Tiona (a sequel to "Vaz") (38 page)

Mehta frowned, “Just a glitch in the tracking I’m sure.” He frowned at the screen, “Are you fooling around with some kind of video compositing?” With a tone of revulsion, he said, “It’s bad enough to screw around and insert the guys into some kind of living room image with Bautista instead of doing your job, but doing it when the guys are in this much trouble…!” He shook his head disgustedly, “Jason, I would’ve thought better of you!”

Jason said, “If it’s a video compositing trick,
I
didn’t do it.”

Jason was about to go on protesting his innocence when Ralph said, “Believe it or not, Jason, Sophie came out here to get us in a little spaceship that’s now been applying 90,000 pounds of thrust to decelerate Kadoma. We’ve been doing it for about fifteen minutes and our AI calculates we need to do it for another hour and eight minutes to finish the correction the big ion engine was supposed to make.” Ralph’s eyes tracked upward a moment and he said, “Oh, hi Mr. Mehta… Okay, we’re going to start explaining just what’s happened out here at Kadoma. Then we’re going to need your help drawing the media’s attention…

Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas – NASA announced today that the mission to Kadoma, which many had thought to be doomed, has apparently now been carried to a successful conclusion. Raj Mehta, NASA’s representative, said that a new technology invented at the University of North Carolina has not only allowed them to finish modifying Kadoma’s orbit, but is allowing them to retrieve astronauts Ralph Abbott and Zack White from the asteroid.

To everyone’s astonishment, Mehta says that the astronauts will land tomorrow at 10 o’clock in the morning. They must have been in transit back to earth for many weeks now so it is a mystery as to why the announcement is just now being made. Some speculate that may be because NASA was concerned that the mysterious process fouling the ion motors might keep the astronauts from successfully returning. The astronauts are presumably already back in Earth orbit and a lander must be on its way to bring them back down to the ground.

Further, Mehta says that the astronauts will land at the Space Center in Houston. Since the Space Center is not equipped with a field capable of landing any of the current launch and return vehicles, this has led to further intense conjecture regarding the use of some new, so far unannounced, lander.

It is safe to say that the return of the Kadoma mission tomorrow morning will be one of the most intensely watched NASA events in decades.

Zack groaned, “Are you sure this is only 0.7 G?”

Ralph barked a weak laugh, “I
told
you to keep up with the exercise program. Sure we had to quit when we went on calorie restriction, but you wimped out way before that.”

Tiona eyed the two astronauts worriedly. When she’d first started to boost back for Earth at a full gravity they’d passed out. She’d seen how deconditioned they were when they took off their spacesuits and their arms were exposed. They’d reduced the acceleration to zero until White and Abbott woke back up, then resumed at a tenth of a G. They gradually increased that, but it didn’t look like they’d get up to a full G before they got back to earth orbit.
How are we going to land these guys?
she wondered.

Zack looked over at Ralph and said, “Hah, if you can take it, I can take it!” He turned to Tiona, “‘T,’ take it up another tenth of a G.”

By the time they made it back to earth orbit—after many recalculations of their trajectory due to the changes in thrust, at one point requiring that they turn over again and boost toward Earth for a while—they had in fact reached a full G. The two astronauts lay prostrate on the acceleration couches, beads of sweat on their foreheads, pale and trembling. Whenever Tiona asked them if they needed her to ease off the acceleration, they just shook their heads. She had the feeling that they were afraid something
else
might go wrong and that they might in fact
not
make it back home if they delayed any longer.

When they had picked a 10 AM landing time at the Space Center, they had thought that they would have plenty of time to make it. Because of the difficulties acclimating the astronauts to the acceleration, they didn’t actually have much time to spare. They made a slow descent to Houston, trying to limit the forces on Zack and Ralph as much as possible.

As promised, NASA had a couple of their T-38 chase planes begin circling them at 50,000 feet. They remained on a perimeter as the saucer continued slowly coming down, eventually grounding as requested on the concrete pad west of the mission control center.

