PHP - Initiate SoapClient inside a SoapServer class function?

Question

So I have a SoapServer class that handles whatever functions is requested of it from the client. Within one of those functions I need to call a 3rd party soap service, so I set about getting what I need as a SoapClient and returning the result back to my SoapServer. Here's a copy of the stack trace:

ReadCategories Respsonse:SoapFault exception: [HTTP] Error Fetching http headers in class_Client.php:47
Stack trace:
0 class_Client.php(47): SoapClient->__doRequest('<?xml version="...', 'https://&lt;url&gt;...', 'http://schemas....', 1)
1 [internal function]: ExtendedClient->__doRequest('<?xml version="...', 'https://&lt;url&gt;...', 'http://schemas....', 1, 0)
2 [internal function]: SoapClient->__call('ReadCategories', Array)
3 class_Server.php(77): ExtendedClient->ReadCategories(Object(stdClass))
4 class_Server.php(123): SoapServer->GetCategories('301e7b3f-db6c-4...')
5 class_Server.php(293): SoapServer->ManageProducts(Object(stdClass), 'CreateProducts')
6 [internal function]: SoapServer->CreateProducts(Object(stdClass))
7 index.php(35): SoapServer->handle()
8 {main}

Note the Error Fetching http headers in class_Client.php error. Strangely, when I trace my httpd request log, I see (after a considerable timeout time) that it makes 3 requests within milliseconds of eachother - where it should only make one.

Help?!