Rogue Stars

by C Gockel et al.

  “Yes, Alex,” Vlad said, looking intently at his main confidant on the facility. “That is why I ordered max levels for propellants as soon as I saw that hair-brained plan that Moscow cooked up.”

  “Hair-brained?” Alex looked dubious.

  “You think it a good plan, Aleksey?”

  “Not ideal, but it will work.”

  Vlad leaned back and eyed Aleksey seriously, looking for any sign of jest. “It should work, but it’s still not the way to plan a lunar landing, especially for our first time.”

  “Agreed, Vlad, but time is important and we must arrive before the Americans.”

  “You’re not worried about the Chinese?”

  “Should I be? They barely have the lift capability to reach lunar orbit, much less send a heavy load to the surface and back. Their orbiter was on a one-way trip.”

  “Never underestimate the will of over a billion people, Aleksey, never.”

  People’s Republic Space Command

  Outside of Beijing, China

  In the near future, Day 31

  * * *

  Hun waited for the communications to be restored again. The main communications satellite that his country had relied upon for the last decade was no more, so for priority communications, they resorted to pinging a signal off of one of the military’s reconnaissance birds as it orbited the planet in low earth orbit. The tradeoff was for every thirty minutes that they could use the military sat, there were two hours when there was no other satellite within range.

  “Inexcusable,” Chon said, putting his smartphone away in one of his cargo pant pockets.

  “The Russian photos?” Hun asked.

  “Yes, they make me sick,” Chon said, eyes downcast.

  “I can’t believe you pulled that up in here,” Lin said in a hushed tone.

  “What? Everyone’s seen them. What’s the big deal?” Chon asked defensively.

  “Yeah, but not in the command center, Chon. Save it for your quarters,” Lin said, giving Chon a sharp look.

  “Quiet, both of you,” Hun said, his tone both urgent and serious.

  “Why? Won’t the general be here when the coms are reestablished?” Chon asked.

  “Who knows?” Hun answered. “He should know already that we will only have thirty minutes.”

  “Pride, as usual,” Lin said, shrugging her shoulders.

  Chon leaned forward. “So do you think Chang successfully implemented your plan, boss?”

  Hun nodded. The Russian pictures were bad enough. They were being shown worldwide on the news, and almost every internet page seemed to have them. Most had prominent arrows pointing at the alien device and the now defunct Chinese rover. Instead of being hailed as successful explorers and discoverers of the alien artifact, the Western news outlets were talking non-stop about the demise of the Chinese equipment and the failure to retrieve it. Most of the news now speculated on who would get to the moon first, the Russians or the Americans.

  “Here he comes,” Lin said, motioning with her head toward the door as General Wang entered the room and took the main center seat facing the screen. Within seconds, the screen came alive with an image of the Wenchang control room. The face of a military officer peered back at them.

  “All ready, Major Wu?” the general asked.

  “Ready here, sir,” Major Wu responded, stepping aside and allowing Chief Engineer Chang as well as the operations manager for Wenchang, Ki Fong, to appear on the screen.

  “Mr. Fong, will we be ready for the dual launches next week?” General Wang asked. The word “dual” perked up all of Hun’s team.

  “Yes, General Wang. We have prepared the second Long Reach and it should be ready by your deadline.” Fong nodded.

  “Excellent.” The general then turned to look at Hun before returning his attention to the main screen. “We’ll go ahead with Director Lee’s original plan for a dual launch and subsequent docking. Since Operation Liquid Eye has been cancelled, we will proceed with Operation Morning Glory instead. We have selected our astronaut, and he will be arriving at Wenchang shortly. See to it, Mr. Fong, that Colonel Hen Sing is welcomed properly.”

  Hun recognized the name immediately. Hen Sing was a virtual hero after piloting his fighter back to safety after having a run-in with an American P3-Orion nearly three decades earlier. Hun hadn’t heard any news about Hen Sing for at least ten years. He thought the man had retired. If so, the military was activating him again as was evident from the fact that the general referred to him using his rank.

