Researcher Phon kept pace with Chief Nalor as they marched to the general’s office.

“Any idea what this is about?” asked the chief technician.

“None whatsoever.” confessed the rocket scientist. “The general just sent an order for us to come meet with her before the end of the bel.”

The chief sighed. “I just hope that there wasn’t another accident or something. That last one was… A lot.”

“Yeah…” agreed Phon. He went quiet for just a moment, gathering he courage to give voice to his concerns.“Do you think the project might be in trouble?”

Another heavy silence loomed over them. Nalor had heard the rumours. Royal involvement. A flurry of activity in the palace. All problematic. “Sun and clouds forbid.” was all he could say.

The worried pair eventually arrived at the general’s office. Researcher Phon pressed the chime button.

“Enter.” beckoned the voice within.

They followed the inviting command, and came into the office. The room was somewhat less organised than the last time Phon was there, but still not as messy as some of the technicians’ spaces back in their labs. General Hydor was hunched over her desk, furiously scribbling something into a lined and ruled sheet of paper. She hadn’t greeted them when they entered, she hadn’t even looked up at them. She sat there, the soft scraping of her pen across the page somehow imitating the volume of a rocket launch. When she finally finished writing, she set her pen down, steepled her talons, and lifter her head to look at the two engineers.

General Hydor didn’t say anything immediately, choosing instead to stare at them for a while. She seemed to be trying to figure out the best way say… Whatever it was that she was about to say. “Gentlemen,” she finally began. “What would it take for you get Project Rutil’proh complete within five seasons?”

‘What?’ Researcher Phon thought.

“What?” Chief Nalor said.

“What resources do you need to launch a satellite into orbit in five seasons.” she reiterated with the same clear, serious diction.

“Tha--” muttered Phon. “--That’s impossible…”

“Humour me.” she said humourlessly.

The engineers glanced at each other confusedly.

“Well,” shakily started Nalor, “We should theoretically be able use one of the latest fuel mixes, and the current engines appear to be sufficient as well. But to reach orbit, we would need to start building larger airframe structures; Rutil’proh Mark-Threes. And those new rockets would have to be tested. So we would need enough materials to build at least two. Ideally three.”

“And for those we’d need much, much more fuel per rocket.” expanded Phon. “About one hundred and twenty-eight jhol-sacs of refined type-seven fuel. At least. And just as much liquid oxygen.”

The general nodded. “And the steel?”

Just like that? No questions about the cost? She accepted so readily and was now asking about other materials? The rocket scientist continued trepidatiously. “Four jhol-spans of three jhit-span aero-grade steel. So about four rolls.”

The general, again, had no reaction to the tremendous request. “What else?”

And so the three of them continued. The engineers kept asking for more and more elaborate and expensive components. Electronically controlled valves. Entire rolls of heat-resistant alloys. Jhol-spans upon jhol-spans of conduits and cables. Chief Nalor was even emboldened enough to ask or an expansion of the tech labs. And the general just mentally noted it all without even the barest hint of complaint.

“And of course to operate all these new systems we’d need quite a few more staff.” continued Phon. “At least four more technicians experienced with rocketry and four more versed in metal-forming.”

General Hydor hummed at that. “More staff… May prove problematic.” she commented, idly tapping her pen on her desk. “But I’ll see what I can do. Anything else?”

The rocket scientist pondered for a moment. He believed that he mentioned everything he needed for the rocket, but perhaps he hadn’t mentioned everyone he needed.

“Perhaps just one more thing, General Hydor.” he said. “I’d like to request for the human’s direct assistance in the project.”

“No.” came the general’s resolute response. “Out of the question.”

Phon just couldn’t understand it. Not one word about the frols of phur-marks worth of materials, but just asking to spend time one single alien was too much for her. Oh well. It wouldn’t do to complain. “Alright then... I’ll try to make do.”

“See that you do.” Hydor said as she pushed aside some of the pages she was working on earlier. “Now, you two might be wondering why we suddenly have such a tight deadline for Project Rutil’proh. I will address this in a larger meeting in the near future. I will send out a summons for that meeting, but for now, I insist that you keep this discussion confidential.”

“Understood.” replied Phon.

“Yes ma’am.” replied Nalor.

“Very good. Dismissed.” said Hydor.

