When the hammer hit, Viktor was startled to see the head fly completely off and—fortunately—not explode. He also did not see any explosive powder leak out. Whew! With the bolt head off, he could now free the engine. He repositioned himself so his feet were again pressed up against the engine and his back on the spacecraft and pushed with all the energy he had left. The engine slowly began to budge and eventually slipped off the bolt. Viktor gave the VASIMR one giant push with his feet and watched it drift away.
“She off! Engine floating away,” said Viktor excitedly.
“Great job Viktor!”
Viktor was exhausted. He looked down at what was left of the bolt, spying a crack down the middle. He figured it must have cracked sometime during flight, losing its explosive powder. Viktor knew he was lucky, and he said a quick thank you to God.
SNORING USED TO DRIVE PETER CRAZY, especially from any one-night stand lying next to him. No matter how perfect the girl was, snoring was always a deal breaker. But Peter sat in the Soyuz with a big grin, listening to Viktor’s loud snoring echoing throughout the spacecraft. The racket was beautiful music, reminding him he wasn’t alone. Once Viktor got himself back into the Orbital Module he passed out from sheer exhaustion with the EMU suit left on. Once Peter could enter the module, he took off his partner’s helmet and powered down the suit, letting him sleep. Peter was proud of the old man for overcoming fatigue to dislodge the engine and save the mission.
Suddenly Peter heard over the radio, “Maria 1, this is Mission Control, do you read?”
Peter was surprised to hear Dmitri, expecting someone else to fill in for CAPCOM. He quickly grabbed his headset. “Mission Control, Maria 1 here. Read you loud and clear, over.”
“Roger, everything going okay?” asked Dmitri.
Even though they just handled a serious crisis, Peter answered, “Yeah, it’s been a nice leisurely flight, over.”
“We noticed Maria 1 slightly change course earlier. Did you do some course adjustments?”
Peter assumed Dmitri was talking about the maneuvers Viktor did trying to shake the engine loose. “We had a bug on the windshield and your dad tried to dislodge it, over.”
“What?” Dmitri’s voice crackled.
“Nothing. Your dad was testing some of the controls, making sure everything worked before we were given any course corrections, over,” replied Peter.
“Roger. Those will be coming shortly. What is that noise I hear?”
Peter grinned. “That’s your dad snoring.”
“I thought I knew that sound. He likes to nap. Hopefully you don’t mind a little snoring—I’ve had to deal with it for years.”
“I’ve gotten used to it. I kind of like it, over,” said Peter.
“Good.” Dmitri paused. “I wanted to let you know China just launched their rocket. We will monitor the flight and let you know when they leave orbit, over.”
Though he expected the news, it was still disappointing. He hoped they had enough of a lead to beat China. “Roger. Let’s hope they don’t make it out of orbit.”
“Roger. That would take some pressure off.” The radio was silent for a moment before Dmitri said, “Peter, I have someone here who wants to say hi.”
Peter’s heart immediately started to race, hoping the someone was Anya. “Roger that.”
“Hello…Peter?” asked Anya in a timid voice.
“Hey, baby. It’s wonderful to hear your voice, but please speak up a little louder.” She was probably being shy due to all who were listening. Peter continued, “So how are you…everything okay?”
Louder, Anya said, “It is now. I miss you so much. You and Dad getting along okay?”
“Other than his snoring, everything’s going great. Actually, he has been fantastic on this mission. He’s saved us a couple of times.”
“That’s great. When he wakes tell him I love him.”
“Roger that. Of course he’s going to want to hear it himself later.”
“Thanks for leaving the pendent. I have it around my neck where it belongs. I can’t tell you how much it means to me, especially knowing you found it. I wear it everywhere and always will. And thank you for the special note on the mirror. It made me cry.”
Peter smiled. “Hopefully not because it was expensive lipstick.”
Anya giggled, “No. Because of what you said.”
“I meant what I said.” Peter put his hand to his chest feeling the jewelry under his flight suit. “I’m wearing the other half, too. I even have a picture of you up on the panel next to me. I’m looking at it right now.”
“What picture?”
“A modeling picture you did for charity. Your dad gave it to me. You look hot. Of course I think you always look hot.”
“Thank you. You’re not too bad yourself. So any chance you two turning that ship around and coming home?”
Peter rubbed his finger over her picture. “A big part of me wishes we could. Even if it was possible, your dad would still be dragging me along. I think he likes my company.”
Her voice quieting down again, she said, “Peter, I miss you and I love you, very much.”
Without hesitation Peter responded proudly, “Baby, I love you too.”
Peter thought he heard a sniffle before Anya said, “Well, Dmitri promised me I can check in with you every once in awhile. Maybe we can talk tomorrow?”
“I would love that.” He had to swallow past a growing lump. “Hearing your voice does wonders for me.”
“Roger. Tell Dad I said Allo and I’ll talk with you tomorrow.”
“Roger. Love you.”
Peter sensed she was trying to compose herself when she paused before her voice cracked, “I love you too.”
