Nigkala Tales Pt. 24: Mars needs Women

After the first film, we discussed the many features used of the nanotech clothing. They were quite surprised at the critters becoming three-dimensional. But the way the clothing went from one form to the next in real time, left them in awe of its capabilities. The next night, they got to see just how realistic my prosthetic arms looked. Some said they had assumed it was all special effects, and I had just shown them it wasn't.

"I show these films, not to brag about what I did, but rather to inspire you to dream of new ways to use the tech. Don't limit your imagination to the idea of 'clothing' or 'remote arm', but rather dream of 'dynamic solid' and 'all-purpose tool'."

Sam said, "I can see how an arm is an all-purpose tool, in a way, but you think it is truly that grandiose?"

"Who said it was an arm? It could be a leg. It might have more joints. It might have swappable power tools on the end. It might be a vehicle or a body. The possibilities are endless."

"I didn't even think of that!"

"Remember; don't limit your imagination to the ordinary. To get something new, someone has to think of it first. If your ideas have merit, I am sure Red Horizons will explore it."

Eventually, most of the trainees completed the ground courses. The two, who didn't, withdrew from the program. Given only eight would be selected, no one was worried about having enough people in the crew. The next part was the zero gravity training. I had already given my spacesuit to the techs to prepare for this part of the training. We were given the weekend off, and then went up on Monday. We had special shoes for space. They had magnets in the heel that would provide several pounds of force to hold you to a metal surface.

As we waited for liftoff, I told them, "Folks, I have been up twice before. Panic is an enemy. So is complacency. Always be aware of your surroundings. This is one of the points I was making in the lab and gym with all my questions about your surroundings. Another thing to remember - stay within grabbing distance of something. Don't assume your feet will stay attached to the surface. You never want to be stuck floating out of reach of anything, because it will take a long time for air currents or magnetism to move you near something. The primary tool you will to move about inside is the grappler. You saw the training videos, so you know I know how to use them. They can save your life, or just save a few hours that you don't wait to coast into a wall."

When we arrived at the space station, I reminded everyone to keep hold of something as they moved about. I was the first to get up when we were cleared to move. "Follow me." I led the way into the station, and quickly into the spinning area. "The training is starting out in the lightweight area, so you can get used to the lack of weight. We will spend a lot of time soon in zero gravity."

The first two days were done entirely in the low-gravity area to get them used to using careful, measured pushes to move, and to learn how to walk using the magnetic shoes. The third day, we took our first trip to zero gravity for training. I showed them careful walking, faster gliding, and jumping down and across a corridor. The latter required either flipping repeatedly, or learning to use your hands to help your movement. I even demonstrated magnetic gloves created for that purpose. They spent the rest of the day, with breaks, learning all those moves. I spent the day catching people, and correcting their mistakes, even as I set their immediate goals.

The fourth day, I took them to a well-lit and empty storage area. I brought a telescoping pole. I started by holding one trainee six inches off the surface, and then let them go. I told them to wait and see how long it took them before they were connected magnetically again. We moved the rest of the class further into the space. There, I paired trainees, and had a pair grab the pole, while I positioned them ten feet off the surface. I told them to let go of the pole, and after it was out of the way, to push off each other to see how long it took to get to a surface. Most had managed this when the first trainee finally connected.

I told everyone how long that took, and told them that time was for when you were close. I then continued with the pairs. After each had done this three times, we broke for a meal in zero-gravity. Next was learning the grappler. I pointed out the far surface, and told them to hold each other a foot off this surface, and to release once steady. They were then to use the grappler to pull themselves to the other side. I would release the last of the trainees. They were to cross at least a dozen times, without running into each other. They quickly figured out they needed to space out from each other.

The last exercise was being placed ten feet from the surface, and having another trainee use the grappler to pull you in. the first time, the one being pulled in would deliberately pull hard enough to pop free the other. This would show them the folly of haste, and how they would eventually would drift back, depending on how long the pull lasted before the pop. The next time, they were to allow the one on the surface to do all the pulling. The next day was more of the same.

