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Cameron Steele fumbled trying to get the harness to latch as he strapped into his seat. Tiny beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead. Now was not the time to be nervous, he thought. A good first impression was important. The seatbelt clicked as Cameron finally got it to latch. This was his first trip to Omnis and he wanted to prove he deserved this assignment. Duty aboard Omnis was the most coveted post, and assignments were usually for the most talented scientists and engineers. Cameron was the top of his class, but had no real world experience yet to qualify him for a duty of this significance. Omnis’ mission was important to save Earth, not something for a rookie to cut his teeth on.
“Just relax, Lieutenant.” The shuttle attendant unbuckled Cameron’s seatbelt and flipped the strap around, correcting Cameron’s harness. “You’re in good hands. The captain has been shuttling people to Omnis for a long time now.” The attendant tightened down on the harness. “We wouldn’t want you getting loose once we entered zero gravity.”
Becoming the first Academy graduate assigned to duty aboard the space station took hard work. Cameron deserved respect. He worked hard for this assignment. How would anyone respect him if he did not stand up for himself now? Cameron was not going to be treated this way, and not by an attendant no less!
“Thank you,” muttered Cameron.
The attendant shut the shuttle’s passenger bay door, and Cameron’s ears instantly popped from the pressure change. The passenger compartment could hold 39 passengers, seven rows with two seats on the port side, three on the starboard, and four extra seats in the back. The seats were small, the same you would expect on a commercial airliner. They were especially uncomfortable for people of Cameron’s size, but he was used to confined spaces from the cockpits of the trainers he flew in the Academy.
Cameron turned off his overhead light, making it easier to see out the cabin window. He could see the linemen, dressed head to toe in their hot weather environmental survival gear, removing the fueling lines from the side of the shuttle. With average temperatures across the surface of the earth rising higher and higher each year, he wondered who would choose to work outside. It was true everyone was doing their part to save this planet and that made Cameron feel good that he was going to do his.
A lineman motioned to the front of the shuttle, signaling that all lines were clear. The magnetic field generator came alive and the shuttle hovered over the launching rail, awaiting departure. A low hum resonated through the ship, creating a slight vibration. A red warning light started to flash inside the cabin, alerting the passengers that launch was seconds away. It was time.
The force of the acceleration was incredible. It pushed Cameron deep into his seat, leaving an imprint of his huge frame. He knew the launch would be abrupt and immense, but he wasn’t prepared for this. He badly wanted to look out the window but was afraid to turn his head under this amount of g-force. Suddenly the main propulsion rocket kicked on, compressing Cameron even further into his seat, if that was possible.
What a rush! This topped any ride Cameron had in his T-401 during flight training. The T-401 was such a tight fit for Cameron that everyone said he looked silly crammed in the cockpit, but it felt like a finely tailored suit made just for him.
The main propulsion rocket only burned for a few minutes to get the shuttle into orbit. The sensation of weightlessness hit Cameron the instant the rocket stopped firing. He was in orbit and was not nauseous, that was a good sign. Being in shape helped some, but space adaptation syndrome still occurred in about half of all space travelers. Now he could enjoy the view.
Cameron had seen pictures before, but this was magnificent! The sun was just cresting over the curvature of the earth, which lit up the horizon with an orange glow. From the surface, the endless clouds were always dark, gray, and haunting; but from here, they were a blanket of white cotton. This blanket is what was holding the Sun’s heat in, slowly cooking the earth. It was both beautiful and depressing at the same time.
Cameron could not remember a time in his life where he looked up and saw anything but clouds. According to the history books, the view of the sky started to disappear about seven years before he was even born. Some scientists believed there was no reversing the damage caused by earlier generations and that the world would end in the near perceivable future. These scientists, and those who followed them, believed that the work of HOPE was useless and only provided a false sense of optimism among the general population to keep the world at peace.
Human Organization for Planet Earth (HOPE) was a national council leading the way to correcting planet Earth’s destruction. HOPE commissioned the Omnis space station 28 years ago. Omnis’s principle role would be to observe and collect data of the ever-changing environment, to help HOPE restore Earth to the life once known.
Looking around the cabin, Cameron saw most of the passengers had tears in their eyes. The image of the dying Earth was powerful; he felt emotional himself, but there was no need to show he was weak. Some who were crying were not even looking out the shuttle window; he would never understand people.
The shuttle began to rotate around, preparing for the docking with Omnis; the view of Earth through the window slipped away. Slowly Omnis came into sight, Cameron was lucky to grab a window seat on the same side the shuttle would dock with Omnis. He could see it in the distance, just a tiny dot now, but slowly beginning to grow.
Omnis would be Cameron’s home for this rotation of duty. He was not sure of his role yet aboard Omnis, but figured it had something to do with propulsion engines, his major at the Academy. Why a space station would need a propulsion engineer was puzzling to him, but he did not question the good news he received on graduation day. He was going into space, and it did not matter what they needed him to do, he would do it and with pride.
Omnis continued to grow in Cameron’s window. It was colossal in size. It stretched out beyond his window. This was possibly the biggest manmade structure he had ever seen. Are those engines, thought Cameron? What would a space station need with engines of that size? Something did not seem right, but the need for a propulsion engineer was apparent now.
