Space Hoax

22 STARTLING NEWS

The small closeout room was bustling with activity as the five-man team assisted the astronauts with final preparations before strapping them into the spacecraft for their historic space flight. With all the hoses and cables lining the white room, Peter had a difficult time finding a solitary spot out of the way. Chris stood closely next to him. Both men were wearing the same white jumpsuits as the closeout team. Seeing the professionalism brought a smile to Peter’s face, remembering how cheesy his entry was when entering Galileo for the moon mission, being lifted up by a crane. The room was at the end of the access arm, a long steel scaffolding that could swing away from the rocket before launch. This gantry was how the closeout room was accessed from the elevator, and was needed for the astronaut’s emergency escape. The setup was similar to NASA’s.

The venting noise that echoed throughout the room made talking difficult. Everyone had single-sided headsets on, giving them the ability to communicate with each other as well as launch control. While Jesse was being strapped into his seat, Blake rocked nervously back and forth on the balls of his feet in his silver flight suit.

Peter worked his way up from behind and put a firm hand on the young man’s shoulder. “You’re next. Ready for this?”

Blake turned with a sly grin. He gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

The pad leader called out. “Okay, Blake, you’re up.”

Blake gave Peter a wink before turning and handing his helmet to one of the team members. A cell phone surprisingly rang. Who the hell has a cell phone up here? Peter swiveled his head, looking for the guilty party. He was shocked to see Chris pull his out. The old man studied the caller ID for a second before giving an apologetic look. He lifted has hand in an excusing manner as he backed out the door, letting in the hissing sounds of the eager rocket. Through the door’s small window, Peter observed Chris stop on the gantry, covering his free ear as he took the call. Must be pretty damn important.

Peter turned to see Blake already aimed skyward in his seat as a two-man team worked to strap him tightly in. One was using his full weight to force the astronaut down while the other pulled the strap snugly, insuring the spaceman was secured firmly in his seat. Soon the astronauts had their helmets on and had done their communication check. Peter looked back to see Chris pacing on the rocket’s access arm, getting very animated. Peter wondered what could be upsetting the man during such a critical moment.

The pad leader turned to Peter. “Time to close the hatch.”

That was his signal to say his goodbyes. “Roger.” Before sticking his head through the opening, he undid a Velcro strap on the side of one of his pant legs. He stuck his hand deep into the pocket and pulled out a gift. He knelt down and grabbed the curved entrance with his free hand to steady himself. He stuck his head in as far as he could. The interior was well-lit. Both astronauts had their visors up, excitement brewing within their eyes. “You two ready for the ride of your life?”

Jesse, in the commander’s seat, answered enthusiastically, “Ready and excited!”

“Well, I have a little present for you two.” Peter had a proud grin as he reached into the hatch. Blake’s eyes instantly widened when he saw the gift, Matthew’s toy plane hanging from a string. Peter looked at Blake. “Your son wanted you to have this. Hang it from the control panel and it will let you know when you’re in space.”

Blake’s face glowed as he reached out. Peter gently set the gift in his gloved hand. The proud father brought his other hand over, picking the small toy up by the string. He admired it as it swayed in front of him. “This is great, thanks.”

Peter lifted his hand in a reassuring manner. “I used a strong PVA string so you don’t have to worry about it snapping on you during launch.” A sudden loud burst entered the closeout room signaling someone had just entered. Without turning, Peter assumed it was probably Chris. Focusing on the men, he felt a little envious. “I wish I was flying with you guys. Think you could hide me behind your seats?”

Jesse smiled. “Sure, Boss, climb on board.”

Before Peter could respond, he was interrupted by an unexpected strong grip on his shoulder. He turned to see Chris with an odd expression and wondered if it was due to the phone call. “Yeah?”

A dramatic pause stretched while his boss seemed to be struggling with what to say. Finally, the man’s face relaxed. “We need to wrap this up.” He looked past Peter at the crew. “Good luck, men.”

Jesse responded, “Thanks, Chris.”

Peter wondered what all that was about as Chris pulled away. He turned back to the astronauts. “Okay, gentlemen, time to seal this baby up so you can go play.” Peter extended his hand to Jesse. “Good luck, Commander.”

Jesse grabbed his hand. “Thanks for everything, Peter. Through our training together, I feel you’ve definitely made me a better astronaut.”

Peter smiled before turning to Blake, grabbing his gloved hand. “Enjoy the ride, young man.”

Blake looked squarely at Peter, his blue eyes anxious. “I will. But do me a favor and tell Suzy I’ll be thinking of her. Let her know how much I love her.”

Trying to ease the tension, Peter coolly responded, “Dude, she knows that. You tell her yourself next week.”

Blake forced a smiled. “Roger.”

Peter pulled back as he took in one last look. He saluted both men before saying his final words. “Godspeed, gentlemen.” Both saluted him back before he moved out of the way as he solemnly watched the team close and seal the hatch.

“IRIS 1 IS GO FOR LAUNCH.”

Peter felt like a third wheel tagging along on a date. Everyone in the firing room was buzzing about with a particular job to ensure the Zeus rocket had a successful launch. Unfortunately, there was no job for Peter. His position required him to be at mission control, but instead he was requested to stay behind to support the crew in case there was an abort. Fortunately, the countdown was going as planned. He was pleased to have one of the best seats in the house, sitting at a console right in the middle of the action. He had expected Chris to also be in the firing room, but surprisingly his boss flew back to Houston after the astronauts were strapped in.

Though Peter had been impressed with the launch team, he was especially pleased with Jesse’s coolness, especially over the final hour of the countdown and built-in holds.

The commander radioed, “Countdown has been smooth, crew of Iris 1 ready for launch.”

Launch control calmly answered, “Roger, T-minus 30 seconds and counting.”

