Space Station Crisis: Star Challengers Book 2 by Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, June Scobee Rodgers Page A

nudge it off into space, like a gentle slow-motion baseball pitch. Since it was too dangerous to fire rockets so close to the station, the Eye in the Sky would have to be moved a safe distance from the ISSC before its main thruster could ignite. The rocket would carry the satellite far away from Earth to L-4, the gravitational balancing point, where it could keep an eye on the Moon.
    “I trained for months on this system,” Rodgers said to Tony from a viewscreen on the wall. His skin looked gray and pale, and his hands continued to shake. “But I’m in no condition to launch the satellite—and it needs to go.”
    “Don’t worry, just show me what to do,” Tony said.
    Rodgers watched him at the controls, instructed him in how to move the mechanical grasping arm up and down, side to side, and in combinations. “It’s not complicated, but it might feel unnatural at first.”
    Tony had used smaller waldoes to pick up weights and samples that were sealed inside containers during the Challenger Center field trip, but he had never expected to be doing this for real.
    The arm raised and lowered. The mechanical clamp fingers opened and closed. “Just like an extension of myself,” he said. “I feel like I could close my eyes and just touch the tip of my nose.”
    “I’d rather you didn’t,” Rodgers said.
    Instead, Tony moved the mechanical hand up and down. “There, I’m waving!”
    “You seem comfortable enough with the systems, Cadet, but you’re not ready yet. I have devised a set of special exercises—tiny manipulations designed to enhance your dexterity with the mechanical arm. I want you to feel like you’re able to shuffle and cut a deck of cards in space.”
    Tony laughed. “All right, then! By the time we’re done, I’ll be ready to play poker with the Kylarn.”
    Normally, aboard the space station, Dr. Romero would have little to do in the sickbay—very few crewmembers were ever sick or injured—so her duties included numerous biological experiments as well. Many of the tests were similar to those Song-Ye had helped the doctor conduct on Moonbase Magellan, studying plant growth and the effects of adverse environments on laboratory animals, such as the hamster Newton.
    “I’ve still got patients,” Romero told Dyl and Song-Ye, “but some of these experiments need to be checked or the data won’t be useful.”
    “And the mice, rats, and hamsters still need to be fed,” Song-Ye said.
    “Just don’t give them anything with food poisoning in it,” Dyl added. They all groaned.
    “It would be a big help if you cadets could check the water supply to the plants and animal cages and dispense the proper amount of food.” Romero smiled. “Try not to play with the lab animals too much.”
    Song-Ye was clearly disappointed. “Isn’t that part of the experimental requirements?”
    “All right—just don’t let any of them loose. Nobody wants to chase around a weightless lab rat!”
    Small cages of hamsters, white mice, and lab rats floated among the hydroponics globes, surrounded by the fresh-smelling fruits and vegetables, the bubbling of the water-recirculation channels. One of the hamsters tumbled along inside a weightless transparent ball. The creature had been born up here in orbit and had never set foot on solid ground.
    “We were trying to get the lab mice to work on tiny treadmills,” Romero said, sounding amused, “but that experiment didn’t work out as planned.”
    After consuming plenty of electrolyte fluids and medications, Lifchez and Rodgers were stable enough that Dr. Romero grudgingly let them leave Medical for an hour, although they still looked extremely ill. Queasy and shaky, and in no condition to operate controls, they gathered in Central to observe the deployment of the Eye in the Sky.
    “Relax,” JJ said to them. “We’ve got it covered.”
    A proud JJ, King, and Mira watched as the Equipment Module was depressurized and the bay doors opened. Although Rodgers was