One Giant Leap

by Keith Martin

  Five hundred feet and she hit air brakes to full and started to feel for Earths pull, the roar of the air they were cutting through was loud and exciting to her ears.

  The ship touched down like it was landing on cotton balls. She hit the brakes and deployed the braking chutes. She felt the strain as the force of all the weight responded to the slowing of the systems.

  The ship was like a racehorse, Hackett’s every touch understood and her commands carried out at once. There was no question about who was in control.

  She dropped the chutes at the end of runway where the ground crew directed her and she turned to follow the FOLLOW ME truck to their loading area. “We made it Pete.”

  * * *

  “G-3 this is G-1. We are inbound turn on your rear external lights so we don’t bump into the back end of you.” Came Samantha’s voice over the com. “We don’t want to give you a big kiss Hackett. Over”

  Before she could respond, the radio came through from S.M.B. “G-3 this is Fred. Who just landed that shuttle? Over.”

  Pete knew he was dead if Fred found out that he had let her land the shuttle after all. But he was not going to lie to his Commander. It was his duty to train her and he was going to use the training methods he learned from Jackal when he was a green pilot to get her trained right. “She did a great job of it too. She did you proud Fred. Over.”

  “Congratulations Hackett!” Came Joshua’s voice from the G-1 Remote Control Station.. “It’s about time someone showed him how to do that right. Over.”

  “Good job Connie. Over.” Added Samantha.

  “She can fly. Over.” Fred stated with pride.

  “Yes Fred, she can fly, but more importantly she can land! Over.” Joshua stated as a fact. He too was impressed with her performance.

  Fred got goose bumps all the way up his spine and said a silent prayer thanking the Lord for keeping the Chisholm’s on his team. “She’s only fourteen Joshua, fourteen years old and piloting G-Class shuttles.” He was amazed.

  “I did a good job Fred. Pete kept an eye on me the whole time. Like he said. ‘The duck had to swim to prove she was a duck,’ Quack, quack Fred; Over and out.” She didn’t want him to have to try to decide what he was going to do to Pete for disobeying orders until she returned to the Moon.

  “You’re in trouble!” She teased Pete looking into the cabin camera. Then she stuck out her tongue proving there was still a 14-year-old little girl inside her after all.

  * * *

  Ashley and Shianne spent the day working together, and they were now covered with the dirt and dust of the billions of miles The Seeker had traveled through on its journey. The hanger floor was littered with the fruit of their labors. Valves, lines, pressure reducers, nozzles, guides and all that was the propulsion system of the ship now lay at their feet. “Now what?” Ashley asked as she finished removing the thruster bell itself with an overhead chain hoist.

  “Side and directional thrusters, need to come off. They are easy; just single units. A few bolts, and two lines each and off they come.” Shianne informed her.

  They bent to the work as one, all the time chatting about anything, and everything. Their work lasted long into the night. At 930pm Ashley called it a day. They had worked right through lunch and they were both hungry.

  With a quick washing of hands, they were both off to the chow hall. As they sat down Vic walked in and took a seat with them. “And how are you young ladies doing this fine day?” He asked with a big smile on his face. “You shouldn’t work her so hard Shianne.” He teased, noticing all the dirt that covered them.

  “It was a productive day Vic. What have you been up to?” Shianne shot back.

  “Building living quarters, and arresting the Keys.” He responded off handedly.

  To say the least, this peaked the sister’s interest. “Out with it Vic…” Ashley demanded with a smile.

  He loved to see her smile. He thought she was even more stunning covered in the dirt of her labors. “Well as you know Hackett has been put under Fred’s wing. He decided it was time to start her training as a navigator for the shuttles so he scheduled her for a flight to Earth. Well, she didn’t show up on time, and he went a bit nuts. By the time I arrived at the Keys quarters he was trying to beat down the door.”

  “Is Hackett alright?” Shianne asked concerned.

  “She’s just fine, a little shook up, David had slapped her.”

  Both sisters rose to go on the hunt.

