Confrontation

by William Hayashi

“Patrick Jensen,” he replied, holding out his gloved hand to shake hers.

  “I know. Everyone knows you. You’re NASA’s fair-haired boy.”

  “Get the fu—heck out of here. Where did you hear that?” Patrick asked.

  “It’s not anything you did. It’s just that everyone knows how much of the Jove propulsion hardware is based on your designs. You’re brilliant, everyone knows it, and we’re all very proud that you’ve chosen to personally work on Jove with the rest of us. If there’s anything I can do to help you out while you’re in orbit, don’t hesitate to ask,” Emily said, squeezing his hand.

  “Thanks—but no offense—the last woman I met on a flight didn’t work out so well for me,” Patrick said wryly. “But seriously, thank you.”

  “I was just saying. You look kind of wigged out.”

  “I am, sort of. My coming on the flight into orbit was kind of last minute,‘ he explained.

  “Is there something wrong with the project?” Emily asked, mildly alarmed.

  Patrick laughed. “No, nothing like that. It’s more of a case of me getting hands-on with the systems. It’s just faster with me being there.”

  “We all know you’re not married, but are you leaving someone special here? I’m only asking because my first tour I had what I thought was a pretty good boyfriend, but the whole being gone for six months at a time kind of freaked him out. Also, I think he was scared something bad would happen to me and he just couldn’t deal,” she said.

  “Well, I sort of have a girlfriend, but I have no idea how that’s going to work out. She was pretty cool about me going, and she was going to help put together a going away party for some friends, but it just didn’t happen. I had too many things I had to do, finishing fitting this suit, refresher training, configuring a radiation-hardened tablet to use up there. I barely got everything done in time so I could catch this launch.”

  “Take it from a veteran,” she began with a laugh, only having launched once before, “It’s a piece of cake. You’re there before you know it.”

  The quiet chitchat that had been going on stilled as the engines throttled up for takeoff. When the brakes were released a cheer went up as they were finally on their way.

  The shuttle tilted skyward and everyone was pushed back in their seats as the rockets fired, giving the ship an extra burst of speed for takeoff. The jet engine hum built into a loud roar as the rockets burned out and were ejected as the shuttle climbed higher and faster.

  “Good morning everyone, the weather is calm and everything looks great for orbital insertion. Sit back and enjoy the ride, we caught a break and it looks like we’ll be docking at the station in about forty-five minutes,” the pilot announced.

  Nine minutes later the noise in the cabin doubled as the final stage engine caught. There was a loud thump and the vibration abruptly diminished as the shuttle’s lifting body detached, pulled away and started its descent back to the Cape. The pressure squeezing the passengers doubled, then doubled again as the shuttle rocketed into the darkening sky.

  Emily, seeing Patrick’s pale face and unblinking eyes out of the corner of her eye, patted his hand and asked, “Hey, are you all right?” when he didn’t answer she tried again, “Hey, Pat! Snap out of it!”

  Finally noticing her insistent call, Patrick turned to look at her, his head snapping to the side from the five Gs pushing on his whole body, “Yeah, I’m fine! Just nervous …”

  She nodded her head slightly in acknowledgment and smiled as she watched from the corner of her eye as Patrick struggled to turn his head forward again.

  Eight minutes later the pressure began to ease off and the flight smoothed out considerably as the atmosphere was left behind, and a few minutes after that the main engine shut off.

  “Welcome to orbit, everyone. We had a clean main engine shutoff and are in the pipe. We will arrive at GST’s SkyHub in less than fifteen minutes. If you are experiencing any distress, please don’t hesitate to use one of the convenient bags stowed in the pocket of the seat in front of you,” the pilot announced.

  “How are you doing?” Emily asked Patrick.

  “Not bad. It was much smoother than I expected. Have you done this before?” he inquired.

  “This is my second tour. I was back on Earth for about nine months after my first tour. I was up here for six months installing and testing the communications systems. The ship is all digital of course, and NASA wants to make sure that our comms can’t be intercepted and decoded,” Emily explained.

