The New York Times - United States Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak, a 43-year-old astronaut who flew on the space shuttle Discovery last July and operated the craft’s robotic arm during three spacewalks, has been arrested in Florida and charged with, among other things, attempted kidnapping, burglary and battery. She was initially denied bail and is scheduled to appear in court today, according to The Associated Press. Reuters reports that a new charge — attempted murder — was added this morning. The police account of the events leading to the arrest, which happened yesterday, include a wig and a trench coat, pepper-spray and a 900-mile drive in diapers, all to confront Colleen Shipman, an engineer at the 45th Launch Support Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base near Cape Canaveral. Ms. Nowak apparently believed that Ms. Shipman was a rival for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, pilot of the Discovery for its flight last December.

INTELLECTUAL ANIMAL
By K. Willems

Sharp pins and needles in Lisa’s wrists brought her down from an emotional high. An unpleasant dawning leached into her consciousness, a slow moving depression, like falling out of love. The pain in her wrists multiplied as she struggled against the shackles that bound her hands. She heard the sheriff warn her to calm down, but thunder roared inside her head. She stared blindly at the balding detective as he steered her into the back of the squad car.

The glaring flashbulbs and questions from reporters dulled as the vehicle pulled out of the lot and down the highway. Doubt swept in as her thoughts returned to their former procedural order and plagued her with worldly concerns. What have I done to my family? How will my colleagues react? Why did I devote my entire life to become an astronaut only to throw it all away?

She closed her eyes as memories flooded back. Life took a detour during her final spacewalk while tethered to the Space Shuttle Discovery. Her mission was to broach the exterior panels of the International Space Station and repair the robotic arm she had developed in NASA’s laboratories. Anxious to avert criticism of her role in the robotics program, she scrutinized the intricate workings of the equipment. Afloat in pitch-black silence, a subtle hint of burned metal permeated her space suit. The earth turned far below, first cloaked in darkness, then within moments, passing into daylight.

Delicately touching the robotic arm with one gloved finger, she noticed the apparatus was pockmarked, as though it had been washed in acid. She leaned her head in for closer inspection. A fleeting notion of Sky Woman's mythological fall to earth intruded upon her thoughts, while the hazy blue surface of the Pacific Ocean rolled beneath her feet. Turning her mind back to what may have caused the damage, she barely noticed the cloud of space dust that curled around her until it covered the shield of her helmet in a reddish-brown film. The film seemed to dissipate but a tingling mist plastered her face and invaded her throat and lungs. A slippery chalk tasting of rich, moist soil coated her tongue.

Her pupils dilated away all the color from her eyes. It was as though she had just taken the finest quality drug, distilled in a distant cauldron, some ancient concoction that supplanted any ambition with a singular, primal urge to exist and thrive. She felt an alien consciousness surveying her thoughts, and imbuing its own will over hers, but she liked it. Insane ecstasy mingled with her need to complete her task. She tore the robotic arm away from the side of the space station, releasing it into space, and replaced it with an updated version from her pack, driving a new bolt into the metal siding with burning ferocity.

Rebounding off the surface of the space station, she swung herself back along the tether line, through weightless space, back to Discovery’s entryway. She struggled through the airlock onto the deck, where she quietly skipped the decontamination process and headed directly for the food packs. Everything she looked at was tainted with a reddish tinge; the chicken cutlets, the Salisbury steak, the dried apricots, even the crewmembers who stared at her while she wolfed down three days worth of rations. Food and sex were all she craved, and she had finished eating.

Still sitting in the wet diaper she had worn for her long spacewalk, Lisa contemplated the few crewmen on board. She settled her sights on Steve Lindsey, an astronaut about her age, who still had all his hair, although graying at the temples. She gave him a wink and an amorous grin. Knitting his eyebrows, Steve appeared confused and opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the monitor from earth flickered on. Commander Bill Oefelein appeared on screen.

“Congratulations from earth on the completion of your mission, Captain Nowak,” Oefelein said.

Lisa made her way to the console. One look at Bill’s strong jaw and toothful smile set her regressing hormones into a rage. Tossing her wavy hair to one side, she licked her lips and envisioned her legs wrapped around Bill’s rigid torso. Nothing and no one would get in her way. She was an intellectual animal plummeting through space. “I’ll see you back on earth Commander,” was her only reply.



Send Comments to: Comments@shortstoryalley.com