Freefall 0951 - 0960 (H)
Freefall 0951
Sam takes the watch
Dumb satellite box needs a good kick. Sit at the controls, Helix. I'll be right back.
Captain, since you are on watch, I must remind you that your suit is not vacuum qualified.
Oh. Right. That whole explosive decompression thing.
Helix, you're not on watch.
Odd. My self preservation routine normally tells me to run or move away from something. Right now it's telling me to hit you with a stick.
Freefall 0952
Sam takes the watch
Maybe we can pop open the airlock, throw a rock at the box, then shut it real fast.
We need to wake up Florence.
Helix, if we wake up Florence, she's going to think we don't know what to do and can't handle the situation.
We don't know what to do! We can't handle the situation!
Yeah, but I don't admit that until my problems reach crisis level.
Freefall 0953
Sam takes the watch
Computer, can we launch satellite fifteen here instead of satellite fourteen?
Yes. Satellite fifteen will then attempt to move to its proper location. The satellite lacks reaction mass for gross orbital maneuvers. End result will be two satellites out of position instead of one.
I've figured out how to make things worse. I'm making progress.
I'm going to wake up Florence before you progress past where she can fix it.
Freefall 0954
Sam takes the watch
Florence, we have a problem.
Mmph. Big problem or little one?
A satellite box won't open.
Give me a second to get my balance and I'll be right there.
The key to surviving being “On Call” is being able to wake up enough to solve the problem, but not so much that you can't get back to sleep.
Freefall 0955
Sam takes the watch
Hi, Sam. What have you done so far?
I've gone through the stages of anger and denial. I'd go further except I'm really good at denial.
This is frustrating. It's a simple problem. I could fix that satellite with one good kick if I could get at it.
Welcome to the world of aerospace engineering.
If I were in charge, our space agency would have a fleet of orbital rocket boots for just this situation.
Freefall 0956
Sam takes the watch
Time to deployment point: five minutes.
Hmm. That's not enough time to safely suit up and open the box manually.
What I can do is swap the mission profiles for satellites fourteen and twenty, and deploy that one in fourteen's place.
Sounds good. Do it.
This is what being a great leader is all about. The ability to quickly make bold decisions when you have no idea what the other person is talking about.
Freefall 0957
Sam takes the watch
Number swap complete. Box fourteen is open. We're ready to deploy.
YOU FIXED THE PROBLEM!
No, the problem is still there, only now it's on the box we need to open for position twenty.
Hey, as far as I'm concerned, the problem is fixed.
By the time satellite twenty is ready to launch, my shift will be over.
Freefall 0958
Sam takes the watch
When it's time, we'll have to open box twenty manually.
Why should I care? I'll be off shift. Helix has to deal with it.
You'll be helping me.
Me? Why Me? What about my off time? When do I get to rest?
You know, for someone who was woken up to solve problems on my shift, you're being remarkably unsympathetic.
Freefall 0959
Sam takes the watch
Sam, You want to be known as a good captain, right?
Right.
Then there are expectations you're going to have to meet. We'll talk when your watch is over. Until
then, I'm going back to bed.
then, I'm going back to bed.
There are certain leaders who willingly step forward and accept responsibility. Me? I think I'm about to be pushed.
Freefall 0960
Sam takes the watch
Where's Florence? I made her breakfast.
She went back to bed. Gimme.
I made this for Florence.
It's no good to her cold. Give.
Now why are you taking the television apart?
I'm not sure.
Helix, is your subroutine to hit me with a stick when I steal from the crew still running?
Oh, that's it! Thank you. The world is a happier place when I know why I'm doing something.