by Davis, James
"Thank you, Tyler," the woman said, straightening up and adjusting her thick black glasses.
"They shouldn't give you any trouble," he said playfully, "except this one." He nudged Tanner with his elbow.
"I think we'll be alright, long as these guys aren't afraid of a little needle," she replied with a grin.
"Guess that's gonna be a problem for you, Rosie," Johnny said.
"You stop it! I promised Ruby I wouldn't cry in front of these people," Roosevelt groused.
"I can hold your hand if you need," Tanner offered.
"Well, I'll leave you to it. Good luck with the crying and stuff," Tyler said, turning and walking out of the door, disappearing down around the corner as it slid shut behind him.
"Any volunteers?" Kelly asked, grabbing a small needle from the nearest table.
"I'm going to faint," Roosevelt said, dramatically fanning his face with his hand.
"Let’s get this out of the way," Johnny said, taking a seat in the first chair. Kelly quickly covered her hands with a pair of white latex gloves and lifted the face shield that was dangling from her neck, sliding it into place over her face. She opened a packet and unfolded a small alcohol pad before rubbing the bend of Johnny's arm. She grabbed the needle and uncapped it.
"Oh, lawd!" Roosevelt exclaimed, looking a little pale as the needle penetrated Johnny's skin.
“You gonna be alright over there, bud?” Johnny asked as Kelly attached a fresh vial on the needle to allow more blood to drain from his arm. When Roosevelt didn’t reply Johnny craned his neck to the left to look at his friend. Johnny began to chuckle when he spotted Roosevelt slowly sliding down into the chair as he passed all the way out.
“Blood gets him every time,” Johnny said with amusement.
“I’m going to get his over with while he’s out if you don't mind?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah, go ahead,” Johnny replied as he sat there scrolling through his social media accounts. He checked his messages and notifications while Kelly wrapped the rubber tube around Roosevelt's big arm. She spotted a thick, plump vein, the kind of vein all nurses got excited about and quickly slid the needle in. A high-pitched scream caused her to flinch and scared the living crap out of Johnny causing him to drop his phone. He looked over to see Roosevelt regaining consciousness with wide eyed horror and screaming like a small child as Kelly took his blood. After a few seconds Roosevelt passed out for a second time, thankfully taking his girlish screams with him. Kelly was trying not to burst into laughter as she finished getting the last vial from the big tough black man. Johnny stared at his friend and shook his head wryly.
“Big muscled-up sissy,” he said, sticking his arm back out for Kelly to finish getting the blood needed to complete the required tests. Tanner, Rebecca and Erik all snickered on the other side of Roosevelt as he finally started to wake up. Kelly had put a large Mickey Mouse band-aid on his arm which got the other three laughing even harder when they spotted it.
“What the hell happened?” Roosevelt said as he glanced around at everyone through droopy eyes.
“Oh nothing, you fell asleep while you were waiting for Kelly to get to you,” Johnny said, holding back a smile. Roosevelt eyed him suspiciously and then pushed himself higher into the seat until he was sitting straight up.
“She already finished mine?” Roosevelt asked.
“Looks that way to me,” Johnny said, gesturing with his chin toward the Mickey Mouse band-aid.
“Shit! I started screaming like a little girl again, didn’t I?” Roosevelt asked. Tanner, Erik and Rebecca couldn’t hold it in any longer. They all burst into laughter, leaning forward and holding their stomachs while wiping tears away. Roosevelt started to chuckle.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m a damn sissy when it comes to needles.”
“That’s alright, big guy. It happens to the best of us,” Kelly said, giving him a pat on the arm as she walked past. An hour later the group was leaving the medical bay and headed for the tailor to get fitted for their spacesuits. That night they all sat around a large dining room table eating steak and seafood. The atmosphere in the room was light hearted and fun as everyone joked and poked fun at Roosevelt for his girlish screams. Johnny pushed away from the table and stood up.
