Chapter 6

The next week aboard the Curious Machine seemed tense to Jass. She felt as if she was being watched at every step, as if someone lurked around every corner just waiting for her to relax her guard. Everyone had been busy making sure that the ship was in order after the solar blast, and fixing anything that needed it.

The third day after the storm, Kara approached Jass in the main cabin after a shift. “Captain, we have a problem.”

Jass groaned. “We have lots of problems. What's this one?”

“One of my secondary transmitters. We don't use it often, but it's the primary backup for the main transmitter, should we have trouble with that one. It's not responding. I've tried everything I know of to fix it by remote, Dani and Denjiro have tried everything they can, but nothing's working. I'm afraid we're going to have to replace it.”

“Can it wait until we get to Cybele? They have better repair capability than we do. We're only a month out.”

Kara shook her head. “I wouldn't want to be without a backup, not when we're still fixing stuff from that radiation blast. If it was one of the tertiary ones, I'd be fine with that. But having this one out makes me nervous. We do have a replacement, and it's a pretty simple procedure.”

“I know the procedure,” Jass said, “and that's the problem. I don't like doing extra-vehicular walks in transit. When we're docked, that's one thing, but if something goes wrong this deep in space...I don't like to think about it.”

“I don't like to think about being stuck in deep space without a reliable transmitter.”

The captain sat in silence for a moment, then nodded. “Fair enough. Put in the proper requisitions, and I'll rework the schedules to allow for an EVA. Can you send a message to Denjiro to prep for a walk in two hours' time?”

“Right away, captain! And thank you.” Kara pulled herself to her console and quickly typed the message.

Jass sat at her own console and pulled up the crew's schedules for the week. In a few minutes, she had altered the day's agenda so that Denjiro would have the assistance he would need for the repair. The rest of the week's schedules could get ironed out at the end of the day. She hit the button to transmit the schedules to the computers of the crew members, then unbuckled herself from the seat and left the cabin.

Denjiro was in his quarters, waking up from a nap. Jass knocked on the door of his room. “Den?”

“Yeah, come in.”

Jass opened the door, but didn't enter the tiny room. Denjiro pulled on a long-sleeved shirt and grabbed his jacket from where it floated above the floor. “I got the message just a few minutes ago. I was afraid that might be the case when Kara asked me to run some diagnostics on the thing yesterday. Good thing I like getting outside of this tin can once in a while.”

He grabbed the edges of the door and pulled himself into the corridor, before turning to close the door behind him.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Den. Truth be told, it's half the reason you were hired.”

“Awwww, you mean it wasn't the only reason? And here I thought it was my roguish good looks. Well, there goes my modeling application for the Engineers' Monthly swimsuit calendar.”

“And now I'll never be able to get that image out of my head. Get on over to the main cabin before I write you up for interfering with the mental competency of your captain.”

He grinned and launched himself down the corridor to the main cabin. Jass made her way around the ship to find the rest of the crew and make sure that they had received their new orders for the day. Finally, she headed back to the main cabin and buckled herself in to her seat.

“Alright, this is the official beginning of the first extra-vehicular walk on the Curious Machine's first supply run, let's keep this by the book. No stunts. Kara, can you pull up the camera in the suiting area?”

“Done.”

The main screen showed an awkward angle on a small area just outside one of the airlocks. Denjiro was putting on his suit with the help of Kristin. She checked every part of the suit, taking special care with the places where the suit joined with gloves or boots. After a thorough inspection, she pronounced Denjiro ready for the spacewalk.

“Mr. Takahashi, you are clear to enter the airlock.” Jass gave the order and leaned forward in her seat to watch.

“Aye aye, captain.” Denjiro's voice was slightly distorted from the helmet microphone, but everyone in the cabin could understand him clearly. He picked up a metal case, which contained the replacement transmitter and hooked it to his suit as he stepped into the airlock. Kristin closed the door and made sure the lock was tight. “Airlock sealed and ready.”

“Acknowledged. Mr. Takahashi, are you ready for the EVA?”

He hooked his safety line to the dock in the airlock. “Ready and waiting.”

