Asteroid Crisis: Star Challengers Book 3 (7 page)

Twelve

Everyone aboard the ISSC remained on edge after the near-miss with the Kylarn. The aliens could come back at any time—and this time they might not be content just to snoop around.

After a long day of work aboard the space station, the Star Challengers were ready for a few hours of rest. The Stationmaster had found sleep stations for them, which proved to be no simple task. With the significant increase in the ISSC’s security and construction crew—not to mention the crowding caused by removing three modules for the asteroid missions—personnel had to sleep in shifts. On their previous visit, the friends had been given private cubicles for sleeping, but back then, the station had been half-empty. Now the orbiting complex was on an emergency footing and fully crewed.

Song-Ye looked skeptically at the sleep unit—about the size of a small shower stall—she would share with two other people on rotating shifts.

JJ tried to reassure her. “It’ll be cozy—just like camping.”

“My parents have never taken me camping,” Song-Ye said, and JJ wasn’t surprised.

After slipping into the sleeping bag that was attached to the wall, and drawing the small cubicle door shut, JJ found herself drifting as she tried to go to sleep. Soon, they would finish gathering the information Commander Zota wanted, and then they could use their pingers to return home.…

JJ awoke when the next shift came in and needed to sleep. She heard someone rapping on the compartment barrier, and JJ groaned, slid it open to see a lean, brown-haired woman. “Snooze time’s over, kid. I don’t know what your daily duties are, but
I
need a nap if I’m going to be functional for my next rotation.”

With a yawn, JJ pulled herself out and drifted into the public area of Hab Module 1. Her friends emerged from sleep cubicles, also rubbing their eyes. “Rise and shine,” Dyl said, nudging Song-Ye. Tony’s curly hair stuck out in all directions, and he looked like a scarecrow.

Together, they hauled themselves through the connected modules to Central. Colonel Fox was in charge while the Stationmaster caught a few hours of sleep. Over the past several hours, the third-shift orbital construction crew had finished installing the spacedrive engines on the three modules that would travel to the asteroids.

At their arrival, Fox showed a hint of a smile beneath his mustache, though his eyes remained intense and alert. “Timing is critical, Cadets, but there is reason to be optimistic. Food supplies are loaded, life-support tanks charged. For those of us on the mission crew, it will be an austere couple of months there and back again, but if the alternative is to let the Earth get pounded”—he shrugged as he drifted—“we can put up with a bit of discomfort.”

Captain Bronsky’s voice came over the intercom, indicating his excitement. “Ready to test propulsion system number one, Colonel Fox. Fuel tanks full.”

Fox responded, “Hold up, Captain. I’m sending a couple of the Cadets down your way. Put ’em to work.”

“Understood,” Bronsky replied. He sounded a little annoyed at the delay.

“You two. Get down there,” Fox said, pointing at Song-Ye and Dyl, who quickly made their way down to the cargo area where they could suit up and join the construction crews that had been working outside. Captain Bronsky was aboard the module.

“Cadets, use that a pair of computers over there to monitor my power levels and life-support systems,” Bronsky said gruffly.

Dyl smiled. Monitoring life support was something the
Enterprise
crew always did on
Star Trek.

“We’re on it, Captain,” Dyl said. Captain Bronsky rolled his eyes at Dyl’s casual demeanor.

“Let’s move forward,” Colonel Fox said from Central. “Try not to waste fuel, Captain.”

The Russian made a scoffing sound. “If the plasma drive works as predicted, we will have plenty of fuel. Better to test thoroughly now than to make repairs en route.”

“Not much chance to call a repair truck all the way out there,” Dyl agreed.

Back in Central, Fox looked convinced. “Quite right. Prepare for the first test thrust.” He looked at JJ, King, and Tony. “The new engine design was invented in the early 21
^st
century for a possible manned mission to Mars, which was canceled due to cost overruns and scientific challenges. We hauled those spacedrive plans out of storage and put them to use. The design uses considerably less fuel than previous models and greatly reduces the travel time. We could send a manned mission to Mars in less than forty days.” The British officer had a wistful look on his face. “I’m afraid such dreams will have to wait until this crisis is over.”

“Firing thrusters now on Module One,” Bronsky said.

JJ swam over to Centrals observation window. At the rear of the cylinder that had been Hab Module Two, she saw the faintest breath of vapor being exhaled from the engine nozzles. “It may not look like much,” Colonel Fox said, “but in space, that steady thrust will push the module along. It will pick up speed all the way out to intercept the asteroid. Each mission has a separate trajectory and a precisely timed rendezvous. There is no room for error, because if even one of those asteroids gets through, the devastation will be unthinkable.” He paused to shake his head.

Bronsky finished the propulsion test. “Everything checks out for Asteroid Mission One, Colonel. Ready to depart on schedule—whether the aliens want us to or not.”

Remembering the assignment Commander Zota had given them, King spoke up. “Sir, do you have a full schedule of the asteroid missions? We need the rendezvous dates and coordinates, so that.…”

King looked to JJ for help. She drew a deep breath, knew that her friends were watching her. “We’d like to help where we can. But because this future is already different from ours, we need to know as much as possible.”

“Specialist Pi, please show our friends the mission plan,” Fox said. “The Kylarn may have flown close enough to spy on our activities here, but they can’t possibly have learned any of the specifics just from a glance at us.”

