The Sky Calls to Us Part 4
"Not a hatch!" Bill shouted as Eileen began docking maneuvers. "Waste exhaust. Ahead thirty meters and 4.3 meters right there's a large door opening, possibly a hangar. Doors large enough for Hermes at least."
"A hanger?" Eileen looked out the windows around her again, trying to convince her mind of the scale of this station, the sheer size of it. "I guess a hanger makes sense on something this massive." She guided Hermes through the indicated door and looked for a hatch Hermes could dock with. The hangar door closed behind her and a large claw descended from above Hermes as flood lights lit up around the bay. Eileen and Bill flinched at the sudden brightness and felt a gentle jostle as the claw grappled Hermes. "Guess were stuck here now." Bill nodded in agreement.
Their radios came to life with a new voice. "Crew of the Hermes, remain seated while the hangar re-pressurizes. Once atmosphere has been restored you may exit your craft and make your way to the lighted doorway." Eileen and Bill exchanged glances as they waited.
Her eyes adjusted to the light and Eileen looked around the spacious hangar. There were two other craft caught in claws similar to the one holding Hermes, neither larger than the space shuttle she grew up watching on television. The closest one looked like it could barely fit three people comfortably, and not for very long. It was bell shaped with the bottom of the bell covered in heat-shielding ceramic tiles. Eileen made a note to take that craft if they needed to leave and get back to Earth. The other was cigar shaped, painted the same gleaming white as the interior of the hangar. There was a large bulge at the back, probably the engine. From nose to tail, it was thirty meters, four meters in diameter at its widest point, tapering slightly in the nose.
"Atmosphere has been restored."
Bill unstrapped himself and floated to the hatch access panel at the rear of Hermes. "No seal, naturally, but it says there is atmosphere out there." He slid the visor on his helmet down, sealing his vacuum suit and made sure Eileen had done the same before opening the hatch. He expected a rush of air as pressures equalized, perhaps disturbing the hatch log papers attached above the access panel, but no air moved. The hatch opened smoothly and he slipped out the portal. He clung to the side of Hermes, gripping a hand-hold installed for the purpose, and waited for Eileen to exit before closing the hatch again.
With some simple hand signals, Eileen let Bill know she was about to try breaking her suit's seal and if the hangar was not, in fact, full of atmosphere, he should seal her suit again if she was unable to do so. She lifted her visor and felt no air moving, either in or out of her suit. She inhaled tentatively, then took a deep breath. She nodded to Bill who lifted his own visor and breathed deep. "They said there should be a lighted doorway somewhere?" Eileen searched the hangar wall behind Bill.
"There. Green light." Bill pointed over her shoulder to a doorway in the middle of the hangar wall with a bright green light above it.
"Sounds good to me." Eileen climbed around Hermes until she could get a footing that would let her jump toward the door. She hadn't experienced weightlessness outside of a teaching environment. She'd spent time in the neutral buoyancy tanks at NASA, learning how to maneuver in a vacuum suit in the closest approximation to space that could be replicated on Earth: the bottom of a swimming pool, strapped to weights that countered her buoyancy and left her floating underwater. She had also taken a few trips in the affectionately named "Vomit Comet" jet airplane that flew in parabolic arcs through the sky, giving passengers and crew the experience of weightless free-fall 25 out of every 65 seconds of the flight.
Eileen leaped and immediately regretted it. She hadn't pushed off quite right and was now off-target, heading for a spot on the wall about three meters away from the door. It was a tiny miscalculation, but over the distance she needed to cover it ended up being a significant mistake.
Bill saw her trajectory and the veteran spaceman in him recognized her miscalculation. He leaped after her, pushing off much more forcefully than was generally recommended. "Sorry Cap'n" he mumbled, grabbing her ankle as he flew past her. The sudden velocity change put them both in a spin as Bill clung to Eileen's ankle. Bill closed his eyes and trusted his jump rather than watching the room spin to ascertain whether or not they were now headed for the door.
