“We gave you the opportunity, as we have with every president since Kevin Martindale, but you chose to take it,” Kai said. “A lot of folks are saying this is all a political stunt, but the bravery you’ve shown today clearly tells me it’s a lot more than politics.” He turned to those beside him. “May I present the station manager Trevor Shale, the operations chief Valerie Lukas, and of course you’ve met Jessica Faulkner, our head of flight operations.” The president shook their hands, at the same time finding it wasn’t easy to do while in zero-G—the simple gesture threatened to launch him up against the ceiling.
“Dr. Noble and Colonel Faulkner did an excellent job getting me up here, General Raydon,” the president said. “Spectacular trip. Where is Dr. Noble?”
“He has a little bit of flight planning to do for your return, sir, and he is also supervising spaceplane refueling and servicing,” Raydon said. “Boomer is director of aerospace development at Sky Masters Aerospace, which is the prime contractor for Armstrong Space Station, and he probably has work to do for them, too. He is also the company’s chief spaceplane pilot, and he has six students going through his training program. He’s a busy boy.”
“Knowing him, Mr. President, he’s probably taking a nap,” Jessica interjected with a smile. “He likes to make himself out to be the cool space jock, but he’s been planning the flights and checking the spacecraft for this visit for a week.”
“Well, his work paid off,” the president said. “Thank you all for an amazing trip.”
“We have about an hour before your broadcast, so we have time for a tour and a light refreshment if you’d like.”
“A tour would be great, General Raydon,” Phoenix said. “But first I’d like to check on Agent Spellman, my Secret Service detail.”
“Trev?” Raydon asked.
“Got it,” Shale said, putting a wireless mic to his lips. A moment later: “Agent Spellman is awake in sick bay, sir,” Shale responded. “Unfortunately he’s not handling unusual Gs very well. Physically he was the top-qualifying member of your detail who volunteered to go with you on this mission, Mr. President, but there’s no direct correlation between athletic abilities and your ability to operate with abnormal pressures and kinesthetic sensations on your body. We’ll have to consult the aerospace medical team to find out how best to get him back to Earth. I don’t believe we’ve ever taken a completely unconscious person through reentry before.”
“He’s the real mark of courage on this mission,” Phoenix said. “Volunteering for this was way beyond the call, and that’s saying a lot for the Secret Service. Let me go visit him first, and then the tour if there’s time.”
Raydon led the way through the connecting tunnel to the first module. “I’m sure Boomer and Jessica explained moving about in free fall to you in depth, sir,” Raydon said. “You’ll see some of the more experienced crewmembers flying around the larger modules like Superman, but for the newcomers, I have found that using one or two fingers to push yourself around, using the handholds and footholds, and taking it nice and slow works best.”
“I’m sure I’ll have a few bruises to show off when I get home,” Phoenix said.
They emerged from the connecting tunnel into what appeared to be a circular wall of cabinets, with a circular passageway through the middle. “This is the storage and processing module,” Raydon explained. “Follow me.” He gently floated up through the center passageway, using handholds on the edge of the cabinets, and the president and the others followed. The president soon found a dozen circular rows of cabinets arrayed through the module, like pineapple slices in a can, with large man-sized gaps between them. “Supplies are brought in through the airlocks on the upper and lower ends, assembled or processed as necessary, and stored here. The sick bay is in the module above us.”
“I’m starting to get a little dizzy from all the references to ‘up’ and ‘above,’?” the president admitted. “I have no sensation of either.”
“?‘Up’ and ‘down’ refer to the direction you happen to want to go,” Faulkner said. “You can have two crewmembers side by side, but one will be pointing one way, and the other another way, so it’s all relative. We use every surface of the modules for work, so you’ll see astronauts ‘hanging’ from the ceilings while others are working on the ‘floor,’ although ‘ceiling’ and ‘floor’ are of course completely relative.”
“You’re not helping my vertigo, Gonzo.”
“Let us know if your dizziness starts to physically manifest itself, sir,” Jessica said. “Unfortunately, it’s something that takes time getting used to, and you won’t be here that long. As we said, it’s not unusual at all to start experiencing some queasiness shortly after moving around in free fall.”
“I’m fine, Jessica,” the president said, but this time he wondered how long that would last.