Star One: Neutron Star

by Raymond L. Weil

  The ship’s pilot was Captain Rodrick Simpson, a broad shouldered man in his mid thirties. He had spent a lot of time on the Earth-Moon shuttle run, and was said to be the best shuttle pilot NASA had ever produced. Ty had flown on several Moon runs with the man over the past several years. He had all the confidence in the world in Captain Simpson’s piloting abilities. He doubted that they could have chosen a better pilot for the mission, even though John Gray was a close second in piloting ability. Simpson would be an ideal pick if you needed someone to back you up in an emergency.

  There were two mission specialists responsible for keeping the systems of the ship operating. Karl Velm and Winston Archer were average looking men who had been heavily involved in assembling and setting up the systems on Star One. Ty had worked with both of them before and had found them to be highly qualified in their jobs.

  The medical officer was Lieutenant Evelyn Strett, a young woman in her late twenties, with a nice figure and an easy personality. Ty had met Lieutenant Strett down at the cape, where she had interned working for several months helping with the medical checks for the shuttle launches. She had also worked some with Doctor Wruggi upon her arrival on Star One. He knew she didn’t care much for men socially, but it had never interfered with her job.

  There were three mission scientists. There was Pierre LaRann from the Farside observatory, who was an accomplished astronomer in his late forties. Also from the Farside observatory was LeAnn Kelly, who was known for her research into high-energy particle physics. Juan Raul was another accomplished astronomer who was well known for his work cataloguing a lot of the rogue asteroids and comets in the Solar System.

  Ty had met all three of the scientists briefly at one time or another. He was not that familiar with any of them other than LaRann. He had worked with Pierre several times in the past. He did have an in depth personnel file on each crewmember, including the scientists, which he had reviewed the night before.

  Ty waited until everyone was seated around the conference table, ignoring the buzz of conversation that started up as soon as everyone recognized him.

  “Good morning,” Ty stated evenly, his brown eyes looking at each member of the crew. “I believe everyone here knows me. I have some mission profiles for each of you; please review these for discussion.” With that brief comment, Ty passed out the folders and watched as the crewmembers opened them curiously to see what they contained.

  “I assume you have been named Mission Commander,” Captain Simpson stated, not showing any surprise. He had been expecting this.

  “That’s correct,” Ty replied with a nod. “Commander Larson informed me yesterday.”

  “Damn good decision!” Winston Archer spoke. “They should have announced it months ago.”

  “Politicians,” added Karl Velm, shaking his head. “They screw everything up.”

  The men went back to reading the information in the folders in front of them. Ty knew they were in for a surprise and a shock. He had spent quite a few hours the night before working up a tentative mission plan from the information that Steve had furnished him. He waited a few minutes as everyone glanced at the pages. Several had growing frowns of confusion on their faces.

  Only the two scientists from Farside, who knew about the neutron star, showed no surprise. They merely glanced at the profiles, then turned their attention back to Ty. For the rest of the crew, this was obviously not what they had been expecting. Most had been preparing for months for the Jupiter mission. Everyone looked at Ty with growing bewilderment, not sure what was going on.

  “Our mission has been changed,” began Ty, seeing the shaken looks on several faces. “The ship is no longer going to Jupiter as originally planned. As Mr. LaRann and Ms. Kelly are aware of, for the past month the Farside observatory has been tracking an object nearing our Solar System that is emitting a high level of x-rays.”

  “X-rays?” spoke Lieutenant Strett frowning. “Isn't that dangerous?”

  “Not at the moment,” Ty replied. “Because of the potential danger this object may pose to our Solar System and particularly Earth, we have been ordered to take the Jupiter Probe ship and rendezvous with that object. We are to investigate it, assess its potential threat to Earth, and return to Star One. That is why Mr. LaRann and Ms. Kelly have been added to the crew.” Ty paused, watching as the crew assimilated the startling information.

