Chapter 6
Having completed his work on the laser, Harri decided to head down to the NIMR pool and see how things were going with the improvised spacesuits. He was personally pleased and immensely proud of his people, at how well they were resolving the issues and moving them closer to rescuing those on the Space Station.
As he entered the pool, he watched as one of the men slogged up and out of the pool, supported by technicians on either side. Given the added layers and the larger suits, they had to cut down buoyance by increasing the amount of weight needed to keep them underwater, so weight belts were attached at the waist and on each leg. Once out of the water, all that weight made it difficult to walk and given the slow pace of the exit, he guessed it was most likely Jamieson. When the man was firmly on the deck of the pool, the helmet was removed along with the weights, and air tanks, and Harri laughed to himself at having guessed correctly as he heard the ragged relieved sigh from the diver/astronaut.
"You're looking more than a little spent, Jamie," Harri called out as he made his way down to poolside.
Jamie waved and nodded tiredly. "You've got that right. We've been going nonstop for the last three hours and I'm beat. Everything is okay in the water, but getting in and out is a real struggle at times. At least we won't have to worry about the weight in space."
"Where are Lee and Chip?" Nelson asked as he scanned the area, then spotted the surge of bubbles rising up to the surface of the water.
"They're still down there working through a few more tasks. They have quite a bit more to do than I, given I'm only supercargo until we get the others on board," Jamie explained as he was carefully undressed by the support crew from engineering.
"How are the suits working?" Harri asked.
"From what I can tell, they're great. It's easy to moderate temperature, there's sufficient manual dexterity to manipulate gauges and switches, visibility doesn't seem to be a problem, and in the water, it's relatively easy to move around," Jamie reported.
"Everything is showing green, Admiral," Mike Davis said as he reviewed the readouts on his tablet. "The systems are operating exactly like we designed them to, so it looks like we're down to just the gantry system."
"Excellent news, Mike. Sounds like we've got a great shot at making this work. How much longer will they be working in the pool?"
"We're all but done now, sir. They both should be surfacing shortly, then we'll get the suits completely dried out and staged down in the subpen so they're ready for use when it's time to go."
They all stood there for a moment watching Chip and Lee manipulate some devices at the bottom of the pool. Once that task was complete, they received the okay sign from the technician observing the exercises indicating they were finished. They returned the sign, then began making their way towards the steps and exited the pool.
Their exit was a little faster than Jamie's, but not by much. Lee nodded and waved as he spotted Nelson. Chip likewise nodded and gave him a thumb's up indicating all was well. Harri smiled and moved closer to where the techs were now assisting them remove their gear.
"How's it going, Lee?" Nelson asked, once his helmet had been removed.
"I think everything's a go as far as the suits are concerned. We're both able to manipulate the switches that are on FS-1, and easily operate the joysticks for flight control. We were able to get everything done we needed to do," Lee replied. "These are bulky as hell on land, but comfortable and flexible in the water, so hopefully they're perfect for zero gravity operations. What do you think, Chip?" Lee responded.
"I agree with your assessment. I don't see flight ops to be much of an issue," Chip chimed in.
"Good to hear," Harri replied. "I've finished my work and I've given you a serious capability to defend yourselves. I was able to cut through one of the titanium inner hull plates like warm butter, so you're going to be able to dish out some considerable damage if threatened."
Both men nodded in acknowledgement. "I hope that's not necessary, but it's good to have it in our back pocket," Lee added.
"Agreed. Why don't you all get cleaned up then we can head over to the engineering lab, and see how they're coming with the gantry system and get the update briefings?" Nelson suggested.
"After that, we could all use a good meal and some sleep," Jamie added on. "We don't need to be exhausted going into this from the start."
Lee and Chip nodded in agreement knowing Jamie was right. They turned and started making their way to the locker room. "I'll see you back here in 30 minutes," Harri called after them.
