Walking through the control room at NASA, Zach took each step with a certain purpose; to get
his wife and the kids home safely.
"Zach, this is absolutely unprecedented."
"Well I don't know what to tell you Ray," Zach replied, stepping up to a screen and watching it
carefully.
"I've got to give some kind of statement, they're standing right there," Ray motioned toward the
doors and the reporters that had descended upon the unauthorized launching of the shuttle.
"Look all I know is that I want that gallery cleared out. Rice, do me a favor and take those kids
back to SpaceCamp," Zach shot back, trying to do his job to the best of his ability.
"But we don't want to go back, not yet anyway," Dee piped up, not wanting to be left in the dark.
"You can't stay here, you're just in the way," Rice replied, grabbing Essy by the arm.
"Let go or die," Essy seethed, causing the man to let go immediately and back up slowly.
"Rice, stop playing around and get those kids back to camp," Zach stated, waving his hand as if to
make it go faster.
"Look here," SQ spoke up. "We're not about to leave here until we know that our friends are
safe and sound here on the ground where they belong," she stated.
"Yeah," the others uttered in return.
"Look, we're doing everything we can," Zach mentioned, trying to make them see the gravity of
the situation. "But you'll only hinder our process if you stay."
"We promise to stay out of your way," Paola uttered. "Come on, they're our friends, our family.
You can't expect us to just walk away now."
Zach shook his head. He could get into so much trouble with them here, but what other choice
did he have? They wouldn't rest until they got what they wanted and somehow he knew that.
Looking toward Jareth he just shook his head. "They're your listians, keep them out of our way."
Jareth nodded with a smile.
Returning his attention back to the display, Zach watched the data but was once again interrupted
by Ray telling him the president had to be told about this.
"They'll be back in twelve hours Ray," Zach countered.
"How the hell am I supposed to keep a lid on this? People for five hundred miles know the
shuttle went up." Ray stated exasperated.
"Tell them the truth," Zach retorted quickly then continued. "we launched my wife and five kids
from Spacecamp. They'll never believe it," Zach grinned.
Ray walked away quickly, not getting an answer nor help from Commander Bergstrom. Looking
to the group collected around the window, he felt sorry for them. They had no clue what their
friends were up against. Pushing through the doors, he met the reporters with one intention; to
clear the gallery.
"What's the reading Jerry?" Zach asked, relieved to have Ray off his back.
"Hey Zach," a voice called.
"Yeah?" he answered, walking to the next console.
"We have to find an earlier re-entry."
"Why? What's the problem?" Zach asked.
"The shuttle wasn't flight ready. They..." he paused trying to find a delicate way to put it, but
nothing came to mind so he went for the straight forward approach. "They won't be alive in
twelve hours," he replied.
Zach immediately glanced up at Jareth.
_______________________________
Selah was sitting in her seat, watching the monitors when she punched up the oxygen supply. A
blip caught her attention as it displayed the amount they had left. "One tank of oxygen?" she
muttered, not sure how long it would last. "Uh, Andie?" she called.
"Yeah?" she replied from pilot's seat.
"How long will one tank last?" Selah asked.
"Twelve hours," she replied, staring at the screen and punching in data. "That's not enough.
We'll need more for re-entry; at least another hour," she stated.
"So what are we going to do?" Selah asked.
Andie looked over to Selah not sure of anything anymore, but she had to be strong if they were
going to make it out alive. She turned her attention back to the display.
_______________________
"Re-entry to landing - fourteen hours; estimated oxygen supply eleven hours fifty six minutes,"
NASA's computer relayed to Jinx.
"Gem will erase?" Jinx inquired, feeding his questions into the command line of the central
computer.
"Probability one hundred percent," the computer answered.
"Get Gem out of space now. How?" Jinx questioned.
"NASA is working on the problem," the computer answered.
"NASA need help," Jinx replied, exposing his circuitry again and lighting the computer up with
flowing data in an attempt to help his friend Gem.
_____________________
Zach grabbed a cup of coffee, this whole thing beginning to get to him. Taking a sip, he stood
behind the stations. "Any suggestions?" he asked finally.
"Datalys," came the reply.
"Of course, Datalys," Zach agreed, pulling up a chair. "Now if only we could talk to her," he
mentioned, watching the screen.
"She's a good pilot Zach," he replied, then continued, "she'll think of it."
__________________
Andie keyed through the systems, not happy in the least. "Great. No oxygen was provided for
the life support system," she said, continuing to check the data.