“I’m going to give Tracy a call and let her know how things are going. I’ll be back in a few,” Roosevelt gave him a thumbs up as he bit through his third serving of steak. Later that night after everyone finished dinner and checking in with their loved ones, they all settled into a conference room to go over the rest of the schedule before launch day. The coming days were full of mental and physical checks along with fitness tests and the test all astronauts looked forward to, the G-force test.
“Alright everyone, let’s get you to your rooms. We have a long week ahead of us and we’re going to need the rest,” Tyler said as he showed each of the crew members to separate rooms on one of the lower levels of A51.
“You all have fresh towels, soap, toothbrushes and anything else you may need to get cleaned up. Remember, training starts at 8:00 a.m., don’t be late,” he said, as they all pushed through their doors, ready for some much-needed sleep.
Chapter Nine
5:57 a.m. July 21, 2048
Cape Canaveral, Florida
Roosevelt walked around the massive shuttle, sliding his hand along the smooth metal surface. He had never seen anything like it before in his entire life. The shuttle looked like a mix between a 747 and a stealth fighter jet. The thing was enormous and did not look like it was capable of reaching space under its own power.
“Amazing isn’t it?” Tanner said, walking up next to him. Roosevelt smiled.
“It sure as hell is! I can’t wait to take her for a spin. Think it would be alright if I swung by the house to pick up my wife and take her for a quick ride?” Roosevelt asked.
“Not a problem. Just make sure you have it back by ten,” Tanner added as they both began to chuckle.
“What the hell are you two pansies laughing about?” Johnny asked as he stepped up behind them.
“Damn thing is huge isn’t it?” Roosevelt said, eyeing Johnny over his right shoulder. Johnny didn’t reply right away. He was taking it all in. The smooth charcoal metal contoured perfectly around each curve of the shuttle. The name Gungnir was painted down both sides with a long, golden, tri point spear underlining the name.
“Perfect name for it. Odin’s spear. Don’t get much more badass than that!” Johnny said, slapping the other two men on the shoulder as they all stared up at the shuttle.
“Time to get inside! This thing won't fly itself!" Tyler shouted.
"Well, actually it will, but I imagine you're gonna wanna be inside when it takes off. One final system check and we are gone!"
"Mr. Washington!" A brunette woman in a black pantsuit shouted from behind a short barrier that had been set up to keep them away from the astronauts after their quarantine.
"Any words before you leave Earth?" she shouted over the multiple other questions being yelled at them. Tanner turned toward the woman and flashed a smile.
"Keep those cameras rolling, you're about to see some mind-blowing shit," he said. Tanner threw one arm over Roosevelt's shoulder and his other arm over Johnny's, drawing them closer and lifting the thumbs on both of his hands.
"Smile boys, these pics are gonna go in the history books!" he said through his toothy smile as clicks and the flashbulbs of the cameras went crazy.
"Photo op’s over. Time to get into your positions," Tyler's voice came through the mic in each of their helmets.
"Mom tells me I can’t play anymore, I gotta go!" Tyler informed the reporter raising his hand and waving, holding it posed for a few seconds to allow for a few more pictures.
The astronauts climbed the stairs into the cabin of the shuttle and made their way through the cabin, admiring the inside as they went. Like a large mansion with wings, Gungnir, was designed with all of the comforts of home. Which was a good thing since Gungnir
was home, at least for the foreseeable future.
"Nice, huh, fellas? I'll save the tour for the live stream," Tanner said through the mic in his helmet.
"All systems are a go, pilot fire stage one engines," Tyler's voice came over the speaker once all five passengers were strapped and plugged into to their seats.
Roosevelt pressed two buttons on the large touchscreen in front of him.
"Stage one engines engaged," he replied.
"Looking good, the runway is clear, all systems are a go, you're clear for takeoff," Tyler informed the crew.
"A-firm-a-tive," Roosevelt said, sounding out each syllable as he pressed the large screen in front of him. The shuttle lurched forward and in seconds was rolling full speed down the runway.
"What is that?" Tyler asked, asked as Hound Dog by Elvis began playing loudly over every speaker.
