The Long Way Home

by Phoenix Hays

  Victor stood up from the chair he had been sitting in and headed toward the door. He activated the call for the smart-vator.

  “Where are you going?” Mary asked.

  The kids stopped and turned to hear the answer.

  “I have something I have to do,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

  He turned to the smart-vator now waiting for him, walked inside and disappeared as the door slid shut.

  ***

  Sanjeed Burman sat in one of the comfortable leather chairs in front of Duke’s desk. Patrick was seated in the other.

  “—so we believe that we will complete the ATS preparations on time,” Sanjeed said. “In an emergency, we would be able to begin the Ascent within 24 hours of the word GO.”

  Patrick leaned back in his chair. His hand rubbed his chin in thought.

  “Hmph, 24 hours isn’t bad,” Duke said. “But we need to be able to get off the ground faster.”

  “I understand, sir,” Sanjeed said. “In order to get it down to 12 hours, we would need a team working around the clock and updating the checklists every six hours. It would take at least 20 people off of their current duties just to maintain the updates.”

  “Do it,” Duke said without hesitation. “The Fatalists caught us off guard twice in Memphis. I can’t afford to allow that to happen here and disrupt the ATS project.”

  Sanjeed took a deep breath.

  “Understood, sir,” he said. “We will get started right away.”

  He stood up and headed out of the office.

  Patrick broke the silence. “Duke, I understand your concern but do you really think we need to push the staff so hard?”

  “I agree that this is a taxing time,” Duke said. “But let me ask you this. You were in the lobby when the attack happened. Are you comfortable having to wait nearly a day from the point that we realize that we need to launch?”

  Patrick’s face darkened, remembering the explosion in the lobby of the building.

  “No, I guess I’m not.”

  A chime at the door announced a visitor.

  “Come in,” Duke said.

  The door slid open, revealing Victor Bayham.

  “Ah, Victor!” Duke smiled. “I was wondering when we would be seeing you.”

  Patrick was surprised at Duke’s expectation – his eyebrows lowered and his eyes narrowed.

  Duke walked around his desk to greet Victor, shaking his hand. Patrick stood up to do the same.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Victor said.

  “Not at all,” Duke said. “Please have a seat.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Victor looked around as Duke walked back behind his desk. The office was set up extremely similar to the one back in Memphis where he had accepted his role at Space Vision.

  Duke sat in his high-backed leather chair behind his desk. Victor and Patrick sat in the two chairs on the opposite side, waiting for Duke to break the silence.

  “I imagine you have questions after today’s tour,” Duke said.

  “Yes, sir,” Victor nodded.

  Duke smiled. “Victor, I told you to call me Duke.”

  “Sorry, sir — uh, Duke. With everything that we saw today, I am more convinced now than ever that you really will pull this off.”

  “I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Duke said.

  “But I also realize the scale of what you have done here. The precision that has been used in every task is apparent.”

  Duke leaned back in his chair. “And that got you thinking?”

  Patrick’s eyes moved like a ping pong ball watching the exchange.

  “I can’t help but think that this was all planned out long before my family reached Space Vision.”

  “Indeed, it was,” Duke said. “The ATS project was started the minute we knew the Oppenheimer asteroids were coming for us. Even our initial forecasts showed a likelihood for one or more to hit the Earth.”

  “And with a mission with this many details and moving parts, I imagine that every single detail has been worked out and planned for,” Victor said.

  Patrick’s eyes snapped wide open as he realized where this conversation was going.

  “Your ability to assess a situation and draw rational conclusions has been one of the things that make you a great asset to our efforts, Victor.”

  Victor lowered his head. “But that means our family will be watching from the ground as the last ATS rockets begin taking off.”

  “I’m sorry,” Duke said, lowering his eyes. He folded his hands together. “There are a number of people working here who will not be making the journey. It’s not because we don’t want to take them. There’s just a realistic threshold of how many people can be on Sanctuary for the ship to be able to complete its mission.”

  “I understand,” Victor said. “I apologize for taking up your time.”

  The man got up and began walking to the door. He stopped and turned back to Duke and Patrick.

  “My family will do whatever we can to make sure you succeed. Those rockets and transports will make it to Sanctuary,” Victor said and turned to walk out of the open door.

  Patrick leaned forward and put his hands on the edge of the desk.

  “Duke,” he said.

  Duke held his hands up. “Please, old friend, don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

  ***

  Joe woke up when he heard the entry door slide open. He got up and snuck to the edge of the doorway. Ayrin rolled over and watched.

  Victor entered the room, shoulders slumped and head down.

  “What is it, Victor?” Mary asked.

  He walked into the living area and sat down on the couch. Mary joined him at his side. The man leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. Mary put her arm around him.

  Joe leaned out of the doorway, trying to hear what they were saying. He watched his dad say something that caused his mom to lean toward him in a hug as she lowered her head and covered her face with her free hand.

  This can’t be good.

  His eyelids drooped. Ayrin watched him turn and walk back to bed and once again, the world went dark.

