By Harry’s expression he had something he wanted to say.
“What is it?” asked the president.
“Sir, we just learned from Intelligence that China recently fueled their rocket. It looks like it wasn’t fueled after all.” Harry grimaced.
“What! Why wasn’t I told before I started this press conference?” Irritation rolled through him. Harry flinched at his tone. Crap—I could have been reelected on the patriotism of what Jack’s men are up to. Though this was good news and it meant the men had a chance of beating China, if he’d known his intelligence reports were wrong he would have waited until the men were clearly on their way to the moon before talking to the press. He would not have been so vocal in condemning them, or using the word terrorists.
Bill sighed and shook his head. Even if he just sealed his fate of being re-elected, he knew this was not about him. The mission was about America and all those men and women who worked to get men on the moon. He slapped Harry on the shoulder. “Let’s hope they beat those damn Chinese!”
31
TROUBLE
“I wonder if China has launched?” asked Peter as he sat comfortably in his jumpsuit, having adjusted to the tight quarters after a day of flight.
“We far enough. Let’s find out. It time to radio in to Mission Control,” said Viktor. “I sure they not be happy we steal their baby.”
Peter smiled. He leaned down and turned on the radio, quickly finding the transmission to Russia’s mission control. Peter would be the point man in talking, establishing English as the language spoken.
“Mission Control, this is—” Peter realized they did not have a call sign. He looked over to Viktor, who tilted his head, questioning what he was doing. Seeing Maria’s picture next to Viktor, Peter quickly chose. “Mission Control, this is Maria 1, do you read me?”
A big smile came across Viktor’s face.
“Maria 1, this Mission Control,” said the accented Russian. Peter waited to hear if anything else would be said, but heard nothing. He wondered what they knew.
“Mission Control, we have commandeered this spacecraft and are heading to the moon, over.” said Peter.
“Maria 1, what is your purpose?”
Peter was impressed with the calmness in the voice. “Our mission is to get into lunar orbit.”
“What is your reason for being in lunar orbit? Over.”
Both men had agreed not to give out too much information at this point, so Peter sarcastically answered, “To see if the moon is made of cheese?”
Grinning, Peter was sure that would get some kind of reaction, but again the voice came back calmly, “Who are you and what country do you represent?”
Peter looked at Viktor, wondering what he should say. Viktor whispered, “Tell who we are.”
“We do not represent any country. I am Peter Novak, former NASA astronaut, and with me is Viktor Alexandrov, former Soviet cosmonaut. Over.”
There was silence for a moment before the voice, obviously surprised, asked, “Viktor Alexandrov?”
“Roger, Viktor Alexandrov,” said Peter.
There was another silence before he heard, “We will get back with you. Over and out.”
“You surprise them when say I on board. They don’t know what to do now,” said Viktor with a smile. “Good thing Dmitri there. They going to have big meeting. Dmitri will be questioned.”
“Do you think he will give out the details of the mission?” asked Peter, thinking of how Dmitri hadn’t been able to hide the nature of their mission from Anya.
“I sure he do what best for us,” answered Viktor.
THE DOOR WAS SHUT behind Dmitri as he nervously ran his finger along the leather chair in his boss’s office. The general director of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Ivan Gromyko, was bound to press him for answers on why his dad was flying in a stolen Soyuz, and he still wasn’t sure what he was going to say.
Ivan circled his desk and leaned aggressively over it as he peered directly into Dmitri’s eyes. “Is that your dad up there?”
Dmitri cleared his throat. “Yes, sir, it’s Dad.”
Ivan fell back in his chair, throwing his hands in the air. “What the hell is he doing?”
Dmitri decided it was probably best to let his boss know the general plan of the operation. Ivan had a long history with his dad and thought a lot of him. Ivan would probably have the agency back his dad if there was no other option. At this point, the more his boss knew the better. He jolted upright in his seat. “Sir, he’s trying to prove China’s accusations against America are all lies.”
Ivan’s eyebrow crinkled. “Damn it—I know your dad. He just wants a trip to the moon. Why wasn’t I informed of this?”