SIE FELT LIKE A DEAD MAN walking as he entered the control room of the Beijing Command Center to check on Tang and Nei’s flight. Regardless of how the mission ended, Sie would be fired at its completion, his name and legacy disgraced forever. He tried to put it out of his mind as he focused on helping the taikonauts race the Americans to the moon.
The taikonauts had already performed a successful TLI burn and were now safely on their way. Sie’s controllers should know by now if they were going to catch the Americans. He tapped the shoulder of his flight director, who was feverously talking on his headset. Turning around, the director asked, “Yes, sir?”
“What is the status of catching the Americans?”
“Sir, though the TLI burn went perfect, we are still in the process of verifying our telemetry and speed as compared to the Americans. However, at first glance it looks good. I should know soon.”
Disappointed in not getting a firm answer, Sie said, “Let me know the moment we figure it out.”
“Yes, sir,” said the director as Sie put his head down and walked out.
BOTH PETER AND VIKTOR SAT comfortably in Maria 1 as she zipped through deep space, Peter relaxing in the Orbital Module while Viktor monitored the instruments in the Descent Module.
All of a sudden Viktor blurted out, “Did you feel that?”
Peter didn’t feel anything and frowned in concern. “Feel what?”
“We just cross speed bump,” said Viktor, smiling.
“What are you talking about?”
Viktor started laughing. “We cosmonauts believe speed bump on way to moon. When moon’s pull becomes greater than Earth’s, you cross speed bump in space.”
Such a phenomenon couldn’t be felt since they were in zero gravity, and all gravity forces are always precisely balanced with acceleration forces, but he played along. “Oh, yeah, I felt it. So we are now being pulled by the moon?”
“Yep. Few men feel moon pull,” said Viktor proudly.
“Just Americans and three Chinese, and now you’re the first Russian.”
Viktor raised his eyebrows and looked impressed. “Wow, I am. Damn.”
Viktor’s face suddenly focused as he adjusted his headset and said into his microphone, “This Maria 1, over.” Peter floated through the hatch
and put on his headset so he could hear too.
Dmitri said, “We just finished calculating when both you and the Chinese will arrive at the moon.”
Viktor asked, “Roger. Who be first?”
There was a moment of silence before Dmitri answered, “Right now, the Chinese will beat you, over.”
Peter was devastated. If the Chinese beat them to the laser, he and Viktor could do nothing to stop it from firing.
Viktor asked with hope in his voice, “Are you sure?”
“I had a few different engineers work the numbers, but the answer always came out the same. We are sure,” Dmitri said.
Viktor put his head down for a moment before saying, “By how much?
“Sixty-five minutes.”
Lifting his head Viktor asked, “Is there anything we can do?”
Dmitri replied, “Maybe. We are considering having you fire the main engine for a short time to increase your velocity. The problem is, you will use up fuel needed to slow you down. We doubt there is enough to do both, over.”
Frustrated with Dmitri’s solution, Peter interjected, “So we can either beat them to the moon, but not have enough fuel to stop and fly right past, or they beat us, reprogram the laser, and we get the shit blown out of us on the back side.”
“Something like that, yes,” said Dmitri. “We wanted to inform you both and see if you had any suggestions.”
Those options definitely weren’t acceptable to Peter. He looked over to Viktor, who seemed to be in deep thought before an encouraging expression crossed his face. “What if we jettison Orbital Module before lunar orbit?”
The radio was silent before Dmitri said, “We didn’t think of that. That could work. It would definitely reduce the amount of propellant needed to slow you down. Do you need the module?”
“It gives Peter place to get away from me, but we do without,” said Viktor.
“Let us crunch the numbers and get back with you,” said Dmitri.
“Roger,” said Viktor.
Both men took off their headsets before Peter asked, “What about taking pictures outside the capsule?” Without the Orbital Module, they no longer had an airlock. So there was no way of doing a spacewalk.
“We can still do. We bring EMU suit and cameras in here and store in empty seat. We can’t take SAFER, too big—instead you use tether line. That will be last thing you do in lunar orbit. When time, you open hatch.”
“But you’ll die!” Viktor’s flight suit wouldn’t protect him from the harsh environment of space. Without an airlock, Peter’s partner would be subjected to these deadly conditions once the hatch was opened, killing him within seconds. Only the EMU suit was designed to shelter the astronaut from the cruelty of space.
“Peter, I die anyways. I take cyanide pill right before you open hatch. You go out, take pictures, return and send pictures to Earth. Mission accomplished. Unfortunately you die once your oxygen runs out,” said Viktor matter-of-factly.
Considering their options, it looked like they had no other choice. Peter hated to think about coming back from the spacewalk and seeing his partner buckled in his seat, dead. But what else could they do? “Do you think we can get all the equipment in here?”
“It be tight, but yes. No toilet, so shit before we jettison her,” said Viktor with a grin.
Peter smiled. Pointing to the hatch he asked, “Are you sure I can fit through that in the EMU suit?”
“You could not if we in TMA model. But lucky we in K model. It be compact, but you fit.”
