Viktor gave him a congratulatory pat on the back. “We almost there.”
Their headsets suddenly came alive. “Maria 1, this is Mission Control, do you read me?”
Viktor answered, “Read you good, Dmitri.”
“Roger. We have some good news. You’re going to beat China. They look to be twenty minutes behind you, over.”
Peter shook his head, amazed how close they came after traveling over 200,000 miles. Yes! A first round victory for America, and on the Fourth of July. He was happy Viktor’s gut feeling was right. Relieved beating China here was no longer a concern, he understood success of the mission was now down to himself and Viktor. “That’s great news, Dmitri!”
“We have the final parameters and information for your LOI burn. Considering your fuel limitations and having to estimate your exact weight, we had to make adjustments on your final orbital plane. We wanted to keep your LOI orbit above 110 kilometers. The orbital plane selected will allow us to optimize the LOI and conserve fuel, but will only allow Maria 1 to fly over two U.S. landing sites, not the three Peter requested. However, one of those sites will be his dad’s, over.”
Viktor gave Peter a thumbs-up. Peter smiled grimly. Though pleased they would be flying over his dad’s site, he preferred an orbit that allowed the best opportunity of taking more pictures.
“Dad, for this to work, you will need to maintain your altitude throughout the burn so your velocity and position are close to our calculations. Any errors can put you in the wrong orbital plane, preventing you from flying over any U.S. site. If that happens you will not have the fuel available to make any correction, over.”
Maintaining a specific altitude would be difficult, even if Peter was able to help monitor the burn, especially in a ship not designed for it. They had to get this right; if they were put into the wrong plane and not flying over a U.S. landing site, the mission would be a failure, regardless if he did his job reprogramming the laser. Viktor answered confidently as he winked at Peter, “Don’t worry, son, I can do, over.”
Peter shook his head; if anyone could pull it off, it was Viktor. Once again, he was happy to have the old man on board.
“HAVE TANG RAM THOSE AMERICANS!” Kuang said definitively over the phone.
Such a maneuver could kill the taikonauts. As long as Sie was in control that would never happen. He was expecting Kuang to relieve him from his duties after learning they were no longer going to beat the Americans. Sie was surprised the Americans jettisoned part of their spacecraft so close to the moon, allowing them to arrive first. His staff had assured him they would win. The numbers didn’t lie. But no one predicted the Americans would lighten their load so late in flight. Once again, he had dishonored Kuang by giving the wrong advice. His boss only kept him in charge because of his background with the laser, and now with the Americans ahead, Nei stood little chance to get the opportunity of reprogramming it. He was sure he was going to be fired over the phone, but Kuang seemed more concerned about killing the Americans.
Sie tried convincing Kuang to hold off. “Sir, remember the Americans have to reprogram the laser in a short twenty minutes on the back side. I doubt they will be able to do that. If they are unsuccessful, they will be fired upon and destroyed. Let’s wait and see when Tang and Nei come around the moon. If the American spacecraft is destroyed, our men will be able to reprogram the laser and all will be right. But if I instruct them to ram the Americans now, our men could die trying that maneuver when it may not be necessary.”
“You have not been right yet! We have too much to lose. I want Tang to ram those sons-of-bitches. If we wait too long, the Americans will be able to transmit pictures back and expose the truth. I don’t want to risk that. Have Tang ram them!”
Sie ground his teeth; he was not going to have that happen, not on his watch, but he needed to put his out-of-control boss at ease. He wanted to stay on the mission as long as he could. “Yes, sir, I will have your request radioed in to Tang immediately with hopes that they will be able to catch the Americans in time.”
Of course he had no intention of relaying the message. It was too late anyway. He would continue to give the impression Kuang’s request had been passed on to the taikonauts and state the reason the ramming had not happened was due to Tang struggling to catch the American spacecraft. If he strung his boss along, it would eventually become obvious it was too late to stop the Americans from revealing the truth.
“Good! Keep me informed,” said Kuang before hanging up.