Ambulance crews showed up with stretchers to carry Zack and Ralph out for rehabilitation. Tiona wanted nothing more than to fly home, but if this publicity thing was going to work she was going to have to get out and face the media. Fortunately, she’d had the foresight to ask NASA to provide ladders. They’d needed them to get the astronauts out of the saucer and so Tiona, Nolan and Sophie were then able to use one to climb down in a little more dignified fashion than leaping off the five feet from the top of the main disc.

Hundreds of people were crowding around the disc by this point so Tiona called out, “Please step back, the saucer is going to lift back off.” She spoke to her AI and had it lift the saucer six inches. One enterprising fellow had pulled himself part way up onto the disk, but when it lifted into the air he hopped back off with a startled exclamation. Tiona had the AI lift the saucer to fifty feet once it was clear. When she turned around she found a man in an Air Force uniform right behind her. She glanced immediately at his name tag and was relieved to see it said “Cooper,” not “Harding.”

The general said, “Ms. Gettnor, I am here to convey the profound apologies of NORAD, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President of the United States for the actions of General Alonzo Harding during the past few days. I know you have a press conference to give, but I hope to speak to you more on this issue once it is over.” Then the general stepped aside to let her pass.

Nolan stepped up beside Tiona and said in a furious tone, “Was that Harding?!”

“No,” Tiona said, keeping an eye bemusedly on the general. “He says he’s here to apologize for Harding’s actions and claims to speak for the President.”

Raj Mehta, shouldered through the crowd and said, “We have a meeting room set up, if you’d come with me?” His eyes darted up at the saucer hanging overhead, “Why is it up there?”

“Um, we don’t have patent protection yet.”

He frowned, “How long can it stay up there? Should I be posting guards to keep people out from under it?”

“Post guards if you want, but it should be able to stay up there for years.”

Mehta gave the saucer another startled glance.

As they walked to the meeting room, Tiona waved General Cooper closer to her. In a low tone she said, “We’ve been doing this in such a public fashion because we’re hoping that General Harding won’t attack us if we have the eyes of the world on us. I’ve been planning to announce what he’s been doing, but it sounds like you’re trying to say he’s a bit of a loose cannon and he’s back in control now?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Cooper said emphatically. “I won’t ask you not to disclose his activities, but obviously it would save our country significant embarrassment if that were not a major part of your presentation.”

She frowned, “How did you find out what he was doing?”

Cooper gave a perplexed shrug, “Some hacker genius. Not only shut Harding down by blocking his anti-satellite command-and-control computers, but notified everyone up the chain of command above Harding about what he was doing. Hacked into their AIs to send them the message in the middle of the freaking night. Even woke up the President! The NSA’s having conniptions! He hacked them too and they can’t figure out how he did it.” Cooper turned a curious frown on Tiona, “You know programmers with those kinds of skills?!”

Tiona put a bewildered look on her face and shook her head.
Her
thoughts
though, said loud and clear,
Dad!

***

After several grueling hours of public relations jawing, explaining the thrusters and the saucer, though not how they worked, Nolan felt like a third wheel, or maybe one extra photon in the output of the sun. Occasionally someone would catch him off to the side and whisper a few questions at him, but even then their eyes would be focused back on Tiona. NASA had happily provided Nolan and Tiona with dark blue, NASA logoed, coveralls when they had asked if they could clean up before the media circus. She looked stunning in the formfitting coverall, even though it hadn’t been designed with a sexy look in mind.

Having a beautiful young woman answering questions about her new invention, especially one that was about to turn the world on its ear, had resulted in a media frenzy. More and more media people had shown up as word got out. They crowded into the room until it became a fire hazard. Then the new ones tried to start over on questions Tiona had already answered.

She steadfastly refused to go over old ground.

When Tiona and Nolan left the media conference, they were immediately set upon by NASA scientists. They subsequently spent several more hours helping the scientists understand how their world and humanity’s relationship with the solar system had just changed.

General Cooper and several of his staff members attended both meetings, though Nolan saw Cooper sending his people out repeatedly, presumably to communicate with the military. When Tiona finally called a halt to the scientific meeting and shed the last of the scientists trying to buttonhole her, Cooper fell in beside her. “A word on your way back out to the saucer?”

