Sultana of the Stars

(Write a story where the power goes out on a spaceship or submarine.)

Getting close to their destination, goofy Dan is weightless in the cockpit,  bopping about. He is asking Bailey, his co-pilot, which bottle to open to celebrate their arrival.  He doesn’t care as he bought the booze based on the color of the glass bottles.  He shops bizarre markets for unique colored bottles.  When the contents are gone, sometimes good and sometimes horrible, he will smash the bottle or crosscut it into rings and put the glass pieces into his rock tumbler.   The smoothed and irregular pieces do look like stars and bits of space gems, if the viewer is conditioned with proper rhetoric.

When not floating about in space, he is….Sultana of the Stars...unique gems from space. The wonderful women on earth believe most anything to get pretty things so he has to do little to create lovely glass jewelry and they believe they have unique pieces complete with space gems.

He is in celebration mode when there is the horn sounding repeatedly...and an Android voice repeats...POWER SOURCE INTERRUPTION….POWER SOURCE INTERRUPTION!

In a flash, goofy Dan becomes Commander Daniels pilot of the spacecraft, Brilliance.

Within moments, all frivolity is forgotten, Daniels is in crisis evaluation mode and his second in command and co-pilot, Bailey, reports on all systems.  The ship's speakers are activated so all on board can hear the summary.

“POWER HAS BEEN LOST!”

“Reason unknown at this time but computer evaluation is progressing.  What we do know is this:  on board power has shut down but we still have the solar array and some battery backup.  This craft has five occupants,  the three to be delivered to the space station plus pilot and co/navigator.”

“On board we have breathable oxygen for all on board for six hours.  We do have an escape pod capable of allowing three of us to try for the space station.  Last readout before total system failure indicated we are within range of the station.  We are certain they are monitoring us and standing by with equipment to assist docking. The pod is capable of short power bursts for correction but the oxygen in the pod is limited so we must be certain of the destination.”

“We should have printouts on most pertinent data within the quarter hour.  All meet in the mess.  Decisions to be made….over and out!”

~~~~~

That is where we are at the moment, adrift in space, our years of training forcing our brains to proceed in a methodical way, efficient and without emotion!

Speaking with Bailey prior to the meeting in the mess, Daniels and Bailey must decide who will pilot the pod and who will remain behind in the Brilliance continuing to troubleshoot the problems.  The total cutoff from control in Houston makes their combined training all they have to rely on.   How the others decide on who will go and who will stay is up to them.  We know very little of their respective value to the big picture so that is not our concern.  Our concern is saving what can be saved in case the Brilliance must be abandoned.  How to rescue as many lives as we can.

~~~~~

Commander Daniels thinks he has the best chance of ferrying the pod to safety thus saving three lives.   He also thinks he has the best chance of creating alternative settings or reconfigurations of the Brilliance electronics thus getting power returned.  So in his mind, he must stay with his ship,  attempt to rescue this ship, under his command, saving one of the scientists and of course himself.  Goofy Dan is feeling very grave indeed.

Bailey is trying to replay in his mind every simulation he has ever been involved in with regard to rescue and worse scenario situations.  He believes he can do either job but lacks true confidence in getting the Brilliance back on line.  He is sure his best role will be to pilot the escape pod and get some of them to the space station.  Bailey is feeling hopeful.

~~~~~

The meeting is in the mess, the only space large enough for all to be present.  They feel like they are smothering with the stress of their situation.  All with enough background and training to understand the odds are certainly NOT in anyone’s favor.

Commander Daniels announces the known decisions.  

He will remain behind working to restore power to the Brilliance.  His Co-pilot Bailey will pilot the escape pod to try to bring the pod safely to the space station.   These two decisions have been made, now we need to hear what conclusions have been made among the three of you!  You are scientists all,  but some more useful to this effort than others.

“I am Owusu, from Ghana, and I am a plant specialist with expertise in creating an artificial biosphere for growing necessary things in space station environments.”

“I am Flores, from Peru,  I am a geologist...you know a rock and mineral guy.”

“Well I am Smith,  from good old Louisiana, US of A. And I may sound like a hillbilly but I eat,  drink and breathe electronics and women!  And without a doubt I will be trying to get this hot rod back on the track”!

And so just like that it was decided.  

Bailey took charge of getting Owusu and Flores up to speed about the configuration and necessary needs of loading and preparing the escape pod for ejection...and it is just that, it is ejected as if by slingshot, out into space to save all of its meager power for course correction to get them to safety.

Commander Daniels and Smith will brainstorm and try every method they can imagine, even the quirky ones now that Smith is involved, to get the Brilliance under power again.

~~~~~

From within the pod…..”all systems go, human cargo is secure, give us your best shot!”

The pod is jettisoned off into space.  The onboard screen flickers and comes to life and the space station is within sight.  They are on a good basic track,  maybe an adjustment or two, both minor and with luck,  home safe!  The minutes tick by, the only sound is breathing and the jolt and hiss of a correction rocket.  Another jolt and hiss and they are smoothly gliding to the open docking doors of the station!  Mission One accomplished!

~~~~~

On the Brilliance, the time and usage of five bodies has reduced the oxygen to critical.  Now two men will use less but the scenario remains grim.  They must restore power and now the relaxed speech and demeanor of Smith creates a better less stressful place to be.  They are continuously brainstorming, “ what if” situations.  The need to determine what failed, and how to go around the failed part or parts!

The survival clock ticks down and down!

~~~~~

On the space station the tense crew is in constant communications with ground control but they have no way of knowing what is happening on board the Brillance.  The rescued crew are debriefed and all aboard the space station are aware of the clock ticking down, the remaining oxygen becoming less and less.  It is silent, somber and hope begins to ebb away for Commander Daniels and Mr. Smith.

SUDDENLY~~

With a crackle of electricity like  static, the image on the monitor screen comes on  and goes!  It comes again and again.  

Finally there they are, Smith and goofy Dan, weightless in the cockpit, toasting their success from a bottle as deeply blue as the sky when looking back to earth.  For those few moments decorum is forgotten.  Smith makes a really really ugly face and says “I’ll take good ole Louisiana moonshine any time!  This tastes like cat piss!”  

And just as suddenly…

“Commander Daniels reporting,  systems temporarily up and running!   If The docking area is prepared to receive us,  I will estimate docking in approximately four minutes!”

Goofy Dan clutches the deep blue bottle tightly and stows it away to become some new exotic gem with the name rescue somehow worked into its story.