Chapter 52: Arnie

Two weeks later

Tuesday, 14th November 2079

"Happy birthday, Brains." John Tracy smiled at his friend from out of the video screen.

"What?" For a moment it seemed as if Brains had forgotten the date. "Oh. Thank you."

"It's been ages since we talked, so I thought I'd call you up for a chat and see how you were."

"I am quite well, thank you, er, John." Brains ran his eyes over his latest project and shifted a piece away from the camera. "And I have been, er, busy."

"Busy? Today of all days I thought you'd have been taking a rest. After all those hours you put in to getting the ACGs and the asteroid deflector rocket ready you deserve a break."

"You know me. I like to keep working on my p-projects." Brains moved a piece of silver foil.

"I know," John sighed, wishing he had more to keep him occupied. "Anything I can help you with?"

Brains picked up his screwdriver and studied it. "No. Thank you."

"Well, if you think of anything, let me know. It's been nearly two weeks since Doomsday was supposed to cause chaos and now that the excitement's over I've got nothing to do. I know I keep harping on about it, but I'd been looking forward to some time for myself. The only problem is I had envisaged using that time to do some work with my telescope."

Brains looked at him in sympathy. "You have other, er, telescopes, don't you?"

"Yes, but they're not as powerful. I had planned on keeping an eye on Alan, but now I have to rely on reports from other astronomers."

Now genuinely interested, Brains laid down his screwdriver. "What do they say?"

John managed a chuckle. "At first they thought Thunderbird Three was just a piece of space junk. Then, when they realised that it wasn't following the accepted laws of physics and was moving under its own power, there were whispers that maybe it was the first sign of extra-terrestrial life. That was until they realised where this UFO's destination was. Most of them have heard about asteroid 2070SB's collision path with Earth and now there is intense speculation that International Rescue is going to save the day once again. I'm nearly tempted to confirm it as the Space Monitor of Thunderbird Five, but I'm staying away from the speculation. To them I'm just John Tracy, enthusiastic amateur."

"I'm sure that your former c-colleagues think of you as more than that," Brains corrected. "You were top of your field."

"A decade ago," John corrected. "Now I'm just another space nut with his own substandard observatory… Albeit one with computer access to the best astronomical research on the planet."

"Are you going to be able to follow Thunderbird Three when Alan rendezvous' with 2070SB?"

"Not clearly. She's too small and will have a highly reflective planet overexposing the view. If there are any optical telescopes trained on that part of the sky when the action goes down, which, in light of the interest everyone has in it, is probable, I might ask one of my former colleagues if I can piggyback on their systems. But even their telescopes aren't as good as the one I had up here until Thunderbird Five saved my life; the atmosphere sees to that. All I'll be able to see is 2070SB changing its course, and maybe the flaring of your rocket... And that'll be half an hour after the event, thanks to the speed of light. We still won't know how Alan is until he's on the return journey and through the magnetosphere."

"Won't radio telescopes see more than optical ones?"

"They have their limitations."

"Well…" Brains thought. "Aren't there other satellites you can utilise?"

"They've all been programmed to study their own parts of the universe. No one's focussed on Jupiter."

"Bother," Brains said mildly. "As a part of this s-speculation, when do they expect, er, International Rescue to act?"

"Their calculations think Thunderbird Three will be arriving at asteroid 2070SB in two weeks time."

"Do you agree with them?"

"It's what we were aiming for."

"I notice that the W-World President hasn't told the world about 2070SB."

"No. After all that happened with Doomsday, I guess she doesn't want to start the panic all over again." John sighed. "I wish I had my own telescope."

Brains looked at his disconsolate friend. "Cheer up," he suggested. "You, er, might get a clearer view than you think."

-I-R-

-F-A-B-

One and a half weeks later

Wednesday, 22 November 2079

Alan rubbed his sweaty palms on his trousers. This was it. This was the day that he'd travelled all those millions of kilometres to reach. This wasn't a dream. This wasn't a simulation.

This

Was

It.

His own version of Doomsday. Get it wrong and it would be curtains for him and possibly planet Earth.

Get it right and he could turn for home.

If he still had a home.