He was not rooting for the Americans, but discrediting the American moon landings was becoming a lost cause, and Sie didn’t want the taikonauts to die for nothing. He was going to take advantage of his last moments in charge to make sure he did what he could to save Tang and Nei. After all, those men were there because of his failures and he didn’t want to end his career being responsible for the deaths of two Chinese heroes, men he respected and cared for. He wasn’t worried about the repercussions from his actions. He was going to be fired anyway.
SILENCE FILLED MARIA 1 as the ship approached the back side of the moon. Viktor and Peter were strapped in their seats, having completed all of their tasks in preparation for the maneuvers to come. The moment of truth was fast approaching for both astronauts. Peter nervously rubbed his hands back and forth on his thighs under the laptop strapped on his lap. Peter looked over in Viktor’s direction, but with all the stowage in the way, all he could see was the bottom of his legs and arms. Peter turned to look at Anya’s picture. He reflected on their recent conversation, happy to hear her voice and pleased she seemed strong. Neither mentioned the communication could be their last and Peter prayed it wouldn’t. He touched her picture. This is it baby. Wish us luck.
Viktor broke the silence. “I think we take shot vodka for good luck.”
Peter was a little surprised by the offer since Viktor mentioned the vodka was for after they had completed the mission. Maybe Viktor was a little nervous too. Peter liked the idea, hoping the vodka might calm his nerves. “Sounds good to me.”
Viktor’s hand came out from under the stowage holding the plastic bottle, top already off. Peter grabbed it and before taking a chug said, “To our success and proving Dad walked on the moon,” then squeezed the bottle, forcing a glob of liquid into his mouth.
“Amen,” said Viktor.
Peter pulled the bottle from his mouth and a couple of droplets leaked out and floated in front of his face. He extended his tongue, catching each one. “That tastes damn good for straight Vodka,” he said handing the bottle back.
“It premium Russian vodka. Maria and I bought it together to drink on anniversary. She died before we could share it.”
Wow. He’d assumed Viktor brought it along because a shot of vodka was just another cosmonaut tradition. Moved, he said, “I appreciate you sharing it with me.”
“Maria bring us luck. She sit with God now pointing us out, say, ‘Watch over those men. Help them succeed. Then bring Viktor to me.’”
Peter smiled, happy to see Viktor so in love and at ease with dying.
“Maria 1, this is Mission Control,” said Dmitri over the radio.
Peter answered, “Roger, we read you, over.”
“Peter, we did a final check of your coordinates and everything looks good. This will be our last transmission until you two come around the back side. We wish you and Dad the best of luck, over.”
“Roger. We appreciate all the efforts from you and the controllers. We plan on talking with you shortly, over,” said Peter.
Viktor chimed in, “Dmitri…A man sees pretty girl in bar, whispers in ear, ‘Tell me those three special words that will make me walk on air,’ over.”
“What?” asked Dmitri.
“I give punch line when come around back side. Love you, son.”
“Love you, Dad. Over and out,” said Dmitri.
Peter smiled. “So what does she tell him?”
“I not tell you. You wait too. Reprogram that laser and sa
ve our ass, then tell you,” said Viktor.
Peter laughed, shaking his head. The old man knew how to put everyone at ease.
DMITRI WAS SITTING QUIETLY at his consul tapping his pen, feeling the intensity throughout the room while he and the flight controllers waited to hear back from Maria 1. The clock had started and they had a good forty-five minutes before hearing anything back. There was nothing he could do while Peter and his dad were on the back side of the moon, out of contact. He felt they had a fifty-fifty chance of coming back around safely and in the right orbit.
Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Dmitri turned to see Anya, her mascara a smudged mess around eyes reddened from crying and lack of sleep.
“Dmitri, I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
Dmitri grabbed a chair from the desk next to him and patted the seat. “Sure, have a seat.”
Anya shifted from one foot to the other. “Can we please go to your office?”
