Airlock (2 page)

“That's right,” said Mr Snodbury, shaking her hand. “These are the four Year 6 pupils who've
scored the highest marks in Science this year, and so earned a place on this trip. This is Dwayne, George, Amira, and Josh.”

The pupils all said hello.

“I'm Jane Parker,” said the woman, “and this is Ian Ash. We're on the senior technical staff here at
Berners-Lee
and we've been assigned to look after you while you're here. Follow me.”

Parker and Ash moved off down the corridor and George's group trailed them obediently. Space station crew were walking about in all directions, some in overalls, some in uniforms like Parker and Ash. Some of them were pushing heavy equipment on anti-gravity pads, others were checking readouts and adjusting settings. None of them paid the slightest bit of attention to George or his friends. Small groups from schools on Earth visited the space station regularly, so nobody took any notice of these CentralCity Primary visitors.

“We'll start the tour at the crew quarters,” said Parker. “You can leave your belongings there.”

The crew quarters reminded George of a holiday he'd once spent with his family, staying in a caravan at the seaside. Everything was quite small,
and tightly packed in to make maximum use of space. Mr Snodbury and the four pupils each had their own bunk with a small curtain to pull across it for privacy. The washbasin and vacuum-toilet were located at the end of the shared quarters. George placed his belongings neatly in his cabin and glanced over at the others. Mr Snodbury had dumped all of his belongings into a massive heap on his bunk. Everything spilled out of his bag and covered his small bunk. It was going to be difficult living in such small quarters with someone who was so messy for a week.

“There's an instruction booklet on how to use the toilets,” said Parker. “Make sure you read it. We had a kid last month who managed to get his bottom wedged in the vacuum pump.”

“Why does the loo need a vacuum pump?” whispered Josh with a worried look on his face.

“Recycling,” said Amira with a nod and a smile. “Everything has to be recycled up here, it's not like at home where you don't have to worry about it. All waste gets used as biofuel for the fusion reactors which power the station.”

“Having a poo keeps the lights on.” George grinned.

“That's right,” laughed Parker.

Dwayne and Mr Snodbury eyed George carefully. Mr Snodbury didn't like people making jokes of anything, even at the best of times. He certainly didn't approve of mentioning poo on a school trip.

The tour of the space station continued with the storage bays, the engine room, the air filters, the science labs, the fusion reactors, the medical section, the docking ports, the solar stacks, the canteen, the artificial vegetable garden…

Soon, George's head was spinning. He could hardly take it all in. Everyone else's heads must have been spinning too, because several times they had to stop to find a member of the group who'd managed to wander off somewhere. Mr Snodbury had fallen behind the group on countless occasions and had to run each time to catch up while Josh had been found twice in the canteen – he claimed he had gotten lost but George knew better than to believe him, given his overactive appetite.

Jane Parker explained various aspects of life and work on the station as they walked. All four pupils asked lots of questions, especially Amira, who hadn't stopped jotting down notes on her
miniscreen since the tour began. Ian Ash said very little during the tour. He seemed much more serious than Parker, and appeared to be in a hurry to go somewhere. George noticed that Ash checked the time more than once.

At last, they came to the highlight of the tour. A tall pair of automatic doors swept aside with a WHOOSH to reveal a large, shiny room in which a dozen scientists monitored various screens and machines. Through banks of windows, George could see the twinkling stars, and the graceful curve of the Earth below. This room was the box-like section George had seen from the shuttle.

“Welcome to the Control Centre,” said Parker. “This is the nerve centre of all our activities. It's here that we organise everything we do. We run scientific experiments, we test new ideas in space propulsion and space travel, and we act as a refuelling and stop-off point for spacecraft going to the colonies on the Moon or Mars.”

George, Josh and Amira gazed at the flashing lights and beeping machines. Dwayne scratched his armpit. Mr Snodbury ushered them out of the way of passing scientists.

“Don't touch anything,” he said. “Goodness knows what might happen if you started fiddling with the controls in here.”

Parker walked over to a grumpy-looking man sitting in a large padded chair beside a series of touchscreens. She spoke quietly to him and he looked over at George's group with a scowl. Then he stood up and came over to them.

He was short and square-shaped, with a nose like a turnip. He walked like a bulldog and his uniform displayed a number of small coloured patches signifying various awards and achievements.

“This is Commander Ferguson,” announced Parker to the group. “He's in charge of all operations at
Berners-Lee
.”

She turned to the Commander. “I've just been giving them the tour, sir. They've been asking some very interesting questions. They're a bright bunch of kids.”

Commander Ferguson stared at George's group in silence for a moment. “Bright bunch of kids, yes,” he said in a deep voice. “Kids. I don't approve of kids being on my space station. When colonists' ships dock here, I tell them to keep their children on board
their vessels. Can't have 'em running about. This is a serious scientific establishment.”

“Oh, we're very serious about science,” said George. “That's why we're here.”

Commander Ferguson leaned forward, until his face was almost level with George's. George could smell aftershave. “We're very serious about science… sir,” said the Commander quietly.

