Two.
The noise was intense, the pressure was close to bursting, and Sidney was about to blast off into space.
‘Son, now this is important. Don’t forget to...’
One. Ignition. We have lift-off.
Chapter Six
‘Did you really? I do envy you,’ Sheila said, as she snipped away with her scissors.
‘Yes, it was so much fun and I only fell over twice.’ Her client giggled.
‘I’ve always wanted to go waterskiing.’
‘You must do it, Sheila. You’ll love it.’
‘I will, one day soon,’ Sheila said. ‘A nice, relaxing holiday with a bit of excitement thrown in sounds just the job.’
She continued to trim away at the bristles until at long last she was showing off her creation in the mirror. She held it up with one leg while patting a few stray bristles into place with another.
Having eight legs does have its advantages!
Sheila’s morning had been a busy one and she still had two perms and two haircuts to do. The hair extensions that had gone wrong had turned out to be a real leg full. Sheila had to use all her skills as a hairdresser and all her legs as well to untangle the mess that was presented to her. The poor girl, Simone, had been in a right state. It was many hours later until the job was finished, by which time, Sheila was worn out.
She’d welcomed the hot cup of tea Simone had offered her and sunk down on to the couch with a sigh.
‘Ooh, that’s a lovely cup of tea,’ she said as she took a sip from the bone china cup. ‘These are nice cups, Simone,’ she remarked, holding it up to take a better look.
‘Yes, they belonged to my grandmother.’
‘How does your head feel now?’
‘A bit like your legs, I imagine. Sore!’ she said, and grinned. ‘But so much better, thank you,’ she added.
‘That’s quite all right,’ Sheila replied and wiggled the end of her legs before taking another welcome sip of tea. She thought of Sitwell and Sidney and hoped they were having a nice time at SASA.
* * *
‘Please don’t let me die, if I get through this I promise to... what do I promise to do? I’m a good spider and I study hard! That’s right. What’s the point in being bad on purpose? Bad is sad, listen to me, school rules and I am cool, as cool as winter at Yule. Well, not even close... oh, for goodness sake, what am I doing? Who am I - P. Diddy?’
A light flashed on and off above the pilot’s seat. And then another light began to flash and then another! It looked like a flashing Christmas tree. If only he could think clearly but Sidney wasn’t thinking at all.
‘Who needs cool? I just need to stay alive and if I don’t stop being a scared spider that’s not going to happen,’ Sidney said out loud to himself. ‘This is my dream come true. I am living my biggest dream and if I don’t stop worrying and being afraid I’m going to miss out on it and probably end my short life in the process. Sidney Spider, get a grip. Now!’
And he did.
He took control. He took control in every way possible.
He went through the simulation his dad had shown him only minutes earlier. He cleared his mind and concentrated on the job in hand. He grabbed the joystick and nudged it forward.
The spaceship spider shuttle lurched a little and then steadied.
‘What next?’ he said as he tried to remember. ‘I know!’ he cried out a moment later.
He scanned the array of switches and buttons next to his seat until he found what he was looking for. He swiftly punched the button marked “manual ascent” and at the same time flicked a switch on the arm of his seat.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Sidney glanced towards the direction of the noise.
What was that!
A blue light was flickering on and off.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
A message flashed up on the computer screen. Engage Vernier Engine! Engage Vernier Engine!
The alarm continued to sound.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
‘Never mind the beeping what’s a Vernier Engine when it’s at home!’ Sidney scanned the instruments as he tried to remember.
‘I know! It’s the thrusters,’ he cried out with relief.
He reached above him and punched a number into the ship’s secondary computer.
He flicked a switch and turned a dial. The noise stopped and so did most of the lights.
He was good.
He was beginning to get this flashing Christmas tree under control.
Sidney was about to fly in space. He was really doing it.
‘I’m the fastest spider in the world!’ he shouted. ‘Or I will be in a minute.’
