18. Fail Safe #2
“But you were still home. And she was still hanging around, waiting. I wanted more for you, so I made sure you left. And if making you hate me is what it took to make you leave, it was worth it.” He looks me square in the eyes when he says, “I know it was a crappy thing to do, but I’m not sorry.
I’m not sorry because it worked. You left.
You’re doing what you love. And if that girl here today is any indication, you’ve found someone worthy of you for a change. ”
We’re quiet for a while, watching the boats sail by on the lake on the opposite side of the lot, listening to people drinking on the porch, now that the cops have gone. Beth’s words about Jackie echo in my head. I’m about to ask Holt what he thinks when Trish interrupts.
“Yoo hoo?” She’s leaning around the corner of the building. “The cops are gone, but did you guys forget about your sister at the police station?”
“Shoot.”
“Shit.”
Holt and I say in unison.
Jackie
Hours later, I find myself in Mission Control’s back room, in the middle of a think tank.
The crew onboard the ISS is busy closing off module hatches, following space debris protocol.
No one at NASA can figure out a way to get EXT-2 synced without first having EXT-1 operational.
Though the station can fully function with only one EXT, there’s no way to fix the failed EXT-1 without EXT-2 in full working order.
“Beyond the debris scheduled to hit in five hours, astronauts can’t stay on the station long-term without the EXT computers maintaining and regulating the ISS’s heat and power.
Especially now, right before we enter a beta period.
The station will turn into a barbecue where the sun hits and a deep freezer where it’s in shadow,” Sean says to the room.
“What about using the Soyuz to maneuver the station?” I ask.
Ian shakes his head. “We thought of that during the break, but after a data analysis we recalled the long rendezvous to the station after its launch. The extra eighteen hours of approach to the station burned a lot of propellant. There isn’t enough gas to maneuver the station out of the debris path and get the astronauts back home safely, should they need to make an emergency evacuation. ”
“What kind of shit storm is this?” Sean yells, making most of the people in the meeting jump. “How did we get two EXT failures, low fuel and possible space junk all at once?”
No one answers.
I shift in my seat, much more comfortable since I changed out of my bar outfit. Ian caught me returning his keys to his desk. The look on my face must’ve tipped him off that I’d been on the verge of a breakdown, ‘cause all he did was hand me his gym bag and tell me I was welcome to anything in it.
I’m currently sitting around a high-level meeting with various suits in a large Harvard T-shirt and men’s basketball shorts cinched tight.
My feet are big, but Ian’s running shoes still hang off a few inches past my toes.
I don’t care. They’re better than the beer-soaked Chucks I’d sadly tossed in the trash.
For a minute, I worry about what Flynn would think, me wearing another guy’s clothes. Especially Ian’s, after that whole proprietary scene when he’d dropped me off at NASA’s gate and kissed me. But then I do a mental eye roll. I may be smart, but I’ve been played. Again .
Flynn isn’t serious about me. I mean, what did I expect? He teaches me how to hotwire a car, I have sex with him and then we live happily ever after?
I still.
Flynn. Car. Wires.
Sweet Neptune .
I surge forward in my seat. “Bring up the schematics.” I may have shouted, because all eyes turn to me, startled.
“Of the Russian vehicle? They’re right there.” Ian points to the screen.
“No, forget the gyroscopes. The EXT-1—I need the schematics of the external wires running outside the station to the box.”
Sean nods, and interns run out of the room, presumably to get the schematics. I barely register the chaos, my mind on the wires. It’s a much more complicated vehicle, but the fix should be just as simple...
Ian rests a hand on my arm, bringing me back to the room. “Okay, schematics should be up in a minute.”
“Good.” I look to Sean. “Get Jules and Bodie suited up.”
Vance Bodaway, a.k.a. “Bodie,” is a Flight Engineer astronaut currently onboard the ISS with Jules. He’s as much of a badass as she is, so what I have planned will be entertaining, if nothing else.
Sean raises both hands. “Wait a minute. What exactly are you thinking? I need more information before I tell some of the crew to stop emergency hatch procedures and take an hour to suit up in EVA gear.”
“We don’t have a minute. As you said, it’ll take them an hour to suit up, then another for the spacewalk I’m planning. And if what I tell them to do doesn’t pan out, they’ll still have two hours to get back into the station, de-gear and make their way to the Soyuz with the rest of the crew.”
“I don’t—” Sean starts.
“Come on, Sean. This is Jackie. You know that if she’s this confident about an idea, it’s got to be good,” Ian says.
I nod at Ian in thanks.
“Worst case scenario, Jules and Bodie waste a bit of time messing around with their suits,” Ian finishes.
Sean looks from Ian to me. “Fine.” He picks up the phone and gives the order to the Flight Director on console. When he puts down the phone he sits back and stares me down. “So, Dr. Jackie Darling Lee. Just what exactly do you have planned?”
I take a deep breath. “We’re going to hotwire the station.”