On the screen in the control room, the rocket rose into the sky atop a brilliant pillar of light. A ripple of applause erupted as Yukari’s voice echoed through the room, but it soon died down. They had only passed the first step.
“Roll complete. We’re on course,” said Kinoshita, reading through the flight procedure. “Matsuri, inform Yukari she’s about to enter max Q.”
“Hoi. Yukari, prepare for max Q.”
“Roger. I’m at 3.6 G now. The vibration is ramping up. All instruments read nominal.”
“Entering max Q.”
“Whoa…She’s pitching pretty heavily. Altitude ten kilometers. Instruments nominal.”
Yukari’s breathing was uneven.
“She’s fine,” said Satsuki. “Pulse and respiration are still in the green.” No one knew Yukari’s limits better.
“Mission control, Tampopo. I think we’re past max Q. All systems normal.”
“Hoi, Yukari. You’re doing great.”
“The sky is getting dark. I still can’t see any stars, but it’s a deep navy blue now.”
“Roger that, Yukari.”
“Altitude sixty kilometers, 3.9 G. Instruments nominal.”
“Solid rocket booster burn complete. Initiating separation sequence.”
“SRB separation confirmed. I wonder if I can see them on the screen.”
“They’ll already be out of your field of view,” said Kinoshita.
“Roger that. I can see the horizon curving outside the porthole now. There’s an island ahead and to starboard. This all looks a lot more real than in the simulator.”
That comment elicited a few smiles in the control room.
Kinoshita, however, remained all business. “Tampopo, this is mission control. Do you really see an island through the porthole?”
“Affirmative. One big island, clear as can be. I can even make out bits of reef to the left of it. Probably one of the Gilbert Islands.”
“Copy that. How does the curvature of the horizon compare with the simulator?”
“Pretty much the same.”
Kinoshita switched off the mike and looked at the rocket’s position on the screen. “The Gilbert Islands should be just a few dots from where she is. Anything from our tracking stations?”
“We’ve already lost her. We’ll have to wait for Christmas Island to pick her up,” said one of the flight controllers.
“The telemetry looks good. Current altitude 160 kilometers,” said the orbital guidance controller.
Kinoshita turned to Director Nasuda. “She might be off course. Do we want to abort?”
“Not yet,” answered Nasuda. “Let’s give it some time.”
“Hoi. If we’re going to abort, it has to be soon. The escape rockets will separate soon.”
“We’re not aborting,” said Nasuda.
“If the gyroscopes are lying to us, she could be in real danger,” said Kinoshita.
“Yukari’s reports confirm the altitude. At this point it’s safer to let her get in one orbit than scramble to abort.”
Yukari’s voice crackled over the speakers. “Mission control, Tampopo. Emergency rockets jettisoned. I could see the flash when they fired.”
“Hoi. Roger that, Yukari. Main booster cutoff in three minutes forty seconds.”
“Copy.” There was a pause before Yukari’s next transmission. “Mission control…Tampopo.” Her voice was strained. “Acceleration at 6.1 G and climbing. She’s shaking quite a bit…but not as bad as max Q. All instruments nominal.”
“Just twenty more seconds, Yukari.”
“Roger. Whoa, I feel light now! No acceleration. My arms are floating. Main booster separation confirmed. Attitude nominal.”
“Keep your arms on the armrests, Yukari. Prepare for OMS burn.”
“Roger—there it is!” The rumble of the orbital maneuvering system carried over Yukari’s open mike. “OMS burn complete. It’s quiet now—unbelievably quiet. Altitude 204 kilometers. Am I in orbit?”
“Hoi. Congratulations, Yukari. We’re all smiles down here. How does the earth look? Anything you want to say?”
“The clouds are amazing—I wish I had a bigger window.”
“Good job, Yukari,” said Kinoshita. He was looking at the orbital display. “You should be in range of Christmas Island.”
He called the tracking center. “This is Solomon mission control. Could you report Tampopo’s position?”
“We don’t have Tampopo at this time.”
“Check again.”
A brief pause. “Confirmed. Radar is operational, but we’re not tracking anything.”
“Roger that. Let us know the minute you pick anything up.” Kinoshita switched his transmitter to Yukari. “Tampopo, this is mission control. What do you see out the porthole?”
“The island from before is at the top of the window—wait, I think it’s at the bottom. There’s a different island up ahead. That’s weird, I didn’t think Christmas Island was that big.”
“What does the island look like?”
“There are some tall mountains on the right, and it’s narrower in the middle. It’s so big—”Yukari fell silent. “Is that New Zealand? Why am I going south?”
No one spoke in the control room. They didn’t have an answer for her.
✦ ✦ ✦
In the Taliho village, the people gathered in the square gazed up at the sky. The “fireworks” had vanished from sight.
“Today’s the twenty-ninth,” muttered the chief. “The curse won’t hurt anything…will it?”