Moon Hoax (Hoax Trilogy Book 1)

by Paul Gillebaard

  2

  PETER NOVAK

  Tang and Wen were back in the Yi with Nei, orbiting the moon, having completed their mission on the surface. They had successfully launched from the lunar surface in Jian’s Ascent Stage. All three taikonauts transported the moon rocks and equipment needed for the trip back to Earth from the Jian. On future moon missions the Ascent Stage would normally be jettisoned before firing the engine for the flight home, but because their landing was done in secret, they had to make sure the world did not see a spacecraft left behind orbiting the moon, indicating they had attempted to land. Jian would instead have to tag along and be jettisoned from Yi right before entering the earth’s atmosphere, burning upon reentry. To save power, the Jian would be off limits, completely powered down. Prior to closing and locking the hatch for good, Tang took one last look inside. The ship had done its job flawlessly, even saving Tang and Wen from that terrifying spin caused by the #4 engine release. Tang sadly said goodbye to his old friend, “Zai Jian, lao peng you,” before closing the hatch for the last time.

  The three now sat comfortably and exhausted side by side in their couch chairs with Nei in the center seat. Now in their jumpsuits, the taikonauts were excited to be finishing up on their last bit of business before going home. They had been awake for twenty straight hours and were in need of well deserved rest. The last item on their checklist was to arm the laser weapon they’d left on the moon, which they planned to do on their last pass around the back side. After successfully arming the laser, they would begin their journey home and get some long awaited sleep. Nei was responsible for testing and arming the laser. The laser had an elapse time of twenty minutes, from point of identifying and locking on any satellite orbiting above, to powering up and firing. To insure they were not targeted and fired on, Nei was ordered to arm the laser five minutes before they would be coming around the back side, insuring they had time to get out of range from the laser’s tracking radar.

  As they reached the back side on what they hoped would be their final orbit, Nei began to receive transmission from the laser. Nei inputted the access code into his computer and was happy to see his screen go dark briefly before it lit back up, now sharing the laser’s local screen. A number entry appeared which was from a random number generator in the laser’s system. This entry was in a format that could not be read by a computer but instead had to be read by a human eye. Nei had to retype the numbers exactly as he saw them before the laser’s computer system would allow him to log in. CNSA wanted to make sure the laser could not be accessed by an unmanned automated satellite.

  Nei carefully typed in the number as he read it off the screen. He smiled when a prompt appeared indicating he could now enter their ten-digit password so he could test the laser. His orders were to do several tests arming and disarming it before arming it for the last time. He went through the inputs to “arm” the laser. Nothing happened. He did the sequence again, nothing. Nei was beginning to get frustrated. He was doing everything right. He double checked the procedure and tried again; still nothing. If they could not arm the laser, the whole mission would be a failure.

  Nei asked Tang to give it a try. He too had no luck. Concerned, Tang pulled out the checklist for the laser and reviewed it. He and Nei went through the list step by step and everything appeared to be in order. Unfortunately, they could not call Beijing Control Center for advice until they came around from the back side. Tang knew from training if the laser was not responding to the computer, one option was to shut it down and reboot. This procedure took fifteen minutes, and since they had over thirty minutes before they would be back in radio contact with Beijing, Tang decided to give it a try. While they waited in silence, Tang could not help but think of how successful and rewarding the mission had been, even with all of its challenges. However, even though they would still be treated like heroes by their countrymen and written in the history books as the first Chinese crew to orbit the moon, if the laser did not work, the mission would be deemed a total failure to their superiors and the crew would be dishonored within the space program. Such disgrace was a situation he did not want to think about and would do everything he could to prevent.

  Once the computer rebooted, Tang again went through the steps and keyed in for it to arm. Nothing! “Yi-po-see,” he said in frustration. Since the only way of arming the laser was when they were in view of the back side, they would need to stay in orbit as long as their consumables would hold out to solve the problem. If they were forced to leave the moon, there would be nothing the Beijing Command Center could do to fix or arm the laser from Earth. Transmissions could not pass through the solid rock of the moon and since the moon does not spin like the earth, the laser would always be on the back side relative to Earth. They were now close to coming around and being back in radio contact with the command center.

  Tang began radioing in, carefully choosing his words even though what he said was encrypted. “Beijing, wo shi Yi, ting jian ma?” Tang impatiently waited; all he could hear was static. He tried again. Finally the command center responded. He informed them the Long, code name used for the laser, was not responding. Between Tang and the command center they went over the procedures to make sure they were doing everything correctly, and then went over troubleshooting options. Tang was to try these ideas on the next pass around the back side. On the next pass, Tang and Nei tried the options suggested and still, nothing. When Yi came back around, Tang radioed he had no luck. Long was still inoperable.

