Supernal

Chapter 19

07:30 am Tuesday, 3rd July 2029

Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Summers watched as three nurses from the Mayo Clinic led three young children to the spaceplane launch gantry. Only one of the kids, the boy, showed any interest in his surroundings. He stared fixedly at the enormous rocket that would boost the Spaceplane into orbit. The two girls seemed totally disinterested as they clutched the hands of their escorts.

The nurses wore SpaceX flight suits and one of them carried a medical case. SpaceX didn't have child-size flight suits so the kids wore matching sweatsuits that fitted tightly. Once they became weightless, loose clothing would be a nuisance.

During their days at the clinic, the kids had gotten used to the nurses assigned to them and it had been decided they would remain calmer if accompanied by people they knew. Summers had read about autistic meltdowns and wanted to minimize the risk of that happening on the journey. So far it had gone well.

Summers followed them into the UVC tunnel. Before the lamps were activated the nurses put dark glasses on the children, explaining that bright lights could overstimulate them.

Two of the nurses had trouble strapping their charges into their seats. Both girls objected strongly. The boy, Sasha, seemed more compliant. One of the young women said something to her colleagues and then turned to Summers.

"We think it would be better to give them a mild sedative. It should make them sleep for most of the journey."

Summers nodded and watched as one of the nurses took a nasal spray out of the medical case and gave each child a brief squirt. Within minutes, all three were asleep.

"What is that?" Summers asked, impressed.

"Midazolam," the nurse explained. "It's used as a pre-med for surgery, but it's also very effective for calming autistic people. There's a supply in the case that we'll give to the doctor. He'll know the correct dosage if it's needed."

#

The children slept through the blast-off but Summers smiled as the three women gripped the armrests on their seats and tried to suppress shrieks as the rocket lifted off. Although the Spaceplane booster accelerated much more slowly than cargo boosters the g-force was far more than most people ever experienced in a civil airliner.

He settled back in his seat to enjoy six hours of tranquillity before they began the docking procedure at the OCF.

The instructions he had relayed by sat phone to Rob had been necessarily obtuse but he was sure the three onboard the OCF would figure it out.

He had told Rob that three nurses from the Mayo Clinic would hand over the children into the care of Dr Jardine and Nurse Lee. The nurses would want to check the accommodation prepared for the children before they returned to Earth on the Spaceplane. Three rooms would be needed as the children liked solitude. Rob would be responsible for unloading the container of supplies from the Spaceplane's cargo compartment using the robotic arm.

The journey went off without incident and the children had to be woken up when they were docked. Then came ten minutes of chaos as the three nurses and the kids experienced zero gravity for the first time.

#

The three still sleepy and compliant kids were gently guided through the airlock and into the OCF. Summers and the flight crew had to help the nurses who drifted and spun in fits of giggles until they reached the accommodation module and gravity took effect.

Dr Jardine and Nurse Lee were waiting there to greet them and Summers had to stifle a grin. They had both found white boiler suits normally used by the assembly workers. Toby had filled his top pocket with pens in typical doctor style and carried a clipboard. Charlie's suit was far too big for her and the ankles and cuffs were doubled up several times. Toby had also found a pair of wire-framed glasses from somewhere and peered over the top of the rims trying to look professional.

One of the nurses handed the medical case to Toby.

"Here you are doctor, there's a selection of drugs in there and some Midazolam nasal sprays and hypos if you need them."

"Midazolam? Excellent, that should come in useful," Toby replied knowledgeably.

"Shall we take the children to their rooms?" Charlie suggested to the nurse, rescuing Toby from the possibility of awkward questions.

#

Toby decided to make himself scarce until the nurses had departed on the Spaceplane. He made his way to the cargo bay to see if Rob needed any help and found that he had already re-pressurized the unloading area and was using the robotic arm to move the container into the main bay.

"I'm glad you showed up," he said. "You can help me lock this thing down and unpack it. There are usually three or four of us to do this."

Rob asked Toby to keep hold of the container while he unlatched the robotic arm. Then he drifted over to join him. Rob gave the container a few gentle shoves to align it with slots in the floor, then snapped spring-loaded catches to hold it in position.

"That'll do for now," he decided. "I'll stow the arm then we'll see what Santa brought us!"

Toby was amazed when Rob opened the container. It was jam-packed with packages of pre-prepared meals and drinks, bottles of drinking water and many other household essentials, including clean flight suits for them all.

"They don't leave any empty space in these things," Rob told him. "The oxygen control unit delivery was a one-off. Hang on! What the hell is this?"

Rob pulled a Yamaha electronic keyboard wrapped in cling film from between two packages.

"And this?" he retrieved a stack of wrapped sketch pads wedged under the roof of the container.

"They must be for the autistic kids," Toby realized. "Let's take their stuff first, it'll keep them amused."

#

By the time Toby and Rob got back to the accommodation module, the Spaceplane and its passengers had gone. Charlie was relieved to see them ... and the items they had brought for the children.

"Come on," she said, "they're nice kids and don't mind being left alone but I'm sure they must be bored, and only one of them, Aliya, speaks English. We really need Jayal here to help us look after them."

Sara was rocking gently on the floor of her room when they entered. She glanced briefly at the three of them and then stared at the floor. When Charlie placed the keyboard in front of her she stopped rocking and said, "piano."

She allowed Rob to show her how to switch it on and adjust the volume slider and she was soon playing scales, totally absorbed in her new possession.

They found Sasha at the small desk in his room, drawing patterns on its surface with his finger. His eyes lit up when they gave him the sketch pads and a box of pencils. He muttered something in Russian which Toby assumed meant 'thank you'.

"This is Aliya," Charlie introduced her to Toby and Rob, "Aliya is the oldest of the three children, almost a young woman, aren't you Aliya?"

"Yes, I'm not a child, I'm a girl."

"Of course you are," Charlie agreed. "We've got some notepads and pencils for you. Is there anything else you'd like? Maybe a calculator?"

Aliya shook her head vigorously.

"Calculators are cheating. I don't need to cheat."

"Ok, if you get lonely or need anything we are all in a big room at the end of the corridor outside. You can come and join us if you want."

Aliya shook her head again, "I like to be on my own."

"That's fine. I'll come back later to ask what you want to eat."

Aliya nodded once and opened a notepad.