No Step Climb: a short story by GF Willmetts.

The plan seemed straight forward enough. This was the third extra-solar long rock, Big M, passing near enough Earth to grab a lift with. We called it Big M because there were only a few who could twist their tongue around its official name, let alone spell it. We didn’t have long enough preparation but with a voyage that was not likely to return to Earth, we literally chucked everything and a space toilet or dozen in, tied everything down and built a lot of the inside along the way. The spacecraft, called the Charlston because it looked like a long dance, was eventually going to have levels but we would only have enough time to build the ground floor before the rendezvous. Well, a couple floors. We would have plenty of time to fill the rest on the trip. A chance to explore space on the cheap couldn’t be ignored. We put up warnings that it might be a one-way trip, let alone come back in several generations, and we had to whittle the list down to selected talent. We might have ruined the gene pool except we all left genetic material to keep it alive on Earth.

What we hadn’t taken into account was the autogyros rotating the Charlston and giving us a semblance of gravity met a greater force, the rock meteoroid itself. Big M was a giant magnet and we weren’t going to get the soft landing we needed. Worse, we were being drawn in faster than we could build the inside.

Of course, we had the start of some floors up the 120 feet height. Each floor was estimated at 10 feet tall but none of the first four floors were complete. It would make it easier to move things between floors than by elevator. Some were lucky to reach what was made of each floor but the majority fell slowly to the bottom or rather the outermost ceiling. The autogyros failing meant we were in a slow rotation that was likely to accelerate. Without the stability, the Charlston was throwing everything around that wasn’t locked down. For four floors that was a lot of stuff, including ourselves.

The immediate conn readouts showed we hadn’t reached the meteoroid yet so things were going to get worse. It also meant that we had a chance to do something about our position. The coms were turned on so we could keep up with the command crew’s progress to ops. If they turned the ship, we would have a repeat of what just happened. Until then, all we could do is patch up the injured. Those able to, helped the command crew make the long journey to the ops and engineering to get the autogyros working and find out why. Like me, they’ll assume some magnetic force.

Despite all the injuries, the only thing on the list was the Big M itself. We knew it had magnetic properties, which meant metal and why we didn’t need to bring as much as we would need. Just not how powerful it was. Probably if any alien race out there had thought the same as us, didn’t try or failed to land. Would we be joining wreckage of other spacecraft on Big M? The magnetic pull powerful enough to tip us was worrying from a flight pov let alone our vital equipment was 120 feet above. We were lucky no one had been killed yet. Freefall was all very well but when the Big M’s gravity kicked in, we might not be able to get up there, let along bringing the machinery down without damaging it.

The coms were left wide open. If they failed, we all needed to know and it would save a lot of bullshit saying everything was fine when it couldn’t possibly be. There was also a toss-up, bad choice of word, of whether we would all go back up to the original ground floor, currently the uppermost ceiling and more injuries or be upside down here knowing we would all go in that direction. Hopefully, the repair crew would do it slowly and we could float slowly up or down as the rotation completed. Why couldn’t someone invent artificial gravity? Oddly, if we had a chunk of Big M on-board, we would at least have had a heavy gravity source on board. If only. Trying to cut a chunk off would be the equivalent of trying to cut a piece of hard cheese with a flat balloon. Three options or combination of same. The worse scenario would be nothing happens at all. That or crashing into the Big M. With that powerful a magnetic field, we might never take off again. Breaks and autogyros.

‘STAND BY. TRY NOT TO FALL!’

What kind of instruction was that? At least they had reached ops. Me? I was improvising some magnetic grips for crew to hold onto. Well, at least the injured ones. Quite how we could get them safely back what was now the ground floor more debatable. At least there wouldn’t be problems with blood voiding the brain. Good old low gravity.

The spaceship began to struggle to stop rotating as they were playing with the autogyros or at least slow it down. They were I held onto the grip expecting to be hanging upside down. Instead, I was hanging sideways and saw a more complicated problem. We were now on the side. A side that was 400 foot long. It made the 120 feet height short in comparison. Our problem had now trebled.

The autogyros turned on again but refused turn anymore. We were in a new position.

‘AT LEAST WE’RE ALL FALLING UP. TRY SLIDING TO WHATEVER IS FLAT,’ said the conciliatory voice on the coms. That was a woman on coms this time. Someone with sense.

‘Bring anyone injured with you,’ I called out. ‘Don’t go empty handed.’

At least all the loose equipment was also sliding along. It would have been worse had we tipped right side up and back where we started. Even so, it was going to be a long slide. Maybe that was the plan. Tip us over slowly. Again, some smart thinking at and at the conn, even if we were now flying on our side. It would stop a long slow fall in any direction. The spin was giving an odd sense of spaceship gravity but it was unbalanced and we would either be floating or slammed into the floor if this kept up.