  The Beijing Command Center figured they could keep the taikonauts in orbit for twenty-two more hours to troubleshoot the problem before they would have to be sent home. Sie Wang, the manager of China’s space operations, was in the command center monitoring what was going on. He had been the lead on the laser weapon and was responsible for making it work. He had tried all the ideas their experts had considered. With the short time available, his only option was to get the laser’s design engineer out to China immediately. Unfortunately, the company that designed the laser was Byington Corporation, which was out of the United Kingdom. Though meeting at the command center would be the quicker trip than meeting at the launch center in Jiuquan, he was concerned about bringing foreigners in with a mission going on. Instead he decided it was best to meet at the launch center where the laser prototype was and where past meetings had taken place with Byington personnel. Such a trip from the United Kingdom to Jiuquan would normally take a day, which would be too late to help the taikonauts. However, Sie estimated they could get the Byington engineers out in less than ten hours using private planes, allowing twelve hours to solve the problem. Sie quickly discussed this with his superiors, who approved the plan.

  PETER NOVAK WAS sound asleep when his phone rang, sounding like a train whistle blaring in his room after a hard night of partying. He reluctantly looked at the clock. Five a.m.! Who the hell is calling at this time? Thinking the caller was from the United States, he rolled over and put his pillow over his head. As he suspected, his little trick didn’t solve the problem. No matter how hard he pressed, he still heard the damn phone. He jumped when a warm hand nudged him under the covers. Who’s that? A sly smile started to cross his face as he smelled perfume. Oh yeah, now I remember. He took the pillow off his head, and saw a beautiful head of blond hair flowing over the pillow in front of him. His head pounding, he quickly replayed the evening’s activities, trying to remember who she was. The night all started coming back to him. His smile was quickly displaced by that obnoxious ringing. He had no choice. Grudgingly he rolled over and picked up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Wake up chap, it’s Rob. I’m glad I got you. Sie Wang just rang and said they have an emergency with the MK Laser and we’re needed at the Jiuquan Launch Center immediately.”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Peter snapped, trying to wake up and shake off the hangover.

  “We need to get to Jiuquan now! CNSA has already sent a bloody car to your flat. They will be there any minute. There
will be a private jet waiting for us at the airport.” Rob Foster, the senior design engineer for the laser, was an intellectual nerd; Peter couldn’t help himself. “Do you know what I have lying next to me in bed?”

  Rob, knowing Peter’s history, knew exactly what was next to him. “What’s the tart’s name?”

  “Good question. Should I ask?” Peter whispered with a slight chuckle.

  “Enough of this rubbish. You need to get your ass out of bed and get ready. They’ll be knocking on your door shortly. Cheers.” Rob hung up.

  Peter rolled back over, put his lips to the ear of the pretty blonde and whispered, “You were wonderful last night.”

  Without turning over, she answered back seductively with her English accent, “You were quite smashing too. Fancy another go around?”

  Boy did he! But he had a job to do. He turned her over and gave her a passionate kiss. “Sorry, honey, I have to get to work.”

  “Please don’t leave me,” she purred.

  He just smiled, got up buck naked and paraded his muscular body around the bed into the restroom.

  PETER WAS PART of the Space Intelligence Division (SID) of the CIA, recently developed to handle any international events associated with space. The United States Government had been getting concerned with the number of countries and private firms either flying in or close to flying in space, and believed criminal activity or receipt of threats from space was imminent. The United States needed an agency that could police such activities and respond if anything occurred. A space division was added to the CIA, a top secret operation. The CIA recruited their first agents from NASA, wanting them to be trained astronauts, ready to fly in space if needed. Peter was the first astronaut to sign on as an SID agent. At the age of forty-six, his current cover assignment was working at Byington Corporation as the director of engineering.

  The United States was concerned with the activity China had been engaging in with international companies over the last few years. Byington Corporation of the United Kingdom, known for their advanced laser technology, had been working closely with China over the last three years providing them with information, hardware, and technology on their MK laser, a state of the art laser operated by a small nuclear power source. The laser was not designed as a weapon, but as a possible solution for cleaning up the massive amount of space junk floating around Earth’s orbit. Byington’s hope was that NASA, as well as other space agencies around the world, would be interested in the laser. Its beam was designed to have the right amount of energy to push large space junk out of orbit into deep space without destroying it, clearing out the crowded orbit and making the thermosphere safer for spacecraft. However, the CIA suspected China was planning on increasing the laser intensity so it could be used as a destructive weapon, possibly being used on their version of a “Star Wars” like system to protect against missile attack or worse, used as an offensive weapon capable of firing at any location on Earth. Such a weapon would be virtually impossible to defend against. With China’s recent success in space, they now had the capability to put up such a system. Peter’s assignment over the last year had been to gain the trust of the Chinese and learn their plan. His superiors felt there was no need to use an alias since his background as a NASA astronaut was beneficial in the director of engineering position. Only the president of Byington knew of Peter’s connection to the CIA.

