Sally Dickson
Aliens on the ISS
Copyright © 2021 by Sally Dickson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
First edition
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Contents
Dedication
Letter to the Reader
Node 3. Tranquility, International Space Station
Node 1. Unity, International Space Station
Space Walk beyond the International Space Station
Boarding the Alien ship
Quest airlock, International Space Station
Please Review
For new releases and further tales…
Keep on Reading
Aliens in Mysore Dasala
Dedication
This tale harks back to the Golden Science Fiction age of the 60s.
Escape with me as we spend time on board the International Space Station in the company of aliens.
Dedicated to Peter
Letter to the Reader
If you dream of wandering the Champs Elysées in Paris in spring, if you can imagine sipping champagne in Raffles in Singapore or the Café de Paris in Monte Carlo or even Tiffany’s in New York, then welcome.
If you can imagine sharing rice-bowls with Sherpas at the base camp of Everest or watching kangaroo herds race across the outback, then you have come upon kindred spirits.
If you’d enjoy taking a medieval chorister’s pew to listen to Christmas evensong sung by Oxford’s senior choir, or sitting on a velvet banquette in Vienna’s Opera House to watch Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, please sit back, relax and enjoy.
Join me as we travel from one glittering location to another, we will be aliens, and also meet aliens, as we explore the most exotic streets and savour the greatest wonders of our planet together…
Enjoys Aliens,
Sally Ann Melia
Node 3. Tranquility, International Space Station
Recommended soundtrack: Space Oddity, David Bowie
If I die in space? Jasmin once said. Would I mind if I die in space? Why the hell would I? What else is life for, except to give oneself to a great cause that goes beyond a single human life.
Yes, my twin would gladly have given her life to the space program, but - given the choice - she probably would not have chosen to lose a leg in astronaut training. Once Jasmin had fallen, that left only May. May had to become the astronaut, her elder twin would now never be.
Yet if I die in space, May thought then surely both of us twins will have failed.
“May, sorry to interrupt…”
May knew that if she could keep up the pace of 8kmph she would burn off 360kcal, in the 45 minutes she had allocated on the treadmill. If she burnt off that much, then she could eat one almond and coconut cluster (250kcal) and she would have started loosing weight today. Loosing weight was good. Loosing weight meant she might be as slim as Jasmin.
Dumpling. Mum had called me that, but Mum loved me…
Dumpling, Dumpling, di-di-dee-dee-Dumpling. That’s Jasmin of course.
Not fair Jasmin, I’m not a Dumpling. I’m losing weight.
And breathe…
I have a Phd from Harvard, I was second in my class at Browns. I co-developed the Proteus experiment and I scored 97% on the astronaut aptitude training….
That’s right. That’s the mantra she has to repeat when she feels unsure of herself. It was at times like this May heard her twin’s voice encouraging her. Because above all else, both May and Jasmin wanted to be great astronauts.
So when NASA said they would not get to choose their crew.
“It’s out duty to get on with everyone,” Jasmin had said. May had nodded.
NASA also selected the science projects.
“Every job is interesting,” Jasmin joked. Not always, May thought, but that was not the point.
Training, sleeping, eating and working, an astronaut’s life could look unrelenting.
“I like having my day mapped out for me,” Jasmin had said. May shrugged.
An astronaut’s only responsibility was to stay at a constant weight.
I know how to diet, May said at one, and Jasmin just shrugged.
Jasmin never dieted, May thought, she and I might have been twins, but I was always the fat one.
I have been dieting since I was eight-years-old.
And breathe…
“May!” This time the voice was a sharp interruption.
May turned to her commanding officer. Just 34-years-old, Captain Katherine Kidson, ex-Artic Explorer and Scientist, now International Space Station US Commander although no-one ever used the full title, and in fact the International Space Station was normally referred to as the ISS.
“Hey Katy!” May replied but kept on running.
“Have you eaten today, May?” Always the first question.
May thought a moment, actually she should have had breakfast with Frankie, but…
“Have a protein bar,” Katherine said abruptly. “Okay well I guess you know how everything is a bit fluid at the moment. What with the Visitor and everything.”
Katy nodded to the red alarm light flashing high on the ceiling, as if the crew needed to be reminded that there was an alien ship parked alongside Earth, so the ISS crew were no longer the only living souls in space. They had company. So, of course they were on red alert.
“Well we have a job to do,” Katherine said. “And so as it turns out so do you.”
“Sure thing Katy - what do you need?
Jasmin always said if you can force yourself to answer a question with ‘Sure thing, what do you need?’ then you’ve committed yourself to the problem and whatever comes next can never - will never - be that bad.
“So we just received a transmission from Houston: they want to make some last-minute changes to the EVA.” Katherine said calmly but her eyes were bright with excitement. “You were scheduled to go EVA outside the ISS today - you remember your first Space Walk? Well, there’s been a change….”