Eileen closed her eyes and tried to think of anything that wasn't spinning in an effort to keep her last meal in her stomach.
"A hanger?" Eileen looked out the windows around her again, trying to convince her mind of the scale of this station, the sheer size of it. "I guess a hanger makes sense on something this massive." She guided Hermes through the indicated door and looked for a hatch Hermes could dock with. The hangar door closed behind her and a large claw descended from above Hermes as flood lights lit up around the bay. Eileen and Bill flinched at the sudden brightness and felt a gentle jostle as the claw grappled Hermes. "Guess were stuck here now." Bill nodded in agreement.
Their radios came to life with a new voice. "Crew of the Hermes, remain seated while the hangar re-pressurizes. Once atmosphere has been restored you may exit your craft and make your way to the lighted doorway." Eileen and Bill exchanged glances as they waited.
Her eyes adjusted to the light and Eileen looked around the spacious hangar. There were two other craft caught in claws similar to the one holding Hermes, neither larger than the space shuttle she grew up watching on television. The closest one looked like it could barely fit three people comfortably, and not for very long. It was bell shaped with the bottom of the bell covered in heat-shielding ceramic tiles. Eileen made a note to take that craft if they needed to leave and get back to Earth. The other was cigar shaped, painted the same gleaming white as the interior of the hangar. There was a large bulge at the back, probably the engine. From nose to tail, it was thirty meters, four meters in diameter at its widest point, tapering slightly in the nose.
"Atmosphere has been restored."
Bill unstrapped himself and floated to the hatch access panel at the rear of Hermes. "No seal, naturally, but it says there is atmosphere out there." He slid the visor on his helmet down, sealing his vacuum suit and made sure Eileen had done the same before opening the hatch. He expected a rush of air as pressures equalized, perhaps disturbing the hatch log papers attached above the access panel, but no air moved. The hatch opened smoothly and he slipped out the portal. He clung to the side of Hermes, gripping a hand-hold installed for the purpose, and waited for Eileen to exit before closing the hatch again.
With some simple hand signals, Eileen let Bill know she was about to try breaking her suit's seal and if the hangar was not, in fact, full of atmosphere, he should seal her suit again if she was unable to do so. She lifted her visor and felt no air moving, either in or out of her suit. She inhaled tentatively, then took a deep breath. She nodded to Bill who lifted his own visor and breathed deep. "They said there should be a lighted doorway somewhere?" Eileen searched the hangar wall behind Bill.
"There. Green light." Bill pointed over her shoulder to a doorway in the middle of the hangar wall with a bright green light above it.
"Sounds good to me." Eileen climbed around Hermes until she could get a footing that would let her jump toward the door. She hadn't experienced weightlessness outside of a teaching environment. She'd spent time in the neutral buoyancy tanks at NASA, learning how to maneuver in a vacuum suit in the closest approximation to space that could be replicated on Earth: the bottom of a swimming pool, strapped to weights that countered her buoyancy and left her floating underwater. She had also taken a few trips in the affectionately named "Vomit Comet" jet airplane that flew in parabolic arcs through the sky, giving passengers and crew the experience of weightless free-fall 25 out of every 65 seconds of the flight.
Eileen leaped and immediately regretted it. She hadn't pushed off quite right and was now off-target, heading for a spot on the wall about three meters away from the door. It was a tiny miscalculation, but over the distance she needed to cover it ended up being a significant mistake.
Bill saw her trajectory and the veteran spaceman in him recognized her miscalculation. He leaped after her, pushing off much more forcefully than was generally recommended. "Sorry Cap'n" he mumbled, grabbing her ankle as he flew past her. The sudden velocity change put them both in a spin as Bill clung to Eileen's ankle. Bill closed his eyes and trusted his jump rather than watching the room spin to ascertain whether or not they were now headed for the door.
Eileen closed her eyes and tried to think of anything that wasn't spinning in an effort to keep her last meal in her stomach.