“Sir, this whole operation came together very quickly. I just learned of it last week,” said Dmitri.
“And I am just learning of it now?” Ivan tilted his head as he leaned back, crossing his skinny arms.
Dmitri shifted his body in the leather seat. “Sir, I should have informed you earlier on what I knew. But I only had scattered details. I was hoping to get more information before speaking with you.”
“Well, your dad has now sucked Russia into this whole goddamn U.S.-China crap. What are they planning on doing when they get to the moon?” Ivan swiveled his chair.
“They are going to take detailed pictures of America’s landing sites as well as the Chinese landing site,” said Dmitri.
Ivan chewed on his lower lip then asked, “How are they returning to Earth?”
Dmitri took a deep breath and looked down at the floor before looking back at Ivan. “They’re not, sir. It’s a suicide mission. They will forward the pictures back directly from the moon.”
Ivan abruptly got up and crossed to a hanging picture of him with Viktor and other famous cosmonauts. “So they are just going to float around the moon until they die?”
“Sir, I don’t think they have discussed exactly how they will die. They have only been focused on training and preparing for the mission,” said Dmitri.
“This is amazing. I can’t believe your dad is doing this. What if I order Viktor to do a direct abort?” Ivan walked back to his desk and took a seat.
“They do not have enough engine power or fuel to turn around.”
Ivan sat quiet for a moment before saying, “What about a free return around the moon?”
“Sir, America is convinced there is a laser weapon on the back side of the moon, designed to fire at any orbiting satellites, and even our intelligence has suggested this. That’s why NASA’s LRO failed. If they do a free return trajectory, they will be moving too fast to reprogram the laser and it will fire at them, destroying their ship on the back side. They need to get into lunar orbit to be able to reprogram the laser. Unfortunately, once they are in orbit they will not have enough engine power to escape and return to Earth.”
“So Viktor knows how to reprogram this laser?”
Shaking his head Dmitri said, “No, sir, that will be done by a former NASA astronaut.”
Ivan tilted his head as he leaned forward. “Who is that? Do you know him?”
“Yes, sir, it’s Peter Novak. He was one of NASA’s top astronauts before leaving for the CIA. He is an old family friend.”
“Is he the son of Tom Novak?”
“Yes, sir.”
Pursing his lips and frowning, Ivan asked, “Is NASA behind this operation?”
“No, sir. The driving force has been the commercial company SpaceQuest.”
“Why, what is their motive?”
“I’m not sure. They may be working with the U.S. government. All I know is dad trained solely at their facility.”
Ivan got back up from his desk and walked over to the window, staring outside. “I have the greatest respect for your father and he has been a big part of this program. Some of us in this building wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for him. I do not condone this action, but since they are so far along, I feel we have no choice but to support them.” I
van turned. “Besides, I would love to see the Chinese proven wrong. Okay, I want you to stay on top of this and insure Mission Control supports those men.”
Dmitri exhaled, tension leaving his shoulders and neck. “Thank you, sir.”
“MARIA 1, THIS IS MISSION CONTROL, do you read me?” Dmitri’s voice crackled from the radio in English.
Viktor floating in the cabin signaled to Peter he would answer. “Mission Control, this Maria 1, hear you good Dmitri.”
“Dad, I have some good news. First, China has not launched their rocket. Looks like you two are going to have a big head start.”
Peter and Viktor looked at each other with big smiles, giving each other a thumbs-up.
“Second, I talked with Ivan. He wanted you to first know he does not condone your actions; however, he has agreed to support your mission. Over.”
“Roger, that great news. Thanks, son. Both Peter and I smiling. Over,” said Victor as he pushed himself into the commander’s seat.
“Roger. By the way, I love the name of your ship,” said Dmitri.
“Peter name her.”
“Good choice. She’ll treat you right. Okay, we are going to get organized down here and put together a support team. We will get back with you shortly with your coordinates and any course corrections. Over.”
“Roger. Thanks again, son.”