“What kind of last-minute change?” May asked. ‘Last-minute’ anything was unheard off, and normally meant some specific threat to the Space Station.
“Nothing much - just you get to use the Space Scooter…”
Space Scooter, that was BETA equipment. It was based on the small handheld propellers divers used under water, supposedly it would allow astronauts to fly around in space.
Hold on. Even Jasmin had not been trained with the space scooter - the tech was so new. It had to be he pet project of somebody important, if not why else had it made the mission as a last minute shoe-in?
And wait - May could not remember - had it been fully tested?
“Oh yes, I trained with those in the pool.” May replied, and she meant a mere 30-minute trial in the astronaut training pool.
“Yes, and they want you to use the long tethers, they think you will need three in total, because the scooter is in BETA , as you say, but Houston have confidence you can do what is needed.”
May nodded.
“So what is it, I need to do?”
“It’s because of the Visitor,” Katherine repeated with an encouraging smile. “So I need to run through your schedule - you might need to delegate a few things today…”
“Because of the Visitor?” May realized she sounded like a bro
ken record repeating her commander .
“While you were asleep, the Visitor moved,” Katherine said. “I guess you’ve not looked outside yet?”
May shook her head, she would normally grab a quick look, but now she thought about it Prisha, Frankie and even Vladimir were crowded around inside the cupola, the six-sided observation window. Though they didn’t appear to be looking at Earth, so what were they looking at?
“Hey Guys, let May have a peek.” Katherine called out.
“I go,” Vladimir apologized. “Thank you, Commander Katherine. Doctor Prisha invited me”
“I did!” echoed Prisha sounding guilty. The ISS has its rules. So while, they call it an exemplar of international cooperation, the Russians normally stay in their own modules. Katherine said nothing, but she watched Vladimir leave and waited until he was gone before nodding to May to go look and she said. “Meet me at my workstation in five - sorry to cut your exercise short.” She hesitated as she clung onto May’s arm.
“And May - try to eat something extra before you go outside?”
“I ate plenty,” May replied even as she folded the wrapper around the protein bar, and pushed the more than half that remained into her pocket. Inside she was thinking. She had not even run for ten minutes, so she had not even burnt off 200 kcal. Why would she need to eat?
Katherine nodded and pointed May to the view dome, and turned to an incoming call. May was relieved to feel the captain’s attention turn away and propelled herself toward to the dome-shaped lookout.
At first, she was mesmerized by Earth. The planet spread out beneath her like a map. They were high above the Pacific, so no interesting landmass to scrutinize, but there were still swirling clouds of white above the deep blue. She took a photo for Jasmin, and texted it.
Such a beautiful planet. She was so lucky to be skinny enough to see this.
Why are you so worried about your weight, now? Jasmin voice inside her head. You’re on board the ISS aren’t you?
Yes, but I am fatter than you Jasmin.
Dumpling. Di-di-dee-dee-Dumpling.
NASA stipulated was that you maintain a healthy weight. Jasmin’s voice was clear and critical inside her head again. You don’t need to diet.
Yes, but I want to be as slim as you Jasmin, or at least as good as you.
“May!” Someone called her name, she blinked, she had been miles away. “There!”
Frankie was the only one of them who had made her way onto the astronaut program via the Air Force, possibly one of the toughest routes. Of all of them, the first all female ISS crew, she was the most competitive. Frankie had been good friends with Jasmin, and heart-broken when her injury has knocked her out of the program. May knew Frankie thought she got an easy ride precisely because her sister had been injured. Whatever Frankie thought or said behind her back, May knew she must always be polite.
Now Frankie tapped the right-hand pane:
“There.”
“Thanks Frankie,” May heaved in closer to the glass. She had to twist her neck hard to get a good view.
Hovering alongside the ISS was a tall obelisk shaped rock. It’s exterior might once have been smooth but now it was mottled and scarred by a thousand small impacts. Though it hung impossibly still in the night sky a short distance away, the degradations were clear signs that this rock could move at speed.
“We think they have realised that flying close to us is a safe orbit, either that or they know we are less likely to shoot them when any explosion will hurt us more that it will them.”
“Who says so?” May asked.
“I do,” Frankie replied, before admitting. “Okay, it’s just speculation, but anyone’s guess is as good as some of the nonsense coming up from Houston.”
“Do you think they are watching us?” May asked.
“There’s been no movement, the hanger is closed” Frankie pointed. “But we’re watching them.”
“I have to go get ready,” May said.
“Do you need help with your suit?” Prisha asked, she spoke with an Indian accent and she looked at May with a stare that said ‘you scared?’
