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The next section deals with the recovery of the Undepoldus spacecraft.
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Recovery
As the spacecraft made its way towards Alpha Centairi, all of the signals received were reports by the George processor on the ship's and crew's status. The signals became progressively weaker on a continually reducing transmission frequency. The last signal received on the outgoing journey arrived nine months after the ship's departure.

The Undepoldus mission had almost passed into history when the next signal was received 21 years later. The signal was sent by the first backup processor called Roger. The message was brief.

Undepoldus damaged. Crew injured but alive in hibernation. Request assistance. Power shortage. This message will repeat in three days ship's time.

The message originated from a point a few light days away. All non-scheduled spacecraft were put on alert to search for the Undepoldus. When it was located it found to be heading for the asteroid belt. Roger was told to decelerate at the maximum rate that would not cause further injury to the crew. Roger replied that deceleration was limited by the power available. The navigation system sensors were damaged and unreliable. External guidance would be needed.

When Roger was told his position and velocity, he replied that the necessary course correction was beyond his resources. The only spacecraft that would be able to reach and dock with Undepoldus were an assortment of mining ships. A fast freighter's cargo of rare metals was dumped into space to accommodate three small surveyor spacecraft. The freighter's processor, Alec, computed and recomputed the optimum speed and course for the interception. The processors at Phobos and Ganymede were called upon to verify Alec's computations. The time lags made confirmation difficult but the results were in general agreement.

Roger was informed that an attempt to dock would be made. Roger replied that the crew were in fluid in hibernation. The Undepoldus would have to be placed in an air dock before the hatch could be opened without harming the crew. The captain of the freighter, Eva Polowsky, informed Ganymede that the surveyors would be taken out of the hold and tethered. The hold would be converted into an air dock if resources and time permitted. She requested details of the dimensions of the Undepoldus spacecraft to check if it would fit. Lt. Birgitta Schuster, Lt. Ingrid Lindgren, and Lt. Parvati Sura, surveyor pilots, and Lt. Cdr. Monique Moumon, the freighter's quartermaster, worked for three hours under two gee to make the conversion. All the cargo supporting struts were removed and a large bag was made to contain the necessary air.

When the freighter matched velocity and deceleration with the Undepoldus, the two craft were around 4,000,000 kilometres from the plane of the asteroid belt and decelerating at one thirtieth gee. There would not be time to get the Undepoldus into the hold in free fall before the asteroid belt was reached. Captain Eva Polowsky asked the surveyor pilots for their suggestions. Monique suggested treating the stricken Undepoldus like an asteroid. It could be captured in a net in about half an hour in free fall and the three surveyors could then use their motors to slow it down more quickly. If they could maintain one twentieth gee deceleration between the three of them, they could match orbital speed with the asteroid belt in around 20 hours. Alec confirmed that this was theoretically possible with very little time to spare.. Roger was informed of the plan and told to shut down the engines. Roger replied that this would contravene his prime directive. Brigitta told Roger that if he shut down the engines for five minutes, this would make very little difference in the nine year journey. If, within five minutes the deceleration rate had not increased he could turn the engines on again. If the deceleration was more than his engines could provide, he would be safeguarding his charges better than he would by using the engines. Roger replied that five minutes would be too long. He would stop the engines for two minutes only. Brigitta conceded that it was very difficult to argue with a processor and asked Alec for advice on the best way to proceed. Then Alec told Roger that Brigitta would give the order to shut down his engines for two minutes when she gave the signal.

The girls suited up as quickly as they could. Suits were essential so far from the sun. In formfits they would be too cold to work within a minute. As soon as they were outside, Alec detached the tethers and released the net. It took the girls twenty minutes to attach the net to the three surveyors and another ten minutes to get into station ahead of the Undepoldus. Brigitta gave the command and Roger shut down his engines. As the net was moved slowly towards Undepoldus, Alec informed Roger that he would harm the girls in the surveyors if he started his engines before they were ready. Roger was unable to check with his own sensors and accepted Alec's information as true because Alec was a processor. It was nearly seven minutes later that the net was finally around Undepoldus and ready to take the strain. Roger did not restart his engines. Roger was unaware of the improvements in processors that had taken place since he was built. Alec could tell white lies when the balance of circumstances required him to do so. Alec had conveniently omitted the words 'rescue attempt' in his communication with Roger. Alec's superior computation power enabled him to predict that Roger could not prevent the Undepoldus from going through he asteroid belt at his present rate of deceleration. The three surveyors could theoretically manage around one twentieth gee with the mass of the Undepoldus. Alec took control of the three surveyors so that the girls could return to the freighter. It would be another 20 hours before they had to return to their diminutive spacecraft to execute the loading process.

