Supernal

Chapter 7

6:15 am Friday, 22nd June 2029

Main Assembly Bay on the OCF

They decided to split the watch into four two-hour shifts. Toby would take the last stint so he could catch up on some much-needed sleep. He'd been allocated a small cabin with a narrow bunk and a tiny bathroom with a shower. It was similar to an officer's cabin on a Royal Navy aircraft carrier he'd toured on a school trip to a Scottish shipyard. The bunk was surprisingly comfortable and even with all the excitement he slept deeply until Rob called for him at 6 am.

Rob guided him through a confusing system of corridors until they crossed into the weightless work area and had to use grab handles to pull themselves along. Rob explained they were going to the OCF's main assembly bay.

When he entered, Toby was staggered by the size of the vast space. It resembled the interior of a superjumbo cargo jet multiplied fivefold. Just below the widest point, a flat floor extended into the distance and along one side were several small portholes.

Rob told him that the pale grey floor covering was Velcro. The assembly teams would wear slippers with special soles to keep them in position while they worked. Rolls of Velcro tape would be used to hold items onto the floor.

In contrast, Toby's first sight of the alien spacecraft was a disappointment. When he peered through one of the portholes he saw a featureless dull grey object floating about 100 yards away. It was cigar-shaped and reminded Toby, more than anything, of old photographs he'd seen of zeppelins. It looked about the same size. There were no markings, no sign of engines, no windows.

"Boring isn't it?" Rob said. "I was expecting the Starship Enterprise and we got the Goodyear Blimp."

Toby had to agree and asked what he was supposed to watch out for.

"Any movement or change in its position I suppose," Rob shrugged. "They have to get from there to our docking tunnel which is on the opposite side of the OCF, so they'll have to move. If anything happens, press the ALL button on the pager then get yourself to the airlock as quickly as possible."

"If I can find it," Toby pointed out.

"There are little diagrams with colored route lines near the doors to help find your way around. Follow the red line for the airlock. The blue line will take you back to the accommodation module if nothing happens."

"Red line ... blue line ... got it," Toby confirmed as Rob left him hanging on to a grab handle next to one of the portholes.

#

By the time Charlie relieved Toby at 8 am he was bored with looking at the blimp, as Rob had christened it. There were a few other unidentifiable objects floating nearby, tethered to the OCF with cables. They mostly looked like shipping containers. Otherwise, there was nothing interesting to look at.

He was on the opposite side of the OCF from the Earth and although he could see blurry stars through the thick plexiglass of the portholes, he couldn't see any planets.

Toby had amused himself by doing weightless gymnastics next to his porthole but even that palled after ten minutes. He had to be careful not to drift too far from the grab handles bolted all around the walls, so he resisted the temptation to go flying in the huge empty space.

Charlie told him that Summers and Rob were having breakfast in the crew room. Toby followed the blue lines and managed to find them, drinking coffee in silence.

"Nothing doing," Toby said when he entered, then helped himself to scrambled eggs and bacon.

"After breakfast, we're going to base ourselves in the SBR so we can talk freely," Summers informed him.

#

"Now that we have an idea of what to expect I want to start compiling a list of pertinent questions to use as an agenda," Summers told them. "We don't know how long they plan to stay and I don't want to forget to ask something important."

They spent the rest of the morning suggesting and discounting questions. Summers replaced Charlie at 10 am and then Rob took another turn at midday.

While Summers was out Rob wanted to know how Toby had taken the news that Summers was married to the president of the United States.

"I was astounded," Toby admitted, "and a bit intimidated when I first met him, but he seems okay."

"Oh, he's a great guy," Rob said, "and of course, they were married a long time before she became president. I think he's a bit embarrassed about it and she keeps him out of the public eye. He plays it down and hates anyone asking him about it."

"I think he's lucky to have her," Charlie said. "She's a wonderful woman and a real role model. I voted for her."

"Me too," Rob said. "But that was mainly 'cos all the other candidates were ugly as hell."

#

After Rob replaced Summers they decided to prioritize the list of questions and argued about that until they finally got it thrashed out. Then Summers told them to take a last look at the list and memorize it. It was going into the waste compactor. There was to be nothing written down and no notes taken during any meetings.

They adjourned to the crew room for something to eat and then sat around making small talk. The waiting was beginning to grate on all their nerves. They knew that something had to happen soon, but their visitors seemed in no hurry.

Summers took the encoded satellite phone to the SBR and made a personal call to his wife to let her know that there had been no developments as yet. It was 8 am in Washington D.C. and she would be getting ready for her first meeting of the day.

When he came back Charlie asked how she was. Summers said he thought she might have started smoking again. The tension was rising in the White House as well as on the OCF.

Toby took his turn on watch again at 2 pm and amused himself by floating at different clock face angles to the porthole. He had just moved himself to a horizontal three o'clock position when he noticed something had changed. The smooth grey hull of the blimp was interrupted by a rectangular black opening. He pressed his face to the porthole and saw something begin to emerge. A silver shuttlecock-shaped object appeared. It looked like one of the old-style Apollo moonshot capsules with four articulated legs dangling beneath it.

"Shit!" he swore and scrabbled in his flight suit pocket for the pager. He jabbed the ALL button furiously several times and then began hauling himself towards the exit.