The First Ones There

by Steven Wolff

  Almost everyone on board moans and groans at the suggestion. He becomes defensive, “Seriously, think about it – we can’t keep her on board because she’s one extra person that’s sucking up precious air that we need.”

  April stands up and looks Captain Whitfield inches from his face, “I nominate you to be thrown out into space – because you’re wasting more air than she is!”

  He draws back uncomfortably from April – in fear that she will do what she says. Tank smiles, “Ha, Ha! You’re gonna let a girl boss you around, Captain?”

  April quickly grabs Tank’s gun out of his holster and points it at his crotch, cocking the hammer back, “Want to say that to my face?”

  “I take it back, I take it back! Please don’t shoot!”

  “I didn’t think so!”

  April opens the cylinder and dumps out the bullets in her hand before giving the empty gun back to Tank. She then tosses the bullets at him, scattering them all over the cabin – as they float end over end in all directions.

  Howard intervenes, “Guys, we need to focus! Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to fix our situation. Astronaut Jenkins needs medical equipment we don’t have, the ISS won’t let us on board, so what do we do now?”

  Josh suddenly interrupts, “Guys! It’s them! It’s the Titan!”

  Everyone rushes around Josh as he turns on the overhead speaker, “Shhhhh! Shhhhh! Shhhhh!” Howard orders.

  “Titan, this is Serenity, do you copy?”

  “We copy! Do you copy us?” Alonna asks.

  “We do. There’s some interference and static, but for the most part we can hear you. Where are you located?” Josh asks.

  “We are heading to the asteroid.”

  Everyone looks at each other in shock.

  Josh asks, “We barely heard that last part, could you please repeat?”

  “We are heading to the asteroid.” Alonna says.

  “Did you get a chance to refuel?”

  “No. We tried, but the ISS wouldn’t let us on board. Our mission commander Rick came up with the idea of doing a gravity assist maneuver around the moon.”

  “What’s that?” Tank asks confused.

  Edward answers, “They used to the moons gravity to sling shot out into space. Done properly, they can pick up a lot of speed without expending too much fuel.”

  Josh says, “I guess it worked.”

  Alonna responds, “It did. It was pretty nerve wrecking, but we are making pretty good time.”

  Static sounds can be heard interfering with the signal.

  *Static*

  “You’re breaking up. Can you still hear us?” Josh asks but there is no answer. “I think we’ve lost them.”

  Howard answers, “Well, at least we know they are on their way.”

  “Yeah, but will they be able to make it back?” Josh asks.

  “I guess we’ll find out. For now, we still have to figure out what we’re going to do.” Howard says looking at each crew member.

  “Is there another International Space Station we can go to?” Josh asks.

  “No. This is the only one.”

  Edward interrupts with an idea, “What about the Chinese space station?”

  “You mean, the Tiangong-1?” Howard asks.

  “Yes. If memory serves me correctly, it was abandoned after the Chinese lost control of it. It should still have everything the ISS has… fuel, oxygen, food and hopefully medical supplies.”

  “Sir Adam Edward the Third, you’re brilliant!” Howard says with a renewed sense of confidence. “Josh, how long before we’re out of the communications void?”

  Josh pulls the monitor closer, “According to this, we should be in radio contact with ground control in eight minutes.”

  “As soon as we are in transmission range, ask them to locate the Tiangong space station. Everyone else, buckle up. Things are about to get interesting.”

  Chantal asks, “What are we doing?”

  “We’re going to undock from the ISS.”

  “Then what?”

  “Head to the Tiangong -1 space station… if it’s not too late.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Outside The International Space Station

  “Mission Control, this is Serenity, do you copy?”

  Josh listens to static for several seconds and asks again, “Mission Control, this is Serenity – do you read?”

  The headsets pop and crackle as a faint signal grows louder, “Serenity crew, this is ground control. We hear you loud and clear. Are you docked at the ISS?”

  Josh answers, “Kinda-sorta – we were docked, but something came up.”