"What about the propulsion system?" Leelee asked, then continued. "We could drain the liquid
oxygen from there."
"The propulsion system uses nitrogen textroside, Lisee. We want to breathe, not dry clean our
lungs," Jade replied.
Andie looked over her shoulder at them, tapping her fingers on the console. "Come on
everybody, let's think. We are we going to get more oxygen?" she asked.
"Well I could just run on down to the local Wally-world, maybe pick up an Obi-Wan while I'm
there," Selah replied.
"Right Zigs," Kara laughed.
"That's it!" Andie exclaimed, reaching across the panels to punch a keypad. Pulling another book
in front of her, she flipped through the pages and finally found what she was looking for.
"What's it?" Leelee asked, watching her curiously.
"Care to clue us in on it?" Kara added.
"Yep," Andie remarked, pulling down her info pad. "We're going to Datalys."
"The space station," Jade replied with a grin.
"That's right," Andie replied.
"But isn't it still under construction?" Jade asked, glancing at the data pad in front of Andie.
"Uh-huh, but they already have oxygen in storage. Selah get in the seat, the rest of you just hang
on and prepare for maneuver," she instructed, smiling that she finally had a plan. "We're about to
transfer to another orbit. I just hope we have time," she sighed, taking the controls. "We're
going for Datalys rendezvous, prepare for ohms burn." she said primarily to Selah while flipping
switches to prepare.
"Ah, roger," Selah responded. "Power up."
"Alright Selah, give me a course bearing," Andie asked, her attention on the console before her.
"Course bearing, right." Selah answered, looking across everything. It had to be here somewhere,
she thought to herself. "Um..."
"Selah, you did this in the simulator, come on." Andie responded.
"I faked it in the simulator," she replied.
"Then get out of the seat. Jade," she called but Selah cut her off.
"Give me a minute, I'll get it."
"Out!" Andie yelled.
Selah unbuckled her belt and moved from the seat. She only wanted a chance to prove herself
and Andie took that away quickly. Moving to the back, she leaned against the wall and watched
the progress with little interest. She wasn't happy.
Jade slid into the seat and fastened the belt. Glancing across the console, she took a deep breath
and knew this was her chance to show Andie what she was made of.
"Jade, give me a course bearing," Andie said.
"Oh niner five five niner," she replied.
"Stand by for ohms burn," Andie stated, then continued. "Go for ohms."
Jade set the ohms burn off, as they climbed in orbit. "Roger," she smiled.
_________________
"We have Atlantis transfer to a higher orbit at seventy-six point four degrees."
"Ah! She remembered!" Zach broke out joyfully, looking around then back to the monitor as the
shuttle showed orbit transfer. "Yes!"
________________
"Give me Datalys ETA," Andie spoke, her full attention at the helm of the shuttle.
"The estimated time of arrival at Datalys is in twenty-six minutes and thirteen seconds," Jade
replied.
Talking amongst themselves, they were oblivious to Gemma's little problem. "Ah, Selah?" she
questioned, looking through the doorway at her.
"Did you do it?" she asked, looking toward Gemma, trying to take her mind off of being replaced.
"It was too difficult," Gemma replied.
"Geez Gems, do I have to do everything for you?" Selah remarked.
"Hell no!" she called back. "But, could you explain it one more time? I'm a bit daft and don't
wanna lose any body parts."
Selah shook her head, and followed Gemma through the doorway. Who would have thought that
she couldn't figure out how to go to the bathroom in space? And she was always such a bright
one too.
______________________
"Jareth, isn't there anything you can do?" SQ asked, pacing back and forth, her burgundy
highlights shining under the lights of the room.
"No," he remarked.
"Why not?" Christy asked.
"Because I can't interfere now," he replied, leaning against the wall with his elbow.
"Oh?" Essy asked, rasing a brow.
"You mean you can't or you won't?" Meghan asked, crossing her arms across her chest and
looking back at him.
"I can't," he stated simply.
"Okay, so you're basically saying that the amazing and wonderful goblin king can't help his own
daughter, and four listians come home safely?" Spidey asked sarcastically from her position across
the room.
Jareth raised his gaze to meet his listians. Shaking his head, he knew there was no hope unless
they got back themselves. "No," he replied again. They needed no further explanation.
"But you can't just leave them up there tights!" Dee shot back.
"I can't do anything!" Jareth bit back. Shaking his head, their protests fell silent as they looked
out the window again.
