by T I WADE
“Then, as far as Astronaut in Charge is concerned, me, I believe a halt in rotation is the safest way. Once we are travelling around the solar system, craft comings and goings will be reduced for really extended periods, maybe even a year or more,” Jonesy replied.
“Well said. I agree safety is most important. We will do a test rotation and begin a slow down once you are 30 minutes from docking. Out.”
“It is sure surprising how many things poor Ryan has to work out,” said Penny, opening her own bag of jerky, purchased from the store with her credits.
***
Since the incoming astronauts and crewmembers from space had no money, one million credits, their bonus, were given to each to spend while on Earth. Allen and Michael had received their new Audi R8s a couple of hours after Jonesy left, red for Allen, and black for Michael. The person in charge of finances on base gave a check to the trucker, who carefully unloaded and deposited the cars at the front gate, and drove off. Ryan’s credit was good, and the costs for each vehicle—$109,000, $1,000 delivery, road tax and license costs—were deducted from their credits, not that either of them really cared.
Also, anything the space staff wanted was phoned into Las Vegas and either paid for by credit card, or by check when it arrived at the airfield.
Allen was leaving in less than twenty-four hours, and he and Jamie had enough time to drive his new car to Tonopah and back for a few hours. He had drawn out $1,000 from the office, and had, with difficulty purchased two cokes for them with a hundred dollar note at a rundown gas station in the dusty town. The attendant had looked at them and the crisp new Ben Franklin like they were from outer space!
***
“All prepare for rotation; there will be a gradual increase of gravity over 30 minutes,” Ryan announced over the ship’s speaker system. One by one the sections reported in.
There wasn’t much to do, except for the crews working in the hollow outer cylinders, but certainly not in the cubes, where the gravity could increase by as little as 10 to 15 percent.
“Here we go. First rotation test starting now,” announced Captain Pete, and the nine small thrusters under computer guidance lit up and, with about the force of four or five horsepower in total, the ship began to turn. Several people around the ship were ready to report on any changes.
After five minutes, and two whole revolutions, nobody reported in.
On the fourth revolution three minutes later, there were reports from the outer level of increasing gravity, albeit minor changes.
Twenty minutes after the start, there were reports of powerful gravity changes on the upper level and in the elevators. As the crew had found out on Earth, powerful gravity was something the space travelers were no longer used to.
By the time the ship was revolving at two revolutions a minute, even the reporters in the cubes were detecting an increase of gravity, and the plants were beginning to wilt.
Ryan, going to his apartment, found that the gravity increased in the elevator as he went further out, and found Kathy lying on the bed.
‘I feel car sick,” she stated.
“I think it has to do with your condition,” Ryan replied.
“I feel fine, and don’t sense any movement, but I would hate to look out of a window right now.”
There was certainly gravity, but nobody could remember what it was like compared to Earth. The biology team were already taking rabbits and chickens up to their completed cylinders on the upper level, on the opposite side of the ship to where Ryan’s apartment was. It would take hours with a team of 30 helpers to move all the crates of animals.
The gravity batteries would have to be turned on underneath the animal floors whenever the rotation was halted, and magnetic shoes would have to be worn in certain parts of the ship.
In Astermine Two, VIN reported that the gravity had increased very slightly.
For several hours, the gravity made movement more strenuous and, even though it would help them survive the odyssey, at this moment it was certainly something to get used to. It was the first time any human had been subjected to strong gravity in space.
Several hours later, when the rotation had stopped, Max Burgos and Peter Smith, the standby astronauts on the build team, and VIN detached Asterspace Three to unload the shuttle’s cargo bay. Jonesy was floating several hundred yards off the ship’s starboard bow in SB-III.
With the frozen meat packed in the aluminum canisters, it took VIN less than an hour with the hoist, and spacewalking to empty the shuttle’s rear cargo hold.
Penny then inverted and moved the shuttle towards the mother ship, docking in their original port. To her, America One looked rather naked with four of her six craft not docked to her three upper sides.