An hour before the girls were due to go outside to start the loading operation Alec reported that Ingrid's surveyor was losing power and he could not maintain a balance between the three ships for much longer. Ingrid asked if Alec could use the freighter's power to replace her surveyor. Alec said that it was possible if the net could be detached from the surveyor and attached to one of his winches. However, the time delay could be dangerous. The three girls suited up straight away to begin the transfer. Alec switched all engines off as they entered the airlock. Alec activated the thrusters on Ingrid's failing surveyor as soon as it was disconnected from the net. Brigitta took the hook of Alec's winch cable and began to pull it towards the net. Parvati and Ingrid were using their suit thrusters to pull the net anchorage towards Brigitta when Parvati suddenly jerked away. She had been hit by a small asteroid.
Ingrid said "Alec, Parvati has been hit. She is out of control and maybe seriously injured. Please advise."
Brigitta and Ingrid had to continue with their tasks to save the Undepoldus, both powerless to do anything to help Parvati.
Alec said "I am aware of the problem. Parvati is not dead. She is not responding to my calls but telemetry indicates that her heart is still beating. Monique is suiting up. Please leave go of the hook Brigitta and assist Ingrid. I can reach Parvati in two minutes."

The pull that Ingrid and Parvati had used on the net had caused the Undepoldus to begin to move out of the net. Brigitta had to move fast towards the Undepoldus to use her suit thrusters to push it back. The movement was slight, but if it remained uncorrected, it would be more difficult to resume deceleration if the Undepoldus was no longer in contact with the net.

Alec said: "Brigitta, stop overloading your thrusters or we will have to rescue you too. Roger will use his to maintain station when you are clear."

Monique announced: "I have Parvati, she took it amidships, She is losing blood into her suit. It was a small piece, so the self-sealing has saved her but her formfit was punctured."

Brigitta joined Ingrid to help with the net and took the chance to look around. The denser parts of the asteroid field looked very close as they gradually drifted towards it. Then she saw a flash near to her that was many times brighter than the dull reflections of the tumbling rocks. Alec had activated the surveyors' scanning systems. Small wandering rocks were starting to show themselves. They were not numerous, and none that were scanned were on an intercept path with Undepoldus and the girls. However, they served to intensify the warning of a danger that could kill any of them in an instant. Time had virtually run out and all of them were heading towards a volume of space where even Alec could be destroyed by a collision. Then Monique said that Parvati was safe in the airlock and she would help Ingrid and Brigitta to attach Alec's winch to the net. Ingrid was just to about to warn Monique that she was moving too quickly when she realised that the thrusters on Monique's suit were designed for Monique's job of quartermaster. Monique could flit around like a giant gnat when she did not have to move heavy objects. Brigitta and Ingrid felt the jets of Monique's thrusters as she decelerated with the hook. As soon as the hook was secured, Monique used the cargo manipulators on her suit to grab Ingrid and Brigitta. Monique traversed the distance to the airlock with the two girls in tow in half the time that girls could have done it with their own suit thrusters.

Alec restarted his engines and those of the surveyors as soon as the girls were safe inside. The margin for error at the original rate of deceleration was negative. Gradually the deceleration increased as Alec commanded the surveyors to use emergency thrust. The surveyors were expendable. Undepoldus was not. Roger assisted by using his positioning thrusters to compensate for the extra pull on Alec's corner of the net. Eva had removed Parvati's suit and was applying first aid. Parvati's left hip had been pulverised. Her formfit was holding everything together and preventing a severe loss of blood but surgery could not start until the formfit had been cut away around her pelvis. All Spacers are trained in basic surgery, mainly to deal with emergency amputations, Parvati's injuries were well beyond their competence. Eva's next course of action was decided by an announcement by Alec.
"Commodore Doctor Chen Sing Win will rendezvous in four hours. Doctor Chen is a specialist in hibernation techniques." Monique began the activation of a hibernation pod for Parvati. Eva administered the hibernation fluids and Ingrid assisted her to put Parvati in the pod. Hibernation would give Parvati more time. Recovery would take longer but she would be relatively stable in hibernation for several weeks. Unless something completely unforeseen happened she would be receiving medical treatment within hours.