He realised that his hands were sweaty again and wiped them a second time, reflecting that it had been a waste of time putting on a clean uniform for the occasion. He turned down the temperature in Thunderbird Three's cabin.

A video screen showed him asteroid 2070SB. Arnie filled the viewfinder, blocking out the even more impressive and intimidating image of Jupiter.

Only this wasn't a photograph. This wasn't a computer generated model. This was a live video feed. That was a two kilometre diameter asteroid only metres away from what seemed to be a tiny spaceship.

Trying to save the material of his trousers, Alan got a cloth to wipe his hands on.

He took a deep breath and entered the initiation code. The familiar set of crosshairs appeared on the asteroid's image and, with a deft touch to the control levers, he inched his spaceship around until she was lined up precisely with their centre. A comforting beep told him when they were in position.

Now he entered the second code and transferred the operation over to the computer. Maintaining his feather-light hold on the levers, he watched as the hatch in the nosecone folded back and felt the tremor run through his craft as the robotic arm stretched, flexed, and withdrew the rocket from where it had resided for the previous eight weeks. It reached out to position the rocket right where it was supposed to go...

Alan watched the computer's readouts as they told him that each of the bolts had been blasted into Arnie to adhere the rocket to the asteroid. Then the robotic arm went through its paces, just as it had almost every other time in the simulations. It removed the tail section, exposing the jet units, and deposited the section in Thunderbird Three's open bay for disposal back on Earth. One... Two... Three locking-rings were rotated until the fuels were intermingling. The button was pressed and the stir began. The robotic arm retracted back into the bay and the door behind it closed. The green light on Alan's console showed that it had been sealed against the harsh environment of space.

Taking care not to undo all of the robot's good work, and with thoughts of what happened to his family at Yelcho, Alan moved Thunderbird Three clear until she was well beyond the range of the explosive chemicals in the rocket.

All was ready. Time to see if he'd achieved what he'd set out to do two months earlier on the 25th of September. With another deep breath and after wiping his hands on the cloth once again, Alan felt the fingers of his right hand close around the control stick that he would use to steer Arnie towards Jupiter. "Fire rocket!"

The rocket fired.

Arnie reacted to the shock of the forces applied by revealing its weaknesses. A crack sheered along the line of the left-hand bolts that had been rammed into the rocky surface. A crack that was deepening...

Lengthening...

Widening…

At first Alan was unaware of what was happening. As he'd done so many times before he applied more thrust, adjusting the angle of the jets so that they were pushing Arnie away from Earth and towards Jupiter….

…And pushing a fragment of rock away from the main body of the asteroid.

If Alan and Thunderbird Three hadn't been in the so-called vacuum of space, he would have probably heard an almighty crack as asteroid 2070SB broke into two. The smaller fragment, following the course set by Alan's carefully deployed rocket, headed in the general direction of the giant neighbouring planet, while the larger body continued on its original path uninterrupted.

"NO!" Stuck for anything productive that he could do, Alan slammed his fist against the control panel. Something beeped its annoyance, but he ignored it. "No, no, no, no, NO!"

He had failed. Arnie had been split into pieces and the biggest section, he estimated about 90 per cent of the original asteroid, was still on a heading for Earth. There was always a chance that it had been nudged into a slightly different trajectory, but that could either mean that it would harmlessly pass the planet on this orbit or else ensure Earth's total destruction.

He slumped in his seat; his head in his hands.

He had failed.

He'd flown all this way and for all this time and all for nothing. He'd failed the people of the Earth; he'd failed International Rescue; he'd failed his family…

He'd failed his unborn child…

No. He sat up straight. He wouldn't fail: not without a fight. There must be something else that he could do to divert that giant rock from targeting Planet Earth, but he knew he was limited in the tools he had available to him.

"Think, Alan, think!"

Alan thought.

Reuse the original rocket?

That was already out of reach and being sucked further and further away by Jupiter's gravitational pull.

Use another form of propulsion?

He didn't have another. Plus the robotic arm in Thunderbird Three's holding bay was designed for one deployment and that had been completed.

Spacewalk?

What would that achieve? Even if he had some explosive that would work in the hostile environment outside, donning a spacesuit and working out there was too dangerous to contemplate without support from inside his spaceship. It would have been dangerous even if he had backup.

