Star One: Neutron Star

by Raymond L. Weil

  Steve’s eyes finally came to rest on the main viewscreen, taking in the sight of the waiting Jupiter Probe ship resting placidly on the Space Platform. Running his left hand slowly over his control console, he reprogrammed the screen to show the Jupiter Probe ship only. The ship seemed to swell on the screen until it was all that was visible.

  Steve could see four workers in white spacesuits, tethered to the ship, welding brackets to the top and bottom of the delta wings to support the SRBs that were to be attached later. The bright flash of the welding arc wielded by one of the workers lit up the side of the ship in brilliant flashes of white light as it cut slowly into the stubborn Luxen alloy coating. Steve knew that it took a special welder and cutting torch to make even a dent in that marvelous wonder alloy.

  Watching the men work in their spacesuits, reminded Steve vividly of the long years he had spent getting Star One and the Space Platform built. The long budget battles with Congress, and finally with Luxen being produced, the easing of the extreme financial pressures. Originally, only the Power Wheel had been approved, and then only because Dryson and Stoler had proven that high quality Luxen could only be produced in large quantities with a fusion reactor and in zero gravity.

  Senator Farley and his group had only grudgingly given their approval. It was rumored that several of the companies they represented in their home states had demanded access to Luxen for their manufacturing operations. They had pressured Farley and his group into accepting the additional expenditures.

  Later, with the need for additional zero gravity factories to furnish high grade computer chips, cancer medicines, and several other high tech materials, the rest of the station had been tentatively approved. The appropriations fights with Congress, particularly with Senator Farley, had been trying at times. Steve was thankful that those hectic days now lay in the past. Senator Farley had always been a thorn in Steve’s side and probably always would be.

  The new cancer medicines, made possible in zero gravity, and other pharmaceuticals made Star One highly popular with many older people suffering from various diseases. A growing number of these were immensely rich and influential. With the capital beginning to flow in Steve was able to use the additional money, with support from NASA, to finish the main wheel. He was able later to add the upper wheel Alpha where the shuttles docked and cargo was unloaded.

  He also managed to push through the construction of the Space Platform to further deep space exploration. Senator Farley had attached a stringer requiring that all deep space missions be approved by his committee and that Star One pay for the upkeep of the platform.

  With their current exports of Luxen, high-grade pharmaceuticals, and electronic components, the station had a gross sales figure each month of nearly four billion dollars. Out of that, nearly 800 million was needed to fund the station and its various research projects. Another 400 million was set aside for special projects, and the rest went back to Earth to pay off the initial cost of building the station. Part of it was also used to pay for the weekly shuttle flights. They were used to supply the station with personnel and supplies.

  Steve remembered well the long hours spent in hot, cumbersome spacesuits working in zero gravity building the station. Several of Steve’s close friends had died horribly during the early construction phase. A cold chill went up his spine as he remembered the day of the accident as if it had only happened yesterday. He could still picture the entire horrendous event in his mind where it was vividly imprinted, even after all these long years.

  -

  Day of the accident.

  In the recently completed section of the Power Wheel, a hairline fracture appeared suddenly in a new weld. The weld ran along one entire side of a wall panel on the outer rim. Valuable oxygen began to seep out from the crack, causing the hairline fracture to grow. The crack rapidly grew as the escaping oxygen put more pressure on the already weakened weld. Without warning, the entire panel exploded outward. The panel blew out into space.

  Steve was on the Flight Deck of the shuttle Olympus monitoring the station. A sudden warning buzzer began to sound, indicating a variance in air pressure in one of the station’s compartments. He reached forward and flipped the buzzer off, then called up the schematics on the indicated section to see what the problem was. With rising concern, he saw it was one of the recently completed sleeping compartments, which currently housed three crewmen.

  Before he could do anything, new warning lights began flashing in red, and the collision alarm began sounding, indicating imminent danger to the shuttle. In shock, Steve gazed at the radar, which indicated a piece of the station was on a near collision course. The piece missed the Olympus by less than ten yards.

  Steve hurriedly focused the shuttle’s main viewscreen on the Power Wheel and drew in a sharp breath when he saw the damage. His heart raced, and his breath came quickly. He could see that an entire wall panel was missing and knew with a cold chill that anyone inside would be dead unless they had gotten to their spacesuits in time.

  The other crewmembers on the shuttle had been awakened due to the noise from the blaring alarms. The shuttle’s commander and communications officer both rushed onto the Flight Deck. “What happened?” demanded Commander Anderson, seeing the flashing red lights on one of the consoles. He was concerned that the shuttle was in imminent danger. While Steve was in charge of the overall operation, Commander Anderson was responsible for the Olympus.

  “A wall panel just blew out of a section on the outer rim of the Power Wheel,” Steve spoke quickly as he rose and began to make his way toward the crew compartment and the airlock. “We need to get some people over there as quickly as possible. There were three crewmen sleeping in that section.”

