“Sally? What’s happening?” Kimberly’s voice was strained.
“Sully said Bennett’s comm is off.”
Her voice was frantic. “Try again. Tell Sully about the comet. Make Sully turn Bennett’s comm on. Force it, if he has to. Please, Sally. Please. Have Sully help him.”
* * *
Bennett used his jet pack to maneuver to the other side of the array. He was able to manually get the array halfway turned. Sweat trickled down his back, and he wished he could pause for a few seconds, but being vulnerable out here gave him a sense of urgency and a serious need for completion.
A burst of light out of the corner of his eye drew his attention. He looked briefly at the sun, his visor protecting him from the damaging rays. A panel of information scrolled across the left-hand side of his visor. There was an increase in solar-flare activity. According to his readings, they were in the X-class range—some of the sun’s strongest flares. They often messed with the ionosphere, and Bennett knew before he even tried it that the radio would be knocked out.
It was captivating. At 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, this mainly-hydrogen ball, with a small percentage of helium added in, was fascinating. Over 90 million miles away from the Earth, Bennett couldn’t resist taking a moment. For a brief second, he stole a glance at the sun. The bright orb had bursts of intensity that weren’t even visible to his naked eyesight. Though his instruments recorded it, due in large part to the genius of the individuals who designed and constructed the shuttle panels, he was aware that being this close was a rare experience.
“Sully, are you there?”
“Yes, Captain. Command Control has been attempting to reach you. The comet’s speed has increased,” said Sully.
“Can you access Command Control?” asked Bennett.
“Working…” said Sully.
Bennett closed his eyes, and spots appeared before them. The sun was so much brighter than he had ever considered. As he turned away from it to get back to the task at hand, he saw something troubling. A small piece of debris hit the side of the shuttle, hard enough to dent it.
“Control, are you there? Control?” Bennett asked. No response. Right, he remembered—there was no radio because of the flares.
He was alone in space.
Looking around him, it was hard not to fathom both the beauty and danger of his present environment. “Sully, talk to me,” he said.
“I am here, Captain. What can I do for you?” the voice of Sully echoed over his comm. “The Barstow Comet has changed direction. The heat of the sun has forced sublimation—changing solid to gas. Although the comet will not collide with the shuttle, the coma formed by the gases resulting from its sublimation will. As those massive flares of gas ignite and spew, they form the early stages of a cocoon-like cloud around the comet—or to be more specific, a coma. Please note the coma is heading toward you at over eight hundred meters per second. I project the first wave of gaseous force and debris will arrive in approximately eight minutes and forty-three, forty-two, forty-one seconds…”
The muscle in Bennett’s jaw tightened. No one knew what kind of volatile environment the comet would create for the shuttle or, more to the point, his space suit. Bennett wasn’t interested in sticking around to find out. He moved his arm, attempting to reposition his body. The movement was tedious and seemed to take forever.
“Sully, warn me at the five-minute mark. Until then, silence.” Bennett gritted his teeth. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and poured down his face, neck, and back—which was quite a feat in space, given that one of the purposes of the suit was to monitor and maintain a steady body temperature.
Bennett pulled an automatic screwdriver from his belt, and it tumbled from his hand. Turning over and over, it traveled farther away from him, heading toward the sun. Frustration slid through his body, accompanied by an icy-cold sliver of fear.
“Easy, Sheraton. Slow and steady wins the race.” He brought his breathing under control, putting his mind in single-task mode. Having planned for such a possibility, he took a second screwdriver from his belt. This one stayed in hand as he readjusted the angle of the hub.
Methodically, he moved the controls for the singular array devices, shifting them into a steady and sedentary position directed away from the Earth, so no one could use the laser function on the residents of planet Earth. It assured that no one nation could take control of such a powerful weapon. Bennett was pleased with how well the tool worked. Melo would be pleased with his chips. His automatic screwdriver had a DNA coder that worked only on this device with Melo’s blood, and it would stop functioning after the laser array was completely online. This was the big idea Melo had provided the engineers: chips with a DNA component. They’d used Melo’s blood for the brain chip component and paired it to the related tools. It was a great way to honor the big guy. His brother had made it to space after all.