  Peter barely had enough time to throw some clothes in a bag before Chinese officials were pounding on his front door to escort him to the airport. Before walking out of his room he had to take one final look at the silhouette sleeping under a thin sheet on his bed. As she lay on her side, sound asleep, he scoped the outline of her body. He started at her feet and slowly worked his way up her beautiful curves. Wow, what a night, he thought with a smile. He wondered how quickly he could get in some more fun before walking out. His fantasy was interrupted by more pounding on the door. He shook his head in frustration as he turned away. He briskly walked to his desk next to the bed, pulled out a piece of paper and grabbed one of his company pens and wrote Had a wonderful time! Help yourself to some breakfast and lock up on the way out. Peter. He taped the note on the mirror above the desk and smiled as he wondered if she even knew his name. As he was putting the pen back in its holder he saw a gift wrapped box of company pens on the corner of his desk, perfect for a gift at the CNSA meeting. Grabbing it, he turned to leave. Looking back for one last glimpse of the blonde, Peter uttered, “Damn.” He shook his head and walked out of the room.

  3

  THE LIE

  The hallway was dimly lit as Peter and Rob were quickly escorted by two Chinese soldiers, one in front and the other behind, at the Jiuquan Launch Center. Jiuquan was located a thousand miles west of Beijing in an isolated desert in the northwest Gansu province in China and was where all CNSA’s manned missions were launched. Peter and Rob had made it to Jiuquan in record time. What normally was a day trip from England to the remote location was cut to seven straight hours thanks to China providing a private plane and helicopter. Peter was still perplexed about what the rush was to get him and Rob to Jiuquan, especially since China was right in the middle of their historical moon mission. He surmised the laser was somehow involved in this mission, which was not a total surprise since the commander was Tang Liwei, who had attended past meetings. Though Peter did not know Tang’s exact position at CNSA during those meetings, he was always impressed with his questions. But how was the laser being used?

  Though it was an early spring afternoon in Jiuquan, the outside temperature was a chilly 10 F. The coldness from the outside seemed to be creeping into the hallway Peter and Rob walked. Peter pulled his coat around tighter as he hurried to stay with the soldier in front. The cold didn’t seem to bother Rob, who was struggling to keep up while hauling his heavy briefcase. The Chinese soldiers walked at a brisk and steady pace, in a unison march, staring straight ahead and saying nothing. The pounding of their boots echoed in the empty hallways. Peter was surprised to see the hallways bare of workers, considering a mission was currently going on. He assumed it was probably because the launch was five days earlier and all communications had been transferred to the Beijing Command Center. This was the first time while visiting Jiuquan that Peter was being escorted by soldiers. He could not help but notice the gun in the holster on the soldier’s side. He and Rob looked at each other; Rob with a look of concern. Trying to put his friend at ease Peter just gave him a wink, knowing Brits weren’t allowed guns and the sight of one was probably making Rob nervous.

  Upon arriving at Jiuquan, Peter and Rob had been put through a tight security check where Rob’s briefcase was emptied and searched, and both had to walk through a metal detector and a full body soft x-ray scan. They were then warned by CNSA security to do exactly as they were told while at the launch center. Under no circumstance were they to go anywhere unescorted. Even if one of them had to use the restroom, they were to be escorted by one of the soldiers, who would stand behind as he did his business. Peter’s previous visits never required such tight security. Today’s escort and pat-down was probably due to the current mission. This was obviously a visit they had not planned on or prepared for, and what was going on around him was apparently top secret stuff. This was the perfect opportunity to gather intelligence on China’s current and future plans for space.

  The soldier Peter trailed came to a door at the end of the hallway, and knocked. A pretty Chinese lady opened the door. The soldier stepped aside and motioned for Peter and Rob to enter. They bowed slightly to both soldiers before turning to enter the room. The soldiers took position outside the doorway, one on each side. Upon entering, Peter’s lungs were overwhelmed by the cigarette smoke blanketing the room, and he struggled not to cough, which might be perceived as rude. It seemed like every man smoked in China.

  The lady bowed, and again, Peter and Rob bowed back. She offered to take their coats. Peter had been coached both by the CIA and by Byington Corporation on proper etiquette for bu
siness meetings in China. He understood the importance of tradition and showing respect. This being Rob’s first visit to China, Peter gave the engineer some pointers on the plane, but basically told him to follow his lead and remember, he was the senior member of the team and it was expected he would do most of the talking. Peter handed the girl his coat, Rob doing the same.

  This was the first time Peter had been to this conference room, and he did a quick scan. The large room was surprisingly bright and fortunately much warmer than the hallway, which Peter assumed was due to all the lit cigarettes. The room had no windows, but on the back and side walls were beautiful murals of rockets. The front wall had an impressive six-foot CNSA emblem made of stained metal. In the front corner of the room was the prototype of the MK laser on a stand with wheels. In the center of the room was a large conference table with probably twenty-five chairs around it. He had been to some meetings where they sat on the floor, so he was happy to see chairs. He counted eight gentlemen, seated at one end of the table. Seating was by seniority, and in all his previous meetings Sie had been at the head of the table. In this meeting he was second back on one side. Since senior members sit across from each other, this meant there were at least three gentlemen who had seniority over Sie, and one of those was a military officer. This was a serious meeting.