The final new exercise was also in that space, but with lines attached across the space with almost no slack. Here, they were to pull themselves, accelerating with each pull, and when they reached the halfway point, flip and coast, cushioning themselves at the end. After each time, I had them pull faster, to gain more speed, to see what the effect of haste was here. I pointed out this was the same as a Manned Maneuvering Unit's rocket. It can make you accelerate, but you need to know how fast you can land, and thus slow down before impacting. I even placed an impact meter at one line, so I could show them how the speed affects things. It registered my speed of approach, and the G-force and duration of my landing. After showing it, I let others use it also.

The next week was spent doing zero-gravity exercises, including jogging around the outer floor of the stationary section. We also stayed in the zero gravity area from that point on. When I indicated they were all proficient, we all returned back to the ground. We had a long weekend to recover, so I took the opportunity to screen the entire "Space Pussy" saga for them. Tex got wind of it and showed up unannounced.

At this point, the training was over, and they were ready for the trip. The spaceship, however, had another three months of tests, fine-tuning, and supplying. I went back home. I followed the news of the spaceship and crew, how they were undergoing additional training, and testing. Four more dropped out, one due to appendicitis, and another to a broken leg, the others for other reasons.

They were about twenty hours from mission launch when a missile came up from somewhere over the Pacific, and headed for the ship. Try as they might, they were unable to stop it or evade it. It was a seeking missile, and it targeted the primary air plant. While none of the crew was hurt, if the plant wasn't fixed within a few days, they would have to scrub the launch and reschedule more than a year later. And until it was fixed, the environmental system would be so poor, that they might not survive. They were scrambling to get something up quick, but it looked to be thirty-six hours minimum before it could arrive.

When I heard that, I thought about it, and decided I could help, by way of teleporting. But how can I do it without blowing the lid off my secret? That's when I thought of Tex. I called him. It took a while to connect, and I had to retry several times. I even sent a text to alert him I had some help I can offer that can save a lot of time. Eventually, I did connect.

"Becky Sue, I'm really busy. Make it quick."

"You know I have certain mental abilities beyond the norm?"

"Yes."

"I also have movement beyond the norm."

"Spell it out. I can't puzzle things out now."

"Teleport."

"... WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"And I can carry a decent amount with me when I do."

"... Can you reach orbit?"

"I don't know, but want to try. Where can we meet?"

"I'm in the Florida launch facility."

"Send me some coordinates. I'll be there shortly. I'll also text you the number I'll call from."

He sent the location, and hung up.

I changed into clothes suitable for zero gravity, and over that was my flying suit. I picked up one of my burner phones, and texted its number to Tex on my regular phone, which I then turned off. I left a message for Filipe. Walking outside, with my spacesuit in a backpack, I teleported up, then to Florida. As I slowly flew down from four miles up, I used the burner phone to locate where I was. Two short teleports put me four miles up and one mile west of the site. Sending Tex a message, I then used An's power to glide down quickly until I landed exactly on target. As I neared it, I realized it was Tex's pickup. I chose to land in the bed. As I was gliding the last few yards, I noted Tex had just entered his pickup.

Tex came storming out, and started to yell, "What's going on here? Where are you? Show yourself...." Then his tone changed. "Huh? Becky Sue? You really got here fast, like you said. What's that you're taking off?"

"I find that there are fewer explanations if I give the appearance of reasonability. This is a flying suit, designed to glide from a height in a controlled fall. Not as good as a parachute, but slow enough to allow one to land without injury from any height. Few bother to look for a plane I jumped out of, and those that do, just wonder where it went. Everyone expects I jumped."

"And the backpack?"

"My spacesuit. While I can get pretty high up, the air gets really thin, and I think I may need a little help."

"Yeah, that you will."

"Shall we go someplace and determine what to do?"

"Yeah. Follow me."

To speed things up, I opened my mind up to read any leakage from Tex. As we walked inside, I asked Tex for an overview.

