A Step Beyond by Christopher K Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

corner with Nelson, eating breakfast. Vladimir’s hand rested on his wife’s knee. A layer of makeup had been carefully applied to her cheeks. Only someone who had seen her face the previous evening would know she had been struck. For a brief moment she stared nervously at Carter, then continued talking.
    “The estimated speed of the meteoroid was twenty-one kilometers a second. It was no larger than four millimeters in diameter. With our current technologies it would have been impossible to detect.”
    “But it could have been prevented,” Satomura said.
    “Yes,” Tatiana replied. “An exterior shell to absorb the impact could have prevented the accident.”
    “The additional weight would have been excessive,” Nelson interjected. It was an issue that had been heatedly debated after the Russian tragedy, and one which he felt would do little good to discuss further. “The odds of a similar incident are remote.”
    “One in ten thousand, to be precise,” Satomura said. “It is much more likely that we shall all die of old age.”
    Carter watched Tanya and her husband closely. They gave no indication of having been in a fight. In fact, they were holding hands. Carter was not familiar enough with Russian customs to know whether or not hand-holding was appropriate for a married couple in a professional setting, but that made little difference. It was obvious the two were going out of their way to appear happily married—most likely for his benefit. He looked directly at Tatiana until he caught her attention, then looked inquisitively at the joined hands. Her eyes shot him a warning glance. He noticed that her hand tightened slightly around Vladimir’s. Pleased at having obtained a reaction, he turned his attention to the rehydrated eggs on his plate.
    “A joint review of the flight plan is scheduled for this morning,” Nelson said, after everyone had finished their breakfasts. The review was primarily for the public, who would be watching it live. “Robbins, are you ready?”
    Robbins gave the camera lens one final wipe, then nodded as he brought the viewfinder to his right eye. A light on top of the camera flashed on to indicate the event was being televised.
    “The charts, Jean Paul.”
    Brunnet typed in a quick command at the keyboard, and a chart marked OPPOSITION CLASS—OUTBOUND VENUS SWINGBY appeared on a large screen against the wall. The chart was of the inner solar system, and a pair of dotted lines intersected the elliptical orbits of Venus, Earth, and Mars. The lines represented the trajectories of the American spaceship
Liberty
and the Russian ship
Druzhba
. In the event of an emergency, their flight paths were close enough for one ship to serve as a backup to the other. A box in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen contained dates.
    2021 O PPOSITION C LASS
    1. Earth departure, October 27, 2021
    2. Venus passage, April 9, 2022
    3. Mars arrival, October 16, 2022
    4. Mars departure, December 17, 2022
    5. Earth arrival, August 18, 2023
    “Good morning, Colonel Nelson,” said Dr. James D. Cain, his broad smile appearing on the high-definition monitor above their heads. Cain was the assistant administrator for the NASA Office of Planetary Exploration. He wiped some sleep from his eyes and acknowledged the others. Moments later the screen split in two, and Colonel Leonid Schebalin appeared on the other half. He spoke a few brief words in Russian to his crew, and when he was finished, he said in English: “Colonel Nelson, you are first on the agenda.”
    “Thank you, Colonel. The purpose of this discussion is to review the mission flight plan. The supply ship initiated trans-Mars injection five days ago. The ship is unmanned and contains scientific experiments, emergency cargo, and the backup lander. Three days from today, the two crews will board their respective crafts. Final preflight preparations and maintenance checks will commence upon their arrival.” He approached the screen and pointed