“Oh, yeah.” He chuckled, gazing at the stain fondly. Then he approached the capsule, ran a hand over one of its ribs, and turned to face his audience. “Okay, well, let’s see. First, we examined the capsule’s structural design, cross-checked serial numbers, and ran a ton of material analyses. It’s definitely Helios. We also found that its high-altitude parachutes were deployed before these landing motors took over.” He indicated the charred ports at the base of the spacecraft. “It seems the automatic landing system was capable of analyzing terrain and had some flexibility in its lateral range. Presumably that’s why it didn’t end up slamming into the mountain.”
“And why it missed the lake?” Ellis asked.
“That was probably just luck.”
“What would have happened if it had landed on the lake?” George asked.
“Well, it probably wouldn’t have sunk—at least not initially. But over time, the lake’s shifting ice would have torn it to shreds. See these cracks?” Timothy indicated the sides of the heat shield. “That’s from refreezing snow.”
“Interesting. So, do you believe someone purposefully sent Helios back to Earth from the space station?” George asked.
Lauren looked at Ellis as if to ask, Who’s running this investigation?
“Yes, I do,” Timothy told George. “There’s no damage to the docking mechanism, and clearly the hatch had been sealed. The return navigation system was activated, and we found no explosive material on the surface of the craft—meaning it’s unlikely it was docked with the space station at the time of the explosion.” Timothy took them over to one of the tables. “And we’ve been able to decipher some of the nav logs.” He indicated the electronics box connected to a computer. “It seems the navigation system was set to bring Helios down as quickly as possible, though there were other options available. For example, the craft could have orbited a couple more times and landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base.”
“So landing in Canada was just by chance?” Ellis asked.
“I wouldn’t go that far. To anyone familiar with the emergency return’s reentry profile, just timing when you hit the button would allow you to easily come down over a reasonably large landmass. Which brings us to this.” Timothy held up an evidence bag with a single folded piece of paper in it. “This is from a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module manifest transfer binder.” He looked at each of them. “It’s from the space station. We found it stuffed into the side of the instrument panel. Check out the writing.”
Lauren read the penciled notes: “Deploy 200m, Mark 8:21:07, RET EL, LB1, LB2 off and enter.”
“What’s that mean?” Ellis asked.
“It means—possibly—that someone programmed the capsule to deploy out to two hundred meters from the space station and, at 8:21:07 Greenwich Mean Time, engage the emergency return system. So, we believe it’s possible that the reentry was timed to hit land. A little earlier and it would have come down in the Pacific, a little later and probably the Hudson Bay.”
“What’s ‘LB1, LB2 off and enter’?” Lauren asked.
“GPS and Iridium satellite network locator beacons. They automatically switch on once the emergency return option is selected.”
“So they were purposefully turned off?” Ellis asked.
“Correct.”
“Meaning there’s almost no doubt,” Lauren said, “that Dr. Lee programmed Helios to return—and hoped for it to return undetected.”
“The evidence is certainly pointing in that direction,” Timothy said. “I’ve requested telemetry data from NASA for that time period, but according to their archives, something happened to their satellite relay system. So the data’s limited. But we’ll go through it anyway.”
“Very good,” Lauren said.
“And that’s about as far as we’ve gotten.” Timothy looked around at his busy crew. “Of course, we’ll be at this for months. Do any of you have any questions?”
“Just one,” Lauren said. “It’s unrelated, but you’re an engineer—and probably a space enthusiast, too—right?”
“Sure.” Timothy squared his shoulders as if prepping himself for a difficult question or, perhaps, having read a compliment in her statement. Lauren wasn’t certain which.
“How big of a deal would a rocket engine that could propel a spaceship to seventy percent of the speed of light be?”
“How big of a deal?” Timothy stared at her a moment. “My God, it would change everything. It would expand our world from a few measly planets to, well, wow, a good chunk of the galaxy. And who knows what other breakthroughs it would lead to? Every invention like this just spawns more and more technological breakthroughs and—”
“Okay, okay, so it’d be huge.” Lauren smiled.
“To say the least.”
