by Gian Bordin
She only nodded, not sure she could trust her voice, suddenly aware that she had lost her contact with Aros. Gone were the murmurs of daily life that had always been part of her as long as she could remember. It was as if something had been ripped out of her. The only presence she felt was Atun’s and for a moment she resented it. She closed her eyes and forcibly calmed her mind, gaining back her balance and adjusting to the absence of a background.
Gradually, Aros’ surface curvature became more pronounced, revealing one side of a globe. The ring rose like a majestic halo above it in all its magnificence. As the shuttle sped up toward the ring, the band gradually grew into a wall that seemed to reach from the surface of the planet way into the sky, obscuring the southern hemisphere. Will we locate my parents’ ship? she wondered and found it hard to tear her gaze away from the enormity of the ring.
Her rock was on a northern continent that spanned beyond the eastern horizon. Most of its interior was in colors of grays and sand, like the area east of the mountains. A storm was sweeping across it, raising a cloud of dust kilometers into the air, the type of storm that played havoc if it reached the coast. There was a thin strip of green along much of the coastal regions. She guessed that in most places it was no more than 40 to 50 kilometers wide. To the north the beginning of a white icecap grew slowly in size. What surprised her was that there were almost no clouds anywhere along the coast. Did the entire continent have the same pattern of regular late night rains?
Atun’s command "horizontal" interrupted her reverie. She activated the pitch thruster for a short burst, watching the craft slowly tilt its nose up … or was it down since they flew with their head facing Aros?
"Arrest."
An even shorter burst of the opposite thruster stabilized the craft. She had to repeat it twice before Atun was satisfied with the angle. The watch showed that they had been holding the present trajectory for 96 minutes. Next he ordered her to rotate the craft more to the west, to narrow the angle of approaching the ring. Shortly after that maneuver, he reactivated the main engine for a few seconds and the craft changed its course in the new trajectory.
Over the next hour they performed a number of further lateral and pitch adjustments until their orbit was above and parallel to the ring. It was a strange sensation to see the ring shrink to a thin band of a few hundred feet wide, slicing Aros into two half spheres — no more the dominant feature in the sky.
"I guess that we’re about one thousand kilometers above the outer edge of the ring now, but we still have escape velocity."
This was Atun’s second complete sentence since takeoff. He responded to her smile. It was reassuring to sense that his mind had gained a level of active calm.
He inserted the system backup cube into its device. "And now comes the moment of truth," he said while switching on the shuttle’s AI unit. The tree screens on the flight console suddenly became alive. She felt his excitement rise, and he briefly glanced at her grinning happily. After a few seconds, the middle one displayed messages in rapid succession and then vanished. She held her breath. Had something gone wrong? She breathed a sigh of relief when the message ‘systems restored’ appeared in big yellow letters. Suddenly, the other two screens also filled with information. The left one displayed the operating status of the rotation control and propulsion system, all of them listed as ‘disconnected’. The right one listed the current position, velocity and other flight status information, as well as readings for various external sensors. Their current distance from Aros was 36,283 kilometers and they were still on a shallow escape trajectory at a velocity of over 11,000 km per standard hour. The one in the middle showed a list of menus. He touched a button at the bottom of the screen and a virtual keyboard appeared. Her name floated across as he typed on it. She laughed and sent him a kiss.
Next he gave the voice command to call up different displays. As expected his voice recordings had been erased and there was no response. However, the AI unit responded to the keyboard command for the fuel and battery status. He seemed greatly relieved when he saw that the battery showed 92 percent loaded and fuel tanks were still 63 percent full. The status of various internal sensors showed all operating except for those they had converted to manual.
"None of the hardwired functions were affected," he remarked.
He tried to retrieve the log of previous flight records. A message ‘log file missing’ appeared.
"All gone," he said, shrugging, "but not important. And now we have to get into a circular orbit above the ring." He queried the AI unit for how much the velocity had to be reduced to enter such an orbit. "This would be simple if we could maneuver this craft via AI. But …" He left the sentence hanging.
Yuen-mong knew what she had to do. Without a word, she turned the craft around such that they were flying backward. After several short bursts of the propulsion unit, he managed to reduce the velocity close to the one computed by the AI unit. Using the forward and backward thrusters for minute adjustments he settled the craft into an orbit 37,003 kilometers above Aros — about one thousand kilometers above the edge of the ring. She turned the craft around again.
"And now, let’s enter the access code to Vishnu and then we are ready." He called up the function for entering the code and made her to repeat it twice. "All we now need is the ship."
He smiled at her. She tried to respond, but did not trust her voice and said nothing, turning her gaze again down to Aros. The northern continent that had been her home had disappeared over the horizon and new land masses came up from the west. Except for a few large islands, the southern hemisphere was only ocean. She also kept a watch on the ring below them in the faint hope of maybe spotting the ship. Would they actually be able to see anything passing by at over 20,000 km per hour? It suddenly seemed hopeless. Somehow that aspect had escaped her. Had Atun thought about it?
"How will we be able to see the ship traveling at this speed?"
