spaceflight manual

Chapter 8 The Lone Ranger, the Toilet, and the Goose
The resumption of training made time pass very quickly, and two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.

In the past two weeks, Wang Ping'an and Angli have undergone training in subjects such as space walking, troubleshooting, and cabin combat.

Wang Ping'an was A in all subjects, as if he had never left space.

Angeli is also all A, but everyone seems to think that it is because she is partnered with Wang Pingan, so she is in the spotlight.

Angeli was very upset about this: "Why do I have to participate in all the trainings with you! I can get an A if I participate in it myself!"

Wang Pingan: "Because we are partners."

When they said this, they had just disbanded after a day of training and were moving along the central pipeline of the spacecraft.

Suddenly a female sergeant caught up with them and whispered in Angeli's ear, "Lieutenant Wang likes the universe more than women, so don't put too much emotion into it."

Wang Pingan: "She's right!"

The sergeant pulled the handle next to the passage to an emergency stop, then pushed the handle and floated away in the opposite direction, returning to his girlfriends.

Angeli: "If you play the guitar a few more times, the female crew on the ship will form a fan club for you."

"I don't play music to attract them."

"'Only courage goes with music,' right?"

Wang Pingan nodded: "Yes. You don't feel lonely at all, even though you are living a fulfilling life now. But this is because there are too many people on board. The four recovery teams have a total of 400 people training every day, and they also compete with each other. If you can be lonely, you will be damned." up.

"But when you board a spaceship to Mars, you will only be yourself and the void outside the porthole for dozens of weeks. There will be a few minutes of delay in communication, and the bandwidth will be limited. You will even be so bored that you will laugh at the computer."

"Praise the computer?" Angeli looked suspicious, "How should I praise it?"

"It's very simple, let the computer read famous speeches, such as Winston Churchill's 'We will fight them in the sky' and 'We will never surrender' speech, you let the computer read it, and then laugh at it."

Angeli's mouth was opened into an O shape.

Wang Pingan shrugged, indicating that the topic was over.

But Angeli refused: "Wait a minute! I'll recite Churchill's speech, and I'll see if you make fun of it!"

On the contrary, Wang Pingan was embarrassed. He did do this kind of thing, but it was all boring and nonsense. It had no meaning other than making people feel bored and empty, and it was not funny.

Just when he was in trouble, an alarm sounded in the corridor.

While Angeli was still in a daze, Wang Pingan recognized the type of alarm: "It's on fire, it's either an emergency training, or it was hit by a meteorite."

There happened to be an emergency damage control toolbox nearby. Wang Pingan directly grabbed the handle on the wall to correct the direction and floated over. He skillfully opened the toolbox and took out the oxygen mask and matching gas cylinders inside and pushed them to Angeli, who was still far away.

Angeli caught the mask and put it on, and then caught the contact rope thrown by Wang Pingan.

Because damage to the outer shell of the battleship may lead to severe decompression, and even suck people out of space, it is very important to fix yourself.

After Wang Pingan armed himself, he took out the radio in the emergency damage control box—the wired communication inside the ship may have failed due to fire or other reasons, so the radio should be used in emergencies.

After adjusting to the emergency channel, Wang Pingan pressed the call button: "Lieutenant Wang Ping'an and Second Lieutenant Angeli are fine. We are in the middle of the L11 passage. There is no visual damage, no loss of pressure, and no open flames. It's over."

"Received. Stand by at the same place. It's just a small fire. The damage control center has been completed."

"Received, finished."

Wang Ping'an curled his lips: "We were not asked to act. It seems that it was not training. The hull was really pierced by a meteorite and caught fire."

Angelie: "Is this very common?"

"It is very common in the earth circle, and there is a lot of garbage in orbit. The anti-meteorite system of the ship has different levels of protection for the spacecraft. For places such as engines and reactors, the anti-meteorite system can intercept all meteorites. Other parts can only be defended for comparison." Large chunks of meteorites.

"Fist-sized stones cannot be detected unless they happen to appear in the radar's scanning area."

Angorie: "Can't the shell stop a fist-sized meteorite?"

