Marooned on Giri Minor
An opportunity to go on a spacewalk outside the ship! How could that not be an exciting break in an otherwise routine day?
"Well don't have too much fun that you forget to come back in," Siggo says. The last you see him as you bolt down the stairs toward the lower deck, he is turning back toward his control panel singing,
Lieutenant Mori Hatuso and Petty Officer Tira Indrian are your other two crew mates. You find them in the staging area leading to the airlock, preparing their tools before stepping into their EV suits.
"I see the captain is giving you a break from babysitting," Hatuso says. The lieutenant is another person you can't quite get a handle on, perhaps even less so than Captain Siggo. You get the distinct impression he intentionally keeps you at arms length, like you're just the latest in a long line of young recruits he's had to deal with.
Chief Indrian, on the other hand, is far more personable. She is a young career-minded non-com, with a long and ambitious list of goals and plans; everybody she meets she treats like a potential ally.
"Is this your first walk?" she asks.
"I've logged tons of hours in the simulator," you say.
"Well this will be just a training walk for you," she says. "The lieutenant and I will be doing the repairs."
"I'll be happy to do whatever you need me to do," you say.
"This is your first walk, so just enjoy the ride."
"Just don't enjoy it too much," Hatuso says with a wink, "or you'll be cleaning up the mess inside your suit, if you know what I mean."
Indrian points you to the locker where the EV suits are kept and says, "Well, it's time to suit up."
You select a suit in your size and step in, and it automatically closes around you. Then you grab a helmet and click it into place around your head; a green light on the forward display indicates that the life support system is ready to go.
"You did that like a pro!" Indrian says.
You turn to see that she and Hatuso are fully suited, too. As you enter the airlock a FabBot that had been parked in the corner follows you inside. The inner door closes behind you, and you see Indrian reaching for what looks like a hook on the wall. She pulls on it and a cable unreels from a hidden spool. Then she hooks the tether to her EV suit. "I like knowing I have that connection with the ship," she explains.
You notice that Hatuso has not bothered to tether himself. "Flying free is the only way to go, Starman!" he proclaims with a whoop.
Maybe, you think, but you agree with Chief Indrian and attach one of the tethers to your suit.
Lieutenant Hatuso operates the controls that depressurize the airlock, and then he opens the outer hatch, revealing the infinite, starry expanse of space beyond. He boldly thrusts his way up and out of sight, like someone who has done this many times before.
That leaves you, Chief Indrian, and the FabBot. "Are you ready?" she asks, but without waiting for an answer she leaps upward from the edge, in the same direction as Hatuso.
How hard can this be? The holographic simulation seemed so realistic when you were training, but now that you are faced with the very real need to leap into the void you find yourself uncertain about your resolve. You close your eyes, remind yourself that fear will get you nowhere, and shove off gently with your legs.
Once you are drifting a few meters out from the hull and nothing bad has happened, your confidence comes back. "Just like an expert!" Indrian says over the comm. She is giving you a thumbs up sign. You can't see her face, but you can tell from her voice that she's smiling.
"I love a good spacewalk in the morning!" Hatuso says. He is well ahead of you and Indrian, thrusting his way in controlled bursts toward the base of the dorsal pylon, which looks a little like the blade of a fan that has been turned off. It rises above the main hull from a point just behind the passenger cabin.
As you, Indrian, and the FabBot follow in slow pursuit, you circle around the curve of the hull and past one of the viewports. Most of the passengers have stopped what they're doing to watch the proceedings outside the ship, including Yiggy and Easa. You can tell they're scrutinizing all three people drifting past the window to see which astronaut is you, so you give them a wave. They don't see it at first, but when Commander Andrade points you out to them, the two kids wave back.
"I think our problem might be bigger than we thought," Hatuso says on the comm.
"Oh?" Siggo says. "Please explain, Lieutenant."
"Well sir, there's a hole in the comm array on the dorsal pylon," Hatuso replies. "Not a big one, but something the size of a peanut shot clean through."
"Can you repair it?" the captain asks.
"Should just take a few minutes, sir."