  Howard interrupts, “Mission control, this is Howard – we need the coordinates to the Tiangong -1 space station, please.

  “Serenity crew, the Tiangong -1 is an abandoned Chinese space station.”

  “I know that – but if it’s still in orbit – can you locate it and tell me where it is?”

  “If you’re thinking of docking with it – be advised it’s expected to re-enter orbit and burn up at any time.”

  “Understood. Can you help us find it?”

  “Give us a few minutes.”

  Several minutes later…

  “Serenity crew, stand by to receive coordinates.”

  “Ready when you are.”

  “Latitude is -31.01 degrees, Longitude is 122.89 degrees, Azimuth is 263 degrees at an altitude of 348 kilometers. Orbital inclination is 42.77 degrees with an adjusted elevation of -61.2 degrees. Over?”

  “Copy ground control, minus 31.01 by 122.89 degrees – puts the trajectory somewhere over…” Josh looks at the map – “Australia!”

  “Confirmed – it’s currently heading Northeast at 27,720 kilometers an hour. Why do you need to know this?”

  Howard answers, “Mission Control, we were unsuccessful in docking with the International Space Station for reasons we cannot say over an unsecure channel. The Titan spacecraft was also unable to dock as well.”

  “Copy Serenity – Any word on the Titan’s location or why the radio silence?”

  “We were able to briefly establish radio contact with the Titan. The last transmission we got said they were heading to the asteroid, but were unsuccessful with refueling at the ISS so they did a gravity-assist maneuver around the moon to compensate for not having enough fuel.”

  There’s radio silence for a minute before Mission Control comes back online, “Serenity crew – based on what you’ve told us and your fuel situation, your new orders are to come back home. Mission abort.”

  “Negative Mission Control, we can’t do that. We are going to attempt to rendezvous with the Tiangong-1 and resupply our fuel and oxygen levels.”

  “Serenity crew – we advise against that. You are to return back to Earth immediately. That’s an order!”

  “Sorry, no can do.”

  “Roger that. Serenity – we have new orders for you. We would like you to test out the alien technology we installed onboard your ship…”

  Howard looks at Josh and then asks, “Why? What’s it supposed to do?”

  “We’re hoping you would tell us… go ahead and push the largest button in the middle.”

  Howard twists the communications button to OFF.

  “Something doesn’t feel right. Whatever you do Josh, Do NOT press that, or any button on this console – for any reason. That was too convenient how they flipped like that.”

  “Yeah, that was weird. I guess we’re on our own now…” Josh says somberly.

  “I’m afraid we are. What’s our current speed?” Howard asks.

  “27,600 Kph.”

  “And the Tiangong-1?”

  “27,720.”

  “How far are we from the Chinese space station?”

  Josh answers, “Right now, it’s pulling away from us, getting further and further away… unless we increase our speed. We are roughly 95 minutes away.”

  “We’ll need to drop orbit into a phasing angle. That’ll give us
a little more speed… and allow us to catch up. How’s our fuel situation?”

  “A quarter of a tank left – before we’re on empty. We could wait for it to do a complete orbit and then when it comes around, do a full burn to match speed.” Josh suggests.

  “That would save us from playing cat and mouse, but a full burn would also burn the last of our fuel reserves.” Howard says. “If we miss the space station, we won’t be able to get back to Earth in one piece. Chantal, how’s our patient doing?”

  “Not good.”

  “Can she hold out for several more hours?”

  “I don’t think so. Her body is shutting down. I need those supplies in order to keep her alive.”

  “Try to keep her alive and I’ll work on getting you what you need. Josh, we don’t have time to chase it down, so we’re going to have to mathematically figure out when the space station will be behind us and then do a full burn to match speed. April, I need you to double check Josh’s work.”

  “Yes commander.”

  Captain Whitfield asks, “What if your math is wrong?”