  “We will see to it.” Fong nodded.

  “And the docking device?” General Wang asked.

  Fong looked at Chong, who leaned forward. “General, sir. The docking devices have been placed on both the orbiter and the energy module so that they can be mated together. Also, the shielding has been upgraded per the specifications that were calculated by Director Lee’s team.”

  All eyes turned toward Hun. This was unexpected since the general had turned his original request down. Hun was going to propose a robotic lander with the astronaut commanding it from orbit using shielded optics and sensors, but he hadn’t had a chance to present his proposal to the general. It was also likely to be rebuffed as it required the construction of a robotic device. This news was better, so Hun decided not to mention the robotic proposal.

  “Director Hun? Is your team ready for the mission?” the general asked.

  “The one that we specked for, yes. If there were no major changes to the profile, equipment, or procedure, then we are ready now.” Hun looked at the others.

  “Very well,” the general said. “We launch first thing next week. See to it that Colonel Sing is trained and familiar with the command module. You have just one week.”

  There would be no discussion and no objections. China would launch a state hero to the moon in one week’s time and surprise the world.

  NASA Space Center

  Houston, Texas

  In the near future, Day 34

  * * *

  Rock stretched his legs out while taking another sip of his beer and looking into the evening sky. The final preparations were made, and the mechanical work was continuing under the supervision of Jeff Wheeler and his group.

  Sally had cooled down since the news broke and was serving drinks and setting their outside table with plates and utensils for him and his team. Rock had half expected a large group of FBI agents to show up at his house when he informed Mrs. Brown that he and his group were done for the weekend. Mrs. Brown objected at first and then took her cellphone out and walked into the hallway. Rock and his team used the time to exit the building, get in their cars, and leave. It took only twenty minutes to arrive at Rock’s house where his wife, Sally, had prepared a large dinner and fired up the grill.

  “I actually think they won’t come for us,” Jack said, taking a sip of his beer as he sat next to Rock and enjoyed the spring breeze coming from the nearby gulf.

  Sally spoke while setting the large outside patio table without looking up. “They have an unmarked car outside our house. It’s sitting down the street near the corner.”

  “God, I hate spooks,” Tom said from where he stood near the grill, poking at the steak and burger patties with a spatula.

  “If I had a dollar for every time he used that word, I wouldn’t have to be here now,” Marge said, pulling up a chair near the table and sitting to face Rock and Jack.

  Lisa laughed and then looked at Rock. “Thank you, Richard, for doing this for us. I called Ed and he was in shock. You really made our day, or should I say weekend?”

  “No problem, Lisa,” Rock said, wiggling his legs and enjoying the freedom of being out from under a desk. “I know you and Jack have family, and the rest of us were getting just as braindead as you were. Besides, once the plan was set, we had everything done and just needed to wait on the engineering team to make the necessary equipment modifications. I don’t see how running the numbers another dozen times over the weekend would help.” />
  “You’re damn right,” Tom said, belching the carbonation of his beer out.

  “You’re disgusting, Tom,” Marge said half-heartedly. “Drink your brew a bit slower, please.”

  “You bet, Doc,” Tom responded. “I second the thanks, Rock. I may not have family here, but I sure as hell had my fill of spooks.”

  “No kidding,” Lisa said in a rare agreement with Tom. “I don’t think I could handle Mrs. Brown peering over my shoulder for one more day.”

  Marge laughed. “I thought I was the only one that felt that way.”

  “No, Mrs. Brown is bad enough, but that Mr. Smith gives me the creeps,” Jack said, making a shivering motion with his body and gritting his teeth.

  “Thanks for the invite, Mrs. C.” Tom cut in as Sally stepped to the grill to turn the meat.

  “My pleasure, Thomas. It’s always good to see you all . . . when Rock allows it,” Sally said, her tone one of disapproval.