"I'm sure they'll be alright," Mairead stated softly.
"Yeah," Paola piped up. "Come on Jareth. Who better to be stuck up there than the Star Wars
nuts? They probably on their way back now."
"Lets hope so," Jareth whispered.
____________________
"There's Datalys," Jade whispered.
Andie grinned. "We made it."
"Andie, I know we made it here, but how are we going to make through re-entry without help
from Ground Control?" Jade asked, her eyes still on Datalys, the shiny metal breathtaking in the
darkness of space.
"Well I've been that a lot of thought lately, and I've come up with one good idea," Andie began.
"I had an idea," Kara stated, coming up behind them.
"What?" Andie asked with a grin.
"You know how you said," Kara began, breaking off and handing her ration to Leelee to hold.
"Thanks Leelee. How you said they had the telemetry stuff?"
"Yeah," Andie responded.
"And like they could read all our instruments?" Kara asked.
"Right," Andie replied.
"Well I was thinking, or maybe I was just inspired by the view and all, but..." Kara broke off,
looking out the window. "Whoa! Is that India we're coming up on?" she asked.
"Kara, what idea?" Andie prodded.
"Oh, yeah. Well code. CXD switch?"
"You mean Morse code," Andie grinned.
"I read a book on it once." Kara replied with Jade saying the same thing that caused her to giggle.
"Terrific," Andie replied with a smile. "Go get on the switches. Good idea Kara."
"They've gotta hear us," Leelee commented softly as Kara made her way back to the switches.
"Okay Jade, I need you to help me get ready. It's time for me to get into the airlock," Andie
stated, moving from her seat with Jade following.
Kara snapped the switch on and off in a series of codes. She would make them hear. Glancing at
the others before they disappeared toward the air lock, she returned her attention back to the
switch.
___________________
The men in the control room went about their business unaware that one of their buttons was
blinking. Kara's plea for help went unnoticed by the great minds of NASA.
__________________
The small metallic form of Jinx rolled down the silent hallway, his tiny voice repeating the same
thing over and over. "Jinx help NASA. Jinx help NASA." He rolled onward toward the main
control room set on helping NASA get back Gem before she was erased.
____________________
"Gemma, are all the elements for the space suit in place?" Andie asked, going over her checklist.
"Check," Gemma replied.
"Jade did you double check to see if the portable life support system needs recharged?"
"Check," Jade replied.
"I'll be in there awhile suiting up and depressurizing. I'll establish contact with you when I'm
ready to go into the cargo bay. Okay, Leelee, open the airlock." Andie said, looking at all of
them and seeing hope in their eyes.
Leelee took the controls and did as she was instructed, opening the hatch and watching Andie
climb into it.
"I'm going to bring back two tanks of oxygen. We've got to have a backup. Okay, once I'm out
there, I'll be gone about twenty minutes. Don't talk anymore than you need, and don't move
around unless it's absolutely necessary." Andie stated.
"Here Andie," Gemma said, handing her the last of her gear.
"Jade, you're in charge until I get back," Andie said.
Jade nodded and looked to Selah who looked slightly upset by the call. Watching as Andie
disappeared, they all felt the hope dwindling with each passing moment. Sending them back to
their stations, the tension remained. Would they actually make it out alive? If they did, they were
going to kill Jareth.
"I once knew this guy who could hold his breath underwater for hours. Nobody could ever figure
out how he did it. Maybe it wasn't hours, but it sure seemed like a long time." Leelee began, her
nervousness getting the better of her.
"Leelee?" Selah said softly.
Kara kept at the switches, watching Leelee all the while.
"He was on the swim team, freshmen year. He used to do it too, slow his breath for hours, just by
thinking about eating french fries. I guess he really got off on eating french fries. And uh," she
continued, flipping the pages of her manual book.
"Leelee," Selah said again, getting her attention. "You're using up oxygen chica."
"Yeah," she replied.
Andie entered the cargo bay. This was it. This was the moment that would make or break them.
She had to do the best, and wouldn't give up until the last breath. "Jade do you read me?" Andie
broke radio silence.
"Roger Andie," Jade replied.
"I've entered the Cargo Bay and I'm securing the hatch." Andie stated, pushing the hatch closed
slowly to finally lock and secure behind her.
"Check," Jade stated.
"Kinda makes you miss the good old days at camp, doesn't it?" Andie teased.
"Really," Jade replied, amusement in her voice.