The thrust and power of the engines was nothing like he’d imagined.
He felt like he was being pushed further and further, up and up, by a big, strong force and he wondered when it would end.
And how.
* * *
‘Ground control, do you copy?’
Silence. Well, almost silence as being launched into space is not only fast and frantic it also makes a lot of whooshing noises. It reminded Sidney of riding on the big dipper at the fair only faster. A million times faster. A billion times faster. A trillion… you get the picture.
‘Ground control, do you copy?’ Sidney tried again.
He reached over and flicked a switch and with another leg turned the volume button on full.
‘Ground control, this is Sidney Spider in spaceship spider shuttle. Do you copy, please?’
No reply.
‘All right,’ Sidney said to himself. ‘Looks like you are more or less on your own, Sid. So, what do I do now?’
It was hard to think with so many lights still flashing in front of him while at the same time being pushed higher and harder all the way up into space. There wasn’t any time for thinking, Sidney realised, he had to do the job and do it now.
He looked straight up above him and saw darkness looming closer with every second. He knew if he looked behind him Earth would look the same size as a tennis ball.
The angle! It was time to adjust the angle of the spaceship spider shuttle.
Sidney grasped hold of the joystick and eased it back gently until the ship’s speed decreased. Slowly she came down from Mach 25 to Mach 20, Mach 15 and then 10, until finally he had her cruising at Mach 1. He punched in a sequence of instructions on the flight computer like his dad had shown him.
The ship pulled back a little and slowly she began to level out.
‘So far so good,’ he said, and grinned. ‘I think!’ he added.
Sidney checked his distance gauge. He was now well over one hundred kilometres from Earth.
Sidney was flying in space!
‘This is so brilliant,’ he cried out. ‘I’m here! I’m actually here.’ He raised his head and looked straight ahead through the large square porthole. ‘Wow! Hello space!’
Sidney held the joystick steady with one leg as the spaceship spider shuttle slowed down to dead slow. He reached over with another leg (he does have eight to choose from) and punched a button. A light began to flash but he was expecting this one. Whirr whirr it went.
What was going whirr?
I’ll tell you what was going whirr.
Whirr was the sound being made by the automatic video camera and the on-board digital camera (as you can’t trust simply one or the other) springing into action.
‘Now for the monitor,’ Sidney murmured as he flicked a switch on the arm of his chair. ‘Wow - it’s just wow!’
Sidney gazed in wonder at the sight of millions of stars which appeared to be winking at him as if to say, ‘Hello there, old chap! What do you think of your journey so far?’
Sidney was spellbound. He rotated the wheel to the right and the camera lens swivelled eastwards. It whirred again and then a bit more.
Sidney gasped as he caught sight of a planet far in the distance. ‘Amazing,’ he breathed.
&n
bsp; Part of the mission was to take lots of photographs and a visual diary of the trip and Sidney was making sure he’d return home with plenty.
There was only one problem.
He wasn’t sure how to get back home.
Chapter Seven
‘Any news?’
Sitwell stood up and saluted. ‘Not yet, sir, but we’re still trying,’ he said to his squadron leader.
On being told about the malfunctioning spaceship, the squadron leader had interrupted a formal function he’d been attending and had raced over to SASA straight away.
‘How much control do we have?’
‘Still only partial, sir. Although, we’re able to track Sidney’s progress and if I say so myself,’ he paused and smiled, ‘the boy isn’t doing a bad job. He’s pretty much flying her, sir.’
* * *
Sidney glanced at the oxygen levels. They were half full. It was time for him to be heading home.
If only he knew how!
He gazed about him in wonder. It was so peaceful. And it was cold. He adjusted the temperature control and looked out of the side porthole. He could see Earth in the distance. A blue ball covered by swirls of white surrounded by a deep, dark velvet cloak covered in glistening stars. It looked like a model planet. Like the ones hanging from his bedroom ceiling at home.
‘Home…’ Sidney said with a sigh. ‘I remember home.’