The astronauts exited and were allowed to rest while VIN sent the canisters into Cube Two, one by one, through one of the other docking ports. Once Asterspace Three was docked, the rotations were started again.
“This feels just like Earth, but certainly not as powerful,” remarked Jonesy, enjoying a wakeup cup of coffee twelve hours later in the cafeteria. “It certainly helps get you around the upper level though. I could even wet shave in my bathroom, just like on Earth. No more electric shavers, I hate those things.”
“Your first real space shave, buddy,” said VIN. “What was it like shaving upside down?”
“I tried not to think about it,” mused Jonesy as Suzi entered with baby Mars. Penny jumped up present in hand and both girls cooed over the baby, while the men looked on. Ryan entered with Kathy and she too went over to hug Penny and give attention to the baby.
Over the next hour Jonesy and Penny described the airfield to the crew. Ryan told them that Allen and Jamie had completed a good launch and were already completing their second orbit. Bob Mathews had mentioned that he and his crew had noticed the weight difference between the two shuttles, only twenty-four hours apart.
“Did the Audis arrive?” Jonesy asked. Ryan nodded, mentioning that he had heard that a happy Allen and Jamie Saunders had driven out of the main gate the same day. He knew why Jonesy was asking the question, and smiling, told his chief astronaut that the Gulfstream would be arriving the same day Jonesy and Penny were due back.
“Your next load for reentry is light, Mr. Jones, Mrs. Pitt; just the crew of the ISS and several engine parts,” continued Ryan. Jonesy was learning that Ryan’s use of “Mr.” or “Colonel” when he spoke to him depended on whether his boss was angry or not. “I heard you guys brought back some new DVDs, so if you don’t mind, the ISS crew can watch them on the way home. I don’t want our First Class Service to be any worse than our space colleague who owns Virgin Atlantic.”
“If you are serving drinks on the way down, maybe I should get Mrs. Pitt to take us in while I sweet-talk the ISS crew in the crew compartment,” Jonesy suggested as VIN walked in.
“Sure is something you need practice in, partner,” replied VIN. “Sweet-talking, not the alcohol part.”
“Just to show you I’m not sore at your snarky remarks, Lieutenant Noble, here is a gift from Earth,” replied Jonesy throwing him a bottle of Budweiser.
“Bud Light! That’s below-the-belt beer, partner. Nobody’s fat around here.”
“The shop was waiting for a second shipment, Marine, and that’s all they had. Allen, Michael, the rest of the scientists from space, and I drank all the stocks of real Bud by the pool. The pool was so full, the water was coming over the edges.”
“I see that I had better make it a dry airfield again, Colonel Jones, if you and your buddies can’t handle R&R,” Ryan remarked, and there was a sudden silence.
“Here’s two miniatures of Jack Daniel’s I brought for you,” added Jonesy looking sheepish. “I didn’t want to overload that poor hydrogen thruster. It had enough problems with one bottle of Bud and two miniatures. Thank God I didn’t bring a case of each. Mrs. Pitt and I would be strawberry jam somewhere on the vast Nevada desert.”
“Thank you, Colonel Jones, now let’s g
et back to work. Ladies, please. As you all know, we made a decision about Mr. and Mrs. Warner, nee Yoon, several days ago, and I have a great proposal for them. Our president wants to put a space-knowledgeable team together to talk to Beijing. I suggested that two new U.S. citizens, a German with a Chinese agent wife, could be a good team to help him discuss space and the laws of space with General Ming and his cronies. I suggested that the president expedite her citizenship and warn the Chinese that they are talking to two American Citizens. This will get Fritz and his new wife off America One, and I want Fritz to be my ears on the ground. Also, it will prove that his wife is true to her word, and she has changed sides. I will privately talk to Fritz about the possible dangers to him and his wife, and they will join your reentry manifest on SB-III. Kathy is allowing me to go down and spoil your party aboard ship, Mr. Jones. I will be the third person in the cockpit, so no snoring please. Captain Pete suggested that with ex-agent Yoon, it would not be advisable for me to be in the crew cabin.
