Orbital Maneuvers

by R Davison

  Holding the hypo up to the light, she double-checked the level and checked the label on the bottle again to make sure she had the right amount. Her eye caught a small label warning to get the patient’s history before administering the drug. She thought to herself, right, I’ve got a madman at my door, and I’m supposed to ask his medical history! Putting a cover on the needle, she carefully placed the loaded hypo in her sleeve pocket on her suit. Thoughts of old comedies she watched as a child flashed through her mind of people sticking themselves with the very needles they were trying to give to some unsuspecting patient or victim. Well, let’s just hope that doesn’t happen this time, she thought as she closed the flap on her pocket. She returned the bottle to the drug kit and replaced the medical kits in the locker where she found them, then turned to survey the other lockers in the compartment.

  Susan rummaged through a locker that was marked “Utility”. She was not quite sure what she was looking for, but realized it when she found a roll of duct tape. Ah, she thought, the handyman’s best friend! She smiled as she grabbed the roll of tape and slammed the locker door shut. On her way out of the compartment she saw a sleeping bag that had been brought over from Endeavour; she grabbed it and headed back to the airlock.

  By the time Susan returned to the airlock, she found Jerry quite restrained. He eyed her suspiciously as she entered the compartment. “What are you going to do?” he asked, with more than a bit of nervousness slipping through his voice.

  “I am going to make sure that you do not hurt yourself, or anyone else for that matter.” She tossed the sleeping bag at Jerry. “Get in it!”

  “Why?” Jerry knew that there was more to this than a nap. “I’m not getting in that!”

  “I said get in it. If you need assistance I will be glad to help you.” She reached for the hand that Paul was still holding. Jerry did not want to go through that pain again, his wrist still hurt from the last engagement. He reluctantly reached for the sleeping bag with his free hand. Ivan let go of Jerry’s legs, but Paul held onto his arm and hand.

  Among the three of them, Ivan, Nicholas and Jerry managed to pull the sleeping bag up all the way to Jerry’s neck, with his one arm that Paul was holding onto still hanging out. Susan took the roll of duct tape and began to wrap the sleeping bag tightly, starting at the feet and working her way up toward Jerry’s chest using long spirals.

  “What are you doing that for?” Jerry’s eyes were getting bigger as he began to anticipate the worst.

  “This is just to keep you safe,” Susan said calmly, as she continued her work. “By the way, Jerry,” she asked, very matter-of-factly, “how much do you weigh?”

  “Why? Why do you want to know how much I weigh?” Jerry was even more panicked by the strangeness of the conversation and the eerie calmness in Susan’s voice. Visions of her launching him into space from the airlock flashed through his twisted mind.

  “Just curious. So, how much do you weigh?” Susan ran the strip of tape across Jerry’s chest and shoulder securing the arm that was in the bag.

  Not knowing what her game was and not able to see her face to get a hint at what she was up to, Jerry finally surrendered, “One hundred and sixty pounds. Why?”

  Ripping the roll of tape from the last wrap she placed on Jerry with a loud snap, Susan remarked, “Damn! I was never good at guessing weights!” Confident that Jerry was secure, she pushed the roll of tape over her hand and up her arm like a bracelet. Susan then reached for her sleeve pocket and pulling up the Velcro cover, withdrew the hypo.

  At the first sight of the syringe, Jerry’s face paled and his eyes popped opened so wide it looked as if they would come out of the sockets. “What’s that?” Jerry shouted, and tried to struggle, but was quite immobilized in his high tech cocoon. “What are you going to give me?” He looked at Paul desperately, “Paul, don’t let her give that to me! She’s going to kill me! Keep that needle away from me! I can’t stand shots!”

  Susan, in a very calm voice said, “Nonsense, Jerry. I’m just giving you a little something that will help you relax and sleep for a while.” She checked the syringe to make sure that it had no air bubbles and was still at the level she filled it to. In one quick motion she grabbed Jerry’s free arm and thrust the needle into the muscle pushing the plunger down firmly.