From his station, Pi called up drawings on a screen to display orbital traces of the three tumbling asteroids that were on a collision course with Earth. Colored arcs described the paths of the three individual asteroid missions. “These are the times and coordinates where we intercept the asteroids. Obviously, the farther out the asteroid is, the less of a deflection we need to make.”

JJ wanted to make a copy of the files since she couldn’t possibly remember the coordinates, but the computers at home were more than a century too old. How could they get this detailed summary back to Commander Zota? She looked to her friends, stumped by this high-tech problem, and then thought of her brother’s habit of note-taking. Dylan hadn’t come back up to Central, so it was up to JJ. She removed a scrap of paper and pencil from a jumpsuit pocket and jotted down the information. Shrugging at her friends, she grinned. “Pencil and paper! Sometimes simple solutions are the best.”

“This can’t be,” Pi said with alarm. “Somebody else is accessing the file from an unsecure station!” He touched the screen, called up other menus like a bloodhound on the scent. “It’s in the Exercise Module—which is usually empty at this hour.”

“Why would anybody be looking at asteroid orbits from the colbert?” Tony said, referring to the zero-gravity treadmill.

JJ had an unsettled feeling in her stomach. “We’d better check this out. It doesn’t seem right to me.”

Tumbling in the air and using his gymnastics skills, Tony shot through the hatch from Central into the node room, then zoomed forward with JJ and the others following close behind. Song-Ye and Dylan joined them from the lower decks. Together, they passed through the Mess Module and headed toward the Fitness Module, where astronauts used stationary bikes and magnetic treadmills to keep their bodies from deteriorating during long-term weightlessness. Tony grabbed handholds and sped forward like a bullet. He guided himself well, though he’d had only a day to become accustomed to weightlessness again. They crowded and tumbled into the Fitness Module.

JJ absorbed the scene in a flash. Tony let out a loud gasp, then a growl. “Mira!”

The turncoat girl was at a monitor screen, copying the asteroid mission plan. JJ didn’t have to ask—she knew Mira would use the information to sabotage human efforts to deflect the asteroids. “Mira, stop!”

The auburn-haired girl whirled, but didn’t argue or try to challenge them. Instead, she grabbed the strange device she was using to download the files, kicked off, and shot through the opposite hatch like a cannonball.

King launched himself after her. “We can’t let her leave with that information!”

Dyl, who had trained as a communications officer on the moonbase mission, activated a wall intercom. “All hands, we’ve got an intruder! Mira just left the Fitness Module with sensitive info. Help us find her before she disappears again!”

JJ worried that the other girl had a pinger like the ones the Star Challengers carried; Mira had used a similar device to escape them last time. Gritting her teeth with anger that this one girl—someone her own age—could be so intent on harming the future of humanity, JJ didn’t hesitate. She zoomed after Mira and yelled, “If those asteroids hit Earth, do you know how many people you’ll kill?” As she and King pulled themselves through the node room, they caught a glimpse of Mira racing through the Chemistry/Material Sciences module. Two scientists who were floating at their stations turned to look in amazement at the chase.

Breathing hard, Mira shouted back, “I’m trying to undo the damage
you’re
causing. Mentor Toowun told me the truth!” Her voice was bitter. “You’re making my job so much more difficult than it has to be.”

“We’re trying to
save
Earth,” King called. “You have to trust us.”

“I don’t think you know the truth,” JJ added. “If you’ll just listen—”

Mira reached the opposite end of the CMS module, and JJ suddenly felt hope. She knew something the other girl did not: The module on the other side of the node room was already detached for the asteroid missions and the hatch was sealed off. Once Mira reached the small chamber, she’d have nowhere to go.

Except, it wasn’t entirely a dead-end. The Kylarn starfish ship was docked to the upper hatch.

With a final sneer, Mira ducked into the node room. JJ found a wall handhold and yanked herself forward as hard as she could and shot past King, but the other girl had already scuttled into the cramped cockpit of the alien ship. Mira called down, “I got what I needed, and this ship is a bonus.”

“Wait!” JJ yelled, but Mira activated the Kylarn docking controls, the ones JJ herself had figured out how to work only the previous day. A plate sealed across the opening, and JJ knew with dread that Mira intended to fly off with the alien craft. She heard the faint shifting, grinding sounds that meant the flexible Kylarn metal was preparing to release from the hatch.

King plunged into the node room and grabbed JJ, jerking her back out into the module. He sealed the hatch, closing off the node room just as the starfish ship detached with a thump of decompression. The air escaping from the sealed chamber pushed the Kylarn ship away. Mira activated the alien engines, setting the vessel atwirl, then accelerated and spun away into space. JJ was panting hard, sweat beading on her forehead. Mira had gotten away. Again.

King looked horrified. “You could have been sucked out into space! She wasn’t going to give you time to get to safety.”

“I couldn’t just give up that ship,” JJ panted.

Colonel Fox, Security Chief Napali, and two of her officers arrived, accompanied by the startled scientists from the CMS Module. Before Fox could ask, JJ let out a long sigh. “It’s too late, we couldn’t stop her. She has all the plans for the asteroid mission—
and
she stole the Kylarn ship.”

***