Panspermia Deorum (11 page)

At least that
was his previous life. He now had no upward delegation option, the
buck absolutely stopped at his door. It simply would not do to
invoke any reason for fudging or delaying the truth, whether or not
his family situation continued to deteriorate. He needed a quiet
place to think, somewhere his thought process would not be
interrupted. He left his office to find a quiet phone booth from
which he could call Kolorov.

“Ah Delacroix,
I was beginning to think you had no interest to speak with me.”

“Well you
indicated you had information which could prove to be important.
I’ve had to deal with a lot of difficulties in the last couple of
days. They were problems of a finite nature, whereas your subject
‘could’ be interesting. Can you elaborate?”

“I should not
have to, you must have an idea, surely?”

“Look, I called
you didn’t I? I’m extremely busy but I’ve made time to speak with
you. What is this about?”

“Before I
reveal all, I need to determine how valuable my participation would
be.”

“Participation?
That sounds like you expect to work with me in some way.”

“Correct. That
is what I was promised by Brandt. Now you are the man. The past is
the past as long as it is not repeated. The subject is propulsion
requirements to get to Mars. That is what you are trying to do, is
it not?”

“Keep
talking.”

“You really
have no experience in this kind of dealing, do you? Goodbye.”

The line went
dead. Julien had no idea what he’d said to provoke such a
response.

He was lost in
a fog, but then again, he’d always been in a fog when tracking
asteroids, and he wasn’t going to concede defeat. After all,
Kolorov had contacted him in the first place.

*

Having slept on
the propulsion quandary, Brandt pondered over which crew member he
should check out for a second time. He didn’t need to single out
Hiro Kenji. The discussions he’d already had with the Japanese
engineer and Captain Muller served as good yardsticks. Kenji seemed
to be totally focussed despite his sarcasm. He couldn’t really say
that about Muller. Having been apprised of the spat between him and
Julien, he was disturbed. Julien Delacroix was a straight-talking
man, he hadn’t communicated directly with the captain because he’d
have wanted Brandt in on any potential problem. Muller’s reaction
was not one of building bridges or even mending fences. Everyone
aboard Kepler depended on perfect synchronisation with mission
control for their survival, so what was the point in antagonising
the top man so early in the journey?

Hans Back had
made a good impression, but Brandt decided to get to know him
better, simply because any incoming communication would almost
always be seen by him before anyone else.

“Nothing new
from Earth, Hans?”

“Not yet, Herr
Brandt. I can ask them for an update, even if there is nothing
significant to report yet.”

“If you think
it’s appropriate. I wasn’t suggesting that we should push them for
a reply before they are ready. Maybe I conveyed too much concern
with my question. By the way, why is it you address Captain Muller
as boss, and me as Herr Brandt?”

“Oh, it is just
habit I suppose. I have worked with Arnold Muller many times.
Captain Muller would sound a little formal after all these years. I
hope he doesn’t mind. You are the man who is putting money in my
bank account, at least until we get back from Mars. That requires
me to be very respectful. The grapevine says you have handed over
the running of the company to some guy named Delacroix, but as long
as you are alive you will be Herr Brandt to me.”

“I see, well,
don’t let me interrupt what you’re doing. I’m sure Julien will be
thorough in checking out the data before sending it on.”

“Yeah, I
suppose that is what is taking so long. My usual contacts know
nothing yet, otherwise I would know by now.”

*

Julien returned
to his office and felt there was no point in further deliberation
over the new diagnostics. The big question was
how
to handle
the raw information. He opted to send the data directly to Muller
and let him stew on the implication that mission control officially
confirmed their initial concern over propulsion efficiency. It was
Muller’s call to ratify or decline a procedural EVA. At the same
time he used Brandt’s request for a password protected zip file to
update the more clandestine side of VB Aerospace espionage. It read
– ‘Flight deck observations have been useful with respect to other
reasons for the lack of correlation in diagnostics between Guiana
and Kepler. This line of enquiry will be pursued and further
observations passed on’.

