first she thought that was a good thing. Then the pain hit with so much ferocity that she screamed until she thought her lungs would come out of her throat. Then she choked, and coughed and her vision turned red directly in front of her. And the red spread across the face shield, and she went unconscious.
3
“Specialist del Rio was outside doing an external survey of the structure when the explosion occurred.” said Kibbee. “We haven't found her or the missing access door.”
“We have shuttles out looking?” asked Travellor.
“Yes sir. We've covered every square foot of the surface within twenty miles. We've found nothing.”
“Your conclusion is that the force of blast was strong enough to propel her out of the gravitational pull of the moon?”
“It's the only possible explanation. We just don't know how far or in exactly what direction. Orysta is trying to track
her suits transmissions, but the transmitter may have been damaged. Her bio-data stream ended shortly after the blast occurred. Grilik Munen has Orysta's shuttles ready to launch for a search. He is just waiting for your request.”
“And our ships? Are they capable of helping?”
“They're operational, and functional within a hundred nautical miles. They can help with the search. If they find her they will have to call one of the Ganaphe' ships to perform the retrieval.”
“What kind of suit was del Rio wearing?”
“A hybrid, sir. Ganaphe' suit with our helmet.”
Travellor thought about that. The Ganaphe' had brought many spare suits with them, because of the damage they often incurred during mining operations. Helmets were very limited in quantity though – they didn't get as much abuse as the suits. 361 had purchased as many of the Ganaphe' suits as Munen was willing to sell, but had to design and manufacture its own helmet to mate with the suit. 361's helmets weren't as good as the Ganaphe' design, but were decades ahead of what NASA was using. If the Ganaphe' suit was damaged, could the 361 helmet have remained intact?
“Then go – now! All ships are to maintain a comm link signal throughout the search. Nobody continues on their path if the link is broken. Put one of your men on each of our ships.”
Kibbee snapped to attention and saluted, more out of habit then requirement. 361 was not a military organization, although it was modeled after one. He turned and left to begin the search. Travellor thought about del Rio, as he watched Kibbee leave. She was young, and had a lot of living left to do. Then he thought about his niece. He felt helpless. They didn't know if del Rio was still alive, let alone where she was. Could the human body survive a blast so powerful it would launch it into space from the moon? How do you search space with only four ships. 361's shuttles were very limited, and only good for observational purposes. They weren't as fast or capable as the Ganaphe' ships – but they were capable of space flight from the moon. They had communications gear, radar, and crystal-flow domes for visual observation.
Travellor thought of his niece once again, then left his office and headed for the communications center. The search would be coordinated from there. He also had to make a call to Earth.
4
Major General Robert Farber-Chatwell stood away from the crowd in the Magic Kingdom Park. Goofy and Mickey were in his peripheral vision, posing for pictures with happy faced children, and some adults as well. He had two stars on his shoulders now – how could he not. The Air Force upper echelon knew that when they had a technological challenge blocking their progress, Farber-Chatwell was the go-to man that got it done. Over the years he had overseen advancements in Space technology, aircraft instrumentation, and computer use in the military. He was one of the men most responsible for changing the face of modern day warfare, yet very few outside the military actually knew this or his name. No one really knew how he got the job done, and they didn't question it too strongly. It was his job, so it was expected of him. He was expected to get it done – and he did! Every one in the know knew that Farber-Chatwell had an unusually influential way of dealing with technology companies.
This was the first vacation time he could remember taking in years. He had taken some down time now and then, when he didn't feel well or when he was just exhausted, but no real vacation time when he put the job out of his mind and just tried to have a good time. He had been having a good time too. Toisae was excellent company. She was intelligent, confident, very attractive, and surprisingly had a good sense of humor – at least he thought she did. The work part of his mind almost completely shut down when she was near him, and he enjoyed every second of it. He should have known it wouldn't last.
“Is it possible she's still alive?” he asked, trying to keep his voice low so he wouldn't be overheard.
“We're not sure.” came Travellor's voice over the earpiece. “We believe the suit's support systems are still functioning, but she had on one of our helmets. We haven't really tested those to limits yet.”
“You said her bio-data stream stopped.”
“Yes, but the signal is missing. That doesn't tell us if she is still alive or not, just that the transmitter has been damaged or the signal is being blocked. That occurred almost immediately after the explosion.”