  “Steve,” Commander Anderson said somberly, putting out his hand to stop him from leaving the Flight Deck. “If they weren’t in their spacesuits, they’re dead. There’s no air in that section now. They could not have survived.”

  “Commander,” Steve said with growing pain in his eyes. “Don is in that section.”

  Commander Anderson pulled his hand back. He knew that Don Strickland was Steve’s closest friend and had been for years. “Go,” said Anderson with understanding. “I will organize a rescue party and have them follow you as quickly as possible. I will also notify the other shuttle crew and have them stand by to assist if needed.”

  Steve rushed to the airlock and, with the assistance of two other station construction workers, soon had his spacesuit on. As he cycled out of the airlock, he prayed that Don and the other two men with him had made it to their spacesuits. But the silence on his spacesuit radio did not bode well for that faint hope. As soon as Steve exited the shuttle’s airlock, he used the small jetpack the suit was equipped with to move toward the partially assembled Power Wheel.

  The section had only recently been pressurized, allowing construction personnel a roomier place to sleep and rest than the two crowded space shuttles that were kept next to the incomplete Power Wheel. In another few weeks, nearly everyone would have been moved into the Power Wheel’s sleeping quarters.

  All three of the endangered men had worked for several years with Steve building the station. Don Strickland had been with Steve from day one. As Steve neared the station, he could see the jagged rent in the outer rim hull where the panel had blown out. He quickly made it to the airlock and cycled himself into the outer rim. It took him awhile to reach the damaged section. It was necessary to seal off the section nearest the damaged one and pump out the oxygen to equalize the pressure between the two. This took time, valuable time.

  Steve finally got the pressure door open and soon reached the sleeping compartment the three were in. He opened the door, hoping he would find three spacesuited figures waiting for him. However, the sudden depressurization had done its deadly deed. The three men in the section were dead. Their desperate rush for their protective spacesuits barely beginning before the oxygen had been swept away.

  Death in sudden vacuum was not a sight t
hat anyone could ever forget, least of all Steve. The haunting memories would be with him forever. The other rescue members found him standing in the blown out section holding one of the dead crewmembers in his arms. The dead man was Don Strickland.

  -

  The Congressional investigation that followed had delayed construction of the station for six frustrating months. It resulted in giving Steve more flexibility with the contractors to ensure that sloppy or defective work was caught before any more deadly accidents occurred. Senator Farley had tried every trick in his thick book to kill Star One because of the accident.

  If not for Steve’s strong support in the administration and records showing that he had complained continuously about the poor quality of material being shipped up from Earth, Senator Farley might have succeeded. Several contractors had been fired or heavily fined in the investigation.

  Steve could never prove, but he strongly suspected that the fired contractors had ties to the consortium of businesses that Senator Farley was involved with. At the back of his mind, Steve had always wondered if it had been an act of sabotage. Had Senator Farley and his group been involved in any way? Steve hoped not, but it still had looked awfully suspicious at the time.

  After that, Steve had spent every waking hour scrutinizing the construction of the station. He could be found in his spacesuit on any shift crawling slowly from beam to beam and going over newly installed panels with detection equipment looking for faulty construction and welds. From then on, his attention to every detail became a normal part of his life.

  He had sworn that never again would someone die due to the failure of a component of the station. His strict quality control guidelines had strained his relationship with a number of contractors, but the station had been completed without another serious incident and on time.

  Now he was being forced to go against almost every principle he believed in. He was sending his best friend out in an experimental ship that had barely been tested. Fortunately, most of the crew had been training for months. They had been chosen due to their proven past abilities and unquestioned loyalty to the space program. Steve just wished they had more time to test the new engines on the Jupiter Probe ship and fine tune the ship’s systems. There were a thousand things that could go wrong.

  Steve heard the door to Main Control slide open. Glancing over, he saw with a warm feeling that Christy had come in. He had always had a soft spot in his heart for her. She had an effect on him that no other woman ever had. He could spend hours in her company and not tire of it. The feel of her lithe body when they danced and he had the opportunity to hold her close, so supple and soft, were memories that he treasured deeply. Even more important, she understood and shared his dedication to Star One and what it represented.

  He suspected, but had never been able to confirm, that she looked at him as more than just her commander and close friend. Sometimes, when they were dancing, he thought that she pressed herself against him a little suggestively even encouragingly, but he had never been sure.

  As Christy walked slowly up to Steve, her hips swaying slightly, he wondered how their relationship would be affected by the current crisis. How would these events affect everyone?

  “Has the confirmation from Earth come in?” she inquired quietly, coming to a stop next to Steve with one hand coming to rest on the top of the command console and the other resting on her hip.

  “They agreed,” Steve replied softly, staring into her rich blue eyes and handing her the message. “Right now only the president, the vice president, McPhryson, and several of the top NASA people know the entire story. I don’t believe that they want to accept what may be out there.”

  “Can’t say that I blame them,” Christy replied with a haunted look in her deep blue eyes. “This whole thing is a nightmare! It’s frightening, Steve, for us as well as them.” She brushed a strand of wayward blonde hair back from her eyes, wishing the neutron star problem would just go away, but she knew with a sick feeling in her stomach that it wouldn’t.