"Good question. In theory, it can be blocked, but there are many fragile devices outside the outer shell of the spacecraft, and it is normal for it to be smashed and cause a fire."

Just as the siren ended, two short bells rang.

"The fire is over." Wang Ping'an said and put away all the masks and everything together with Angeli, and finally wrote down his and Angeli's names and the time when the box was used on the electronic registration book in the damage control toolbox.

Angeli: "The process is very familiar."

"Because these procedures can save lives." Wang Pingan said seriously, "I don't want to kill others because of my negligence. Let's go to the canteen to eat."

**
Another day passed after the fire. At this time, the spaceship was about to leave the scope of the earth's gravity well. According to the routine, the whole ship would gather to hold a ceremony.

Just like in the age of great voyages, a ceremony was held for ships crossing the equator. This is a unique tradition of astronauts in this era.

This represents a farewell to Mother Earth.

The day before the ceremony, all members of the recovery training team had a day off to tidy up housekeeping as usual.

Wang Pingan finished his work early, sat at his desk and began to watch the news of the earth.

At this time, the communication delay with the earth is already very long, and the earth is really "another world" if you go further.

Whenever this time, Wang Ping'an would especially cherish watching the news on the earth, even though he never cared about these when he was on the earth.

At this moment, while combing her hair, Angeli hummed "Green Grass by the House".

Wang Ping raised his head and looked at the girl's side face.

The "Green Grass by the House" sung by a female voice is more lyrical, especially the phrase "green green grass". Angeli deliberately made her voice very high-pitched, creating a coloratura-like effect.

Wang Pingan: "Yes, it's a good adaptation."

"I'm French." Angelie said proudly.

Wang Pingan: "Isn't that right, the Italians are better at opera? Like 'Ah My Brother Sun'."

"Before the nineteenth century, all art in Europe originated in France."

Wang Pingan rapped for a while, and then asked, "You mean this?"

"There were no blacks in France in the nineteenth century."

"No, isn't there a great writer among you who is not black?"

"I mean ... there aren't as many black people as there are now."

There are meaningless chats going on like this, full of the leisurely atmosphere that should be on vacation.

Just then, the alarm sounded.

But this time it wasn't an alarm representing the situation in the ship, but a compact short beep, which was an approach alarm.

Wang Pingan muttered: "What are you doing, did you find that the red horned triple speed is approaching?"

He picked up the phone, and before he could speak, the ship-wide broadcast began: "The civilian ship with the record number GP87935 was found in the orbit ahead, and it has entered the collision course.

Wang Ping'an and An Geli looked at each other, and they immediately acted.

Under the second type of configuration, these trainees have to report to the working machinery deck.

There are 200 brand-new "motor cabins for external engineering", commonly known as iron barrels, parked on the working machinery deck. It is an upgraded model of the BALL that Wang Ping'an drove in middle school.

The two hundred motorized capsules were produced by factories in low-earth orbit and delivered to the space army fortress at L2 on the sun and earth. They can also be used as teaching aids for astronauts to resume training along the way.

But when encountering a situation, these motorized cabins can also be dispatched to rescue.

Wang Pingan was about to go out when he suddenly stopped and looked at the ceiling.

Angorie bumped into him again.

"What are you doing?"

Wang Pingan: "Didn't you feel it? The engine of the spacecraft stopped ejecting, and we stopped accelerating."

Angeli: "Can you feel the change in acceleration of thirteen milligals?"

"Of course. We are still in the gravitational well of the earth. Stopping the acceleration will cause a slight change in the orbit. It may be to stagger the ship in front. This is not right. Generally, the ships of the Space Force have the right to use the orbit first, and it should be avoided by civilian ships."

As soon as the words fell, both of them felt a slight vibration of acceleration to the side at the same time.

"The attitude control engine is activated." Wang Ping'an muttered, "This is indeed adjusting the trajectory. Something is wrong."

Angeli pushed him: "It's not right, ass, we have to get to the working machinery deck in 5 minutes! This is the most important thing!"