  Vic loved them all the more for it. “Sit! Your dad repaid him for it in spades. Hackett is on the mission, and the Keys are working out their stupidity down in the main chamber. Ton has them making gravel, the old fashion way. I hear he even gave them brand new sledge hammers.”

  “Well at least we know where to find him now.” Ashley stated aggressively. No one slapped a little girl on her watch. She knew her sister felt the same.

  Vic tried to calm them down. “Your father has returned Mr. Keys stupidity towards Hackett. Let’s just say David had his mouth full of his own blood.” A smile crossed his face as he thought of it. “It was a thing to behold. Otto darn near took his head off. Twice.” His smile faded, and he went on. “They sent both shuttles to China, and are bringing back five hundred women with the ordered supplies. There was some mix up with the Master Chairs secretary, so Otto got a hold of Empress Chair May. She assured him all was fine in China, and guaranteed the supplies would be gathered at once. All in all, it was quite the day.”

  “Why didn’t anyone call us?” Ashley asked kind of mad that they had been left in the dark.

  Vic decided to let her have the truth flat out. “Girl we have the operation of this base well under control. We have lived here for quite some time, and we know what we are doing. This is our work; we can and will do it. Do you think I would let you come anywhere near a situation that could have gotten you harmed? I think not. As it was, I had Linda to look out for. Without her the situation could have gotten out of hand. I didn’t need to be worrying about you too. Nor you Shianne.” He added so as not to sound as if only Ashley’s safety was of concern to him. He was just voicing his feelings for Ashley a little more than he was used to doing.

  Shianne could see this was going to need a distraction before two strong willed individuals squared off. She noticed how protective he was being over Ashley. She could feel his emotions flowing toward her sister. She had to try hard not to tease them both about it. “What happened? Did the Keys both go nuts?”

  “Well it seems the brain trust in that family is all Hackett’s. Her parents are a little slow to say the least. They thought Otto was sending Hackett to Earth to live, and that they were taking the child away from them permanently. So they freaked out and David slapped her and sent her to her room. Then they held us off with knives trying to keep Hackett from going on her mission. It was all just a big headache.” It was easy to see that Vic had not enjoyed this day.

  “That’s too bad; Connie is a great little girl. She has a lot of potential.” Ashley commented.

  Shianne decided it was time to change the subject. “How goes the work on the new hanger. We need to get that on line as soon as possible.”

  Vic liked the change and his face lit up with a broad smile. “Well now I don’t rightly know. But shift change is coming up at eleven. Ton or Steve, will be here for chow shortly after or before that. You could ask them about it then.”

  Ashley liked his smile, and tried to keep the conversation light so that it wouldn’t leave his face. “Well we are going to be sleeping by then. Shianne the slave driver has had us at it all darn day. I never knew there was so much to a little rocket motor. It’s like a spider gave birth to a pipe fitter!”

  Vic laughed at her little joke and ordered a round of beers. He sat with them as they had their meal and then escorted them to their quarters when they finished.

  As he walked back toward his quarters he wondered if he would ever get a chance to tell Ashley how he really felt about her.

>   * * *

  The loading crews went to work on G-1 first. A massive tank of Moon air was pulled from the cargo hold and transported to the hanger where they were purging the women’s systems. Then they began loading thruster components, mining equipment; tons of hand tools for the new shop and, to top the load off, they added sections of conveyor belts. Each section was one hundred feet long and was complete with frame and rollers ready for use.

  Joshua watched as Samantha closed the cargo hatch doors and the ‘Cargo Hatch Seal’ lights flashed green as each door sealed down. Their navigator checked to be sure that their load of passengers were all strapped in and ready to go; all lights were green as all stations checked in and reported readiness for flight. All they needed now was a tow and they were on their way back to the Moon. “China Mission Control…this is Commander Chisholm, remote piloting G-1. We are ready for tow to end of runway. All systems are go. Over.” He hailed the tower.

  “Copy that Commander. Tow unit in route. ETA to end of runway is ten minutes. You are cleared for immediate take off. Have a safe crossing and hurry back. We will have a load ready and waiting for you. Over.” The Mission Controller called back.