“That’s what I thought. Thanks, Timothy. Keep us apprised of anything new, would you?”
“You’ve got it.”
Lauren, Ellis, and George started for the hangar door.
“Oh, there’s just one other thing.” Timothy rushed over and, making certain no one was within earshot, whispered, “Did you know that Dr. Lee was working on some kind of time machine?”
Chapter 23
“Did you hear that?” Jan asks Oren, muting Dimitry’s communication channel. “A Commander Aleksei Dernov—”
“I heard, I heard. I’m looking him up,” Oren replies. “Okay. It says that Aleksei Dernov is a Naval Spetsnaz, which, according to Wikipedia, is Russia’s version of a Navy SEAL. This guy’s here for one reason, Jan: muscle.”
“Yeah, I had a feeling he wasn’t on the roster,” Jan quips.
“Maybe it’s time to start talking about our abort options.”
“Or maybe not,” Jan says. “This guy may be muscle on Earth, but he’s definitely out of his element up here.”
“He may not be an experienced astronaut,” Oren responds, “but they sure didn’t choose him for his looks. According to this, he’s set all kinds of skydiving records.”
“Yeah, well, up here you live in freefall. And, eventually, that gets to everyone. This Commander Dernov’s been up here, what, twelve hours now, maybe longer? I can almost guarantee that he’s woozy.”
“So, you’re going to dock?”
Jan considers the situation from Monty Hall’s perspective. Would Monty Hall have contacted him if the Russians had gained access to this technology thirty years earlier? Doubtful. Would they have contacted him if World War III had broken out? Not likely. And the reason why the Russians hadn’t gained access to his technology and World War III hadn’t broken out might just be because of what he’s about to do now: board the space station.
On the other hand—Jan had a chilling thought—how does he know Monty Hall doesn’t have a gun to his head? Sure, he had met the child prodigy, Tyler Cipriani, but couldn’t the future Cipriani be under the influence of someone else? Perhaps some new world oligarchy with plans to manipulate an old world capitalist—him.
All right, pull yourself off the ledge, Jan. You have to go with what’s most likely. And what’s most likely—and least scary—is that somehow you manage to pull off Plan A. You’re going aboard.
“This could be Monty Hall asking us if we want to switch doors,” Jan tells Oren.
“Maybe, but I’m pretty sure this door leads to the Russian Defense Ministry’s basement.”
“You have a better idea? We have to try everything we can to keep the experiment out of—”
“I know, I know,” Oren says. “All right, I’ll hold out here as long as I can. But, if I’m not here, just assume I’m in the hands of the FBI. And if I don’t hear from you, I’ll just assume you’re on your way to Kazakhstan.”
• • •
“Welcome, Doctor Lee,” Commander Dernov says in a deep, Russian-accented voice as Jan floats out of Helios into the Harmony module.
Jan reorients himself to the space station’s Habitrail of interconnected segments. In front of him (behind Dernov) is the Columbus module; behind him, o
ver his left shoulder, is the JEM module; and, to his right, is the rest of the Harmony module—and a crowd: Dimitry, André Yurganov, Commander Peters and Donna Weirs, and two men Jan doesn’t recognize.
Jan halts his momentum with a foothold upon reaching eye level with Dernov’s testosterone-induced grin. The man’s teeth are big and white; his countenance, confident and relaxed. Jan looks deeper. Any dizziness? Nausea? Anxiety?
“Dr. Lee,” Commander Dernov says, rubbing his whiskery chin, “allow me to introduce Captain Boris Burov.” The more muscular of the two unfamiliar men nods. “And this is Yegor Genkin, our very capable pilot.” Yegor waves.
“Now, before we get off on the wrong foot, Dr. Lee,” Dernov says, “Captain Burov and I are quite aware of your fighting abilities. But please do not test us. Boris and I are quite capable ourselves, and we have these.” Dernov pats the Taser holstered to his hip. “I would imagine you’re a man who appreciates knowing his odds. So, we have no need for ugliness…?” Dernov studies Jan’s face.
Funny, Jan muses, Dernov, a fighter himself, can’t quite bring himself to ask another fighter not to fight.
