by L. S. Wood
Two more cosmonauts drew their envelopes from the tray, and two more loosing envelopes produced two more disheartened souls. There were only a couple seats left available amongst the last five remaining lottery contestants. Sebastian took the envelope to the right that Gina had left behind, and upon opening it was delighted for he had become the next to the last winner in seats on the space capsule. There was only one remaining seat left. Gina had watched as Sebastian took the envelope she had left behind as she began to cry even the harder than before.
Sebastian could not help but to feel very sad for Gina, he had a young wife, too, and two small children back home on Earth that he could not wait to see again. He was truly grateful for this seat of flight on the spacecraft, and an only chance to return to his family from this death trap.
Three more cosmonauts opened envelopes, producing three more losers from the remaining envelopes. Three grown men walked away from the lottery room with tears of sadness filling their watery sad eyes. There was only one last envelope remaining, just lying flat and lonely on the tray on the counter.
“Chenco, you are too going home.” Shouted out a voice from across the room. Chenco jumped to his feet from comforting his wife, and proceeded quickly across the room to the awaiting envelope. He quickly opened up his envelope, and then swiftly proceeded back across the room to his wife still sobbing hard on the floor. His eyes were filling with uncontrollable tears as he bent down to tell his wife with the good news held firm in his hand, as he reached out his arms and hugged her.
I won, Gina, I won. I am going home honey, I mean you are going home. You are going to take my place on the capsule, Gina. You are going home. He handed Gina the winning envelope so she could board the space capsule and return back home to Earth with the others.
The remaining crewmembers still in the meeting room gained back their happy attitudes as Chenco handed Gina the winning envelope, and told her she was going home. Gina began to cry a steadier stream of happy tears this time, as she reached for the winning envelope.
“My baby will be born at home,” she cried. “Yes, our baby will be born at home,” said Chenco holding back his building tears of sadness, ready for them to burst forth from his eyes at any given moment. “What about you Chenco? What about you? What will happen to you?” “I will be home before you know it, Gina. When you get back home, have them send a rescue mission back up here for us. Have a replacement team sent up so I can come home to be with you.” “I will, Chenco, I will, I will. I promise, I promise! I promise! I will!”
His nobleness of handing Gina his winning voucher changed everyone’s attitude in the assembly room back into one big old happy family type of atmosphere again. They would have all done the same thing for one of their own spouses as well, and all were glad to see the goodness left if not in everyone at least in one noble human being still living and alive aboard the space station.
In the back of the room. Sebastian moved quickly across the floor towards Gina and Chenco nestled lovingly down on the floor beside each other, soothing one another with loving words and hugs of pure devoted affection. He stretched out his hand to Chenco with his winning lottery ticket of freedom so Chenco could travel back home to Earth with his wife. “Here, Chenco. Take my winning voucher for Gina, Chenco!”
“Now wait just wait one damn minute here. I am the commander of this damn vessel and I will say who goes home and who has to stay here according to the rules of my lottery. No one can give anyone his or her lottery vouchers. You all agreed to the rules of this lottery prior to our playing it; therefore, it cannot be done!”
Sebastian felt stunned. He stopped abruptly in his fast track toward the two just short of Chenco’s out-reached arm and hand which was ready to receive the lucky ticket Sebastian was so unselfishly willing to unload the winning voucher from his own hand. Sebastian’s face turned a bitter cold ripe apple red like a fresh winter’s wind full of burning frost attacking a vegetable or flower garden in the fall. He stood there red hot bitter toward this man standing before them all telling him he could not let another human being live in his place. He knew the odds of survival aboard the International Space Station were now nil, if not nearly impossible. Without further help from the Americans, things did not look very promising for anyone of them.
“It took me many days and sleepless nights in designing and making up the rules pertaining to this lottery, and you all agreed to abide by them all no matter the outcome. Isn’t that right?” Everyone mumbled and grumbled about it, saying “yes sir,” agreeing with Commander Khrushchev’s choice of their decision of the rule making done by him, and their acceptance
“You did all agree, am I right?”
“Yes, but?”
“No buts about it. No matter how the outcome came out, you all agreed to what I said about the rules no matter what.”
“Yes, sir, Commander”.
“There is one very important, special rule I left out at the beginning of this lottery which I would like to inject at this time. This new first rule overrides all other rules of the lottery that I have made up. This rule left out was if the commander of this vessel was to win one of the winning lottery vouchers, it would become his sole right and only his right as a participant in this lottery that he alone by choice can give up his voucher to anyone he so chooses to without detriment to any of the other participant in the lottery without recourse to himself or others. This will in no way affect his position as station commander on this vessel or deter his authority in any way. Is this rule agreeable to everyone?”