  The tow unit slowly pulled up under the nose of the shuttle and patched into the ships communications system.”G-1 we have you hooked up for tow. Commencing tow in 3-2-1… towing to end of runway now.”

  They could barely feel the movement of the ship as it was pulled out and lined up with the runway. The Tow Commander wished them a safe crossing and then they watched as the tow unit pulled clear of their path. “China Mission Control this is G-1 ready for lift off. Over.”

  “G-1 you are cleared to lift off Commander. This is China Mission Control over and out”

  Joshua pushed the throttles to ninety percent and the shuttle leaped down the long lane of cement. Ground speed gained quickly and there was not a sound out of any of the passengers. He knew how to give a little thrill to the new recruits. He pulled up hard on the controls and the nose soon lifted the massive load. He gave her five percent more power and G-1 lifted from mother Earth and started on her way to the Moon with a combined squeal from the passengers.

  “Show off!” Samantha playfully scolded him from the left seat for toying with their living cargo.

  He switched control over to her station and leaned back to enjoy the time of crossing. “She is all yours Baby Girl. Wake me before you touch down.” He pretended to start falling to sleep.

  She took control and put the ship in a steeper climb. She watched as the blue of atmosphere slowly turned into the black of space. Once the ship had breached the gravity of Earth she rolled her over so she could see the Earth laid out before her. As she set up for a slingshot off Earth’s gravitational pull she would get a few extra minutes of this magnificent sight.

  She wondered if given this view of Earth to the men who had done so much damage to the planet if they would have still done so? We were not a collection, pieces of ground ruled by little men; we were one people sharing the same planet. It took a virus to show us just how fragile we really are. “Thank God warring is over.” Samantha said as she looked down on it all.

  “Yes it is beautiful honey.” He sounded half asleep.

  “Commander Sweet Cheeks. Request permission to shave time from the crossing?” She asked with a smile.

  “Granted Baby Doll…just be sure I’m up before landing at S.M.B. This old girl is heavy. You crack it up they will make me pay for it sure.” He smiled as he settled in for a nap knowing Samantha had the ship, and he was in heaven. This was going to be a great nap.

  25 The Regal Invasion

  Her advisers bowed deeply in shame as they informed her of delays in getting the personnel gathered for the mission. The construction of the transport pods where going well. But it would be at least two days before the personnel arrived to completely fill them. “G-1 has a full load of our people in her passenger compartment. We will have the women needed for G-3. But to fill the cargo container will take two days Empress.”

  With a wave of her hand she dismissed them all, and ordered a radio be brought to her at once. “G-3, this is Chair May. Come in, over.”

  Pete was trying to get some sleep while Hackett worked on her simulator landings. She was practicing Mars landings now. In her mind she had to know how to do it all like yesterday. Pete was impressed.

  As her words came in over the intercom he bolted upright like a flash and answered. “This is Commander Pete, How can we help you Chair May? Over.” A Chair calling them directly, this had to be big.

  “Your Con Man, correct? Over.” She asked to make the young Commander relax.

  “Yes Chair May, Con Man at your service. Over.” He shot back, more comfortable being referred to by his call sign.

  “We are having some difficulties gathering the needed personnel for the crossing to S.M.B. It’s expected I guess. Five hundred women all packing at a moment’s notice to move to a new planet has got to be some sort of record. We are lucky we have the few we have on hand.” She made light of the situation. “We request permission to fill your cabin with a load of women for this crossing, and we will fill your hold with supplies we have on hand now. We do not wish to hold the shuttle back awaiting their arrival. Over.”

  He liked her style, being an Empress he expected her to be stiff. But she was far from it. “That will be just fine Chair May. We are here to serve the needs of our two planets. Over.”

  May had to laugh at his attempt at political bull. “With a line like that you should run for a Chair. Over.”

  “Two men out of a body of one thousand, and two Chairs are more then enough. I think we let Otto and Fred handle the politics. I’ll handle the flying. Over.”