Peter quickly jumped in. “Yeah, thanks, Dmitri. You’ve made it easier for me to share this tiny ship with your dad. Over.”
“Roger, just make sure you two take a shower. Over and out.”
Both men took their headsets off.
“Yeah, baby! The Chinese are still on the ground.” Peter did a little jig in his seat. “We’re going to beat those suckers!”
Viktor nodded sagely, as if he knew they would get the head start. Peter wondered if his partner had known all along.
“How come you’ve been so confident? Did you know something?”
Viktor smiled. “I had a good idea. I call Dmitri before launch. Ask about latest Russian intelligence on Chinese rocket. He say U.S. intelligence wrong, rocket not fueled. We agree Anya pass any change to SpaceQuest. You say Allen not mention Anya when he cancel mission. I hope for best.”
“Oh, that’s why you asked about Anya. So why didn’t you tell me? It would have made my decision easier.” Peter rolled his head on his shoulders, releasing tension.
“I not sure Russia Intelligence better than U.S. I want you make decision yourself.”
“Well I’m glad I decided to support you.”
Viktor smiled. “Okay, let’s jettison booster before Mission Control radio with course corrections.”
“Roger, let’s hope our handiwork did the job.” Peter hoped he’d wired up the explosive bolts right.
Viktor leaned over to flip the switch. “Here we go, cross fingers,” he said before flipping the switch.
Peter was relieved to hear a quick set of mini explosions fire off in sequence behind them. Music to his ears. Yeah, baby! After the explosions were complete, he turned to give Viktor their fist bump but held off after seeing a troubled look on his partner’s face. “What’s the matter?”
“I hear only nine explosions,” said Viktor in a distressed tone.
“What? Are you sure?” Peter had no idea—he hadn’t counted. He’d installed ten bolts. There should have been ten mini-explosions.
“Yes. Just nine. One not fire.” Viktor quickly looked down into the eye piece of a periscope that extended underneath the Soyuz. Turning it so it pointed to the back end of the ship, he peered for a moment doing minor adjustments to the eye piece. Dejectedly he said, “It still there!”
“Damn it, are you sure?” The booster engine had to be removed or they were screwed. The VASIMR engine covered the Soyuz engine, which was needed to slow the spacecraft down and get them into lunar orbit. If they were unable to use that engine, they would have no way of braking and would fly right past the moon.
“Yes. I sure,” said Viktor sadly.
TANG SAT STRAPPED in his seat next to his fellow taikonaut Nei Zango on top of the large Long March rocket, listening to the countdown echo in his helmet. Both men had finished all their prechecks and were eagerly awaiting their second launch to the moon after almost three months. Their mission was to beat the Americans to the back side, where Nei would reprogram and arm the MK laser. Tang was anxious to get going—even though the Americans were in a slower rocket, they still had a good head start. Everything needed to go according to plan if they were going to have a chance of catching them, including the new procedures needed to get out of orbit quickly. He spent the last few weeks training for this and was confident he could pull it off.
Tang was honored to be given this second opportunity to go to the moon, even though it was a top secret mission and no one outside of CNSA would ever know about it. The future of his nation depended on their success and he planned on doing everything in his power to accomplish this. If they were successful, the Americans would die, but to him, this was war. They were fighting for the moon. China versus America.
“ONE OF US NEEDS TO DO A SPACEWALK and loosen that engine,” said Peter clenching his hand in frustration. Viktor had already tried shaking the engine loose by maneuvering the spacecraft, but had no luck. Both men knew it was a dangerous spacewalk; if the bolt exploded while being worked on, flying shrapnel could be lethal. Peter was the only one scheduled to do a spacewalk at the moon, so they’d left Viktor’s gloves on the Galileo. “Since we only have my gloves, I guess I’m the lucky one.”
“Too dangerous. Only you know how to reprogram laser. I go,” said Viktor.
Peter tilted his head as he pointed to his other hand, “You don’t have gloves.”
“You could not wear mine, but I can wear yours—just have extra room. Still work.”
Even though Peter felt his partner was right because Viktor’s hands were smaller, Peter still wondered if the old man could physically handle the spacewalk. “Are you sure you can do this?”
