The Icarus Program (End of Chapter 20)

[Drethon]

Chapter 20 - Part 4
 
    “OK, first loosen shoulder straps,” Lizfal instructed herself aloud, her brow furrowed in concentration. She tugged at the harness straps over her shoulders. “Urf, okay, loose. Next, turn central release clockwise and push…” Lizfal grunted as her fingers slipped while trying to turn. “Come on… push… no wait, turn counterclockwise and push.”
    The shoulder straps popped loose with a satisfying click, but Lizfal was still firmly held to the seat by leg straps. “Locate leg release tabs…” Lizfal muttered, her tongue poking out slightly as she concentrated. “They are… somewhere… yes, there!” She fumbled for a moment before realizing her mistake. “Oh, right. Loosen the leg straps before releasing.” With a pop, the leg straps came free and Lizfal jumped up from the seat with a triumphant grin.

    “Twenty five seconds,” said Bill, looking at his stopwatch with a crooked smile.
    “Unacceptable,” Bob stood with his arms crossed, looking unsatisfied. “In case of a fire, passengers need to be able to exit the harness in no more than ten seconds,” Bob shook his head. “Preferably less.” Bob turned on his heel and walked off. “Bill, figure out how to make a harness release easier to use.”
    After Bob had walked off, Lizfal dusted herself off, and Bill handed her a one hundred credit note. “That was some very fine acting there, Lizfal.” Bill winked at Lizfal and tipped an imaginary hat.
    “Thanks,” smiled Lizfal. “That harness is really a simple set of logical steps, a lot like a Kiburs Cube. I could’ve gotten out in under ten seconds if I wanted to, but I wouldn’t want to see a panicked civilian passenger trying to release that harness in an emergency.” Lizfal glanced at the note and frowned. “You didn’t have to pay me though, I was happy to help.”
    “It ain’t a bribe or nothing,” chuckled Bill. “You just saved me days of arguing with Bob. That’s worth every credit.” Bill leaned against the wall with a conspiratorial expression. “See, I’ve been tinkering on a squeeze release mechanism for the harness. Simple as pie, yet hard to trigger by accident. It’d release the whole harness with one easy motion. Bob, though…” Bill glanced off in the direction Bob had walked off, shaking his head. “He took one look at my diagrams, declared it ‘insecure’, and went off and designed that mess.” Bill waved at the harness dismissively.
    “And now you are free to finish your own design,” Lizfal’s smile took on a mischievous tint.
    “Exactly!” Bill chuckled. “Thanks to your fine performance, Bob ain’t gonna be breathing down my neck.
    “Always glad to help,” Lizfal finally folded up the note and tucked it away. “Make sure to let me know when the new harness needs testing, I’d like to see how much better your work is.”
    “You’re the first on my list,” Bill grinned.

Edited March 20 by Drethon

[Drethon]

Chapter 20 Part 5
    The conference room in the Icarus Program’s administrative wing had a functional simplicity about it, sturdy furniture and construction inspired by spaceship design, and strong natural lighting. The scent of coffee had seeped into the walls, lingering in the air despite no beverages being consumed at the conference, a testament to the long hours spent in the building. 
 