**
A total of [-] pilots in the four training teams on the spaceship are now neatly lined up in four square teams on the working machinery deck.

The chief instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Xue, spoke to everyone: "You may have felt that the spacecraft has changed its orbit to stagger the spacecraft GP87935."

The image of the civilian ship appeared on the holographic projection screen.

Everyone said "oh".

The civilian ship was rolling erratically, and there must have been an accident.

"As you can see, GP87935 has lost its attitude control capability. At present, we have received a report from the dispatch bureau that this is an unmanned cargo ship, an unmanned ship of Drow Space Mining, and it is ready to be put into the asteroid mining industry .”

Someone among the astronauts asked: "Isn't it possible to use all AI to cope with emergencies? At least in the situations we encounter, AI can only handle 80.00%."

Lieutenant Colonel Xue: "Obviously Drow Mining thinks it can. Now the ship may have been hit by a meteorite, and the AI ​​failed to properly handle the meteorite. Drow Mining has authorized us to implement scrapping on this ship.

"It seems like they thought it would be better to buy a new boat with the boat's insurance than to salvage the old one.

"So with the approval of the Space Navigation Management Committee, our ship will sail in the parallel orbit of GP87935 at the same speed for a period of time, and you will carry out the disposal of GP87935."

Wang Ping'an immediately shouted: "This spaceship is rolling so hard, it's hard for us to get on it."

The lieutenant colonel didn't mind Wang Ping'an's interruption, but continued: "Yes, so we will first use our ship's propulsion jet to detonate the GP87935 reactor accurately. What you have to deal with is the remaining debris, all kinds of debris. Very Good rehab isn't it?"

After speaking, the lieutenant colonel laughed, as if he thought his words were humorous.

But none of the astronauts laughed.

The lieutenant colonel coughed in embarrassment, and then said seriously: "Next, we will send the first group of eight iron barrels to orbit the spacecraft for surveying and mapping, and provide information for us to formulate the detonation plan. The one who interrupted just now, right? , you and your partner pilot the No. [-] plane."

**
The cockpit of the iron barrel is very narrow, and two pilots wearing bulky space suits have to sit side by side in it.

If there is no spacesuit, Wang Ping'an would probably feel very happy to be in such a small space next to a beauty like Angeli.

However, no matter how beautiful a girl is, if she gets into a space suit, she will turn into a big and thick fat pier.

The two fat guys are squeezed together, and there are no benefits.

Moreover, the equipment on the spacesuit is touched from time to time, making pounding sounds.

Angeli: "How about I come? I drive this but S, I mean, A."

Wang Ping'an: "It's as if I'm not A. Remember, in our group, I am the commander, and I am generally responsible for the duties of the pilot. You are the extravehicular operator."

"At a time like this, you use your position to overwhelm others. I don't see you respecting the assignment of duties in the army." Angeli complained.

Wang Pingjian didn't hear it, so he closed the airtight hatch, opened the air circulation system in the cabin, and let the air fill the cockpit.

Then he got on the radio: "Here's the Lone Ranger, ready to go."

The radio call sign is also a habit inherited from the pre-astronautic age, and astronauts can set it up by themselves.

Angeli: "The Lone Ranger? Could it be from Top Gun?"

"That's right, why don't you call your radio account number Goose, which happens to correspond to that in the movie. If you don't have a call sign yourself, they will call you by all kinds of weird things, such as the one who opened the No. 2 machine." The radio call for the toilet because he once clogged the toilet in the room for three days in a row."

"Three days?"

"Yes, once a day."

As soon as the voice fell off the tower, a reply came back: "Lone Ranger, the whole route is clear, and we can start."

Wang Pingan grabbed the left and right operating levers, controlled the main engine with the pedals, and sprayed lightly.

The iron bucket moved smoothly.

Wang Pingan: "Rick Carter, Skull One, let's go!"

Angeli looked at Wang Ping'an with the eyes of a child: "This seems to be the content of an ancient children's cartoon?"

"Hmph, adults won't understand the beauty of cartoons!"

As Wang Pingan said, he drove the iron bucket and left the departure deck.

