Orbital Deception
Detective Erik Lindgren was watching the screen in his Stockholm office, displaying the trajectory of the orbital station “Aurora Borealis.” Forty minutes ago, an incident occurred that was officially classified as an accident.
PROLOGUE
“Attention, EVA protocol activated,” announced Takeshi Yamamoto into the communicator, checking the fastenings of his spacesuit. Earth was slowly rotating beyond the porthole, and the station was just entering the sunny side of the orbit.
Sophie Dubois, the station commander, monitored the readings from the main console. “Life support systems check complete, Takeshi. You may proceed with replacing solar panel number seven.”
The Japanese engineer dove into the airlock. Mikko Lehtonen, the station’s doctor, stood nearby, monitoring vital signs. Valeria Mendoza was in the pilot compartment, ready for orbital corrections.
James Mitchell, the EVA specialist, was checking equipment in the adjacent compartment.
Takeshi exited into open space. The sun hit directly against his helmet’s faceplate.
But twenty minutes later, everything changed.
“My tether broke!” Takeshi screamed into the radio. The safety cable snapped, his spacesuit spinning chaotically near the station.
“Valeria, orbital correction!” Sophie ordered.
“Working on it!” The Argentine frantically input data. “Need time for calculations!”
“James, prepare the backup spacesuit! Emergency rescue EVA!”
Mitchell rushed to the equipment, but knew time was short. On the sunny side of the orbit, spacesuit temperature rises faster.
“Cooling battery is draining abnormally fast,” Takeshi transmitted, his voice growing weaker. “Internal temperature critical…”
After eight minutes, communication ceased. When Mitchell finally exited into space, it was too late. Takeshi was drifting, life support systems failed from overheating.
DETECTIVE’S INTRODUCTION
Lindgren studied the telemetry from “Aurora Borealis.” Thirty years of police work had taught him to notice inconsistencies. And here, there were plenty.
The cooling battery showed 87% charge at the start of the EVA. The tethers had been checked and were in perfect condition. Tether failure, rapid battery drain, spacesuit positioned directly under the sun - many small coincidences led to tragedy.
“Too many coincidences,” the detective muttered, activating the video communication system with the station.
INTERVIEW: SOPHIE DUBOIS
The commander’s face appeared on screen. Short haircut, tired eyes, but iron self-control.
“Monsieur Lindgren, I’m ready to answer your questions.”
“Tell me about the incident itself. What did you see?”
“Takeshi exited into space at 14:23, as planned. The first twenty minutes went routinely.” Sophie paused. “Then came his cry about the tether breaking.”
“What were you doing at the moment of the accident?”
“Coordinating the rescue operation. I gave Valeria the order for orbital correction, James - to prepare the backup spacesuit.” Her voice was steady. “Standard procedure.”
“How quickly did you make the decisions?”
“Instantly. We have protocols for such cases.” Lindgren noticed slight pride in her tone. “I knew what to do.”
“Does the crew work well together?”
“Yes, professionally. Though Mikko has been staying after shifts more often, double-checking equipment and data. Very conscientious of him, but somewhat excessive.”
The detective made a note. “Thank you, Commander.”
INTERVIEW: JAMES MITCHELL
The American looked dejected. Depression was written on his face.
“Tell me about the moment of the accident. Where were you?”
“In the adjacent compartment, checking backup equipment.” Mitchell rubbed his forehead. “Heard Takeshi’s scream over the general communication.”
“How long did it take you to prepare the rescue spacesuit?”
“Eight minutes. Maybe seven.” His voice trembled. “I worked as fast as I could, but safety protocols…”
“Could you have prepared the suit faster?”
Mitchell hesitated. “In theory yes, once during drills I did it in five minutes. But that was a protocol violation.”
“Why did you strictly follow protocol today?”
“I don’t know. Probably panic. When something goes wrong, everything falls apart.” Mitchell rubbed his temples. “I envy Valeria’s composure, she worked surprisingly calmly. Usually she gets nervous with complex calculations, but here she didn’t even double-check the data.”
“But that’s understandable when saving a life, there’s no time for thorough checks,” he added thoughtfully.