  They all looked shaken up by the revelations. Captain Simpson’s forehead was creased in a deep frown as he weighed the ramifications of the mission change. He didn’t like where this was leading. It sounded as if the mission to Jupiter had been canceled, probably indefinitely.

  “It’s a neutron star,” Professor LaRann spoke firmly, looking around at the crew from behind his glasses. He had been given permission to speak freely about this.

  “Oh my God!” Lieutenant Strett spoke, her voice filled with fear and her eyes growing wide. She suddenly understood the reason for some of the recent changes that had been done to the ship.

  “The x-ray source is a neutron star, and it is approaching our Solar System at 360 miles per second,” Professor LaRann continued. “It is eighteen miles in diameter and 2.2 times the mass of our Sun.”

  “Crap, that’s fast!” said Carl Velm, looking at the professor. “Is that normal?”

  “For a neutron star it’s not that uncommon,” LaRann replied with a nod of his slightly graying head.

  “How dangerous of a threat to our Solar System is this neutron star going to be?” asked Captain Simpson, wondering what was ahead of them. It also explained why they had been rushing so much the last several weeks working on the ship. “Its mass alone may cause some problems. A star 2.2 times the mass of our own Sun is nothing to joke about. It could drastically affect the orbits of the planets in our Solar System.”

  “Is that possible?” Lieutenant Strett asked. She felt terribly uneasy about the mission change and the danger this neutron star might represent. She had a lot of family down on Earth.

  “Its current orbital path will bring the star deep into our Solar System. It will cause substantial aberrations in the orbits of most, if not all, of the planets,” LaRann admitted in a lecturing tone. “What its full affects on Earth will be are unknown, but I believe they will be quite substantial.”

  “But why go out there? What use is it being there?” asked Winston Archer looking confused. “The telescopes and the dish arrays at Farside should be able to tell us everything we need to know.”

  “Some of our observations don’t match the theoretical model of a neutron star,” replied LaRann, recalling all the discussions at Farside as they tried to figure out what was causing the discrepancies.

  “What do you mean, don’t match?” Captain Simpson asked. Scientists had been aware of neutron stars for years.

  “The mass doesn’t seem right, and the damn thing seems to be wobbling,” LaRann replied with an unhappy look. “The x-ray pulses don’t seem right either. There has to be something else influencing the neutron star.”

  “We have to go out there to determine what the danger is,” Ty broke in using a serious tone of voice. “We can’t risk sending a probe. The distance involved is too great. The communication lag time would prevent us from reacting to potential dangers to the probe. The future of our Solar System may depend on what we find.”

  “Even with the new ion drive, a trip like that will take months. We’re talking about going out past the edge of the Solar System. The ship is fast, but it’s not that fast,” objected Winston, looking nervously at the others for support. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “We can’t possibly take the amount of supplies we would need to survive on a mission like this. The original Jupiter mission called for six months for the round trip. Two months there, one month for research, and then three months back. It’s suicide to try something like this. It can’t be done!”

  “Doctor Wruggi, who I’m sure you are all familiar with, has perfected a deep sleep drug that we will be injected with t
o allow us to sleep through the majority of the flight time,” replied Ty, understanding the question and knowing that a lot of the others were also feeling concerned. It had worried him also about the duration of the flight.

  “So we would be asleep most of the trip,” Winston commented with a slight frown.

  He still didn’t like this mission change. It sounded too much like a one-way mission to him. Going to Jupiter was one thing, but this was something else entirely. He suspected that the odds of coming back alive on this mission were not very great.

  “This will allow us to use a minimum amount of supplies and considerably extend our flight range,” Ty said with a nod. “We are also attaching four special SRBs to the ship to increase our initial speed to allow us to get to our destination and return as quickly as possible. I know that this is a big shock to all of you. It was to me also. But the neutron star is coming, and the only chance our people may have of surviving its passing is what we may discover on this mission.”

  “I wondered what the hell was going on with the SRBs,” Captain Simpson commented.