  “Can’t anyone receive the signals sent back?”

  “Yes they can, as long as a receiver is tuned to the right frequencies, but we encrypt the signals and chop them up into nonlinear packets across several frequencies at once. You need a very sophisticated computer on both ends to decode the signal. No one wants what happened when the SEALs landed on the moon, where the Japanese managed to decode and broadcast the helmet feeds over the air, to ever happen again.”

  “I guess so. So a second tour? What made you sign up for another stint up here?”

  “The money is stellar, no pun intended. And the work is truly groundbreaking. Once the mission is underway, if I go into the private sector, I’ll be able to write my own ticket.”

  “I saw the mockup of the crew modules in Houston. Are they really like that?” Patrick asked.

  “They are. Your bunk is private with a fairly soundproof curtain for privacy. The rest is kind of communal space. If you’ve ever lived in a co-ed college dorm, it’s a lot like that. Did they warn you about the zero-G toilets?” she asked, grinning broadly.

  “Um, yes. It looked like you needed an engineering degree just to understand the whole process,” said Patrick, reddening slightly.

  “Just get one of the guys to show you how everything works. You’ll get the hang of it in no time. One thing I’m sure you’re going to miss is a normal shower. But, the one thing I do love about being posted up here is my allergies don’t bother me at all. And I can’t remember anyone ever getting a cold or the flu.”

  “Sounds good. So what kinds of off-time activities are there?”

  “Well, we have unlimited access to the Internet. A lot of people are really into movies and music. There’s electronic games. The last time I was here we even had a great jazz band made up of members of the tech crew.

  “People ‘date,’ if you know what I mean. The isolation from Earth isn’t that bad, and being weightless has its novelty. Oh yeah, don’t skip on your workouts, those are strictly monitored, what we eat, not as much. What module are you bunking in?”

  “I’m supposed to be in the ninth module, Module ‘I,’ I’m not sure which it’s really called. How about you?” he asked.

  “Get out! So am I. I thought they’d have you in some kind of special bunk for VIPs!”

  “Is there such a place?”

  “Well, last time I was here, the higher-ups were all posted in G. But they came up well after we arrived so maybe it was just the luck of the draw. Tell you what, I’ll help you get settled in if you have any questions … no strings, okay?” she offered.

  Laughing, Patrick stuck out his hand and said. “Deal.”

  They shook hands, and Emily continued to answer Patrick’s questions until the firing of maneuvering thrusters interrupted them, lining the shuttle up with the space station’s dock.

  Those sitting at the window seats couldn’t really see much out the small portholes, but the sun was easily visible on the starboard side of the cabin, and if they looked directly below the shuttle’s hull, a bit of the bright blue marble of Earth was visible. There was no sign of the Jove spacecraft; it was either straight ahead or directly behind the docking shuttle and out of sight.

  Moments later there was a clang and the pilot announced, “Welcome to SkyHub! In just a few moments, once our connection to the station is secured, we’ll pop the hatch and you
’ll be able to enter your new home away from home. To keep things orderly let’s have those up front nearest the hatch leave first, and then everyone else in order by row. Thank you for flying GST.”

  In less than five minutes the outer hatch opened, slightly lowering the air pressure in the shuttle, and everyone carefully unbuckled, hooking their feet under the bar at the bottom of the seat in front of them. The pilot left his seat, along with the copilot, then gestured for those up front to move to the hatch.

  As each person left their seat, they reached underneath, grabbed their helmet, and carefully floated forward to be helpfully nudged toward the shuttle’s airlock.

  When it was their turn to disembark, Emily said to Patrick, “See you inside,” and jaunted forward like she’d been born in zero-G.

  * * *

  Eight of the colony’s jumpers bracketed the huge, mostly iron asteroid that had been towed to within five kilometers from the habitat. Each jumper had been pumping heat, in the form of laser light, into the asteroid for three solid days, resulting in the asteroid looking like a glowing, orange blob of wax.

  “Okay, Peanut, the temperature is at fifteen hundred degrees centigrade. Much higher and it’s going to be too soft,” announced Chuck.

