[ACT 4]
✦ ✦ ✦
“IT’S LIGHTS OUT on Mir,” announced Kinoshita, removing his headset.
“Maybe we should do the same,” said Director Nasuda. “Good work, everyone.”
Exhausted, the other controllers removed their headsets in unison, leaning back in their chairs and stretching as they did.
Kinoshita left his workstation and approached Director Nasuda. “That just leaves the third ship. If we can pull this off, we’ve got a mission for the history books.”
“That we do. Did you find the problem with the gyroscope on the main booster?”
“One of the damper components wasn’t up to spec. We’ve already finished repairs.”
“Good. Hopefully that’s the last trouble we’ll have from Matsuri’s ‘evil spirits.’” Director Nasuda let out a long sigh.
Satsuki walked into the control room carrying a tray of coffee.
“Just what the doctor ordered,” said Director Nasuda.
“Without any medical telemetry, this doctor had too much free time on her hands,” said Satsuki.
“It’s too bad. I’m sure you’d love to get some data of Yukari sleeping,” said Kinoshita.
“She’s probably sleeping like a baby. I doubt the data would be all that interesting,” replied Satsuki. “Yukari really did great today though. She has courage and focus in spades.”
“With a family like hers, she needs it.”
“Do you think she’ll really quit after this?” asked Director Nasuda, his face pained. “Yukari has rare talent. I don’t know what she sees in going back to high school.”
“She wants a normal life,” said Kinoshita. “Two parents, friends that treat her like everyone else.”
“She said as much, didn’t she,” Director Nasuda conceded. Kinoshita smirked. “Normal may be harder for her than she thinks.”
“Normal is overrated. Do you know how many kids these days are raised by single parents?”
“But it’s important for her,” Satsuki said. “We have to support her decision.”
“You’re right, of course,” Director Nasuda said, fighting back a yawn. “I think I’m going to lie down. Any beds around here?”
“There are some cots in the break room in the training center.”
Director Nasuda left the control room grumbling about how he used to be able to stay up for two nights in a row when he was younger.
✦ ✦ ✦
[ACT 5]
✦ ✦ ✦
YUKARI WOKE TO the sound of voices. She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep. One of the voices was raised, angry. Nikolai, she thought. It seemed as though Oleg were defending himself against some accusation, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying.
The argument grew more heated. She heard a crash as two objects collided, followed by the sound of Oleg’s voice, uncharacteristically high. Yukari couldn’t sit still any longer. Whatever their reasons for fighting, a brawl at a time like this could only lead to trouble.
Yukari fastened her suit, which she had opened to let her skin breathe, and pulled back the curtain covering the kayuta. The lights in the core module were still dimmed for sleep. She was alone.
Light streamed through the open door leading to the docking port. Maybe they were in Kvant-2.
Yukari pushed out of the kayuta and drifted in the direction of the voices. The docking port formed a cross, with the Kvant-2 module above, Kristall below, and Kristall-2 straight ahead. The source of the light was above her.
As Yukari reached the docking port, the voices fell quiet. Had they heard her?
She hesitated for an instant before realizing how foolish she was acting. She was only going to step in to mediate—there was no need to hide.
She heard Nikolai’s voice again, softer than a moment before, ingratiating.
Yukari poked her head into the module and froze. Nikolai and Oleg were locked in an embrace. They were kissing.
Yukari’s wristwatch clattered against a pipe. The two cosmonauts quickly turned away from each other and faced her. They had both turned beet red.
Nikolai moved first. He pushed off Oleg, propelling himself toward Yukari, his blood-darkened face contorted into a hideous grin.
Yukari was terrified. What kind of trouble had she gotten herself in?
Nikolai grasped Yukari by the shoulder, but she struggled free. Her fight-or-flight response had kicked in, and she was taking flight—but to where?
She raced through the docking port, turning ninety degrees as she rushed into another module—Kristall-2. To her surprise, she found her helmet and backpack secured to the wall ahead of her with velcro—she was at the air lock.
Yukari turned to see Nikolai’s massive body blocking the hatch back to the docking port.
“Easy, Yukari. Calm down.”
But Yukari was way past calm. She yanked her helmet and backpack off the wall and dove into the air lock.
“Wait! What are you doing?” cried Nikolai.
