Short story intro

Some time ago, I began to write a fictional story. As often happens, I was overly zealous in my aspirations, and before long the enormity of the task daunted me. Predictably, I gave up the effort long before it had a chance to take root.
The ideas, howver, still bounce around in my head from time to time. So without any further delay, I dust off my prior efforts in the hope of breathing new life (and more humble beginnnings) to my amateur writing. Here is one version of what I wrote.

Ascent

The sound coming from his low pressure breather reminded him of Darth Vader, from the classic Star Wars movies. Somehow that was not a comforting analogy – especially as he was being propelled to the dark side at just under the acoustic barrier. Insanity! He remembered all the times he had wished to be here. Now all he could think about was the complicated magnetic braking system that would be the only thing keeping him from becoming Earth’s newest satellite. He had not been directly involved in the design or testing of Earth Pinnacle One’s elevators. Now he wished he had been. Then again, his co-workers had not called him a control freak for nothing. He trusted few people to do a job as well as he could.
“Five thousand meters” chimed the talking altimeter. He could have sworn it spoke in a faint British accent. Not surprising, as this has been a North American / British collaboration. In less than five minutes he would be able to see a transoceanic flight dead on. That is, if any flights would have been allowed within 300 kilometers. Sophisticated radar and visual detectors monitored this airspace. A necessity with the myriad global terrorist organizations looking to make political statements. The thought gave him chills. No. Coincidence and nothing more. At this altitude, even with the heated environment in the elevator, the temperature had dropped more than 10 degrees Celsius. He was not surprised. He had been briefed, unnecessarily he grumbled, about what he could expect on his trip to the Near Space Observatory. Amazingly, at just over 400 Kilometers altitude, the entire trip would take less than 45 minutes. The first 10 minutes would go by rather uneventfully, with only a minor drop in temperature and air pressure, along with some minor buffeting by the jet stream. At 20 minutes, he would begin to notice a darker hue to the sky’s usual baby blue. He would not, as many people thought, feel any significant drop in gravity. For that he would need to travel much higher, to over 35000 Kilometers in altitude. Or travel faster so as to orbit the planet many times in a day, much as did the Antares Orbital Station. No, for that he was thankful. Though a view from space intrigued him, nausea did not. There were a few brave souls who were required to travel beyond apogee to tether’s end. These men and women endured not just weightlessness, but gravity reversal – the point where there would be an apparent shift in the direction of gravity. He had heard it was a real trip to grab the railings, turn your body upside down, and land on your feet. Timing was critical. There were anecdotal stories of those who had landed on their heads, so distracted with keeping their stomachs from turning. At 30 minutes, looking out of the small portal, one would finally be given an unobstructed view of space, with countless stars filling the small view into the void. Finally, at 40 minutes, the magnetic brakes would engage. He hoped.
In the six years since Pinnacle One had gone operational, there had only been one fatality, and that happened early on, before additional safety measures had been introduced. Despite all the assurances given, everyone working here was required to sign a disclaimer. No one refused. The opportunity to work in the most technologically advanced facility on the planet warranted taking some risks.