“Only Dr. Martin and the German biology professor, Dr. Petra, are staying behind. Both Commanders Philips and Popov have family and children on Earth, and the Chinese professor certainly doesn’t want to stay. So, Colonel Jones, Mrs. Pitt, your manifest is Philips, Popov, the Chinese lady, her name I cannot pronounce, Mr. and Mrs. Warner, Mr. Noble as security guard in the rear, and me in the jump seat with you guys. We depart America One in twenty-one hours, the same time that SB-II arrives with her cargo. The rest of the spacewalkers can unload her, and it will mean only one halt in rotation tomorrow, not two. Igor, Boris, you will begin tests heating the Nano-Silicone up here to 1,000 to 1,200 degrees Celsius in the blast oven. As the guys said in Munich, if their predictions are correct, with the Kevlar grains splitting, or even melting at the right temperature, we should have a clear pane of glass one meter square with minute green Kevlar hairs ingrained. They say that they expect it to be harder than a space diamond at minus 160 degrees, and I want you guys to do your best to break it. If you can’t, I will purchase everything they can produce, enough to build a see-through outer barrier against space somewhere out there. I have already paid for four launches; 16 tons.”
Captain Pete was so worried about Fritz’s wife that he spiked their last meal, sending them both into a deep sleep. Their inert bodies were strapped into the crew cabin a few minutes before the rest boarded through the door from the shuttle’s cockpit. Once they were all in, the door was locked, and wouldn’t be opened until they landed on the airfield.
Twenty minutes later, with the crew in the rear cabin enjoying drinks, food and a new movie nobody had seen, SB-III undocked from America One and began her descent to Earth.
The flights were faster with the mother ship stationed at 399 miles above Earth. The necessary orbits down to reentry were cut in half with the drop in altitude.
Twenty-four hours later, radio communications returned and Jonesy brought the light craft in for a perfect landing, the day even hotter than before at 115 degrees. It was now midsummer.
The crew was helped out through the open cargo doors. Only Fritz’s wife needed a wheelchair as she had been tied down for the entire trip. Fritz woke up twelve hours after departure and glumly looked at his beautiful wife’s unconscious face for six more hours before she came around.
The cockpit team could certainly feel the extra gravitational pull. It was more powerful than being on the upper level, but they all walked themselves gingerly into the showers once the passengers were through. Ryan, like the others, noticed the thick hot air. Showered and wearing hats and sunglasses, they walked slowly across the apron feeling the heat of the air burning their bodies.
Holding hands, Fritz and his wife were escorted to their accommodations first. After being shown into their new hotel room, they were left alone without guard for the first time in their married lives.
Fritz had discussed his mission for hours alone with Ryan before leaving. He was pleased to finally be of service. He understood Ryan’s need to get his wife off the ship and was happy to be told that he and his wife would be meeting the president the next day. She wasn’t to be forewarned.
At eleven the next morning, the two familiar 747s flew into the airfield. This time the president exited from the second aircraft and came down the steps to meet Ryan. The usual number of Secret Service agents accompanied the president and spread out strategically.
“No film crews this time, Ryan?” joked the older man as they shook hands.
“I didn’t think it necessary, Mr. President,” smiled Ryan, noticing that the older man’s hair was now completely grey.
Both Fritz and his wife were waiting in Hangar One with the rest of the ISS crew when Ryan and the president walked in. His wife hadn’t been told about the visit, and was extremely shocked to see the U.S. president coming across with Ryan to meet them. The president shook the hands of each member of the ISS team and then stopped at Mr. and Mrs. Warner. She didn’t know what to do, and as very few Chinese did these days, it being a very old Chinese custom, she bowed deeply.
“I hear you are a force to be reckoned with, Mrs. Warner. Are you ready to go back to China yet?” he asked surprised at her bow. He smiled kindly and bowed back.
“I would like to stay here in America with my husband, sir,” she replied bowing deeply again.