Alec said: "The deceleration has ended. I have shut down the surveyors and my own engines. Roger will start his engines shortly to move to a safer distance from the asteroids. Brigitta, Ingrid and Monique, please prepare to retrieve the surveyors and the net."
Brigitta commented. "So Alec is starting to give orders now. I guess that he will want Eva's job next."
Monique answered. "Alec is pretty bright. He has to be able to look after himself when Eva and I are outside or groundside. The prime directive is in force. The Undepoldus crew must be saved."
When the girls got out of the airlock they found that Alec had simplified the work by moving the surveyors so that they could be tethered quickly. Monique, with the net in her hands, sped backwards towards the side of the ship. Brigitta and Ingrid paused as they prepared to witness Monique's collision. Then, when she was only a few metres from the ship, a hatch opened and she seemed to dart off sideways. The net continued on its path into the hatch and the hatch closed as they watched in amazement. Then they became aware of Monique's thrusters again as she came to a stop close to them. Brigitta was sure that Monique had been showing off, but she coveted the high power of her suit's thrusters. As she checked that her surveyor was secure she saw Monique checking the exhaust of its engine. The freighter carried plenty of fuel, and her surveyor could be refuelled easily. However, it would be pointless if the engine was worn out. As Monique checked Parvati's surveyor, Brigitta opened the cockpit to check the instruments. She knew that Alec had used emergency power for a long time to help to slow Roger down, and Ingrid's surveyor had failed. The engine status display told the story. The engine had overrun its expected life by 23 minutes at emergency power. Parvati's surveyor was presumably in a similar state. Undepoldus was now moving rapidly away as she returned to the airlock. The tiny asteroids of the sort that hit Parvati would not bother Roger or Alec but would be too much of a danger to people outside.

Alec said. "I expect us to match orbital speed with asteroids in five hours at Roger's rate of acceleration. It would take more than a day to reach the nearest gap. I have computed that the risk to humans would not be lessened sufficiently in a gap to justify the delay in loading the Undepoldus. I advise everyone to rest now. I have advised Doctor Chen of our new course and acceleration."

Commodore Dr. Chen was already aboard and attending to Parvati when Alec woke the crew. She was assisted by Captain Surgeon Erika Bengtson. Parvati was in good hands.

Alec said. "Lieutenants Giorgio Francetti and Tamara Bulova are preparing the Undepoldus. I suggest that Monique and Eva will hold the ship in position as Brigitta, Ingrid, Giorgio and Tamara manoeuvre the bag. Monique will instruct you because I can only communicate with her and the Captain in the hold. My sensors are inoperative in the hold so you will all have to rely on Monique's knowledge and experience."

The damage to the Undepoldus became more evident as Giorgio and Tamara removed the shuttle anchorages. The shuttle had left an impression of its shape in the hull of the Undepoldus. Something must have hit the shuttle very hard while it was still in position. Its anchorages were twisted and broken. Giorgio and Tamara had to use laser cutters to remove the projecting struts. The lifeboat anchorages were undamaged so it was a relatively simple job to remove the fixing bolts.

Alec activated the surveyors' lasers to search for wandering asteroids. In their tethered positions they could only cover limited arcs. Alec rotated the freighter slowly to extend the coverage. One lumpy asteroid around the size of a grapefruit was spotted as it gradually caught up with the Undepoldus. It drifted by harmlessly a few metres away from where Giorgio and Tamara were working. Either could have caught it easily but they had more important work to do.

With all major projections removed, the Undepoldus started its slow journey into the freighter's hold. Eva's suit had standard thrusters, so she was unable to do much to help Monique in her task. Roger was unable to help because his sensors were inoperative. After a while Monique apparently gave up pushing the Undepoldus. She went into the hold to check how the others were managing with the bag. She then inspected the hold once more before going out to the Undepoldus. It had moved two metres closer to the hold door. Its movement was barely perceptible. Monique seemed to be happy with progress because she returned to the hold. Eva watched the operation without comment. She had seen Monique at work many times before. Ingrid and Giorgio tried to work out how long it would take to get the Undepoldus into the hold. Monique had evidently monitored the thrust and time she had used to get the Undepoldus moving. Soon she would have to use exactly the same thrust and time to stop it. Brigitta said. "It is a bit like watching the minute hand of a watch. It is almost impossible to see it moving but if you look away and then back again you can see that it has moved."

