Chapter 4 Sky Wheel

As soon as they had removed their space suits at the Station, Ted left the other men to report to the Commanding Officer.

General Pepper was an impressive-looking man with a high crown of hair graying slightly at the temples. His face was as compact as a rivet, giving the feeling that there had been no lack of economy or efficiency in the arrangement of his features. He looked at Ted’s papers briefly and then leaned back in his chair. His collar was open at the throat, the two stars of his rank gleaming on either wing.

“Well, Baker,” he said, “you’re going to be lonely for a week or so.”

“Sir?”

“Until your classmates get here. Ordinarily, four more seniors would have accompanied you on this last hop. We had to give priority to the crew of the Moon ship, though.”

“I see, sir.”

“At any rate, another rocket is due tomorrow, and there’ll be one every day for the remainder of the week.” He chuckled and added, “I wish we had as many Moon rockets.”

“There’s only one, isn’t there, sir?”

“That’s right, Baker.” He leaned forward. “Did you see her outside?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “What did you think of her?”

“A beauty, sir.”

General Pepper nodded. “Nonetheless,” he said, getting back to the subject, “your entire class should be assembled by the end of the week. Until then...” He shrugged. “I suppose you might just as well get acquainted with the Station. Can’t see any harm in that, as long as you don’t get underfoot.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“You’ll be sleeping in compartment 12 Charlie. You can take any sack you like, since you’re the first one here. A lieutenant will be assigned to the group later, though, and he may want to rearrange things.” General Pepper allowed his voice to trail off, a smile tilting the corners of his mouth. “You know how shavetails are.”

“Yes, sir. I mean...”

“All right, Baker, you’re on your own for now. If you run into any problems, just ask anyone for help. You’ll find our crew to be a most co-operative one. Dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir,” Ted repeated. He saluted the general, about-faced, and left the compartment.

He found his sleeping quarters without any trouble. He wondered if his baggage had arrived yet, figuring he could spend some of his idle time in unpacking. The last he’d seen of it had been when he’d turned it over to the weighing section back on Johnston Island. Leaving the compartment, he debated whether he should stop a crew member to find out what the procedure with baggage was. He decided against it, reasoning that he’d find Jack or one of the other fellows soon, and they’d explain the setup to him.

Finding Jack turned out to be a matter of chance. Ted had wandered through the metal corridors of the Station for more than a half-hour, reluctant to ask directions since everyone seemed so busy. He was rounding another bend when he spotted a familiar crest of red hair.

“Jack!” he shouted. “Hey, Jack!”

Jack turned suddenly, his eyes widening. “Oh,” he murmured. “It’s you.”

“Brother, am I glad to see you,” Ted said, realizing he’d said almost the same words when he’d met Jack at the spaceport. He was a little embarrassed by his own enthusiasm now since Jack didn’t seem at all happy about the chance meeting.

“What’s the trouble?” Jack asked.

“Nothing. Except I need a road map of this place. How do you find your way around?”

“You’ll get used to it,” Jack told him. His face was unusually glum, the pained expression still clinging to his features. The Jack whom Ted had known at the Academy was full of life, always ready to share in a prank. This new Jack was a stranger.

“Well,” Ted said, “I was wondering if you knew where they’d dumped my baggage.”

Jack smiled briefly. “The Baggage Blues, eh? Come on, I’ll take you to the Loading-In Section.” He started down the corridor without another word, and Ted tailed behind him.

They passed an open door, and Ted called, “Hey, Jack, hold up a minute.”

Jack turned back, plainly displeased with the interruption. “What is it?” he asked.

“That’s what I wanted to ask you. Is this the Earth Viewing Room?”

Jack peeped through the open door. “That’s it.”

“Do you suppose we could go inside?”

“I think you’d better wait until your classes begin. You’ll get so much of Earth Viewing, it’ll be coming out of your ears.”

Ted stood in the doorway, fascinated by what he saw inside. A series of radar screens were set in the bulkhead, showing the section of the Earth over which the Station was now passing. The first screen covered an area of one hundred miles. The screen on its right covered a twenty-mile segment of the area on the first screen. The third screen pin-pointed a two-mile area. And the last screen, almost phenomenal in its telescopic power, had focused on a five-hundred-yard area, revealing the shore of an island far below, complete with palm trees and leaping surf. Men stood before each screen, wearing sound-powered phones through which all the data was passed up to Control.

“Come on,” Jack said. “I thought you wanted to find your baggage.”

Ted nodded, completely absorbed in the radar screens. Jack took his elbow and pulled him away from the door. “You’ll be standing watch on those screens,” he said. “We’ll see how much they fascinate you when you’ve got to nurse them along at four in the morning.”

They walked silently for what seemed like a long while, although Ted imagined they’d actually covered a very short distance in the winding corridor.

At last, Jack stopped before a panel in the bulkhead. Set into the panel was an arrangement of keys that looked very much like the keyboard of a typewriter. Each key was lettered alphabetically, starting with A in the first row, and ending with Z on the last key in the last row.

“Just punch out your last name on the keys,” Jack said. “The computer will sort out your baggage tags and pass the information on to the live crew on the deck above. They’ll pass your baggage down through the chute.”

Ted walked to the panel, studied it for a moment, and then punched out the letters B-A-K-E-R. He heard a faint humming sound as the electronic computer whirred into action. There was an immediate clicking as the information was relayed up to the top deck.

“It’ll be a few minutes,” Jack said. “The human element is a little slower than the machine element.”

Jack leaned against the bulkhead, a blank expression on his face. Ted wondered if it were simply boredom, or preoccupation with his thoughts of the Moon trip. There was a swish, followed by a thud against the bulkhead.

“That’s it,” Jack said. “Better wait until it all arrives.”

