Astronomicon 1: Inception Point (Finished)

37 - Synchronisation

"There's too much slack on the cables," Skylar reported.

"The vessels are closing too quickly," Ria replied. "We've got to take up the slack with the winches."

In a reaction to the sudden termination of thrust, both vessels had bounced off the ends of the cables and were now drifting back together, faster than was wise. The exo-frames should be able to withstand the collision, but Ria's most imminent worry was the resulting rebound.

"Take up the slack!" she ordered again. "They're closing too fast and we need to make sure they don't bounce again."

Stephen transmitted next, "If you wind out some extra slack, Commander, I can move Hesperian to match Pathfinder's velocity."

"There's not enough time," Ria snapped. "Four metres and closing. Take up that slack, Skylar, and keep away from the edge!"

"That won't be easy!" Skylar replied.

"Two metres!" Ria shouted. "This is going to be a bump and a half."

She kept winding both her winches for as long as she dared then stepped hastily back from the edge of the platform and reached for the nearest part of the ladder attached to Supply Module 2. Before she got there, the silent impact kicked her feet sideways, swinging one of her magnetic boots free from the platform.

With only one foot anchored down and her other leg swinging free, she had to lean forwards and grab the ladder with her left hand to stabilise herself.

"Are you okay, Skylar?"

"I'm still here, Commander," came the immediate reply. "My suit tether saved me. I just need to get a hold of something."

"Good. Stephen, can you get the Pathfinder to cancel its momentum relative to us?"

"It's possible, Commander, but it will take some time," he replied.

"We don't have any time, Stephen. Pathfinder bounced off us and is going to hit the end of the cables in about five seconds."

"I've got Foxy talking to her counterpart on the Pathfinder. It should..."

His voice cut off as the Hesperian jolted again, this time as it pulled the cables taut again. Her magnetic boots failed to hold and her feet were thrown outwards, away from the Pathfinder. She struggled to cling onto the ladder with one hand, but grabbing it with her other was impossible as she swung sideways. Her suit tether was still attached, but she had no intention of putting it to the test.

Instinctively, she pulled in her swinging legs, but that just accelerated her rotation. Just before her bodyweight jarred her wrist, she grabbed the side of the ladder with her free hand. This left her better able to counter the spinning motion.

"Okay, Commander. Ships are synchronised. Our Foxy is controlling both. Should be safe to reel in those winches now," came Stephen's voice via the radio.

"Excellent, but it's going to take me a while to get back to the winches. How are you getting on, Skylar?"

"I'm still here, Commander, but my suit's sprung a small leak," Skylar reported.

Ria could hear the suit alarm beeping via the radio transmission. Her heart sank. Pressure loss, no matter how slow, was always the first fear in E.V.A. work.

"How bad is it?"

"Lost two percent so far and my suit is compensating. I don't know how long I've got yet before my reserves run out and it can no longer replace what's leaking out."

"First of all, stay calm." Ria tried to sound as matter-of-fact as possible to hide her concern.

"I remember our training, Commander!" Skylar laughed, most probably doing the same.

"Do you know where the leak is?"

"Yeah, my right wrist. I think I over-stressed the joint trying to hold on. There's a pin-prick-sized gap in the seal around the top of the glove."

"Are you hurt yourself?"

"Nothing a nice hot bath and a couple of days rest won't fix," Skylar laughed.

"Sadly, we won't get either of those anytime soon. How close are you to the winches up there?"

"My foot is right between them."

"I'm on my way back to my winches now. As soon as I give the order, start winding them in. If your suit pressure drops below eighty percent, head for the airlock immediately. In the meantime, let's see how much of this job we can complete but, don't forget, if the leak shows any sign of getting worse, just leave and head back to the airlock."

"I will, don't worry. Ready when you are, Commander."

While swinging her legs back down onto the platform mesh and moving back towards her winches, Ria called Susan on the radio. "Susan, I think now would be an appropriate time for you to get out here too."

By the time the airlock door had completed its sequence and Susan arrived on the platform below the outer doors, Ria and Skylar had winched both vessels tightly together. Ria decided it was not worth taking any further risk with Skylar's suit, so she sent her back inside. The next job was to detach each winch cable, one at a time, and wrap its full length repeatedly around the touching struts on both ships, binding them together before clipping the cable back to itself.

It was a fiddly job to complete, but they got there with no further mishaps. The thought crossed her mind that it might be stronger, and therefore safer, if they broke out the portable welding kit and spot welded both exo-frames together but she did not know how easy that would be to unweld when they reached Proxima C. They would have to separate the vessels to complete the deployment of the modules at the end of their journey.

"Stephen, get Foxy started on the sequence to launch towards Proxima C. Susan and I are coming back aboard."

"Already on it, Commander. Luckily Foxy knows the tensile strength of the winch cables so she can adapt accordingly. Let me know when you're both back inside; I need to correct our orbit before we do anything else."