  “Got it. Larry, are you ready with the tube?” Peanut radioed.

  Larry was about two hundred meters from the blob of molten iron in a jumper that had a one hundred fifty meter-long titanium tube mounted instead of a laser.

  “Whenever you say, Peanut. I’m closing in slowly. Just say the word and I’ll get this thing right in the middle,” Larry promised.

  “Chuck, what’s the temperature now?” Peanut inquired.

  “Fifteen hundred twelve degrees. It’s now or never.”

  “All right, Larry, move in.” directed Peanut.

  Everyone held their breath as Larry maneuvered his jumper closer and closer until the titanium rod pierced the outer surface of the molten mass. “Can anyone see the markings on the tube? The angle’s all wrong for me,” Larry announced.

  “Hang on, I’m moving in,” Chuck announced.

  Chuck maneuvered his jumper closer to the titanium rod so Angela, copiloting for a change, could read off the depth.

  “It looks like six, no make that seven meters in. You got about eight meters to go. That’s right … Steady. Okay, back off the forward motion a bit, three meters to go … two … that’s it!” Angela announced.

  “Good job! Now start the pump,” said Peanut.

  Larry’s copilot, Jeff, unbuckled his safety harness, went to the back of the jumper and started the pump.

  “Five hundred liters per minute, Peanut,” Jeff radioed. “How’s it look?”

  “I don’t … Wait, it’s getting rounder! There it goes. It’s getting bigger. What’s the temp, Chuck?” Peanut asked.

  “Holding steady at fifteen hundred ten degrees. How’s it look on everyone else’s side?” asked Chuck.

  “Looking fine.”

  “Great.”

  “Steady as she goes.”

  “Peanut, should I jack up the air flow?” Jeff asked.

  “Too fast and we might cool the interior too quickly. Chuck?”

  “Still holding steady at fifteen hundred ten. You know, as it gets bigger we’re going to have to be careful that none of the lasers burn a hole in that thing,” warned Chuck.

  “You’re right. As a matter of fact, everyone shut down your lasers. It’s not cooling appreciably and it’s growing just fine,” Peanut announced. “Angela. how big is it?”

  “The diameter is right around twenty meters.”

  “Good. Temp, Chuck?”

  “Still holding.”

  Everyone remained quiet as the glowing metal bubble slowly expanded. Angela called out, “Fifty meters!”

  Peanut shouted, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

  “How’s the nitrogen supply, Jeff?” Peanut inquired.

  “Only down twenty percent. We’ve got plenty.”

  “Seventy meters,” Angela announced.

  “Temperature is down about five degrees,” said Chuck.

  “Eighty-five meters.”

  “Get ready to cut the air, Jeff,” Peanut said.

  “Ninety-five meters.”

  Peanut waited a few moments more then called out, “Okay, cut the air!”

  “It looks right on the nose, Peanut. Hang on, let me measure one more time and run the numbers.” Everyone waited while Angela double-checked her figures.

  “Yes indeed! The exterior diameter is damn close to exactly one hundred meters.”

  “Congratulations everyone, instant space station! Clamp off the tube, Jeff. Let’s say we give this monster a couple of days to cool down, then we can take a look inside,” said Peanut.

  “Sounds like a plan. Everyone else head back inside. Jeff and I can take first watch. We’ll make sure nothing bumps into this bad boy!” offered Larry.

  “How long do you all want to keep watch out here?” Chuck radioed.

  “Someone can come out and relieve us in the morning. Then we’ll head back, get some grub and catch some shuteye,” Larry answered.

  “Peanut! You have any idea how long it’s going to take for the shell to cool?” Chuck asked.

  “No idea. But it shouldn’t take too terribly long. I’ll come out here in the morning and relieve Larry and Jeff. By then I should be able to calculate just how fast it’ll shed the heat,” Peanut said. “Hey Chuck, what are you doing back inside?”

  “I’m meeting with Chris and Lucius. We’re still in the planning stage of the shopping expedition. Want to tag along?”