Additional safeguards had been placed in the software to protect life below from comets and meteors and whatever other alien threat might approach from space. Whether or not the array was big enough to handle such problems, at least it was a start. Finally, the Earth would have some kind of planetary defense system in place.
He activated the array again and watched it shift the orb hardware above his location. With the chips in place, it was like putting an analog system in space, but without actual cords. Without a digital hookup, it meant a serviceperson had to come up here and handle the array with tools that contained the DNA-indexed chip. So, several safeguards were in place.
He secured the screwdriver onto his belt. When he pushed off from the hub, he was tugged back into place: the tether had wrapped itself around the array. There wasn’t time to turn everything off, move around it, and get the array back online. Doing the one thing an astronaut never wants to do in space, Bennett unclipped the tether. He guided the line around the edge of the device and dove off the side, pushing with his feet to provide momentum. It was impossible to grasp the line with his massive gloves, so he wound his arm around as much of it as he could.
“Warning. Incoming,” said Sully.
A wave of gas blasted Bennett toward the Earth, moving him farther and farther away from the safety of the shuttle. The tether bit into the space suit. Luckily, it didn’t rip a hole that would suck away his precious oxygen. Bennett dangled in the heavy, gaseous winds for what seemed like ages. They pulled at him and the precarious tether. This is what a fish feels like, he imagined. Dangling helplessly, waiting to be reeled in or freed.
“Five minutes, Captain,” said Sully.
Finally, the force eased, and Bennett could pull his way back to the shuttle door. When he reached it, tiny specks of dust batted at him and against the shuttle as he attempted to open the key-code panel to open the air lock. The comet dust, finer than sand, covered his mask quickly. He swiped at his helmet visor to clear the debris, leaving an oddly shaped print on his visor.
That can’t be good, he thought.
Glancing over his shoulder, he could see larger chunks coming toward him. Even something as big as a pea could penetrate the suit, and these sharp-edged suckers could cut right through his tether and send him spinning into orbit.
A vision of Kimberly flashed through his mind, of her looking up at the night sky, weeping as she thought of him orbiting the Earth forever, just another piece of space trash. Not now, Bennett thought. Not ever!
Clearing his brain, he forced his body to obey him and to do the task. Prying open the entry panel, he revealed the keypad. He punched in the code, and the door opened. He pulled himself quickly inside and unwound the tether. Securing a second safety line to the inside wall as the door closed behind him, he shouted an order. “Sully, avoid the comet crap and get us out of here! Rotate the shuttle one hundred and eighty degrees until we’re clear of the cloud and then down to orbit at two hundred miles above the Earth.”
“Acknowledged, Ca
ptain.” The shuttle moved on a trajectory perpendicular to the comet, toward an orbit closer to the Earth.
For several seconds, Bennett lay on the floor of the bay, grateful to be inside. His muscles ached from holding so tightly to the tether. Then he punched the button to restore air and gravity to the airlock. He pulled off his suit and secured it in the locker of the bay. With the pressure now equalized to that in the rest of the shuttle, he let himself into the main cargo area and worked his way forward to the pilot controls.
He dropped his sweat-soaked T-shirt on his seat and noticed his feet were cold against the shuttle floor. Bothering with socks, shoes, or additional clothing would have taken valuable time. Besides, if he died, who cared how he dressed? If he made it home, at least he was wearing long johns.
“Good to have you on board again, Captain,” said Sully.
“Any word from Command Control?” asked Bennett. Rubbing his hands over his face and scrubbing his fingers over his scalp, he checked the progress of the comet’s debris. They still had at least five more minutes before the full thrust of it caught up to them. Moving away from its path had bought them some time.