"Someone better figure it out and quick!" he demanded.
"Pilot we need these lines free for communication," Tyler informed Roosevelt after the source of the noise had been identified.
"Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine!" Roosevelt sang along with the song as he reached forward and slid a bar all the way up on the screen and tapped a green button. With that, the shuttle lifted off of the ground a few inches, dropped back to the ground, bounced, and lifted off again, this time leaving the ground for good and quickly gaining altitude. The song finished and the five people aboard began to cheer.
"Gonna need that to never happen again," Tyler said over the speaker, clearly not amused with Roosevelt’s pre-flight shenanigans.
"You're looking good but you aren't out of the neighborhood yet. About thirty thousand feet higher and we can fire stage two. Then the magic really happens. Slow and steady until then," he said.
"Roger," Roosevelt replied, moving another slider up on the touchscreen.
"Let's give 'em a show!" Tanner exclaimed with a raised fist.
"They'll have their show, let's get you to launch altitude first," Tyler replied.
****
“This part always scares the shit out of me!” Tracy said as they watched Gungnir reach higher into the sky.
“Me, too,” Ruby replied, keeping her eyes locked on the live feed on her phone. They watched as the countdown for stage two began, the Gungnir now barely visible with the naked eye.
“3...2...1…engage,” Roosevelt’s voice sounded over the live feed before the signal failed and static filled the screen and speakers. Tracy and Ruby each looked up just in time to see a bright blue flash light up the sky around the shuttle, leaving a long streak of blue behind it as it shot off into open space, hurtling toward the big red planet.
****
Roosevelt slammed back into his seat as he engaged the second stage of the advanced engines. Everyone's seats began to shake violently as the Gungnir tore its way through the final layer of the Earth's atmosphere. They all watched in amazement as the blue sky turned to a black void with bright speckles dotting their entire line of sight. The shaking stopped and the forces smashing them all into their seats vanished as they entered open space and began to accelerate toward Mars. Roosevelt flipped a few switches and finally pressed a flashing green button on the control panel to engage the autopilot. As the Gungnir took over the controls, Roosevelt unbuckled his harness and slowly floated into the air.
“Engaging gravity plates everyone. Make sure you are holding onto something!” Tanner explained as he typed away on his laptop. Roosevelt anchored himself to the floor with his strong arms and waited for gravity to engage. He glanced back at Johnny and the rest of the crew who had all gotten out of their own seats. They all took Tanner's advice and did as Roosevelt did. Tanner typed a few more keys and suddenly they all pressed down to the floor. He quickly stood up and set his laptop down on a counter next to him before turning to address the crew.
“Alright guys, let's get changed into our official Gungnir jumpsuits. We're about to go live on the first ever space edition of Cribs!”
Chapter Ten
July 21, 2048
Aboard Gungnir
"Didn't I promise you a show?" Tanner asked, holding a small camera out in front of him, "There's plenty where that came from too, but for now, welcome to Cribs: Outer Space Edition,” he finished, slowly panning the camera around before aiming it toward himself again.
The entire area was white and smooth with grey bordering. A massive screen covered the entire front of the craft, covered in digital gauges, buttons, sliders and scientific data pouring in. A large white seat sat positioned at the center of the screen. Four seats sat behind it, two on the left and two on the right. A screen the size of a small television extended from the ceiling to roughly eye level.
"Just moments ago, we topped out at one hundred thousand miles per hour as we left the atmosphere, and that was controlled from that very seat by our beautiful, beautiful pilot, Roosevelt Parker. He appears to be exploring right now, we'll catch up to him. Each of our astronauts was fitted with a custom suit, just for them. They're connected to these four screens. Those screens monitor everything, from vital signs to what they had for breakfast, we can track it all! Down below us we have storage, laboratories, and medical. Our entire water supply is housed in a tank, between the hull of the ship and the inner walls. This allows us to save space and offers a little extra protection from that nuclear wasteland out there. And speaking of nuclear, this thing is powered with a nuclear reactor that will keep us rolling halfway to forever!" he said into the camera, he turned it around and walked out of the cockpit and into the cabin.
