Free Solar Storms by Nicholas Sansbury Smith Page B

Sophie strained to catch
the response, feeling the knot in her stomach grow as the seconds ticked by.
Finally the radio blared to life.
    “Roger, Captain, verifying records.”
    More static broke over the channel. What was taking
them so long? And why hadn’t they shown up in the system? Every instinct told
her that something wasn’t right. Sophie froze as the channel came back on.
    “Captain Mitchell, this is base. Both Dr. Rodriguez
and Dr. Winston are cleared to advance. Must have been a glitch in the
registry. They are approved for entry, over.”
    The soldier quickly brought his wrist mic back to
his helmet. “Copy that.” He paced over to them and handed them their badges.
“Can’t be too careful,” he said before returning to the guard shack to open the
massive metal gate.
    Emanuel shrugged and climbed back into the vehicle,
but Sophie paused, waiting until the soldier was safely inside the guard shack.
As soon as she sat down, the driver punched the gas and the truck lurched
forward.
    She looked over at Emanuel, who was digging in his
backpack. “What?” he asked, glancing up at her. It took him only an instant to
recognize the concern streaked across her face. They had worked together for
years, and he knew her better than anyone.
    “Something’s wrong. The security, NASA pushing our
schedule up—something is off,” she whispered.
    Emanuel nodded a fraction of an inch, not wanting
to attract any attention from the driver.
    “Patience, Sophie,” he said. He reached over and
stroked her hand softly with his index finger. His touch immediately relaxed
her, and she turned to survey the buildings racing by.
    In the distance, the sun lost its battle with the
oncoming night, but not before emitting one last brilliant blaze that turned the
clouds of smog above South Houston a radiant orange. The sunset was beautiful,
but Sophie couldn’t help but wonder what was brewing out there, millions of
miles away.
     
    -2-
     
    “WELCOME, welcome!” Dr.
Tsui said, flailing his tiny arms around. “This,” he said, spinning on the
white tile floor of the atrium, “this is building 30-S, former home to the
Space Shuttle Control Room as well as the data facilities and flight consoles.
It has been completely renovated and upgraded to serve NASA’s Space Weather
Program.”
    Sophie set her bag on the ground and took a moment
to admire the open atrium. Glass walls surrounded her on all sides, providing a
panoramic view of the other buildings. In the middle of the room rested an
ancient space shuttle, the outer casing peeled away to reveal the mechanical
guts. Hundreds of wires snaked through the metal bones. She could picture
school children marveling at the ship on a tour, much as she had done when she
saw dinosaurs at the museum as a child. The NASA shuttle was, after all, a
fossil, having gone extinct years ago when NTC took over space exploration.
    “You will be spending all of your time here, and
your tablets will only access this building,” Tsui said, handing them both
tablet computers. He shifted his dark-rimmed glasses higher onto his wrinkled
nose. “Ah, that reminds me about earlier. I understand there was a security mix
up?”
    Sophie nodded, her lips parting to speak, but Tsui
beat her to it.
    “We have been so busy that someone dropped the ball
on getting you entered into the system. My apologies.” The old scientist offered
his small hand, which stuck out the end of an oversized white lab coat.
    “It was a bit of a surprise, but understandable
considering the situation. Security seems…unusually tight,” Sophie said,
seizing the opportunity to get information out of the man. Tsui just smiled. She
reached out and shook his hand, trying not to wince. For an 80-year-old man, he
had a very strong grip.
    Tsui shook Emanuel’s hand as well before turning to
head down the hall. He got a few feet away and stopped, craning his old neck to
look at them. “What are you waiting for?” he said, motioning