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As the monitor went black, Agneta lost the fight to contain her tears. The added stress of her being trapped up here was more than apparent on her parent's faces, and her mother, battling late stage lung cancer, could ill-afford the extra burden. She so desperately wanted to be back on Earth helping to take care of her mother, but that was beyond her control now. She was shocked at how much her condition had deteriorated since she last spoke with them. "Was it just a week ago?" she wondered to herself
She should have been back on Earth by now, her secret Swiss account now bolstered by several million Euros, to be used for getting her mother into the best hospital in the world along with the best treatment available. All they wanted was for her to verify certain items were aboard and mark them for removal after the PR vessel damaged the oxygen tanks. She really hadn't betrayed anyone, just made it easier for them to get in and out, she rationalized.
After about 30 minutes of wallowing in self-pity, she dried her eyes and made her way back to the sleeping quarters. Kendal and Katarina were still out. She then returned to the aft section of the station and made contact with the other ship.
"Alpha, this is Sigma, do you read me?" Agneta hailed.
"This is Alpha, go ahead Sigma," the voice replied.
"I just talked with Mission Control and the rescue vessel is expected to dock with the Space Station in approximately 46 hours, if the mission is a go. They don't know who launched the attack, but I was told virtually every intelligence agency on the planet is trying to find out, and they are reviewing all the satellite footage to determine if they can find the source of the rocket launch. They will also be monitoring everything entering Earth's atmosphere to determine where your capsule touches down," Agneta reported.
"Copy that. I suppose there's no point in putting off our docking any longer. We will begin our maneuvers to align our orbits, estimate link up in about 40 hours. On your next watch, disable the station's radio so our arrival can't be reported."
"You mean you're going to come aboard while we're still here?!" she asked incredulously.
"With rescue closer than we expected, we will not waste this opportunity, too much has been expended on this mission. We will not risk them removing the items we're after when they remove the crew. Contact us again on your next watch. Out," Alpha ordered.
The line went dead and Agneta gulped in fear. This was spiraling further out of control with each passing moment. If Kendal saw them, she would no doubt be able to guess they were from the PR and would report that once NIMR arrived. She swallowed hard again, she could only hope they would take her with them since she guessed they would most likely eliminate the others to hide their guilt.
She curled tightly into a ball, eyes screwed shut and just hovered, cursing herself for ever getting involved in this whole scheme. After a moment, the image of her terminally ill mother came to mind, reminding her of why she had gone along with it all in the first place. "This is for you Mamma," she said quietly.
As she remained there, oblivious to all around her, she screamed out loud when a hand gently touched her shoulder.
"Oh my god, Neta, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," Kendal said, who was equally surprised by her friend's reaction.
Agneta laughed nervously as she got herself under control. "I'm sorry I frightened you too," she replied. "I didn't hear you come in."
"How's your arm?" Kendal inquired, noticing how she cradled it against her stomach.
"Hurts. My fingertips are feeling a bit numb, I think the swelling is starting to cut off the circulation. Would you mind taking a look at it, please?"
"Sure thing. Come on back to the sleeping area and I'll unwrap you," Kendal replied with a chuckle. "How's Katarina been doing?"
"She's been quiet, no repeat seizures. She doesn't seem to be in any pain," Agneta replied.
"That's good. I was afraid she'd have more," Kendal responded. "Okay, let me see your arm."
Agneta extended her arm. Kendal quickly checked her fingertips and found them to be slightly blue indicating constricted circulation. She gently bled off some of the air in the splint then watched Agneta's fingertips for a change. Kendal smiled as the nailbeds became pink once more. "How does that feel?"
Agneta sighed in relief. "Much better, thanks."
"Good. How long has it been since you've had a pain pill?"
"I took one right after I relieved you, so about 6 hours I would guess."
"I think it's probably safe to have another one," Kendal said as she rummaged through the first aid kit and pulled out a packet, tore it open, and passed it to Agneta. "Have you eaten anything lately?"
She shook her head no as she popped the pills into her mouth and grabbed a swig of water out of a bottle. "Me either, and I'm getting more than a little hungry. Let's have dinner, then you can grab some more sack time, okay."
"That will probably help with the headache I'm getting," Agneta replied.
