As Laney pours through the dusty manuals for the DarkStar, I give Prescott a crash course on space survival, starting with the suit.
The Space Ops suits are based on the iCosmos ones, but are predictably all black and the gloves and hands have built-in electromagnets for adhering to the outside of a space station.
"Modern spacesuits are light years beyond the ones used just a decade ago," I explain to Prescott. "More so than the pressure suits of the last century. Once you step inside, the onboard intelligent assistant will let you know if you're doing something stupid."
"I suspect that will be a constant thing." He grins.
"Yeah, try not to poke a hole in the suit or take your helmet off to get some fresh air. The more important thing is understanding what it means to work in zero-gravity." I hold up the glove. "I'm sure these magnets are a clever idea, but I'm not sure I would trust them my first time out. You don't want to reach for something and find out that you're drifting away from the space station."
I think of the example Bennet gave me. "Once you step outside your craft, you have to imagine that you're a mountain climber — you never take a break unless you're fastened down to something. You're under the constant threat of falling off that mountain. While your suit has some built in jets that can take you back to the station or your craft, that's only if things are actually all working. If you get a power failure or some kind of software glitch, you might find yourself in an even more dire situation. Your first priority is something to hold on to. Your second is air. Everything else is a distant third."
Prescott picks up what I'm telling him fairly quickly, asking a few questions here and there, but never needing me to repeat anything.
Laney and I do our best to explain the controls of the DarkStar as we try to make sense of them ourselves.
While we do this, Jessup and Markov work on their scheme to get this onboard an iCosmos flight without anyone knowing what's up.
Because iCosmos is able to rapidly recycle its rockets and maintains a packed launch manifest, at any given time there's a rocket heading to the pad just a few miles away from us.
The Navy and the Air Force contract launches from them frequently and can do emergency launches, bumping commercial contracts. The key is to get this quickly on top of an Alicorn booster and not have it appear suspicious.
After getting a rudimentary understanding of the DarkStar and the suit, we all step into a dusty conference room to go over the layout of the K1.
Laney fires up the projector and the familiar cross-shape of the station fills the screen giving me a moment of pause.
I put what happened behind me and focus on explaining which module probably contains the nuclear device.
"I'd imagine that under the current situation at least one of the commanders is inside that section at all times. But before you get to them, you have to gain access to the space station." I turn to Markov who has been watching from the corner. "Can we get any help from your friend onboard?"
"Yes. Our insider will let you in through the airlock they use for EVAs. They will use the excuse of checking an air sensor they've rigged to give a malfunction warning. After they've let you inside, you'll wait until they return to the main crew section."
"And should I abandon the DarkStar at this point?" asks Prescott.
"Is there an advantage to doing that?" Markov asks me.
I think it over for a moment. I know he means beyond providing Prescott with a way to return home. I get the chilly realization that the Captain expects this to be a one way trip.
"No. Prescott will need to be tethered to the DarkStar until he gets to the K1. At that point he can use a magnetic clamp to attach his tether to the K1. With sufficient slack it won't affect things, unless they do an orbital position change, which I don't expect. I think the most prudent thing is to not abandon the DarkStar."
I see Laney watching me out of the corner of her eye. She's thinking of all the situations where having another craft so close to the K1 could compromise the whole mission. But I think she also understands that neither of us want to send this man on a suicide mission — well, more of a suicide mission than it already is.
"And once inside, how would you recommend I proceed to the secure module? Should I take off the suit?" asks Prescott.
"Good question. I was able to maneuver through the K1 with mine fairly well, but I'm sure it also cost me several seconds compared to how I would have moved in just my thermal. I guess that depends on whether you want maneuverability or body armor. I had mine on when I escaped the K1. Your goal is different. If it were me, I'd keep it on because some of those cosmonauts are built like gorillas."
I can see Prescott weighing the matter over. "I think I'll go without the suit."
Translation, he's going to stealthily sneak through there and kill anybody who gets in his way. He's thinking offensive. I'm thinking defensive. I get an image of him crawling through the modules with blacked-out face paint and a commando knife in his mouth ready to slice enemy throats.
After going through the technical specifics, Jessup joins us to discuss the tactical details.
"We worked out a variety of different entry techniques," he explains. "One is a knock-out gas. The problem with that is each module has its own air handler and sensors that will shut the hatches if they detect a foreign substance. Sadly, before this project was closed down, we were working on a reactive agent that could spread through an entire facility then change into an anesthetic. As far as weapons go, we have some gloves with stun guns built into the palms that will allow you to keep your hands free."
I want to ask where these tools were when Bennet and Peterson were conducting their clandestine operation, but keep my mouth shut.
"Stun gloves are great," I reply. "But how do we get the commander in the secure module to let Prescott inside? If they've figured out how to hot-wire the bomb, the moment he sees an American face poking his nose into the porthole he's liable to trigger the device."
"We are hoping they have not improvised a trigger yet," says Markov. "But in either event, we need a way to get Captain Prescott into the module."
Prescott steeples his fingers and thinks it over. "What if I kill the other commander and hold his head near the porthole?" asks Prescott.
I'm about to laugh at the morbid joke then realize he's serious. Jessup and Markov take it into consideration while Laney and I exchange quick glances.
These are the stakes. Prescott's solution is ruthless, cold-blooded and exactly the kind of tactic it takes to win.
"May I suggest a simpler way?" asks Laney.
58
Countdown
"Why don't you just give the man an injection and knock him out?" says Laney.
"Trust me, I'm not eager to kill anyone," replies Prescott. "But that doesn't always work and getting close enough to someone with a needle is tricky. Even with a combat syringe."
I gloss over the fact that I'm not even sure I know what a "combat syringe" is supposed to be. "Listen, I'm no pacifist and these commanders are fully onboard with the whole nuclear option, so sending them to heaven doesn't really bother me all that much. But there's another consideration here. How exactly would you plan on killing this cosmonaut so you can use him for your puppet show?"
"A knife to the throat. It's kind of our specialty."
"Charming. To my knowledge this has never been done in space before. But I have seen a video of what happened when an astronaut tried to slice open a bag of cranberry sauce for a Thanksgiving dinner. It could have been the outtake of a Quentin Tarantino murder scene. A human heart pumping gallons of blood through a gashed jugular is going to be far worse."