What else have I got?

Thunderbird Three?

But what could she do? She was only a transporter; a shuttle designed for flights between Earth, Thunderbird Five and those in need of her help. Most space rescues had used the payload that she carried, not the actual spacecraft. Her nosecone was designed for aerodynamics; to allow her to cut through the atmosphere upon re-entry while minimising the build-up of heat in the craft. She wasn't designed to act as a battering ram for a planetoid-sized hunk of space rock.

Besides, was 20 million newtons of thrust enough to cause a two kilometre diameter asteroid to disobey Newton's First Law of Motion: that a body in motion would to stay in motion?

What if he didn't use her fuselage, but her power source? Newton's Third Law of Motion stated that for every action there was an equal and opposite reaction. That meant that when Thunderbird Three fired her thrusters in space the forces caused by the gases exploding backwards had the equal and opposite reaction of pushing the spaceship forward.

So, what if Thunderbird Three were to 'sit' on the surface of Arnie and fire her forward-facing retros? Would that be enough power to push the asteroid backwards into a more favourable trajectory? Or if he were to fire her retros and her thrusters, so that she was giving out equal power fore and aft, in effect locking her in place, would the more powerful force of her thrusters push Arnie away from the spaceship and towards Jupiter?

Alan knew there were major flaws in both ideas, aside from the fact that they might not work.

Oxygen…

And fuel.

Together these elements were used for launching, landing and course corrections. He only had a limited amount of either and that had to get him back to Earth.

When Thunderbird Three was originally designed, mankind was only just starting to venture back out into space. Accordingly International Rescue's spaceship had been designed to work within the current technology's limits. In other words she could easily sustain rescues to satellites, the Moon, Mars, and even distances as far away as the Sun, but there had been no indication that she'd ever need to travel as far as Jupiter. If Space Scientists had started making murmurings about sending manned flights that distance, Thunderbird Three would have been upgraded accordingly, but last time International Rescue had been in action, there'd been no need to take such mammoth journeys.

This was why Alan had been so intent on conserving his resources. Thunderbird Three's engines were nuclear, but she still used chemical rockets to create the explosions needed for major acceleration and course changes. Those explosions created fire and fire needed oxygen to burn.

Out of necessity Thunderbird Three was made up of a series of closed systems, including one for life-support and another for rocket propulsion. Any by-products of day-to-day life on-board, such carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and waste water were filtered, scrubbed and broken down into their constituent parts before being stored ready for reuse. This ensured that the spaceship had a never-ending source of clean water and oxygen available for preservation of life, and for motive power.

Both life-support and propulsion were kept separate, but, as a safeguard, they were connected. It seemed foolhardy to have two similar vital systems that were able to support each other, and yet not be able to tap into one should the other fail. In other words, if Alan used all of the chemical rockets' oxygen now, then he'd still be able to use that which was earmarked for keeping him alive to give him momentum. But if he used a portion of his breathable oxygen to assist in completing his mission, then there was every chance that he wouldn't have enough to sustain him through the two-month return journey.

As things stood, he would have no problem returning home, but shifting Arnie carried the probability that he would sap that finite resource. The best worst he could imagine was that he could make his way back to Thunderbird Five, but then he and John would be trapped and unable to return to Earth.

The worst worst was that he'd never make it back at all.

Alan wished that John was here with him, or at least able to be contacted by the radio. He would have valued his older brother's knowledge, experience, and scientific brain. Instead he fired up the computer and started researching and calculating, hoping that the memory banks and his own intelligence would lead him to the solution.

After a couple of hours mental labour he'd come up with a plan. He would in effect launch Thunderbird Three off Arnie. By firing the retros to hold his ship steady so all her energy was forced downwards he hoped that the blast would push that giant rock towards Jupiter. This would mean the expenditure of vast amounts of fuel, but he'd calculated (correctly he hoped), that he would still have enough in reserve for all necessary manoeuvres on his return to Earth.

This plan also meant that before he'd finished Thunderbird Three would be starting to battle against Jupiter's gravitational force.

Use the force, Alan.

