Days later, Commander Bergstrom was tacking a note to the bulletin board. With curious eyes
watching, he grinned and looked at the group that surrounded him.
"Hello Commander Bergstrom," Jade said politely.
"Hello girls," he replied politely. "How are you doing?"
Kara stepped closer to the board to see what he was posting. Didn't make sense to her, so of
course she just had to ask. "What's a firf?"
Zach chuckled at her pronunciation. "That's F-R-F. Means, Flight Readiness Firing," he
explained.
"What's that?" Essy asked, a wicked grin crossing her face at the thought of firing. "Do we get
weapons or something?" she beamed.
"No, it's how NASA tests the main engines of the Shuttle. This is the first year we got
permission for you guys to experience it," he explained.
"Really?" Fairy asked.
"Yep, and some of you are even going to be lucky enough to sit in it. Get an astronaut's point of
view." Zach stated, moving away from the board.
"Bye," Jade called with a slight wave before returning her attention to the board. "Wow."
Standing there talking amongst themselves and Essy declaring that she should have gotten
weapons instead, nobody saw the little robot as he paused slightly near the board. As the girls
separated to make their lessons on time, Jinx talked to himself without a soul to hear him.
"Engine test. Jinx must be ready Thursday, 4 p.m." Jinx spoke, heading for the control room once
again. Hiding in the shadows, he waited for the last of the humans to vacate the room. When
everything was shut down and locked tight, Jinx came out and illuminated his circuitry once again,
this time with the sole purpose of sending Gemma into space on Thursday.
Setting the consoles to life, Jinx concluded that the engine test would have to be changed into lift
off as long as Gem was on board.
"Worst case scenario... Thermal Curtain Failure," the main computer replied.
"Define Thermal Curtain Failure," Jinx replied.
"Failure of heat shield during engine test, only one booster will ignite. Result: forced launch," the
main computer interpreted the data as the visions filled the screen.
"Why launch?" Jinx asked, watching everything and interpreting the data as quickly as he could.
"If you do not ignite second booster and launch, the Shuttle will lift off and crash."
"That is unacceptable," Jinx stated, watching the screen.
"To avoid worst case scenario, second booster must be ignited result perfect launch."
"Thermal Curtain Failure possibilities?" Jinx asked.
"One Thermal Curtain Failure every 4.9 million years," it replied.
"Gem won't live that long. Gem need Thermal Curtain Failure. Gem and Jinx, friends forever,"
Jinx stated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The long and tedious process of choosing just which of the campers would have the pleasure of
sitting in on the FRF finally came to a close. Though nobody realized that the results were
already decided by a short little robot, they still came as a shock.
"What?!" Essy exclaimed, her anger boiling over. "How could those lightsiders get that?"
"Leelee's not a lightsider," Dee remarked, clapping happily for her friends' good fortune.
"Neither is Gemma," Spidey added.
"Can't you just be happy for once Easy?" SQ asked, grinning at the look of hatred that spewed
from Essy's eyes.
"DCME!" Essy yelled. "Besides, Sith don't do happy."
"Fine, but I'm happy for them!" Christy responded.
"Shut up Christy!"
"Don't worry onna! I'm with you on this one," Paola whispered.
"Come on Essy, maybe they'll let you have a weapon eventually," Spidey threw in, trying to get
Essy's mind off of losing.
"I have a cupboard and I'm not afraid to fill it," she snickered.
"She's lost her mind," Mairead responded.
"Did she ever have one to lose?" Jen snickered.
They all busted up laughing as Essy crossed her arms unhappily. Though it didn't sit well with
her, at least some of them would be at the controls when the testing began. A wicked grin
crossed her face. She liked switches. Switches and buttons...
"What are you grinning at Essy?" Meghan asked, noticing the not so pleasant smile.
"Consoles, and buttons and the supreme power I will have once I take over the world. Oh yes,
you shall all follow me one day," she laughed.
"Oh boy," Dee snickered. "Congrats guys!" she called, to the blue team.
"Thankee!" Selah smiled big.
"Lucky you," SQ smiled.
"Luck? I don't believe in luck!" Leelee called back with a huge grin. "I'm better than Essy, I'm
better than Essy, I'm better-" she stopped mid sentence and rubbed her head. "Ow dammit, that
hurt!"
"That'll teach you apprentice," Essy stated seriously.
"I'm sorry master," she conceded.
Shaking hands and congrats all around, the blue team was too excited to think straight. They got
to sit inside the shuttle during the firing. It was every camper's dream. Well almost every
camper. Essy was the exception. She wanted to play with the controls.
"Wanna trade?" Meghan asked with a slight giggle.
"Not a chance Meg," Jade replied, trying to keep control of her excitement.
"Can't blame me for trying," she retorted.
"Of course not," Kara threw in, looking around to find her dad. "Excuse me." she said politely,
before moving from the group.
Walking up to Jareth, she smiled at those he was talking to, being the polite daughter. When they
dispersed, she couldn't wait any longer. She had so many questions, she needed answers to.
"Why did you turn us in? How did you even know we were out there that night?" she asked,
without thinking.
"Kara," he began but she cut him off.
"Why are we here at all?"
"Seems you aren't so keen on the idea of being here?" he asked, his eyes looking over the crowd.
When she didn't respond, he continued. "I would have thought you would want to spend time
with your friends. I've heard this place mentioned, and knew that at least one of you would love
to be here but knew she wasn't fond of being alone," he noted, his gaze falling on her.
"Jade," Kara replied.
"Yes," he responded. "I thought it would be so much easier, and some of the listians needed to
lean discipline so I brought you all here," he explained. "But that breaking curfew idea should
never have happened. What ever possessed you to go out onto the beach that night?" he asked,
his voice stern.
"I just wanted a little fun," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm assuming you're the one
that ratted us out."
