Orbits - Book 2 - Dangerous Debris
Chapter Three

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Major had an hour to learn about the Ryugu asteroid, and here is what he learned. It was approximately one kilometer in diameter. It orbited the sun every 475 days. It made reasonably close passes to Earth making exploration and mining practicable. A journey to Ryugu took less than 200 days. It was first explored by the Japanese in 2018, and a small sample was returned to Earth. Since that time it was learned that the asteroid was composed of iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, silver, and some water. All these elements were critical to the space economy. This made it an ideal target for mining companies.

The first mining company to successfully have an operation on the space rock was the American concern Far Out Mining, Inc. who planted their flag in 2049. They were joined by the joint European operation Core Minerals, Inc. who set up operations in 2055. Both companies were relatively successful in making a small profit

supplying the asteroid’s minerals to orbital fabricators in orbit and on the moon.

NEO-Mining, Inc. (Near Earth Objects) came on the scene in 2059. NEO-Mining already by that time had two mines on the moon and seven mines on six asteroids. But it was struggling. It could not keep its cost structure in line. It was in debt and the debt was accelerating. In 2057 there had been a change in ownership at NEO-Mining. A controlling interest was taken by a Chinese firm.

After the Chinese firm took over, costs came down dramatically. NEO-Mining became the dominant miner in space. No one could figure out how NEO-Mining got its costs so low that it could outcompete all the other players. Soon after it began its operations on Ryugu in 2059 it quickly outpaced Far Out Mining and Core Minerals in production. They could not sell what they extracted at the prices offered by NEO-Mining, so they abandoned their mines which NEO-Mining absorbed.

The item that caught most of Major’s attention was the fact that a Chinese firm had a controlling interest in NEO-Mining. Major knew what this meant. It meant that the Chinese Communist Party

controlled the company. Major’s recent run-in with the Communists might complicate things. Maybe this wasn’t just a simple debris pick-up. Was he being lured into a trap? But Chinese companies did have some degree of autonomy and they were after all conducting a business. They wanted to make money, and the removal of debris was a part of the calculus. Major remembered the words of Commander Fox that he would have to watch everyone from now on. The run-in taught him however that the Communists could be successfully confronted. So yes he would be on his guard, but he would not be afraid.

Major had been in his cabin conducting his research, the ship being placed in auto avoidance mode. Carlos rang and Major bid him enter, “Come in.”

Carlos entered, “Here’s your burrito Captain.”

“Thanks Carlos. I’ve been reading about NEO- Mining. We’ll have to be on guard. They are majority-owned by a Chinese company. You know what that means. We’ll have to be ready if anything devious is afoot. But let’s just grab the container and get it to the moon.”

“Captain these thoughts should be put in a captain’s log.”

“Oh Carlos, I don’t have time for a captain’s log. I’m going to enjoy your burrito and then get ready to rendezvous with the hauler.”

“I’m just saying that a captain’s private thoughts and concerns should be preserved.”

“Thanks Carlos. I’ll meet you on the bridge in a few.” Carlos turned to leave. Before he exited, Major stopped him, “Carlos have you made contact with LiMing?” LiMing was the Chinese dissident without whose help the Excelsior would not have been able to strike a major blow to the Communists’ plan to control every human being. She was now a hunted woman. To Carlos she was a possible future. He couldn’t get out of his mind the few blissful moments he spent with her in the galley of the Excelsior after they rescued her from the Chinese military goons. He had made her laugh and smile when no one could be expected to. That smile now continuously filled his heart with expectations of their meeting again. But would they ever meet again? Was she safe?

Where was she? Such questions could not leave him. The torture of unspoken, unconsummated love was unbearable for the love-struck youth as it is for every such youth.

“No Captain I haven’t,” Carlos replied and he left dejected being reminded of the idea of Li-Ming.

The jaunt to the NEO-Mining hauler was without incident. With all three crew members on the bridge, the hauler came into view. She was sitting dead with only emergency lights on. Major’s fears of a trap were alleviated. He could tell she had been in this condition for some time. Emergency life support beacons were not flashing so he knew the craft’s crew was not in immediate danger. One thing that was clear was that she needed a good cleaning. She was covered in dust, obviously just leaving the mining site. It was a long, barrel- shaped ship. It looked like it had three bays. It was unclear if all three were for debris. Perhaps she could carry both debris and raw ore.

