Eighteen months later:
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
“The first umbilical tower has separated,” Launch Control stated.
“Copy thirty-eight,” a woman’s voice echoed in the background. “Auto-sequence has been initiated.”
“Roger, twenty seconds and counting,” Launch Control responded. “The final umbilical tower has now separated. Engines have fired with maximum thrust and we have liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 1:42 a.m. on their way to Gliese 581.”
“Good first stage performance,” Josh said sixty seconds later into the microphone attached to his helmet.
“Roll pitch is nominal,” Ash stated. “All systems normal.”
Josh breathed in and out, in calm even breaths, as the Soyuz rocket went through the different stages necessary before breaking through Earth’s orbit. He followed Ash’s self-assured movements over the controls as he monitored their flight path and the systems.
“Welcome to the twilight zone, boys and girls,” Ash said as they exited the outer atmosphere.
Josh kept his eyes focused on the paper in front of him. This was their second trip into space. The first had been a year ago. That was when he caught his initial glance at Gliese 581.
It had been one of the most magnificent pieces of technology that he had ever seen. He remembered Sergi and Mei teasing him and Ash. It was at that moment when he knew he had made the right decision.
“So, you thought we were going to travel through space in a tin can?” Sergi had asked him with a grin. “If it helps, my friend, I felt the same way when I first saw the Gliese. She is magnificent ship, is she not?”
“She had better be! She has some of the most advance technology known to man aboard her,” Mei replied.
Sergi rolled his eyes. “Mei’s father’s company supplied a great deal of the technology being used,” he murmured, before wincing. “She didn’t want anyone to know that, though.”
“There is no keeping a secret with you telling everyone. My father has always had a fascination with space,” Mei growled in exasperation before she grinned. “Besides, every time Sergi tells someone, it gives me a chance to hit him.”
Sergi gave him and Ash a pained expression. “I should never have shown her how to fight,” he muttered in pretend resignation.
Mei and Julia’s laughter filled the cockpit. Sergi and Mei’s constant picking on each other had become a source of entertainment among the crew. They were both intelligent and enjoyed the banter, which made it even more fun to watch as they tried to outdo each other.
“Mission Control, turning over control for core rendezvous and docking sequence,” Ash said, jerking Josh back to the present.
“Copy,” Mission control responded.
“We can see the pictures. Three hundred meters and closing. Begin fly around,” Ash responded.
“We see thrusters are working and we are moving to docking assembly. Copy,” Mission Control responded.
Josh watched on the screens as the docking mechanism came into view. Mission control continued to give them information as the two docking assemblies lined up. A few minutes later, there was a soft jerk and the sound of the docking assembly locking.
“Locking assembly has engaged, Gliese 581. Welcome aboard your new home,” Mission Control stated.
“Copy that, Mission Control,” Ash responded with a grin as he finished the final shut down and prepared to open the connecting hatch. “Let’s go take a look at our new home.”
*.*.*
Five days later, Josh stood in front of the huge virtual window, looking down at the Earth. Two of the crew members from the International Space Station had departed an hour before with the capsule that had brought them here. The two cosmonauts would dock with the outlying structure that had been used as a base during construction of the Gliese 581. They would release the last of the tethers. The remaining base would be joined to the International Space Station. At the moment they were waiting for final approval from Mission Control to begin a voyage unlike anything man has ever done before.
“It is good to know that the artificial gravity works,” Julia commented as she gripped the handhelds near the doorway and lowered her feet to the floor before stepping inside the main control and living area. “Though, I have to admit floating is fun.”
“It is more than fun,” Mei laughed as she came up behind Julia. “I missed this part of being in space.”
“Not as much as I missed watching you bounce off of things,” Sergi retorted with a grin.
Mei turned and pushed Sergi backwards when he tried to come into the control room. Grabbing the handheld, she nimbly lowered her feet to the floor and stepped into the area with the artificial gravity. She glanced over her shoulder and grinned when Sergi stumbled.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” he grumbled, flashing a quick grin.
Mei tossed her braid over her shoulder and laughed. “You are just clumsy,” she retorted, darting out of Sergi’s reach when he started to grab for her braid. “And slow.”
Josh couldn’t keep the amused grin from escaping. He wondered if those two would be like this the entire journey. Turning back, he stared down at the Earth again as the others slowly made their way over one at a time to join him.
“I wonder if we will ever see it again,” Mei asked in a soft voice.
“I don’t see why not,” Josh replied, shooting a glance at Julia’s calm face. “We get out there, find out what the object is, and come back.”
“Almost three years in space, a trillion million miles from any other living soul, and totally self-reliant on a massive piece of equipment that looks great on paper, but has never been put to the test,” Sergi reflected, rubbing his chin before he dropped his hand and shrugged. “It will be a piece of pie. I would say we have a billion to one chance of making it back in one piece.”
“It is a piece of cake,” Mei growled, turning and punching Sergi in the arm. “I’m going to go check on my plants.”
“What?! What did I say this time? Mei!” Sergi groaned. “Chinese women are too difficult to understand.”
Josh watched as Ash hastily moved aside as Mei swept past him. Ash’s eyebrows rose when Sergi quickly followed. A grin curved Josh’s lips when he saw the expression on Ash’s face. It wouldn’t be long before his friend joined in the fun.
“What’d I miss this time?” Ash asked.
“Mei asked if we would ever see Earth again,” Julia replied before Josh could say anything.
“And Sergi’s answer was…?” Ash asked, glancing back at the other two members of the crew who had disappeared through the doorway.
“A rundown of how far we are going in a prototype spaceship with no backup if something were to go wrong,” Julia answered with a brief glance at Josh. “I have some tests to run before we get too much further away. Please, excuse me.”
Ash and Josh watched as Julia disappeared in the opposite direction. Each person had to deal with the reality of their decision. It didn’t matter that they had been training non-stop for the past eighteen months for this mission.
In the end, all the talk, all the planning, couldn’t quite prepare them mentally for what was ahead. If something happened, there wouldn’t be a damn thing anyone on Earth could do to save them. The knowledge that they would have to depend on each other, and a never-before-tested spaceship on a maiden voyage into the unknown, was unsettling and it would take time for each person to come to terms with it.
Josh understood this. It was one of the things his dad had talked to him about before each mission. For the first time in his life, he could finally appreciate what his father had been trying to tell him. His father’s quiet voice rang through his memory.
“Every mission could be your last, son,” Edward Manson said. “You can’t go into it thinking about that. You focus on what needs to be done. In the back of your mind, there is always the thought of what could go wrong, that is why we train for it, but we don’t let it consume us. If you do, if you quit, then you are doomed to failure, and failure in space means death.”
Josh jerked back to the present when he felt Ash touch his arm. He pressed his lips into a firm line and nodded. He turned when he heard the sound of the communications console chime.
“Call the others,” he ordered. “It’s time to go.”