“Sorry. We're very serious about science,
sir
.” George gulped nervously.

The Commander straightened up again. “I run a tight ship, and I expect everyone on this station to obey the rules and to do things by the book. Is that clear?”

“Yes,” said George's group. “Yes, sir!” they quickly corrected themselves. Mr Snodbury dabbed sweat from his forehead with a cotton handkerchief.

The Commander continued: “And obeying the rules and doing things by the book does not include wearing promotional headgear.” He pointed at Josh's, Amira's and Dwayne's MaxiBoost baseball caps. George's cap was still sliding around on his head. All four of them whipped their caps off and stuffed them into their pockets.

“This is a MegaZone Corporation facility,” said the Commander. “I will not have MaxiBoost logos on my station. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” said the four pupils quickly.

The Commander turned to Jane Parker. “What were you thinking, Parker, letting them walk around like that? You should know better.”

“Yes, sir, sorry, sir,” said Parker, going red.

“If anyone from MegaZone head office had been here, this could have started another trade war. Now get them all out of here. Kids! Huh!”

While the Commander had been telling Parker off, George had noticed something unusual on the Commander's touchscreens. A small progress bar was creeping to the right, and changing colour from green to red.

“Umm, Commander,” said George, putting up his hand hesitantly, “you've got a problem in Number 2 fusion reactor.”

Commander Ferguson looked over his shoulder at the screen. “Are you trying to tell me my job, boy?”

“No, of course not,” said George quietly. “I just thought you ought to know. Doesn't that show an overload alert?”

“It shows a minor imbalance, boy,” spluttered the Commander. “Do you think I don't know my own readouts? Get this child out of here, Parker!”

“Yes, sir.”

“I think George is right,” said Amira. “We've all studied this station in class. That indicator is moving too fast to be a minor imbalance.”

“It
is
moving very quickly, sir,” said Parker.

The Commander marched over to the screen and began to adjust various settings. “Soon have it sorted out,” he barked. “No need to panic.”

Parker frowned. “What could possibly cause the reactor to suddenly –?”

She never finished her sentence. Suddenly, a violent jolt rocked the entire space station. Everyone in the Control Centre was knocked off their feet. From somewhere deep within the station came a rumbling sound.

The lights flickered. George felt a rush of fear as the entire station shook again.

“W-what's happened?” cried Mr Snodbury, terrified. “Is that normal?”

“Number 2 reactor has overloaded,” said Parker. “Your students were right.”

The lights dimmed and flared. Technicians began to run from screen to screen. The doors to the Control Centre slid open and a team of scientists rushed in.

George and his friends were too scared to speak. Finally, George turned to Jane Parker. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“Stay there, and try to stay calm,” said Parker. She dashed across to a machine that was emitting a
high-pitched alarm signal. Ian Ash was already there, and together they tried to work out what had gone wrong.

Commander Ferguson barked into a communicator fixed to the sleeve of his uniform. George could hear his voice echo along the space station's corridors.

“This is the Commander. Full emergency procedure. Technical staff to workstations. All departments report in. This is not a drill. I want this done by the book!”

By now, Mr Snodbury was dabbing so much sweat off his face that his handkerchief was wringing wet. George, Josh and Amira looked at each other, frightened by the way that the station's staff were clearly so worried. Even Dwayne was looking nervous.

“Are you OK?” whispered George.

Josh and Amira nodded, with grim expressions on their faces.

The lights returned to their normal brightness. Technicians called out figures and readings to each other. The floor wasn't shaking any more.

Commander Ferguson called over to Ash and Parker. “Report!”

“Overload in reactor 2, Commander,” said Ash. “I think we've got it under control.”

The Commander turned and was surprised to see George's group huddled in a corner.

“What are those people still doing here? You children, go to your cabins, and stay there until further notice. We've had an emergency situation, but now the emergency is under control. There's nothing to panic about. Our normal routine will continue shortly. There is no cause for concern. None whatsoever. Is that clear? All of you, is that clear?”

George and his friends didn't answer. They were stunned into silence by what they could see through the Control Centre's many large windows. Josh, who had turned ghostly white, pointed at the window with a shaking finger, unable to speak. Commander Ferguson turned to see what he was staring at.

From the left-hand side of the station, drifting slowly into view, came pieces of twisted metal and shards of shattered solar panels. Some were very large, while others were little more than shreds and scraps. They gradually rotated, weightless in space, moving past the Control Centre's windows and off into the distance, shining like metallic dust in the light from the sun. Behind them, the curve of the Earth glowed blue and bright.

Parker gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth.

“What…?” croaked the Commander, hardly able to believe his eyes.

“That noise we heard must have been an explosion,” gasped Josh. “And a big one.”

“The overload must have been huge,” said Amira. “Think of all those poor people that were out there!” She buried her face in her hands.

Commander Ferguson's voice cut across everyone's thoughts. “Parker! Escort those children to the canteen and keep them there! Ash! Take over in here! I'm going to assess the damage.”