  “There you go…pleasant dreams, Jerry.”

  Jerry let out a yelp, and as he watched Susan finish the injection his eyelids fluttered, and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, as he fainted. Susan pulled the needle out and pushed his arm into the sleeping bag. She pulled the roll of tape off her arm and finished wrapping the tape around him. “Had I known he would pass out at the sight of the needle, I would have shown it to him hours ago!”

  “Now what are we going to do with him?” Paul asked, somewhat shaken by the scene that had just unfolded.

  “Secure him in one of the sleeping compartments off the control module. Make sure that he’s not going to float around.” Paul started out of the airlock carefully pushing Jerry ahead of him like some sacred, modern mummy.

  He stopped and turned to Susan. “Do you really think we have to keep him all tied up like this?” Susan looked at Jerry and felt a pang of remorse. She was about to change her mind when she saw Alexander out of the corner of her eye.

  “No, Paul, I think we are better off keeping Jerry restrained until we can keep a closer eye on him. He will be alright; the rest will do him good. I am sure that we all can use a good sleep.” Paul nodded in agreement and left with his cargo.

  Susan turned to Alexander, “Are you okay?” She peered into the faceplate looking for an expression and not a verbal response.

  Alexander answered, “I am fine. A very inventive solution to the problem, Commander. I admire your strength and courage!”

  Susan blushed. “I am very sorry that he did that. Please accept my apologies for his actions.”

  “It is okay, Commander. There was no real harm done and you are not responsible for Jerry’s actions, he is. I am fine, really.” Susan noticed that his face was cheerful, and he seemed content inside his little volume of space, so she felt comfortable that Alexander was being honest with her.

  “As far as my strength and courage, Commander Orlov, I think it was more anger than anything else,” Susan admitted, a bit ashamed. “Sometimes you just have to do something, even if it’s not the best thing to do.”

  “No, Commander, you were truly amazing in how you handled him,” Nicholas said with a smile. “Are you sure that you did not train in the Russian military?” This brought a chuckle from everyone and an even redder face for Susan.

  “No, Captain Zuyev, no training in the Russian military, just growing up as a little girl wanting to play all the games the boys did, and that included the fights!” She started for the hatch, “Come on, Ivan, we have to get this thing moving again, so we can let Commander Orlov out of his suit.”

  XVII

  Once back in the command module, Ivan and Susan reset the alarms and reprogrammed and executed the engine firing sequence in about fifteen minutes. All systems were showing nominal and this time there were no interruptions to stop their slow and steady climb to a higher altitude.

  There was mostly silence in the room as Ivan and Susan studied their respective displays, looking for any indication of a problem. Paul busied himself at another display showing the station’s projected trajectory. The station creaked and groaned as it was pushed along by the engines, sounding more like a tall ship under sail in a stiff ocean breeze than a multi-billion dollar piece of modern technology.

  An occasional loud pop or snap brought everyone out of their intense focus, to listen for a telltale sign that something more serious was going on within the foundation of the station. Hearing nothing more to indicate such a situation, they returned their attentions to their chosen tasks.

  The station flexed and vibrated as all of its extended structure caught up with the central framework that was being driven by the engines.
In time, the oscillations and flexing would settle down as the entire station moved as one under the constant acceleration of the main engines. The rumbling and ubiquitous vibrations of the engines, consuming their precious fuel to produce altitude-giving thrust, remained with the crew even after the station had resigned and stopped complaining about its new direction.

  Nicholas left Alexander to rest and floated into the control module to join the others. “Alexander is taking a nap, so I thought I would join you until it is time for him to exit the station again.”

  Susan glanced up from her display, “I hope he’s not floating around the compartment.”

  “No, I fastened him to the bulkhead, he is quite secure.” Nicholas moved over to Paul’s station and looked over his shoulder at the display, “How high are we going?”

