[Writing] A Dream, A Wish, A Hope

[dogon11]

Chapter 1- Look

Justin stepped out from the hangar. He had been working all day on the plane he had assembled out of old parts from other planes. He flew it all the time, and it still worked like a charm, even though one wing was a foot longer than the other. He thought to himself that he would fix that one day. The cool night air had begun its descent from the mountaintops, and was rushing a gentle breeze across his face. His hair fluttered in the wind, as he turned to look up into the sky. He saw the stars twinkling, and the heavens beckoning.

Chapter 2- Following The Trail

A path had been laid out before him. Not an actual, physical path, but one that everyone could see nonetheless. Laid out by the generation before him, it was a path to the stars, a path to the boyhood dream of his. He could follow it, but others could not. Justin Kurtoll had joined the Air Force, and had made his way to becoming the most prominent of the test pilots. He had flown many missions, and he had almost died many times, but somehow made it through, with the craft themselves still intact by some miracle. A letter had arrived in the mail the other day from the KSC. He knew that the heavens were beckoning more than before, and he was going to make it there. The bus to KSC arrived the next day for the shuttle to see the next communication satellite launch. It was not a big deal, but living within 50 miles of KSC meant that you went to see every launch. He stepped off the bus, and looked out at the gleaming facility. This was where his dream would come true, powered by the wishes and hopes of everyone who had the same dream.

Chapter 3- Onwards And Upwards

He stepped out of the silver bus, which looked fat and bloated compared to every other bus he had ever seen. His helmet, which he held in his hand, clanked against the small chain securing it against his suit. The road to the launchpad was about three miles long, and the path from the bus was another half-mile. He walked forwards, following the path, his feet crunching in the gravel. Justin looked, and saw the gleaming tower of metal before him. This was a rocket. This was what his uncle saw. These were his last steps. He brushed the thought from his head and took off at a slow jog. When he arrived at the base of the tower, the elevator doors were hanging open. He ascended to the mid-point, where scientists and technicians took one final glance at the suit, making sure everything was locked together. They sent him upwards. The doors clanged open again, and the walkway to the command pod stood in front of him. He walked forwards and the walkway groaned. He kicked it gently, and continued to the capsule. The helmet settled on his head with a slick hiss, and three clicks. He climbed inside, hopped down to the chair inside the roomy capsule. Well, roomier than any plane he had flown, that was for sure. He press three buttons, and the hatch slid shut, sealing with an airtight lock that hummed for a few seconds, sucking the excess air out and pressurizing the capsule. Justin buckled himself in, flipped up the protective dust covers for the controls, and started the automatic systems check. This was his dream. Why did he feel so nervous?

[Vostok]

I really like your style of writing! Very descriptive. I do think, however, that your story could be slowed down a little. Take your time, as the story\'s not about the ending, it\'s about the telling. But other than that, awesome!

[dogon11]

I really like your style of writing! Very descriptive. I do think, however, that your story could be slowed down a little. Take your time, as the story\'s not about the ending, it\'s about the telling. But other than that, awesome!

Yeah, I\'m personally one for description but keeping it brief. Notice how each 'chapter' is a paragraph or two? It\'s still a work in progress, also.

Thanks!

[dogon11]

Chapter 4- On A Pillar Of Fire

The countdown ticked down to T- 2:00:00. Justin gulped. The auto-systems check light flickered into a green hue around the cabin. He flicked the safety dust cover off of the flight controls, and redid the auto-systems check, for a double check. T- 1:00:00 and it came back, green. The radio chatter through the headset was becoming annoying, but there was no mute control. T- 0:30:00 and the two-way fuel lines swung away from the craft. Small pieces of ice begun to fall away. T- 10 seconds, and the guidance systems whirred into life, as their lights flicked green. Fuel gauges started registering. Engine temperature readouts were bathed in yellow light as the back lights warmed up. T -5 seconds, and the electric whine of the control surfaces on the fins resonated throughout the capsule. Water trickled down the viewports. T -3 seconds and the engines roared into life. Smoke drifted up towards the capsule menacingly. The temperature readouts moved into the optimal range. T -2 seconds and the clamps holding down the craft began to groan. The whole rocket began to rock back and forth from the force of the engines. T -1 second, and the clamps blew away. T -0 and the rocket finally left the pad. The tower was shrinking away into the bottom-view cameras. The throttle went up to full, and the rocket shuddered. He was off.

[dogon11]

Chapter 5- Blue And Green Marble

Justin looked out the window, and saw the KSC rush away. Civilization followed it. All he could see was blue sky and the sunrise. The altimeter passed 15,000 meters. Two red lights came on on the control panel, showing that the first stage was empty. Then, the engines went out, and Justin ejected the first stage. The second stage came on automatically, but slowly throttled up to avoid destroying the re-usable first stage. The craft tipped twenty degrees towards the horizon. There was a streak of smoke surrounding the pod for a split second, and then there was nothing. The engine seemed quieter. He couldn\'t see any smoke. Justin glanced up at the altimeter again, and it read 80,000 meters. He was in space! The crew on the ground radioed in. 'Justin, you\'re gonna need to burn the engines at full throttle in forty-five seconds, copy?' Justin pressed the A/C button, to begin heating the craft. 'Yessir, I copy.' He stared out the pod\'s windows, checking the hull from what he could see. Nothing was venting, so he grabbed the DSLR sitting under his chair, and snapped a few pictures. The ground crew came on again. 'Burn the engines in fifteen seconds.' Justin scrambled to his chair in the near zero-G, buckled in, flipped up the throttle cover, and put his hand on the control. 'Full burn in five.' He tightened his grip, and pressed the lock release button on the side. 'Burn!' the ground crew shouted. Justin rammed the throttle full forward, and the ship lurched away as the RCS struggled to keep it on path. 'Cut in five... mark!' the ground crew shouted again. He pulled the throttle back gently, and released the lock button. 'You have orbit at 150,000 meters!' the ground crew said. Justin gulped again, shook his own hand, and grabbed the bag of water to his right. He took the biggest drink imaginable, and unbuckled himself.

[dogon11]

Chapter 6- Microgravity

He pulled his helmet back on, and locked it again. Justin was scheduled to make a twenty minute EVA around the craft to check the exterior and systems. He vented the atmosphere inside the capsule as he pressurized the suit, and reached for the capsule handle. The shiny red handle had never been used before, and Justin hoped that they had remembered to lubricate the gears inside the door. He tugged once, twice, three times and it finally let go. A gentle shove flung it wide open. Justin fastened himself to the EVA tether located inside the doorway. He climbed out and floated freely ten feet from the capsule, staring out at the deep, dark vastness of space. The sun glinted off his visor, and reflected to create small light shows on the dark side of the capsule. He grabbed the tether and worked his way hand over hand back to the capsule, where he began climbing around the exterior using the ladders on the exterior. The solar panels built into the nose of the craft were just fine, albeit a tad bit dusty. Justin blew on them, only to remember he was wearing his helmet. Instead, he wiped it off using his elbow. The parachute was OK, and as he floated around the check the heat shield, he checked the external cameras. They were fine and recording. The heat shield was all right, albeit a bit... pre-used. Justin assumed that this was fine, and that it was an experiment with re-using old parts. The whole capsule checked out fine, so he climbed back inside, and shut the door. Then, he removed the EVA tether, which simply provided something to hold on to, and pressurized the cabin again. He removed his helmet, and strapped into the chair for a nice, short, nap.