  May laughed out loud for the first time in she didn’t know how long. All those she communicated with in her daily life acted as if she was breakable. But the Moon personnel treated her like a person. She liked how it felt. “You’re funny Con Man. The loading crew will commence loading as soon as the hold doors have opened. Over.”

  Hackett hit the switch, and the hold doors began to slowly open.

  “All those leaving the chamber will begin transferring as soon as the ladies have suited up and are virus free…over and out.” May finished.

  “Copy that. This is G-3 signing off. Over and out.” Pete ended their communications. He was impressed with that woman.

  Hackett donned her helmet so she would not inadvertently become infected, and then need cleansing before she could go back to the Moon. She wished to be by the book from the start. She purged the cabin with Moon air just to be doubly sure they were safe at an extra two pounds for a few seconds, and it made her feel more secure.

  * * *

  The loading went like a dance of hundreds. Loaders, Jack hammers, hand tools, chow hall supplies, conveyer sections. It all was swallowed up by the ship’s cargo hold.

  The personnel started to come onboard two at a time and cycle through the airlock; the first two to board were a suited crew that where securing the passengers into their seats as they came onboard. All the seats where quickly filled except for one.

  The two Strap-In Crew members walked up beside Hackett, and one patched into her Com Line. They had noticed that Hackett’s suit was fitting like a bag. It just would not do when they knew they could help. “We would like to help you with this little problem!” The woman gave her suit a little tug at the shoulder to show its ill fit. “How tall are you? Hackett...right?”

  She was blown away that these women knew who she was. She turned crimson and responded. “I’m just fourteen years old. I’m four foot nine and ninety-eight pounds, Kind of long of leg. I borrowed this suit from Shianne Chisholm. She is just five foot two. And it was big on her. “No one has a suit my size. All the suits are made for men.”

  The woman just smiled and gave orders to her assistant. The woman was soon back with two large bags and a sizable box. The last woman who was crossing to the Moon walked in behind her and quiet
ly took her seat.

  The bags where set down, and the tags inspected to determine which one now belonged to Hackett. “Could you purge the air just to be safe please Commander?”

  The sound of rushing air told of compliance with her request, Pete blasted all air overboard, evacuating any chance of the virus being onboard. “Please rise and let us take you out of that monstrosity. We have a suit here made for a woman and it will fit you like a glove.” Hackett was helped to her feet, and then found herself being removed from the suit by professionals. It was happening so fast she had no time to resist. As soon as she was out of the suit she was handed the box that was wrapped in rice paper and tied with a bow. “Empress May has sent this for you.”

  There was a note tied in the bow. ‘Hackett, for our little pilot, enjoy her as we will enjoy you.’ “I can’t accept this…” She was not used to getting gifts, better yet gifts from world leaders.

  “In this country, you’re getting close to insulting an Empress. Let’s not do that Ok Hackett?” the suit up woman warned her.

  “I would never insult the Empress.” She responded, turning three shades of red. She opened the gift and found a china doll dressed in royal splendor. She looked closer and realized it was the Empress herself the doll was holding a likeness too. She was amazed and very close to tears; She had never been given a gift this fine and would treasure it forever. “I must thank the Empress personally for such a beautiful gift.” She said with conviction.

  “This is good, but at this time the Empress is not available. I will pass on your message, and she will be contacting you soon.” She took the china doll, packing it safely into a storage locker for the trip. They then suited Hackett up in her new space suit; it fit her like a glove. It was stark white and found her every curve. She did a little dance that got a giggle from all of those who were watching through the glass door of the cockpit. She said it felt as if she wasn’t wearing a space suit at all. That was just what they wanted to hear. It was how the suit was designed. “This is a suit for your friend; Commander Shianne. If it needs alteration tell her to contact us, and we will repair it for her. We will measure all the personnel in need of pressure suits and have them fitted with this new design. It is much lighter, and allows the wearer much more freedom of movement.” The suit up supervisor informed her. It seemed that China still had many mysteries within its borders.