Ingrid answered. Giorgio and I think that the Undepoldus must have a mass of around 120 tonnes. I have tried to think what we could do if Monique was unable to stop it." Brigitta and Ingrid had become used to Alec's comments and they missed his presence where they were. Alec's suit radio antennae were all outside. Monique was using a different channel to talk to Alec. His antennae for her radio were mainly inside the hold.

The Undepoldus was nearly in the doorway when Monique began to slow it down from its incredibly low speed. The doorway was large enough to accommodate a ship much larger than the Undepoldus. This fact became obvious to the watchers when they saw that Monique had positioned the ship in the centre of the opening. A job that would have taken only a few minutes in a space dock had already taken an hour and a half. Monique signed to the watchers to hold on to a handrail. Shortly afterwards they felt Alec activate his thrusters for a moment. The Undepoldus began to move more quickly into the centre of the hold. Monique signed again and the Undepoldus stopped moving. Then Monique signed for the air bag to be pulled over the Undepoldus. Eva had not been noticed by the others while Monique and Alec were manoeuvring the Undepoldus into position. They realised how busy she had been when she started fitting anchor ties to the fixings on the bag as they pulled it forward. Monique began to fix ties between the inside of the bag and the Undepoldus to hold it in position. She signed to Ingrid and Tamara to assist her. Brigitta and Giorgio had already begun to assist Eva on the outside. Monique indicated that Ingrid and Tamara should continue attaching ties while she went forward to seal the bag opening to the bulkhead. Eva told Brigitta and Giorgio to re-enter the freighter through the outside airlock. She would assist Monique to seal the bag against the bulkhead and then follow them. As soon as Eva had finished, she went outside and Alec closed the hold doors. Monique pointed Ingrid and Giorgio to the hold airlock. As soon as they were inside, Alec activated the hold sealing system. The hold could withstand a pressure of 200 millibars in an emergency. Now, as the situation was not so desperate, Alec used xenon to fill the hold to a pressure of 180 millibars. At the same time he inflated the bag with the usual oxyen/nitrogen mixture to 800 millibars above the hold pressure. All was ready for the recovery of the Undepoldus crew.