As far back as the earliest space missions to the moon many of the spacecraft had used what was known as free-return trajectory. "Free", because no fuel needed to be expended during the manoeuvre. Put simply, the spaceship used the moon's gravitational pull to whip the craft around the dark side of the satellite before 'slingshotting' it back to Earth. The most famous example of such a circumlunar trajectory was during the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission, where the three astronauts' lives were saved by this longer, but more fuel-efficient, trip around the moon.

Alan was going to have to use a much larger space body. Get his 'circumjovian' trajectory right and he would be home free. Get it wrong and he would either be flung out deep into space or sucked into that swirling ball of gas.

He thought he had it right.

At least he hoped so.

The time for stalling was over. The longer he waited, the further Arnie was getting from Jupiter and the more resources he'd have to use.

Swinging Thunderbird Three around, he dropped her down onto the asteroid, noting that his readouts were telling him that even the relatively small lump of rock was exerting a gravitational pull on his spaceship. It might not have been much, but releasing himself from that force field was going to take more energy than he'd planned.

As he keyed in the numbers that told his spaceship what he required of her, he wondered what he would do if the thermal shock caused by the sudden application of her rockets' heat caused Arnie to shatter; or if Arnie melted, damaging Three's propulsion systems or even worse, glued her to the space rock.

Don't think about it, Alan. This will work.

Data inputted, Alan took a moment to double and then triple-check his figures, before he ignited Thunderbird Three's rockets in their first test burst. This lasted only ten seconds, but it seemed an eternity before they shut down and he was able to check her readouts.

It's working!

Arnie's forward momentum had slowed. Not a lot, but enough to prove that Alan's theories were correct and that there was a real chance that he was going to be successful. Relieved, if still aware that there was much that could go wrong, he told the scanners to check the surface of the asteroid.

Arnie appeared intact.

With a breath of relief, followed by one of nervous anticipation, Alan fired off a second burst of the rockets; this time longer and more powerful. As the computer counted down, monitoring the forces being applied and the fuel being consumed, his eyes flickered over his readouts looking for signs of trouble or, more optimistically, signs of success.

Come on…

It seemed to take forever, but, after several heart-stopping moments, he read what he had hoped to read. Asteroid 2070SB was slowing… stalling… and then, almost miraculously, reversing; moving away from Earth and closer to Jupiter.

I'm not seeing things, am I? It has worked, hasn't it?

Alan rechecked his readouts. Thunderbird Three, still resting on the asteroid's surface, was heading away from Earth. Arnie's orbit had been shifted until, according to the computer's gravitational readings, the Sun's influence over the space rock was waning and Jupiter's hold was growing.

Now what should I do? Is there any chance that Arnie will just settle into another solar orbit and crash into Earth in the future?

No. It can't do that. Jupiter will pull it into its gravitational field and we'll all be safe.

But what if it doesn't?

Doubt overtook him. He had no plans to remake this journey and he wanted, no, he needed to guarantee that asteroid 2070SB could never again threaten Earth. A quick check of her systems confirmed that Thunderbird Three was still within her theoretical safety margins. He could give Arnie one final push and then head for home.

He prepared to give the booster rockets another blast…

-I-R-

-F-A-B-

Wednesday, 22nd November 2079 – 10.32pm

Half an hour later

"Any news, John?"

The family had been waiting for hours. The sun had only just touched Tracy Island before they'd congregated in the lounge of the villa, all concentrating on the one portrait that was their link with John and news. Kyrano had even served breakfast in there so they wouldn't miss anything…

And then served lunch…

And dinner...

It was now dark and they'd barely ventured from the room all day in case they should miss notification that Alan had been successful…

Or notification that he'd failed.

All they could do was wait…

And wait…

Unencumbered by a walking aid of any sort, but with her right arm still bound in a sling, Lady Penelope returned to the lounge. "Has there been any word?" She thanked Parker and settled into the chair he held out for her.

Jeff looked over from his habitual seat at his desk. "Not yet. We're still waiting."

"This is driving me crazy," Scott admitted. "I've wanted to go and do something else all day, but I haven't wanted to go and do something else in case something happens."

"You won't see anything," John reminded him. "Like I told you before, I can do a conference call on your telecoms when things get interesting."

But no one moved from the room.

