Project Phoenix ( Andy Weir Project Hail Mary sequel Fan Fic)

Project Phoenix Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Radio Telescope.

Alan Kunanmar was startled by a knock on his door. He opened the door only to see that it was still night outside. He searched for his phone on the night table only to find that it was 4 a.m. There was a second knock on the door.

"All right, I'm coming," he mumbled, trying to get up from the bed.

Alan stumbled to the door of his room in the Space Application center guest house. It was a nice room, nothing particularly expensive or luxurious, but had all the amenities that a person would need. It had a queen size bed, a small couch with a Tv and a working desk next to the window. It also had its own bathroom, complete with a shower. He had only been in this room a few hours and already regretted needing to leave it. He opened the door to be greeted by Neha Amputi and two other persons. One of them past by him bringing a tray with breakfast. The other one handed him a mid size suitcase.

"Good morning." Neha said. "We have taken the liberty to bring you breakfast to your room. Cafeteria will still be closed for a couple of hours. We have also prepared a suitcase with winter clothes more appropriate to the weather where you are going. A Car will pick you up in an hour and will take you to the airport. Ms. Strat wishes you a nice flight and asked me to give you this satellite phone so you can be in communication at all times."

Without waiting for a reply, Neha and the other two persons left, leaving him to process and wake up.

The breakfast tray had coffee, milk, cookies and also some fruit. This was a luxury, considering how difficult and expensive it was lately to get some actual fresh fruit. Only when he finished his coffee did he realize how starved he really was. He took a shower and then proceeded to look into the newly received bag.

He was surprised to find all the clothes were his size. There was a bit of everything in there. Snow socks, pants, jacket, even some long underwear. But the crown jewel of the suitcase were the boots. Those looked amazing. He decided he would not wear those clothes now. Perhaps change once he got there. He would probably cook during his flight.

He also noticed that the suitcase was not full, so he took his belongings in the new suitcase so it would be one less item to carry.

Alan left the room with a sense of longing for the place like he was had lived there his entire life. 'Is this how it is going to be now?' he asked himself on his way to the reception. The same black SUV that had brought them from the airport the day before was waiting outside. It was 5 am and still dark. The driver did not say a word in all the way to the airport and stopped the car by the plane.

The plane was a bit bigger than the one they had traveled the day before. Probably this one could make the flight directly and not have to land in another airport to refuel. He boarded only to find two pilots and a stewardess. The pilots immediately went to the cockpit to prepare while the stewardess accommodated his luggage and closed the door to the plane. This would have been someone else's private plane. It was not a regular airliner. It only had a few large and comfortable and luxurious looking seats.

"Welcome aboard," The stewardess said after everything was ready. "We will be taking you to the closest airport possible. From there a Helicopter will be waiting for you to take you to Tianyang compound."

The flight was long. Longer than Alan had expected. In the 12 hours the flight lasted he had slept only 4 and eaten twice. You had to give it to them. This felt like first class, everything was top quality, even the food.

If he thought that Ahmedabad airport was deserted it was nothing compared to this airport. It looked like the cleared one of the runways just for this plane and a road to where a helicopter was already waiting. There was nothing else. Even the buildings were straight white and looked deserted. They must have brought the people here just to clear the snow. The helicopter was a change. From the luxurious seats with wood finishes in the plane to military grade combat seats in the Chinese air force helicopter was a shock. It had been a good choice to change in the plane before getting off. They told him that the temperature was somewhere between -20 and -30 degrees celsius. It was cold.