Five
JJ’s stomach gave a lurch, and it felt as if the floor fell out from under her, just as when the plane had dropped in the downdraft. She squealed with delight. “We’re weightless!”
“Cool!” Dyl said. “This is not a problem!”
“Speak for yourself, Junior, I think I’m going to be sick,” Song-Ye said.
The room was dimly lit, so JJ could barely see the faces of the others. Next to her, Tony gasped in surprise. “What is this, some kind of high-speed elevator? Or like NASA’s vomit comet?” He chuckled. “Look at my legs floating! No wonder you guys were so excited about this simulator. It’s pretty impressive!”
King started singing a song called “Free Falling.”
JJ could barely feel the floor with her feet. She muttered, “Someone’s got to try this out, and it might as well be me.” She gave a slight push with her toes and sailed to the low ceiling, bumped it, and bounced off.
Tony was a split second behind her, ready to experiment. His arms windmilled, and he bicycled with his feet. “Whoa! I didn’t expect this”
“Ouch!” Song-Ye yelled as Tony’s foot connected with her stomach.
“Hey—knee in face,” Dyl said. “This is a problem.” Bright lights switched on, probably activated by a motion sensor.
“Everybody, take a minute to figure out where you are before we all get injured,” King said. “Adjust to the new situation.”
JJ looked around and suddenly discovered she didn’t know which direction was up and which was down. This place no longer looked like the room they had started in. They were in a chamber about the size and shape of a hollowed-out school bus. Metal loops like drawer handles were distributed along every flat surface.
Tony tried to “swim” toward the wall, but made no headway.
King gave a low whistle.
“Not exactly what I expected a space station to look like, but this freefall thing is definitely cool,” Dyl said.
“The best,” JJ agreed. “Even better than being on the Moon.”
Tony finally snagged one of the handholds and pulled himself closer to a wall—or was it the ceiling? “The Moon simulation, you mean?” He sounded completely confused. “This is so realistic. How long does it last?”
“As long as it needs to,” JJ said.
“Yeah, wonderful, whatever.” Song-Ye clutched a handhold, looking a little green. “Does anyone have some Dramamine? Because I’m definitely going to toss my cookies if this keeps up.”
“Not a problem. We’ll find you a space-barf bag.” Dyl chuckled.
JJ’s blond ponytail floated behind her head, as if she were a mermaid in water. Dyl’s hair was fluffed out around his head, like a coppery lion’s mane, and Song-Ye’s long black hair floated free in every direction, while King’s close-cropped hair looked unchanged.
Tony ran a hand through his hair, which appeared puffier than normal. “How did they do this? It must be super expensive.”
“Uh-huh,” King said, “it’s a space station.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it—it’s supposed to feel like that. Just go with it.”
JJ grinned over at him. “Told you it would be fun. Somebody’s got to get this party started.” She pushed off of the wall, giving herself enough momentum to float to the opposite side of the room. When she reached it, she rebounded and drifted past Tony in a slow-motion somersault.
“Let me try that.” Tony, skilled in gymnastics and acrobatics, did a triple somersault, kicked off the wall, and spun his body in a tight circle, like an ice skater. “This is great!”
Song-Ye spoke in a shaky voice. “Glad you think so. Some of us are not having as much fun as the rest of you.” The Korean girl tried “spotting” on a wall as she turned, a technique that ballet dancers used to keep from getting dizzy, but it didn’t help settle her equilibrium. “I was disoriented enough in the Bárány chair without any sight or hearing … this isn’t any better.”
King got down to business. “Let’s not forget why we’re here. I’m guessing that must be an airlock.” He pointed to a hatch at one end of the chamber, above them.
“Actually, there’s an airlock on both ends of the module,” Dyl said. “Piece of cake.” He opened the nearest hatch and swung the thick metal door inward. “It’s some kind of connector room.” He shot inside. JJ was amazed at how well her brother moved, as smoothly as Tony doing acrobatics.
“Everybody in,” King said, and they all crowded into the round chamber.
It was about the size of a normal elevator, and six hatches led from its walls, like some kind of game. “Pick a door, any door,” JJ said.
Dyl closed and locked the first hatch behind them, while King peered through a viewport in the hatch closest to him. “This one just goes out into space.”
Song-Ye checked another hatch. “This one, too.”
“This one goes through to another module like the one we were just in, but it has a different setup,” Tony said.
JJ said, “Since we can’t step out into empty space, I vote for that one.”
“Sure, why not?” Song-Ye still looked sick.
King started humming “Follow the Yellow-Brick Road” from The Wizard of Oz.
JJ and Tony opened the hatch, and they all floated through into a large, brightly lit module. This one was occupied.
A man and a woman in orange jumpsuits had been studying a videoscreen on the wall, and now they turned from it in surprise when they heard the hatch open. The woman pushed herself forward like a bullet, streaking past them to the hatch, which she slammed shut behind them. Her partner sailed into their path and anchored a foot to a metal bar on the floor. The man crossed his arms and studied them with suspicion.
JJ swallowed audibly. “So, I bet you wonder what we’re doing here.” She read the name patches on the workers’ suits. The woman was named Napali, and the man was Kloor.
Kloor did not smile. “The thought crossed my mind.”
From behind them, Napali said, “Boarding this space station without proper clearance is an indication of hostile intent.”
Kloor gave a stern nod and spoke in a sour voice. “If it were up to me, you’d be out the airlock—but your arrival isn’t entirely unexpected. The Stationmaster was actually hoping you would show up.”
***