Major switched on his communication transmitter and hailed the hauler, “This is the crew of the Excelsior. We are happy to assist with your debris. Do you copy?”

A female voice responded, “Excelsior this is Purity 5 thanks for showing up so soon. We will certainly recommend your quick service. If you will position your craft below ours we can begin the transfer of our debris container.”

“Roger Purity. I see you have three bays. Under which should I position Excelsior?”

“Excelsior, position yourself directly under our bay at the rear at a distance of ten meters and we will lower the container on a boom.”

“Roger. I’ll let you know when we are in position.” Executing a close positioning of spacecraft was nothing to Thomas Major. He had performed such maneuvers about one hundred times. It was the typical way in which spacecraft unloaded their garbage to Excelsior. It was also the first skill taught to space pilot trainees. Of course the maneuver’s success depended on the skill and care of both pilots. Major knew nothing of the pilot of Purity 5, but as a hauler, he assumed her pilot was familiar with close proximity space flight.

Major commenced a slow approach toward Purity 5 using short bursts from main engines and

maneuvering thrusters. “Carlos, can you get to the cargo bay and get ready to latch down the container?”

“Yes sir on the way.”

The dance of the two spacecraft against the black of space was something majestic to watch. The silence and slow movement mesmerized Rosalind as she watched the dance proceed toward conclusion. Major was too busy making slight adjustments left, right, up, and down to enjoy the beauty. As Excelsior floated nearer and nearer under Purity’s rear bay, Rosalind and Major saw the bay door slowly open. Suspended in the bay, they saw the copper-colored debris container. While Excelsior was still nudging its way under Purity’s bay, the boom began lowering the container at a surprisingly fast clip.

“What are they doing?” Major exhorted. “I’m not even in position yet.” Major had to object, “Purity hold! I’m not under your bay yet. HOLD that container!”

Major’s objection seemed not to be heeded. The boom and its container continued its descent.

“Damn it! That boom is moving too fast. The container is going to snap off.” Sure enough moments after Major said this, the container’s attachment point buckled under the strain, and the container broke free from the boom causing it to tip and nosedive right toward Excelsior. Major’s quick reflexes instantly responded. He immediately knew how to handle the situation. He dipped and accelerated Excelsior so that she could get in front of the container. Carlos saw the action from the cargo bay. While in his space suit he looked up through the open cargo bay doors and saw the container plunging toward Excelsior.

But because of Major’s quick actions, Excelsior dodged the disaster. She passed out of the container’s path just in time.

Needless to say, Major was enraged, “Purity 5 what the hell is going on? You almost destroyed my ship!”

“Excelsior we apologize. We have an inexperienced crew. The boom operator is not wholly familiar with its operation.”

To himself Major muttered, “I can’t believe amateurs are operating spacecraft.” To Purity 5 he said, “This is going to make recovery of your container a little more challenging.”

“Can you still get it into your cargo bay? Should we wait until our repair ship arrives? It may be able to assist.”

Seeing this company’s incompetence, Major wanted nothing to do with another of their vessels. So he responded, “No we’ll handle it. Just get that boom operator some training. Good luck with your repairs. Excelsior out.”

“Thanks again Excelsior. Apologies again. Purity 5 out.”

The debris container was still on a slow float away from the Excelsior. Major turned Excelsior to get a better look at the container. He made a full circle around the container to assess how they could get the floating container into the cargo bay. “The first thing we have to do is to arrest its motion as much as possible,” Major said. Then he turned to Carlos and continued, “Carlos are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“The grappling hook?”

“Exactly. We’ll get a line on it. Pull the line taught. And that should stop most of the movement.”

“Ooo, Ooo, can I shoot it?” Carlos enthusiastically pleaded.

“I was thinking more Rosalind. Rosalind?” “Me?” Rosalind was bewildered.

“Sure. You did a great job with the laser saw blasting those Chinese interceptors.” It was true. With no prior experience, Rosalind held off two Chinese interceptors when they captured the Chinese human intelligence data collection module not long ago. “This is an easier target. It’s not moving fast and it’s not shooting back at us.”