“Yes, sir.” Commander Ivan float walked over in front of Sebastian reaching out his hand, and handed his winning voucher down to Gina looking up at him with love in her heart for him as a delightful human being. Sebastian’s extreme color in his red tormented face returned to a more normal cream color of delightful bright white. His hostile first reaction in pure resentment toward this individual faded quickly with added respect for his commanding officer, as Ivan winked at him with a smile on his face in his turning around to face the crew still wondering what he had just spouted out to them. What was his crazy new rule all about that he just quickly made up in his head, and then had all of them to agree to it.
The Commander turned to Chenco and Sebastian. “You two wouldn’t have wanted to have been disqualified from the lottery would you?” In unison they both smiled at him.
“No, sir, Commander Khrushchev. Thank you very much, sir.” Commander Ivan turned and faced the lucky winning participants of his lottery for life contestants and smiles.
In just under three hours the International Space Station had gone from being a somberly content inhabitance in space, to a very unsettled status back to being almost content once again. All disturbing attitudes in the crew reflected their feelings based upon the commander and his wanting to be one of the lucky ones to go back home to be with his loved ones. Had he not played in the lottery and won, the attitudes of the crew would have been less timid with the outcome in this very specifically designed game of life and death.
His own deep desires of wanting to go back home was almost the tip of the iceberg for the crew for they all respected him for being their leader in good times and in bad. In his giving up his personal winning voucher in freedom and life to Gina changed many soured attitudes toward him instantly. Their soured attitudes turned back around to where they had always been, knowing he was the same old commander that had lead them threw the last couple of years and months without everyone getting on one another’s backs.
When someone did get out of line, which was very seldom, he would quickly get them back on track to a place of congeniality along with the crew very fast. They all knew this, or at least hoped he would do the right thing right from the get go. Deep down inside, Commander Ivan’s only hope and wish was if the time would ever come in one of his own daughter’s lives that a caring person, an individual with attentiveness like himself would do the sam
e unselfish thing for one of them as he had just done for Gina. His heart beat with great loving affection for doing the right thing.
“You are all dismissed. Return to your stations. Thank you for your participation. I am truly sorry not every one of you could have won, but some of us have to stay up here and keep this bucket of bolts functioning until the next launched mission to this station, and hopefully we will all be able to go back home! You should all write back home to your loved ones. I am sure many of your loved ones would like to hear from you and how well we are all doing up here. Keep them down to only a couple of pages apiece if you would. I know a couple of you could easily write a book or two, but there just isn’t going to be very much room for mail onboard seeing we have a couple of extra passenger stowaways hidden safely away within a couple of our young lady cosmonauts’ bellies.”
Ivan just smiled as he looked toward Gina and Krista. He then half walked and floated back toward the command center in the space station to look down on the sullen earth through the huge telescope in search of any mission readied for launching to them in the heavens by the Americans.
He looked down toward his own country or for anyone else on Earth who might care enough about these lost souls in the heavens in desperate need of help from below. It became quite evident to Ivan right from the start that his own country had forgotten all about the promises he and his comrades were given by them when they had all signed up for this very special assignment on the space station. He still had the secret envelope his new commander and chiefs had given him in case an outbreak of war began on Earth below. He had a bad feeling in his stomach that whatever those orders were at the time did not mean a damn thing to anyone down there below any more now. He thought that he just might have to go and see what in the hell they were all about and had to say to him in their dire condition when ordered. The remaining crewmembers of the space station were very happy for the six winners of the lottery now.
They had a party for the lucky six comrades who were going to be returning back home to Earth soon. They gave each other great big hugs and kisses for all would be missed aboard the space station, and there wouldn‘t be a better time than now for giving goodbyes because trying to hug or kiss someone in their flight space suits was hard if not damn near impossible to do.
Gina and Chenco personally went to the colonel’s living quarters to give their own special thanks to Commander Khrushchev for his most generous gift of life to them with his own personnel lotteries freedom voucher. Ivan did not need any special thanks more than the appreciable appearances of gratitude they had painted across their smiles when he let them into his cramped quarters.
The next day found the lottery crew winners busy at work preparing their vehicle of freedom for its final departure from the space station. They had to make a couple of new changes to the outdated space vehicle they would be traveling in back to Earth. Any electrical force fields or electrical supply stored in their capsule to be drained instantly out the capsule by the millions and billions in wild tiny neutrons floating wildly in the earth’s air once they broke through into it. Everyone went around double checking each other’s supply lists just in case someone forgot the simplest in supplies when it came down to everyone’s safety. They double checked their food supply in case they had to stay aloft a couple of extra days in orbit until a true window of opportunity opened up for them to glide down to earth through safely.