‘Sidney, do you copy?’
Sidney sat up sharply. ‘Yes, I copy.’
‘This is Flight Major Sandra, how are you?’
‘I’m fine,’ Sidney replied. It was just like having a conversation on the telephone back home on Earth. Earth. Home. Sidney remembered home.
‘Sidney, your dad’s working out a landing sequence on the main computer and has asked me to deliver it to you,’ she said. ‘Do you copy?’
‘Yes, I copy.’
‘You’re to enter the sequence straight on to the flight computer.’
‘I understand,’ Sidney replied. He turned the camera off then punched the button marked “descent” it started blinking and he waited for Major Sandra to continue.
‘Good. Type them in the same order I give them to you. E Echo. G Golf. M Mike. S Sierra. V Victor. Do you copy?’
‘Yes, I copy.’
‘Excellent. Now, your father has instructed me to tell you to enter this sequence of numbers as they are given to you.’
‘Affirmative.’
‘Sidney, are you all right?’ said another voice over the intercom.
‘Dad! I’m doing okay.’
‘You’re doing better than that, son. See you soon.’
‘I hope so, Dad.’
‘Seven,’ Flight Major Sandra continued. ‘Thirty-three. Five...’
‘Hello? Hello!’
No reply.
‘Flight Major Sandra? Hello!’
Nothing. Only silence. Maybe a little static now and then like someone eating a bag of crisps but basically there was no other sound.
‘Major Sandra? Hello, do you read me?’ Apart from the odd crackle there was nothing but an eerie silence. Not even the crisps thing. ‘Oh, I don’t believe it! Hello, do you copy? Major Sandra?’
Sidney flicked the communications switch and turned the dial to a stronger frequency. ‘Major Sandra, come in please. Do you copy? Dad?’
No reply.
The numbers! Sidney couldn’t return to Earth without the missing numbers.
‘Oh, I wished for this to happen. I need those numbers. What are the missing numbers? Think, Sidney, think!’
The first thing Sidney did was to punch the “descent” button again. It stopped blinking. For the moment - and perhaps longer than that - Sidney wasn’t going anywhere.
He turned towards the side panel where he rotated a plastic knob that released a clipboard and space pen. As they began to float away he grabbed them. He peered closely at the control panel and wrote something down. He checked the gauges and punched in a series of numbers on the on-board calculator.
Distance. Velocity. Weight ratio.
Sidney had to work it all out.
He scribbled down some figures. He punched out another set of numbers on the calculator. The ship lurched a little as though protesting at having its sequence interrupted.
‘They’re coming,’ Sidney cried out. ‘Hang on a minute!’
Everything he’d read and learnt about space jostled about in his head as Sidney searched his brain in the hope of working out the missing numbers.
‘There! I’ve got it,’ he cried out. ‘I hope!’ he added.
He released the space pen and clipboard. They floated away until the nylon cord attached to them stopped them from travelling any further. They bobbed up and down in the cabin like two corks on water. It looked like fun but Sidney had more important things to do like getting back home.
He flicked a switch and once again hit the button marked “descent”.
Blink! Blink! Blink! Blink!
He entered the series of missing numbers he’d calculated only a few moments before.
He didn’t know if they were correct but he’d soon find out.
He took hold of the joystick and held it steady.
‘Ground control, I don’t know if you can hear me but this is spaceship spider shuttle. I’m advising you I’m coming into land. I repeat. I’m coming into land.’
It seemed only moments ago Sidney was alone in space and it was cold and it was silent.
Not a sound could be heard.
Now the cold had been replaced with an intense heat. Sidney thought he’d burst into flames along with the ship as faster and faster she began to pick up speed. It was due to re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and the steepness of the angle, but boy, was it ever hot!
The sweat trickled down Sidney’s face and dripped into his eyes, all eight of them, he blinked furiously.
