America One - The Launch

by T I WADE

  Ryan gave ground control permission for the two extremely low jets to land. The helicopter was now a mile to the south as Sierra Bravo II came to a halt outside the still-closed door of Hangar Six.

  “Sierra Bravo II, I want the pilot-in-command and Ms. Pringle to stay seated in the craft. I want the co-pilot and Mr. Noble out of there and immediately taken to the confinement center to get out of their suits. We have incoming, Mr. Jones, your good friends; and, Ms. Pringle, I want you to act as the co-pilot.”

  “Roger that,” stated Jonesy as the cockpit side hatch was opened from inside. Ryan watched as the two other full-suited figures were horizontally pulled out and helped stumbling into a small door that had just opened in the large hangar’s sliding door.

  Ryan looked up to see the first helicopter pilot come in over the top of the hangar asking permission to land. Ryan gave the OK and two more helicopters appeared over the hangar roof a few seconds later. Two of the helicopters were news teams, CBS and NBC out of Las Vegas; the third was a military helicopter out of Nellis Air Force Base.

  Ryan’s ground personnel were already out with batons showing the helicopters where to land when a C-130 flew overhead, the pilot stating that they were also out of Nellis, and asking for permission to land. Ryan looked over to the western end of the runway to see the second F-16 wheels touch down, the first one already about to taxi onto the apron.

  “Park the jets on the other side of the apron facing me, mind jet-blasts on the hangar walls,” Ryan ordered his team. “We have at least several more incoming, so we need the room.”

  The three helicopters were down as a white jet swooped low overhead unannounced.

  “I’ve been told to request priority landing position,” stated the jet’s pilot.

  “Negative,” replied Ryan. “There is a Charlie 130 on finals; you are number two to land.”

  “Charlie 130 bank away and circle, we will have priority,” ordered the jet pilot.

  “Charlie 130, continue with your final approach. This is my airfield and I give the orders around here,” responded Ryan into his radio.

  “I confirm, you have number one on finals, Charlie 130,” added a voice on a second radio; General Saunders.

  The C-130, only 300 yards out, came in as ordered. It taxied up to the apron and immediately was parked a couple of hundred feet away, its rear door opened and suddenly Ryan could hear music playing.

  He couldn’t believe his eyes as a twenty-man military marching band with twenty or so other armed air force personnel carrying American flags marched out of the back of the aircraft and towards the shuttle.

  He also saw the news crews running up to the shuttle with video equipment already recording. Both cameras panned over to the marching band as the small white jet was halted by a man with batons stopping it from nearly running them over.

  Then, two more C-130s flew over unannounced, close to a third helicopter taking footage from the air.

  “Ground control, make sure our security cameras are recording all this, especially from the tower!” directed Ryan as a smiling General Saunders walked up to him and shook his hand. “Well timed, General!” Ryan stated, smiling back. Now he felt the achievement he had felt when his mother had forced the principal to apologize to her son for accusing him of starting a fight.

  “I couldn’t bring much; the fighters were returning from our training area, and might need a top up to get back to Nellis. We were in the middle of a small passing out ceremony for a couple of C-130 crews and had her moving into position for the ceremony,” he stated pointing to the silent aircraft, now empty of troops. ”So I just ordered the men inside, marching band and all, to come here. I assumed that you would like to be congratulated on something here today.”

  “Yes. Excellent timing General. Our friend Colonel Jones has just returned with a load of pure platinum collected from the moon. It’s not every day that you and your men have the opportunity to see real space treasure, I think!”

  General Saunders looked at Ryan in total shock, his mouth hanging open. Ryan turned him around so his shock wouldn’t be noticed by the men about to exit the white jet a hundred yards away.

  “Ground control, order those other two C-130s into a holding pattern. They do not have permission to land,” Ryan ordered. “General Saunders, with the media crews here, and your band, it looks like this was all preplanned. Please ask your men and the band to form up around the shuttle, and I will get our friend Colonel Jones to say a few eloquent words as he always does.”