  Paul glanced back over his shoulder at Nicholas, “As high as we can and still maintain a circular orbit. That should be about five hundred miles up. We can go higher, but the orbit would be more elliptical and we will end up being lower than five hundred miles at the one end.” Nicholas studied the display and nodded his head in agreement. “Susan and Ivan have programmed the firing sequence to automatically allow the trajectory to be adjusted for a circular orbit. So you will probably notice the engines shutting down and firing again, several times over the next hour or so.” Nicholas nodded in appreciation for the information and patted Paul on the shoulder as he went to see what Ivan and Susan were monitoring.

  “How’s Commander Orlov?” Susan asked, as Nicholas settled in beside her.

  “He was doing fine. He is probably fast asleep now. He has no trouble sleeping, no matter where he is. He thought that he would seize the opportunity, since we have some time and it has been a very long day.”

  “I can attest to that,” Susan noted. “I don’t know if I am more tired or hungry. It seems like this day started days ago, and I just can’t wait for it to end.” Realizing that she was letting her guard down, she immediately added, “It’s been a day that even the wizards at NASA could not dream up in their most perverted simulations. I will have to talk to them about that when we get back.”

  Ivan looked up at Susan and over to Nicholas. He was puzzled by Susan’s comment. He studied her face to see if she seriously believed that NASA would be there when they got back, or if she was just trying to make small talk. He decided that he did not want to remind her of the state that NASA was in now and thought it best not to pursue the topic at this time.

  “We should be at a point where we can take a break soon,” said Ivan. “Everything is looking good right now. After our last burn, we can reconnect the communication system and settle down for a while.” Ivan pushed a few buttons on the console and watched the display show a radar picture scanning the area ahead of the station. He knew that the automated systems would be monitoring the path ahead for any objects that may be in their way, but he felt better keeping a human eye on the space ahead as well. They no longer have ground control monitoring them and the thousands, now billions of bits of debris, man-made and natural, that they may run into.

  “Nicholas, would you mind monitoring the radar scan for me? You can bring it up on the display over there.” Ivan nodded toward an empty station near Paul. Nicholas nodded and floated over to take up his position as requested. Actually, he felt good to have something to do, even if it were as mundane as watching the radarscope. As Nicholas settled in, Ivan reset his display to monitor the engines and the station’s trajectory.

  Paul left his station and disappeared into the sleeping compartment that he had placed Jerry in. Susan watched him as he emerged and noticed the troubled look on his face. “Is everything okay with Jerry?”

  Paul looked up with a startled expression on his face, as if he were caught thinking something he should not have been thinking. “Ah, yeah, he’s fine. Still out cold.”

  Susan watched Paul for more information but nothing came. “His breathing and pulse rate okay?”

  “Yes, they’re slow but regular.” Paul stopped and looked at Susan, “I can’t believe that he did that! I just cannot believe it! I would never have thought that Jerry would do anything like that—sacrifice us for his own sake!” Paul’s voice was getting louder and quivered with the stress that was beginning to crack through his professional facade. Susan moved toward Paul to offer some comfort, but before she could reach him, he stammered an apology and fled the compartment.

  Susan turned to see Ivan watching her intently. Before she could say anything, he quietly said, “I’ll call you over the intercom if anything comes up.”

  Susan pushed herself off from the wall she was floating by and quickly sailed out of the cabin. She was not sure where Paul would go. The station was not that large, but it was large enough for him to elude her because she was not completely familiar with the layout and all of its compartments and niches. As she passed into the Unity node, she quickly peeked into the Joint Airlock and noticed Commander Orlov stuck to the wall, motionless, but no Paul. When she turned to head into the Destiny Lab module, she was startled to see Paul’s outline silhouetted against the dark blue-black of the Atlantic Ocean, which could be seen through the windows in the cupola, a large observation port in the Tranquility module that could be used to monitor the shuttle docking with the station or just sightseeing.