  “Talk about pressure,” mumbled Winston, leaning back and trying to think.

  He looked down at the mission profile, which contained a brief description of the neutron star. He picked up a stellar photograph and gazed speculatively at the small dot circled in red in its center. This was not the mission he had signed up for!

  Ty continued to explain the new mission profile in detail, as the crew started to assimilate the information and visibly calm down. Ty could see from the questioning look in their eyes that they still had a lot of questions. He finally stopped and waited for the questions he knew were coming.

  “I’ve worked with Doctor Wruggi some on the deep sleep drug,” Lieutenant Strett said, glancing around at everyone. “It’s been tested briefly on human subjects with no ill effects. It’s also been tested in the lab on animals for periods of up to one year, and they survived. I wondered why they installed those new sleeping capsules in the ship. They looked suspiciously as if they were designed for deep sleep and not regular sleeping. Now we know why.”

  “But we’re not animals!” objected Winston, voicing his concern in a loud voice. “Just how safe is this drug?” He didn’t want to go to sleep and never wake back up.

  “There will be some risk,” admitted Ty, knowing that this was a good crew. “The drug has been tested on human subjects, but for only periods of up to one month. There were no ill effects recorded. Our own deep sleep will be considerably longer, but Doctor Wruggi is confident the drug will work. Also, as Lieutenant Strett mentioned, she is familiar with the drug and the procedures for administering it.”

  “If Doctor Wruggi says the drug will work, it will,” Lieutenant Strett stated simply. She had a lot of confidence in the brilliant doctor.

  “If I understand this correctly, this will be a very extended flight,” Captain Simpson began, scanning several pages in his folder. “I can’t guarantee the ship can do what is being asked. We’re talking about going out to the very edge of our Solar System, not Jupiter as we originally planned.”

  “No one has been out past the orbit of Mars,” commented Carl Velm, raising his eyebrows. “This is a lot farther than that. We will be putting a lot of stress on the ship and its systems on a flight this long.”

  “If this neutron star turns out to be a significant threat to life in our Solar System, we have no choice but to take the chance,” Ty spoke calmly, trying to reassure the crew.

  “It will be a significant threat,” confirmed Pierre LaRann. “There will be some loss of life on Earth, but what we discover might help to minimize that.”

  “How big a loss of life?” Winston asked, worriedly. He had a lot of friends that lived down on Earth, including his sister and her kids. He wanted to make sure they were safe.

  “If the neutron star stays on its current trajectory, it could be very bad,” replied LaRann, glancing at Ty. He wasn’t sure how much Commander Erin wanted him to reveal about this.

  Everyone was quiet as they turned their gaze from LaRann back to Ty. They all looked frightened at the prospect of what might be coming.

  “I know this mission will be dangerous; no one can deny that,” Ty said, seriously.” If anything happens to the ship or us there will be no chance of a rescue. The Jupiter Probe is a one of a kind ship. If anyone wants to back out, now is the time to do so. It will not reflect on your records or future considerations.” Ty paused, giving the crew a few seconds to weigh his words. Everyone glanced at each other, but no one made a move to get up. Winston looked extremely unhappy but stayed seated. “You have until tomorrow morning to withdraw from the mission if anyone changes their minds.”

  “If any of us pulls out, there won’t be enough time to train someone else,” commented Captain Simpson, letting out a deep breath. “The ship is just too complicated. This mission needs all of us if it’s to have a chance of success.”

  “It’s hard to say no with so much riding on this,” Winston said finally after mulling everything over in his mind. “I don’t like this new mission, and the odds of us returning don’t seem to be that good. I don’t see how any of us can back out. I may not like it, but we have a job to do.”

  “We will do out best with what we have if someone wants to sit this one out,” Ty said, looking at each member of the crew. “This mission will be extremely dangerous. We don’t know what we may be facing out there.”

  “That’s why we signed up for the space program,” Captain Simpson spoke with a weak smile. “To go where no one has ever gone before.”

