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Stranded
Inside the hangar, Scott noticed an unusually
large group huddled around a television set. Dizziness overcame
him as he saw his ex-fiancé's image pass by the bloodstained
shuttle walls.
"This is Janna Smith reporting live from Johnson Space
Center in Houston. Less than 30 minutes ago, the space shuttle
Atlantis was hit by what NASA reports to be space debris.
Atlantis has lost all cabin pressure. The teenage astronaut,
Laney Bosner, was seriously injured. NASA reports five of
the six crew have evacuated safely inside Atlantis's CargoHab
module, and that the shuttle commander is safe inside his
space suit."
"Mom, I can't talk right now. I'm watching it right now."
He paused to listen to the reporter.
"There are six crewmembers aboard Atlantis: The shuttle
commander, Bruce Wheeler, and the pilot, Ken Lavon, who fly
the space shuttle and monitor its systems during the mission.
The other crewmembers are Mission Specialists Matt Tiger and
Dan Bruce, who performed space walks to repair the Hubble
Space telescope; and Doctor Amber Cobble and the 18-year old
astronaut, Laney Bosner, who performed medical experiments
on cancer research and bone demineralization."
"Sonny, listen to me." His mom snapped. "I
don't want you to be alone right now. I know you never got
over her."
I hate the name Sonny. Why'd mom give me such an embarrassing
name?
He focused on the news report.
"This was a special mission authorized by Congress specifically
to save the Hubble telescope before the space shuttle fleet
is retired. It is the second to last flight for the shuttle
fleet, and the last for Atlantis. The astronauts were seconds
into a live press conference when the debris impact occurred,"
the reporter said. "A new NASA device called a PSA, or
a Personal Satellite Assistant filmed the conference. The
PSA is a softball-sized robotic TV camera operated from mission
control. It floats around the shuttle cabin and send video
images back to earth. For our viewers who are just joining
us, here's a replay of the press conference and what happened
to the astronauts. Be advised, certain scenes are graphic
and may be objectionable to some viewers."
I hope I see that Amber's okay.
Scott saw the television display the six astronauts floating
closely together in front of the camera at mid-deck. The astronauts
returned the news anchor's greeting with smiles and waves.
"I'm sure our viewers are interested in the youngest
crewmember aboard Atlantis, 16-year-old Laney Bosner. Laney,
can you tell us about your medical experiment?" the reporter
asked.
Scott noticed the palms of his hands were getting as wet as
his mouth was dry.
"For mankind to safely travel the 2-year trip to Mars,
we must solve the problem of our bones becoming brittle in
zero gravity. My experiments with Dr. Cobble have focused
on researching the onset of osteoporosis in zero gravity."
"As our nation's youngest astronaut, what part do you
play in the research aboard Atlantis?"
"My experiment covers osteoporosis. I wear a biomedical
instrumentation package that measures if my bone demineralizes
at the same rate as adults, and -"
Just then blood sprayed the wall behind Laney. A loud bang
followed as Laney spun and grabbed her bloody left shoulder.
Her scream was followed by the high-pitched squeal of the
klaxon alarm. The astronauts scattered from their posed TV
positions.
"Oh, rats!" Scott heard an astronaut yell.
Rats is an astronaut's politically correct word for shit!
Scott said to himself.
He unconsciously started biting a fingernail. He could no
longer hear his mother on the phone. He continued to watch
the rerun of the disaster.
# # #
"Sonny, are you there? There is nothing you can do."
"Mom..."
"You can't be alone at a time like this."
"Mom..."
"I want you to come over for lunch. There's someone I
want you to meet."
"Mom. . . No... . That's the last thing I…"
"I don't want you to be alone. One-thirty, my house.
Bring Randy. He'll be delighted to know I have a date for
him."
"Okay . . .. I have to go."
"Everything will be okay."
Someone said as they took the phone from Scott, "They
think it was a meteorite the size of a BB."
"Something that small wouldn't cause that much damage.
It was something bigger, like a rock."
Scott's shoulders sagged as he walked toward his motorcycle.
"They're lucky to be alive. She's damned lucky,"
he muttered.
 
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