The docking station looked like an accordion tube coming out of the side of Omnis. The shuttle slowed to a stop just short of the connecting point. The dock extended, grabbing hold of the shuttle with a large clunk, mating the two space vessels. The swoosh from the rush of air flooding the gangway echoed through the shuttle; Cameron’s ears once again popped as the pressure between the shuttle and gangway equalized.
The shuttle attendant leaned forward and switched on his magnetic boots. He made his way over to the airlock door with so much ease, Cameron wondered if they were really in space. Checking the readings on the pressurization panel to ensure that pressure had in fact equalized, the attendant opened the shuttle’s airlock door. At the other end of the docking tunnel, the shuttle’s passengers could see the door to Omnis open.
“Please be sure to switch on your magnetic gravity boots prior to removing your seatbelt,” said the attendant, loud enough for all the passengers to hear, but was looking only at Cameron.
Cameron switched on his boots and unhooked his harness. Pushing off his seat to stand up, he was sure he would keep going, but the boots did the trick.
Cameron fixed his uniform to ensure it was just right. Sure, being thrown into space and dealing with zero gravity was not easy, but first impressions were important, and now was not the time to be sloppy.
“Step through the docking station passageway.” The attendant pointed down the corridor. “Show your papers and passport to the customs agent at the other end of the Omnis Receiving Station. Your personal belongings should be waiting for you in your rooms.”
Cameron’s personal items, along with everyone else’s, were sent up to the space station separately, like all inanimate cargo. Non-living objects could survive the g-forces, which the human body could not, in a full power electro-magnetic rail launch system. This allowed for very little fuel, which meant more cargo could be carried. Remotely driven, the rocket would dock up with Omnis
Thinking his boots would be tough to pick up due to the magnetic hold, Cameron pulled up too hard to take his first step, causing him to stumble. This made him look like a newborn deer taking its first steps. Cameron felt awkward and embarrassed, until he noticed the other passengers walking the same way. It appeared the magnetic hold got weaker as you pulled up with your leg.
“Try to walk normally.” The attendant was half smiling. “The boots will sense your movement and adjust the magnetic hold accordingly.”
This sorry excuse for an attendant conveniently left that little bit of information out, thought Cameron. Why could he have not said that before? This guy thought he was better than the rest of them. Cameron really did not like this guy. Fortunately, it appeared that this troublemaker would no longer be a problem. After the last passenger was through the hatch, the attendant closed the airlock door separating the two.
The receiving bay was considerably larger than the small shuttlecraft. At the far end of the bay was the customs desk, a line was already beginning to form. Cameron got in line behind what appeared to be a kid. What was a kid doing on Omnis? Cameron thought for sure he would be the youngest onboard. This did not make sense at all. What was a kid doing here?
Cameron watched in disbelief as the kid handed the customs’ agent an envelope. He did not even have his passport out ready for the agent when he got to the front of the line, no wonder the line moved so slow.
The agent handed the kid his badge and said, “Always wear that ID badge. Follow that boy.”
Boy? Did Cameron hear the agent right? There was another teenager waiting over near a corridor. What is going on? The World’s most scientifically advanced research station was no place for children. What possible function could they serve? Cameron watched as the agent crossed off the name Alex Gonzalez from a list under the heading ‘Legacy’. There was another list with the heading ‘Stinson’. Cameron hoped he was assigned to a different part of the space station than those two.
“Lieutenant Steele reporting for duty,” Cameron rifled off while snapping to attention.
The customs’ agent grabbed Cameron’s passport and paperwork and stamped it quickly without looking it over much. “Take this ID badge and follow the corridor to the left. A transport shuttle will be waiting to take you.”
Cameron made his way down the narrow passageway; there was a small group of people waiting, one of which was also in uniform like Cameron. He was glad to see that he was not the only Agency person waiting. There did not seem to be any kids waiting for this shuttle, maybe this was the line for the genuine workers. Cameron felt a little better.
A shuttle attendant stepped forward and opened the air lock door leading to the waiting transport. “Once onboard the transport shuttle and you have taken your seat, you may turn off your gravity boots. The transport will depart the Receiving Station shortly and link up with the Stinson. Due to the rotation of Stinson, artificial gravity will be in effect, so you will not need your boots turned on. Are there any questions?”
Cameron was not sure of what exactly the Stinson was. Maybe it was just a part of Omnis; it did appear to be big enough to have many subsections. Cameron had a lot to learn, but felt now was not the time to be asking questions. Once he got aboard the Stinson, he was sure his questions would be answered.
The transport shuttle detached from the Receiving Station and started on its short journey over to Stinson. Peering out the transport’s window, Cameron got a better view of Omnis. The space station was even larger than he originally thought. It appeared that the Receiving Station was a stationary hub in the center of what looked like a bicycle wheel, with two massive structures coming out from the center. The two massive structures rotated around the hub. Stinson must be one of the two massive structures.
Cameron imagined that docking with a stationary space station had to be hard enough; synchronizing rotation and linking up with this colossal giant must take an exceptional pilot. He could only hope his duty assignment would be piloting one of these transports. Even though engineering was his background, being a pilot was his passion. With any luck, his assignment would be revealed shortly.
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