“Ok. Now that you mention it, I guess I have become somewhat of a badass,” Rosalind asserted with aplomb.

All right. I’ll get the ship into position. When we get the line attached and taught, we’ll real it in.

Carlos, you get to the cargo bay and the winch. Suit up.”

The grappling hook mechanism sat in a pod just behind and above the cargo bay doors. They had used this tool a few times in the past to pull in larger, bulkier items, but it was always Major who operated the device. But Major now had so much confidence in his crew that he saw no reason why the others couldn’t execute the procedure.

“Does this work like the laser,” Rosalind asked.

“Pretty much. Just point the crosshairs at the target and pull this trigger,” Major explained while showing her the controls. They were both looking at the container and Major continued, “See that locking bar bracket? Aim for that.”

“Got it,” Rosalind acknowledged.

Major got into his pilot’s chair, adjusted the rear view cameras, and called out over the intercom, “Carlos let me know when you’re in position.”

“Roger,” Carlos reported.

Major lined up Excelsior to give Rosalind a straight-on shot at the locking bracket.

“In position Captain.”

“Stand by. Rosalind, you ready?” “Yes,” Rosalind replied.

“Just take your shot.”

The container was slowly moving and Rosalind followed the movement with the crosshairs. She clearly saw the bracket. She knew how the grabbling hook was shaped and she saw in her mind how it could grab the bracket. One or two moments more. She fired. The line shot out true to aim. In less than two seconds, the hook bounced off the door panel and perfectly grabbed the bracket. “Got it!” Rosalind exclaimed.

Major immediately pulled Excelsior forward to take all the slack out of the line. He got it tight and he could feel the weight of the container now being pulled.

“Ok Carlos whenever you’re ready start reeling it in.”

Carlos prepared the winch. He switched on the battery. He checked that there was sufficient tension on the line. He engaged the gearing and

… nothing. He checked the battery again. It was at full power. He tried the gear again. It was stuck. He looked into the gearing box and saw that the main drive gear had cracked and was off its axle. It was essentially useless.

“Captain we have a problem. The winch is not going to work. The main gear is destroyed.”

“Oh, great. Another snag on this mission. Not a good sign.” Major thought for a moment. Now how was he going to get the container into the cargo bay? The line was attached. The container had stopped its movement. The cargo bay doors were open. “All right here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to gently pull the container forward. It will pick up some momentum. Then I’ll stop and fly under the container as it moves forward. I’ll line it up with the cargo bay and then float up and gently capture the container. Carlos you latch the container down.”

“Got it Captain.”

Major checked his rear view monitors. He saw the line was still taught. He slowly throttled Excelsior forward. The grappling hook held and the container started moving forward. Major held Excelsior’s forward thrust for thirty seconds. He judged that the container had picked up enough speed. He thus cut engines and dipped Excelsior down about ten meters. It was working. The container was moving exactly as Major wanted.

He made slight bursts with his maneuvering thrusters to line up the container with the center line of the open cargo bay door which Major could instinctively feel. He almost did not need to use his rear view screens. His adjustments were so perfect, so smooth, that there was never any question success was at hand. Soon Carlos saw the container gently float above the open cargo bay.

“Captain the container is directly above the bay,” Carlos informed the bridge.

“Stand by.”

Major then executed the most exquisite maneuver with impeccable skill. This is what set Major apart from all space pilots. Few if any men could do what he did. He exactly matched the speed of the container just by feel so that the container remained exactly above the center of the cargo bay. He then gently lifted Excelsior up without the slightest deviation either left or right again solely by instinct, touch, and feel. The container was soon enveloped within the bay. Then with nary a thump, the container touched down on the floor of the cargo bay. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Touch down,” Carlos called out.

“Latch it down. Great job crew. Let’s get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

Carlos latched the container down and sealed up the cargo bay. The crew met up on the bridge later.

“That was brilliant flying Captain,” Carlos congratulated Major.

Bypassing the admiration, Major said, “We’ll delay our trip to the moon. We all need some sleep.”

“I can take the first watch. I’m not that sleepy,” Rosalind said. “I want to review the Survivor’s flight plan.”

“Ok Ros. I’ll relieve you in a few hours, you need to sleep too,” Major said.

With that, the crew separated with a difficult day behind them.

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