  Saunders smiled, winked, and walked over to his men while Ryan gave the order for his shuttle crew to evacuate the shuttle, but remain outside. He turned his radio to the shuttle’s intercom band to tell Jonesy and Kathy what to say just before a television camera was thrust in front of him.

  “Mr. Richmond, Joe Downs, NBC news. Can you tell us about the ceremony about to take place here today?” The other news crews seeing the interview about to start ran over as a second and third small white jet flew overhead. Ryan looked at a security camera and gave the thumbs up to his ground control to allow the jets to land.

  “Thanks for coming, Joe. Yes it is a grand occasion for Astermine today and a great achievement by my whole team here in Nevada. The world has no suspicion of what I’m about to tell you. You journalists have real ‘breaking news’ out of Nevada for a change,” began Ryan as two more mikes were placed in front of him. “Our shuttle, aptly named The Silver Bullet, has just arrived back with four tons of rock mined from the moon two hundred thousand miles away from earth.”

  “Two hundred thousand miles! That’s the same distance the furthest man has ever flown in space!” exclaimed one announcer.

  “One of our unmanned space mining craft has just travelled half a million miles in space?

  “Surely that is better than winning the Space Race,” interjected Joe Downs, taking control of the interview.

  “Correct on all questions,” smiled Ryan, “except that it was an unmanned spacecraft sent out two months ago, which mined the moon under remote control, and then returned meeting up with our shuttle in orbit. Our two brave astronauts then moved the aluminum canisters full of rock inside the shuttle’s empty hold for re-entry. It took them several hours but they did it, and once they have their helmets off they will be happy to talk to you.”

  “Do you know what is in the rock?” asked two of the interviewers.

  “Yes, every piece of rock collected first passed through a Magnetic Metal Analyzer, a metal sorter we invented here at the airfield. The MMA, or rock analyzer, in the unmanned craft had every rock pass through it before it was either tossed, or stowed. So far our MMA has found amounts of native platinum, iridium, rhodium and palladium, all metal types commonly found together here on earth where asteroids have hit the ground.”

  While Ryan was talking, he noticed that his fully-armed security guards were now standing at attention by every door of every hangar. Also, he had about twenty seconds before he was about to be attacked by the bullies, as Bishop, Ward, Mortimer, and a fourth man in a suit were walking angrily towards his interview.

  “How much have you returned to earth?” asked one woman holding out a mike.

  “Why all the security around your hangars, Ryan?” asked a man.

  “What is Congressman Dickens doing here? Has he come to congratulate you?” asked Joe Downs.

  “We have returned four tons of rock to earth. The reason for all the security is that this is a private, legal research institution, and the cargo has a value of over 100 million dollars on the open market.” There were a lot of whistles at that statement. “As far as the congressman arriving unannounced, I would assume he has either arrived to congratulate Astermine, or to collect the import duties on the cargo’s value. Do any of you guys know what the current import duty on extraterrestrial imports is?” Everybody shook their heads. “There isn’t any, but maybe you can ask the congressman why he is here yourselves. And, you have my authority to continue filming. Our intervie
w with the astronauts will be in a few………” He was rudely interrupted by Joe Bishop.

  “You guys with cameras, get in your helicopters and get out of here!” shouted Joe Bishop looking sternly at the news crews as they all turned to him.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, before we were rudely interrupted, I was saying that the interview with our astronauts….”

  “All interviews are over, this is now restricted government property and, as I said, get in your helicopters and vamoose, now!”

  “Guards!” Ryan called into his radio loudly. “Bishop, who the hell do you think you are? This is a grand occasion, and you are on private property, my property. Guards, take this unwelcome and uninvited guest back to his aircraft and don’t allow him out. The National Security Agency has worn out its welcome on my land!”

