by Steven Wolff
Amber puts Howard’s hand in hers, “You’ve told me many times how you wish you could be like your dad and explore space… to see the stars, and float like a feather. What changed?”
“Oh I don’t know… maybe it has something to do with my dad dying in a fiery explosion and me not wanting to die?”
“Wow.” Amber says.
“What? I don’t know anymore. What I do know is I have you and I don’t want to put you through what I just went through.”
“Howard, I did go through it with you! I liked your father and his loss affected me too! You’re not the only one mourning. Now you’re telling me there’s a chance for you to go into space, and you’re chickening out?”
Howard replies, “You’re starting to sound like Josh. He said the same thing…”
“Maybe your friends might be onto something… have you thought about that?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, where is this hostility coming from? You should be happy that I’m wanting to play it safe and be with you verses risking my life and going up into space.”
“You idiot, that’s something you’ve dreamed of all your life! You just don’t get it!”
“Get what? I don’t even know if this guy is for real or not. Why are you getting so worked out about this?” Howard asks with both palms facing up.
“You leave me no choice, I’m leaving.” Amber says, yanking her jacket off the chair, and putting it back on.
“Where are you going?”
“This relationship is OVER!”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic?”
Amber’s eyes light up in fury, as she turns and confronts Howard – who’s backing away cowardly.
“You want to see dramatic?”
She grabs the carafe coffee pot and throws it at him, but Howard ducks out of the way. It shatters into little pieces against the wall as she storms out of the room. The metal door slams shut behind her as Howard opens it again and chases after her, but she’s already getting into her car.
“Amber, don’t go! Please!” Howard begs.
Amber yanks the steering column down and slams her foot on the pedal. The wheels spin and squeal as she’s driving away into the darkness. Howard watches until the red tail lights from her car disappear into the blustery night.
Josh walks up to Howard and asks, “Dude, what did you do? Did you sleep with her sister?”
“Even worse. I told her I was considering giving up on my dream to go into space because of her. I guess she didn’t take it so well.”
“That sucks. I’m so sorry bro.”
“Thanks.”
“Since you’re officially broken up, do you mind if… if you know, I ask her out?”
Howard chases after Josh, who’s running like heck.
“What? Too soon?” He jokes.
“If I catch you I’m going to kick your ass…”
CHAPTER TEN
Observatory – 7:59am
Howard and Josh pace back & forth anxiously, peeking out the window to see if the Investor is going to show up.
“He’s not coming. I knew it!” Josh says in a frustrated tone.
“He’ll be here, be patient.” Howard says still glancing out the window. “It’s not even 8 o’clock yet. I’m sure he’ll be driving up any minute.”
The clock on the wall turns to 8am, as the red second hand clicks past the twelve, one, two, three, four…
“Told you, he’s not coming. He was pulling our leg. Probably some sick joke put up by Amber. I wouldn’t put it past her to do something like that.”
“Shhh – do you hear that?” Howard asks, trying to listen.
“Hear what?” Josh asks, looking around the room. He peeks out the window, “I don’t see or hear anything.”
Seconds later, the distinct sound of a helicopter grows louder. Dust whirs up on the dirt parking lot as a helicopter plated in gold makes a landing. A large door slides open as the Investor gets out and adjusts his tie. He puts on his sunglasses and reaches into the helicopter to bring his gold-plated suitcase.
“Shoot, here he comes! Open the door!” Josh says excitedly. Howard takes a deep breath before twisting the door knob and pulling the door open. The Investor walks up to them and stares at them both, “Shall we talk business?”
“Sure, come in.” Howard says, stepping aside and extending his arm in a welcoming way. They sit down at the table and wait for the Investor to get situated. He takes off his mirror sunglasses and tucks them in his breast pocket.
“Have you thought about my offer?”
“Yes, but before we commit to anything, do you mind if we ask a few questions?”
“Go ahead – I’m listening.”
“You said that if we accept, you will give us the training we need, right?” Howard asks.
“An accelerated version of training, yes. You’ll learn the basics of survival out in space. What to do if this or that happens. Since we’re under a tight schedule we’ll cut to the chase and teach you what you need to know. You’ll just have to wing the rest.”
“What about our crew? How many people are going up?”
“Assuming one or both of you accept my offer, it would be you two… and five others; a commander, a pilot, a physician, a mechanical engineer, two special forces and a communications specialist.”
Josh asks, “Who’s going to be the pilot?”
“My guess would be…. you!”
“Me? But, I… uh, I don’t know how to fly!”
“You will – by the time we’re done training you.”
Howard chimes in, “Let me guess, I’m the mission commander?”
“My, you’re a quick learner.” The investor says sarcastically.
“Not to look a gift horse in its mouth – but why did you choose me? Why not Josh as the mission commander?”
“As mission commander, you can delegate whatever you want to whomever. But, to answer your question – you were picked because you learned firsthand a lot of valuable lessons from your father. People can be book smart, but your father passed onto you tips and tricks that we think will make you the ideal astronaut for this mission. Stuff you can’t learn in a book, unless your dad wrote it.”