  “Yeah, sure. As soon as I clean up.”

  All the jumpers, except the one crewed by Larry and Jeff, returned to the habitat’s hanger. Inside, Peanut thanked everyone for their help; then they dispersed to get out of their suits.

  Once he cleaned and stowed his suit, Peanut hurried to his apartment to get cleaned up, stopping in the family room to give Bernice a hug and a kiss before he jumped in the shower.

  “How did it go? Any problems?” Bernice asked.

  “Smooth as silk. I’m going to meet up with Chuck, Chris and Lucius. They’re working on the mission to Earth.”

  “You want me to make you something quick to eat?”

  “Skip it. I’m good. How was your day?” Peanut asked.

  “It went well. We’re expanding into another tank for my department’s botanicals. I never get over how different it is growing hydroponically instead of in old fashioned dirt. But the work is fun. Some of my hybrids are yielding quite a bit more produce than even I expected,” she replied.

  Peanut peeled off his inner suit, rinsed it, and hung it up to dry. He then showered and dressed in record time. Finding out from Genesis that Chuck and Lucius were in the colony’s cafeteria, he kissed Bernice goodbye and hurried off. In the huge common room he saw Chuck standing and waving to get his attention. Peanut made his way through the tables, greeting friends along the way. As he got closer, he saw that Lucius and Christopher were looking over something on a datapad.

  Christopher looked up and said, “Yo, Peanut. Glad you could make it.”

  Peanut hugged Lucius and slapped five with Christopher as he pulled out a chair.

  “Want me to get you some coffee or something?” Chuck asked. “It’s the least I can do for the architect of our very own death star.”

  Peanut blushed and said, “That’s okay. I want to grab a sandwich anyway. Be right back.”

  When he returned with his tray, the others were reviewing their pads.

  “What up?” Peanut asked, taking a seat.

  “Hold out your pad,” said Chuck, as Peanut pulled the datapad from the harness on his belt. He tapped his pad to Peanut’s, transferring the mission plan for Peanut to review while
he ate.

  “Four ships? Two regular jumpers and the whale I knew about. Why the third jumper?” Peanut asked.

  “Using one of the bigger jumpers gives us some redundancy for safety. Everyone can fit inside the third one if all the other ships are disabled or destroyed. More likely destroyed because I have no intention of letting them fall into enemy hands,” promised Chuck. “But that may change, we’re just trying to think of everything we might want on the mission. Later we’ll start paring the equipment down to just what we really need.”

  “For example, I want a mini medical suite installed in the third jumper, just in case,” Christopher added.

  “Here’s what we’ve got so far. I get on the ground first, maybe even a month or so before the whale gets in the neighborhood. I arrange for everything we’re picking up to be warehoused near one of the coasts,” Lucius began. “Once everything’s delivered, crated and ready to go, I’m going to get everything loaded on a ship, then have the ship meet the whale in the middle of the ocean, loads, and we all get the hell out of Dodge.”

  “Sure. Sounds easy,” said Peanut, laughing. “That is except for the fact that they know you’re coming. They can see all of the ships we’ve got the moment we fire up the G-waves. What’s the plan for that?”

  “It’s a little dangerous. And that’s where your department comes in. I want the bigger jumper to be completely reinforced so that we don’t need to use any G-wave technology, including shields,” Christopher said.

  “How do you expect to pull that off?” Peanut asked, quickly scrolling through the mission plan on his pad.

  “We’re going to have Genesis plot a ballistic course to Earth from out here, accelerate the bigger jumper to an insane speed, and coast until we’re nearly into the atmosphere. We pop the G-waves on for a second to slow down enough to get through the atmosphere, and splash down in the ocean. We might even use chutes to slow down. That way we should get down to the surface without anyone seeing us arrive,” Chuck explained.

  “With the extra shielding we can make sure the third jumper is heavy enough to sink under the surface. Chuck, or whomever,” Christopher amended as Chuck raised his finger to protest, “can sit on the bottom while Lucius does his thing.”