(Based on characters in The Lightning in the Collied Night)
June 20, 2052
Meira’s and Katherine’s eyes were glued to the main monitor in the tiny Flight Control room of the Prometheus base. The monitor was fed from an outdoor video camera that overlooked Silo 1. They watched intently as a truck-mounted crane carefully lifted the primary Prometheus spacecraft out of a huge semi-trailer and slowly eased the sleek white ship into the silo. When only the top half of the spaceship was still above ground, Meira switched the monitor to the camera at the bottom of the silo.
“Now we’ll find out if the mods to the missile supports work,” Meira remarked to the red-haired project director sitting next to her. The silos at the Prometheus base had been built in the 1950s to house Atlas ICBMs. As the Engineering team lead for the Prometheus Project, Meira had designed the modified supports and umbilical cables and had overseen their construction.
“Nothing like a real-world test, eh?” Katherine said with a tense smile. Then the female Australian voice of her AI assistant came from her hPhone.
“Katherine, Major Goebel reports all is secure at the entrance and around the base perimeter. Do you have any questions for him?” Goebel was the Air Force security expert assigned part time to the Prometheus project. He’d arranged for the gravel access road to the base to be blocked off and a helicopter to watch over the surrounding area during the loading of the spacecraft into its silo.
“No, Sirai. Thank him for me for the update.”
“No worries—done. Cheers.”
The two women in blue Prometheus Project uniforms fixed their eyes on the monitor as the white ship inched toward the waiting supports. The instant the spacecraft reached the bottom of the silo, Meira pushed a button on the master console. Locking clamps secured the ship with a loud, metallic THUD, and the six locking status lights flipped from red to green.
“TARDIS 1 is secure!” Meira exclaimed as she exhaled with relief. Katherine chuckled softly; she knew that the engineer with short, curly black hair was a Doctor Who fan.
“Since when is it TARDIS 1?”
“Well, I just thought…” Meira noticed Katherine’s stare. “No?”
Katherine shook her head, “Sorry. Think of something else.”
“I suppose DeLorean is out of the question?”
Katherine nodded once, “You suppose correctly.”
“Hmm… how about Enterprise?”
“The Navy already has that one covered.” Katherine thought for a moment. “Maybe check Greek mythology—something that fits with the project’s name.”
“Okay,” Meira said dejectedly. “I’ll look into it.”
“Thank you, Meira. Is there any update on the arrival of the backup ship?”
“I checked with the factory this morning. Their best estimate to have it ready for NASA to pick up is the third week of July—then add two days for transit to the base. They’ll be able to give us an exact date by July 1.”
“Good. And how about the Quantum Drive?” The Prometheus Project would be the first use of the revolutionary spacecraft propulsion technology on a mission with a human crew.
“DARPA wants to make some tweaks to the prototype design before building our engines. When I talked with them yesterday, they said end of September at the latest. But, the engines are compact. We won’t have any trouble retrofitting our two ships in their silos.”
Katherine nodded. “All right—thank you, Meira.” That’s later than I’d like, but I’d rather they take their time and get it right—Quantum Drive is essential to the success of the project. The memory of a failed launch during a project she’d led nine years earlier flashed into her mind. I want all the bugs ironed out of the Quantum Drive before I send anyone into deep space.
“Now that we have one ship here, we can start programming the AI pilot,” Meira said. “How’s the search for a chief scientist going?”
“It’s been rather difficult,” Katherine confided. It’s not just a matter of finding an expert in theoretical quantum physics with Top Secret clearance—and that’s hard enough, Katherine mused. It’s finding someone with, ideally, no family and no close relationships. “But I’m interviewing a promising candidate next week. I think he’s a perfect fit for the project.” Well, ALMOST perfect… there is that one issue…
“That’s great—good luck,” Meira said. Then she smiled at Katherine, “Would you like to take a look inside our brand-spanking-new spaceship?”
Katherine returned Meira’s smile, “I would love to. Lead the way, Chief Engineer!”
She followed Meira out of the Flight Control room as they headed for the missile silos.