    Seated on one side of the table, Gene Kerman leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression welcoming but measured. Beside him, Jebediah sat with a familiar air of relaxed confidence, arms resting on the table, his ever-present grin making it impossible to tell if he was entirely serious or quietly entertained by the proceedings.
Across from them sat Milnard and Seecas, the CEO and COO of the Experimental Engineering Group, one of the most prominent research firms supporting the space program. Milnard’s tone was warm yet professional as she opened the discussion.
    “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us,” said Milnard. “We are excited to actually see where the Icarus Program is running the space program.”
    “Glad to show you around,” said Gene. “You Science Jr has been invaluable to our research, and we are looking forward to deploying your upcoming infrared telescope.”
    Seecas, leaned forward, his eyes alight with the spark of enthusiasm. “One day we may be talking about performing science on asteroids and comets found by the telescope. I look forward to what science we might be able to haul into Kerbin orbit one day.”
    “One day I’m flying a comet past Kerbin,” Jebediah grinned broadly.
    “So what is it we can do for you?” asked Gene. “This is the first time you have requested an in person meeting.”
    “We saw the Walter Kerman report where Bob mentioned you were working toward sending tourists to space,” Milnard folded her hands neatly on the table. “We would like to formally request the honor of being the first tourists to travel to space.”
    “I respect your request, and that you are the only ones to make the request in person,” smiled Gene, his expression polite but measured. “However I should point out that quite a few others have already made the same request. Not to bargain, but why should we grant your request, beyond being significantly more humble than nearly all of the previous requests.” The corner of Gene’s lip twitched slightly with amusement.
    Seecas was ready with his response. “First, we understand that the inaugural tourist flight will have a capacity of four Kerbals,” he said and Gene nodded in response. “The two of us are deeply interested in being a part of this first tourist mission to space, and we have a proposition that we believe will significantly benefit the Icarus Program, more than enough compensation to justify allowing us as the first tourists to travel to space. We propose that the Experimental Engineering Group will fund the third seat on the mission for Walter Kerman, ensuring the mission receives the publicity that will come from a firsthand report by the legendary journalist.”
    Gene and Jebediah exchanged a surprised glance. The offer was as unexpected as it was compelling. “An intriguing offer, that kind of publicity could be very valuable.” Gene paused thoughtfully and then continued. “I have to make it clear that there will not be a fourth tourist seat. These initial missions will be flown by an experienced pilot, not by a computerized piloting system.”
    “This was another request we wanted to make,” Seecas turned to face Jebediah. “We were hoping that Jebediah would pilot the first tourist mission for us.”
    Gene and Jebediah glanced at each other again, this time with a heavier, unspoken meaning. This request was not unreasonable, but Jebediah was preparing for another spaceflight that would make him unavailable to fly the tourist mission. A spaceflight that had not yet been announced.
    Jebediah paused for a moment to consider his words, then turned to Seecas, his grin softening into something more genuine. “I am flattered,” he said with a tinge of regret in his voice. “But I’m a test pilot, I fly rockets first and find out what their limits are. You would not want Walter to be on board such a flight.” Jebediah paused a moment in thought before nodding toward Gene. “For the first tourist flight you want Valentina as your pilot. There is no other pilot in the program that can take command of a rocket and ensure a flawless mission the way she can.”
    Now Seecas and Milnard glanced at each other in surprise, Milnard nodded and Seecas turned back to Jebediah. “As much as we would like you to fly the mission, we agree, Valentina is an excellent alternative.”
    “You said Walter was the first part of your offer?” prompted Gene, leaning forward.
    Seecas smiled and Milnard took the lead. “Yes, the second part is that the Experimental Engineering Group would like to formally offer our services to help grow the Icarus Program. We believe in the scientific mission you have been pursuing, and feel the program’s science would benefit from scientists associated with our company performing long term research missions in space. To facilitate this, we are willing to fund the participation of scientists in these missions, in addition to offering other services to help grow your capabilities.”
    “An interesting concept,” Gene leaned back in his chair and folded his arms as he considered the proposal. “But I have to be frank, this is not something the Icarus Program can support right now. Even once we launch permanent space stations, the first generation will only have enough supplies for our Kerbalnauts, plus very short term tourists. It may be some time before we can support a long term presence in space for more Kerbals.”
    Milnard nodded in understanding. “We know the program is still in its early days, despite all of your accomplishments. We are prepared to collaborate on how such an arrangement could work as the technology involves.”
    “Until then we have plenty of work with Megas assisting to complete your infrared telescope design,” said Gene. “Lizfal will be available to test your prototypes once they are ready.”
    “Agreed,” Seecas nodded in agreement.
    Gene and Jebediah glanced at each other and Jebediah nodded back.
    “If Walter Kerman agrees to fly on the first tourist flight,” Gene broke into a broad smile. “We will be happy to fly you to space on the first tourist flight.”
    With that, the two groups stood, exchanging firm handshakes, and the deal was sealed.

[Drethon]

Chapter 20 - Part 6

    Lizfal reveled the feeling of slicing through the clouds in her KT-38. The sleek jet responded crisply to her control stick inputs as she executed a lazy roll, causing the world to spin beneath her, a patchwork of green plains separated by rugged mountains. The views were briefly obscured by wisps of cloud before clearing again. Flying was not just a way to get from point a to b, it had become the greatest part of her life. The sky was her domain, she was addicted to the thrill and freedom.