» » »

Professor Tski checked her timepiece. It was almost time for her meeting with General Nalor. She didn’t know what it was going to be about. She didn’t even know who else would be at the meeting. One of the general’s aides, Major Chilus, just approached her while she was heading back to her dorm and handed her a note. ‘Open it when you get to your room. Tell no one.’ That was all the major whispered to her. She walked away before Tski could even say anything. But she did notice the big red ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ stamp on the envelope. Only after opening the letter after returning to her room had she learned that it was a summons to a special meeting with the general.

So, as the predetermined time crept towards her, she made her way to Conference Hall Three, which Hydor had determined as the meeting place. When she entered, she noticed that quite a few others were already there. The general and major were there, of course, along with four other officers. They had an overhead projector set up near the front of the room, aimed at a blank wall behind them. Researcher Skai, Professor Pito, Doctor Dendroc and Chief Nalor, along a few other senior administrators, technicians and scientists were already there. After a few driks, Researcher Phon and a couple more staff members eventually joined them. Those seemed to be last few attendees to this clandestine gathering, as shortly after that Nalor decided to address the crowd.

“I’m sure you all understand this already,” started the general. “But before we begin, I must ensure that everyone in here knows that this meeting and its contents are to be considered the absolute top-secret. None of this leaves this room.”

The general let a moment pass to ensure that everyone gathered together understood how significant this command was. Satisfied at the quiet, serious energy in the room, she nodded to one of her aides, who then dimmed the lights in the room. A slide was placed onto the projector’s platen. The projected image showed a mostly ordinary landscape. A simple grassy field with verdant red trees in the background. The only thing out of place was a steel and concrete platform in the middle distance, and a narrow, tall plume of smoke rising from the structure up and out of the frame.

“This is a photograph of a rocket launch.” clarified the general. “Next slide.”

The first slide was removed, and another was put on.

“And this, is an image of the rocket that they launched.” said Hydor.

That much was clear. The image was indeed, a rocket. Stood up on the platform, ready to shoot off into the sky. It looked a little odd though. The nose-cone looked a bit different to the Rutil’proh Mark-2 rockets that Researcher Phon had been launching. The forming on the fuselage was different as well.

“As I’m sure some of you have noticed that this is not the same rocket we have been designing here at Fort Greywood.” commented the general.

A smattering of confused mutters pulsed across the room. Why was she showing them another rocket? Did the kingdom have another, parallel rocket program somewhere?

“These photographs were not taken anywhere within Phutartan borders.” clarified Hydor, prompting another wave of confusion from the gathering. “These images were taken on Pitang soil.” Mutters evolved into gasps as the general continued. “We now believe that the Pitang, like us, are developing rockets that can reach orbit.” The general paused again, letting the shocked outbursts of her audience fade naturally. “Considering how impossibly novel the very idea of space-travel is, combined with the timing, there can be only one possible explanation for this…”

The audience remained silent this time. This room contained some of the sharpest, most experienced minds in Phuratas, if not the world. They had all figured out how it had happened. But not one of them, not the administrators, not the technicians, not even the sole astrophysicist herself dared to even whisper it.

“We have a spy.” confirmed the general.

Inconceivable!

Abominable!

How impossibly heinous!

Professor Tski just couldn’t believe that those black-hearted Pitang villains had infiltrated the deepest, most important, perhaps most sacred scientific project in the history of the world! To think that those loathsome dastards would stoop so low so as to spy on them! So infuriated she was at those cheating reprobates, and so inundated were her ears by the clamour of everyone else’s righteous fury, that she almost didn’t hear one of her fellow scientists ask how the Phuratan government had even gotten those incriminating photographs.

“From one of our own spies.” answered Hydor.

The astrophysicist deflated almost immediately.

The general, naturally oblivious to Tski’s conflicted feelings, continued. “We all understand the tactical importance of being the first nation to get a satellite into orbit. Apparently, and unfortunately, the Pitangs seem understand it too. This project already has a high priority, but in light of this latest development, the kingdom has decided to give us a ‘blank-check’ to complete Project Rutil’proh. We now have an accelerated timeline within which to achieve our goals. The new deadline is five seasons from now.”

A din of sighs, gasps and low whistles rang out in the room.

“The kingdom has asked much of you. And we must keep asking even more of you. It is a bitter situation, one which our enemies have forced us into. What was once a steady glide has now become a frenzied dive into a chasm.”

The room quieted just a bit, fully riding the current of the general’s words.

“We are now in a race to space.”