"When I'm locked into the MMU, prepare to open the CBD's." Andie instructed, making her
way slowly along the cargo bay to the mobile unit. Locking herself into it, she called to Jade
again. "Jade, do you copy?"
"Roger Andie," Jade replied, listening intently to her.
"Prepare to open the CBD's," Andie stated, taking a deep breath at what she was about to
embark upon.
Jade turned around and looked to Leelee. "It's a go for Cargo Bay Doors, Leelee."
Leelee took a breath, noticing that she was shaking slightly from the excitement. "Cargo Bay
Doors," Leelee said, flipping a switch then continuing, "activated."
Andie stood in the cargo bay when the loud creak of the doors fell upon her ears; the only other
sound was that of her breathing. Watching as they slowly opened up before her, she maneuvered
the MMU out of the bay, gasping at the sight. "Oh, Zach," she muttered breathlessly as she saw
the Earth in all it's glory.
"What was that Andie? I didn't quite copy," Leelee inquired.
"Oh, God..." she trailed off. It was more exciting than she could have thought. Knowing she was
wasting precious time, she headed off toward Datalys.
A constant beep sounded inside the shuttle, making it apparent to all that the sound wanted their
undivided attention. Jade glanced at the screen and stopped cold. Feeling dread invade her
rational thought, she only hoped they had enough time for Andie to get back.
"Guys," Jade stated, her mind reeling by what she knew. "We only have one hour left."
Each of them felt the gravity of the situation pressing in on them all at once. Looking to each
other, they tried silently to reassure one another before they looked back to the monitor to watch
Andie's progress with growing concern.
Andie reached Datalys and looked around for the canisters, hoping to spot them right off. As
soon as she thought she'd have to search them out, she smiled. "I found them," she stated,
sending the statement back to the others.
The cabin of the shuttle broke out into joyful cheers, as the news filtered through the comm-unit.
Hope was still alive and kicking for the moment.
Andie neared the canisters, reaching out to them, when her helmet hit the metal bars restricting
her access. "No," she whispered, her fingers reaching out but finding nothing. "Come on,
please?" she pleaded softly, still not able to reach the canisters. Pulling back, she grasped the
metal bars with both hands not knowing what else to do. "I just can't reach them. They're still in
their storage modes. I'm gonna have to try it without the MMU," Andie stated.
"No, tell her not to. She'll have no power, no control. She'll tumble out into space without her
jetpack," Kara pleaded, fear lacing her words.
"Where is she?" Jade asked.
Andie tried yet again, but still couldn't get close enough to reach them. Hitting her helmet on her
third try, she couldn't believe they'd come all this way only to fail now. "Dammit!" she
exclaimed. "It's no good. I just can't reach it," she uttered, looking at the canister merely inches
out of her reach.
"Well she has to. Tell her she has to get them," Kara shrieked, panicked by the sudden realization
that the future as she knew it would soon cease to exist.
"Shh... Kara, Kara," Selah stated, trying to calm her down. "She just can't alright?"
"Make her," she choked out, feeling as though her world was tumbling to an abrupt halt with just
that one instance as the starting point.
"She just isn't small enough," Jade replied softly.
The deafening silence was broken by a single voice. "Well I am." All eyes turned to the smallest
one of the bunch.
"You can't go out there," Kara replied, shaking her head at Gemma.
"It's a good idea guys," Selah commented.
"I am ready," Gemma stated assuredly. In a matter of minutes, all four of them were trying to
cram Gemma into the oversized suit.
"Push a little harder," Selah stated, pushing on the bottom of the boot.
"Double check everything you guys," Jade instructed, tugging at the big suit.
"Is it in?" Selah asked, looking toward the hole where her head should have popped out of by
now. "Is this the only suit we could find?"
"It's the best I could do, it's the only one down there," Kara replied.
"Kara," Jade spoke up excitedly. She had an idea. "Kara, give me your belt!" she exclaimed,
holding out her hand.
Kara unhooked her oversized belt and pulled it free, disgusted with the thought of the jumpsuit
being normal again. How unoriginal, she thought until it dawned on her what Jade had in mind.
"Oh, excellent idea!" she responded, handing it over quickly.
"What are you gonna do with a belt?" Leelee asked.
"We," Jade started, wrapping the belt around one of Gemma's legs and then the other one before
continuing, "are going to make the suit as small as Gem," she replied, wrapping the belt around
each arm. "So she can fit through Datalys," she finished, pulling the belt tight and making
Gemma's head pop out with a smile.
"All right Gemma!" Selah cried out as Gemma started laughing.