  Lieutenant Walls and the second guard turned the overweight, sweating agent around, and marched him back to the awaiting jet. “Congressman Dickens, General Mortimer, Mr. Ward I hope you three have better manners than Mr. Bishop from the National Security Agency. Please tell me who invited you to our celebration, and what you are doing here.”

  “First, Mr. Richmond, I need all these cameras turned off; they will be confiscated for security reasons. Turn off your cameras and hand them over,” demanded Tom Ward.

  “Are you for real, bud?” asked one reporter shoving his mike into Ward’s face. “This is a free country and who the hell do you think you are? This is Mr. Richmond’s airfield, not yours.”

  Suddenly the Congressman’s face evolved into an election campaign smile, and he held out his hand to congratulate Ryan.

  “Yes, Mr. Richmond, I had heard from the Federal Reserve that you had the first mining expedition returning today. I don’t know why the NSA and CIA are so unhappy about your success. Congratulations on your great endeavor for the Unites States of America.”

  “Thank you, Congressman. Do you know by chance what taxes are to be paid on imported metals from space? Am I right that Congress currently has no laws on either importing treasure from space or on import duties?”

  “Only the usual import duties into the United States,” smiled the congressman. I’m sure new laws will be put into place now that you have achieved this new importation of goods, and the authorities will be in touch. Again, well done, Mr. Richmond!” The congressman shook Ryan’s hand again, smiled facing the cameras and went back to the jet followed by General Mortimer and Tom Ward.

  The band still hadn’t stopped playing by the side of the shuttle and Ryan suggested to the news crews they could now interview the astronauts.

  “Colonel Jones, what is it like to fly this silver spacecraft?” asked the female interviewer once Jonesy was helped off with his helmet; but, before he could answer, she was quickly sidetracked seeing the pretty face of Kathy Pringle appear out of the second helmet. “Wow! A real female astronaut,” continued the interviewer and the other two microphones hit on Kathy. “And you are?”

  “Kathy Pringle, United States Air Force, retired, and co-pilot of the Silver Bullet.” Kathy responded. “Co-pilot to the best test pilot the United States Air Force ever put on retirement, Colonel John Jones here.” The mikes went back to Jonesy.

  “Are we allowed to see the spoils of space, Colonel Jones?” asked Joe Downs. Jonesy looked over at Ryan who nodded, already on his radio asking for a mobile crane in Hangar Six.

  “Yes, I believe my commander, Mr. Richmond, will allow you to see what we have brought back.” One half of the large hangar door opened on Hangar Six and the TV crews gasped upon seeing a half finished second shuttle sitting in its sterile area. An electrically powered mobile crane silently moved out of the open hangar door. The crane had four large tractor tires, about the size of a Ford 150, with two scientists walking next to it carrying ropes. The hangar door quickly closed behind them. The mikes held by excited news crew returned to Ryan.

  “You have a second shuttle nearly ready for launch?” asked one.

  “Yes, she will replace the one we unfortunately lost on its maiden flight; it will be ready in a month for atmospheric tests and then orbital tests two weeks after that.” Ryan saw the Administrator of NASA and the head of the Federal Reserve Bank walking towards him out of the two civilian jets that had just landed. He was sure that the passengers in the departing jet were shocked at who they saw getting out of the recently arrived aircraft. The two unwelcomed C-130s were still circling a mile or so the east of the airfield. “Ladies and gentlemen, one more question for the astronauts; they are hot in those suits and need to be helped into the hangar. They have just arrived back from space and are extremely dehydrated.”

  The news crew asked a couple more questions before they allowed the astronauts to be aided inside a small hangar door its large door already closed.

  By this time General Saunders and several of his pilots and crews in flight gear had reached the group. Jonesy turned and waved to the crowd and to General Saunders as he entered the door.

  “General Saunders, you are in-command at Nellis Air Force Base, correct?” asked one interviewer.

  “Yes, that is correct. Mr. Richmond uses one of our C-5 Galaxy aircraft for liftoff. The air force is proud to be helping in this space mission, as is NASA whose administrator has just arrived over there,” the General said, pointing to the two men walking over. The crews saw Ryan’s friend Bill Withers and the head of the Federal Reserve and headed over.

