In an orbit there is an apogee and a perigee, the farthest and closest distances, respectively, from the really big thing being orbited. If both are the same distance then you have a uniform circular orbit. If both are very different distances, then you have an elliptical orbit. At this point the Waste-REL's occupants were just hoping to have an orbit.
An orbit is essentially a free fall toward the planet that never reaches the planet due to the speed of the craft, centrifugal force -- physics stuff. The Waste-REL was moving at nearly 10,000 kilometers per hour and it was moving away from the Earth, not falling towards it. This was okay if the Waste-REL was at perigee and if its orbit was elliptical because the craft would then slow down at apogee and everything would probably be hunky-dory (see glossary for technical terms). However, if the orbit was uniform, or if the craft was at apogee, they were going too fast and would likely be flung out into open space.
Ayame and Verna and Jules and everyone at STC Mission Control was busy trying to calculate what was happening to the Waste-REL so they could figure out what to do. Since the only information they had 2 minutes after the explosion of the Shuttle kicked them into higher orbit was that the Waste-REL was moving at "quite a clip" (another technical term to ignore), all they could do is observe and calculate.
Of course, Verna wanted to "do something" but Ayame kept telling her to "cool her jets," which was, in fact, technically accurate as the maneuvering rockets did need to be cooled when not in use -- so Verna pressed that button and felt much better.
Jules monitored whatever diagnostic sensors he had on board, which wasn't many, and otherwise spent his time estimating the probability of potential technical glitches and failures based on cross-referencing schematics and making predictions on failure rates. It wasn't that he wanted to keep the team busy -- the Waste-REL was already starting to disintegrate under the stress of actually having to operate.
"Team," said Jules. "I'm going to need all of your help."
"What do you want now?" asked Verna.
"Um, well, I'd like to assign some maintenance and repair duties if you don't mind," said Jules, apologetically. "You see, um, the ship's starting to fall apart."
"What a piece of junk!" said Ayame. "Can't you people build anything?"
"What do you mean, 'you people'?" asked Verna, indignantly.
"I mean STC," said Ayame.
"Oh, no, they can't," said Verna, returning her attention to the console. "It's like a training ground for incompetence. They actually have research and development projects where the stated objectives, the method of inquiry and the final conclusions have nothing to do with each other."
Everyone on the Waste-REL was more than happy to defer to Jules’ authority because they were all experiencing what can only be described as a heightened sense of their own mortality - which felt just like a chugging down a frosty mug full of overwhelming panic followed by a triple adrenaline chaser.
They needed access to the ship's FullSenz for quick training sessions and they did have pheely brain contacts built right into the back of their helmets, but it was cumbersome to work in their pressure suits and, besides, Portia really wanted to clean up. Jules warmed up the Waste-REL and filled it with air so they could change, which required a whole new level of education in space-sharing etiquette.
Portia even took a quick shower, which was essentially the same as standing naked in a 30-second category five hurricane.
Donny and Mickey set up three chairs with FullSenz cables and SPECTACLs. Then they woke up Lyle.
Portia and Ayame joined Mickey for the first Pheely session. Each would receive an assignment from Jules, based on his growing knowledge of their capabilities and weaknesses, then they would take a training session with Jules in accelerated pheely-time to learn how to do what they were supposed to do and then they'd go do it for real.
Mickey became Mr. Fixit, the handiest astronaut on board. Everybody got in everybody else's way but somehow nobody got too touchy with anyone else because it was becoming obvious that the work they were doing was life or death stuff and there was no time to be irritable. Of course, Verna was excluded from this unspoken agreement because it was her job to be irritable.
"I can't plot this stupid vector," snarled Verna followed by: "Get away from me with that glue-gun!"
"Sorry," said Lyle.
Surprised that it was Lyle behind her, Verna turned and said apologetically, "It's okay, baby. I'm sorry for the way I treated you before." Then Verna grabbed Lyle's glue gun with one hand and his hips with the other and missed his lips and kissed his nose, while nearly poking out his eye with her goggles. "Oh, sorry," she begged.
"'s okay," laughed Lyle, his pulse racing.
"Wait a minute!" Verna hatched a full-on epiphany 1–inch from Lyle's face. "I think we're accelerating!" re–epiphanated Verna, turning to the Jules in the navigation display. "How the helix can we be accelerating?"
"I don't know," said Jules. "I think you're right but could you let go of that maintenance worker because he has about 45 seconds to glue the hose he's supposed to be gluing or you're all going to have to hold your breath for a couple of weeks."
"Okay, go," said Verna, letting go of Lyle's pants. Lyle took care of the hose promptly and then returned for more pants pulling.
"None of that," said Jules. "I've got another assignment for you."
"Okay," smiled Lyle. The need for constant ship maintenance and repair was having a very positive effect on the crew; everyone but Verna was too busy keeping the ship afloat to worry about where it was going.