____________
his wife and the kids home safely.
"Zach, this is absolutely unprecedented."
"Well I don't know what to tell you Ray," Zach replied, stepping up to a screen and watching it
carefully.
"I've got to give some kind of statement, they're standing right there," Ray motioned toward the
doors and the reporters that had descended upon the unauthorized launching of the shuttle.
"Look all I know is that I want that gallery cleared out. Rice, do me a favor and take those kids
back to SpaceCamp," Zach shot back, trying to do his job to the best of his ability.
"But we don't want to go back, not yet anyway," Dee piped up, not wanting to be left in the dark.
"You can't stay here, you're just in the way," Rice replied, grabbing Essy by the arm.
"Let go or die," Essy seethed, causing the man to let go immediately and back up slowly.
"Rice, stop playing around and get those kids back to camp," Zach stated, waving his hand as if to
make it go faster.
"Look here," SQ spoke up. "We're not about to leave here until we know that our friends are
safe and sound here on the ground where they belong," she stated.
"Yeah," the others uttered in return.
"Look, we're doing everything we can," Zach mentioned, trying to make them see the gravity of
the situation. "But you'll only hinder our process if you stay."
"We promise to stay out of your way," Paola uttered. "Come on, they're our friends, our family.
You can't expect us to just walk away now."
Zach shook his head. He could get into so much trouble with them here, but what other choice
did he have? They wouldn't rest until they got what they wanted and somehow he knew that.
Looking toward Jareth he just shook his head. "They're your listians, keep them out of our way."
Jareth nodded with a smile.
Returning his attention back to the display, Zach watched the data but was once again interrupted
by Ray telling him the president had to be told about this.
"They'll be back in twelve hours Ray," Zach countered.
"How the hell am I supposed to keep a lid on this? People for five hundred miles know the
shuttle went up." Ray stated exasperated.
"Tell them the truth," Zach retorted quickly then continued. "we launched my wife and five kids
from Spacecamp. They'll never believe it," Zach grinned.
Ray walked away quickly, not getting an answer nor help from Commander Bergstrom. Looking
to the group collected around the window, he felt sorry for them. They had no clue what their
friends were up against. Pushing through the doors, he met the reporters with one intention; to
clear the gallery.
"What's the reading Jerry?" Zach asked, relieved to have Ray off his back.
"Hey Zach," a voice called.
"Yeah?" he answered, walking to the next console.
"We have to find an earlier re-entry."
"Why? What's the problem?" Zach asked.
"The shuttle wasn't flight ready. They..." he paused trying to find a delicate way to put it, but
nothing came to mind so he went for the straight forward approach. "They won't be alive in
twelve hours," he replied.
Zach immediately glanced up at Jareth.
_______________________________
Selah was sitting in her seat, watching the monitors when she punched up the oxygen supply. A
blip caught her attention as it displayed the amount they had left. "One tank of oxygen?" she
muttered, not sure how long it would last. "Uh, Andie?" she called.
"Yeah?" she replied from pilot's seat.
"How long will one tank last?" Selah asked.
"Twelve hours," she replied, staring at the screen and punching in data. "That's not enough.
We'll need more for re-entry; at least another hour," she stated.
"So what are we going to do?" Selah asked.
Andie looked over to Selah not sure of anything anymore, but she had to be strong if they were
going to make it out alive. She turned her attention back to the display.
_______________________
"Re-entry to landing - fourteen hours; estimated oxygen supply eleven hours fifty six minutes,"
NASA's computer relayed to Jinx.
"Gem will erase?" Jinx inquired, feeding his questions into the command line of the central
computer.
"Probability one hundred percent," the computer answered.
"Get Gem out of space now. How?" Jinx questioned.
"NASA is working on the problem," the computer answered.
"NASA need help," Jinx replied, exposing his circuitry again and lighting the computer up with
flowing data in an attempt to help his friend Gem.
_____________________
Zach grabbed a cup of coffee, this whole thing beginning to get to him. Taking a sip, he stood
behind the stations. "Any suggestions?" he asked finally.
"Datalys," came the reply.
"Of course, Datalys," Zach agreed, pulling up a chair. "Now if only we could talk to her," he
mentioned, watching the screen.
"She's a good pilot Zach," he replied, then continued, "she'll think of it."
__________________
Andie keyed through the systems, not happy in the least. "Great. No oxygen was provided for
the life support system," she said, continuing to check the data.