“Right…” Howard says playing along.
The Investor continues, “Josh was picked to be a pilot because like you, we’re willing to bet his hand eye co-ordination is pretty sharp. Of course we’ll find out when we put you both through virtual-reality training. Don’t worry – you will be trained by people who know a thing or two about traveling into space.”
“You mean with NASA? They weren’t too keen on the idea of sending me to space.”
“Actually – you’ll be working with the people at Space X.”
“Whoa, that’s cool!” Josh says sitting back in his chair. “I’ve always been a big fan of the Space X program – like how they can land the rocket on a boat, standing straight up!”
The Investor continues, “Space X and Google are working together on your ship as we speak.”
“Google?” Howard’s attention perks up.
“Yes, they are invested in your success. Here, take a look at what you’ll be flying…”
The Investor reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a schematic – giving it to Howard to look at.
“There’s one more thing… this ship is being modified with vintage parts, found in 1947.”
“Hold on a sec… No offense, but how is adding parts from 1947 going to make this a better ship?” Howard asks, “Don’t you want to use the latest and greatest?”
“We’re retro-fitting your ship with technology we found in a crash – just outside of Roswell, New Mexico.”
Josh’s eyes shoot wide open in excitement, “Dude, are you telling us you’re adding parts of a U.F.O. that supposedly crashed in 1947 to our ship – and you expect it to still work?”
“No supposedly, it did crash, and yes, we’re adding it to your ship. I don’t know if it’ll work, but I guess now woul
d be as good time as ever to find out.
Howard chimes in, “If you don’t mind – what exactly does this technology do?”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait to find out. That’s classified top secret.”
“Wait, wait, wait! You just admitted that the U.F.O. crash that happened in 1947 really did happen and that the government covered it up for all these years – but you can’t tell us what it does because that information is classified top secret. How does that make any sense?”
“Because when the time is right, you’ll find out. For now, we need to begin your training as soon as possible. Can you start training today… say this afternoon, around 3pm?”
“3pm as in – today?” Howard looks to Josh who’s nodding okay. “I guess so, if that okay with you Josh?”
“3pm is fine with me!”
“Here is the address to be at. Show them this gold plated business card and you should have no trouble getting in.” He hands it to them as they inspect the address on the gold plated card.
“Now if you’ll excuse me – I have other business to attend to.”
The Investor gets up, adjusts his tie and walks away, back to his waiting helicopter outside.
“Dude! We’re going to train to go into outer space!” Josh says while gently punching Howard’s arm.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s all surreal. Just yesterday I attended my dad’s funeral, broke up with my longtime girlfriend and now I’m getting ready to go into deep space get a crashed U.F.O, using parts from a crashed U.F.O. from 1947. I have no idea how I’m going to explain this to mom.”
“Come on, let’s grab breakfast and figure some things out. Something tells me we’ve got a long night ahead of us.”
Howard correct him, “I think you mean a long three months ahead of us.” He says as he grabs his car keys off the table.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Space X Training Facility – 2:57pm
Josh drives up to the security gate and sticks his arm out the window – holding the gold-plated business card. The guard nods his head and presses a button that raises the arm of the gate. They drive through and follow the signs to the address where they pull up and park. They get out and tilt their heads back, looking at the tall hanger-like building.
“Whoa. This is crazy. My heart is beating out of my chest.” Josh says with a big nervous smile.
“Mine is too.”
They walk to a locked door with a security camera above it. Josh flashes the gold business card and a loud click and buzzing sound is heard. They quickly pull the handle and walk in where they are greeted by a security escort, “Follow me.”
Howard and Josh are taken through several layers of security – where a guard uses his badge to swipe in as he punches in a secret code. A buzzer sounds as the doors unlock, allowing them access. After a bunch of confusing left-and-right turns, they arrive at a large hanger bay where the guard points to a crowd of people standing around.
In the center of the circle is the Investor, who pulls out his gold pocket watch with one hand before putting it back, “You’re right on time, gentlemen.”
He raises his arm in introduction, “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Howard Shepard, the son of the late Ed Shepard. He will be one of the mission commanders and with him – his pilot Josh Wilkins.”
The crowd smiles while circling around to greet them one on one. “I’m sorry for the loss of your papa,” says one woman with a thick French accent.
“My name is Chantal Jolicoeur and I have been assigned to you as ship’s physician. I will take care of you!”
“Merci.” Howard says, using the only French word he knows. Chantal smiles and nods. Josh blushes at how cute she is – with her deep brown eyes and short-cut hair.
“Hi, I’m Josh… ship’s pilot.”
“I know,” She giggles, “The man who introduced you already said so.”
“Yeah, of course. I just… was repeating what he said.” Josh says backing away from her. When he’s out of ear shot, he leans into Howard and says “She can play doctor with me anytime she wants!”
Howard elbows Josh in the side and nonverbally squints his eyes for Josh to behave.