  “Then it will plow right through us like a semi-truck, or maybe it’ll just miss us completely.” Howard says with a serious look on his face. “Either way, we won’t have any fuel to land back on Earth, nor will we be able to catch it again. We’ll only have one chance to get this right.”

  “Then it’s Protocol Zero?” Tank says.

  “What is that?” Howard asks.

  Captain Whitfield interrupts, “Shhhh!” He says to Tank.

  “What’s that?” Josh asks.

  “Oh, nothing… never mind that, it’s just military talk. So you were saying… we need to get the math right in order to make this work?”

  “Essentially, yes.”

  Howard and Josh crunch the numbers, writing on a piece of paper in order to figure out the exact numbers needed to pilot the ship so that it can dock with the space station.

  “Not to pressure you, but we’ve passed an hour now.” April says, “We’ve got less than twenty minutes left to make this happen.”

  Josh erases his writing in pencil and writes down a different number.

  “You’re not taking into account the eight second delay between the engine start and full burn.” Howard says pointing to his numbers.

  “Gah!” Josh says slamming his pencil down on the paper but it just floats upwards. “It’s so frustrating without the help of ground control!”

  “I know buddy.” Howard says trying to comfort Josh, “It sucks that they’re not going to help us, but we don’t need them. We’re smart enough.”

  “Here, let me see.” April says with her palm extended out in front of her. Josh hands over his work to double check.

  “You’re three seconds off… otherwise, everything else sounds about right.” She says.

  “Are you sure?” Josh asks, looking over his numbers.

  “Pretty sure.”

  Captain Whitfield asks, “What if you’re off by three seconds, what will that mean?”

  “It could mean the difference of a soft bump or being a bug splattered on the windshield of the Chinese space station.” Howard answers. “We need to be mathematically precise. Three seconds is not good enough.”

  Josh looks to Howard, “You’re the mission commander, what do you think? April says my numbers are off. I say she’s wrong.”

  “You both are incredibly intelligent. I want to believe both of you, but someone’s math doesn’t add up.” Howard says looking at the numbers.

  Edward adds to the conversation, “You’re forgetting how fast we are hurling through space. It could easily rupture our hull if we get hit too hard. Remember, we need to match 27,720 kilometers an hour in a very short amount of time.”

  Tank asks, “How fast is that in miles per hour?”

  Edward figures it out on a piece of paper, “Well, if you figure that 7.7 kilometers is 4.78 miles a second, times that by 60 seconds… that gives you 287.07 miles per minute. Sixty minutes in an hour gives you 17,224.416 miles per hour. Each second you’re off… means that we’re going to be hit at 516.73 miles per hour. So if we’re off by three seconds, we’ll be hit at…. oh… roughly 1,550 miles per hour!”

  “Damn it.” Josh says in frustration. “I hate math! I wish I paid more attention to it in school.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up, we’ve got this.” April says.

  “But who do we trust?” Josh asks. “If you or I am wrong, it’s going to kill us all! No pressure or anything.” He says yanking his hair.

  Howard puts his hand on his shoulder, “I trust you, bro. We’re in this together… to the end.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want the end to be in less than ten minutes.”

  “We’ll go by your answer.”

  “Gah! What if I’m wrong?”

  “You’re not wrong.” Howard says calmly.

  “But… but April says my numbers are off!”

  “Do you think your numbers are off?”

  “No, I keep getting the same answer.”

  “Then I trust you. I need you to calm down, take a deep breath.”

  “Aren’t you afraid?” Josh asks looking Howard in the eye.

  “Of course I’m afraid and that’s okay. That means we’re human and we’re about to do something very brave. I believe in you. Pretend this is a video game and look at it like a challenge.”

  Josh takes a deep breath and lets it out, “Okay, I can do this. I’ve got this. We’re gonna be alright…”

  “That’s the spirit. Now lay in an intercept course and let’s dock with this bad boy!”

  “I can do this…” He says, gripping the steering column several times.

  “I hope for all our sakes you’re right Josh, or else in the afterlife, I’m going to haunt you and kick your ass.”