"What about the propulsion system?" Leelee asked, then continued. "We could drain the liquid
oxygen from there."
"The propulsion system uses nitrogen textroside, Lisee. We want to breathe, not dry clean our
lungs," Jade replied.
Andie looked over her shoulder at them, tapping her fingers on the console. "Come on
everybody, let's think. We are we going to get more oxygen?" she asked.
"Well I could just run on down to the local Wally-world, maybe pick up an Obi-Wan while I'm
there," Selah replied.
"Right Zigs," Kara laughed.
"That's it!" Andie exclaimed, reaching across the panels to punch a keypad. Pulling another book
in front of her, she flipped through the pages and finally found what she was looking for.
"What's it?" Leelee asked, watching her curiously.
"Care to clue us in on it?" Kara added.
"Yep," Andie remarked, pulling down her info pad. "We're going to Datalys."
"The space station," Jade replied with a grin.
"That's right," Andie replied.
"But isn't it still under construction?" Jade asked, glancing at the data pad in front of Andie.
"Uh-huh, but they already have oxygen in storage. Selah get in the seat, the rest of you just hang
on and prepare for maneuver," she instructed, smiling that she finally had a plan. "We're about to
transfer to another orbit. I just hope we have time," she sighed, taking the controls. "We're
going for Datalys rendezvous, prepare for ohms burn." she said primarily to Selah while flipping
switches to prepare.
"Ah, roger," Selah responded. "Power up."
"Alright Selah, give me a course bearing," Andie asked, her attention on the console before her.
"Course bearing, right." Selah answered, looking across everything. It had to be here somewhere,
she thought to herself. "Um..."
"Selah, you did this in the simulator, come on." Andie responded.
"I faked it in the simulator," she replied.
"Then get out of the seat. Jade," she called but Selah cut her off.
"Give me a minute, I'll get it."
"Out!" Andie yelled.
Selah unbuckled her belt and moved from the seat. She only wanted a chance to prove herself
and Andie took that away quickly. Moving to the back, she leaned against the wall and watched
the progress with little interest. She wasn't happy.
Jade slid into the seat and fastened the belt. Glancing across the console, she took a deep breath
and knew this was her chance to show Andie what she was made of.
"Jade, give me a course bearing," Andie said.
"Oh niner five five niner," she replied.
"Stand by for ohms burn," Andie stated, then continued. "Go for ohms."
Jade set the ohms burn off, as they climbed in orbit. "Roger," she smiled.
_________________
"We have Atlantis transfer to a higher orbit at seventy-six point four degrees."
"Ah! She remembered!" Zach broke out joyfully, looking around then back to the monitor as the
shuttle showed orbit transfer. "Yes!"
________________
"Give me Datalys ETA," Andie spoke, her full attention at the helm of the shuttle.
"The estimated time of arrival at Datalys is in twenty-six minutes and thirteen seconds," Jade
replied.
Talking amongst themselves, they were oblivious to Gemma's little problem. "Ah, Selah?" she
questioned, looking through the doorway at her.
"Did you do it?" she asked, looking toward Gemma, trying to take her mind off of being replaced.
"It was too difficult," Gemma replied.
"Geez Gems, do I have to do everything for you?" Selah remarked.
"Hell no!" she called back. "But, could you explain it one more time? I'm a bit daft and don't
wanna lose any body parts."
Selah shook her head, and followed Gemma through the doorway. Who would have thought that
she couldn't figure out how to go to the bathroom in space? And she was always such a bright
one too.
______________________
"Jareth, isn't there anything you can do?" SQ asked, pacing back and forth, her burgundy
highlights shining under the lights of the room.
"No," he remarked.
"Why not?" Christy asked.
"Because I can't interfere now," he replied, leaning against the wall with his elbow.
"Oh?" Essy asked, rasing a brow.
"You mean you can't or you won't?" Meghan asked, crossing her arms across her chest and
looking back at him.
"I can't," he stated simply.
"Okay, so you're basically saying that the amazing and wonderful goblin king can't help his own
daughter, and four listians come home safely?" Spidey asked sarcastically from her position across
the room.
Jareth raised his gaze to meet his listians. Shaking his head, he knew there was no hope unless
they got back themselves. "No," he replied again. They needed no further explanation.
"But you can't just leave them up there tights!" Dee shot back.
"I can't do anything!" Jareth bit back. Shaking his head, their protests fell silent as they looked
out the window again.
"I'm sure they'll be alright," Mairead stated softly.