"Here's where we'll be spending most of our free time over the next few years. We kept that in mind while designing," he said, holding the camera at arm’s length and spinning around.
"Check this out!" Tanner said, pulling out the tablet he carried under his arm and tapping a few times. Two large flat screens slowly lowered from the ceiling in front of each sofa. He tapped a few times and they raised back into the ceiling, concealing both.
"It's full of cool shit like that, this thing is designed to be comfortable and use space as efficiently as possible. And it's all controlled by a semi-artificial intelligence that Tyler created along with these custom tablets, that control everything from lights to air to gravity. This is literally where the magic happens," he said, sliding his finger up on the screen of the tablet.
He slowly began to lift from the ground as the artificial gravity disappeared.
"Watch this!" he said, turning the camera back toward himself, leaning forward and spinning in place.
"Hey!" Roosevelt shouted from the other side of the doorway.
"There's our guy! Now this will come in handy on the last leg of our trip, we will slowly be lowering the gravity as we approach our destination until we seamlessly become accustomed to the gravity of Mars by touchdown," Tanner said, pointing the camera outward again, grabbing the rail that ran the length of the ceiling and gliding toward the door. He found Roosevelt floating in a small room. The room was lined with cabinets and drawers.
"Put my ass back down!" Roosevelt said, desperately attempting to corral a tortilla and slice of grilled chicken that were now floating away in opposite directions.
"It ain't pretty but this is where we eat. We are stuck with ready to eat meals, but rest assured, we commissioned some of the best chefs in the world to prepare the menu," Tanner said, ignoring Roosevelt's pleas as he turned and glided out of the room. He made his way to the opposite end of the cabin and pulled himself up through a circular opening.
He entered the room with five circular hatches, opened one and glided through. The room was small and square, basically consisting of a single bed, a light, and a large screen covering one wall.
"A place to relax after a long day of doing space stuff! Nothing too fancy. These beds, just like Gungnir, are good to go horizontally or vertically. Tanner said, quickly panning around the small room.
“Follow me and I’ll show you the game room, complet
e with pool tables, ping pong, badminton and a ton of vintage 1980’s video games,” he said, floating back through the room's entrance. After going through the entire shuttle and showing off each of the rooms to the camera Tanner brought up his tablet and tapped the announcement app. The app allowed his voice to sound through the shuttle's speaker system so that everyone aboard would hear him.
“Good afternoon everyone, Tanner Washington here. I just wanted to inform everyone that we are done filming and will be turning on the gravity plates in approximately five minutes. Please find somewhere to take a seat so that no one gets injured when the plates re-engage. Thank you all for your cooperation,” Tanner explained before pushing himself toward a comfortable looking sofa on the far wall. Roosevelt followed and picked a spot across from Tanner.
He waited a few moments and after a few taps on the screen of his tablet, gravity took over again and both men sunk into the sofa.
"Oh, that's nice!" Roosevelt said, rubbing his fingertips on the soft white leather.
"Please keep the gravity adjustments to a minimum, it is not a toy, we need you guys stable for now," Tyler said, over the earpiece.
"Are you kidding? They loved it! We had fifteen million viewers when I ended that stream!" Tanner objected.
"All the same, let's keep our feet on the ground for now.”
“Ok, mother,” Tanner replied sarcastically. Roosevelt chuckled.
“You two act like you’re married,” he said, still rubbing his hand over the soft leather. Tanner didn’t bother replying. He stood up and walked toward the living quarters eager to get a few moments of peace and quiet. Several minutes later Roosevelt finally stood up and headed back toward the rest of the crew. He was curious to see what Johnny was up to and he needed to double check the flight controls to make sure they were still on course.
“Crazy right?” Roosevelt said from across the room as he strolled toward Johnny. Johnny was busy swiping and tapping on his tablet. He was going through all of the data that A51 had compiled for Mars and all of the previous missions.