  “Thanks, General. It seems this is turning into far more ‘breaking news’ than I actually hoped for,” said Ryan, watching the TV crew attack the two men like a bunch of vultures.

  “I can see that there are going to be big ripples in Washington. The four who just left certainly didn’t know that film crews would be here, and I think going public like this was better than keeping it secret. Have you noticed that all three stations haven’t had a commercial break for over five minutes now? I bet this is going live nationwide, or will do at news time tonight.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” replied Ryan.

  “It is probably all over Twitter worldwide. This is a momentous occasion, bringing treasure back from space, far more interesting than the space race. Are we going to see any rocks, or is all of this a stunt to get the vultures off your back?”

  Ryan looked up at the shuttle, whose roof doors were now open. The two men were being lifted inside. “General, after a few checks we will be happy to show everybody what space treasure looks like. I just suggest that nobody handle it. Radioactive checks still need to be done.”

  The first canister was lifted out of the hold and placed on the ground in front of the shuttle. While the second was being attached Ryan noticed that the two newcomers had joined him with the news crews. A Geiger counter was turned on by one of Ryan’s white coats. It immediately emitted low dosage radioactivity noises around the canister, and its sudden emissions made the news crews retreat somewhat.

  “Is that a dangerous signal, Ryan?” asked the female reporter.

  “Not yet, but we won’t know for certain until we open it. There is a vacuum inside the container which is tightly sealed, so expect a loud bang when it is opened; then we must check the contents with the Geiger counter again. Bill Withers, the Administrator of NASA is here. Bill, would you like to join me and tell us whether the contents are dangerous? We can get closer to the Geiger counter.” The Administrator of NASA joined him.

  Ryan gave the nod and the mobile crane lowered the second canister, moved away, turned around and reversed back above the first one. The bright silver canister was loaded onto the back of the crane and the lower half bolted down onto the crane’s rear bed with chains. Then the crane was connected to the two bolts on the top half of the canister VIN had loaded back on DX2014, one of the heavier ones weighing 500 pounds, and the pulley system took the strain.

  Nobody in the world had done this before and even Ryan didn’t know what would happen.

  Suddenly, there was an extremely loud pop that vibrated everybody’s eardru
ms like a massive light bulb breaking, and the top opened. All three film crews were following every move of the canister with their cameras. This was prime television.

  Nothing happened, and the main group on the apron, over a hundred people, waited for something to crawl out of the silver canister. Nothing did. The Geiger counter was raised up and the clicks grew rapidly.

  The readings were discussed by Bill, Ryan, and the scientist holding the Geiger counter. The man in the white suit had on a pair of thick gloves and dipped his hand into the canister.

  “These rocks have the same radiation as we usually find in meteors here on earth. They are not dangerous if you don’t touch them, and stay at least several feet away. I’d say they will be safe to touch after a few weeks of radiation decay,” the Administrator of NASA explained to the television cameras. “We have brought rocks back from the moon with the same amounts of radiation, and they are safe to touch a few weeks after reaching earth.”

  The scientist picked up a couple of heavy rocks the size of tennis balls and put them on the ground so that the cameras could focus on them.

  “These are mostly native platinum mixed with iridium,” the scientist explained.

  The second canister was opened with the same loud pop and this time the Geiger counter emitted slightly faster sounds. The scientist picked up a handful of stones the size of marbles while grabbing a mat off the back of the crane. He placed it on the ground then carefully placed the shinier silver rocks on the mat’s black surface. He also lifted the two bigger rocks from the first canister and deposited them onto the same mat.

  “These smaller rocks are high in rhodium with, I believe, traces of platinum, iridium, and I’m sure there is some palladium in there somewhere,” lectured the American scientist. “Rhodium is known to be more radioactive, but the rocks in these canisters are still safe as long as human skin does not come into contact with them.”