  “Sorry, boss. I was hoping we wouldn’t be imposing,” Jack said.

  “No worries. Sally’s still upset about the alien news is all,” Rock responded.

  “Not at the news,” Sally retorted, “at your lack of news.”

  Tom walked over to join the group, pulling up a chair around the table. “All is forgiven now. What matters is how long we can go without the feds looking for us.”

  Rock leaned forward, setting his bottle on the table. “I cleared this with John yesterday. There will be no interruptions this weekend, so make sure you all get plenty of rest and downtime. Next week we will be very busy.”

  “Will do, boss,” Jack said. “Did you see the news this morning?”

  “I try not to anymore. I find the myriad of speculation only confuses me more.” Rock smiled.

  “Exactly,” Marge said. “The constant speculation will only cloud our minds, making us subjective on this subject. I prefer to keep my thoughts clear at the moment.”

  Tom took another long swill on his long neck before talking. “Fine, Jack, I’ll bite. What’s up?”

  Jack ignored the looks from Rock and Marge. “Well, the Russian pics showed the top of the alien device along with the shadow. Analysts say it looks like a three-sided pyramid—”

  “Not that old tripe again, please, Jack,” Marge said, rolling her eyes.

  “What? It could be true.” Jack looked around at the group.

  “Well, that would be just great,” Tom said. “The damn aliens built the pyramids, and the conspiracy folks were right all the time.”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Rock felt obliged to step in before Marge retorted again. “We should focus on what we know first and keep the speculation and news in the background for now.”

  “Spoken like a true scientist,” Tom said.

  “Do we know what’s expected of Julie and Craig when they get there?” Lisa asked. “I mean, all we have are the pictures of this oblong metallic object. What if it’s attached to something, or does the NSA expect them to just pull it up and put it on the rover?”

  “Good question, Lisa,” Rock answered. “I’m not sure what the feds are expecting, but we need to prepare for all contingencies. They will have a small tool kit to dig around the base of the structure. It looks tall, but it appears to be rather thin in nature. Besides, I think they need to focus on the scientific part of the mission first, and analyze the object’s material and take readings around the area. I doubt something that small could house an energy source that could transmit signals as strongly as it’s doing.”

  “You’re probably right, Rock.” Marge nodded, readying her plate for her food as Sally started to serve around the table. “We have all of next week to plan. In the meantime, I’m tired of microwave dinners.”

  “Me, too,” Tom said, smiling at Sally.

  “Aren’t we all,” Jack finished as the group enjoyed a rare home-cooked meal. It would be a pleasant weekend until the frenzy continued next week. Rock just hoped the Chinese and Russians would take a weekend off as well. Probably not, he thought, but damn this space race, anyway. Better to get it right than wrong, and Rock had adopted an old NASA motto long ago: failure is not an option.

  16 Russian Plans

  Gordust Space Station

  Low Earth Orbit

  In the near future, Day 35

  * * *

  The construction and modifications had been completed for several days now, and the cosmonauts were restless. First it was work, work, work, and then it was wait, wait, wait. The only good news, Yuri thought to himself, is my old friend Vladimir had ensured that the station has extra fuel for the lunar burn. This was important because the fuel load was the primary calculation that the engineers in Moscow would use to plot a slingshot trajectory around the earth. A tighter ratio meant a higher angle of attack for the trajectory.

  Unlike those American movies, in space, when one died, there was no scream. Sound did not carry in a vacuum, and Yuri and his comrades would die silently if their station broke up once it cleared the planet, or they would die with screams of pain and fear if they burned up in the atmosphere high above the planet. Either scenario was troubling, to say the least. The risks were higher as the angle of attack increased. The exact edge of the earth’s atmosphere could vary and even stray hydrogen atoms could wreak havoc on any object moving at a high enough velocity, but Vladimir had ensured that the risk would be lower.

