Chapter 28. Crisis.

When Jack, Jessica, Lorrie, Natalie and Roxie joined with Evan and the rest of the female employees, they learned of a new problem that required immediate attention.

"Our tracking of NEO's has discovered a very real threat to Earth," Evan said. "One that was predicted quite some time ago but didn't comprise a real threat until now."

"I was under the impression that there were no threats in the present time," Jack said. "Is it a known object."

"Yes, Bennu."

Jack's eyes flashed surprise. "Bennu?"

"Yeah, Bennu wasn't supposed to be a threat for decades, but something happened to move it into a possible collision course."

"That's weird. Bennu is probably the most well-known NEO in astronomy. How did it suddenly become a real threat?"

Evan shrugged.

"So, what can we do to fix this problem?"

Evan stared at him for a moment before replying. "We'll have to send a crew there to change its course."

"How much time do we have to do that?" Jack asked.

"No longer than three months."

Jack looked at his crew before turning to Evan. "Our ship is the only one capable of going there."

"That's true."

"I'll go," Jack said. "Tog can get the ship out there in a month."

"I'll go," Jessica said. She looked at Lorrie and Natalie and Roxie.

"We'll go," Natalie said.

Jack gave them a reassuring look before turning to Evan. "The good news is that Tog has the ship loaded with fuel and supplies. All we need is a ride up to the ship."

"I'll get that started," Evan said.

Jack and his crew retired to their assigned rooms in one of the dorms, they noted that there were no other inhabitants. They were alone.

"I guess they didn't want us to fraternize with the other employees," Roxie said.

"Maybe it's because we're the only experienced space mission crew," Lorrie said. "Evan realizes that we're Earth's only hope for salvation."

"Or they just wanted us to get some good sleep before we're sent out to save Earth," Jack said.

"I second that emotion," Jessica said with a grin.

They laughed.

It wasn't until the next day that Jack, Jessica, Natalie, Lorrie and Roxie assembled for a ride up to the ship.

"I can't believe we're going back onto the ship again," Lorrie said. "I never imagined that we would ever be going out again."

"We're the only crew with the experience to go out on a mission," Jack said. "We went from rookies to experienced astronauts in a very short time."

"At least we're not going all the way out into the Keiper belt." Lorrie said. "This shouldn't take months and months."

"Yeah," Jack said. "Bennu is very close to Earth, much closer than it should be. That doesn't make sense."

"Maybe the aliens decided that it was an easy way to kill off humans."

"I don't know. I would think they would come up with a more scientific method to send Earthers to their graves."

The trip up to the ship was by means of the shuttle, piloted by a robot. After aligning the shuttle with the ship's hanger deck and projecting a tube from the shuttle's entrance to the ship's receptor, the crew was able to float in free fall into the hanger deck without having to wear space suits.

When they arrived at the command deck, they found Tog there in his usual seat.

"Did you miss us?" Jack asked with a grin.

"I am unable to experience emotions," he replied. "But I am satisfied that they sent you to do this mission."

"We're the only crew that has the experience to do this," Jack told him.

Tog nodded, a human notion.

The crew climbed up into the fighter pilot chairs to endure the acceleration of the ship out of orbit and on its way to the asteroid. Jack's cat took its place on his lap, assuring him that things are ok on the ship. The acceleration effect was more pronounced this time because of the need to get to the asteroid as soon as possible. Orbit modifications need time to complete, and they really didn't have much of that precious commodity.

Later, when the acceleration to cruise speed was completed, the crew went to their quarters to check things out and relax after e experiencing an acceleration event.

Later they gathered at the food center to enjoy a good meal before they retired to their quarters.

"According to Tog we should arrive at Bennu in 17 days," Jack told them. "That should give us time to plan how we're going to alter its orbit so that it doesn't hit Earth."

"There's only a few methods to do that," Jessica said. "Do we have the proper equipment to move its orbit?"

"I hope so," Jack replied. "The most reliable method would be to secure a rocket engine to its surface and program it to operate when the asteroid is in the proper orientation."

"I believe that Bennu rotates like a top and its rotation is retrograde. That's going to take some interesting timing to achieve a suitable change in its orbit around the solar system."

"Yeah, but we have time to figure it before we get there.

The voyage to Bannu allowed the crew to plan their mission to save Earth, but the crisis mode would soon cause emotional problems, especially at evening when the women gathered at the secret room that resembled a strip club to discuss things even though the implications of the room was a reminder that they were considered as plaything by some former male directors.

"Bannu looks like a top that rotates every 4.3 hours," Jessica said. "It has a 490-meter mean diameter and is tilted 178 degrees to its orbit, which periodically passes Earth at less than 0.014 AU. Evidently, something altered its orbit to collide with Earth."

"Are we back to the alien interference theory?" Lorrie asked.

"There's no way we could get enough evidence to verify that idea," Jessica said.

She paused for a few moments before bringing up a new revelation. "I went through NASA's employee info and found something that might explain why our commander is not what we expected."

The women looked at her with questioning eyes, but with excited expectation.

"He was married and had a child, a girl. She and his wife were killed in a car accident."

The women reacted with sighs and squeaks as if they were in shock.

"Oh my Lord!" Lorrie finally exclaimed. "That's awful . . . I'm surprised he remained in NASA."

"That happened before he joined. I think he wanted to go on missions to forget what had happened,"

"That might be the reason he's not as interested in us as much as we would expect," Natale said.

"I doubt that, but it's something I will need to explore."

"Well, at least he doesn't have a suicidal trend," Lorrie said. "That would be a real problem."

"Maybe we should show him some feminine charm." Roxie suggested.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea," Jessica said. "I'll see if I can explore his mind for any possible mental problems."

The other women accepted her plan even though they had no idea how she could do that.
However, what she would discern about his attitude about them would change everything.