Jareth faltered slightly, his daughter knew him too well. "Perhaps. Perhaps I've been keeping an
eye on you all, to make sure you stay out of trouble."
"Then don't do it again," she muttered, knowing that no matter what she said, she couldn't
change the fact that it was over and done with.
"Congratulations, Kara." he stated simply.
"Thanks, I still can't believe we're going to be sitting in the shuttle!" she exclaimed happily.
"It should have been my team," he responded. "How the blue team won, I'm not quite sure."
"That's an awful thing to say!" she shot back.
"Sorry, dear. I'll catch up with you later. There are some people I'd like to talk to," he replied,
kissing her cheek and heading off through the crowd.
"We'll show him," she whispered softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The day of the engine test came and the air was buzzing with excitement. Though unsure of what
tomorrow would bring in their training, it was nothing next to the experience they would have in
the next few minutes. The Blue team boarded a bus and headed toward the shuttle leaving the
other two teams behind in the control room.
"This isn't fair," Dee said, though happy enough for her friends, she wanted to be out there with
them just as much as the others. "Don't bother saying it," she stated abruptly, eyes locking on
Jareth.
"What?" he asked arrogantly, knowing far too well what she was getting at.
"Man your stations campers," Zach called out, watching them all take their seats at a console.
With a grin, he thought about what Andie must be thinking at this precise moment.
_____________
"I can't believe we're actually going to sit in the shuttle!" Kara exclaimed happily.
Selah moved up to sit with Gemma. The look in Gemma's face was one of surprise and wonder
mixed with a little bit of fear. Glancing at her, she smiled. She only wanted to make Gemma feel
more at ease. "You alright?" she asked, her grin a comfort to Gemma.
"Yeah," she replied, though her voice was full of wistful emotion. She could scarcely believe she
was going to be inside the Shuttle. How many others would have this opportunity? She smiled
wickedly just thinking of how much it would irritate the Sith Lord that she and Leelee were there
and she wasn't.
"Good," Selah replied, looking out the window. Sighing softly at the sight, she felt an
overwhelming sense of anxiety as the reality of what she was doing finally sunk in. She could
hear Kara exclaiming how she couldn't believe it, and her smile widened. Glancing over at
Leelee, she saw all the fear most people would hide deep inside themselves. Shaking her head,
she only hoped that Leelee would eventually grow out of it.
Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw Jade and Kara laughing and talking amongst
themselves. Knowing how much this opportunity meant to everyone, she could tell that it was
something Jade had only dreamed of. Shaking her head at her friend's expression of utter
happiness, she knew that the only other thing that would make her this happy would be a certain
Jedi paying her a visit.
_________________
The doors of the elevator opened and the group tried to control their anxiousness. "The next
twenty minutes are gonna be most exciting of your lives," Andie said, taking in the breathtaking
beauty of the shuttle there in front of them.
"Twenty minutes? I wish twenty days," Gemma smiled, her voice full of nervousness.
With deep breaths, the began the walk toward the shuttle door and the ultimate time of their lives.
Each step closer their hearts beat faster, the joy of being chosen finally making it hard to fathom
that yes, they were going to sit in the shuttle after all. They almost half expected for Jareth to put
a stop to it, but as they stepped inside there was no turning back.
__________________
Jinx rolled up to the main console in the utility room. Lighting his circuits, he interfaced with the
main computer. "Gem into shuttle. Engine test into launch. Gem into space," his little voice
stated, as the circuitry came to life.
__________________
Climbing up into the shuttle, Andie told them all to get into the same seats at the simulator. Jade
and Selah climbed to the top. Jade jumped up into the pilot's seat. Selah stood between the
seats, looking at Jade.
"How are we supposed to get up in these things without breaking our necks?" she asked, looking
over the console.
"Just jump up Selah," Jade stated, running her fingers across the display. "This is so incredible,"
she breathed.
Selah jumped up onto her seat. "Only thing missing here is a tape deck," she grinned.
Andie grinned at their excitement. Helping Leelee to her seat, she heard Kara and Gemma
coming in behind her.
"Whoa, this reminds me of the Millennium Falcon," Gemma stated, her eyes wide.
"Nah," Selah replied hearing her statement. "Not big enough. Besides, this thing isn't designed
for wookies," she said, giggling and cracking Jade up.
"Kara and Gem, take your seats on mid-deck. If you need any help just holler," Andie stated,
watching them go.
"May the Force be with you!" Selah called, peering down at them with a goofy grin. "Hey Gem!
Man the laser guns."
"Ugh, lightsiders," Leelee grimaced. Though she was actually looking forward to the tests.
"Alight guys, please put on your helmets and make sure your headsets are plugged in," Andie
stated, holding hers in her hand. "Pilot and commander, unstow cue cards."
"Roger," Jade smiled. Jade and Selah pulled the cue cards from their holders and placed them in
front of them. Jade read the gauges to check everything out as she'd been trained to do.
"Is everybody set?" Andie called out. As the roger' replies came to her, she plugged in her
headset. "Control, this is Atlantis, do you copy?" Andie voice carried through the headset.
_____________
"Roger Atlantis, this is launch control. Radio check over," the voice on the other end spoke.
"Solid rocket boosters A and B ignition off," SQ said, manning her station. "Stand by for main
engine test."
"Stand by," Dee retorted, her eyes flashing over every detail. Though they knew the consoles
forwards and backwards, they still had the men from the stations standing behind them, making
sure that they didn't screw it up.
_____________
"Atlantis, do you copy?"
"She's all yours," Andie stated, getting into her seat and strapping down.
"Um, go ahead," Selah said, knowing that Jade was on the edge of her seat.
"Why? Are you sure?" Jade asked.
"Come on, will you answer that?" Selah retorted with a smile.