"Okay, I'll cook, what are you up for tonight?" Kendal quipped and pushed off towards the galley to collect their meals. She returned shortly with the heated dinners and set up Agneta's so she could handle it one handed. They ate pretty much in silence, both women lost to their own thoughts.
Having completed her meal, Kendal looked over at Agneta who had only eaten about half. "Are you okay? You seem quieter than usual. Are you still in pain?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just not all that hungry. Chalk it up to the stress and medication, my stomach feels like it's inhabited by monster butterflies. Plus, my parents aren't handling this well, especially my mother," Neta replied dejectedly. "A short nap will probably help."
Kendal frowned. "How's your mother doing?"
"Not well from the looks of things. They weren't about to discuss what's been going on with them given my problems, but she looked to have aged several years since I talked to her last week," Neta relayed.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Well, hopefully this won't be going on much longer. A nice nap will make the time pass faster," Kendal offered. "Anything I need to look out for, for Mission Control?"
"Nope. They just said to keep our eyes open for the jerks that fired on us," Neta reported. "We're due to check in again in about 90 minutes."
"Okay, thanks. Now you, in your bag and relax. You want to look good and rested for when Lee and Chip arrive to give us a lift home. I'll see about hooking you up with Chip," Kendal joked. She then checked on Katarina one more time and made her way forward to the Control Room to check on the status of the station."
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Harri, Lee, Chip and Jamie walked briskly across the NIMR campus to the Engineering building to check on the status of the gantry system, the final piece required for their trip. As they entered the lab, they spotted a number of techs working on what looked like two door frames attached to a series of accordion room dividers, along with a number of staff from the astrophysics department there for the 1800 briefing. At the sound of the door opening, Janet King looked up and spied their visitors.
"Admiral, gentlemen, perfect timing. We're just about finished with the final tweaks to our portable gantry system," Janet said as she smiled and gestured towards the door frames.
"Interesting," Nelson responded. "A little more low-tech than I expected, but looks like it should work."
"The low-tech design is wholly intentional, sir. We've made it as simplistic and easy to use as possible to hopefully eliminate any potential means of failure," King explained. "We envision attaching this on the outside of the aft hatch of FS-1, by means of powerful electromagnets that are controlled from inside. The entire package will then be sealed up in an asbestos blanket that will protect it from the heat of the engines as FS-1 transitions into space. Once FS-1 arrives at the Space Station, the captain will maneuver her in close proximity to the capsule hatch, then Kendal will open the external air lock hatch, grab the deployment ripcord and pull the free end over to the station and attach it to the inside of their hatch. When that's in place, the aft hatch on FS-1 can be opened as can the hatch to the Space Station, and the transfer of personnel can begin without the loss of atmosphere from either vessel. When the transfer is complete, the hatches to both vessels are secured, the magnets will be shut off, and as FS-1 pulls away she'll be free of the gantry as she begins her trip back to Earth."
"So, just one person can deploy the gantry?" Chip asked.
"Yes, the understanding is that Kendal is the only uninjured person aboard. With this system, FS-1 won't have to lose the atmosphere inside the vessel just to deploy the gantry. This has the fewest moving pieces we could come up with in the given time. The accordion doors are fabricated from a light, high strength, insulated Kevlar fabric that will provide an airtight seal between the vessels and be protective of the personnel as they move back and forth."
Lee nodded and smiled as he listened to the engineer's explanation. "That's fantastic. I like the idea of having nothing adhering to FS-1 as we make reentry. How long will it take to get this attached to FS-1 and tested?"
"I'd say another 10 to 12 hours. We've already started installing the redundant life support system in the moon pool well, fortified the seat restraints, have the magnets and power switches in place for the gantry assembly, and now we just have to transport this down to the subpen, get it attached, test it, then get it wrapped up for launch," Janet replied. "Once we have the gantry in place, we'll finish the work on the tether system, and you'll be all set. All in all, I'd say we could be ready to launch in 20 hours or less."
Broad smiles graced the faces of everyone in the room. It very much looked as though they were actually going to pull this off.
"Well done," Nelson enthused. "You have all done a fantastic job. I take it you have an instruction sheet so Kendal will know what to do?"