He preferred to
leave Ivan Kolorov’s name out of this for now.

*

The incoming
data threw Muller off script, he was certain that Kenji’s
pronouncement of ‘all clear’ on Kepler would turn out to pinpoint a
glitch back on Earth. The two of them pored over the detail and
asked Brandt to join them. He responded immediately as he was
already in receipt of Julien’s hint at possible sabotage in VB
Aerospace. It placed him in an awkward position if the prior
decision to rule out conducting an EVA was reversed.

“Sorry to
summon you to hear more bad news, sir,” said Muller, “actually,
confusing would probably be a more accurate adjective than bad, but
we still have to deal with the Delacroix report. Take a look for
yourself, he insists that the first tests they ran were correct,
the values being virtually identical. As I see it we have two
options. We can return to Earth or authorise an inspection of the
propulsion mechanisms, a physical check rather than relying solely
on electronic interpretation from sensors. I don’t want to paint a
picture of immediate danger to the crew, but if Delacroix is not in
error, the sooner we estimate whether we can expect to achieve Mars
orbit the better. In order to do that we need a handle on projected
deterioration rate of our propulsion capability. To achieve that
with confidence I’m afraid we have to consider an EVA.”

“I guessed
that’s where you were going with this, Captain. And I suppose
you’ll remind me that Julien Delacroix cannot do this for us. What
is your prognosis, Hiro?”

Kenji shifted
uncomfortably, being put on the spot like this was potentially
awkward.

“The captain
has said it all, sir. The only other possibility I can suggest is
to consider an ‘unnecessary’ short burn. I’m happy to follow
Captain Muller’s plan, as I’ll be doing the EVA. It occurs to me,
however, that a burn of minimum duration would give us a more
definite match or mismatch of what the electronics see compared to
direct energy expenditure. If there is no discrepancy, then I’d
have to say Delacroix needs to think about the poor correlation
again, and investigate the hardware back there. If there is still a
mismatch we would have to go EVA.”

Brandt looked
at Muller, half expecting him to prickle at Kenji’s suggestion. He
did the opposite.

“Brilliant
idea, Hiro. I should have thought about that myself. I’d like you
to get on preparing for it right away. Of course I should inform
mission control of our request, so they could approve and monitor
this ‘quantum burst’. It will be interesting to compare each
other’s findings. I assume you have no objection to this Herr
Brandt, the fuel loss will be minimised and it could avoid either
an EVA or turning back to Earth.”

“Let’s progress
this plan then,” said Brandt. “Look, you should concentrate on
corroboration of Hiro’s theory. Leave the politics with mission
control to me this time around. I’d rather have answers than
guesswork. Your assumption was right, Captain Muller, I have no
objection. So, why don’t you and Kenji get the detailed
calculations ready? I’ll get Hans Back to connect me with Julien
Delacroix, pronto. Well?”

“I’m good with
that. Let’s go Kenji.”

*

Kolorov
surprisingly made contact out of the blue. Julien’s waiting game
had paid off.

“I don’t have
the luxury of time with this situation. You do know why your Mars
mission was brought forward?”

“Only what
Volker Brandt told me. That Soyuz were about to launch before our
original departure date.”

“Yes, but how
did he know that?”

“Because you
told him, expecting he would employ you to assist in our
mission.”

“Fine. Well, I
also told him that the Soyuz plan was dangerous; it was unsafe for
many reasons. I could have explained all of the flaws in their plan
when I joined VB Aerospace, but that never came to pass.”

“Look, Kolorov,
I was told by Brandt when he put me in charge of both the asteroid
tracking and Mars mission, that you would be coming to assist with
the latter. That’s all I know.”

“In that case
you must realise that when Volker Brandt made his speech to the
world about your new launch date and that he was prepared to die on
Mars, he blew my cover. It didn’t take Soyuz long to put the jigsaw
together, with a little help from NERO. I became a leper. Now, I
know you have poor correlation in propulsion efficiency between
Kepler and Earth data. How do you think I know that? And, do I know
why this problem has surfaced? Yes, I do. The price of this
information is a belated fulfilment of the promise to work with
you. I trusted your old boss once and got stung, can I trust
you?”