"Well don't have too much fun that you forget to come back in," Siggo says. The last you see him as you bolt down the stairs toward the lower deck, he is turning back toward his control panel singing,
Some days you get the sun, others it's just the moon
If life's not spent having fun, it's over too soon.
If life's not spent having fun, it's over too soon.
Lieutenant Mori Hatuso and Petty Officer Tira Indrian are your other two crew mates. You find them in the staging area leading to the airlock, preparing their tools before stepping into their EV suits.
"I see the captain is giving you a break from babysitting," Hatuso says. The lieutenant is another person you can't quite get a handle on, perhaps even less so than Captain Siggo. You get the distinct impression he intentionally keeps you at arms length, like you're just the latest in a long line of young recruits he's had to deal with.
Chief Indrian, on the other hand, is far more personable. She is a young career-minded non-com, with a long and ambitious list of goals and plans; everybody she meets she treats like a potential ally.
"Is this your first walk?" she asks.
"I've logged tons of hours in the simulator," you say.
"Well this will be just a training walk for you," she says. "The lieutenant and I will be doing the repairs."
"I'll be happy to do whatever you need me to do," you say.
"This is your first walk, so just enjoy the ride."
"Just don't enjoy it too much," Hatuso says with a wink, "or you'll be cleaning up the mess inside your suit, if you know what I mean."
Indrian points you to the locker where the EV suits are kept and says, "Well, it's time to suit up."
You select a suit in your size and step in, and it automatically closes around you. Then you grab a helmet and click it into place around your head; a green light on the forward display indicates that the life support system is ready to go.
"You did that like a pro!" Indrian says.
You turn to see that she and Hatuso are fully suited, too. As you enter the airlock a FabBot that had been parked in the corner follows you inside. The inner door closes behind you, and you see Indrian reaching for what looks like a hook on the wall. She pulls on it and a cable unreels from a hidden spool. Then she hooks the tether to her EV suit. "I like knowing I have that connection with the ship," she explains.
You notice that Hatuso has not bothered to tether himself. "Flying free is the only way to go, Starman!" he proclaims with a whoop.
Maybe, you think, but you agree with Chief Indrian and attach one of the tethers to your suit.
Lieutenant Hatuso operates the controls that depressurize the airlock, and then he opens the outer hatch, revealing the infinite, starry expanse of space beyond. He boldly thrusts his way up and out of sight, like someone who has done this many times before.
That leaves you, Chief Indrian, and the FabBot. "Are you ready?" she asks, but without waiting for an answer she leaps upward from the edge, in the same direction as Hatuso.
How hard can this be? The holographic simulation seemed so realistic when you were training, but now that you are faced with the very real need to leap into the void you find yourself uncertain about your resolve. You close your eyes, remind yourself that fear will get you nowhere, and shove off gently with your legs.
Once you are drifting a few meters out from the hull and nothing bad has happened, your confidence comes back. "Just like an expert!" Indrian says over the comm. She is giving you a thumbs up sign. You can't see her face, but you can tell from her voice that she's smiling.
"I love a good spacewalk in the morning!" Hatuso says. He is well ahead of you and Indrian, thrusting his way in controlled bursts toward the base of the dorsal pylon, which looks a little like the blade of a fan that has been turned off. It rises above the main hull from a point just behind the passenger cabin.
As you, Indrian, and the FabBot follow in slow pursuit, you circle around the curve of the hull and past one of the viewports. Most of the passengers have stopped what they're doing to watch the proceedings outside the ship, including Yiggy and Easa. You can tell they're scrutinizing all three people drifting past the window to see which astronaut is you, so you give them a wave. They don't see it at first, but when Commander Andrade points you out to them, the two kids wave back.
"I think our problem might be bigger than we thought," Hatuso says on the comm.
"Oh?" Siggo says. "Please explain, Lieutenant."
"Well sir, there's a hole in the comm array on the dorsal pylon," Hatuso replies. "Not a big one, but something the size of a peanut shot clean through."
"Can you repair it?" the captain asks.
"Should just take a few minutes, sir."