Since there was nothing he could do at that point to help Peter and his dad, he said, “Sure.” He escorted her out of the room and on down the hallway to his office. After closing his door and sitting at his desk he caught his sister wiping her face with a crumpled tissue as she sat across from him. Trying to cheer her up he said, “Don’t worry, Dad and Peter will be all right and make it around safely.”
Anya wiped her nose and wrung her hands. “I need to tell you something.”
Dmitri was all ears, wondering what else could be bothering her with everything going on. “What is it, sis?”
Anya looked to the floor for a moment, as if trying to figure out exactly how to say it. She looked up and with a forlorn look said, “I’m pregnant.”
Dmitri widened his eyes. He didn’t know what to say. “Is it Peter’s?”
Anya scowled at him, the jut of her chin calling him ridiculous for asking. “Yes!”
Dmitri looked out his window for a moment, shocked by the news. Looking back he asked, “Does Peter know?”
“No. I just confirmed it yesterday. I haven’t told him because I don’t know if I should. In fact I haven’t told anyone. That’s why I wanted to talk with you. What should I do?”
Dmitri was silent for a moment, looking at the picture of his family on his desk. He always hoped Anya would have a child, but assumed it would be when she was happily married. Now she would be a single parent. Trying to be positive, he said, “This is great news, but you were probably right not saying anything to Peter, especially with all he has on his mind right now.”
“But what if they don’t make it around? I would hate if something happens and I didn’t tell him.” Anya started to cry.
Dmitri crossed to his sister, bending down and giving her a hug. “They’ll make it around, don’t worry. I have all the confidence in the world in those two men. Once they do we can decide when the right time is to tell him. I know he’ll be ecstatic about the news, and so will Dad.” While still hugging her, he lightly patted her on the back. “Anya, this is wonderful news. Congratulations.”
Not saying a word, Anya just squeezed her brother tighter.
34
LIFE IS PRECIOUS
“I’ve got the signal,” said Peter with excitement in his voice. Maria 1 was now swinging around the back side of the moon, captured by its gravitational pull.
That he was receiving transmission from the laser was both good and bad news. The bad news was the laser did, in fact, exist. The signal he was receiving confirmed the laser was now tracking their spacecraft and in the process of arming itself to fire upon them. The good news was his equipment picked up the transmission and he had the possibility of disarming the laser. After weeks of training for this instant, he was now at the moment of truth. The first and foremost pressing question was did the Chinese change the factory codes that originally came with the laser from Byington Corporation? If he was wrong in his assumption and the Chinese did change these with a new set of codes back on Earth, he would be unable to access the laser’s operating system. There would be nothing he could do. He and Viktor would be dead in less than twenty minutes.
Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Viktor break away from his preparation for the LOI burn and lean over the crowded stowage to watch him input the codes on the laptop. Both knew how important this first step was. Peter started typing in the factory codes Rob had given to him, two sets of twelve-digit numbers he had memorized. His hands shook slightly as he typed.
Viktor said in a calm tone, “Everything okay, take time.”
Peter didn’t answer; the clock had started and he was under the gun. If he was right and the codes were not changed, he had no time to waste. Every minute counted. As he tapped in the last few digits he said, “Here it goes,” and pushed the enter key.
Nothing! Nothing came on his computer screen. If the codes were right, he should be sharing the laser’s local screen and seeing a set of numbers, but the screen was blank.
The laser didn’t recognize the codes.
“Shit!” He was sure he put in the right numbers, but he had no way to confirm this since they disappeared as soon as he pushed the enter key.
Viktor said, “Relax, try again.”
Sweat began pooling around his eyes, blurring his vision. He frantically retyped the numbers from memory before pulling the checklist off the wall to check the numbers. In a quick glance through the sweat, all the numbers looked right. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. He carefully verified each number one at a time by reading it out loud, “384…302, looks good,” and then hit the enter key.
Peter nervously tapped his fingers on the computer waiting for a response. Come on baby. A few long seconds later his computer screen went dark before quickly lighting back up, this time sharing the laser’s local screen. “I’ve got access!” Peter gave a big sigh of relief. The Chinese had not changed the codes.