INTERVIEW: MIKKO LEHTONEN
The Finnish doctor was calm and analytical, as if discussing a routine medical procedure.
“What were you doing during the incident?”
“Monitoring Takeshi’s vital signs from the medical console. Pulse, pressure, body temperature - everything was normal for the first twenty minutes.”
“And then?”
“Critical temperature elevation began. I tried to contact him, gave breathing recommendations, advised minimizing movements.” Lehtonen shrugged. “Standard protocol for overheating.”
“How quickly did he respond to your commands?”
“Slowly. But that’s normal for a stressful situation. People in panic perceive instructions worse.” The doctor shrugged. “Unfortunately, the cooling system failed at the most critical moment.”
“When did you last check his spacesuit battery?”
“Three days ago, during routine diagnostics. Everything was in order.” Lehtonen seemed calm, but the detective noticed how he nervously twisted a pencil.
INTERVIEW: VALERIA MENDOZA
The Argentine looked dejected but maintained professionalism.
“Tell me about your actions during the incident.”
“I was in the pilot compartment, monitoring orbital parameters. First I performed a routine orbital correction - minor, for trajectory optimization. And when the break occurred, Sophie ordered me to calculate a second correction for interception, so Takeshi would be closer to the airlock.”
“How long did the second correction calculations take?”
“About four minutes. These are complex calculations - need to account for station mass, current velocity, drift trajectory…” Valeria paused. “I worked as fast as I could. The first correction was routine, took only a minute.”
“Have you ever done similar calculations before?”
“In simulations. But in reality…” She hesitated. “Honestly, I wasn’t confident in the accuracy. Too many variables.”
“But you still transmitted the data?”
“Yes, of course. Any chance is better than none.” The detective noticed a small contradiction - she spoke of uncertainty but acted decisively.
RESOLUTION
The next day, Lindgren called a video conference with the entire crew.
“I have thoroughly studied all the data,” he began. “And concluded that Takeshi Yamamoto’s death was not an accident.”
All four froze.
“This was a perfectly planned murder, disguised as a chain of accidents.” Lindgren activated the screen with data. “The cooling battery was modified - the controller was reprogrammed for accelerated discharge.”
“Dr. Lehtonen, the logs show you were the last to work with this battery three days ago. You have engineering education alongside medical - you’re the only one who could make these modifications.”
Mikko paled but remained silent.
“The tethers were also weakened - not critically, but enough to break under sudden load. Dr. Lehtonen had access to EVA equipment during his ‘checks’. Miss Mendoza, your first ‘orbital correction’ was a killing maneuver, and you delayed the second to postpone the start of rescue operations.”
Valeria pressed her lips together.
“You calculated the maneuver so the station would sharply change position precisely at the moment of maximum cable tension. Several dozen tons of station mass created a jolt that broke the weakened tether. The station didn’t feel it, but for the spacesuit it was a deadly force.”
Lindgren pointed to the timeline. “Everything was calculated to the second: orbital correction, time under direct sun, heating rate with cooling failure, time to prepare rescue spacesuit.”
“Even the EVA timing was specially chosen - when the station was in the zone of maximum solar radiation.”
Valeria and Mikko exchanged glances.
“Motive?” Lindgren paused. “Takeshi discovered your relationship. Not professional - personal. You had been lovers for six months, Mikko and Valeria. And Takeshi accidentally found out.”
Valeria went pale as chalk. Mikko covered his face with his hands.
“The problem was that Mikko has a wife and two children in Helsinki. And Valeria has a fiancé in Buenos Aires. Takeshi threatened to destroy your families if you didn’t end the relationship.”
“But it wasn’t just about families. The space agency prohibits romances on long missions - it affects crew safety. You both would have been excluded from the program forever. Careers, dreams, everything you lived for - everything would have collapsed in an instant.”
“Evidence exists in system logs - battery modification and telemetry of its operation after modification, calculations of the ‘rescue’ maneuver and timing, along with video documentation of the external incident - everything fits.”
“Planning murder in space required several weeks of careful planning, which constitutes premeditated murder with aggravating circumstances,” Lindgren responded. “Your mission is over, upon return to Earth you will be arrested.”