"Okay," she answered. Flipping the switch on the communicator, Jade took a deep breath.
"Control, this is Atlantis. Radio check satisfactory, over." she finished, flipping the switch back
off. All of a sudden she squealed in delight and clapped her hands together, the noise going
through to reach each and every one of the group.
"We heard that Jade!" Kara called from mid-deck, laughing softly into her headset.
________________
"Stand by for FRF ignition," Essy spoke, her tone serious as she watched the controls in front of
her. "In T minus 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Go for main engine test," she stated, throwing
a glance at the man behind the controls and watched as he flipped the switch.
The low rumble began and turned into something even bigger as the main engines fired and shook
the stationary shuttle. All eyes followed the stats that printed out across their screens. All was
going as planned.
"We have main engine fire," Meghan stated.
________________
"Gem needs Thermal Curtain Failure," Jinx stated, waiting for the right moment, his circuits
interfacing with the mainframe.
________________
The crew members couldn't believe what they were experiencing. It was more than they
imagined, and here they were doing it. Selah and Jade were laughing, Leelee shut her eyes and
waited for it to be over. Gemma and Kara squealed, enjoying the moment.
________________
"Thermal Curtain Failure," Jinx said, extending his arm and inserting it into the mainframe. "Gem
and Jinx, friends forever."
________________
The warning system sounded. Instantly a new blip appeared on the screen. Immediately the
NASA officials took their positions and the campers moved away toward the big window
overlooking the launch pad.
"We have overheat on booster B."
Zach walked toward him. "Temperature?"
"Twelve hundred degrees and climbing," he replied
"Get that thing operational," Zach ordered.
"The Thermal Curtain is failing."
"Then end the test," Zach stated, looking over the screens.
"We've passed shut down temperature, we can't stop it," he replied.
"We have Thermal Curtain Failure."
______________
The warning went off inside the shuttle. "What does that mean?" Kara called out.
"Andie!" Gemma screamed.
______________
"Booster B, temperature is critical."
______________
Andie flew up from her seat. "Jade, get out of there now!" she yelled, pulling her headset cord
out.
Jade unfasten the belt and jumped down from the seat, not sure what was going on, but knew it
had to be serious.
"Andie, make them stop, make them turn it off," Leelee pleaded.
"They're trying!" she shot back, plugging her headset into the pilot console.
____________
Booster B is near ignition, it's gonna light."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Andie help us!" Gemma cried out.
Andie immediately flipped the comm switch. "Light Booster A god dammit. Launch us or we're
gonna explode!" she yelled, then jumped up into the pilot's chair.
"What's happening?!" Kara screamed.
"Please Andie!" Gemma yelled.
Jade fell down onto the seats below. "Grab her Leelee!" Selah yelled back.
___________
"Do it," Zach stated.
"Zach, we're not authorized," he responded.
"Light it or they're gonna die," Zach said seriously.
"Ignite Booster A!"
"5...4..."
"Booster ignite on."
______________
"Leelee hold on to her!" Selah called out.
"I'm trying!" she shot back.
"Go for launch now!" Andie demanded.
______________
"Light it," Zach stated. The switch flipped, igniting the other booster immediately.
___________
"Jade!" Andie called out. "Get in the seat!" she yelled, but it was far too late and Jade fell back
against the wall as the shuttle's engines forced it to break free.
As the shuttle lifted off, the other campers stood there watching out the large window with Jareth.
They couldn't believe that such a thing could have happened. Jareth was in shock that five of his
listians were now on their way to space after nearly dying because of curtain failure. He was
sickened by the thought that it was him that brought them all there. He watched with a heavy
heart as his daughter and the other four climbed higher in the sky.
______________
"Go baby go," Zach whispered, his eyes watching the window. "God, we have lift off."
_____________
"Bye Gem," Jinx said, watching the console.
_____________
"Instituting roll maneuver Atlantis."
"Roger control," Andie replied, rolling the shuttle over as instructed.
"Roll maneuver complete Atlantis, you're looking good," the controller stated, looking toward
Zach. "Hey."
"What?" Zach asked.
"You want to take it?" he asked, holding out his headset.
Zach took it and put it on, thinking heavily about the situation. "Uh, Andie," Zach said.
"Geez oh Pete, Zach," she muttered, holding onto the controls.
"Ah, guess you're not going to have to wait so long after all," he said, trying to alleviate some of
the tension. "Andie, you're going to have to throttle," he said. When Andie didn't comply, he
stated it once again. "Atlantis, this is control. Throttle."
"Copy control. Main engines at sixty-five percent," she responded. "Jade! Just hang on, it's 3Gs
I know it's tough!" she called back. "Selah, you've got to drop the solid boosters. They're on
your side. Now arm SRB separation," she commanded.
"I don't know which ones," Selah replied, her eyes looking the controls over.
"Panel C3," she responded. "On you're right side," she mentioned as Selah looked to her left.
Selah found them and poised her fingers above the buttons.
"Atlantis you are go for SRB separation." the voice came through the comm unit.
"Hit it," Andie commanded.
Selah hit the button and the solid boosters broke away as they continued to climb.
"Control, this is Atlantis. We have SRB separation," Andie stated.
"They have SRB sep." Bob stated.
"Can't you do something to bring them back?" Jareth asked, looking back to his other listians still
standing by the window.
"Shhh.." Bob countered, not wanting to deal with him right now.
"Atlantis, this is control, pressed for MECO. You are go for main engine cut off," Zach replied.
"Roger," Andie complied. "MECO is on schedule...over."
"Gah, I don't know where this drill is going to end baby, just hang in there." Zach said softly, but
was met with static. "Andie?"
__________________
"Shit," she whispered. "Control this is Atlantis, do you read? Over."