“N-n-negative.” Sully stuttered in an oddly high-pitched voice.
Bennett frowned. That wasn’t normal! “Show me where we are in terms of orbit, and map it against our entry point.” He watched the screen spring to life. Across the starlit windshield, he could see where they were and how far they needed to travel to make their window back to the ground. Checking the gauges, he noticed the batteries were low. He tapped his finger on the screen, but nothing changed.
“Sully, why are we losing power? Debris. The computers…the structural integrity of one of them has been compromised, hasn’t it?” Bennett’s eyes darted to the rest of the displays. This was the only one compromised. His mind leaped into action, doing the calculations. “Are you there, Sully?”
“…an entire bank of computers powering down. Duty to preserve your existence, C-C-Captain. All power going to life support.” Sully’s voice was a low thrum.
“Wait, we have plenty of fuel. I think—yeah, I have an idea.” Bennett unstrapped himself and crawled under the right-side control panel. Without the hardware payload on board blocking the copilot’s seat, there was tons of room to move around on the shuttle.
Retrieving the pliers and extra wire from the tool kit, he opened the electronics of the fuel panel and split the wire. He rigged a little something extra into the electronics panel, and then brought Sully and the rest of the systems back online. He closed the panel and secured the tool before strapping himself back into the pilot’s seat.
“Captain, you will need this f-f-fuel. I disagree with your decision.”
“Nonsense,” said Bennett, aware of how desperately he needed a functioning electronic system to reach his goal. “We’re not orbiting the Earth like I originally planned. We’re going down right here.” Taking the controls in hand, he guided the shuttle in a manual arc, reaching the exact point at which he wanted to enter Earth’s atmosphere.
“This is dangerous,” Sully said. “Your speeds will exceed the recommended maximums for this vehicle. The issues you might face upon breaching the atmosphere are structural integrity, heat issues including fire, and—”
“Discontinue discussion, Sully.” Bennett knew what he was doing. At least he hoped he did. Entering the atmosphere now was a risk, especially with a comet on his heels, but he couldn’t chance orbiting and losing power completely. At least this way, he’d have use of the entire system for his descent. Besides, flying by the seat of his pants had always been a rush. This promised to be the flight of a lifetime, and he’d be damned if he didn’t take the time to enjoy it.
Flipping a switch, he burned off the last of his fuel. He didn’t use it to propel himself; rather, he slowed the shuttle until there was almost nothing left. Turning the shuttle, he spent the last of his precious resources as he entered the atmosphere.
“Verbal account, Sully,” Bennett ordered.
“Descent within normal safety parameters. Targeting splashdown off the coast of San Diego.”
He knew Kimberly would be watching. His splashdown was originally set for Florida, but at least a thousand eyes were on him, and they’d be able to handle San Diego. Hell, they could send his Teammates out there. Frogmen had been first responders to the original U.S. astronauts for many of their space missions. Those space flyers, the ones from Shepard’s day, were used to working with the Navy as their capsules splashed down in water. They could easily do it again. Of course, his shuttle was designed for a runway landing. Would the North Island one be long enough? God, he hoped so!
He grinned. Now that would be an awesome duty station: opening a shuttle door and helping an astronaut out. Maybe he’d talk to Ouster about it when he landed. His hands tightened on the shuttle yoke as he fought to maintain control.
“I’m coming home, baby!” he shouted. “Believe in me.”
* * *
Kimberly freaked out in the Command Control Center of the Lester Facility. She’d tried to be calm and aloof as she listened to Bennett’s progress. All through the preflight check, the launch, and the journey to geosynchronous orbit, she’d remained steady. While Bennett unloaded the array, blew up debris, and sat at the hub, she hadn’t uttered a single word. No one stared at her white-knuckled fists or saw the stiffness of her body, which would have given away the fact that she was vibrating with emotion.
