Galena translated. There was a pause, then he heard Svetlana quietly say, “Spasiba.”
“Thank you,” Galena translated.
Gene leaned back to Al’s console, shaking his head. Both of them had flown jets in the Cold War and Korea, with Communists as their sworn enemy. Gene muttered, “I never thought I’d see the day.”
30
Mission Control, Houston
JW took off his headset and walked up to talk directly with the Flight Director.
Gene gave him his full attention; SURGEON didn’t come talk to him often. He beckoned to Kaz and Al Shepard to join them.
“I’ve been looking at postmortem decay rates,” JW said. “Captain Hemming’s body will currently be in autolysis, or self-digestion, as his membranes and cells break down. The gas from the bacteria and decay, especially in his gut, is going to get rapidly worse. His body could bloat to double its size, and the gas will vent through his anus and esophagus. The odors of putrefaction will be extremely unpleasant.” JW was matter--of-fact, but Kaz felt himself trying not to think that this was Luke he was talking about.
JW continued. “The body will also be stiffening soon, with rigor mortis starting in the neck and torso. That will last about twenty-four hours. The limbs and joints will be too rigid to transfer into the other suit within an hour or two. Oh, and the bowels will have evacuated, so there will be urine and probably feces for the crew to deal with.”
Gene raised a palm, signaling JW to stop. Doctors. “Sounds like the timeline is critical. What do you recommend?”
“We need to get Luke’s body transferred into the cosmonaut’s suit and sealed up ASAP. Then they need to store it someplace, hopefully cool, to slow bacterial activity. Maybe even vent it to vacuum, if possible, to kill the bugs.”
“Maybe a burial at sea?” Al Shepard suggested. “It would be honorable that Luke’s resting place was the surface of the Moon. Pretty sure Bulldog has enough weight margin for his body. And keeping him in Pursuit all the way back to Earth would add a bunch of risk—atmosphere contamination and re-entry weight and balance.”
Gene nodded. He thanked the doctor, then stood squarely in front of his console and addressed the room. “Folks, we need to have the crew transfer Captain Hemming’s body into the cosmonaut’s pressure suit before they go to sleep for the night. It’s already been a long day, I know, but once rigor mortis sets in, it will be too difficult. CAPCOM, please advise the crew, with translation.”
Kaz stepped back down to his console and checked that Galena was ready. He spoke: “Pursuit, Houston, when you have a minute.” Code for This is important.
Michael’s ears perked up, and he caught Chad’s eye. “Go ahead, Houston, Pursuit’s listening.”
Kaz described the plan, and the reasons behind it. He had Galena translate the key details, especially the planned use of the cosmonaut’s spacesuit.
Svetlana’s head whipped around at that, looking at her stowed suit.
“Pursuit copies all, thanks.” Michael said, his voice somber.
Svetlana floated abruptly in front of him, frowning. She waved a finger and shook her head, saying something forcefully in Russian. The only word Michael recognized was “nyet.”
Galena listened to the rapid-fire, agitated voice, and translated for all in Mission Control to hear. “The cosmonaut says she can’t allow her suit to be used by anyone but her. It’s custom-sized, and she’ll need it for re-entry and landing. She’s demanding to talk to senior management in Moscow, or she won’t authorize it.”
The room was briefly silent as they digested this.
Gene Kranz shook his head. “Galena, tell her that we’re working on getting a link with Moscow as fast as we can, but that she is a guest on an American vessel, and operational needs outweigh her concerns. Tell her we’ll have a pressure suit to protect her for re-entry. And repeat what you say in English too, so the crew knows.”
Galena read up Gene’s words, and Chad replied immediately. “Houston, this puts us in an ugly situation here. She’s mad, and blocking us from getting at her suit. I may have to force her out of the way while Michael grabs it.”
Kaz raised his hand to get Gene’s attention, and got a nod.
“Chad, Kaz here. It’s going to take a while for you two to get Luke out of his suit. I recommend you start on that now, and hopefully we’ll hear from Moscow while you’re in process. Also, she’ll likely get distracted at some point, and you can just grab it.” He shrugged, as Gene raised a thumb.