_________________
"Atlantis?" Zach called. "We're losing her," he stated, turning around to Bob.
"This bird wasn't flight ready Zach. They only have short range radio," Bob replied.
_________________
"Shit!" she exclaimed, pulling her helmet off. "Selah, we have MECO. Go for ETstat on my
mark. 3...2...1...Do you know where it is?" she asked quickly.
"I think so!" she replied.
"Mark!" Andie called out.
"Got it!" Selah replied, hitting the button.
_________________
"They got their ohms burn and still climbing," Zach stated. "Come on."
"Tracking reads... Atlantis at one-eighty by thirty-three. They're in orbit," Bob stated.
_______________
"Whoa," Selah muttered.
"I didn't touch a thing Andie. Honest," Leelee stated.
"I know Leelee," Andie replied, checking out the stats. Well Ladies, I think we've achieved
orbit," Andie said, looking out the main viewer.
"Gah!" Selah jumped, as Jade unexpectedly appeared next to her.
"Jade, are you okay?" Andie asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Jade replied, looking at her elbow. Rubbing the bruise, she didn't seem to
notice anything else out of the ordinary until a slight chuckle from Selah penetrated her thoughts.
"You're floating," Selah said in disbelief.
"Just relax and allow yourself to flow with it," Andie told her.
Jade reached out and pushed herself off the console, floating backwards. "Wow," she giggled. "I
could lose the lift off, but this is incredible."
"Wow, weightlessness. This is unreal," Leelee stated, releasing her restraints and floating up into
the cabin.
"I feel like I'm flying," Jade murmured.
"Selah, is this incredible or what?" Leelee grinned, her feet on the ceiling and laughing at Selah.
"Yeah, can hardly believe it," she replied. "You're braver than I am man."
"Kara, Gemma, are you two okay?" Andie called as Jade floated into mid-deck.
"Tell me I'm dreaming," Gemma muttered, watching Jade turning circles in the air.
"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Kara muttered with her eyes closed. "We're all going to die,"
she whined.
"Kara," Jade whispered, looking at her upside down.
Kara opened her eyes to see Jade floating in front of her. "We're already dead," she stated
bluntly.
Jade giggled. "This feels like a dream."
Kara laughed softly as Leelee came flying through the entrance. All of a sudden something
touched her face and she screamed until she realized that it was her hair flying in the weightless
environment. Unfastening her belt, she joined the others.
"Hey Gremlin," Leelee called out, closing in on her prey. "You gotta try this!" she smiled,
releasing Gemma's restraints.
Gemma squealed as she floated into the air and immediately hit her helmeted head on the ceiling.
Soon she took pleasure in the experience as much as the rest of them.
"Are you all in one piece?" Andie asked.
Assorted yes and yeah's came back to her as they headed back toward the main cabin. Selah
unfastened her belt and floated behind Andie as she looked over the gauges and read from a book.
Kara came up beside Selah looking to Andie for words of encouragement.
"Well, I think," she looked over the console again, "I think we have a few things to talk about,"
Andie stated, breathing a sigh of relief that they seemed fine for now.
"A few things?" Kara asked.
Andie smiled. "Yeah," she commented, then noticed one of them wasn't there. "Jade?" she
called, as the group turned around.
Looking out a window, Jade was taking in the beauty of the Earth, cloud cover and continents
moving by so fast. She could scarcely believe the awe and wonder that surrounded that spectacle.
She looked around as her friends gathered slowly, coming to see what she was looking at.
"Oh wow," Selah said softly. "Maybe you can touch those stars now, huh?" she commented to
Jade.
"Oh man, this is intense," Kara stated softly.
Andie released her belt and joined them, the sight of the Earth too much to pass up. Getting
closer, she stared at the beauty.
"Would you look at that?" Leelee mentioned, her eyes taking in sights she never would have
dreamed.
"Lemme see!" Gemma spoke, trying to get up closer. "Is that Earth?" she asked almost in denial
that they were actually in orbit at this very time.
"It sure is Gem," Andie replied, pulling her up with everyone else, despite how short she was.
"Look, there's the coast of Africa right there," Selah pointed out.
"And there's the Swiss Alps," Leelee added, pointing out the window.
"It goes by so fast," Jade commented. "Amazing sunset," she breathed, as the sun disappeared
behind the rotating Earth.
"I could stay up here forever," Leelee stated.
"Me too," Jade breathed softly.
After the initial excitement wore off, Gemma looked back to Andie. "Andie, I want to go home,"
she stated plain and simple.
Andie tore her eyes away from the window to see all five of them looking back. It was going to
be difficult to explain such a thing, and wasn't sure how she was going to do it. Shaking her
head, she tried to clear the thoughts that seemed to bombard her all at once. They would make it
home, she'd see to it.
"What went wrong?" Jade asked.
"Yeah, what's thermal curtain failure?" Selah questioned.
"Wasn't it supposed to be a safety scene?" Leelee asked.
"Yeah, how did this happen?" Kara added, looking at their leader with questioning eyes.
"It's not important how it happened. What's important now is how we get back home," she
replied, then continued. "And we are going home. Plus I'm going to need all your help to get
there. Selah, you and Leelee stow the af-deck seats," she said, watching them making their way
though the entrance. "We have no voice contact with NASA, and telemetry is still on," she
mentioned more to herself than the others as she moved back to the pilot's seat and bringing up a
monitor. "Let's see, the safest procedure will be for them to bring us down on auto at the next
available window."
Gemma looked at the screen then out the window. "There are windows out there?" she asked
softly.
"No, its where we re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at the right time and place so that we can land
at Edwards Air Force Base," Jade replied.
"First re-entry for Edwards is in twelve hours. Okay, we just sit tight and keep everything
running until then," Andie stated, turning her attention to the controls. "In the mean time, I'm
gonna check this puppy out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
watching, he grinned and looked at the group that surrounded him.