A curvy, brunette woman steps forward and stops in front of Howard, wearing blue-jean overall’s. She looks at her hands and quickly reaches in her back pocket to wipe her hand with a red bandana before pumping Howard’s hand up and down in a good handshake.
“How do you do! My name’s April, April Robinson. I’m your ship’s mechanic. Sorry about your dad and all.” She says with a slight southern Alabama accent.
“That’s quite a handshake you got there, April.”
“My daddy taught me if you’re gonna shake hands, do it right. There’s a time to be a lady and a time to be one of the guys. Right now, I’m one of the guys, so feel free to be yourself around me. Growin’ up with four brothers, there isn’t anything I haven’t heard or seen. Don’t worry either, I can handle my own and can kick some serious ass.”
“Okay… Good to know.” Howard says rubbing the back of his neck. Josh whispers, “Is it me, or is she pretty cute too?”
“Josh, every female is cute to you, until they turn down your unwanted advances.”
“You’re right.”
Another person walks up from behind them and startles Howard and Josh, who have to tilt their heads back just to look up. In front of them stands a giant man with broad shoulders, full of muscles.
“Sir, it’s an honor to serve with the son of the late, great Ed Shepard. The name’s Abraham, but people call me Tank.”
“Tank? Now why would they call you that?”
“Actually,” Someone says stepping out from behind him, “It’s because this guy can take and give one hell of a beating, hence the name Tank. My name is Captain Thomas Whitfield, United States Marine Corps, 88th brigade. Tank here has served more tours overseas than anyone I’ve ever known. If you need someone combat ready, he’s your man.”
“Wow… that’s uh, good to know. Here’s hoping we don’t need to go to war with anyone.”
“You never know when going out into space.” Whitfield adds.
Josh leans close to Howard’s ear and whispers, “Tank? That guy is more like the Incredible Hulk!”
“Captain Whitfield, please forgive my ignorance, but I have a question…”
“Yes?”
“Why is the military coming with us on a recovery mission?”
“Simple. To ensure the safety of the crew and its payload, sir! It’s our mission from the United States government to keep you alive and ensure this payload gets delivered into the right hands. You never know what kind of alien scum you’ll encounter – so it’s better to not take chances. Trust me you’ll want us on your side. Oohrah!”
“Right, thanks for clarifying.”
“Don’t let my size or strength intimidate you,” Tank says, “Only if you get on my bad side should you be worried, otherwise we’re good.”
“I will never forget that. Good to know. Right Josh?”
“Uh, yeah, right! We’re cool.”
The Investor turns and extends his arm at an African-American guy who’s well dressed and standing proper, “Gentlemen, last but not least – I’d like to introduce you to Sir Adam Edward the Third.”
He walks forward and shakes both Howard and Josh’s hands, “Pleasure to meet you gentlemen. I look forward to working with you.”
The Investor continues, “This remarkable gentleman has several master degrees from Harvard and Princeton in the fields of astronomy, quantum physics and has a Master of Arts with a concentration in language and communications. He speaks seven languages, including Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, Spanish, Russian and Mandarin. As you can probably guess, he is your communication specialist.”
“Wow – those are some credentials!” Howard says in awe, “I… uh, just went to a community college.”
Josh adds, “I was thinking of going to college, but you know
… I backed out – because of… uh, high tuition costs. Wasn’t going to fall for that trap, if you know what I mean.”
The Investor interrupts the rambling, “Mr. Edward’s work can be found in many pioneer–engineering studies. Much of today’s wireless communication breakthroughs are in part from Mr. Edward’s high school science projects. Things he dabbled with for fun are now the backbone of today’s Internet and communications network.”
“Dude!” Josh whispers in total awe.
Edward smiles, “Please, Mr. Investor, you’re too kind.”
“Mr. Edwards will be in charge of keeping and maintaining communications on the ship. We need to keep in constant contact with you from here on Earth… in case you run into any trouble.”
Howard looks at the rest of the crowd, “What about the rest of these people? Who are they with?”
“Those seven people are with the other ship.”
“Other ship?” Josh asks, confused.
“Oh, that’s right, I didn’t tell you. We’re sending up two ships to the asteroid.”
“What, you don’t trust us?” Josh asks.
“It’s nothing personal – it’s just… a precaution. Think of it more as an insurance policy… we want to increase our odds of being the first ones there.”
“I thought there was only one ship left?” Howard asks.
“What gave you that impression? This is Space X we’re talking about, not NASA. There’s always a backup ship and we’re sending both up. These other people will get the newest model and your ship will be the older version. How do you say it? The tried and true?”
“You mean the antique ship with outdated technology.” Josh complains under his voice.
“Don’t forget, we are also retrofitting it with the technology we talked about in our previous conversation.”
“That we have no idea what it does. A lot of good that does us.” Howard says sarcastically.
“Are you disappointed that you’re not getting the latest and greatest from Space X? That’s too bad if you are. What you’re getting is the original prototype that successfully went to space. Because its parts and technology are older doesn’t mean that it won’t be reliable and get you there in one peace. If anything it’s over engineered with all kinds of fail safes built in. Not to mention using parts from the 1947 crash.”