GP87935, which is turning somersaults irregularly in space, appeared in the field of vision.But this time it looks very small.

After all, the distance between the two ships was three kilometers.

This distance is insignificant on the scale of space, and can be regarded as almost fitting together.But from the perspective of individual human beings, it is very big.

"Lone Ranger, start to enter the detour route GP87935. Finished."

"The toilet follows you, Lone Ranger. Over."

When she heard the radio call sign "toilet", Angorie almost froze.

Seeing this, Wang Pingan directly said on the radio: "Toilet, my partner thinks your call sign is very individual."

"Damn it, Lone Ranger, you didn't call this out first!"

Because it was a small talk, neither of them used the "end" that is inevitable in the standard communication format as the final concluding sentence of the call.

"Quiet me! Concentrate on your work!" This is Lieutenant Colonel Xue's roar.He didn't bring "Done" either.

Wang Pingan shut up.

But at this time, the communication from the toilet came again: "Bane, Lone Ranger, what's your partner's name, you can also give her a call sign."

Angeli looked puzzled, wondering why other than Wang Ping'an, there were people who dared to ignore the authority of their superiors.

Wang Pingan pointed to the display on the LCD screen and said: "This is laser communication. Basically, our two machines are point-to-point."

Toilet: "Lone Ranger?"

Wang Pingan: "I decided to call her a goose."

"Crap, are you two going to find a museum to steal F14?"

Angeli was so angry that she tapped Wang Ping'an's knee, but Wang Ping'an was wearing a spacesuit, which was so thick that she couldn't feel it.

The iron barrel team of eight machines in the chatting approached the tumbling GP87935.

Wang Pingan activated the scanner and began to circle the spacecraft.

"I saw the damage!" Angeli said loudly, "It's behind the main reactor."

Wang Pingan was speechless: "This is the hydrogen pipeline of the tritium reflection engine. The explosion of the engine disrupted the flight attitude of the spacecraft."

At this time, the second gap was scanned. This gap is very small, and it is difficult to detect with the naked eye without scanning—at least it is difficult to detect at this distance.

After comparing the design drawings of GP87935, the computer suggested that the meteorite might have damaged one of the spacecraft's main computers.

Wang Pingan: "This spaceship has two AI systems, but the main system stopped and the backup system didn't start. It shouldn't be."

At this moment, he was suddenly stunned, and turned his head to look at GP87935 through the porthole intently.

Angelie: "What's wrong?"

"I saw a flash." Wang Ping'an muttered.

Angelie: "Where is the flash?"

Wang Pingan didn't care about her, and shouted directly on the radio: "This is the Lone Ranger, has anyone seen a flash on GP87935? It's over."

"No toilet. Over."

"Scarlet Witch not. Over."

"God of Wealth is not. Over."

……

The whole team didn't see the flash.

Angelie: "Is it wrong? Or is a certain part reflecting sunlight?"

Wang Ping'an: "No, the direction of the sun's rays is wrong, and it can't be reflected to me no matter what. It's a flash of light."

Angeli: "What flash? Is the AI ​​on the spaceship sending us a distress signal?"

Wang Pingan: "I don't know, but I did see a flash..."

At this moment, the rolling GP87935 flickered again. This time, Wang Ping'an saw clearly that it was the flicker from the porthole of the maintenance airtight hatch on the left side of the spacecraft.

Wang Pingan: "The Lone Ranger reports that the porthole of the A87935 maintenance port on the left side of GP1 is flashing. Finished"

"Toilet confirmation, I saw a flash, but I didn't see where it came from. It's over."

"Lone Ranger, is it possible that the flash was caused by floating objects in the airlock? Over." Mothership asked.

Wang Pingan was about to answer when he suddenly stopped.

Because he saw the flashes start to appear in succession.

"The Lone Ranger reports that the flashes appear in succession, possibly Morse code. Over."

By this time he had finished reading Morse code.

So he didn't wait for the mothership to respond, and continued to report: "The content of Morse code is, 'We are stowaways, trapped in the maintenance lane.' Over."

(End of this chapter)