“Ms. Marshall, please open the airlock.” Jass didn't notice that she was gripping the arm of her seat hard enough to leave fingernail marks.

“Acknowledged. Airlock opening.”

Denjiro grabbed a handhold as the airlock opened. The air quickly blew into space as the pressure equalized, then everything was calm. He stepped carefully into the void.

Cameras inside and outside the airlock were now trained on him, and the crew watched as he took his first step out into nothing.

“Everything seems good here, no problems so far.” Denjiro grabbed the nearest handhold to the airlock and began pulling himself over the hull of the ship. “What is the distance from my current position to the damaged transmitter?”

“Be advised, the distance is approximately forty meters. Take your time; you have plenty of air.”

“Acknowledged.”

The main cabin was silent as the crew watched Denjiro make his way over the hull of the ship, one handhold at a time. Jass felt a trickle of cold sweat wind its way down her back.

“Everything is nominal. EVA proceeding normally. Hey, Aaron, you remembered to turn off the engines, right?”

Aaron laughed. “I left 'em scheduled for a burn in five minutes, specially for you. Of course I turned them off!”

“Good. I don't really care to get dragged along behind this thing like a kite.” Denjiro was now pulling himself along the top of the ship. “Estimated twenty meters to go. No anomalies so far.”

The time seemed to drag by, but finally Denjiro arrived at the transmitter. He ran a short length of cord from the belt on his suit to one of the nearby handholds to help maintain his position.

“i'm in position now. Access panel is open. Removing the base of the transmitter now.” He pulled a cordless device out of a loop on his belt and began removing screws from the base of the transmitter. He took each screw as it was removed and stuck it onto a magnetic panel at the base of the screwdriver. “Screws removed, I have access to the entire instrument now. Beginning removal process.”

Jass took a quick sip of water before replying. “Acknowledged. Everything looks great from here. Take it slow and steady.”

“Will do. Removing transmitter now.” Denjiro slowly pulled the malfunctioning piece of equipment out of the recess it had been secured in. “I'll take it apart when I get back inside, see if I can figure out exactly what went wrong. Maybe even salvage it as a back-up.”

“Sounds good. Let's get that new one installed first before you start taking anything apart, though.”

“Agreed.” He carefully hooked one arm of the transmitter through one of the handholds, then turned to open the case that contained the replacement. It was nestled in a form-fitting slab of foam, precisely cut to keep the delicate instrument from being jostled. Denjiro slipped his gloved hand under the sturdiest part of the instrument and pulled it from the case.

“The new one's going in just fine. Give me a minute to lock it down. Ok, the new transmitter is locked and ready to go, I just need to replace the base panel.”

One by one, Denjiro removed the screws from the magnetic plate and inserted them into the base plate, securing it tightly.

“The last screw is in. The transmitter should be fully functioning now.” He moved slowly and deliberately as he placed the defective instrument in the case. The lifeline was secure in case a wrong move sent him spinning into space, but there was no reason to tempt fate. “All packed up and ready to go. Heading back inside now.”

Jass breathed a sigh of relief and heard several others do the same. “That sounds great, Mr. Takahashi. Take your time. We'll have the tea on for you when you come in from the cold.”

“I think I'll take you up on that.” The crew could see Denjiro slowly retracing his path as he headed back to the airlock. His legs dangled awkwardly in the vacuum, and he pulled his way across the hull of the ship like a child on the monkeybars at a playground.

“Ms. Marshall, Mr. Takahashi has completed his mission and is heading your way. He is currently about twenty meters from the airlock. Be prepared to close the airlock shortly.” Jass gave the order while watching Denjiro slowly creep towards the airlock, one hand at a time.

“Understood.”

The white-suited figure slowly made his way across the hull of the ship, metal case trailing behind him like a piece of forgotten luggage. As he reached the airlock, he grabbed the handle and pulled it into the lock behind him.

“I am in the lock and all items are secure. Ready to come aboard, captain.”

“Ms. Marshall, please close the airlock and help Mr. Takahashi with his suit.”