“Only you can
decide that. However, I think we should cut this crap of
clandestine contact. If you’re prepared to come here and discuss
this face-to-face, and what you tell me makes sense, you’ll have to
take my word that I will hand responsibility for the Mars mission
over to you. I could use your expertise, like yesterday. Does that
reassure you or not?”

“It helps, but
that’s what Brandt said. Could you prepare a written contract for
my employment and then judge the information on offer? If I can see
the unsigned contract when I arrive, I’ll tell you all I know. Then
we can sign the documentation, if we are both happy.”

“Agreed. Now,
can you get here as soon as possible? Where are you now?”

“You do not
need to know that. I can be in Guiana within twenty-four hours,
I’ll let you know the exact time in thirty minutes.”

“Fine, I can’t
meet you at the airport, so call me when you are through customs,
there will be a driver waiting for you while you collect any
luggage.”

H
aving received Brandt’s message indicating the
proposal to implement a short burn of fuel, Julien was forced into
a corner. He had to make Volker Brandt aware of the probability
that the cause of poor correlation was somewhere within VB
Aerospace.

The reply read
– ‘It is of utmost urgency that you prevent this unnecessary waste
of fuel. It has come to my attention that the problem is at this
end. I will have details within twenty-four hours. We should also
forget about any EVA. Delacroix’.

It was again
sent in a protected zip file.

Brandt was deep
in thought when Hans Back informed him of the incoming message.
He’d already decided that he could rule out both Kenji and Back as
suspects. That left only the two women and Muller. Upon opening the
zip file, he breathed a sigh of relief, but didn’t entirely
understand why Julien hadn’t explained what evidence he’d found to
substantiate his admission of a problem in VB Aerospace. His gut
told him it must either be complicated or a different cause for
concern. No matter, he had to tell Muller to abort the burn
immediately.

Brandt studied
the body language of Muller and Kenji as he showed them the
message. The latter patently displayed joy; he was off the hook.
Muller began by challenging Julien’s competence.

“I can’t say
I’m surprised, Herr Brandt. Perhaps he should stick to what he
knows – chasing rocks! How in hell can he get it wrong twice and
then admit they messed up. Then he has the nerve to try to distance
himself in the process? ‘It has come to my attention’, as if he
wasn’t responsible for overseeing the diagnostics, especially when
a second run was needed. I really do look forward to the full
explanation. Does he even realise that six lives are in his
hands?”

“I can see why
you’re so unhappy, Captain, but let’s at least reserve judgement
until we hear his evidence. You’re absolutely correct when you say
all our lives depend on this ‘umbilical’ with Earth, and that will
remain so for some years, even if we arrive at Mars orbit on time,
reach the surface safely, and kick-start a colony. I urge you to
stay calm. It will be counter-productive to alienate those on whom
we depend without good cause. I know Delacroix better than anyone
else, and I can tell you he’d never falsify evidence, no matter how
much pressure is imposed upon him.”

Muller nodded,
but in what appeared to be silent protest.

*

Julien
collected Elise and Geraldine from the airport and detoured to show
them the land he had acquired for his foray into house design. Both
women had to confess that it was an exquisite location, perched on
a peninsula, with the ocean at one side and an estuary at the
other. Standing in the onshore breeze, they appreciated the
contrast in climate to the sultry, draining cauldron of the
spaceport. He didn’t attempt to talk up the advantages of such a
spot for everyone. Commutable for him and Eugene, if his son
accepted the job offer, conducive to Sophie’s recovering status in
the art world, and Elise having the whole family together once
more. They stayed longer than he expected. He reminded them that
they still had to check into the hotel and then meet up with the
kids.

*

Julien needed a
short private conversation with his son while Elise and Geraldine
reminisced with Sophie.