Both men heard Dmitri calling back and quickly put on their headsets to hear.
“Maria 1, this is Mission Control, come in.”
“Maria 1 here,” said Viktor.
“Dad, you’re right. Jettisoning the Orbital Module should give you the needed fuel. It will be close, but you should still beat the Chinese. I will get back with you shortly with the required procedures in firing the main engine and jettisoning the module.”
“Roger,” said Viktor, smiling.
33
IT’S TIME
“Sir, we should know in the next few hours if Peter successfully reached orbit and was able to reprogram the laser,” echoed Doug’s voice through the phone’s speaker in the Oval Office. Breaking away from his family’s annual Fourth of July barbeque to participate in the conference call with Bill was Steve, listening intently.
Bill sat hunched over his desk nervously tapping his finger. “What are their chances?”
“Tough to say—the last update we received from Russia’s mission control was the Chinese were closing on them. In fact, our men had to jettison their living quarters, the Orbital Module, from the Soyuz spacecraft during flight so they could fire their main engine to speed up their ship,” Doug said.
The president peered at the phone. “Was that successful?”
“Yes, sir, but unfortunately that was their airlock. So when Peter does his spacewalk, Viktor will die,” Doug said.
The president felt a ping of sadness as he looked at the picture of his father on his desk. He lightly caressed the outline of the frame. Even though he knew Viktor was going to die on the mission, knowing he would die at that moment made the reality tough on him. He reflected on the sacrifice both men were making for America before responding. “Damn.”
“Hopefully that will do the trick,” Doug said.
“Let me know as soon as you learn the outcome,” said the president as he pulled his hand away from the frame.
“Yes, sir.”
Bill turned to Steve. “You’ve scheduled the special session at the UN, right?”
Steve straightened in his chair and locked eyes with the president. “Yes, sir. It’s scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”
“Good.” Looking back down at the phone, Bill asked, “Doug, is that enough time for Peter to be ready for the spacewalk?”
“If they make it into lunar orbit today, that should be.”
The president leaned back in his chair folding his arms. “Good. If at all possible, I would like to get a live feed from Peter while the session is going on.” The president uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. “Will he be able to submit a few early pictures of some of the landing sites before his spacewalk?”
“He should—of course those pictures will be taken from inside the spacecraft through the small porthole window, so probably won’t be of the greatest quality.”
“I understand that. But at least that gives Steve something to work with. The higher quality pictures taken during the spacewalk will be the ones we submit to the UN to be studied.”
“Yes, sir,” Doug said.
Steve chewed on his bottom lip for a moment before he asked, “Sir, what if they don’t make it into lunar orbit? How do you want me to handle the session?”
Bill tilted his head as he lifted his hands palms up. “You’re the secretary of state, you’ll think of something.” He clasped his hands together on his desk. “Right now, I have faith our men will accomplish this mission. As soon as those early pictures start coming in, I want them incorporated into your presentation. I suggest having them displayed on the large screen behind you. Then have the live video feed added toward the end, which should shock the hell out the Chinese delegates.”
“Yes, sir.” Steve glanced at his watch. “Looks like it’ll be a late night for me and my staff.”
PETER COULDN’T BELIEVE how crowded and tight the descent module had become since they jettisoned their living quarters. He smiled remembering back to when he first entered the ship at the space station and how cramped he thought it was back then. He now realized how good he had it. All of the equipment needed for the spacewalk along with the needed essentials to survive for two days was stuffed all around them. It was going to be a tight and uncomfortable trip from this point on.
Both men were buckled in their seats preparing for the pivotal moment of the operation that was quickly approaching—their first pass around the back side of the moon. Not only would Peter have t
o reprogram the laser during this pass, Viktor would have to do the LOI burn that would put them into lunar orbit. Both understood the importance of each task and not making a mistake, especially with China right on their tail.
While Viktor programmed the Soyuz for the LOI, Peter set up his computer. Their spacecraft had already been maneuvered so it was turned backward with the engine pointed toward the moon, allowing the engine to act as a break when fired.
Peter could feel the presence of the moon behind him but could not see it. Viktor looked through the eyepiece of the periscope for a moment, saying nothing. Finally Viktor lifted his head flashing a lopsided grin. “You take look.”
Peter assumed his partner was looking at the moon and thought it odd he didn’t make any comment. What’s Viktor up to? Peter unbuckled himself before leaning over to look into the eyepiece, expecting to see the moon up close, but all he saw was darkness. He lifted his head. “I don’t see anything.”
A mischievous smile crossed Viktor’s face. “Look again.”
Peter shrugged and rubbed his eye before looking back down. Once more, all he saw was total blackness. He slowly moved the eyepiece slightly to one side while his eyes adjusted and focused, then he saw it—tons of tiny stars outlining one side of the huge black circle that engulfed his viewing area. Their ship was practically on top of the moon. Since the sun was behind the moon versus their position, the portion of the moon in the eye piece was completely black, an ominous sight. “Wow, I see it.”
Moon Hoax (Hoax Trilogy Book 1) Page 32