“Sure, no ugliness,” Jan says. Whatever the hell that means.
“Good.” Dernov smiles.
To Jan’s right, Commander Jason Peters, a stocky, bald-headed man, and Mission Specialist Donna Weirs, a slender woman with a wiry nest of hair above her head, look utterly confused. Dimitry, youthful and spry, looks merely apologetic.
And there’s André and the two other Russians—that’s eight people all together, including himself and Dernov. Too much of a crowd to start anything here. He’ll need to wait for a better opportunity. Besides, Dernov and Burov are only getting weaker.
“Quite the full house,” Dernov says as if reading Jan’s mind. “Shall we…?” He motions Jan in the direction of the others. The crowd moves aside.
Jan navigates through the Harmony and Destiny modules with Dernov and Burov close behind.
Harmony and Destiny are essentially rectangular tubes for living and working in space; they’re lined with wires and equipment racks and sometimes unexpected things. He passes by the crew’s exercise bike and notes that his own workout logbooks are still Velcroed to the wall. He passes the remote control station where JLA’s laser docking system resides (the screen’s still on); and, just before he leaves Destiny, on his right, he passes the space Station’s comm box where, only minutes before, Dernov must have been listening in on his and Oren’s conversation.
They float over the opening to the Leonardo module and the AWX time-messaging experiment.
“Far enough,” Dernov says when they reach Node 1.
Node 1, the Unity module, is the middle ground between the American and Russian sides of the space station. It’s also the crew’s living room and kitchen, since it’s where they often eat and sometimes watch movies.
Jan glances at the two speed limit signs above the opening to the Russian side of the space station. One reads “Speed Limit 17,500”—that one’s in miles per hour. The other: “28,000 km/h.” Jan always wondered how he would explain to aliens why humans found these signs humorous.
Dernov moves in front of Jan, grabbing at one of the wall-mounted tables and somehow freeing a food packet from its sleeve. He watches it float away. Burov, positioning himself to the right of Dernov, steadies himself using the other wall-mounted table.
Commander Peters floats in next to Jan, hovering under a food storage unit that looks like a banner strung from wall to wall.
The others crowd in behind them, just inside Node 1.
“I will not beat around the bush, Dr. Lee,” Dernov begins. “Everyone here is quite aware of the space race that’s been going on these past few days. Well, it seems we’ve won. But we’re expecting company soon, and I’d rather avoid that particular confrontation. No need for a war in space, huh? And no need for anyone to get hurt. So, I am simply inviting you to pack up your experiment and return with us in our Soyuz capsule. You will go with Yegor and me, while Captain Burov remains here as Russian security.”
“Let me get this straight,” Commander Peters interjects. “You’re intending to kidnap an American citizen?”
“It’s an invitation. But, we will do what we need to do. This is a matter of national security, and by the way, your government sees it the exact same way. Am I not correct?” Dernov asks Jan. “Is that not why you’re here? No, no—no need to answer. I’m sure even Commander Peters can put that much together.
“So now—without haste—Dr. Lee, if you and Dimitry would please begin the process of transferring the AWX experiment to our return vehicle. Captain Burov, who is quite familiar with your work, will make sure you don’t forget anything. Oh, and just so there are no misgivings: Dimitry was given false information about our launch and arrival times and was electronically blocked from contacting you well before we arrived. We know you two are friends, and we didn’t want to put him in an awkward position.”
Donna Weirs pushes between Jan and Commander Peters. “You realize you’re still on American soil? You kidnap Jan and that’s an act of war.”
“Are you kidding?” Burov snaps. “This is war!”
“Hold on, hold on.” Dernov shakes his head at Burov. “This is merely an invitation to Dr. Lee to safely return him to Earth. We are not here to debate international law, or space law, or… anything.” A vein rises in Dernov’s neck. “Now, we have our orders and they state that we are to bring Dr. Lee back at any and all costs. Please, do not force us to demonstrate what that means.”
“You mean you’ll shoot us with those things?” Donna asks.
“If we’re put in that position, yes, we will.”
“You can’t shoot all of us,” Commander Peters says.