At one point Donny had to go into the nuclear engine chamber and repair and reseal the water pressure to Jules' specifications using parts from Jules' blue crates - including the condoms. Portia was impressed.
"You thought of this back then?" asked Portia.
"You've only just begun to see what I've thought of," said Jules. "However, we really have to figure out how to get back in orbit because we're going to need some parts from the old satellites inevitably."
"That, and spinning off into outer space for eternity sucks," said Portia.
"Yes," agreed Jules. "That too."
-----
Edgley was getting seriously worried. His flight was late getting in and his SPECTACL was piling up a growing list of congratulatory email. As Edgley's shuttle touched down in Houston the news sites were already lauding the new STC achievement (somewhat because market analysts had predicted that the Waste-REL would be a major snafu but mostly because the story was drawing a demographic segment of SPECTACL viewers that were considered advertising-impressionable.)
The intra-vehicular monitoring cameras on the Waste-REL were being restreamed on multiple news sites, showing the crew working their butts off. The Waste-REL wouldn't have been newsworthy if the shuttle Advantage had not been destroyed, but pictures of its explosion were being constantly Webcast all over the 'Net and half the planet was watching. Ayame was already a hero in Japan; video replays of Ayame and Donny's quick escape from the shuttle being the most popular download of the day. Commentators who yesterday couldn't have cared less about the Waste-REL were suddenly pontificating that the loss of the Advantage would be more than worth it if space could finally be cleaned up by the capable crew of the Waste-REL.
Little tiny cameras embedded in the walls throughout the Waste-REL were sending back images of the Waste-REL crew climbing on top of each other to take apart, fix and put back nearly every piece of the complex craft. Scientists at both NASA and STC were being pressed for a blow-by-blow commentary on just what the crew was doing. The consulting engineer from NASA kept telling the interviewer that Donny was jury-rigging a poorly manufactured part of the fission radiator on one channel while the engineer from STC told his interviewer that the impact from the shuttle's explosion had caused an indefinable problem that Donny had to repair. Nevertheless, the one person who came out looking like a hero was Donny.
Of course, information on Donny's biography and personal statistics weren't available, even from the STC Web site, where the press would normally expect to find such a thing. Edgley began getting SPECTACL calls from the press at approximately the same time he entered the cab to take him to STC Headquarters in Houston. Sitting in the back of the taxi, he found himself talking on "Live with Chad Baxter" the 'Net's most popular live news and views program.
"Not only is this Donny Summers a whiz kid but, I mean, who is this, uh, Mickey Humboldt?" asked Chad Baxter. "He's quite the looker and he's sure handy with a tool."
"He's, uh, he's really an astronaut," stammered Edgley. "I swear."
"Well, it looks like Humboldt and the rest of the team on the Waste-REL are doing a bang up job of keeping her going up there, even though they're up against tough odds after losing the Advantage. Can you tell us what STC expects will happen in the next 24-hours?"
"I'm afraid I haven't been, I mean I've been on an airplane and I just got into Houston. I mean I'm on the way to my office now. Can I call you back?"
"You bet, Doctor Edgley," said Chad.
"That's just Mister Edgley," said Edgley.
"Okay, Doc," said Chad as he disconnected.
-----
Edgley arrived at Headquarters, scrambled into the front foyer and found half his Board of Directors standing together, waiting for him. They were applauding.
"Great job," said Sam Grafton, the chairman of BazooPalookPatoot Corporation and one of the most influential members of the board. "STC stock has quintupled -- tripled in the last twenty minutes! What's it feel like to be a paper billionaire, Edgley?"
Edgley swallowed hard. "Whaa-at?"
"That team you sent up," said Grafton, slapping Edgley on the back. "Half the world has been watching them for the last hour! My wife called to tell me to browse all the 'Net shows. Market analysts are now suddenly predicting unparalleled gains for STC this year!"
"The way you handled that whole protester thing was brilliant," said another board member, Anton Turner, author of Bite Off More Than You Can Chew and other popular business books, including his current bestseller, Hardball Investment Strategies for Savvy Seniors.
"Well, I … I had to take care of … I… it was… " Edgley stammered like this for about another 20 seconds until 6' 9" tall Senator Jack Puller interrupted.
"We're very proud of you, Edgley," said Puller, placing his catcher's-mitt of a hand on Edgley's shoulder and smiling. "Let's go into the boardroom and talk about your future here at STC."
"But I," said Edgley. Just then, a short, stocky and balding engineer raced into the foyer, slid all over the marble floor and could only stop his unchecked progress by grabbing Edgley by the elbow.
"We've got the calculations," panted the engineer. "The Waste-REL. It's going too fast -- they're leaving orbit!"
"Oh, thank God," blurted Edgley, wide-eyed and panicked. He then remembered the 6 board members surrounding him. He raised a finger and said, "Thank God… thank god we've got the know-how to save them!" He smiled weakly and then ran off with the anxious little engineer. "I'll be right back!"
Next: Pheel Romantic
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