“Your bowing, Mrs. Warner, surprises me. Let me rephrase what I just said. Would you, as an American citizen, go over to Beijing on behalf of the U.S. Government to discuss future country partnerships, Mrs. Warner?”
“I would think so. Would I be protected? I think that my life is not very valuable over there anymore.”
“You will have my protection as an American citizen. You will work directly out of our embassy in Beijing. I will discuss your work on my behalf with my friends over there. How does that sound?” the president continued.
“And I will be with my husband?” she asked.
“Yes, your husband is already a U.S. citizen, and he and you will work as a team, as long as he doesn’t give away any of Mr. Richmond’s secrets.”
“Then I will be honored, sir,” Mrs. Warner stated bowing. When she straightened up the president handed her a document and her new U.S. passport. She opened it to see a photo of her taken by her husband in America One very recently, and realized that he already knew about this plan. He was sure going to get it.
Before she could say thank you, the president and Ryan were walking out of the hangar; she stood hard on her husband’s left foot making him howl.
Thirty minutes later, a jet sent in from NASA to collect the ISS team asked for landing permission. With goodbyes and messages of good luck, the remaining crew boarded for their flight into Florida.
Ryan and the president met for a very long time in Air Force One. The 747s were airborne later that afternoon as a truck with two silver Tesla sports cars on the open rear vehicle area tooted at the gate for entry. The Teslas were offloaded and put away under the hot sun into new carports, next to two Audis, red and black. The black Audi was filthy and already had a ding with a broken headlight. Ryan smiled. It took a learning experience even for an astronaut to drive one of these cars.
For Ryan and VIN, even the two new toys took a back seat to the wonderful warm evening pool with ice cold beers. To be back in Nevada was certainly a pleasure, and the cars could wait.
The air was clean, the hotel food good, and the company happy for the recent arrivals that night. Ryan now believed that gravity did play a part in hangovers. The next morning he needed two aspirins just to get rid of it. He did not remember having a hangover in space, but then they didn’t often drink half a dozen beers or more each. The hangover also brought back the idea of a dry airfield, at least from Sunday to Thursday nights.
He weakly entered Hangar One the next morning, also remembering to start the runway excursions pretty soon. He thought about starting the runs in a few days, but he needed to get the drum solo out of his head first.
The drum solo disappeared as soon
as he had a cold beer on the inside patio at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas six hours later. Being mid-summer, the area where he and VIN had eaten lunch a couple of times before was now air-conditioned and still half empty. Several of the crew members walked in a few minutes later, all dressed in newly purchased off-the-shelf civilian clothing.
On the way into Las Vegas, the now friendly black and white waved and flashed his lights as the three cars passed him, all within the speed limit.
Ryan led the way in his Tesla with Igor in the passenger seat, followed by VIN driving Jonesy in his new Tesla, and Michael and Penny bringing up the rear in their dusty black Audi. Allen and Jamie were still up in space, so one car stayed behind. Igor had driven in with Ryan to experience his first real electric sports car. It was amazing. Michael had earlier explained his car’s introduction to a fence post that seemed to jump in his car’s way on the highway a day or so before. He smiled when Ryan explained that the car wasn’t a jeep to drive on dirt roads, but a car made for sticking to clean black asphalt.
Both the Teslas drove silently and extremely well for electric cars. They, as well as Michael’s car, were still new, and the systems needed to be broken in gently.
They ordered lunch on the mostly empty patio. Ryan suggested that the extreme heat was keeping the rest of the population away.
“I wanted you guys to join me in a place I believe cannot be bugged. As you know, I’m still hesitant to trust everybody out there, so we will have a short briefing here over lunch on my meeting with the president. Does everybody here want to help the good old USA? Igor, I know you are a citizen of this country, but you are still Russian by birth.”
“Da, Ryan, this country has given me a good life and a scientific future with you. Why wouldn’t I want to repay the system, now under better management?” The others agreed that they still had the country at heart. Even Jonesy, now reimbursed for the financial hardships he had gone through, was positive.