You've Got To Be Kidding [Closed/GO]
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:53 pm
Pioneer VII,
Low Olympus Orbit
"Alright, Atten," Casper radioed home as he ran through the final checks. "The last few weeks have been a pleasure. We're now switching to essential communications only."
"The pleasure's been all ours, Pioneer Seven. See you on the ground." Casper smiled and changed the mode on their radio.
The commander took a moment to stare from his viewport, knowing that without changes to the upcoming flight schedule it could be years before he saw this again. The planet occupied almost the entirety of his view, slowly spinning below his craft. People and all their works, their infrastructure and monuments, were invisible; swallowed by the immense scale which could never be perceived from the ground. All those things seemed petty here, where only great mountains and oceans, and the stars beyond, remained. He breathed deeply, absorbing the image.
Back to his responsibilities, Casper turned away from the glass. He turned to his right, to his pilot, Eve. She was dutifully powering through her list of checks, muttering to herself as she pointed a finger at each of the lights and dials to be certain none were missed. Thinking better of interrupting her, he turned to face behind them to the seat of the Flight Engineer, Peter.
"How are we looking, Pete?" Casper asked, almost nonchalantly. Peter looked up at him with somewhat less calmness.
"M-mostly nominal, commander."
"Mostly?" Casper raised an eyebrow. "We don't work on mostly out here." Especially with this payload.
"There's, uh, a slight irregularity in the pressure of the internal hydrogen fuel tank."
Eve paused her checks, finger still placed on one of the green lights in front of her, and turned to silently face the Flight Engineer as well. "So, what, we have a leak?" Casper asked. "Micro-asteroid or something? Are we missing much fuel?"
"Nothing substantial, uh, pressure is just... slightly lower than expected."
Eve turned to face Casper. "If it is a leak, and it's venting externally, the hull could be compromised. We can't re-enter atmosphere with that."
"I-it might not be a leak," Peter jumped in, "or it could be a leak that's venting internally. Or, uh, something wrong with the pressure gauge, or the display, or..." he shrugged.
"How long to diagnose it and get us back in ship-shape?" Casper asked. "Couple of hours? I can sell that."
"Uh." Peter sighed. "Diagnose it in a couple of hours, maybe, if it's one of my first guesses. Depending on what it is, fix could be a couple more hours, a couple of days if it's something bad." At that, Casper winced.
"Alright. Alright." He paused for a moment, balancing his options. "Record the current measurement, check again in five. If it's changing, maybe we have a leak. Otherwise... it's just a minor irregularity. Eve, finish checks. I'll see how mid-deck is doing." The pilot stared at him for a moment, before pursing her lips and returning to her task. Casper fiddled with the radio and brought his microphone closer to his face. "We all settled in down there? Looking like we're starting reentry burn in five minutes."
Below the flight deck of the crew capsule, the middeck housed the other three members of the Pioneer VII mission. Payload Specialist Lotte Danners, responsible for the inflatable capsule experiment they'd shuttled up. Mission Specialist Carl Moresink who worked with Peter on the Theia Telescope repairs. Finally, the reason this multi-purpose flight was on such a tight schedule, Sebastian Brunenberg. A Senator for the Dominion of Roliena, part of UASA's "rocket lobbying" program to impress legislators into supporting budget increases. Brunenberg had been courteous and interested through the whole mission, but they needed to stick the landing to be sure they'd got a new advocate worth his weight in rocket fuel.
"All strapped in and ready, commander." Danners responded affirmatively. "Yes, we should be all set down here." The Senator chimed in. "And may I just add, commander, that it's been an honour to be able to accompany you and the crew on this mission, and see the kind of work you do up here." Casper smiled. Perhaps those flight schedules could be improved after all. "Thank you, sir. We've been very glad to have you on board. Alright, you guys sit tight, you'll get a countdown before we start the burn."
Casper switched the radio back, and performed a few repeat checks to burn time before turning back to Peter. "Verdict, Pete?"
The Flight Engineer eyed his display carefully. "... no change."
Casper nodded. "Alright, then. How's our attitude?"
"Lined up for Teneden." Eve responded, not taking eyes off of her display.
"RCS."
"Engaged."
"Turbopumps."
"Check."
"Throttle."
"Check."
"Count."
Casper pressed a button, and watched as the number counted backwards from ten. When it hit zero, the shuttle shuddered and he was forcefully pushed back into his seat as the engines fired. Quite rapidly, the craft decelerated out of steady orbit and into a reentry path.
