Chapter Eleven
The next morning the Ancients were picked up from the hotel and taken to the training center, where Shale met them. She led them to the locker room and showed them their assigned lockers.
Inside were green jumpsuits and boots. Each had the Troll Nation flag and a name tag, but along with the shuttle patch was an oval one over the right breast.
"What's this for?" asked Ruby, pointing it out.
Shale smiled. "It's the mission patch. Take a closer look."
The symbolism was clear: A yellow circle on the right side was the sun, with the comet passing around behind it and aiming for a blue circle with five stars rising from it. Each star was a different color. All this was on a black background with a gray outline. (1)
Ruby, Sapphire, and Amethyst smiled. Even Onyx looked pleased. A space mission patch for them! What an honor!
"This is great! Thanks!" said Amethyst.
"I have one too," said Shale. She was wearing a flight jacket to conceal her copy. She hadn't wanted to spoil the surprise. She took off the jacket and went to her locker.
"Hey, those stars have our hair colors!" giggled Topaz.
"Well, duh!" said Ruby, that's supposed to be us!"
Topaz gave her an odd look. "Really?"
"Really. It symbolizes us stopping the comet," said Sapphire.
"Oh..." said the blond ditz. "I don't get it, but if you say so..." she shrugged and started undoing the buttons on her blouse.
A few minutes later they were all dressed.
"well..." said Topaz, looking at herself in a mirror against one wall, "These jumpsuits are weak, but at least we all match!"
"We don't have time for fashion, Tope," said Ruby, "We've got to save the world. Now, let's go!" She turned and followed Shale out the door. The others followed.
"There's ALWAYS time for fashion!" protested Topaz. Then she noticed no one else was there. She sighed and followed her friends.
bffl bffl bffl
The next two weeks were hectic, as they were poked and prodded and tested by the base medical staff and put through a number of other medical exams. As long as a troll was fairly healthy, there was no reason for them not to be able to go into space. This was a little more thorough, since all five had to go- no substitutes.
After the exams came the training for using space suits and the equipment in the Phoenix. They also learned how to operate the small rocket-powered "tug" that would transport the spell bead to the comet from the ship.
Supplies were kept in magic-enhanced compartments that could contain far more than enough to sustain them. Their suit's air supply was the same way, as were the waste compartments.
Topaz wanted to dye the space suits different colors, but she wasn't allowed. They all complained about having to wear them the entire time, but that was just for letting off some steam. There was no help for it, and they all knew that.
They were given regular reports of the reconfiguring of the ship, and Sapphire learned how skoot physics was used to move it that far from a solid body. She found it fascinating, and agreed it could be the answer to interplanetary flight with trolls aboard.
bffl bffl bffl
Finally the day came when they were to go up to the space station and board the Phoenix.
Shale took her place as pilot of the Pegasus. It was a small shuttle, designed primarily for the transfer of personnel and small amounts of cargo.
The cabin had seats for twenty, but only five were occupied. The spell beads they had brought were aboard, stored away with their space suits. They were all wearing the jumpsuits.
The BFFL could watch the operation through the front ports, as there were no side ones. The seats were comfortable, and the harness more than just a seat belt.
"Where's the stewardess?" asked Topaz, looking around, "I could really go for a Trolla-Cola."
"There isn't one, Tope," said Amethyst, "You'll just have to be patient."
"Oh. What about the in-flight movie?" she asked, looking at her friend.
Sapphire sighed. "It's only going to take us about an hour and a half to get there, so there isn't one. Keep watching the front port, you'll get to see us going into space."
Topaz looked annoyed. "No stewardess, no movie... what a cheap way to run an airline."
Everyone, even Shale, sighed. Topaz sometimes was beyond hope.
The pilot decided to get back to business. "Preflight checks complete, starting hover," Shale reported to the tower.
"Roger that, Pegasus, cleared for launch," was the response.
She flipped several switches and a loud, familiar noise started- the hover mechanism that would raise the shuttle from the ground.
There was a tremble and jolt, and through the front port they saw the outside move down a bit. The ride smoothed out and the view shifted to the left. A moment later the runway came into view. The ship moved over to the center line.
"Tower, we are set," reported Shale.
"Go when ready, Pegasus," answered the tower.
"Activating rockets. See you soon," said the pilot.
A new sound, a loud rumbling, came from the back as the liquid-fuel rockets fired up.
The Pegasus started down the runway toward a gentle sloping ramp that would put them on the right trajectory. They felt nothing as the shuttle made the change in direction and cleared it. They were over the Great Lake and a few seconds later beyond it. The mountains to the east were seen in a brief glimpse, then there was nothing between them and space but the upper atmosphere.
Several minutes later they could see the curve of the planet below and the stars hard and bright.
The rockets abruptly cut off, and for the first time they felt weightlessness.
"Oh, wow, this is cool," commented Ruby.
"Everyone okay?" called Shale.
Amethyst looked around. "Seem to be," she answered.
Sapphire took a pen from a pocket and let it go. To Topaz's surprise it stayed where it was. The blue-haired troll then tapped it gently with a finger and it spun in place.
Topaz reached over and grabbed it. She looked at it, then at Sapphire, who was smiling at her. She put the pen in place and let go. Once more the pen floated there.
"That is sooo cool!" decided the amber-eyed troll.
Shale rolled the Pegasus over so they could see the planet below them. Onyx, who had been studying maps to augment her history research, pointed out features they could see. There was no sign of civilization, though. Neither trolls or any of the other intelligent species had done anything to the world that could be seen from space. At least, not yet.
More time passed, and finally Shale pointed out the bright star that was the space station, and said they would be docking in about twenty minutes. It slowly grew larger, and details could be made out. It consisted of six large cylinders welded together with corridors between them. Antennae and other instruments were seen on each section, but one section had far more than any other.
And true to her word, they arrived on schedule. When the hatch was secure and airtight, it opened and a couple of station personnel came in to do whatever minor maintenance was needed and get the cargo.
There was no gravity aboard the station; a spell for that had not yet had all the bugs worked out.
"Okay, guys, the station director is waiting for you," said Shale, "He'll probably give you a tour and take you to the living quarters. I'll meet you there. I want to check out the Phoenix and make sure the beads are put aboard."
"When will we be leaving?" asked Ruby.
"Probably tomorrow morning," was the answer. "See you later." Shale grabbed a handhold and pulled herself out of the shuttle, the others following.
Shale led the BFFL into the station proper. Some ten trolls were there to greet them. The rest of the population of twenty-two were busy.
"See you soon," said Shale, and made her way off to the right.
"I'm the station director, Dr. Trollen," he said. He was wearing a blue jumpsuit that clashed with his yellow-green hair.
Ruby gave introductions and greetings were made. Sure enough, he gave them the tour. Sapphire wanted to stay in the science section, and they almost had to drag her out.
Finally, though, they got to their assigned quarters and were left to their own devices. Tired from the trip and the excitement, they all took naps that lasted until the bell rang for lunch.
(1) The mission patch can be found on my dA account under the name Penumbrus.