He thought about that for a minute. The Ganapahe' suits were extremely durable. If the blast was powerful enough to damage the suit, could the person inside it survive? As he pondered it, Toisae Blin approached with an ice cream bar in each hand. She would know better than anyone the answer to that question.
“Stand By.” said Farber-Chatwell.
“What has happened?” asked Toisae, reading the expression on his face. Her smile disappeared as she handed one of the treats to him.
“There's been an explosion on base. One of our people is missing, and they think she's been blown out into space.”
Shock immediately registered on her face, as she realized the amount of force required to do such a thing.
“Are they sending a shuttle for us. I should be there to help.”
“No. All shuttles are being used in the search. The suits telemetry signal has stopped, and there is no way to pinpoint her location. Is it possible for someone to survive a blast that has damaged one of your suits?”
She thought about it before answering.
“Our suits are made out of a material that is soft and pliable under normal wear, but turns into a rigid shell when affected by a fast impulse high intensity force. The normally free floating molecular structure interlocks together to form a lattice structure. The concept is that the rigid lattice structure will collapse under the force, to dissipate the energy. It can offer tremendous protection to the user that way. But if the material was sheared, then life support would be lost. Without more information I cannot say what the result would be.”
Almost in unison, they each took a bite of their ice cream, lost in thought. They were stuck on the planet until the shuttles returned. The Magic Kingdom was not the place they wanted to be right now. Farber-Chatwell touched the earpiece.
“Travellor, Toisae says the suit may have protected del Rio, but there's no way to be sure with the information we have. We're heading to the comm center. I want a continuous feed of all communications sent there.”
“Ask him who is on duty in the medical bay.” said Toisae to Farber-Chatwell.
“ Toisae wants to know who is on duty in medical.”
Travellor touched the computer's screen until he found the duty roster for the day.
“Dr. Sylvia Krather is on duty. She's our most senior physician.”
Farber-Chatwell turned to Toisae to relay the information.
“He says Sylvia Krather is on duty.”
“Very good.” said Toisae, breathing a sigh of relief. “She is excellent. She is the person I would want to take care of me.”
5
John Smith (jokingly referred to by his friends as “THE John Smith” to distinguish him from all the other John Smiths in the world) piloted one of only two X-1 “Hornet” space craft in existence.
The name “Hornet” was indicative of the shape of the craft. It looked like a stretched and bent water drop – one end being large and rounded, and the other tapering and curving around to almost a point. The shape reminded a lot of people of a hornet with its stinger extended. The dome on the large end housed the microwave antennae array for the long range radar. Stinger was an apropos description of the more pointed section of the ship, where the thirty millimeter GAU-8/A Gatling gun modified with a liquid cooling collar was mounted. The weapon addition to the ship was a Ganaphe' suggestion. On top, covering the cockpit, was a crystal-flow dome that allowed the occupants to see outside. Inside the cockpit was a combination of Earth and Ganaphe' technology. The Ganaphe' instruments were on loan until human engineers could design and build equipment that performed the same functions. Flying a ship in open space required a completely new paradigm in instrumentation design,
and there was a steep learning curve to be overcome.
These were the first operational human designed space craft capable of practical inter-planetary travel – at least that's what the design engineers claimed. Neither ship had yet made a test run to another planet – they still hadn't gotten the engine design right. That journey was scheduled for the near future. Hence the X designation for eXperimental. They had made many short test hops within a one hundred mile radius of the moon, and were capable of performing this search operation to find the missing woman. 'Blown out into space! We're not looking for a person,' thought Smith, 'we're looking for a body.'
As they flew in a spiral pattern to search their section of space, Smith and his copilot George Washington kept eyes wide open, radar at maximum range, and an understanding that even if the lost specialist was dead, bringing home the body would give her family closure and a chance to say their goodbyes. It was something they would want done for their own families under the same circumstances. As he looked out at the open darkness in front of him, he felt that perhaps their efforts were futile. It had only been thirty-seven minutes since they launched, but even at the speed they were traveling at there was still a hell of a lot of space before them. He was beginning to feel despondent when the intermittent noise started coming over the speaker in his helmet. Since they had audio from all instruments feeding into the comm he didn't immediately recognize what it was. It was just an occasional burst of sound that lasted only seconds, and then it was gone.