  “Tim McPhryson has explained the possible consequences in detail to the President,” continued Steve, looking at Christy meaningfully. “There has been some careful communication with the leaders of a few selected governments that can be trusted with the information at this time. A tight security lid has been placed on all information until we can get the mission launched.”

  “I still can’t believe this is happening,” Christy said quietly, unable to lay aside her worries. “Did Tim say anything else?”

  “Tim is concerned that Senator Farley may get wind that something is up, and that could cause all hell to break loose down below,” Steve replied with a heavy sigh.

  “Senator Farley,” Christy repeated with disdain in her voice. She had no respect for the 54-year-old Michigan senator. “Do you think there is a chance he will find out?”

  “Senator Farley has been a thorn in our side for years,” Steve responded with a frown. “He has a lot of contacts in different government agencies. They want us to get the mission launched as quickly as possible before the news gets out. Already a number of the larger observatories on Earth have detected the neutron star, but McPhryson has been able to slap a lid on the information by claiming National Security. Several other countries have done the same. We all know we’re rapidly running out of time. The secret is bound to come out soon.”

  “How much time can we give Ty to work with the ship and crew?” asked Christy, drawing in a deep breath and taking her seat next to Steve. Her eyes glanced automatically at the computer screens, which adorned her part of the console. “The more time we can give him, the better the chance he will have making it back.”

  Christy knew that Ty was Steve’s oldest and closest friend on the station. She had heard from some of the old timers how Steve had been affected years before during the accident that had killed three construction workers. She knew that one of those men had been close to Steve, but she had never heard him talk about it.

  Steve hesitated before responding, mentally going over the shortened timetable he had set up for the crew’s final training. “Five days minimum to a maximum of eight. I want Ty to take the ship on a quick trip to the Moon and back to check out the ship’s systems as you and I have discussed. Ty will start training with the crew this morning. Current schedules call for the training sessions to be six hours on, four off, then six hours on again with a rest period of eight hours before it starts all over. We have a lot of training to do and not a lot of time left.”

  Steve turned his attention back to the ship on the screen where the workers were still in the process of cutting into the delta wing. He prayed he wasn’t sending Ty and his crew on a one-way mission to hell. If this neutron star threat was as serious as it sounded, he wondered what else he would be forced to do in the coming months. He knew that at some point in time, probably very soon, everyone on Star One and the Space Platform would have to be told what was coming toward them.

  Christy looked at Steve and could see the troubled look of concern on his face. She knew he was terribly worried about this mission and what he was asking Ty to do. She also knew they all might be faced with some extremely difficult and hard decisions in the coming months.

  This neutron star danger was a growing nightmare. She wondered if she had fully accepted the stark reality of the situation herself. It still seemed so unreal, perhaps because the neutron star was still so far away. Everything still seemed so normal on the station and down on Earth.

  -

  Ty had arrived an hour earlier at the Space Platform. The platform was 400 feet on a side and 30 feet thick. A small wheel, 200 feet across with an outer rim 26 feet in diameter, rotated independently beneath the massive platform, connected by a large tube to the upper levels of the Space Platform.

  It contained limited personnel quarters, conference rooms, a cafeteria, and a large freight elevator in the hub. This gave the working crews an artificial gravity of one-third Earth normal in the rim in which to relax and ta
ke breaks when needed. It also allowed delicate equipment to be assembled in light gravity before being taken up the main cargo elevator to the upper levels of the Space Platform.

  The crew of the platform had to depend on the wheel rotating to create gravity. The platform didn’t have a fusion reactor to furnish the massive amounts of power needed to create gravity artificially. They were dependent on the large solar power arrays, which were positioned just to the side of the platform, for power to run the platform’s many operations.

  The upper level of the Space Platform contained fuel for the shuttles and several processing facilities. There were several small processing plants, which processed raw material from the Moon, turned it into shuttle fuel, and separated out the ores for smelting. There was a smelting plant, which took the different ores from the processing plants and converted it into the myriad of metals that were used on the station. Several of these metals and ores were combined in the fusion reactor to create Luxen.

  Ty sat in one of the small conference rooms on the outer rim of the slowly rotating wheel. He was waiting patiently for the rest of the crew of the Jupiter Probe to arrive. Mentally he went over their new, abbreviated training schedule. He wondered briefly how they were going to react to the sudden change in their mission.

  They had to be wondering about the increased activity around the ship and what was going on. Training to fly to Jupiter was a lot different than flying clear out to the outer fringe of the Solar System. They were about to hear the truth about the neutron star and the threat it represented. He wondered a little nervously how they would react to the sudden, unexpected news.

  Ty stood up as the door to the room slid open, and the crew slowly filed in. Ty recognized all of them and had even worked with several on occasion. In his years in the shuttle program and the time he had spent on Star One, he had met and worked from time to time with a lot of different people. It was not surprising that he knew all of those present.