“No, but there are really only two threats to us. You, Commander Peters—we’re familiar with your military background—and, of course, Dr. Lee.” Dernov glances at Burov. “Even if one of us misses, that’s two on one. I’ll take those odds.”
While Donna and Commander Peters continue arguing with Dernov, Jan takes the opportunity to size up the situation.
First, it seems that Dernov and Burov can’t move an inch without checking their foot and handholds. Jan and the others, of course, move through the station like monkeys through trees.
Second, while Dernov and Burov are big men, in permanent freefall that doesn’t quite add up to what it does on Earth. Up here, these men literally have a zero weight advantage. Although, muscle still accounts for something. Jan just needs to stay out of their reach and use his positioning techniques. It’s all about the proper use of hand and footholds. Without that, one might as well be standing on ice.
The big problem is the Tasers—that, and the crowd of bystanders.
It’s not a great situation, but he’s already wasted too much time. GalactiTrek is on its way, and like Dernov, Jan would just as soon avoid that confrontation. This is where he’ll make his stand.
“Enough! Enough!” Dernov unholsters his Taser and points it at Commander Peters.
Of course, Jan tells himself, if he does fire—and as long as Jan’s not the target—that does remove one weapon from the equation.
“Not another word,” Dernov continues. “Believe me, you do not want to be shot by one of these—”
Not taking the threat literally, Donna starts to speak—and Dernov fires at Commander Peters.
Jan is already prepared, his feet locked into position. He uncoils with a ridge hand strike to Dernov’s neck. Dernov, the Taser, and Jan fly apart. Jan, like an Olympic swimmer, spins off the ceiling and comes down with the heel of his foot onto Dernov’s head.
Meanwhile, Commander Peters yanks the electrodes out of his meaty chest and throws himself at Burov. Burov hastily attempts to fire his Taser, but Jan kicks it away.
Dernov grabs Jan from behind, but Jan, finding his footholds, turns and punches him with everything he’s got. Dernov blocks and blocks until Jan lands a huge right cross that causes th
e big Russian’s eyes to roll back in his head.
Jan dives through a field of food packages, utensils, and papers, toward the tumbling mass that is Commander Peters and Burov. Burov breaks away and heads toward Node 3.
Launching off the base of the Russian hatchway, Jan nearly misses the opening to Node 3, but Dimitry catches him and guides him back.
Inside Node 3, Jan finds Burov clinging to one of the electronics racks, looking as if he might throw up. Jan pushes off, and seconds later, he and Burov are wrestling in free space, spiraling up toward the cupola—a seven-window observatory overlooking the Earth.
Burov slams Jan’s head into one of the window’s shutter levers, but Jan, twisting free, maneuvers around Burov and puts him into a chokehold. As the two drift downward out of the cupola, Jan renders Burov unconscious.
“Dimitry, see if you can round up some bungee cords, would you?” Jan says.
“But this is Russian commander, Jan.”
“Oh, good point. You should stay out of this.”
“I am just pilot,” Yegor Genkin says, floating into the module with his hands up. “They never told me anything.”
“You can put your hands down,” Jan tells him. “What I need are some—”
Yegor and Dimitry move aside as Donna Weirs pushes between them. She has two nylon straps and four bungee cords in hand. “I’ll get his feet,” she tells Jan. “We already have Commander Dernov tied up.”
Minutes later, Jan, Donna, and Commander Peters move the two Naval Spetsnaz into the Russian service module. But before placing them inside their Soyuz capsule, Jan removes the handgun from the spacecraft’s survival kit. He also takes a moment to retrieve the brick of C4 from Helios.
Now, in the service module, he hovers over Commander Dernov.
“If you refuse to depart and initiate an immediate reentry burn,” Jan tells him, “I’ll blow this place to kingdom come. Understand?”
“Why would you do that? What good would that serve anyone?” Dernov struggles with his bindings.
“I only have one goal here,” Jan says, “and that’s to keep my experiment out of the hands of both the American and Russian governments. It seems to me your best second option is to help me accomplish that goal. Because the Americans are up next. So it’s up to you. Be a pain in my ass and you’re only helping them.”
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