“There should be two suitcases and a barracks bag,” Ted said. Two more thuds sounded in the corridor, and Ted grinned. “I guess that’s all.”

He walked to the door set in the bulkhead at shoulder level. Quickly, he turned the wheel and threw it open, reaching inside for a suitcase. He deposited this on the deck and then put a second suitcase down beside it. He stepped close to the opening then and pulled the heavy barracks bag onto his shoulder.

“Want to close this door, Jack?” he asked.

“Sure.” Jack slammed the door shut, giving the wheel a quick twist. “I’ll help you with those suitcases,” he said.

“Well, thanks.”

Ted stood by, balancing the barracks bag on his shoulders, while Jack reached down for the heaviest of the two suitcases. Jack suddenly straightened, releasing his grip on the suitcase. His face turned a pasty white, and he staggered back against the bulkhead, his mouth twisted in pain. His right hand went up to his collarbone, and he closed his eyes tightly.

Ted dropped the barracks bag to the deck. “Jack, what is it? Are you...”

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” He ground the words out through tightly clenched teeth.

Ted moved closer, his hands stretched out before him, indecision making his movements clumsy and ineffective. “Jack... I... what...?”

“I told you it was nothing,” Jack snapped. He turned violently, and then screamed as he clutched at his collarbone again.

“I’m going to get the doctor,” Ted said.

“No!” Jack shouted.

“But...”

“I said no! I’m all right. Just let me alone.”

“You’re not all right,” Ted insisted. “A blind man could see that.”

“Shut up!” Jack said, his voice low and hissing. “Do you want the whole Station down on our ears?”

Ted stared at his friend, his arms hanging at his sides, a puzzled look on his face. “I don’t understand, Jack,” he said at length. “Why don’t you want me to get a doctor?”

“Brother, how stupid can you get?” A new spasm of pain ripped through Jack’s body. He ducked his head, his lips skinned back over his teeth. He bent slightly at the waist, as if the pain were too much to bear standing erect.

“I’m going,” Ted said suddenly. He started to move, and Jack reached out with one hand, sinking his fingers into Ted’s shoulder. He whirled Ted around, slammed him against the bulkhead, the effort bringing new agony to his face.

“Look,” he gasped, “keep... keep your silly... nose out of this. Understand?”

He drew back his arm suddenly, and Ted saw pain knifing his features again.

“When did you hurt yourself?” he asked.

Jack didn’t answer for a moment. He kept his head bent, his fingers pressed against his collarbone. “It’ll pass,” he murmured. “The pain only comes... every... now and then.”

Ted suddenly remembered the blastoff from Earth and the pain that had contorted Jack’s features. “Was it during blastoff?” he asked. “Was that when you hurt yourself?”

Jack nodded, swallowing hard. “That’s when. Yes. Yes.”

“Where?”

“My collarbone.”

“Is it broken?”

“I don’t think so. No.”

“I’m going to get a doctor,” Ted said again.

Jack lifted his head, his eyes blazing. “You’ll do nothing,” he whispered. “You’ll keep your mouth shut and forget all about this.”

“But you said...”

“Just forget everything I said. Just go about your business and forget you even know me. Until I’m on my way to the Moon.”

Ted pulled his brows together and looked at Jack huddled against the bulkhead, his fingers massaging his injured collarbone.

“You can’t go to the Moon like that,” he said. “Acceleration might break the bone — if it’s not broken already.”

“It’s not broken,” Jack insisted, “and I’m not worried about acceleration.”

“You’ll be endangering your life,” Ted said. “The Manual says no man should undergo acceleration unless he’s in top physical...”

“Stop harping on that Manual,” Jack said. “School days are school days, and this is something entirely different. You think I’m going to pass up a shot at the Moon because of a rules book? You think I’m crazy?”

Ted’s eyes narrowed. “You’re supposed to be going along as a possible replacement for any man in the crew. How can you replace anyone if you’re going to need replacement yourself?”

“Let me worry about that,” Jack said.

“Suppose something should go wrong? Suppose one of the men gets sick? How will you...”

“Look, Ted,” Jack interrupted, “I’m going to the Moon. I’ve come this far, and I’m going the rest of the way, collarbone or no collarbone.”

“You’re being downright selfish. You’re not only gambling with your own life; you’re endangering the life of every man in the crew.”

“Stop being a kid, for crying out loud! I’m due for pilot and navigator training after this hop. You know what this will mean? I’ll be made. I can write my own ticket anywhere after this. You think I’m going to let a bruised bone stop me? Grow up, will you?”

Ted considered this for a moment. “Suppose I tell the doctor anyway?”

“That’ll mean washout for me. I’ll be through as far as the Air Force is concerned.” He paused. “You wouldn’t want that to happen, would you?”

“I... I don’t know.”

Jack smiled. “This bone bruise is nothing, Ted, Acceleration won’t hurt it a bit. You’ll see.”

“If it’s nothing to worry about, why won’t you see a doctor?”

“Because I don’t want to get tangled up in a lot of red tape. By the rules book, I’d be out. But you know, as well as I do, that the rules don’t always apply.”

Ted passed a nervous hand over his face. “Jack, why don’t you...?”

The smile had left Jack’s face, and a scowl darkened his features now. “This is none of your business, Ted,” he warned. “Just keep out of it. Your job is to stay here at the Station for a year.” He paused. “My job is to reach the Moon.”

“But will you reach it? That’s just my point. With a bruised bone, you’re liable to...”

“That’s my worry,” Jack said again. He looked down at the suitcases on the deck. “I think you’d better carry these yourself. I don’t want to take any chances.”

He started down the corridor, leaving Ted with the baggage. At the end of the metal hall, he turned and said, “I’m going to the Moon, Ted, and no one’s going to stop me.”

His mouth set into a tight line, and there was no compromise on his face. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut!”