  “We will certainly be doing that,” Ty replied with a forced smile. “However, training must begin immediately. Time is rapidly running out. I would ask all of you to meet me on the Jupiter Probe ship in 30 minutes to begin preflight preparations. We will launch the ship in 48 hours on a trial flight to the Moon and back.”

  “That’s pushing it,” Captain Simpson said, frowning and thinking about what still needed to be done. “But I understand the need for haste.”

  “The ship will be ready,” Karl Velm stated, confidently. “She’s a good ship.”

  “I hope so,” Ty replied. “Be prepared for a lot of hard work. As I said before, we don’t have a lot of time to prepare. You all have a rough copy of the upcoming mission. In the next few days, we need to firm that up. Each one of you needs to determine what will be needed to ensure that the ship and crew can complete this mission to the neutron star successfully.”

  Chapter Five

  Steve and Christy were seated at a small conference table poring over the latest information from Farside. Documents and photos were scattered over a large part of the table in front of them in partial disarray.

  “If this is correct,” Christy said uneasily as she leaned forward with her arms resting on the table. “Pluto has drifted nearly two degrees from its calculated orbit.” She pointed to several astronomical charts with calculations at the bottom. “Farside has checked the data several times, and Pierre LaRann has confirmed the deflection.”

  “That would indicate a massive gravity source is influencing Pluto,” Steve said worriedly, trying to keep his mind focused on the charts and not on Christy.

  Even in this serious situation, basic human instincts still seemed to arise. He let out a deep sigh as he gazed at the most recent data, his dark brown eyes coming to a stop on a photograph of the neutron star. What else was this thing hiding, he wondered?

  “The Farside people don’t think the neutron star is totally responsible,” continued Christy, looking at another section of the report, her blue eyes studying the information carefully. “They say the deflection is too soon and too big. Pluto is nearly three and a half billion miles out from the Sun, and the neutron star is another ten billion beyond that.”

  “That tends to support the hypothesis that we are dealing with a neutron star and perhaps something else,” agreed Steve touching the photo in front of him with his index finger. “Something is
causing the neutron star to wobble. Perhaps a stray planet that’s been captured in its gravity field.”

  “Something they can’t see because it’s so far outside the Solar System,” responded Christy, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes briefly. Every day it seemed as if there were more surprises. She opened them and looked over at Steve. “I wonder what else is out there that we might be missing? Ty’s mission is getting more dangerous every day.”

  Christy was silent for a moment. She knew these meetings were necessary so they could decide on how best to prepare the station for the challenging future that was ahead of them. She felt a chill run down her back as the awful reality of what was coming toward them set in. There were times she almost wished that she wasn’t Steve’s second in command.

  “This photo was taken by the Albertson reflector,” Steve continued in a clear voice, tapping a photo of a star field with the neutron star in the center. “With the neutron star’s mass, it could have a large planet in a distant orbit that is affecting Pluto, which we haven’t detected yet.”

  “But there are so many anomalies,” interjected Christy, picking up the photo showing the dim neutron star and gazing speculatively at it.

  “There is obviously something wrong with this neutron star,” Steve said shaking his head. “I just wish we knew what it was before Ty launches on his mission.”

  “But what?” asked Christy, her tone betraying her growing concern. The stakes were so high in all of this, and there were still just too many unknowns.

  Steve closed his eyes briefly. Even in this situation, Christy’s voice sounded so seductive. Steve wondered if Christy knew just how sexy she sounded at times. Her voice helped to take his mind off the deadly danger from the neutron star for just a moment. Steve let out a deep sigh, and then refocused his thoughts on the problem at hand.

  “This neutron star isn’t behaving like the theoretical model states that it should,” Steve answered with a frown. “Something else has to be affecting it. If it’s a captured planet, it has to be a large one. Jupiter size or larger. If it’s that large, the Farside astronomers should already have found it.”