"Affirmative, sir," Joel Maynard chimed in. "We've been creating instruction manuals for everything as we've gone along, so we capture the steps and can readily identify the rationale for each. We don't want anyone second guessing themselves at a critical moment. Before FS-1 launches, we'll contact the Space Station and go over the operations of the gantry with Kendal."
"Excellent. Once you've got this installed on FS-1, I want you to go through it's deployment and operation with the flight crew so they can deploy it, just in case," Nelson ordered.
"Of course, Admiral, we had planned on that as well. We want as much redundancy as we can manage in the short amount of time we have," Dr. King responded.
"Good to hear," Nelson replied. "Okay Patrick what have you got from the world of astrophysics, flight tracking and trajectory?"
"We're ready to go as well, Admiral. We've been in close coordination with NASA, and have developed a number of trajectories and time lines to allow FS-1 to access the Space Station, get the personnel aboard, and be on her way home with the least amount of exposure to radiation and extreme heat. The joy of having a nuclear power source makes it easy for them to readily adjust to any unexpected developments once they're on their way. They don't have to worry about remaining fuel should they need to deviate from a chosen course. We've got everything loaded into FS-1's flight computer, so all the pilot need do is tell it where he wants to go," Patrick Dunn explained.
"Outstanding!" Nelson exclaimed. "What about return payload, any issues with that?"
"None, sir."
"What if they have additional cargo they need to bring with them?" Nelson inquired.
"The only constraint would be space availability, Admiral. What kind of cargo would they be bringing back?" Dunn asked.
"NASA has a couple of experiment modules they want brought back with the passengers. If this proves problematic, then they want them jettisoned in the atmosphere to burn up," Nelson explained. "Any issues with that?"
"The only one I could think of would be extreme weight, like the module is constructed of lead or some other very dense material. Although her capability is high, FS-1 does have upper limits that can't be exceeded if you expect her to stay in the air." King responded.
Nelson and Crane nodded in understanding. "That's an excellent point, I'll try and get more specifics from NASA on expected bulk of the units. If it's too high, can we just jettison them out of the moon pool?"
"That shouldn't be a problem, Admiral. We've fixed it so the space between the hatch inside FS-1 and the exterior hatch will function like an airlock. The items can be sealed in there before they exit the Space Station, and then just before they start their descent into Earth's atmosphere, they can remotely open the exterior hatch and dump the cargo," Janet explained.
Nelson just stared at her, highly bemused at her revelation. "Is there nothing you and your people haven't thought of?" he asked rhetorically.
"That's why you pay us the big bucks, Admiral," she joked back.
"Apparently, I need to add a few more to ensure I keep you all at my beck and call," Harri replied as he made eye contact with each person in the room. "Well done to you all."
Everyone smiled and some even blushed at Nelson's words of praise. A number patted each other on the back as they reveled in their just due.
"Okay, I think it time we get out of your way and let you all get back to work. Make sure your teams are getting some rest, tired people make mistakes and we can ill afford any on this endeavor."
"Don't forget to eat a decent meal either," Jamieson added as he looked around the lab spying only empty coffee cups and candy wrappers.
Janet laughed. "God, no wonder Lee complains about your mother-henning. I've already contacted the cafeteria and they are sending down dinner shortly. I also divided my team in half at the start of this, and sent half of them home to rest. They should be arriving in about an hour, then we'll conduct a turn over brief and let them proceed with the gantry installation and testing, so fresh eyes are evaluating what we've created."
"We've done the same in astrophysics as well, sir," Patrick added. "We're here to support you and Kendal any way we can."
Nelson nodded in appreciation of their planning. "Well, on that note, we are heading to the cafeteria for dinner as well, then tucking in the flight crew for some much-needed rest. Let me know if you run into any problems, at any time."
"Yes Admiral," Janet answered. "Copy that, sir," Patrick added.
"All right gents, let's head to dinner then get you bedded down for the night," Nelson said, then turned and headed for the door.
"Thank you for your efforts, we all appreciate what you've done," Lee said, then quickly followed the others.
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