  Josh gulps. Edward chimes in, “Sir, the Tiangong-1 has a APAS Docking System. It’s not compatible with our docking probe-and-drogue system.

  “Refresh my memory - what does APAS stand for again?”

  “APAS stands for Androgynous Peripheral Attach System. We have a probe-and-drogue system.”

  “Of course we do.” Howard says rubbing his eye. “Otherwise things would be too easy.”

  “Knowing this, do you still want to try to dock with the space station?” Josh asks.

  “We don’t have a choice. We’ll have to stick it in and hope it works.”

  Josh adds, “If we do, it might damage the DPE… so we’ll only get one shot at getting it right.”

  “That’s all we need,” Howard says in a determined voice. “Everyone, secure yourselves to your seats. Chantal, try to brace your patient and yourself if you can… we’re about to do some fancy flying.” Howard says while buckling his seatbelt. “What’s our current speed?”

  “27,720 kilometers an hour…” Josh says looking at the instrument panel. “The same speed as the Tiangong-1 space station.”

  “Copy that. April – initiate the Visual Navigation System.”

  Josh looks over his shoulder at Howard, “You know, that’s only a front facing camera, right? We don’t have the VNS system in the back.”

  “I’m well aware of that.” Howard says confidently.

  “Then how are we going to use the lidar to target the retro-reflectors… if they’re in the front? In order to get an accurate range and line-of-sight of the space station – we would have to be facing…”

  Suddenly Josh’s face lights up, “backwards!”

  “Bingo!”

  “You’re brilliant!” Josh says pointing at Howard.

  “Takes one to know one! Stand by for controlled maneuvers. April – be ready to get our readings as soon as we are facing the space station.” Howard says with a smile.

  “Ready when you are!” She says.

  “Josh – do a forward barrel roll… nice and slow.”

  “Aye-aye captain.”

  The ship’s nose tilts down and then slowly points backwards towards the oncoming
Chinese space station. April’s computer screen lights up.

  “We have a visual on Tiangong-1. It’s 4885 kilometers away and holding at current speed.” April says eyeing the information in front of her. “She’s in a lower orbit.”

  “Drop orbit to match. Fire thrusters for one full second and then kill the engine immediately afterwards.” Howard says looking forward out the front of the ship.

  Flames shoot out from the back thrusters – putting Serenity on a collision course with the Chinese space station.

  “Tiangong-1 is now closing in on us at a speed of 4.78 miles per second.” April says checking her readings. “Distance is 3973 kilometers and closing fast.”

  “Josh, on my mark, use the Vernier jets to tilt the ship back and go for a full burn. April, give it to me in 500 kilometer increments.”

  “You got it. Distance is 3500 kilometers and closing…”

  “Begin tilting Josh. Back to where we were facing.”

  “Firing Vernier jets…”

  The ship starts to rotate back to the front.

  “3000 kilometers…” April says glued to her monitor.

  “We are back to where we were facing.”

  “What’s our current speed?”

  “We are at 26,480 kilometers an hour. The space station is now gaining on us!” Josh says with a little panic in his voice.

  “Stay on course… nice and steady.”

  “2000 kilometers…”

  “Wait for it…” Howard says looking down at his computer monitor. Everyone on board is holding on for dear life – staring out the windows of the ship.

  “1000 kilometers!” April says worried.

  “Fire full thrusters - now!!!”

  Josh pushes the thrust button and pulls back on the steering column with all his might. The ship’s engines roar to life – making everyone sink deeper into their seats. Chantal leans over her patient and braces her in place.

  April continues giving an update, 500 kilometers… 400… 300… 200… 100…”

  “Josh, forward barrel roll! DO IT!”

  Josh pushes the steering column forward as Howard initiates the docking extension probe.

  “90… 80… 70… 60… 50 meters…” April says fixated on her computer monitor.

  “Brace yourselves…” Howard says grasping the arm handles.