When Roger detected the pressure around the Undepoldus, he released the locks on the hatches. Monique gestured to the others to keep well away as she approached the forward hatch. When she reached the hatch she activated her rearward thrusters before grasping the emergency release handle with a manipulator. Then, as she turned the handle she set her thrusters at full power. The others were practically deafened by the noise through their helmets. The hatch pushed Monique backwards a few centimetres and a greyish foam squirted out around the sides of the hatch door. Monique reduced the thrust from her thrusters and allowed the door to push her further backwards. The foam flowed out of the hatch like dense smoke from a chimney and started to engulf Monique. Then gradually the flow lessened and stopped. The side of the Undepoldus around the hatch opening was covered in dense grey foam that began to stiffen and harden quite rapidly. Monique tried to remove the foam that had stuck to her suit but it stuck to her gloves and started to set. It began to look as if Monique would end up trapped in a foamy spider's web. She activated her forward thrusters to get free of the foam and saw that the foam started to collapse. The water used in her thrusters dissolved the foam. A few seconds later Eva came out of the airlock with a replacement thruster pack in her hands. She made her way to Monique and used her own thrusters to dissolve the foam that had almost enveloped Monique's suit. Freed from the encumbrance of the foam, Monique used her thrusters to clear the area near the hatch. The heavy use of both forward and rearward thrusters soon exhausted her original thruster pack. Eva replaced the pack for Monique and took the empty pack away. Monique gestured to Ingrid to go into the hatch. Ingrid could soon see why. There was not room inside for someone in a bulky suit like Monique's. After she had been inside for a moment, she came out again and touched helmets with Monique. Then Monique took her helmet off and smelled the air. She then gestured for Ingrid to do the same. Ingrid could now hear Alec through Monique's radio. Alec said. Ingrid, I will directly relay Roger to you. He will tell you what to do as far as he knows. He is the backup processor. The main processor, George, was damaged at the end of the outward journey. Roger's main function was to ensure that the crew returned safely to the Solar system. His knowledge of the systems used in the Undepoldus is rudimentary. He knows that the four crew members are alive in hibernation but does not know where they are located. The hibernation pods have or had a backup system that could maintain life for several hours if they are removed from their mountings. Roger cannot guarantee that these backup systems are still working. Doctor Sing Win suggests that you remove a pod for a minute and then replace it. Roger can then check if the backup system operated."
Ingrid replied. "I will need a water supply to clear the sealing foam from the pods. My own thrusters will not be adequate."
Roger said: "You will receive a water based fire extinguisher soon. Replace your helmet before you use the water. When you have removed the sealing foam from one pod you can remove your helmet again. If you have difficulty in moving around. go outside and remove your outer suit. Carlene had to have help to remove her suit when she returned from the planet. When you are outside you should be able to remove your suit easily. When you are inside without your helmet, speak to me and I will try to activate the sound system nearest to you to talk to you. If you cannot hear me we will have to communicate via Alec and Monique."
"Okay Roger." Ingrid replied.
Brigitta helped her remove her outer suit and checked that her helmet was securely attached to her formfit collar. Giorgio presented her with a fire extinguisher to deal with the foam. When Ingrid went back inside the Undepoldus, she found that she couldn't see anything. The foam had covered Roger's lighting units. She took her helmet off again and called to Roger. "Can you hear me Roger? If you can, please answer. I cannot see anything, it is too dark." A muffled sound came from near her head. She replaced her helmet and sprayed water in the direction of the sound. The darkness lessened as the foam was washed away from an emergency light. One of Roger's speaker units had been cleared. "Can you hear me now Roger?" she called again, forgetting to take her helmet off. Roger's voice seemed clearer but very quiet until she realised her error. "I hear you fairly clearly Ingrid. The lighting will improve soon. Monique is connecting me to Alec's power supply. Tamara will arrive soon with an extractor pump to clear any water globules that are floating around. Please keep your helmet on and beware of floating clumps of foam. Alec is receiving information about the layout inside the Undepoldus. You are at station E. The hibernation pods are on my starboard side at station G. Emergency! Please leave immediately. My foam removal system is about to activate automatically." Ingrid looked around for something to push against. In the dim light she could not see anything to grab hold of. She started to put her helmet back on when she was caught by a water jet from one side. It pushed her against the wall of foam and she nearly lost her helmet. The jet turned away from her as it swept the inside of the spacecraft. Holding her helmet on with one hand she tried to push herself away from the foam with the other. She could not feel anything to push against and the foam felt like viscous treacle. The water jet had pushed the extinguisher out of reach. She was stuck and she could not seal her helmet. The next pass of the water jet pushed her further into the foam without washing much of it away. Then she felt something hard press against her leg. She could not turn to see what it was. Whatever it was moved away for a moment and then touched her ankle. Ingrid realised what it was as she felt something like a blunt pair of shears close around her foot. Monique was using a manipulator to pull her out. The water jet hit her again on the shoulder and the manipulator lost its grip. The manipulator now closed around her ankle. The pain was excruciating. It felt as if it was cutting her foot off. Ingrid was pulled nearly into the splits position before the foam released her other leg. Another jet of water hit her in the neck. She now had water inside her helmet. Ingrid was just beginning to think that Monique had arrived too late when her arm that was stuck came free of the foam. The next pass of the water jet was helpful. It washed most of the foam off her arm. As her helmet was now virtually useless, Ingrid began to take it off. The grip on her ankle loosened and was replaced by a hand. She found herself outside the Undepoldus surrounded by globules of water and clumps of foam. Tamara squirted an air jet in her face to blow away the water and foam. Ingrid could breathe again. "It was hell in there." Ingrid exclaimed. "Why did the water jets start before I could get out?"
Doctor Chen checked her formfit for damage as Giorgio said. "It was started automatically as soon as Alec's power supply was connected to the Undepoldus. Alec switched off the supply immediately but it was too late. Roger had received enough power for the foam clearing cycle to run to completion. George could have stopped it but Roger could not. Now you are out of there, Alec can switch on again. Be prepared for a strong breeze. Alec is about to switch on his high speed circulation fans to remove the water and foam from around the Undepoldus."

Sing Win said. "You should rest now Ingrid. Most of the foam will have gone in a few minutes. Then Erika and I will be able to attend to the Undepoldus crew without assistance."
"How is Parvati" she asked.
"She is stable. She has a broken hip and pelvis but none of her vital organs were damaged. She will recover within a couple of months. She is sleeping now. You will be able to talk to her later."

Most of the medical details of the recovery of the Undepoldus crew have been withheld. A summary was issued as follows:-

The crew were taken to Ganymede base for debriefing and then to Lagrange 5 to convalesce. George was repaired and his log was recovered.

PAUSE
The next section deals with the logs of the processors aboard the Undepoldus spacecraft.
Viewers familiar with this subject may pass on to the following section.
Please select PASS or CONTINUE.

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