‘WE’RE GOING TO ABANDON LANDING. WE’RE ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE TRAVELLERS BUT WE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO TAKE OFF AGAIN.’

Different voice: ‘WE’LL TRAVEL IN ITS WAKE. TRY TO LAND ON ANY OF THE MOONS IN ITS PATH.’

No plans to return home. No guarantee that we could keep in Big M’s wake and not be drawn in again. How much fuel were we burning to stop a collision with Big M? The Charlston didn’t have an enormous amount of fuel. How fast? How can we slow down? We were relying on enough for the rendezvous and enough for an emergency landing elsewhere but with enough time to make our own using Big M itself. Afterall, it was big enough lose some mass without missing any. A lot of decisions had to be made quickly. We were only going to be guests of Big M for a couple generations, not maroon there for an eternity or at least until it came back to old Sol.

Right now, we were fighting its mass to get away. We’re all trained or naturals to not panic under pressure. We didn’t expect to leave so soon under these circumstances or so soon. The strain on the engines was shaking the Charlston. Another problem. If we weren’t near a moon, let alone a planet, we could be stranded out here unless we came across an asteroid. On the brighter side, at least in free fall we would be able to reach the ceiling no matter how high it was. We needed that gear up there. If not down here at least working up here.

I pressed my com, ‘This is the captain. Forget the autogyros. We need to keep rotating the Charlston but front to bottom. The exhausts have the least metal, enough to fire them. We’ll have to take our chances in freefall but we should end up down there on that wall. Its better than nothing. We can worry about orientation away from Big M.’

‘Aye, captain.’

I made my contribution. I might not be in the conn but could still contribute. They’ll have to figure out how to tip us over. Can’t do much from here to enforce the order. They should figure firing the landing jets in sequence should do it, increasing the thrust on each one. It might be rough but not as bad as the first time. Much of the time, we should be in mid-air suspension until the thrust hits us. The amount will build up slowly than thrust us back at 6G or higher. We were already moving fast at Big M but acceleration is relative as long as it slowly goes up.

Of course, there’s always another of course, the outer hull could also be magnetised by now, considering the amount of dust Big M was throwing out in its wake. The exhausts could also be the opposite pole and help the escape.

The autogyros turned off and the landing thrusters kicked on in trebles. On the outside it wouldn’t make any difference where they were facing as long as they flipped the Charlston. They could see outside in the conn but I suspected they would rely on instruments than look outside doing the manoeuvre and then the thrusters kicked in. Would it be enough to get us away from the Big M? Irony, really, the main attempt to get there and now we had to get away. If we didn’t, we would never take off again. What a legacy to leave our children? A chance to see the galaxy but no way ever to get off.

‘STAND-BY. FULL THRUST. DON’T HOLD ANYTHING AWKWARDLY. JUST GO WITH THE FLOW.’

The thrusters kicked in. The fact that they were doing it immediately means we were a lot closer than we should be. The pull on the hull must be extraordinary. Note for later, we really need to coat parts of the hull with non-magnetics so this could never happen again. Didn’t they do this with nuclear submarines on Earth? Maybe we can copy them as long as it doesn’t deteriorate in a vacuum.

While everyone was gently moving backwards to the base or ceiling of the thrusters, I used the clamps to go in the other direction. Not that I had any faith in the crew doing the work at the conn but it would be a lot hard working my way up when the thrust stopped. There was still a matter of where could we go and how much fuel we had. I could hardly do that over an open com.

We had targeted Big M after it had approached Mars so we had to be near the Jupiter moon systems, so plenty to choose from. We also had to be dark side to the planet or risk a lot of its radiation and it would take time to build shields against it.

Picking a moon won’t be easy. How much fuel could limit choice. Our current velocity. Could we aerobrake. Could we slow down. We could end up in Saturn space. They might flash me their choices. If we’re at speed they might have to make their own choice and we sort it out later. It’s going to be a long climb. Choices are choices until, like now, there might not be any choice at all.

‘WE’RE HEADING FOR GANYMEDE. NO CHOICE. NEAREST MAGNETIC MOON BUT NOT AS MUCH AS BIG M. MATCHING SPEEDS. STAND BY.’

What I was going to suggest? Might as well let them get on with it an organise things down here. At least in Jupiter space, we might be able to get home or just start a colony here instead or both. Its great to be a captain and the crew do what I want without me telling them. Then again, the crew of this spaceship was designed for people to step in when the regulars weren’t available and they’ve done well…whoever they are. Buckle down.

end

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