"Becky Sue, some crack-pot group doesn't want man to go to Mars. After the missile hit, they put out a statement, with all sorts of crazy theories. The FBI is on the case, so we can ignore them for now. While low yield, it still did enough damage to put the trip in major jeopardy. It hit the air plant. They have patched things sufficiently to not die for a few days, but they cannot do much more without supplies. One of the biggest is sufficient air to make a number of trips outside to do repairs. They also need certain supplies to repair the systems."

"What about other systems?"

"There is damage across the board, but until the air is assured, the rest is secondary."

"I haven't determined how much I can transport, but I think if I can carry it, then I can do it. I will need a way to find the ship, as distance and light levels up there won't cut it. Can you get something I can see while in space?"

"I think I can do that. How much can you carry?"

"Normally, I would top out at about nine hundred pounds, but using certain special skills, I can double, maybe triple that."

"That's not physically possible."

"I stopped paying attention to that limitation back when I was a kid. I will grant you, it is hard."

We got inside, and Tex brought me into the group, saying only that I might be able to shift a ton's worth of equipment very quickly. When asked, I just said my method is secret, and that I wouldn't explain it. I also indicated that the material needed to be packed into a single unit, and that it could withstand exposure to space. While they were reluctant to accept my statements, a few whammies later, they were cooperative. Within an hour, there was a plastic pallet with about twenty-five hundred pounds worth of supplies. On one side, was the ship tracker I asked for. We shooed the onlookers away, then Tex used a forklift to take the pallet around the corner, where no one could see what we were doing.

I got out my space suit, and put in on and started it up. Just before closing the helmet, I said, "Well, Tex, here's two more of my secrets." I then grabbed hold of the equipment, and focused my rock power into it to make it lightweight. A few seconds later, I teleported up as far as I could, while carrying the equipment. Teleporting eighteen more times, I was near the orbit of the ship. I needed two more teleports to arrive in sight of the ship. One last teleport and I was adjacent to it.

Reaching out with my mind, I could sense no one was near the airlock I was at. Knowing their concern, I decided to teleport through the metal, since metal conducts electricity. I looked through the viewport of the airlock, and with one hand holding the equipment, and the other holding the handle, I teleported. It felt different, but I appeared in the airlock. I repeated the process to sense the area, and then teleport out of the airlock into the ship.

I went to the nearest intercom, and hit the button for broadcast. "Did someone send for a fairy godmother? I have presents. Please come to Airlock 3." As soon as I finished, I heard others chatting, asking what happened. In preparation, I opened my helmet, revealing my smiling face. A few minutes later, several people came.

"Becky Sue! How did you get here? And what's that?"

"How I got here is secret. But these are supplies to get you over the hump. The central cylinder is a spare, just like the one in the air plant. It is fully charged. A lot of the rest is supplies to deal with the worst of the damage. While an emergency ship is en route, it won't be here for over a day. With these materials, you can get a good start on repairs, and maybe finish with a large time margin for the mission." With a touch of An's authority, I said, "What say we take this bundle apart, and head to the work site?"

Immediately, they started tearing into the pallet. When the cylinder was free, I grabbed it and followed the next person to leave. A half hour later, everything was at the work site, and they began to do the repairs. A few minutes later, I realized Nathan was not helping. Rather than asking, I focused on the life out here, and headed for the one that wasn't with the rest. I wound up in sick bay, and found Nathan lightly strapped to a wall, so he wouldn't accidentally float away. One eye was covered with a bandage.

"What happened to you?"

"Becky Sue? What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping. The others are going through the supplies I brought to repair systems, and to refill the air supply. The immediate emergency is over, but the serious nature is still in the balance. My supplies are buying time. So, you?"

"Several of us were in the area when the missile hit. We all suffered, but I was the worst. They fear I will lose my eye. I know it is gone. We all agreed that the mission could go on with a missing eye. But keeping ground-side in the dark is hard on us."

"So no one ground-side knows?"