  The entire front of the station had a new pod placed on the Gordust’s strong frame, but sideways with a large reinforced window looking forward. Yuri floated in the module looking out the large viewport and marveled at its strength. Normally the viewports were much smaller, but the engineers in Moscow had determined that the station’s crew needed a much wider field of vision, and the curved arch of this window was impressive.

  “You spend a lot of time here, Yuri,” Olga said, floating silently behind him. Yuri didn’t bother to turn around. He would prefer the sight of the earth’s curvature and the beautiful field of stars off to his right than to see her face again.

  “Y chto?” he asked.

  “No need to be defensive,” Olga said calmly despite the slight rebuff. “Nikolai wants to run another systems check.”

  “The man is bored. Tell him to stand down and prepare for the lander when it arrives.”

  “You mean if it arrives.”

  “Olga, it will be here. Vladimir will see to that.”

  “Your old friend isn’t even part of the command crew in Moscow. I doubt they share with him your sense of optimism,” Olga said, her voice remaining calm and even.

  Now Yuri did turn to look at Olga, wanting to gauge her words better. “Nothing comes here unless it goes through Vostochny.”

  “Understood, Comrade Yuri. I was just making an observation.”

  “As was I,” Yuri countered. “Tell Nikolai he and his men will be busy soon enough.”

  “I’ll pass the message along,” Olga said, starting to turn herself around to exit the command pod and return to the main section of the station. “Do you think we’ll be successful?”

  Yuri pondered for a moment before answering. “Da, we will reach the moon, Olga. I have no doubt of that.”

  “Ochen xorosho,” Olga said, a rare smile crossing her face as she pulled herself along the small handrails and propelled herself down the narrow corridor, leaving Yuri alone again in the command pod.

  “But I have no idea if we’ll return, Olga. No idea at all.” Yuri turned to look out the large port window again, his words dying, unheard by anyone else.

  Vostochny Cosmodrome

  Siberia, Russia

  In the near future, Day 35

  * * *

  The reports were looking promising, and Vlad felt optimism as he read the latest on the propellant procurement. Using extra cash and cannibalizing a few military assets would allow for the launches to continue, albeit with a delay. Moscow had decided that the food stores were sufficient, and in an emergency, they could launch a resupply module t
o the moon. The cosmonauts may end up hungry, but as long as they were hydrated and had oxygen to breath, then the mission profile stood as originally planned.

  Usually Vlad was in charge of the space operations from ground-side to orbit. Once in orbit, the central space command for Ruscosmos, located just outside of Moscow, would take over. Ruscosmos ran the day-to-day operations for the Gordust space station, and while Vlad was kept in the loop on provisioning and transit requirements, he seldom had much to do with regards to orbital procedures.

  That was about to change. Vlad had received word from Dmitry that the lunar operation would include his small team at Vostochny via telecoms as Ruscosmos wanted to ensure the highest chance of success. Earlier that day, he had received the full mission profile documents that had been under guard in Moscow and he saw the exact plan instead of just the payload manifest which required a slight amount of speculation each time he put something into orbit.

  Irina had given him the latest, and Vlad noticed that the next payload would carry the lander followed by the last payload consisting entirely of fuel for the lunar trip. The lander would arrive the next day, and he and his crew had three days to secure it to the Energia rocket before the scheduled launch date.

  “Mr. Gorky is here to see you,” Irina said, using the intercom system.

  “Send him in, Irina,” Vlad said, setting the report down.

  Aleksey arrived looking fresher than normal since he and his crew had a few days’ downtime due to the lack of propellant which meant no launches the last two weeks. “Well,” Aleksey said, shaking hands with Vlad and sitting on one of the two chairs facing the desk.

  “We’re in, Aleksey,” Vlad said, motioning to the report on his desk. “Moscow will be linking us in remotely during the lunar operation. Is your team ready?”

  “Da. I have Yosef and his boys on standby even now, and our systems personnel will be prepped and ready by next Tuesday.” Aleksey reached for the report and opened it to peruse the first few pages.