“Sure, but I’ve got to go to the bathroom first.”

That done, as Tiona and Nolan walked out towards the saucer Cooper said, “I’ve intervened with the FAA on your behalf. When you are ready to leave, please have your AI contact Houston Hobby’s air controllers. They are expecting your call and will clear you for a vertical takeoff to 70,000 feet. Once above 70,000 feet, since there’s no traffic, you can fly to North Carolina without guidance. In that area you can contact the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Their controllers are also expecting a call and will guide you back down to UNC… Or do you want to go to your home in Raleigh?”

“Oh! I’ve forgotten all about my parents!” She turned a considering eye on General Cooper, “They’ve been hiding out from your people. Do I have some kind of guarantee that they’re safe now?”

Cooper turned to one of his aides, “Please tell the President that Ms. Gettnor is ready for her call now.” Cooper turned back to Tiona, “The President wishes to personally convey her apology to you, and to Mr. Marlowe, Dr. Eisner, your parents and all relatives who’ve been disturbed by General Harding.”

Tiona’s eyes had widened at this announcement, but they widened further when her AI said, “You have a call from the President of the United States.”

She accepted the call, at which point an AI said, “Just to make you aware, this conference call includes Dr. Eisner and his wife, Nolan Marlowe and his parents, and Tiona Gettnor. We have tried to reach your parents, Dr. and Mrs. Gettnor, but have been unsuccessful.” Tiona saw Nolan looking wide-eyed as well. They were asked to wait for a second, and then heard the confident alto tones of President Miles. She said, “I would like to thank all of you for taking my call. What has happened to you over the past couple of days under the direction and command of General Harding was unconscionable. It is an embarrassment to your nation and my administration. Even worse than the embarrassment, has been the risk to the lives of the people in the new spacecraft, not only when it was fired upon, but when they felt safer traveling into deep space in a minimally tested vehicle than they did in returning to their country. You have my apology, and the apology of your country. I hope that you will be reassured by the fact that General Harding has been arrested and remanded to military authority for trial. I also wish to reassure you that you have nothing further to fear from your country.”

By then, Nolan, Tiona, the general, his aides, and a gaggle of hopeful scientists had reached the saucer. Everyone on the call seemed much relieved and thanked the president for her assurances. President Miles asked them all to allow her to arrange a White House visit, then disconnected.

As Tiona called the saucer back down to the ground from where it had been suspended in the air, General Cooper said, “I hope you’ll also consider the potential for your invention to be weaponized. I’m
not
trying to tell you what to do with it, just asking you to think about how dangerous it could be in the hands of terrorists. I will stand ready to provide advice and consultation on how such dangers could be minimized.” He stepped back and rendered them a respectful salute. “Thank you for bringing a new age to our world,” he said in a heartfelt manner.

Someone had taken the ladders away so Tiona had to tell the saucer’s AI to tip it up so that the back deck would be low enough to step onto. Before they boarded, Sophie stepped out of the crowd and gave Nolan and Tiona a fierce hug. “Thank you for rescuing my guys… and for taking me along,” she croaked.

For a few minutes Tiona was busy talking to air traffic controllers and directing the saucer up to 70,000 feet. She also contacted her dad to let her parents know about President Miles’ message so they could go home.

Nolan watched her handling these tasks with a longing ache. Over the past few days of intensive interaction he’d found himself drawn to her… oh so, so much more strongly than he had been over the past half a year in the lab. He tried to tell himself that it was a simple infatuation with what she’d accomplished and how good she looked when she wasn’t dressing to hide it.

The overwhelming attraction he felt right now had to be just because she looked so magnificent in that jumpsuit, didn’t it? Something he could get over.

The AI announced that they had reached 70,000 feet and were started for North Carolina. Tiona relaxed back in her seat and closed her eyes for a moment. Then they opened and turned on Nolan. They were twinkling, he realized.

“Hey,” she said, “remember when Sophie was floating away out there?”

Nolan nodded.

“I was pretty panicked… but
you
kept it together!” She shook her head wonderingly, “Calmly giving directions like it was no big deal?
That
was amazing.”