Constellations

An accident (Jay)

It has been three weeks since you started training for the Kennedy capsule. You are getting ready for the first manned mission. You are getting the suit on which is always tricky. Why can't they make the flight suits like the do in the movies? There is a nervous excitement between you and Jess.

"Are you ready to go?" Jess asks impatiently. You nod as you finish getting the gloves on. The technicians do one last check before you answer. They give you a thumbs up. 

"Yup," You take the lead. Three minutes later you have made it to the top of the elevator. It is tense but it always is with freshly human-rated spacecraft. Jess lets out a worried chuckle. You understand why. 

"Jess, are you thinking of chickening out?" You ask just in case. You get the feeling that she won't. 

"Yes but it's too late for that," she is right. You've made it to the capsule. You both get comfortable. You send a quick prayer even though you are confident in the engineering. You get to work on the checklist. At least there is not much for you to do because all of the prep work has been done. The only important thing that needs to be done is the fuel loading. This is the moment where things will most likely go wrong. 

"Checking we are ready for fuel?" Jess confirms. You check and nod.

"Open the top fuel valves," You instruct. Thirty long minutes later the fuel is on board. The only thing you are waiting for now is the terminal countdown. 

"Launch in T minus one minute," Danny announces. The air feels like it is being sucked out. You glance at Jess. She gives you a reassuring nod but it doesn't work. You sigh because there is nothing you can do. 

"Launch in t minus t ten...nine...eight...seven... six," You feel the rocket shudder to life.

"Five... four... three...two...one," the rocket launches but something doesn't feel right. The rocket is shuddering too much. Hopefully, that is a byproduct of being a newly human-rated rocket. Your hopes are smashed because the master caution sounds.

"Jay, we have to call an abort," Jess confirms your thoughts. You try and reach for the abort button guard but the g force is too great. You keep trying and after two seconds you manage to get it. You flick the switch but you notice Jess has passed out. You struggle to reach the switch on her side but you make it just in time. You can feel the shuddering in the capsule stop as it's pulled by the launch abort tower. You turn your mind to Jess.

"Jess wake up," You shake her unconscious body. Your efforts are in vain. You notice you have another problem. One of the cutes is damaged. Why is everything going wrong now?  At least three would work but it's going to be rough. You try again with Jess to get your mind off the damaged cute.

"Come on Jess," Three minutes later the capsule hits the ground. You feel a surge of pain before you blackout. Three days later you awake in a hospital bed. Danny and Neil are hovering over you to make sure that you will be alright

"What happened?" You ask. You try to get up but you can't feel any sensation in your legs.

"Jay you are very lucky to be alive," Danny announces gravely. You knew it was going to be a rough landing but you didn't realise it would be that bad. The doctor enters the room.

"Doc what's the deal?" You are starting to panic. You get the feeling that your dreams of going into space may be over.  

"The paralysis should be temporary with enough rehab," He responds. It's a start. Hopefully, it means you can recover enough to go to space. 

" you were lucky because the spinal cord wasn't severed," you are a little reassured by that information. It still bothers you because you are not sure if you are out of the running for a seat on the Orion capsule. The doctor checks you over.

"When will I start rehab?" You ask because you really want that seat.

"Three days bed rest and then you will be able to start rehab," Danny responds. You are getting more hopeful as the conversation goes. 

"What is Neil doing here?" You are a little confused.

"I'm helping with the investigation and if it is alright with you I am going to ask a series of questions," Neil responds. You can tell he did something similar. You nod.

"What was the goal of the mission you were conducting?"

"Jess and I were conducting a demonstration mission to prove the Kennedy capsule was flight worthy," You answer. Thirty minutes later Neil has done questioning you. He is satisfied with your answers. At least you will be left alone for now. They leave. You start to think about rehab and what it could mean to you if you don't get a seat on the Orion capsule. You sigh.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself," Lilly remarks as she enters. She is holding something in her hands. It's a get well card from the team

"Who says I'm feeling sorry for myself?" you playfully retort. She smiles. At least you still haven't lost your sense of humour. 

"Well read this," She passes you an envelope with the get well card. You rip into it to find a nice get well card from the team. That's nice of them. You let out the tiniest of chuckles at some of the messages. It's a good thing the team can make you laugh. 

"Can you tell me what happened between today and the day of the accident?" You decide to ask Lilly for more information.

"Well the Kennedy missions have been suspended till Danny can figure out what went wrong and that's about it," Lilly responds. You start to think about what could have gone wrong. It doesn't take long for you to come up with a hypothesis.

"I think the Delta heavy was too powerful for the capsule to handle," Lilly is surprised by your conclusion. She nods. Obviously she is speechless at your conclusion. You can't wait to tell Danny about your Hypothesis.

"How is Jess doing?" You decide to find out because you hope she has fared better than you.

"She only has cuts and bruises," Lilly responds. Hopefully, she will come and see you. At least you agreed with Jess to call an abort. After all, it could have been worse.