"Hello Commander Bergstrom," Jade said politely.
"Hello girls," he replied politely. "How are you doing?"
Kara stepped closer to the board to see what he was posting. Didn't make sense to her, so of
course she just had to ask. "What's a firf?"
Zach chuckled at her pronunciation. "That's F-R-F. Means, Flight Readiness Firing," he
explained.
"What's that?" Essy asked, a wicked grin crossing her face at the thought of firing. "Do we get
weapons or something?" she beamed.
"No, it's how NASA tests the main engines of the Shuttle. This is the first year we got
permission for you guys to experience it," he explained.
"Really?" Fairy asked.
"Yep, and some of you are even going to be lucky enough to sit in it. Get an astronaut's point of
view." Zach stated, moving away from the board.
"Bye," Jade called with a slight wave before returning her attention to the board. "Wow."
Standing there talking amongst themselves and Essy declaring that she should have gotten
weapons instead, nobody saw the little robot as he paused slightly near the board. As the girls
separated to make their lessons on time, Jinx talked to himself without a soul to hear him.
"Engine test. Jinx must be ready Thursday, 4 p.m." Jinx spoke, heading for the control room once
again. Hiding in the shadows, he waited for the last of the humans to vacate the room. When
everything was shut down and locked tight, Jinx came out and illuminated his circuitry once again,
this time with the sole purpose of sending Gemma into space on Thursday.
Setting the consoles to life, Jinx concluded that the engine test would have to be changed into lift
off as long as Gem was on board.
"Worst case scenario... Thermal Curtain Failure," the main computer replied.
"Define Thermal Curtain Failure," Jinx replied.
"Failure of heat shield during engine test, only one booster will ignite. Result: forced launch," the
main computer interpreted the data as the visions filled the screen.
"Why launch?" Jinx asked, watching everything and interpreting the data as quickly as he could.
"If you do not ignite second booster and launch, the Shuttle will lift off and crash."
"That is unacceptable," Jinx stated, watching the screen.
"To avoid worst case scenario, second booster must be ignited result perfect launch."
"Thermal Curtain Failure possibilities?" Jinx asked.
"One Thermal Curtain Failure every 4.9 million years," it replied.
"Gem won't live that long. Gem need Thermal Curtain Failure. Gem and Jinx, friends forever,"
Jinx stated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The long and tedious process of choosing just which of the campers would have the pleasure of
sitting in on the FRF finally came to a close. Though nobody realized that the results were
already decided by a short little robot, they still came as a shock.
"What?!" Essy exclaimed, her anger boiling over. "How could those lightsiders get that?"
"Leelee's not a lightsider," Dee remarked, clapping happily for her friends' good fortune.
"Neither is Gemma," Spidey added.
"Can't you just be happy for once Easy?" SQ asked, grinning at the look of hatred that spewed
from Essy's eyes.
"DCME!" Essy yelled. "Besides, Sith don't do happy."
"Fine, but I'm happy for them!" Christy responded.
"Shut up Christy!"
"Don't worry onna! I'm with you on this one," Paola whispered.
"Come on Essy, maybe they'll let you have a weapon eventually," Spidey threw in, trying to get
Essy's mind off of losing.
"I have a cupboard and I'm not afraid to fill it," she snickered.
"She's lost her mind," Mairead responded.
"Did she ever have one to lose?" Jen snickered.
They all busted up laughing as Essy crossed her arms unhappily. Though it didn't sit well with
her, at least some of them would be at the controls when the testing began. A wicked grin
crossed her face. She liked switches. Switches and buttons...
"What are you grinning at Essy?" Meghan asked, noticing the not so pleasant smile.
"Consoles, and buttons and the supreme power I will have once I take over the world. Oh yes,
you shall all follow me one day," she laughed.
"Oh boy," Dee snickered. "Congrats guys!" she called, to the blue team.
"Thankee!" Selah smiled big.
"Lucky you," SQ smiled.
"Luck? I don't believe in luck!" Leelee called back with a huge grin. "I'm better than Essy, I'm
better than Essy, I'm better-" she stopped mid sentence and rubbed her head. "Ow dammit, that
hurt!"
"That'll teach you apprentice," Essy stated seriously.
"I'm sorry master," she conceded.
Shaking hands and congrats all around, the blue team was too excited to think straight. They got
to sit inside the shuttle during the firing. It was every camper's dream. Well almost every
camper. Essy was the exception. She wanted to play with the controls.
"Wanna trade?" Meghan asked with a slight giggle.
"Not a chance Meg," Jade replied, trying to keep control of her excitement.
"Can't blame me for trying," she retorted.
"Of course not," Kara threw in, looking around to find her dad. "Excuse me." she said politely,
before moving from the group.
Walking up to Jareth, she smiled at those he was talking to, being the polite daughter. When they
dispersed, she couldn't wait any longer. She had so many questions, she needed answers to.
"Why did you turn us in? How did you even know we were out there that night?" she asked,
without thinking.
"Kara," he began but she cut him off.
"Why are we here at all?"
"Seems you aren't so keen on the idea of being here?" he asked, his eyes looking over the crowd.
When she didn't respond, he continued. "I would have thought you would want to spend time
with your friends. I've heard this place mentioned, and knew that at least one of you would love
to be here but knew she wasn't fond of being alone," he noted, his gaze falling on her.
"Jade," Kara replied.
"Yes," he responded. "I thought it would be so much easier, and some of the listians needed to
lean discipline so I brought you all here," he explained. "But that breaking curfew idea should
never have happened. What ever possessed you to go out onto the beach that night?" he asked,
his voice stern.
"I just wanted a little fun," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm assuming you're the one
that ratted us out."