"Yeah," Paola piped up. "Come on Jareth. Who better to be stuck up there than the Star Wars
nuts? They probably on their way back now."
"Lets hope so," Jareth whispered.
____________________
"There's Datalys," Jade whispered.
Andie grinned. "We made it."
"Andie, I know we made it here, but how are we going to make through re-entry without help
from Ground Control?" Jade asked, her eyes still on Datalys, the shiny metal breathtaking in the
darkness of space.
"Well I've been that a lot of thought lately, and I've come up with one good idea," Andie began.
"I had an idea," Kara stated, coming up behind them.
"What?" Andie asked with a grin.
"You know how you said," Kara began, breaking off and handing her ration to Leelee to hold.
"Thanks Leelee. How you said they had the telemetry stuff?"
"Yeah," Andie responded.
"And like they could read all our instruments?" Kara asked.
"Right," Andie replied.
"Well I was thinking, or maybe I was just inspired by the view and all, but..." Kara broke off,
looking out the window. "Whoa! Is that India we're coming up on?" she asked.
"Kara, what idea?" Andie prodded.
"Oh, yeah. Well code. CXD switch?"
"You mean Morse code," Andie grinned.
"I read a book on it once." Kara replied with Jade saying the same thing that caused her to giggle.
"Terrific," Andie replied with a smile. "Go get on the switches. Good idea Kara."
"They've gotta hear us," Leelee commented softly as Kara made her way back to the switches.
"Okay Jade, I need you to help me get ready. It's time for me to get into the airlock," Andie
stated, moving from her seat with Jade following.
Kara snapped the switch on and off in a series of codes. She would make them hear. Glancing at
the others before they disappeared toward the air lock, she returned her attention back to the
switch.
___________________
The men in the control room went about their business unaware that one of their buttons was
blinking. Kara's plea for help went unnoticed by the great minds of NASA.
__________________
The small metallic form of Jinx rolled down the silent hallway, his tiny voice repeating the same
thing over and over. "Jinx help NASA. Jinx help NASA." He rolled onward toward the main
control room set on helping NASA get back Gem before she was erased.
____________________
"Gemma, are all the elements for the space suit in place?" Andie asked, going over her checklist.
"Check," Gemma replied.
"Jade did you double check to see if the portable life support system needs recharged?"
"Check," Jade replied.
"I'll be in there awhile suiting up and depressurizing. I'll establish contact with you when I'm
ready to go into the cargo bay. Okay, Leelee, open the airlock." Andie said, looking at all of
them and seeing hope in their eyes.
Leelee took the controls and did as she was instructed, opening the hatch and watching Andie
climb into it.
"I'm going to bring back two tanks of oxygen. We've got to have a backup. Okay, once I'm out
there, I'll be gone about twenty minutes. Don't talk anymore than you need, and don't move
around unless it's absolutely necessary." Andie stated.
"Here Andie," Gemma said, handing her the last of her gear.
"Jade, you're in charge until I get back," Andie said.
Jade nodded and looked to Selah who looked slightly upset by the call. Watching as Andie
disappeared, they all felt the hope dwindling with each passing moment. Sending them back to
their stations, the tension remained. Would they actually make it out alive? If they did, they were
going to kill Jareth.
"I once knew this guy who could hold his breath underwater for hours. Nobody could ever figure
out how he did it. Maybe it wasn't hours, but it sure seemed like a long time." Leelee began, her
nervousness getting the better of her.
"Leelee?" Selah said softly.
Kara kept at the switches, watching Leelee all the while.
"He was on the swim team, freshmen year. He used to do it too, slow his breath for hours, just by
thinking about eating french fries. I guess he really got off on eating french fries. And uh," she
continued, flipping the pages of her manual book.
"Leelee," Selah said again, getting her attention. "You're using up oxygen chica."
"Yeah," she replied.
Andie entered the cargo bay. This was it. This was the moment that would make or break them.
She had to do the best, and wouldn't give up until the last breath. "Jade do you read me?" Andie
broke radio silence.
"Roger Andie," Jade replied.
"I've entered the Cargo Bay and I'm securing the hatch." Andie stated, pushing the hatch closed
slowly to finally lock and secure behind her.
"Check," Jade stated.
"Kinda makes you miss the good old days at camp, doesn't it?" Andie teased.
"Really," Jade replied, amusement in her voice.
"When I'm locked into the MMU, prepare to open the CBD's." Andie instructed, making her
way slowly along the cargo bay to the mobile unit. Locking herself into it, she called to Jade
again. "Jade, do you copy?"