"By radar … which must work or the status display would not have shown our altitude." He briefly glanced at her. "Yes, at our speed it would be difficult to see even a large object fly past us. I’ll direct it forward over the ring in a shallow angle as soon as I’m through checking this. Do you trust yourself to get us a drink, please? A bark tea would be nice," he added with a smile.
She unstrapped herself and immediately began to float. Holding on to the armrest of her seat, she placed her feet on the floor and the suction cups of her boots held her in place, although she found it difficult to stay upright. Supporting herself on the wall, she gingerly walked over to the catering unit, where she had stored two craw water containers with bark tea. She took one to Atun.
"Thanks." He put the spout into his mouth and sucked, taking small swallows.
When he was through, she drank some too and stored the container away again, before returning to her seat. They did not talk much. She felt tense in a way she had never experienced. Periodically, she sensed something was missing, only to remember that she had lost life’s emanation on Aros. But it was more, the narrow confines of the shuttle felt like a cage. It was as if she had lost her freedom of movement and that made her uneasy.
The middle screen now showed the virtual three-dimensional image of the ring segment ahead of them, as captured by their radar. Its monotonous image was mesmerizing to watch. The band segment captured by the radar, like the upper part of the rim of a huge wheel, barely move where it seemed to surface at its far distance. As parts of the band got closer, they widened and accelerated gradually, rushing toward them, filling the entire bottom width of the screen, passing underneath and out of sight. It was as if the mass of the wheel stretched in width and length faster and faster as it appeared to get closer.
They agreed to take turns for five-minute periods because it became too hard on the eyes.
About three hours into their orbit, a tiny dot appeared in the far distance of the display, seemingly separating itself from the ring and hovering above it, slightly off center. She called out: "Some
thing coming up." Is it Vishnu? she questioned, feeling the pounding of her heart, hoping that it is. Fascinated, she watched the dot move a fraction farther away from the ring and then dip back into its band as it got closer, but distinctly hovering above it.
Atun entered the command for automatic tracking and the dot remained in the center of the picture. Like the width of the ring, it too grew in size. Suddenly, it rushed passed them on the bottom left side of the screen, and just before it disappeared from sight, Atun froze the image. The time at the upper right corner of the screen showed 13:52:27.
"It just passed underneath us," he said. "Let’s see what it looks like."
He enlarged the image. It revealed the symmetric shape of an oblong object with a small wing on each side and several protrusions at the back.
"Is it our ship?" she asked, barely able to hold down her excitement.
"Yes, it’s a space craft and about the right shape and size for a PA4," he glanced at her and smiled when he saw her flushed face. "Look, these are the engines and here are rotation thrusters." He pointed to the protrusions. "It’s about 10 kilometers above the ring and its orbit is a bit off-center."
"Does that cause problems?"
"No, just a few additional maneuvers. All respects to your father for placing it so well."
"So we have to wait another sixteen hours before our next encounter."
He queried the AI unit. "Yes, 16 hours and 27 minutes." He made another query. "About two hours before that we’ll start our orbit reversal maneuver. There’s not much to do until then, except eat and sleep. I’m hungry."
"Should we not keep a watch out for other objects?"
"Like what?"
"A meteor or another ship."
"I’ll redirect the radar again and set it on automatic. It’ll then beep if any change in signals occurs." He quickly entered a few commands.
Then they both got out of their seats and moved to the catering area.
"Atun, please hold me. I am so nervous, I can hardly stand it."
He took her into his arms. "This isn’t like you," he murmured.
She only nodded, sensing his relative calm, drawing strength from him. "It’s because I feel so helpless. There is nothing I can do but wait… Will we make it?"
"So far, everything has gone according to plan… and we’ve enough fuel to return to Aros if we have too."
"Dying is not what troubles me. Each day on Aros meant cheating death. It is this inactivity."
"Not being in control?"
"Yes, that is a big part of it." She searched his eyes. "Thanks, Atun, for being so understanding." She let go.
"It’s a new experience for me, you asking for my emotional support."
A shadow of a smile crossed her face. "I’m human too."
"Being human, maybe some food might help," he replied with a grin.
"I don’t know whether I can eat."
But she did anyway, slowly eating a sandwich of dried wader meat, swamp spinach and timoru bread, and directed her energy inward.
* * *
Over the next twelve hours they took shifts resting, strapped to the one bunk they had not removed. Yuen-mong could not find sleep, but she meditated, restoring both her strength and her balance of mind.
Just prior to the appointed time, they reviewed the docking procedure with the ship and then started the reversal of orbit by a series of lateral adjustments of direction until they had the craft turned around, each time gaining altitude. Atun used the AI unit to guide them for the manual control. Once back in a parallel orbit to the ring, they were 5000 kilometers higher, traveling about 600 kilometers per hour more slowly than the edge of the ring. The ship in its lower orbit would therefore slowly gain ground on them. The radar scan showed that it would be exactly below them in 24 minutes. The middle screen indicated the preferred trajectory to rendezvous with it. They pitched the shuttle to the required angle. It took several tries to achieve it. Eight minutes later, Atun engaged the main engine for a short period, accelerated the craft at a shallow angle and less than an hour later the radar picture revealed they were approaching their target rapidly. Another short maneuver and their craft was in an orbit less than a kilometer from the ship. They rolled the shuttle 180 degrees and, using the directional thrusters, Atun slowly went closer until the ship was about a hundred feet to their left.