Jareth faltered slightly, his daughter knew him too well. "Perhaps. Perhaps I've been keeping an
eye on you all, to make sure you stay out of trouble."
"Then don't do it again," she muttered, knowing that no matter what she said, she couldn't
change the fact that it was over and done with.
"Congratulations, Kara." he stated simply.
"Thanks, I still can't believe we're going to be sitting in the shuttle!" she exclaimed happily.
"It should have been my team," he responded. "How the blue team won, I'm not quite sure."
"That's an awful thing to say!" she shot back.
"Sorry, dear. I'll catch up with you later. There are some people I'd like to talk to," he replied,
kissing her cheek and heading off through the crowd.
"We'll show him," she whispered softly.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The day of the engine test came and the air was buzzing with excitement. Though unsure of what
tomorrow would bring in their training, it was nothing next to the experience they would have in
the next few minutes. The Blue team boarded a bus and headed toward the shuttle leaving the
other two teams behind in the control room.
"This isn't fair," Dee said, though happy enough for her friends, she wanted to be out there with
them just as much as the others. "Don't bother saying it," she stated abruptly, eyes locking on
Jareth.
"What?" he asked arrogantly, knowing far too well what she was getting at.
"Man your stations campers," Zach called out, watching them all take their seats at a console.
With a grin, he thought about what Andie must be thinking at this precise moment.
_____________
"I can't believe we're actually going to sit in the shuttle!" Kara exclaimed happily.
Selah moved up to sit with Gemma. The look in Gemma's face was one of surprise and wonder
mixed with a little bit of fear. Glancing at her, she smiled. She only wanted to make Gemma feel
more at ease. "You alright?" she asked, her grin a comfort to Gemma.
"Yeah," she replied, though her voice was full of wistful emotion. She could scarcely believe she
was going to be inside the Shuttle. How many others would have this opportunity? She smiled
wickedly just thinking of how much it would irritate the Sith Lord that she and Leelee were there
and she wasn't.
"Good," Selah replied, looking out the window. Sighing softly at the sight, she felt an
overwhelming sense of anxiety as the reality of what she was doing finally sunk in. She could
hear Kara exclaiming how she couldn't believe it, and her smile widened. Glancing over at
Leelee, she saw all the fear most people would hide deep inside themselves. Shaking her head,
she only hoped that Leelee would eventually grow out of it.
Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw Jade and Kara laughing and talking amongst
themselves. Knowing how much this opportunity meant to everyone, she could tell that it was
something Jade had only dreamed of. Shaking her head at her friend's expression of utter
happiness, she knew that the only other thing that would make her this happy would be a certain
Jedi paying her a visit.
_________________
The doors of the elevator opened and the group tried to control their anxiousness. "The next
twenty minutes are gonna be most exciting of your lives," Andie said, taking in the breathtaking
beauty of the shuttle there in front of them.
"Twenty minutes? I wish twenty days," Gemma smiled, her voice full of nervousness.
With deep breaths, the began the walk toward the shuttle door and the ultimate time of their lives.
Each step closer their hearts beat faster, the joy of being chosen finally making it hard to fathom
that yes, they were going to sit in the shuttle after all. They almost half expected for Jareth to put
a stop to it, but as they stepped inside there was no turning back.
__________________
Jinx rolled up to the main console in the utility room. Lighting his circuits, he interfaced with the
main computer. "Gem into shuttle. Engine test into launch. Gem into space," his little voice
stated, as the circuitry came to life.
__________________
Climbing up into the shuttle, Andie told them all to get into the same seats at the simulator. Jade
and Selah climbed to the top. Jade jumped up into the pilot's seat. Selah stood between the
seats, looking at Jade.
"How are we supposed to get up in these things without breaking our necks?" she asked, looking
over the console.
"Just jump up Selah," Jade stated, running her fingers across the display. "This is so incredible,"
she breathed.
Selah jumped up onto her seat. "Only thing missing here is a tape deck," she grinned.
Andie grinned at their excitement. Helping Leelee to her seat, she heard Kara and Gemma
coming in behind her.
"Whoa, this reminds me of the Millennium Falcon," Gemma stated, her eyes wide.
"Nah," Selah replied hearing her statement. "Not big enough. Besides, this thing isn't designed
for wookies," she said, giggling and cracking Jade up.
"Kara and Gem, take your seats on mid-deck. If you need any help just holler," Andie stated,
watching them go.
"May the Force be with you!" Selah called, peering down at them with a goofy grin. "Hey Gem!
Man the laser guns."
"Ugh, lightsiders," Leelee grimaced. Though she was actually looking forward to the tests.
"Alight guys, please put on your helmets and make sure your headsets are plugged in," Andie
stated, holding hers in her hand. "Pilot and commander, unstow cue cards."
"Roger," Jade smiled. Jade and Selah pulled the cue cards from their holders and placed them in
front of them. Jade read the gauges to check everything out as she'd been trained to do.
"Is everybody set?" Andie called out. As the roger' replies came to her, she plugged in her
headset. "Control, this is Atlantis, do you copy?" Andie voice carried through the headset.
_____________
"Roger Atlantis, this is launch control. Radio check over," the voice on the other end spoke.
"Solid rocket boosters A and B ignition off," SQ said, manning her station. "Stand by for main
engine test."
"Stand by," Dee retorted, her eyes flashing over every detail. Though they knew the consoles
forwards and backwards, they still had the men from the stations standing behind them, making
sure that they didn't screw it up.
_____________
"Atlantis, do you copy?"
"She's all yours," Andie stated, getting into her seat and strapping down.
"Um, go ahead," Selah said, knowing that Jade was on the edge of her seat.
"Why? Are you sure?" Jade asked.
"Come on, will you answer that?" Selah retorted with a smile.
"Okay," she answered. Flipping the switch on the communicator, Jade took a deep breath.