“Acknowledged. Airlock closing.” The outside door of the lock shut slowly, and Kristin pressed a button that allowed air to flood the compartment. “Airlock is secure and pressurized.”

Denjiro fumbled to get the thick gloves off, and had begun to remove his helmet when the inner airlock door opened and Kristin stepped in to help.

“Ms. CeSaran, please activate your transmitter.” Jass watched as Kara's fingers flew across the console.

“Transmitter is active and working correctly. Everything appears nominal.” A rare smile crossed her face.

Jass leaned back in her seat in the main cabin. “We have completed our first deep space extra-vehicular walk. I think this calls for a little celebration, don't you?”

“Dear God, please let this celebration involve booze,” Aaron said as he unbuckled himself from his seat and headed for the corridor.

“No booze. I'll pretend that I don't know about the bottle you smuggled on board in your personal items.” Jass quickly sent a text to Kristin. “But I think you'll appreciate this almost as much.”

“Is that...real food?” Denjiro pointed at the items set out on the table in the galley.

“That it is, or close enough to it.” Jass pointed at Kristin. “Don't let her tough exterior fool you, she's been experimenting with zero g cooking techniques for years. This stuff is all made sous vide.”

“That's...that's actually rather brilliant,” Merriam commented as he poked at a bowl of mashed potatoes with a fork. “I think I might have to investigate further. I'm taking this bowl of potatoes as evidence.”

“Put it down, egghead.” retorted Kristin, who soared by and grabbed the bowl away from him. “There's plenty for everyone. Now sit down and eat.”

Jass took a bite of perfectly poached chicken and thought she might melt with delight. The meat was tender and juicy, and covered in a flavorful sauce viscous enough to keep it anchored to the plate. The mashed potatoes were thick and fluffy, leaving no crumbs to get sucked into an air filter, and steamed asparagus floated above each plate for a moment before being devoured by the hungry crew.

“I knew there was some good food in those crates in the cargo bay,” Martina remarked as she swallowed a bite of chicken, “but this is amazing. I didn't know you could really cook aboard a ship this size.”

“It's not easy, and it's definitely not efficient, but it can be done. It just takes some practice and experimentation.” Kristin carefully sealed the lids on the containers of food to keep any crumbs from escaping unnoticed. “And there are lots of things you can't cook: anything that requires an exposed heat source, anything cooked under pressure, anything that might crumble and send too many particulates into the air recycling system...”

“Well, however it's done, that was amazing.” Aaron put one hand on his stomach. “I don't think I could eat another pre-packaged meal in space after that.”

“Say that again tomorrow when you're hungry,” Dani said, putting her dishes in the washing unit.

Jass sat back and listened to the good-natured banter of the crew, ignoring the nagging reminder that one of them was not what he or she seemed. That would play out in time, and she'd be ready for it. After a long day's work, it was enough to enjoy a good meal and laugh with others.

Jass pulled herself down the corridor to her quarters, arms aching with every move. She had felt a little guilty for scheduling herself a full night's sleep after the EVA, but she knew that she felt completely drained and would be more likely to make a mistake if she did not get full sleep. Merriam was taking the first watch, followed by Aaron, and she knew that both men were competent and able to properly judge any situation that might arise.

Despite her exhaustion, when she arrived at her room, Jass found herself still too flush with adrenaline to sleep easily. She considered taking one of the small number of sleeping pills she'd allowed herself to bring on the ship, but decided against it.

After changing into her sleeping clothes, she positioned herself in the middle of the room and began to breathe deeply. When she felt her muscles begin to relax, she reached out, stretching herself into a simply yoga pose. One pose flowed into the next as she swam through the air. Over the years, she had developed her own zero g routine of poses that did not require one to brace against the ground or move dramatically. She didn't know if the modified moves were as effective as the orignal ones, but they seemed to help her relax anyway.

In the middle of the routine, Jass began to relax again. As she pulled herself into a fetal position for the last pose in the routine, she could barely keep her eyes open. She crawled into her hammock, pulled the straps tight, and was asleep inside of five minutes.