The comet had changed everything for her. She’d been unable to speak, to point out the danger. She’d merely touched Henry’s shoulder as he monitored the overall mission time, and he’d been the one to shout out the news. When she’d finally found her voice, she knew her body was in trouble. Her heart beat arrhythmically, and her breath came in tiny pants.
“Anything?” she whispered for the third time.
“Negative,” said Sally. The computer’s voice was comforting, even if the answer was not.
Kimberly didn’t want to pull focus away from the personnel monitoring Bennett and the shuttle systems, but the minute they’d seen the comet turn, and the communication between the ground and space ceased completely, her heart had practically thudded through her chest. It felt as if she were having a heart attack.
Her left hand settled over her heart. It didn’t ease the pain.
Crap! Was she having a heart attack? A strange flutter moved up her spine and settled in her jaw. Having one hand over her heart comforted her slightly as she pulled out a pill case with her right hand. Thank God she’d remembered to stuff it into her lab-coat pocket. Picking up a small pill, she placed the nitroglycerin under her tongue.
Liaison Jarvis noticed Kimberly’s state and rushed over. “Are you okay? Should I call the medics?”
“No. No. Watch the shuttle. Take care of Bennett—Captain Sheraton. Promise me.” Kimberly was adamant.
“Yes, of course.” Jarvis moved off reluctantly, though her eyes strayed to Kimberly.
The pain eased as Kimberly eyed an empty computer console farther from anyone’s watchful stares and moved slowly to it. It was a relief to sit down. “Sally,” she murmured, “monitor my vitals, please.”
“Your blood pressure and heart rate have increased drastically. It could be angina or a heart attack. Your vitals are returning to normal, but I can have Dr. Timmox come up to the control room.” Sally’s voice was imploring, urging her to talk to the doctor.
“Thank you, Sally. Not right now. But if you sense a change, please contact me privately via text. You don’t need to acknowledge that order. I know you’re listening to me.” She tapped the toe of her right foot against the floor. “Sally, is there any way… Can you talk to Sully?”
“I’m receiving a garbled response. I will try again.”
“No, Sally. Wait. Before you do, where was the shuttle when you received the response? Can you trace it using that last conn
ection?” If this worked, it would be a miracle. But that was oftentimes the answer to puzzling questions: breaking down, analyzing, and understanding the mystery.
Kimberly looked over her shoulder. The Command team busily reviewed their computer screens, all of them ignoring her. The new project director, Fraz Gorsk, appointed by the Joint Chiefs, came into the room. Of course, they’d completely bypassed her in appointing him. Coming in at the last minute, just as the comet was spotted and so far after Bennett launched, was insane, and she had to deal with the fact that she once again had no control of the situation.
Hell, those loyal to Kess who didn’t believe he’d been a treacherous jerk ran to Gorsk, ready to fulfill his every order. Kimberly was so horrified she could barely speak, and now here she was, trying to solve problems in space from down on the ground. The stress was unbearable.
Standing there among her peers with a bright red face and the inability to spit out her message frustrated her to no end. Right now, she didn’t give a damn about them. Bennett filled her mind practically to bursting, and she had to protect him.
“Calculating, Kimberly,” Sally said.
Kimberly’s nostrils flared. The smell of panic made the room ripe. She couldn’t wait to get out of here.
“Eureka,” said Sally.
Kimberly hid her grin behind her hand. Could it really be this easy? Sally always came through when shit hit the fan. C’mon, Sally. You can help.
“Done. The results are on the screen in front of you and your phone. I’ve pinpointed the two most probable locations,” Sally replied, a lilt to her voice as if she were happy.
Kimberly knew it! The screen that had sprung to life in front of her was full of information. She could see a tiny dot, representing the shuttle, and two projected entry points were highlighted. Agreeing with the information she read, she almost wanted to bounce in her seat.
Sally spoke succinctly. “I cannot reach Sully. I’ve concluded they are currently in the atmosphere. Should I share these details with the group?”
The Soul of a SEAL Page 23
