To say Columbia was a bit nervous about this next rendezvous would be an understatement. Besides her planned repair, Thornwell had fitted her with a Universal Docking Device that could be used to evacuate the passengers. It could hold 20 people and ensure most of the passengers could return safely to earth. The problem was it could only be used once and there were twice that number remaining aboard Starflight. This would require a third trip and unless Thornwell could find a way to process her faster after landing, that just wasn't going to happen. But it wasn't this that had Columbia worried. The last time she'd tried docking, it'd cost the life of the flight engineer.
This time, she was far more delicate than she needed to be as she lined up the tunnel to Starflight. Starflight guided her in, her patience matching Columbia's caution. Columbia didn't require Starflight's guidance but it was appreciated all the same. It gave the injured airplane something to do. "Contact." Columbia reported after an hour of delicate maneuvering. The tunnel wiggled like a slinki in the 0g environment. But the first 5 people made it safely through. Both craft breathed a sigh of relief.
It was short lived. Murphy's Law reared its ugly head in the form of the sparking patch of cut wires. The tunnel brushed against it and ignited. Columbia had no choice but to close her hatches and retreat or else she would've been destroyed too. She looked across the void at Starlight and the horror in those eyes told her all she needed to know. "Make that 6 dead in this hopeless endeavor." Columbia thought. But Air Force discipline ran deep in her and right on the heels of that, she steeled herself. "You've got a job to do Columbia, now get back to work!" She did quick work repairing the cut control cables. She wasn't a hundred percent positive that they would work but they should hold at least long enough for Starlight to touch solid ground again. "I've gotta get these people back down, but as soon as I can I'll rejoin you." Columbia said. "Tell NASA to get a move on this time. Your turnarounds are too slow to make a third attempt at this rate." Starlight replied. "Tell me something I don't know." Columbia grumbled. "On second thought, don't. Because I've got enough to deal with right now." She added as Starlight opened her mouth.
A crosswind had kicked up at Thornwell and Columbia swerved a bit on landing. She only slowed her pace down slightly as she rejoined her sister and Thornwell at the hangers. "I got six sir." She panted. "That's better than none Columbia." Thornwell said. "But if I had just repaired the engine first then maybe..." She protested. "There's no use guessing how that would've worked." He replied, placing a hand on her side. He pulled it back almost immediately. "Head to the showers and cool off. We'll have the setup ready for you when you're done." He said. "We need a way to cut back the turnaround time." Columbia said. "We could cut it back by rolling the stack out to the pad before you're attached." Discovery said. "But then how will we get her on?" Thornwell asked. "We can't bring the cranes out there." "You don't have to." Columbia interjected. "I'll jump onto that stack if need be. Anything to get it moving faster." "Alright. We'll get the stack moving out to the pad. You hit the showers. I can't tell if you're overheating or not but you're far too warm for my comfort level." "Understood sir." Columbia sighed and loped off. She was still fleet footed but there was a noticeable lag in her stride. She was tiring.