Low Olympus Orbit
"Alright, Atten," Casper radioed home as he ran through the final checks. "The last few weeks have been a pleasure. We're now switching to essential communications only."
"The pleasure's been all ours, Pioneer Seven. See you on the ground." Casper smiled and changed the mode on their radio.
The commander took a moment to stare from his viewport, knowing that without changes to the upcoming flight schedule it could be years before he saw this again. The planet occupied almost the entirety of his view, slowly spinning below his craft. People and all their works, their infrastructure and monuments, were invisible; swallowed by the immense scale which could never be perceived from the ground. All those things seemed petty here, where only great mountains and oceans, and the stars beyond, remained. He breathed deeply, absorbing the image.
Back to his responsibilities, Casper turned away from the glass. He turned to his right, to his pilot, Eve. She was dutifully powering through her list of checks, muttering to herself as she pointed a finger at each of the lights and dials to be certain none were missed. Thinking better of interrupting her, he turned to face behind them to the seat of the Flight Engineer, Peter.
"How are we looking, Pete?" Casper asked, almost nonchalantly. Peter looked up at him with somewhat less calmness.
"M-mostly nominal, commander."
"Mostly?" Casper raised an eyebrow. "We don't work on mostly out here." Especially with this payload.
"There's, uh, a slight irregularity in the pressure of the internal hydrogen fuel tank."
Eve paused her checks, finger still placed on one of the green lights in front of her, and turned to silently face the Flight Engineer as well. "So, what, we have a leak?" Casper asked. "Micro-asteroid or something? Are we missing much fuel?"
"Nothing substantial, uh, pressure is just... slightly lower than expected."
Eve turned to face Casper. "If it is a leak, and it's venting externally, the hull could be compromised. We can't re-enter atmosphere with that."
"I-it might not be a leak," Peter jumped in, "or it could be a leak that's venting internally. Or, uh, something wrong with the pressure gauge, or the display, or..." he shrugged.
"How long to diagnose it and get us back in ship-shape?" Casper asked. "Couple of hours? I can sell that."
"Uh." Peter sighed. "Diagnose it in a couple of hours, maybe, if it's one of my first guesses. Depending on what it is, fix could be a couple more hours, a couple of days if it's something bad." At that, Casper winced.
"Alright. Alright." He paused for a moment, balancing his options. "Record the current measurement, check again in five. If it's changing, maybe we have a leak. Otherwise... it's just a minor irregularity. Eve, finish checks. I'll see how mid-deck is doing." The pilot stared at him for a moment, before pursing her lips and returning to her task. Casper fiddled with the radio and brought his microphone closer to his face. "We all settled in down there? Looking like we're starting reentry burn in five minutes."
Below the flight deck of the crew capsule, the middeck housed the other three members of the Pioneer VII mission. Payload Specialist Lotte Danners, responsible for the inflatable capsule experiment they'd shuttled up. Mission Specialist Carl Moresink who worked with Peter on the Theia Telescope repairs. Finally, the reason this multi-purpose flight was on such a tight schedule, Sebastian Brunenberg. A Senator for the Dominion of Roliena, part of UASA's "rocket lobbying" program to impress legislators into supporting budget increases. Brunenberg had been courteous and interested through the whole mission, but they needed to stick the landing to be sure they'd got a new advocate worth his weight in rocket fuel.
"All strapped in and ready, commander." Danners responded affirmatively. "Yes, we should be all set down here." The Senator chimed in. "And may I just add, commander, that it's been an honour to be able to accompany you and the crew on this mission, and see the kind of work you do up here." Casper smiled. Perhaps those flight schedules could be improved after all. "Thank you, sir. We've been very glad to have you on board. Alright, you guys sit tight, you'll get a countdown before we start the burn."
Casper switched the radio back, and performed a few repeat checks to burn time before turning back to Peter. "Verdict, Pete?"
The Flight Engineer eyed his display carefully. "... no change."
Casper nodded. "Alright, then. How's our attitude?"
"Lined up for Teneden." Eve responded, not taking eyes off of her display.
"RCS."
"Engaged."
"Turbopumps."
"Check."
"Throttle."
"Check."
"Count."
Casper pressed a button, and watched as the number counted backwards from ten. When it hit zero, the shuttle shuddered and he was forcefully pushed back into his seat as the engines fired. Quite rapidly, the craft decelerated out of steady orbit and into a reentry path.