Gordon shifted in his seat. "How much longer, John?" he complained. "It's been hours!"

John only just managed to refrain from showing his exasperation at hearing the often repeated question yet again. "Alan may attempt to move 2070SB today, or he may not. Our calculations may be out and he may not reach the asteroid until tomorrow or the next day. He might deploy the rocket at midnight our time, or midnight England's time. He might decide to hold off deployment until conditions are more favourable…"

"More favourable? How much more favourable can conditions be? It's not like he's going to run into a storm or heavy seas or anything!"

"Calm down, Gordon," his father instructed. "John can't make him go any faster."

"I wish I could," John sighed. "Or at least communicate with him to find out how he's doing."

Virgil had been sitting at the piano for much of the day, but the lid had been shut and he'd spent his time tracing the scrollwork around the keyboard with his fingers; a mannerism which showed that he was just as anxious as the rest of the team. "How many telescopes did you say you were following?"

"Six, all around the globe."

"With all that information coming in you can't expect to keep an eye on everything." Virgil's fingers stopped their tracing. "Can't you patch something through to here? It's got to be better than looking at nothing."

"Okay, Virg. But don't expect a Technicolor slideshow." A pale image flashed up onto the central portrait.

"Which, er, locations have you chosen, John?" Brains enquired.

John had explained all this, and more, many times before, but, rationalising that it helped to fill in the time, he kept his cool and started the explanation again. "I've tried to find the best vantage points around the globe so that Jupiter's covered, no matter the time of day. The video I'm feeding through to you is from my telescope on Tracy Island. I've also tapped into Gran Telescopio Canarias, La Palma, in the Canary Islands, and the large binocular telescope on Mt Graham, Arizona. Also Gillet, aka Gemini North, on Mauna Kea in Hawaii," another, similar image appeared in place of Scott's portrait, "in tandem with Gemini South in Chile. I would have used one of the telescopes at La Serena, but they were damaged in the Doomsday quakes. Plus I've got Thunderbird Five listening out for any chatter about us or 2070SB instead of words of help."

Gordon had moved closer to the first picture so he could get a better look at the blob on screen. "That looks like nothing else on Earth," he grumbled.

"That's because it's not on Earth. It's Jupiter."

Brains had also moved closer to the hazy, gently pulsing, muted-toned sphere where Virgil's portrait normally resided. "Can you, er, explain what we are, ah, looking at, John?" He squinted at the picture and pointed at a large blemish on Jupiter's surface. "I assume that's the Red Spot?"

"Right," John confirmed. "Now, can you see a black spot in the upper right quadrant?"

Brains peered closer, blocking the view of Jupiter from some in the room. Then he removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes before picking up his tablet PC from off the table. Bringing the same video of Jupiter up on the smaller screen he zoomed in to the top right of the planet. "I-I think so."

"That's the shadow of 2070SB."

"The shadow?" Gordon had picked up a tablet of his own and zoomed in.

"2070SB's too small to see from here."

"I'll say it's too small. Can't you increase the resolution?"

"I know, it's hard to see, but if I try to blow it up I can't make it any better. See…" On screen Jupiter became bigger and less focussed, while the shadow appeared to dissolve into the patterns on the surface of the planet. "I'll overlay a reference grid." Some lines appeared on screen. "When 2070SB moves beyond them, you'll know it's moved into a different orbit."

"It may be easier to view if Jupiter wasn't, ah, shimmering," Lady Penelope commented. "What is causing this phenomenon?"

John didn't miss a beat. "You know that kids' nursery rhyme Twinkle, twinkle little star? The twinkling, or as you said, shimmering is interference from Earth's atmosphere."

"How tiresome it must be for you."

"It is, Penny; believe me, it is."

"Isn't there an optical telescope satellite you could use?" Jeff asked.

"None pointing the right way at the moment. You've got to remember that all the space telescopes are in orbit around Earth and, because of those orbits, are only able to focus on Jupiter when they are on the side of the Earth facing Jupiter. Even if Thunderbird Five's telescope was functional I'd only be able to keep watch for part of the day. Geostationary orbit has its limitations."

"Then why aren't you using radio telescopes or some other type?" Scott demanded.