  The lights in the node were dimmed, and it was difficult to make out the details inside the cupola. The reflected moonlight cast very little illumination. It appeared that Paul had his back to the entrance; he did not react to Susan’s entrance. She quietly moved toward him, not wanting to startle him if he were unaware of her presence. It was one of those awkward moments. Susan softly cleared her throat as she slowly approached Paul, and she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his shoulders straighten up at the sound.

  “I’m okay, Susan,” he volunteered before she could ask. He did not turn to greet her, but kept his gaze focused on the planet below.

  Susan moved in a bit closer, and putting her hand on his shoulder, she spoke in a quiet voice, “You may be okay on the surface, but there is something deeper inside that is not. What is it, Paul? We’ve worked together too long and too closely, not to know when something is bothering one of us.” She paused to allow Paul the chance to respond, but he made no effort to do so.

  Susan looked out of the window at the ocean moving rapidly below them, the scattered clouds luminous from the reflected moonlight reminded her of sheep grazing in a meadow at twilight. She needed to try once more to bring Paul out of his shell. She feared that he would eventually crack, like Jerry, if he kept it inside any longer.

  “I can’t imagine how this catastrophe has affected you. I’m amazed that you have carried on without falling to pieces. God, I don’t know how I would handle it. But, I feel that there is more eating away at you now. What is it?” She again paused to hear Paul’s response, and this time she could hear an audible sigh from Paul, as if he realized that he was defeated and would fight no longer. She bit her lip, not knowing if she should push a bit more or give him some slack. She decided to wait him out and watched the occasional flashes of lightening coming from a storm to the west of their flight path, somewhere over the western Atlantic, near South America.

  Paul’s voice, which came in much of a whisper, sounded very small inside the small cupola. His Texas drawl was more prominent than Susan was used to, and she attributed that to the stress and fatigue he was enduring.

  “It really looks peaceful down there, doesn’t it?” he said. Susan drew in a breath to respond, but Paul didn’t give her the opportunity. “One would not expect that the planet is being turned inside out from what we can see, right now, from our precarious perch, would you?”

  Susan was not sure if this was another rhetorical question and hesitated in responding. Paul answered her hesitation, “I can’t help but wonder, what are they doing down there, right now? Is it total chaos, or is it just orderly hysteria?”

  He turned from the window and faced Susan.
“Look at what went on here, on this station, with Jerry. One sixth of us went off the deep end! Jerry went from a fun-loving friend and serious astronaut, to homicidal maniac in a matter of hours because of this…this…” Paul pointed toward Earth as he searched for the right words to describe the catastrophe. His thinking was not very clear at the moment, and he felt himself on the verge of collapsing completely.

  “Damn flying mountain had to choose us! Is that what is waiting for us when we get back?” He turned back to the window and continued, “Look at us! Look at what we did to poor Jerry! We tied him up like a calf during branding season and shot him full of drugs!”

  Susan felt a flush of embarrassment come over her and felt ashamed of how she had handled Jerry’s situation. Paul spun around toward Susan again, but this time his voice had more of an edge to it. “Are we still civilized, or are we becoming the maniacs?”

  Susan backed up; not quite sure what Paul might do, she wanted room to maneuver. There was a cold silence in the room. Seizing the moment while Paul was catching his breath, she cautiously stepped into the one-sided conversation. “Paul, what we did to Jerry was to protect him, as well as ourselves. I didn’t like what I did, but I also could not let Jerry run free and allow him another chance to hurt someone, or all of us for that matter. I am as shocked at his sudden change of personality as you are, and really wish that he were here helping us. Don’t doubt yourself because of Jerry’s condition, or feel that you are responsible for him. You went out of your way to stay close to him as things deteriorated. You have nothing to feel guilty for. You still have compassion and that shows that you have not lost your humanity and civility.”

  Now that Susan’s eyes had adjusted to the darkened compartment she was able to make out more detail in Paul’s face. She watched Paul as she talked and felt a slight bit of relief as she noticed his expression relax and his head nodding slightly in agreement with some of the points she was making.