“Sure. Help me put on EMU and get me out there.” Viktor floated through the hatch to the Orbital Module where the EMU was stored.
“Shouldn’t we let Mission Control know first?” asked Peter eyeing the bottom of Viktor’s boots passing through the hatch.
Viktor’s feet quickly disappeared before his head poked back into the Descent Module. “No! If tell them, they say too dangerous and force us try free return around moon. Do not give them idea.”
His partner was right. The less Mission Control knew the better. “Well, then you better not blow yourself up,” said Peter, trying to ease the tension.
“Nothing happen,” said Viktor with a wink.
32
ANOTHER CHALLENGE
Sweat pooled around Viktor’s face inside his EMU space helmet as he exerted as much force as he could trying to pry the engine loose from the Soyuz spacecraft. He had already tried unscrewing the bolt with a socket wrench, but it wouldn’t budge. He was now on the opposite side of the stuck bolt, the safest place if it exploded, trying to manhandle the engine to snap the bolt. He was tethered to the Soyuz by two lines and had both feet pushing out against the VASIMR engine. He had been working for almost an hour, and though the engine had loosened, it still seemed far off from breaking free.
“How’s it going Viktor?” radioed Peter with concern is his voice.
Viktor stopped for a moment to catch his breath and shake the pools of sweat off his face before answering. “It loose, but I not have luck breaking bolt.” He was definitely feeling his age as he gasped for air. Trying to keep the moment light, he said between heavy breaths, “It stubborn like Anya.”
Viktor continued for another fifteen minutes but wasn’t making any headway. Peter finally radioed, sounding impatient, “Viktor, why don’t you come back in, I’ll go out and give it a try?”
Viktor rested against the insulation of the Soyuz trying to figure out what to do. “Give me couple minutes.” Viktor accepted he wasn’t goi
ng to be able to pry the engine free and felt Peter wouldn’t either. His only option was to work directly on the bolt, hoping to break it free somehow. This could kill him, but it was a risk he was willing to take so Peter could finish the mission. “I have no luck. I try cut bolt with saw.”
“No!” Peter’s vehemence distorted his voice over the radio. “It’ll explode!”
“We have no choice.” Viktor undid his tether lines and started working his way over to the other side of the engine where the bolt was seated.
“Viktor, let me give it a try before you do that!”
“You sit tight. Don’t worry,” said Viktor.
“Damn it, I don’t agree with this. I guess we now know where your daughter gets her stubbornness.” Getting no response from Viktor, Peter said, “Okay, how can I help?”
“Not sure. Tell you when I get there.” Viktor slowly worked his way over to the other side of the engine.
When he arrived at the bolt, he studied it for a while. A small area of threads visible in-between the bolt cap and the engine flange would be the best place to cut. He would cut as much as he could before trying to break off the top with a hammer. “Okay, looks like there place to cut.”
“Roger, be careful,” said Peter.
Viktor fought to hold onto the saw with Peter’s big gloves as he cut. After fifteen minutes of struggling he had barely cut the bolt. This would take forever. He decided to go ahead and try breaking off the head of the bolt with the hammer. “Peter, if something happens, tell Dmitri and Anya I love them.”
“What are you going to do?”
Viktor didn’t answer. He pulled out the hammer from his bag. Before striking the first blow, he looked down at Earth below and thought of his children. If he was going to die; he had to tell them how much he loved them and say goodbye. Ya tak lyublyu tebia. Poka. He looked back at the bolt and with the hammer in his hand swung as hard as he could. Right before impact he closed his eyes, expecting the worst. The hammer hit squarely on the head, but nothing happened. He tried again and still nothing. He continued to hammer away, and with each swing he became less concerned about it exploding. The bolt wasn’t budging or breaking. He was thinking of giving up and decided to try one last time. He positioned himself in the best angle to allow for a solid blow. He said goodbye out loud, Do svidaniy, before swinging the hammer one last time.
Moon Hoax (Hoax Trilogy Book 1) Page 31