Solar Umbrella (Book 1)

Chapter 12: Liftoff

THE REST OF the Russian group arrived a short time later and while not as immediately gregarious or all-encompassing as Alex, they all impressed in their own way once they all started talking and sharing experiences. It was clear that, like everyone here, they had dedicated a lot of effort and time in the past few months to this competition and harnessed skills and a work ethic built over their whole lives. All were interested in science and technology and hoped to spend their adult lives working in those fields. The two groups got along well and quickly opened up to one another as they awaited the final preparation to launch. Parker was amazed at the efficiency of the operation as what seemed like a cast of hundreds did this or that to prepare the ship. He also noticed quite a few robots around. Some were doing simple tasks like loading fuel or moving cargo, but also some were scaling the ship itself. He asked the representative from SpaceOne, and she said that they cover every square millimetre of the ship surface, looking for any imperfection or issue. Parker took a look at the countdown timer and saw that it was almost time for them to load up. Unlike rockets and shuttles of old, the modern ship required no special suits or clothing of any sort. There were emergency suits in each compartment, but only the pilots wore anything special during liftoff. The two groups loaded from their waiting area and met the others who would be travelling with them in the compartment.

Along with Glenn Johansson and the four crew members were a few other SpaceOne employees who were going to LunaOne for work. The students politely greeted each as they were introduced, but it was the woman travelling with Johansson who piqued Parker's interest.

"And this is Lana Nosk," Johansson said finally. "She runs a fairly large agricultural company, Nosk Foodstuffs and is coming up to LunaOne to see if it's feasible to grow anything substantial there in a new greenhouse initiative we're starting." He smiled at the woman.

Parker took her in as he swung his head to listen. She was quite tall for a woman, well over six feet. Her suit was fashionable and immaculate, with heels so high Parker was surprised she could stand, let alone walk. She looked to be about 50 years old, quite beautiful with a dignified grey streak in her otherwise still raven hair. There was a pin on her lapel of a circle with a triangle overlapping it—a religious symbol of some sort? Parker didn't recognize it. She looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't lock down where he might have seen her before.

Lana Nosk smiled at them and took a second to look at each. "You children might have some ideas for me. I understand you're all quite bright. My best people are still struggling with keeping any sort of soil going on the moon. We can introduce it and keep some plants alive for a while, but any long term solutions require a lot of fertiliser and nitrogen and who knows what else. Our company is looking at expanding where we can grow food after...recent events"

Parker couldn't put a pin in it, but something about her seemed a little off. It was like she was playing a character. She was being very polite, and smiling at the right times and engaging them all, but it seemed forced. Practised, but forced. Her eyes held something else behind them. Not malice, but something.

"Pardon me, but perhaps something with the, ahem, waste could be arranged?" Alex suggested to Nosk. "It's a natural source of nitrogen, and I don't think the LunaOne team is doing anything else with it. Mr. Johansson?"

Johansson clapped Alex on the shoulder and laughed lightly. "I'll tell you what Lana. These kids are the real deal. I'd suggest you hire them on, but I plan on taking all eight myself if I can!" He smiled. "Let's talk shop later. Let the students settle in their seats. It's a quick flight, but we'll have plenty of time to chat once we get off this rock!" He motioned his hands around at all the empty seats.

There were about 20 available—the rest had been removed to make room for a bunch of crates destined for the hotel. The kids and adults spread out, pairing up for the most part with seats facing one another. Parker was surprised to see a pretty good mixing of the Russian group with his own. He took a seat beside DJ, as he noticed Kate and Ibrahim sit beside one another, but across from two of the Russian students. The seats across from DJ and him were empty, but Alex slid in and put his backpack on the seat beside him.

"Gentlemen, start your engines," he said with a massive grin on his face.

The group settled in, secured any baggage and secured themselves with the various belts attached to the seats. Each had a foldable system at the top to cradle their neck and head as well. A green light was lit to indicate they were secured, and each of their belts was locked. It unnerved Parker a bit to hear and feel the locks click into place, but he understood the need to be secure. The last thing a launch needed was a person snapping and trying to make a break for an exit mid-launch. They were checked over by two employees each, who then double checked the luggage and crates in the back. Each employee took their own seat opposite another who checked to make sure each other were secure as well. When complete, Johansson himself called the cockpit to let them know everyone and everything was secure. Parker had dark thoughts that he kept to himself about what exactly the belts would do in an emergency. Was it better to be strapped to this piece of faux leather and steel than not? He supposed it was more to steady them during the initial launch, but still. He wasn't usually afraid of things, and he wasn't truly now either. But, to board a giant piece of metal and escape gravity and travel to a place people could only look at a hundred years ago—it was strange. He imagined the bravery required by those first voyagers. At least his logical mind was able to crunch the numbers and understand that hundreds of people had been on this very ship with no accidents. Logically, being here was mathematically safer than being on the train that took them here. Logic was one thing, reality was another. Looking around, the other first timers were quiet and seemed just as introspective as himself. Alex was another story. He was swivelling his head from side to side, raising his eyebrows at anyone who looked at him as if to say, can you believe we're here?

The launch process was pretty quick after that. Decades of launches had honed it to a fine art. It was still just a not-so-simple matter of burning enough of something to get a bunch of people and stuff stuck in a tin can to make a brave dash to escape the gravity of Earth. They had modified the mix and delivery system to make it a little cheaper and a little faster, but it was basically the same as it had been in 1961 with Vostok 1. Parker found it strange that things were still launched the same way as always, but nothing else could provide that burst of energy needed over a short time. There was a space elevator under construction in the Pacific, a joint project between a whole bunch of countries and companies, but it was still a few years away at best. Until then, strap in and wait for the explosion.

And just like that it happened. The ten second timer appeared on their screens. He assumed it was being announced audibly as well, but it was too noisy to hear. The whole ship was vibrating rapidly as the liquid fuel was ignited. He counted along in his head and grinned with delight at his friends nearby. DJ looked like he always did, sitting back against his seat with his hood on. For once, his headphones rested on his neck. His eyes were wide though, and he was taking it all in. Parker was sure that Alex's grin was a reflection of his own—ear to ear. No matter Parker's overall feelings about the inequity of this trip to the moon for leisure while people literally starved, this moment was an exciting one. As the countdown passed one, he felt the pent up energy of the ship release all at once, and the pushback was like nothing any rollercoaster could have prepared him for. It felt like two or three more Parkers were suddenly pressed up against him. He tried to look out the windows, but he found it difficult to focus on anything. The screen had useful information like how far from Earth, how fast they were travelling and a birds eye view of the ground below, but ultimately, Parker just sort of got through the event. As they got further from Earth, the pressure he felt let up and it either became easier or he got used to it.