Thirty minutes later, Marvin and Bob took off in the shuttle and began testing its maneuverability while following Imagine in orbit. The maneuverability seemed fine. It took about an hour to fly around Imagine. Bob did notice slight damage to the hull in one area and took some photos and sent them back to Tom. Carson and some engineers discussed the repairs necessary and decided they could use a laser to repair the damage. Since the shuttle had a laser, Bob and Marvin maneuvered the shuttle to a distance of a hundred yards from the outside of the Imagine. Their first attempt to seal the hull failed miserably, as they had a hard time aiming the laser and adjusting for the speed of Imagine and the shuttle. They missed the target area by forty feet.
Bob said, “I wish I had played some Playstation now with Sam and the others since I seem to be such a lousy shot with the laser stick.”
Tom told him not to worry about it and to try again but compensate for the moving shuttle and Imagine.
Bob said, “All right. Let me work on this laser for thirty minutes and we can try again.”
Thirty minutes later, the shuttle again maneuvered into a position to seal the hull. This time, Bob was able to seal the hull after missing again on his first two shots and Tom was happy to witness their success.
“Good job,” Tom said. “So far, so good with the shuttle. Now you are going to have to land inside Imagine while it is going in orbit. Marvin will have to do this part. I imagine it will be the first time he attempts this but indeed not the last time.”
On the shuttle, Marvin said, “Great work with the laser stick. Now I need to land safely on Imagine.”
Bob asked, “Have you ever done this or practiced it in simulations?”
“I have practiced in simulations on the computer, and I had landed a shuttle on Earth when we flew to Las Vegas with the president and when we picked up Dr. Sato after her accident, but this will be the first time I do it for real on a moving spaceship.”
“Exactly how do you land this thing on a moving ship?”
“First, despite what you may be thinking, I don’t fly the shuttle into the ship. It might be too difficult to stop the shuttle before it crashes and destroys the ship. Not only that, I could miss the opening in the ship and hit the hull. However, that is not going to happen. What I have to do is get the speed right so we are flying parallel to each other. There is a crane that I attach the shuttle to outside the ship. This is similar to docking a spaceship at the International Space Station. Once we dock with the crane, we come to a halt and turn off the power of the shuttle. Then the crane, which is operated from inside Imagine, will slide us onto the ship, and the doors will close. It really is an easy thing. I just need to operate the controls to get the speed right.”
Bob said, “You seem confident, and I have to trust you to do this. I just hope it goes well.”
The shuttle then made a perfect hookup with the crane and slid into the ship. Bob looked relieved to Tom. Marvin looked like he had not even broken a sweat.
Tom then contacted the commanders of the other two ships to see if they were ready to resume. Captains Dresden and Thorpe informed Tom that they were prepared and could continue at any time. The three of them decided they would break orbit in twenty-four hours to give everyone a chance to prepare.
Tom made an announcement. “Everyone, may I have your attention, please. In twenty-four hours, we will break orbit and head towards Mars, although we will not stop there. It will probably take fifteen days until we reach Mars, which will be the fastest anyone has ever done it. We will start off at Mach 2 and build up to Mach 8 as we all become accustomed to flying in space. Once again, please make sure all of your belongings and loose objects are put away or bolted down.
“We will let you know when you can take off your helmets. Please be sure to be at your posts and with your seatbelts on, as the relaunch could be a little bit stressful. In twenty-one hours, my officers will inspect all of you to make sure you are ready for the next step. If there are any problems, please contact an officer to assist you. They all can communicate with me at any time.”
Twenty-one hours later, everyone was in place. Dorothy and Carson were all set for the energy surge that would be necessary to break orbit. Tom and the officers then checked all the instruments to make sure they were still working correctly.
Tom contacted the president, and they both wished each other a wonderful and enduring future life.
Three hours later, Tom was ready to give the order to break orbit. He looked around the control room and at the other officers. They had all done well in the launch, and Tom was proud of them all. He could not have asked for a more exceptional crew and knew he could count on them all. He was sure he could live with everyone on board until they found a new home.
The countdown began. As it got to ten seconds, Tom blurted out, “Good luck, everyone. So long, Earth.”
All three ships headed off on their new journey. At that moment, they were pioneers ready to unleash humanity’s potential while escaping degenerating lands and the unwelcome aspects of the demise of civilization. Only time would tell if they would be successful.
About the Author
Michael Bienenstock’s science-fiction debut gazes at pioneering efforts to save the future and potential of humanity, contemplating the promise and blunders of an ambitious quest to colonize beyond our own galaxy when we face existential risks. This is his debut novel, and it’s not written by his clone, although his DNA has been collected for the voyage. He is a retired teacher with over 35 years of teaching experience, publishing papers and giving numerous presentations. He has earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Rochester Institute of Technology, a master’s degree from Gallaudet University and a Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Maryland at College Park. He is married with one son and lives in Florida.
Copyright
Copyright: 2019 All Rights Reserved