"Control, this is Atlantis. Radio check satisfactory, over." she finished, flipping the switch back
off. All of a sudden she squealed in delight and clapped her hands together, the noise going
through to reach each and every one of the group.
"We heard that Jade!" Kara called from mid-deck, laughing softly into her headset.
________________
"Stand by for FRF ignition," Essy spoke, her tone serious as she watched the controls in front of
her. "In T minus 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Go for main engine test," she stated, throwing
a glance at the man behind the controls and watched as he flipped the switch.
The low rumble began and turned into something even bigger as the main engines fired and shook
the stationary shuttle. All eyes followed the stats that printed out across their screens. All was
going as planned.
"We have main engine fire," Meghan stated.
________________
"Gem needs Thermal Curtain Failure," Jinx stated, waiting for the right moment, his circuits
interfacing with the mainframe.
________________
The crew members couldn't believe what they were experiencing. It was more than they
imagined, and here they were doing it. Selah and Jade were laughing, Leelee shut her eyes and
waited for it to be over. Gemma and Kara squealed, enjoying the moment.
________________
"Thermal Curtain Failure," Jinx said, extending his arm and inserting it into the mainframe. "Gem
and Jinx, friends forever."
________________
The warning system sounded. Instantly a new blip appeared on the screen. Immediately the
NASA officials took their positions and the campers moved away toward the big window
overlooking the launch pad.
"We have overheat on booster B."
Zach walked toward him. "Temperature?"
"Twelve hundred degrees and climbing," he replied
"Get that thing operational," Zach ordered.
"The Thermal Curtain is failing."
"Then end the test," Zach stated, looking over the screens.
"We've passed shut down temperature, we can't stop it," he replied.
"We have Thermal Curtain Failure."
______________
The warning went off inside the shuttle. "What does that mean?" Kara called out.
"Andie!" Gemma screamed.
______________
"Booster B, temperature is critical."
______________
Andie flew up from her seat. "Jade, get out of there now!" she yelled, pulling her headset cord
out.
Jade unfasten the belt and jumped down from the seat, not sure what was going on, but knew it
had to be serious.
"Andie, make them stop, make them turn it off," Leelee pleaded.
"They're trying!" she shot back, plugging her headset into the pilot console.
____________
Booster B is near ignition, it's gonna light."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Andie help us!" Gemma cried out.
Andie immediately flipped the comm switch. "Light Booster A god dammit. Launch us or we're
gonna explode!" she yelled, then jumped up into the pilot's chair.
"What's happening?!" Kara screamed.
"Please Andie!" Gemma yelled.
Jade fell down onto the seats below. "Grab her Leelee!" Selah yelled back.
___________
"Do it," Zach stated.
"Zach, we're not authorized," he responded.
"Light it or they're gonna die," Zach said seriously.
"Ignite Booster A!"
"5...4..."
"Booster ignite on."
______________
"Leelee hold on to her!" Selah called out.
"I'm trying!" she shot back.
"Go for launch now!" Andie demanded.
______________
"Light it," Zach stated. The switch flipped, igniting the other booster immediately.
___________
"Jade!" Andie called out. "Get in the seat!" she yelled, but it was far too late and Jade fell back
against the wall as the shuttle's engines forced it to break free.
As the shuttle lifted off, the other campers stood there watching out the large window with Jareth.
They couldn't believe that such a thing could have happened. Jareth was in shock that five of his
listians were now on their way to space after nearly dying because of curtain failure. He was
sickened by the thought that it was him that brought them all there. He watched with a heavy
heart as his daughter and the other four climbed higher in the sky.
______________
"Go baby go," Zach whispered, his eyes watching the window. "God, we have lift off."
_____________
"Bye Gem," Jinx said, watching the console.
_____________
"Instituting roll maneuver Atlantis."
"Roger control," Andie replied, rolling the shuttle over as instructed.
"Roll maneuver complete Atlantis, you're looking good," the controller stated, looking toward
Zach. "Hey."
"What?" Zach asked.
"You want to take it?" he asked, holding out his headset.
Zach took it and put it on, thinking heavily about the situation. "Uh, Andie," Zach said.
"Geez oh Pete, Zach," she muttered, holding onto the controls.
"Ah, guess you're not going to have to wait so long after all," he said, trying to alleviate some of
the tension. "Andie, you're going to have to throttle," he said. When Andie didn't comply, he
stated it once again. "Atlantis, this is control. Throttle."
"Copy control. Main engines at sixty-five percent," she responded. "Jade! Just hang on, it's 3Gs
I know it's tough!" she called back. "Selah, you've got to drop the solid boosters. They're on
your side. Now arm SRB separation," she commanded.
"I don't know which ones," Selah replied, her eyes looking the controls over.
"Panel C3," she responded. "On you're right side," she mentioned as Selah looked to her left.
Selah found them and poised her fingers above the buttons.
"Atlantis you are go for SRB separation." the voice came through the comm unit.
"Hit it," Andie commanded.
Selah hit the button and the solid boosters broke away as they continued to climb.
"Control, this is Atlantis. We have SRB separation," Andie stated.
"They have SRB sep." Bob stated.
"Can't you do something to bring them back?" Jareth asked, looking back to his other listians still
standing by the window.
"Shhh.." Bob countered, not wanting to deal with him right now.
"Atlantis, this is control, pressed for MECO. You are go for main engine cut off," Zach replied.
"Roger," Andie complied. "MECO is on schedule...over."
"Gah, I don't know where this drill is going to end baby, just hang in there." Zach said softly, but
was met with static. "Andie?"
__________________
"Shit," she whispered. "Control this is Atlantis, do you read? Over."
_________________
"Atlantis?" Zach called. "We're losing her," he stated, turning around to Bob.