‘Ground control, this is spaceship spider shuttle. I’m coming into land. I repeat. I’m coming into land.’
Earth appeared to be getting larger by the second. It loomed terrifyingly close. Sidney was coming in too fast! He checked the oxygen tanks. They were nearly empty. He glanced at the speedometer. It read Mach 22. He kept one leg steady on the joystick. It wasn’t easy with the spaceship spider shuttle shaking about like a pepper pot.
Sidney knew he had to begin his decrease in speed.
He had to slow down!
He pulled back on the joystick. The ship shuddered as it came down from Mach 22 to Mach 19 and finally to Mach 10. A light began to flash. Sidney glanced at it as he kept his leg steady on the joystick.
He continued to pull back gently.
The speed slowed down to Mach 7, then Mach 2, and when it reached minimum landing speed - Sidney was ready!
He flicked a couple of switches and hit the button marked “landing gear engaged”. The spaceship spider shuttle slowly manoeuvred into an upright position.
He turned his head to look out of the porthole.
The base was now in clear sight.
Sidney watched as spiders scuttled about the place. Sirens wailed and blue lights blinked on and off as fire engines charged into action.
Warning! Spaceship spider shuttle is about to descend. Landing in progress. Warning! Spaceship spider shuttle is about to descend.
The landing zone got closer and closer. Sidney yanked back on the joystick and flicked half a dozen switches and crossed two of his legs for luck. He felt a huge thrust of power underneath him and the noise was intense!
It was time to adjust his seat position.
Sidney hit the red button and his seat sprang upright. He flicked the side switch, pushed the lever, and the seat jolted beneath him as it locked into position.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
What was that!
Sidney looked up and searched the control panel. He found the source of the noise. It was the alarm to activate the “final descent” procedure. He flicked
the switch in one swift movement.
Sidney closed his eyes, all eight of them, and shuddered.
Had he done everything right? Was he going to get back in one piece or a thousand little ones? Would Sidney ever see his mum and dad again? Or Sacha and Stephanie? Or watch his grandmother as she sped along on two skateboards four legs on one at the same time?
He certainly hoped so.
Boom! Then another boom followed by a loud crash and a clonk! The spaceship lurched a little. A huge cloud of steam rose up and completely covered the spaceship spider shuttle.
Sidney couldn’t see a thing through the portholes but the huge jolt told him all he needed to know.
He’d done it! Sidney had landed the spaceship spider shuttle safely and he was still in one piece. He’d done it!
Sidney had done it.
He’d come home.
* * *
The squadron leader crawled over to where Sidney was standing next to his dad. Sitwell saluted and the squadron leader responded.
‘Well, my boy,’ he said, as he stopped in front of Sidney. His medals and ribbons stood out brightly against the deep blue of his full dress uniform. For a split second Sidney thought one of his medals had flashed on and off.
Sidney blinked rapidly and tore his eyes away. ‘Yes, Squadron Leader?’ Sidney replied as he stood to attention.
‘What do you have to say for yourself?’
‘I’ll have a report to you first thing by tomorrow morning, sir,’ he replied.
The squadron leader stared at Sidney, stepped forward, and placed one of his legs on his shoulder. ‘You, young man, are just the sort of material we’re looking for at SASA.’
Sidney said nothing. He’d like to have said something or at least nodded in reply but for the fact, emotionally, he was still coming back down to Earth.
‘You’ve proved yourself today, Sidney Spider, more than proved yourself and it gives me great pleasure to award you the post as junior flight major and trainee astronaut at Spider Air Space Association.’
‘You’re joking!’ Sidney managed to splutter.
The squadron leader raised an eyebrow in return. He looked exactly like Spock from the Star Trek series.
What do you mean, who?
You know, Spock, the Vulcan in the original Star Trek series from the sixties and not to mention Captain Kirk’s right leg. Along with Scott Tracy from Thunderbirds, Captain Kirk was one of Sidney’s heroes.
Sid in Space Page 4