Viktor went back to his business. “Good job.”
Peter quickly typed in the numbers shown on his screen and pushed the enter key before the prompt “Enter Password” appeared. Three precious minutes wasted dealing with that mistake left him roughly seventeen minutes to go through the complicated procedure of reprogramming the computer with a new access code. Once he was done with that he needed to put in a new password before disabling the laser. His best time completing all those tasks during training was seventeen minutes, which he did only once. His average had been eighteen and a half. Come on Peter, you can do this!
Viktor stayed out of sight and silent, allowing Peter to do his thing.
After fifteen minutes of sweating and typing away, Peter finished the involved procedure of changing the access code. “I’m in!” Now that he was in, appearing in the left corner of the screen showed the exact time left before the laser was to fire—2 minutes, 10 seconds, and counting.
He still had to put in the new password and disarm the laser, which on average had taken him four minutes during training.
Viktor poked his head around the stowage, as if checking the time remaining before going back out of sight.
Peter worked at a frenetic pace, his heart racing, but as the time ticked away he was coming to the conclusion he wasn’t going to make it. He saw out of the corner of his eye he had thirty seconds left. “Viktor, I don’t think I am going to make it.”
Viktor didn’t say a word.
Finally with ten seconds left and aware he had run out of time, he stopped typing. “Sorry Viktor, I’m not going to make it.” Peter slammed his fist down on the computer. “Damn it!” Closing the computer he said in a loud voice, “You better brace yourself. It’s going to fire any second.”
Peter had let down so many who were counting on him. He let his father down. With only a few seconds left to live, he quickly touched Anya’s picture and prepared for destruction. Sorry, baby.
Before Viktor could say anything, a sharp bright light filled their spacecraft, briefly blinding Peter. He was sure his life was over. But after a couple of seconds the light dissipated. Shocked,
he asked, “Are you okay?”
Viktor answered, “I think am.”
Peter squinted so he could look around, trying to figure out what just happened. Was he dead? He felt his body and arms; nope, still alive. Did some kind of miracle just happen? Shaken, Peter said, “I think it missed!”
Viktor leaned over the equipment, trying to focus on Peter as he said in a calm voice, “Yep. I forgot tell you something.”
Peter tilted his head. “What?”
With a slight grin Viktor said, “Russian intelligence learn the laser only 80 percent accurate on first shot.”
Peter blinked. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“I not rely on 20 percent chance live. I want you think we die if not do in time. I think Maria protect us,” Viktor said smugly.
Peter finally allowed himself a chance to grin. “I guess you’re right, that was information I didn’t need to know.”
Viktor sobered. “But it 99 percent accurate on second shot.”
Fortunately the second firing wouldn’t be for twenty minutes since the laser had to rearm itself. “Whew, thank you, Maria!” said Peter as he opened the computer and got back to work. “I only need a few more minutes to finish putting in our password and disarming it. So we’ll be okay. Damn, that was close!”
Viktor grinned. “Yep. I happy I wear diaper.”
“MARIA 1, THIS IS MISSION CONTROL, do you read me?” Dmitri paced by his console. He intently watched the big screen at the front of the control room which showed the location of where Maria 1 should be after coming around the moon, as long as it hadn’t been destroyed. It had been forty-five minutes since Dmitri last talked to Peter prior to them going around the back side and as the screen portrayed, Maria 1 should be back around in position to receive his transmissions. Unfortunately, he had not heard anything back and he was getting worried they might have been killed. The tension was high in the control room as Dmitri continued sending out radio transmissions, but the only thing everyone heard in return was static.
“Maria 1, this is Mission Control, do you read me?” He looked back at Anya sitting at the back of the room and they locked eyes for a split second; she seemed to give him a look of hope, which encouraged him. Turning back and hopeful of hearing something positive he called out to the designated flight dynamics officer two rows in front of him. “FIDO, have you located their position yet?”
Moon Hoax (Hoax Trilogy Book 1) Page 33