  CHAPTER 46

  The scent of a bacon and egg breakfast lingered in the air while Mary cleaned up the kitchen area. Victor had already left for work.

  “Mom, can I go visit Patrick?” Joe asked. “I want to learn about his exercises.”

  Ayrin nodded.

  “That man is very busy,” Mary said. “I’m not letting you go knock on his door unless he knows you are on the way and it’s OK with him.”

  “Can’t we call him and ask?” Ayrin asked.

  “You can have the drone call him,” Joe said.

  Mary let out a sigh. “Fine,” she said. “Attendant, activate.”

  “Please state your need,” the attendant responded.

  “Call Patrick Weaver,” Mary said.

  “Calling Patrick Weaver now.”

  An amber light on the drone flashed for a second and then turned solid green. Patrick’s voice was crisp and clear.

  “Good morning,” he said. “How can I help you, Mary?”

  “How did you know it was me?” she asked.

  “Oh, sorry,” Patrick said. “The drones check who is making the call and tells the person on the other side.”

  “I should have known,” she said.

  “No worries. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing big. I was just asked to see if you were interested in having company for your Tai Chi.”

  “I take it some small eyes would like to watch?”

  “Yes, they would.”

  “Actually, I’d be happy to have company. I haven’t done my forms yet.”

  “OK,” Mary said. “I’ll call for the smart-vator.”

  ***

  A green indicator light at Patrick’s door flashed showing the arrival of the smart-vator.

  “Come in,” Patrick said. />
  Joe and Ayrin walked in after the door glided open.

  “I hear you want to watch my Tai Chi?”

  “Yes!” they said together.

  “I’ll do you one better,” Patrick said. “I’ll teach you.”

  “Really?” Joe asked.

  “Cool!” Ayrin said.

  “Absolutely,” Patrick said. “Walk over here to this mat.”

  The kids followed his direction.

  “We’ll start with something basic. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart.”

  Both children adjusted their stances.

  “Good. Now put your left hand on your hip and hold your right hand down with your fingers pointed at the floor.”

  They mimicked him as they listened to his instructions.

  “Now, bring your right hand across your body in a circular motion. As your hand moves up, turn your wrist so that your palm is out at the top of the circle. Then continue the circle and turn your wrist again so that your hand returns to the same position it was in when you started.”

  Patrick watched them move with a smile.

  “Well done! You’ve just completed your first Tai Chi exercise. Go ahead and do that 10 times.”

  The three of them stood in the living room area of Patrick’s quarters and circled their right arms in unison.

  “OK. Let’s try something else. Start with both of your hands down and slowly swing both arms to your left. As your left hand comes up, turn your palm to face you. At the same time, turn your right palm to face outward.”

  Ayrin laughed in spite of herself as both kids got their hands mixed up.

  The intercom sounded with a loud buzz.

  “That’s OK. These can be confusing,” Patrick said as he turned to the intercom. “Patrick, here.”

  “Hello, Patrick,” Duke’s voice came through the COM. “We have a development I’d like for you to see. Can you come to the M31 conference room as soon as possible?”

  “I’d be happy to,” Patrick said. “I’ll be right there.”

  A beep sounded the end of the connection.

  “Well,” Patrick said, turning back to the side of the room where the kids were standing. “It looks like today’s lesson has been cut short and you need to head back to your mom.”

  “Aw,” Joe said, frowning.

  Once the smart-vator arrived, Ayrin followed Joe as they trudged inside and were taken back to the Bayham’s residence.

  CHAPTER 47

  Patrick jogged through the doorway connecting the stainless steel hallway and the round room where he had first seen the Odyssey rocket. He saw Clarence up ahead and managed to catch up with him as he rounded the circular hole in the floor. They walked through a doorway on the right and entered a bare hallway. Walking to the T-junction a few hundred feet ahead, the two men took a left.

  “I think this is the door,” Patrick said, passing one on the right and reaching for the next one on the left.

  Clarence followed him through it and they entered another circular room with a round gap in the middle.

  “These all start looking like the same room,” Patrick said, looking around. “Maybe this one is a little bigger?”

  “It is,” Clarence said with a nod. “This rocket will carry some of the food and livestock up to Sanctuary. As such, it needs to be larger to accommodate the plants and animals.” He turned to his left. “Ah, here we are.” He pointed at the conference room on the far side of the gap in the floor.

  They saw several people sitting around the large table in the center of the room. Duke was there. Victor Bayham was as well.

  Patrick opened the door, and he let Clarence enter before he walked into the conference room. He took the first open seat that he saw at the table. It was a familiar cast of faces he recognized there. He nodded to each of the Space Vision directors and then to Victor.

  “Good. Now that we are all here, I’ll hand the floor to Ms. Chan.”

  “Thank you, Duke,” Miyako said. “My contact in the government’s Oppenheimer program has told me that they are accelerating their schedule. Because our two programs have been sharing information, we officially requested the ability to view the launches. They granted us remote access and notified us that the first launch is today. In just a few minutes the testing phase for their effort ends and the real operation begins.” She touched a button on the control panel in front of her and turned on the large flat screen on the wall.