"This bird wasn't flight ready Zach. They only have short range radio," Bob replied.
_________________
"Shit!" she exclaimed, pulling her helmet off. "Selah, we have MECO. Go for ETstat on my
mark. 3...2...1...Do you know where it is?" she asked quickly.
"I think so!" she replied.
"Mark!" Andie called out.
"Got it!" Selah replied, hitting the button.
_________________
"They got their ohms burn and still climbing," Zach stated. "Come on."
"Tracking reads... Atlantis at one-eighty by thirty-three. They're in orbit," Bob stated.
_______________
"Whoa," Selah muttered.
"I didn't touch a thing Andie. Honest," Leelee stated.
"I know Leelee," Andie replied, checking out the stats. Well Ladies, I think we've achieved
orbit," Andie said, looking out the main viewer.
"Gah!" Selah jumped, as Jade unexpectedly appeared next to her.
"Jade, are you okay?" Andie asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Jade replied, looking at her elbow. Rubbing the bruise, she didn't seem to
notice anything else out of the ordinary until a slight chuckle from Selah penetrated her thoughts.
"You're floating," Selah said in disbelief.
"Just relax and allow yourself to flow with it," Andie told her.
Jade reached out and pushed herself off the console, floating backwards. "Wow," she giggled. "I
could lose the lift off, but this is incredible."
"Wow, weightlessness. This is unreal," Leelee stated, releasing her restraints and floating up into
the cabin.
"I feel like I'm flying," Jade murmured.
"Selah, is this incredible or what?" Leelee grinned, her feet on the ceiling and laughing at Selah.
"Yeah, can hardly believe it," she replied. "You're braver than I am man."
"Kara, Gemma, are you two okay?" Andie called as Jade floated into mid-deck.
"Tell me I'm dreaming," Gemma muttered, watching Jade turning circles in the air.
"Oh, I think I'm going to be sick," Kara muttered with her eyes closed. "We're all going to die,"
she whined.
"Kara," Jade whispered, looking at her upside down.
Kara opened her eyes to see Jade floating in front of her. "We're already dead," she stated
bluntly.
Jade giggled. "This feels like a dream."
Kara laughed softly as Leelee came flying through the entrance. All of a sudden something
touched her face and she screamed until she realized that it was her hair flying in the weightless
environment. Unfastening her belt, she joined the others.
"Hey Gremlin," Leelee called out, closing in on her prey. "You gotta try this!" she smiled,
releasing Gemma's restraints.
Gemma squealed as she floated into the air and immediately hit her helmeted head on the ceiling.
Soon she took pleasure in the experience as much as the rest of them.
"Are you all in one piece?" Andie asked.
Assorted yes and yeah's came back to her as they headed back toward the main cabin. Selah
unfastened her belt and floated behind Andie as she looked over the gauges and read from a book.
Kara came up beside Selah looking to Andie for words of encouragement.
"Well, I think," she looked over the console again, "I think we have a few things to talk about,"
Andie stated, breathing a sigh of relief that they seemed fine for now.
"A few things?" Kara asked.
Andie smiled. "Yeah," she commented, then noticed one of them wasn't there. "Jade?" she
called, as the group turned around.
Looking out a window, Jade was taking in the beauty of the Earth, cloud cover and continents
moving by so fast. She could scarcely believe the awe and wonder that surrounded that spectacle.
She looked around as her friends gathered slowly, coming to see what she was looking at.
"Oh wow," Selah said softly. "Maybe you can touch those stars now, huh?" she commented to
Jade.
"Oh man, this is intense," Kara stated softly.
Andie released her belt and joined them, the sight of the Earth too much to pass up. Getting
closer, she stared at the beauty.
"Would you look at that?" Leelee mentioned, her eyes taking in sights she never would have
dreamed.
"Lemme see!" Gemma spoke, trying to get up closer. "Is that Earth?" she asked almost in denial
that they were actually in orbit at this very time.
"It sure is Gem," Andie replied, pulling her up with everyone else, despite how short she was.
"Look, there's the coast of Africa right there," Selah pointed out.
"And there's the Swiss Alps," Leelee added, pointing out the window.
"It goes by so fast," Jade commented. "Amazing sunset," she breathed, as the sun disappeared
behind the rotating Earth.
"I could stay up here forever," Leelee stated.
"Me too," Jade breathed softly.
After the initial excitement wore off, Gemma looked back to Andie. "Andie, I want to go home,"
she stated plain and simple.
Andie tore her eyes away from the window to see all five of them looking back. It was going to
be difficult to explain such a thing, and wasn't sure how she was going to do it. Shaking her
head, she tried to clear the thoughts that seemed to bombard her all at once. They would make it
home, she'd see to it.
"What went wrong?" Jade asked.
"Yeah, what's thermal curtain failure?" Selah questioned.
"Wasn't it supposed to be a safety scene?" Leelee asked.
"Yeah, how did this happen?" Kara added, looking at their leader with questioning eyes.
"It's not important how it happened. What's important now is how we get back home," she
replied, then continued. "And we are going home. Plus I'm going to need all your help to get
there. Selah, you and Leelee stow the af-deck seats," she said, watching them making their way
though the entrance. "We have no voice contact with NASA, and telemetry is still on," she
mentioned more to herself than the others as she moved back to the pilot's seat and bringing up a
monitor. "Let's see, the safest procedure will be for them to bring us down on auto at the next
available window."
Gemma looked at the screen then out the window. "There are windows out there?" she asked
softly.
"No, its where we re-enter the Earth's atmosphere at the right time and place so that we can land
at Edwards Air Force Base," Jade replied.
"First re-entry for Edwards is in twelve hours. Okay, we just sit tight and keep everything
running until then," Andie stated, turning her attention to the controls. "In the mean time, I'm
gonna check this puppy out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~