Chapter 23: Lorna

Transferring the women to the Valkyrie space station turns out to be a major challenge. None of the docking ports on Dog Star Six are compatible with the ones on the space station. Had the mission been prepared with less secrecy then the correct adjustments to one of the docking ports on Dog Star Six could have been made prior to departure. Without a secure seal between the spaceship and station, the women can’t simply walk from one to the other.

None of the women have ever done something as risky as a space walk. In any case, the Dog Star Six only carries three suitable outfits, last used in the days when Dog Star Six had a human crew. In any case, there’s no certainty that the space station has airlock facilities to permit someone to enter that way. While Dog Star Six’s AI can communicate with the space station, there remains the usual problem with accurate translation of messages.

Fortunately the Valkyries are accustomed to such interface problems. Humans aren’t the only alien species the Valkyries process through their frontier space stations. The station is equipped with a small shuttle craft with limpet like suckers in around its nose door. The suckers form a seal around the Dog Star Six’s docking port to enable the women to enter the craft. Needless to say, the atmosphere inside the craft has been adjusted to a nitrogen-oxygen environment that can sustain human life without the need for artificial respirators.

Lorna, Caitlin, Juanita and Adalhia are the first to board the shuttle craft. Inside the small cabin there’s only enough space to comfortably seat four people. There are no windows, nor any signs of equipment of any description. Even the doorway they entered seems to blend into the wall once the four of them are aboard. Four human-sized seats facing the centre of cabin appear to have been grown from the floor. In the absence of any instructions, the women sit in the seats. To Lorna’s surprise, the seat seems to mould to her body, leaving her feeling comfortable but also cushioning her against any sudden motion of the craft. Moments later she realises that the craft is in motion. Lorna looks at the other three women and quickly realises they are just as terrified as her. She also realises that they are looking to her for leadership, so now would be a bad time to have a nervous breakdown.

The journey last only a few minutes before the doorway reappears. Lorna and the others are unceremoniously pushed out of the seats by the simple expedient of the seats changing shape before melting into the floor. Clearly they are expected to disembark, and Lorna leads the way out of the craft and along a strange semi-translucent flexible tube. Presumably the tube is designed to provide them with breathable air while they walk to wherever they are expected to go. After a five minute walk, the tube simple ends in a moderate sized room similar to the accommodation on Dog Star Six.

Like the shuttle craft, the four berth living quarters on the Valkyrie space station contains furniture that seems to have been grown from the floor. Certainly the furniture is the same colour and material as the floor. The shape of the beds, couch, chairs and tables are unusual to human eyes as they have rounded edges and corners. Despite giving the appearance of being an extension of the floor, the beds and chairs are soft while the tables are solid. Bathroom facilities are more problematic. What appears to be a shower cubicle contains no controls, and any form of water nozzle or drain are conspicuous by their absence. A solitary tap above a nearby basin doesn’t work, which is perhaps as well since the basin lacks a drain. It takes several minutes to work out how the strange device serving as a toilet works.