  “Why aren’t Space Vision and the government working together?” Victor asked.

  “NASA does not believe the Oppenheimer String will be successful in moving Mars to an orbit that will support life,” Duke said. “Their mission is to head into deep space. Adam, please patch us in to the feed.”

  “Right away,” the familiar robotic voice said.

  The screen switched from black to static and then to a pixelated image of green on the bottom and blue on the top.

  “Please stand by,” Adam said. “I’m getting a message that they are still working on the camera.”

  Within seconds, the resolution cleared and a wide-open view of a grassy field greeted them. The camera turned and a rocket on a launch pad came into view.

  “I feel like I’ve seen this movie before,” Victor muttered.

  Patrick leaned over in his direction. “Let’s hope this one has a better ending.”

  Victor nodded in agreement.

  A clock appeared at the bottom right of the screen showing five minutes to launch. The conference room was quiet and the tension in the air thickened as the seconds ticked away.

  At the four-minute mark, a trio of black SUVs began driving away from the launch pad.

  “Increased security,” Victor said. “That’s good to see.”

  Nods followed, but nobody said anything. Someone cleared their throat. Duke leaned back in his chair. Victoria shuffled papers in front of her while Richard tapped at his data pad.

  At the three-minute mark, white smoke began to flow from the bottom of the rocket, rolled off the sides of the pad and then spread as it hit the ground.

  Victor shifted in his chair and shared a wide-eyed glance with Patrick.

  At the two-minute mark, a faint rumble came in over the audio. White smoke continued to billow.

  Everyone turned their full attention to the screen and the room fell silent.

  At the one-minute mark, an announcer’s voice began counting down in 10-second increments.

  “T-minus 30 seconds,” he said.

  The sound of rumbling from the rocket grew.

  “T-minus 20 seconds.”

  “T-minus 10 seconds.”

  The rumble of the rocket’s engine grew into a roar and smoke poured from the cones at the base of the craft. Vibration from the rocket powering up reached the camera and shook the image slightly.

  “Nine. Eight. Seven,” the man’s voice said.

  Duke, Victor and everyone in the conference room involuntarily leaned toward the screen.

  “Four. Three. Two. One. Lift off!”

  An explosion of fire and smoke blasted out from the bottom of the rocket as it left the launch pad. It started slowly at first but then accelerated upward. The vehicle hurtled away from the Earth, and the image on the screen changed to a telescopic camera mounted on something flying overhead. Within seconds, the rocket reached the same altitude as the camera and zoomed past. The camera tracked the ship as the blue sky around it darkened until the rocket was almost too blurry to see. Just before disappearing, a flash came from the rocket.

  “And we have a successful first stage separation of Hope 1 as it enters the upper atmosphere and moves to low Earth orbit,” the narrator said.

  The screen blinked dark.

  “That is the end of the transmission,” Adam said.

  “Thank you for being here, everyone,” Duke said and stood up. “I hope this adds to your motivation going forward. We are on the clock just like NASA, and the threat is real. But the survival of the human race depends on our succe
ss. Let’s get back to work.”

  Following his directive, the people in the room filed out. Patrick was the last to stand. He started to follow Victor out the door.

  “Patrick,” Duke said. “A word, please?”

  “Of course,” Patrick said.

  Patrick picked a chair directly across the table from where Duke was standing. The CEO sat back down.

  “Look,” Duke said, “I need for you to understand something.”

  “Sure,” Patrick said. “What’s going on?”

  Duke’s eyes were dark as he crossed his arms. The muscles in his face tightened and his words had an ominous tone.

  “As the asteroids get closer, I believe that things are going to get rough. And it’s going to happen quickly.”

  “You think the government moved up their plans because they know something we don’t?”

  “Not at all. They know the same thing we do. The Fatalists want our efforts to fail and will continue to become more and more desperate to stop us.”

  “Duke, what are you talking about?”

  “The Oppenheimer String will be at the edge of the asteroid belt tomorrow. I hope this doesn’t spur the terrorists into action, but news like that has the potential to do just that. If it does, we are going to need the defensive systems working at peak performance. I need you to work with Adam to ensure that they are. Understood?”

  Patrick nodded.

  With that, the CEO stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Patrick behind. He stayed there for a minute, trying to take in what just happened. He lowered his head into his hands. The silence was heavy. He looked up and his gaze penetrated the wall — his jaw was clenched.

  If the Fatalists attack us here, then I’ll do whatever I can to help.

  Patrick stood up and walked out of the room. The door swung closed and the conference room was silent. After a minute, the light turned off.

  CHAPTER 48

  Joe turned off the morning cartoons and walked over to the table where his mom was sitting.

  “Mom, can we go outside?” Joe asked.

  “Joe, I, uh,” Mary said, caught off-guard. “I don’t think we can.”

  “Please?” Ayrin pleaded.