In the glare of the sun, the craft looked sleek, its surface a dull gray, not the shiny polish she had expected, but she thought it was beautiful. Will it receive us?
"This is it … definitely a PA4. Shall I summon it?"
She only nodded, unable to speak. She saw him enter the command. They waited. Nothing happened.
"Are we on the right side?" Her voice sounded hoarse.
"Yes. Can’t you see the faint outlines of the airlock door toward the back?"
It was there, there was no question.
"I’ll try again." He repeated the procedure. Still nothing. He brought up the access code. "Is this the right sequence of the characters?"
"Yes."
"The T is not a D? or the one an I?"
"No." It had been eight years ago that her father had her memorize the code. Had her memory failed her? No, she was sure it was correct.
"Maybe it responds to a different transmission frequency," he observed, "I’ll try the common frequencies, although the one I chose has been the standard for over fifty years."
He systematically went through the frequencies without getting a response. Her high spirits of getting that far sank. Would a simple thing like this thwart their plan? It cannot! cried her mind. She sensed Atun’s growing frustration.
"Is there no other way to gain entry?" she asked.
"Not into the shuttle airlock."
"But is there not another airlock for space walks?"
"Yes, but that’s controlled from the pilot station."
"And there is no emergency button at the outside?"
"Yes, there usually is, but you’re not serious in thinking to go across and try that?"
"Do we have a choice, except to give up and return to Aros? We took the space suit along, rather than discard it. So it is an option."
She saw the consternation on his face.
"I volunteer and, if I get in, bring back a second space suit for you."
He looked at her for a while and then said: "I should know by now that when things look impossible you come up with the wildest ideas."
"It’s not so wild. Wouldn’t you have taken the rock samples by doing a space walk?"
"You’re right. But I should go. I may be able to open the shuttle airlock from inside."
"Are you sure you want to do it? I offered."
"Yes, I’ve done space walks before."
"Thank you, Atun." She kissed his cheek.
He removed the suction boots and put on the space suit with its breathing cylinders on his back. When he was ready to enter the small airlock in the shuttle, she held him back.
"Atun, promise that you will not let me be stranded here."
"Oh Yuen-mong, how can you even think I would… I love you."
"One may even be tempted to abandon somebody one loves. You are the only person I have."
"I promise."
She probed his mind and sensed his sincerity. "Thank you, Atun."
He inserted himself into the airlock and closed its inside door. Next she heard a short whistling sound, as the air got sucked from the lock when he opened its outside door. A few seconds later, she saw him float across, connected to the shuttle airlock by a line. He propelled himself along the ship’s wall, past the shuttle airlock. Suddenly, a small door slid open and she cried out in joy. He disappeared inside, released the line, and the door closed again. After an agonizing few minutes, the lights came on inside the ship, and she could see him wave in the window. It took another while before the shuttle airlock opened.
Ten minutes later he was back in the shuttle. When he came out of the airlock, she embraced him in his s
pace suit. She could hear his laugh through the helmet.
After he got out of the suit, they maneuvered the shuttle closer to the airlock opening. It took well over a dozen tries before they thought that they were properly aligned.
"This looks awfully small," she remarked.
"Shuttle sizes have been standard for many years, so it should fit in. Let’s try."
He gave a short burst of the right lateral thrusters. The shuttle drifted closer and suddenly they felt a hard shock as its back hit the ship’s outside wall, while the front just made it inside and the whole shuttle began to drift slowly away from Vishnu. "It’s too long. That’s all we need now."
"Could it fit it diagonally?"
"No, it’s too wide; the dimensions are too tight."
"Do we need the shuttle? Could we not just abandon it?"
"If the ship is operational, no. If not, we need it to get back to Aros."
"But it will just remain next to us, so we can always get back to it if the ship does not work, and we float our luggage across."
They maneuvered the shuttle again parallel to the ship and Atun went across once more, taking the gold along and returned with a second space suit. She suited up too, while he went ahead again, taking their food with him. Five minutes later, Vishnu’s little airlock reopened. She retracted the line, closed the outside door of the shuttle airlock, and inserted herself, taking only her flute and her father’s pocket watch along. She closed the inside door from within the airlock, attached the line to her suit, opened the outside one, and pushed off. Her eyes were drawn to the ring below her, which covered the entire width of her vision and completely hid Aros. She almost bumped into the hull of Vishnu, barely able to slow her drift so as not to ricochet off it. With the help of the rubbery surface of her gloves, she pulled herself to the airlock entrance. Once inside, she knocked at the wall and a second later the external door closed. She heard the sound of air rushing into the chamber, and then the internal door opened and she entered into a narrow corridor, at the end of which see saw Atun standing at the flight control console, visible through the open door into the flight deck. He was already unsuited. She quickly shed her own space suit and ran forward to him, aware of the pleasant sense of gravity, less than on Aros. She almost fell into his arms, as he met her partway.