Orbital Maneuvers by R Davison

on, and they hoped that Endeavour would be able to compensate for any gross errors.  They both crossed their fingers as the Commander executed the course change, using up more of the precious fuel for the thrusters.
     

VIII
     
    Endeavour pushed on along its orbital path while its occupants continued with their tasks at hand.  Paul finally emerged from his brief, self-imposed isolation and noted that Jerry was still in the airlock, just staring out the viewport.  Paul made his way up to the flight deck to inform Susan and Ivan of his survey and to inquire about any new information. 
    “Thanks, Paul,” Susan said, after Paul relayed the information on the rudder. “What is Jerry up to?”
    “He is still in the airlock.”
    “What is he doing?” Ivan asked.
    “I don’t really know.  We sort of had a discussion about things, and I blew up at him.  He feels that we should be on Earth now.  He doesn’t want to die in space.”
    “None of us do,” Susan said.
    “What does he think, that he is the only one who is stressed about this?” Ivan asked in disbelief.
    “I know, that is what I told him.  I’m afraid that he is becoming completely irrational and I don’t think we can count on him for anything.  Especially if things get exciting.”
    “I guess we all need to keep an eye on him,” Susan said.  Turning to Paul, she said, “Paul, why don’t you see what you can pick up on the radio?  We have about forty-five minutes before we meet up with Soyuz.  There is not much to be done now.”
    “That sounds like a good idea. I can use the distraction right now, thanks. But, before I do that, I want to take a look at the viewport you told me about.” Paul proceeded to check out the port Susan had described as being closest to the collision with the asteroid.  He did see some small fractures around the window, but could not really tell if it was serious enough to be the source of their leak.  He took no chances and applied a sealant to the seam between the window and the ceiling panels.  If there were a leak here, the escaping air would force the sealant deeper into the crack, finally sealing it completely.  He told Susan and Ivan of the fix he applied and headed off to the shortwave radio station.
    “Ivan, have you heard anything from Commander Orlov?”
    “No, and I am a little concerned about that.  They should have contacted us after they cleared the area where the debris cloud was.”
    Susan’s face grew pale as the image of the Soyuz being shattered by a large piece of earth flashed in her mind.  She shook her head trying to shake the image out of her mind.
    Ivan noticed this out of the corner of his eye and asked, “What is the matter, Susan?”
    “Nothing.  My mind just drifted for a moment.  I hope they got through it okay.”
    “It may have been a rough ride, or possibly they incurred some damage that has disabled them or their radios.  It is hard to tell what they may have gone through.  The harsh reality is that they may not be alive right now,” Ivan said in an unusually dark tone.
    “Wait,” Susan said, as she perked up at the notion that they were alive, but without the ability to communicate.  “The way the Soyuz is constructed, with its solar panels and antennae bristling out all around the ship, they may have just lost their communication system.” This felt a lot better to Susan.  It was better to believe they survived and deal with that, than to think that they lost two more warm-blooded humans to her cold monster.
    “You may be right, but what does that do for us?” Ivan asked.
    “I’m not sure.  We have nothing to go on either way, but let’s assume that they are still on the course we had previously laid out.  Keep scanning the radio frequencies that they may have access to, and we’ll see if we can get a visual on them as we approach the rendezvous point.”
    “I will let you know if I hear anything,” Ivan said, as he turned his attention to the