"I'm trying to. Non-optical telescopes are probably going to be more informative, because they'll be able to 'see' any changes in 2070SB's orbit long before the optical ones can pick up any visual displacement."

Tin-Tin had been hugging a cushion for much of the day. "What are the non-optical telescopes telling us?"

"Not a lot."

"What!?" Scott exclaimed. "There must be something you can access that'll tell us more than that picture."

"If I could, I would. Most were launched at great expense to view deep-space objects, not planets in our own solar system. They aren't programmed for close up work…"

"Close up?" Parker exclaimed. Jupiter ain't close h-in my book he thought.

"Not only that," John continued, not hearing the exclamation, "but Earth's faster orbit around the Sun is causing it to move further and further away from Jupiter."

"Surely some information's better than none," Gordon told him.

"I agree and there are some space satellites that I'd love to tap into, because I'm sure they'd give me more information; but they no longer recognise me as a bone fide astronomer, so they won't let me access their data. I could go in the back way, but they all have military-grade software encryption to their computer systems. I don't want to risk hacking into them in case one of them uses my signal to trace me back to Thunderbird Five. I'll have to wait until I can intercept any data that's streamed back to Earth."

"And you've got Five following their reports?" Scott confirmed.

Despite all his worries John grinned. "Following and recording. Don't worry, Scott. We may not have a direct link to Thunderbird Three, but we'll still be some of the first people to know when Alan's successful."

Tin-Tin smiled back at him. "I appreciate your optimism, John."

"You've got to be optimistic in this job. Otherwise you'd be a nutcase."

"How would we know the difference?" Gordon ducked when Scott raised his hand.

The eldest Tracy son cocked an eyebrow towards his space-bound brother. "Want me to punish him?"

John appeared to consider the offer. "Nah. He can keep. I've got plenty of time to think of something more appropriate, as well as more satisfying… for me."

"Hear that, Gordon" Scott grabbed the back of his brother's neck and gave him a gentle shake. "You're on notice."

"I'm shivering in my shoes." Gordon snorted. "Not."

"Would the Lunar or Martian bases have better views?" Tin-Tin asked, ignoring the byplay between the brothers. "They do not have to deal with our atmosphere."

"Mars has its own atmosphere to deal with, plus its orbit is out of alignment with Jupiter at the moment," John admitted. "It's on the other side of the sun and that's the worst light pollution you can get. The Lunar base's rotation means that at present it's on the side of the moon facing away from Jupiter, but if Alan waits to do his heroics until it's back in position it could be an option later on."

"I wonder if the World President will let the peoples of the world know about this asteroid once she knows that Earth is safe from it," Kyrano mused.

Scott shrugged. "Guess we'll find out soon enough."

With no further questions, everyone settled back into pensive contemplation of the indistinct video images.

It was a full five minutes later before a beeping sound had John pouncing on a tablet PC. "I think something's happening!" He checked another computer.

Everyone crowded closer to one of the many computer screens in the room.

"H-I can't see nothin'," Parker grumbled. "H-It don't look h-any different h-on screen."

"It's too far away to see any changes yet," John told him, "but 2070SB's definitely moved out of its existing orbit."

Jeff wasn't willing to get too excited yet. "Away from Earth?"

"Hold on…" John's full attention was on his computers. "I'm waiting for more reports…"

Everyone waited as John waited. It was a wait that seemed to go on for hours. They watched as he checked one computer and a slow smile spread across his face. Then, trying to suppress the smile and not quite succeeding, he checked another report. The smile returned. Then, just to make sure that neither his left nor his right eye were deceiving him, and while his family watched him with barely concealed impatience, he checked a third reading. "Ladies and Gentlemen: I think we have a result."

His father leant forward. "And the result is?"

"Be aware that this is only an interim report,"

"Understood."

"And remembering that I could be misinterpreting what I'm seeing."

"Any data is open to misinterpretation," Brains reminded John, "b-but we all trust that your readings will be correct."

"Thanks, but I want you all to remember that this early on, any number of variables could be giving us an incorrect reading."

"We have faith in you," Virgil told his brother. "Just tell us what you're seeing."

"What I'm seeing is a lot of raw data that needs further analysis."