May went to shake her head, but then she remembered. The Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, in short her space suit, was a nightmare to put on solo, and she liked Prisha, she was the designated medic, she had worked in a big city emergency ward in Bangalore, before applying to the astronaut training program.
“Yes please, I need all the help I can get,” May replied and she tried to laugh, but the sound came out as a nervous giggle. Was she? She got to put on her EMU to go EVA and use the Space Scooter on a long tether, or as the news would report it she would leave the space station to fly out towards the alien on the end of the long rope - what was that about? Why exactly? Jasmin would be able to do this, no one would doubt that. But May, could she do it?
Of course she could, she told herself. This is my chance, the chance to prove I deserve to be here. I mean I do deserve my place don’t I?
Act normal, she told herself fiercely. Nodding, smiling and waving, as she headed off.
“Lucky Bitch!” Frankie hissed but only loud enough for Katherine to hear.
May panicked, she knew she was not good enough but she had not realised Frankie would be keen to go. She nodded but kept her face neutral. Why were they sending her? Clearly Frankie was the better astronaut, but maybe she was not a size 0. Even Prisha who had beautiful arms where you could see the line of the bone through the skin, and her arteries rose like ribbons on the inside of her wrists. Surely they should send her? But of course she was the medic, so she had to stay on board the station in case anyone got hurt.
Hurt? Why did she think someone might get hurt?
I have a Phd from Harvard, I was second in my class at Browns. I co- developed the Proteus experiment and I scored 97% on the astronaut aptitude training.….
An alien space asteroid the size of a football stadium, in orbit alongside the ISS - all tin cans and silver foil - what could possibly go wrong? And they were sending her outside the Space Station to do what?
“Frankie!” It was a sharp reproach from Katherine. “You need to prep your suit as well, because you’re going too.”
“Yes!” Frankie punched the air and performed a double somersault with enthusiasm and conviction. While she applauded as Frankie whooped, inside May hated Frankie. Why did she show off like that?
Why not celebrate? May thought she heard Jasmin reply. You guys get to meet aliens!
“I need you both suited up and then you will need to start decompression ready to go outside as soon as possible.” Katherine said. “They have not set the exact timings, well actually we are waiting on the aliens…”
Katherine paused, clearly she had said something amiss, both May and Frankie turned to her.
“Why are we going outside?” Frankie asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know what they’re planning. Look May, I just need to be sure you have eaten something. So that I can tell them you are ready. You are okay today?”
“No problem, of course, I’m okay. I have eaten.”
Katherine nodded uncertainly.
“And Frankie, you familiarize yourself with the Space Scooter. I know you’ve not had the training. Just… I don’t know read the manuals, check the videos. May will help you.”
“I’ve flown choppers in ‘Stan, and jets over Syria, I think I can manage a scooter.” Frankie replied.
“I’m counting on it,” Katherine replied.
May nodded. Whatever else, they were going to be busy. Good that would burn some calories. She needed to be slim today, slim like Jasmin. No, not slim like Jasmin, she needed to be Jasmin.
Node 1. Unity, International Space Station
Twenty minutes later, May was gathered with the remainder of the crew in node 3. Unusually, even the two Russian cosmonauts had been invited to join. Both she and Frankie were wearing their space underclothes and breathing oxygen through transparent masks.
“Oka
y, what you are about to see is classified. So comms silence, and that means social media okay? We have a Visitor and this time they have asked us to get involved.”
There was an audible sigh amongst the gathered astronauts.
“We have been asked to put ourselves on the line to help advance humanity,” Katherine said with quiet force. “In short, the plan is to explore the alien space ship.”
“Yess!” Frankie whispered with a fist bump.
May glanced at her alarmed. What us? She thought. Me? She looked around the others. No one spoke. This is too serious for even a joke or an aside.
“There was a planned military mission to upgrade the Star Wars missile defense.” A murmur passed amongst us. Most of us think that 80s relic should long ago been assigned to the dust bin of space, but no, quietly, secretively and at great expense, the military have been maintaining and upgrading it ever since.
“Seemingly, they had a shuttle planned this week for some regular maintenance. Anyhow. We noticed that on its previous visits to the surface, Visitor left its bay doors open the whole time they were down below. Basically they left their ship open and unlocked for a full three hours. I guess it was just too tempting. So, the military are going to board Visitor and take a look see what they can find out.”
“To boldly go where no-one has gone before?” May could not help herself.
“Well,” the commander answered, “‘They are planning to deploy drones to map the interior of the ship.”
“They will be heroes,” one of the Russians cried then added. “We go too!”
“Sergey,” Katherine protested.
“You don’t command us, if I say we go EVA, we go EVA. We have the 21KS fitted to our Orlans, so we faster than you guys…” With a nod, he turned to leave.
Aliens on the International Space Station Page 1