They made sure they had plenty of Co2 cartridges to fill their life rafts and space suits should they land in water, taking along a couple of hand held compasses, putting them onboard in case they were to land somewhere down below on land and wouldn’t keep traveling around in circles in the wilderness lost for days. They opened up and repacked the landing parachutes to make sure the fabric and tether lines were still all intact and ready to be activated when needed for their safe glide and soft landing they all hope for on their final return back home to civilization.
Both Krista and Gina posed a slight problem when preparing for their pre-flight flight suit fitting. Both had to try on several different flight suits in order to accommodate their changing body forms, especially Gina. It was quite evident she was pregnant with twins, she stuck way out more than Krista did in her midsection. Everyone in the station joined in and laughed while watching the two girls go through the antics of trying on several different space suits.
Commander Ivan broke out in hysterical laughter as he watched Gina getting on the final suit she was putting on to wear. She looked more like a little child trying to get dressed for the first time than a cosmonaut trying to suit up for flight. When she finally finished suiting up, she looked like the huge white pumpkin from outer space. Ivan had huge happy tears of laughter forming in both his eyes as he was laughing so hard.
Sleep was problematical to the space capsule crew the night before their departure. 0400 hours came very early to the happy but very scared lottery winners. As they ate their last meal aboard the space station, it seemed like a dream come true to them all.
Commander Ivan sat with them as they ate, and wished them a safe and happy return flight and landing. He said he wished he were going with them, but knew Gina and her twins needed to get back home sooner than he did. Chenco was told to take damn good care of the special cargo aboard the capsule with him. He smiled and confirmed the commander’s orders directly at him. Gina hugged Commander Khrushchev with all her dainty might and conviction of tenderness. She gave him a great big caring hug and kiss for good luck on his stay and mission onboard the space station.
She pulled away from him with large welled up happy tears of happy joy in her eyes, and a deep sorrow forming in her tendered heart for him. She would never forget the man who gave her freedom of life over death. She really felt she had given him the kiss of death like one of the twelve disciples had done to their leader in Christianity, Jesus Christ.
He was a good man. No, he was a great man and would be missed by all who knew him or had been lucky enough to have been touched by him in his so many fair and equitable ways of being their commander, father, grandfather, or just a loving caring human being. Commander Ivan wished them all sincere luck and a safe flight back home to Earth as they hurried on their way down toward the flight deck where their ride to freedom was waiting ready for them to depart.
Commander Ivan had sat with them the day before and had decided for them that Cape Canaveral in Florida would be their safest landing site for the crew to land. The Russian space landing locations around Russia all looked abandoned. There were no signs of any activities going on in or around them ever since the big bang. Florida then turned out to be the chosen site for their final destination. At least there, there were people moving around the air base even though they had not dragged the Twitchel off the side of the runway to a hanger for repair yet for another mercy flight. Their chances at Cape Kennedy would prove far greater for them medically if they needed medical attention, they all decided.
Commander Ivan gave them strict orders in hand to land there for their own safety. Chenco pulled the heavy metal door shut behind them securing it tight as he lastly climbed aboard the space capsule in their very cramped seating quarters. With the airlocks securely in place they gave the nervous crew permission to depart the laboratory docking station.
For the past couple of years, the crew onboard the space station had been practicing routinely in the small space stations simulator in operating their capsule. They all knew the day would come for someone to return back to Earth in a hurry. Everyone had to practice the many different methods of escape from their adversary being lost in outer space should something devastating happen to the space station out of their control, and only a very few lucky ones might possibly make the safe escape aboard the capsule. Now if something were to happen aboard the space station, all would be lost to the situation of destruction of the multi-sectional spacecraft and the remaining crew. Everyone onboard the station had to learn how to maneu
ver the space capsule for departing the laboratory for reentry into the earth’s atmosphere for a safe landing.
Now there were six very lucky individuals or very unlucky cosmonauts aboard the capsule trying to bring its mission of escape from space in flight to fruition in bringing its excited passengers all back home safely to Earth in one peace.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Going Home
FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE, release securing clamps holding space module. The movement of the space capsule away from the space station felt incredibly peculiar to the cosmonauts inside the space module. No one had experienced any type of movement other than their own movement of floating inside of the halls of the space station in over two long years. Their walking in its corridors with the help of magnetic shoes and floating along without any restraints on them through the space station didn’t represent movement to any of them.
Gina felt queasy with a sensation of tickling beginning to develop in the pit of her stomach from the moment as the space module departed her mother ship. It didn’t seem to bother Krista or the others, then again Gina was the one who developed morning sickness the instant she became pregnant. Krista never was sick or even queasy ever since the conception of her child. What a lucky women thought Gina about Krista every time she threw up in the cramped lavatory of her living quarters.
Sounds of happy cheers came billowing into the space capsule over the radio as the lottery winners departed the confines of the space station. “Good luck comrades and a safe landing” said Commander Ivan to the departing crew.