 
    None of her classmates at the university had their own high performance jet. Few had even flown before, let alone practiced high speed maneuvers. She could not quite hold back a smile when she thought of how quickly she had progressed, pride, but not arrogance… she hoped. Not too long ago she, too, had been grounded and dreaming of space. Those dreams had felt small and far away. For some unknown reason, fate had intervened when the Icarus Program hired her as an intern, immersing her in a world she had only previously dreamed of.
    She had been hired as the program was starting to make history, Jeb had just completed the first spacewalk, mere weeks after Val completed the first Kerbin orbit. Spaceflight was just starting to shift from a dream to a tangible reality, and she had been dropped into the Icarus Program right in the middle of it.
    At the time she had just begun to learn how to write computer programs, but her first job was not based on the skills she had learned, it was to just sit in a MK1 Command Pod for fifteen days. She had crashed countless simulated rockets, spent sleepless nights poring over telemetry data, and by the end, had gone slightly loopy from exhaustion. Jeb, willing to pilot the craziest aircraft yet still somehow managing to mentor all of the junior pilots on how to be safe in an aircraft, had assured her that he had experienced the same thing during long-duration flights. That bit of camaraderie had stuck with her, a reminder she often recalled when she needed to center herself, especially on long trips in the cockpit.
    The subsequent simulated missions had given Lizfal a chance to continue her practice flying rockets in the HSP included with the simulator. She had perfected Minmus landings to the point where Jeb and Surick had been impressed enough to train her to fly atmospheric craft. Yet as much as flying would forever be her first love, her real breakthrough had been in engineering.
    During her second simulated mission, the Onion pod she had tested had been slapped together rather haphazardly as on ground simulations were not hazardous like space missions. A faulty connection caused scientific instrumentation to completely drop out in mid simulation. Sending in technicians would have broken the pod seal and ended the mission. However, she had managed to repair the faulty system with the few tools at hand, allowing the simulation to run its full length. Bob had taken notice of the repair, and pulled Lizfal in to support his work.
    Bob Kerman, the legendary scientist of the Icarus Program was a scientific genius, and infamous for his reluctance to bother with real-world testing. He preferred to focus on the next research topic, leaving the actual implementation to others. Lizfal had been more than happy to integrate and test the scientific equipment Bob developed. Their partnership had evolved quickly, leading her beyond the simulation bays and into the heart of the program’s engineering efforts. She had found herself working directly with vendors, testing prototypes at their facilities, and ensuring that the technology rolling off the assembly lines met the rigorous standards for spaceflight.
    Her finest achievement had been the development of the Icarus Program’s probe designs. By miniaturizing cumbersome scientific payloads from crewed missions, she had created compact probe cores capable of traversing vast distances. Now, those probes were transmitting data from Kerbin’s orbit, the Mun, Minmus, and even one en route to Eve.
    Yet she suspected this next assignment would be far more challenging.
    For the past two months in preparation for the mission, she had immersed herself in every detail of the Halifax E, until she could see every component in her sleep. The rocket was an engineering masterpiece which she could not have dreamed of designing, but she now understood every component, memorized the systems and knew all of the assembly tolerances. Bill had spent hours patiently explaining the intricacies of its systems, ensuring she grasped the finer points of its engineering. Gus and his team of technicians had welcomed her into their world, teaching her assembly techniques and even allowing her to put together key components herself. She had grown to trust them, to rely on them.
    But now, she was leaving them all behind.
    The facility she was flying toward had none of the expertise she had come to know. No skilled engineers like Bill, no skilled leaders like Gus or a seasoned team of technicians who understood what needed to be done to make these massive machines safe. What it did have was a dismal track record. The failures here were not mere accidents, they were systemic. The technicians lacked training, the quality control was nonexistent, safety was not placed at the forefront.
    That was about to change.
    Until they learned to hold themselves to a higher standard, she would be their quality control. Because this time, the consequences were dire. This time, it would be Jeb and Bob’s lives on the line.
    She brought her KT-38 into a low pass over the facility, scanning the terrain for the best possible landing site. This facility was so low tech it did not have a proper runway, just a stretch of grass that would barely support her aircraft. The place hardly even had a capable launch pad. She extended her flaps fully to give her KT-38 the lowest possible approach speed. Even in this configuration, her jet, which was designed for high speed cruise and maneuvering, was still travelling at a dangerously high speed to be landing on this terrain.
    Lizfal increased the angle of attack, floating slightly in the ground effect as she dropped lower. The jet was dangerously close to stalling. The wheels thumped down on the grass a little harder than she intended as the aircraft stalled a moment before touchdown. She immediately extended the speed brakes and began decelerating with the wheel brakes as hard as she could without losing control. The aircraft shuddered, the uneven ground slick under her wheels, but she held firm, keeping steering into the start of a skid. After what felt like an eternity, she rolled to a stop.
    She did not look forward to taking off again from this location.
    Lizfal climbed out of her cockpit and down the ladder to the ground. She pulled her helmet off and took a long look at the facility around her. The challenges here were greater than anything she had faced before. The stakes were high. The risks higher.
    But she had a job to do.
    And she was going to do it right.
    Time to get started.

 

Edited 12 hours ago by Drethon