Gordon groaned. "This isn't a business meeting where you're trying to score the best deal. Just tell us what you see!"

"Okay…" John paused, a teasing twinkle in his eye.

"John!" Scott snapped. "We're all making our own assumptions based on the way you're behaving, which may or may not be correct. Just give us the facts as you see them!"

"Okay." John repeated, and grinned. "I think Alan's been successful."

His announcement was met with happy smiles, but no cheers or shouts of delight.

"You're telling us," his father clarified, "that Arnie is no longer a threat to the Earth?"

"I'm not prepared to state that as a one hundred per cent categorical fact just yet, but 2070SB has been moved out of its existing orbit. It may yet settle into another orbit that will collide with Earth in ten, one hundred, one thousand years' time; or it may settle into orbit around Jupiter and never bother us again. But I think it is extremely doubtful that it will meet with Planet Earth next year."

"That's wonderful news, John," Jeff told him. "Any sign of Alan?"

"He's too far away and too small to be seen from Earth, but I'll keep watching."

"Good. Thank you, Son."

"I know we should be celebrating," Virgil hadn't opened the lid of his piano, "but I don't feel like it. Not while Alan's not here."

Scott nodded his agreement. "I know what you mean. I'm happy that he's succeeded, but until we're able to share this moment with him, then I don't feel like getting excited."

"Then we should share this moment with him!" Tin-Tin exclaimed. "Come outside everyone and we'll wave to him!"

"Wave to him?" Lady Penelope queried. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that we can see Jupiter outside, and Alan's next to Jupiter! Will you turn off the lights, Father?"

"As you wish."

Feeling that this was going to be a poor second best, everyone dutifully followed an excited Tin-Tin out under the starry sky.

Taking care not to pull the tender muscles of her right shoulder, Lady Penelope looked skywards. "Where should we look? Everything is so different in this part of the world. I feel quite lost without the North Star to guide me."

"Up there," Tin-Tin pointed to a group of stars close to the horizon.

Now that the lights to the lounge had been extinguished, Parker was gaping upwards. "Which h-one h-is h-it?"

"Ten degrees left of west and seven degrees above the horizon."

"Huh?" Gobsmacked by her explanation, as well as the fact that he was being asked to pick out one glowing dot amongst hundreds, Parker stared at Tin-Tin. "Where's that?"

"Face west." Leading by example, Tin-Tin stood by his side to ensure that he was facing in the right direction. Everyone else, either to humour her or because they needed her guidance, mimicked her actions.

"Sorry, Kyrano." Jeff's turning walker had scraped against his friend's leg.

"Do not let it concern you." Kyrano smiled. "It did not cause me pain."

"Hold your right arm out so your fist is on the horizon," Tin-Tin instructed, "holding your hand palm down…"

"Will my left arm suffice?" Lady Penelope indicated her bandaged limb. "I am afraid that I am rather handicapped at this precise moment."

"Yes, of course," Tin-Tin agreed. "Now, keeping your thumb tucked out of the way, lie your fist flat on the horizon with the edge of your little finger, if you're using your right hand, or pointing finger if you are using your left, due west. Your fist is five degrees wide. Now place your other fist next to that one so that the little finger of your left hand is two fists away from west. That's ten degrees. Rotate your left hand until its palm faces sideways, and place your thumb on top of your fist."

Everyone copied her.

"The knuckle of your thumb is seven degrees above the horizon," Tin-Tin told her audience, enjoying her recitation. "There should be a star where your thumb knuckle is." She squinted along her arm in satisfaction, seeing the expected light in the sky. "That is Jupiter." Keeping her eyes on that spot she waved. "Congratulations, Alan!"

"I see it." Keeping his fist in position, Gordon stuck his thumb up so it pointed towards the sky. "Well done, Bro. Time to come home."

And then they were all waving, sharing a thumbs-up, or simply smiling towards that tiny dot that marked the location of the tinier spaceship, which protected the even more minuscule piece of humanity that was such an important part of their lives.

Jeff beamed up towards where his youngest son had just achieved what many would have considered to have been impossible. "We're all proud of you, Alan," he stated. "And we can't wait until you're home again."

To be continued…