"Roger Andie," Jade replied, listening intently to her.
"Prepare to open the CBD's," Andie stated, taking a deep breath at what she was about to
embark upon.
Jade turned around and looked to Leelee. "It's a go for Cargo Bay Doors, Leelee."
Leelee took a breath, noticing that she was shaking slightly from the excitement. "Cargo Bay
Doors," Leelee said, flipping a switch then continuing, "activated."
Andie stood in the cargo bay when the loud creak of the doors fell upon her ears; the only other
sound was that of her breathing. Watching as they slowly opened up before her, she maneuvered
the MMU out of the bay, gasping at the sight. "Oh, Zach," she muttered breathlessly as she saw
the Earth in all it's glory.
"What was that Andie? I didn't quite copy," Leelee inquired.
"Oh, God..." she trailed off. It was more exciting than she could have thought. Knowing she was
wasting precious time, she headed off toward Datalys.
A constant beep sounded inside the shuttle, making it apparent to all that the sound wanted their
undivided attention. Jade glanced at the screen and stopped cold. Feeling dread invade her
rational thought, she only hoped they had enough time for Andie to get back.
"Guys," Jade stated, her mind reeling by what she knew. "We only have one hour left."
Each of them felt the gravity of the situation pressing in on them all at once. Looking to each
other, they tried silently to reassure one another before they looked back to the monitor to watch
Andie's progress with growing concern.
Andie reached Datalys and looked around for the canisters, hoping to spot them right off. As
soon as she thought she'd have to search them out, she smiled. "I found them," she stated,
sending the statement back to the others.
The cabin of the shuttle broke out into joyful cheers, as the news filtered through the comm-unit.
Hope was still alive and kicking for the moment.
Andie neared the canisters, reaching out to them, when her helmet hit the metal bars restricting
her access. "No," she whispered, her fingers reaching out but finding nothing. "Come on,
please?" she pleaded softly, still not able to reach the canisters. Pulling back, she grasped the
metal bars with both hands not knowing what else to do. "I just can't reach them. They're still in
their storage modes. I'm gonna have to try it without the MMU," Andie stated.
"No, tell her not to. She'll have no power, no control. She'll tumble out into space without her
jetpack," Kara pleaded, fear lacing her words.
"Where is she?" Jade asked.
Andie tried yet again, but still couldn't get close enough to reach them. Hitting her helmet on her
third try, she couldn't believe they'd come all this way only to fail now. "Dammit!" she
exclaimed. "It's no good. I just can't reach it," she uttered, looking at the canister merely inches
out of her reach.
"Well she has to. Tell her she has to get them," Kara shrieked, panicked by the sudden realization
that the future as she knew it would soon cease to exist.
"Shh... Kara, Kara," Selah stated, trying to calm her down. "She just can't alright?"
"Make her," she choked out, feeling as though her world was tumbling to an abrupt halt with just
that one instance as the starting point.
"She just isn't small enough," Jade replied softly.
The deafening silence was broken by a single voice. "Well I am." All eyes turned to the smallest
one of the bunch.
"You can't go out there," Kara replied, shaking her head at Gemma.
"It's a good idea guys," Selah commented.
"I am ready," Gemma stated assuredly. In a matter of minutes, all four of them were trying to
cram Gemma into the oversized suit.
"Push a little harder," Selah stated, pushing on the bottom of the boot.
"Double check everything you guys," Jade instructed, tugging at the big suit.
"Is it in?" Selah asked, looking toward the hole where her head should have popped out of by
now. "Is this the only suit we could find?"
"It's the best I could do, it's the only one down there," Kara replied.
"Kara," Jade spoke up excitedly. She had an idea. "Kara, give me your belt!" she exclaimed,
holding out her hand.
Kara unhooked her oversized belt and pulled it free, disgusted with the thought of the jumpsuit
being normal again. How unoriginal, she thought until it dawned on her what Jade had in mind.
"Oh, excellent idea!" she responded, handing it over quickly.
"What are you gonna do with a belt?" Leelee asked.
"We," Jade started, wrapping the belt around one of Gemma's legs and then the other one before
continuing, "are going to make the suit as small as Gem," she replied, wrapping the belt around
each arm. "So she can fit through Datalys," she finished, pulling the belt tight and making
Gemma's head pop out with a smile.
"All right Gemma!" Selah cried out as Gemma started laughing.
____________