Ignoring him, Yukari began to turn the handle. The inner hatch caught Nikolai’s finger as it closed, but Yukari didn’t stop. Nikolai howled in pain, but somehow he managed to work his hand free. The hatch snapped closed. After ensuring it was locked, Yukari hurriedly put on her helmet and backpack.
✦ ✦ ✦
“What’s going on? Where’s Yukari?” Oleg was only a few seconds behind Nikolai.
“She’s in the air lock. We can’t open it from this side.”
“What does she think she’s doing?” Oleg grabbed on to the inner hatch and knocked loudly. There was no reply. “She’s going to get herself killed!”
“We need to cut power to the air lock controls,” said Nikolai. “That will prevent the valve vent interlock from actuating. Then we can talk to her over the intercom.”
“Let’s go!”
Nikolai and Oleg raced to the core module. There in one corner was the power relay panel. A tangled skein of thick cables spilled out when they opened the panel.
“What the—what happened here?” asked Oleg.
“That’s right. This was repaired two years ago after the power failure.”
“Is this your work?”
“No. Vladimir and Viktor were on board then.”
“What do we do? Is there a report detailing the repairs?”
“It’s somewhere in Kvant-1 with the rest of the junk.”
“We could search for a week and never find it in there! Maybe we should radio TsUP.”
“The only people there now are the night watch. They won’t know anything about this. You’re an engineer—can’t you look at the wiring and figure something out?”
Oleg clucked his tongue. “That may be fastest.” He brought out a toolbox and got down to work.
The power relay was the heart of the space station. All sixteen kilowatts of power provided by the station’s massive solar arrays passed through the relay before being distributed to the batteries, inverters, and countless pieces of equipment on the station.
Sweat beaded on Oleg’s forehead.
The repair work on the cables had been crude at best, and the intervening years had left the insulation tape brittle and stiff. In addition, the breakers and fuses had been bypassed, so there was no telling what would happen if Oleg made a wrong move.
“We’ve been living in a minefield.” A terminal caught Oleg’s eye. “Cutting this should do it—probably.” Oleg took a pair of nippers from the tool kit.
“Not so fast. ‘Probably’ isn’t good enough,” protested Nikolai. “You need to be sure.”
“We don’t have time. It’s now or never.”
“Does this girl mean that much to you?”
“Please.” Oleg turned around, a weary look on his face. “I am not your personal property, Nikolai. I accepted your love, true. And I accept it even now. But this is something I do of my own free will. Freely, you understand?”
“Then why do you seem so happy to see her?”
“I was just being nice to the girl. What is strange about this?”
“Nothing. I only feared you might be…swinging back to the way you were before.”
“You’re letting yourself get carried away. Again. How many times have I told you this?”
Oleg looked away from the fuming Nikolai and went back to his work. Impatiently, he put his nippers to one cable. “And do not worry. This will work fine.”
Snik.
Then, an explosion in the distance.
✦ ✦ ✦
[ACT 6]
✦ ✦ ✦
YUKARI HEARD A tremendous bang, and her body slammed against the inner hatch. At the same instant, the lights on the air lock control panel went out, and Yukari was plunged into darkness.
“Oww! What was that?”
Yukari heard air leaking from somewhere nearby. Hurriedly she put on her helmet and lowered the visor. Turning on the light on her skinsuit, she spun to face the air lock controls—which were written in Cyrillic. She couldn’t read a word, and Oleg hadn’t bothered explaining the air lock’s emergency controls.
“We’re moving…”
The impulse that set the station in motion was large. The force of the acceleration would be enough to rip Mir apart at the seams.
Yukari shuddered.
The Russians had been trying to kill her, but something must have gone terribly wrong. It was the only explanation.
Yukari turned her attention to getting out of the air lock. She had no intention of staying on a sinking ship. If she could get back to Tampopo, she could buy herself another two hours.
Yukari rotated the handle on the outer hatch. As the hatch opened, air began to spill out. The black gulf of space did the rest of the work for her, forcing the hatch open.
The tether Nikolai had used to secure Tampopo was nearby. Yukari’s eyes followed the cable to its end, then froze.
“Tampopo…it’s gone!”
The tether ended abruptly several meters from the air lock. Yukari leaned out and looked around. She froze again.
“Where’s Mir?”
✦ ✦ ✦
[ACT 7]