"Yeah, it's a secret so far. I don't know if we can keep it covered up, with you, and that rescue ship showing up."

"Hmm... I may be able to do something about that."

"How? You're an actress, not a doctor."

"True, but I am also a priestess. Few know, and I would like to keep it that way. But that gives me access to some healing. Would you like me to try?"

"I don't want you to make anything worse, but okay, you can try."

"Then let's take that eye-patch off." I carefully pulled it off.

"Looks ugly, doesn't it."

"Yes. But I've seen ugly before. Now, let me focus." I placed my hands on either side of the injury, and closed my eyes as I invoked Inanna's power to see the damage, and the way it needed to be. I spoke, "Be calm. Here goes." I then pushed the healthy image into the injured one. I also pushed a lot of my chi with it so that I could spare him some of the strain. The crew did good work, so the changes I forced were small, and the flesh was nearly lined up already. I came out of my trance only fifteen minutes later. Looking at the rest of his body, I spotted some other problems, but quickly realized they were minor.

Getting up, I said, "All done. Open your eyes and look about."

He did, and said, "That's not possible. It is a miracle!"

"Priestesses are associated with delivering miracles. But like other things, it is essentially a secret that I don't want others to know about. To your crewmates, just say I have some unusual abilities. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll keep quiet. But I owe you a big one."

"Make the trip, and do what you planned. Make this work. Don't worry about owing me anything."

He started to unstrap, so I helped him. We went back to where the rest were, and after a brief welcome ceremony, I said it was time for me to leave. I used An's authority to keep them working on the repairs. Returning the way I came, I again teleported through the metal of the lock twice. With the Earth much larger below me, I had no trouble returning to the Red Horizon site. But without my flying suit, I had to use An's power to land softly. Removing the space suit, I then fished out my burner phone and texted Tex I was back and to meet me where we parted.

We met, and I asked Tex to take me to someplace I could rest. The trip and other things had tired me out. I asked if he could get me a pizza and drink, as I needed to replenish some of the energy I expended. When he brought me the pizza, I asked him for an update.

"Well, I still can't believe it, but you really saved the day. While they still have a lot of work to do, they will get enough done before the emergency rocket gets there to make its work much faster. I'm getting all sorts of questions as to how you did it, but I haven't said a thing. Just that you had a way to get some material up there once, and it worked."

"How about the press and other outsiders?"

"We've managed to keep your stunt secret. In part because no one believes it can be done, and in part because it is us vs. them. And since you are a known person to the company, they are including you with us. Although, given what you just pulled off, I'm not sure if we really know you."

"Well, a girl likes to have some mystery to her. How else is she going to keep the guys coming back for more?" I blinked my eyelids at him. A few seconds later, we both broke up laughing.

"A little mystery is one thing. What you got is several orders of magnitude more."

When I finished the pizza, I asked if there was an empty office or someplace I could get a few Zs. A place was found, and I crashed there for a few hours. When I woke, I texted Tex, and he showed up fifteen minutes later.

"You look tired."

"I am tired. You got to sleep, but I had to stay up worrying about everything with the rest of us."

"How's it going?"

"The emergency rocket is fueling now. It is still being loaded, and will launch in three hours or so. Maybe later."

"Why later?"

"Looks like a storm is brewing and that could delay launch."

"I see. Let me think..." I cast my senses about, and saw he was downplaying it. I could see it would pass north of us, but the system was large enough to give us trouble. So I used An's power and pushed it further north, and caused the southern edge to contract a bit. I left it so that it would miss us by a few miles. "... The storm will miss us. Don't worry about it."

His eyes bugged. "Did you just... do something?"

"Don't tell anyone. I don't think anyone will notice, but yeah, I did something. Remember, those are friends up there, and I wish them well. But the less I have to explain, the better."

"I won't tell anyone. But how can you do all these things?"

"I am a priestess. Some gods got interested in me, and I gained access to some of their powers. But in this scientific world, that is hard to explain, so I don't really mention it much."

"I think it is easy to explain, but hard to believe."