Peter was too excited to sit. Since he was basically a spectator, he decided to stand next to his console and watch the launch through the firing room’s massive window. He directed his gaze on the Zeus rocket out in the distance. It looked impatient as vapor seeped from its sides. The beast was raring to go.

Launch control radioed, “Final checks complete. Twenty-five seconds.”

Peter rubbed his hands together as he said a quick prayer for the men.

“Complete clearance to launch. We are a Go. Twenty seconds and counting.”

Peter remembered his heart racing at this point of his countdown in the unproven Newton rocket. He was sure both men’s blood pressure was at an all-time high, especially the rookie’s.

“Ten, 9, we have ignition sequence start, 6, 5, 4, 3 2, 1, all engines running. We have lift-off!”

Peter’s eyes stayed locked on the massive rocket as it slowly rose with smoke and flames spewing out from underneath. The Zeus rocket seemed to be in no rush as it inched skyward. The monster was obviously vibrating the shit out of the crew. Come on, baby, clear that tower.

After a few tense moments, launch control sent their last message to the crew. “Tower clear.”

Peter let out a deep sigh. With the tower cleared, EarthOrbit’s mission control in Houston was now in control.

“Roger, Houston has control.”

The whole launch team stood up and let out a thunderous cheer.

The director quickly reminded his team they still had a job to do. “Good work, gentlemen, but we still need to bring home that first stage. Back to your stations.”

Fortunately, the angled window allowed Peter to keep his eye on the rocket as it flew skyward, his headset allowing him to listen to Jesse and mission control going through their checks.

Once the rocket was out of sight, Peter sat at his console and watched the action on his monitor. Mission control called out, “You are Go for staging.” Soon the room was once again full of energy.

This was launch control’s signal the first stage was going to be released. It was time for the launch team to get back to work and fly the rocket’s lower section back to the spaceport, a first in space history for a manned flight.

Jesse’s voice stayed steady as he spoke. “Staging and ignition complete.”

Two of Peter’s monitors stayed steady on the first stage rocket as it separated, the other showing the upper stage as it continued onward toward space. Peter was more concerned with the crew than the return of the first stage rocket, so he kept his eyes on the single monitor. His smart phone lying on the desk did a short vibration, signaling a text. By a quick glance, he was surprised to see it was from Carl. Curious, he quickly brought up the message.

Emergency. Call me NOW!

Since Peter preferred to speak with Carl in private, he decided to hold off until the men were safely in orbit. He was too engrossed with the events to leave the firing room at this juncture of the flight. He set the phone down as he focused on his monitor, but an odd force was drawing him back toward his phone. He reluctantly grabbed it and saw three missed calls from the shop manager, convincing him he needed to phone the man immediately.

A small, empty conference room with windows stood adjacent to the firing room, a perfect place to make a private call and still keep an eye on the flight. He whipped off his headset and was on his feet in an instant. He maneuvered his way quickly through the working team. He pushed open the conference room’s glass door, letting it shut behind him. Low, muffled sounds continued to penetrate the room as he quickly thumbed in Carl’s number. While waiting for him to pick up, he placed his arm above his head and leaned against the glass, allowing him to keep tabs on the flight.

Carl sounded out of breath as he answered in an alarmed tone. “Peter, I’m so glad you called.”

Peter stayed calm. “No problem, so what’s up?”

Anxiety was getting the best of Carl as he started spitting out words in a staccato manner. “I tried to get a hold of you before the launch. I didn’t know what to do. I found an explosive device in a PDD and think there is a similar one on Iris 1. There is no way the parachutes will open. There will only be an explosion. Iris will crash land, clearly killing the crew.”

Peter straightened up and turned in disbelief. He took a deep breath. “What are you talking about? What makes you say that?”

Carl seemed to gather himself. “The PDDs came into EarthOrbit in lots of two, and there were three sets total received, each coming in separately. The first set to arrive was inspected and assigned to Iris 1. When the second set came in, we allocated them to Iris 2. Once the prime and backup units were designated for each set, the prime units were installed into their chosen spacecraft and the spare unit stored in our warehouse. When the third set came in, it was not assigned or installed, since a spacecraft was not ready yet. Thus they were not fully inspected. After doing some research, I determined the part numbers switched were between lots one and three. After further digging, it appeared the spare unit for Iris 1 was switched with one of the units in lot three. So the unit I told you I inspected didn’t arrive in the first lot. It wasn’t the original backup unit. After a sleepless night I was convinced I needed to inspect both units in lot 3.”

“What did you find?”

Carl’s voice elevated in pitch, “Some futuristic explosive device in one of the units with Chinese characters on it, something I’ve never seen before. I’m sure this was the unit originally in lot 1, meaning the prime unit probably has the same device. If true, Jesse’s spacecraft will not deploy its chutes.”

Peter started to pace the room as he dug his hand deep in his hair. China was involved, and if they wanted to destroy the Iris spacecraft with a modified PDD, both units in a particular lot would need to have the altered pyrotechnic device, since EarthOrbit decided which went into the spacecraft. Knowing the spare unit in the warehouse would be inspected after any accident, it made sense to switch it out. By putting it in lot 3, it could be smuggled out or used in another spacecraft if their operation failed. “Have you told anyone about this?”

Carl answered emphatically. “No.” He took a deep breath. “Peter, I was shocked to see Chinese characters. All the parts for those units were to be made in Germany.”

Peter needed to inspect the unit to see what kind of explosive device it was. Was it powerful enough to act as a bomb? “I understand. I don’t want you telling a soul. I have no idea who we can trust. I’ll fly back immediately. I suggest hiding the unit somewhere safe. I’d like to see it before we decide what to do.”

“Okay. I did take a picture of it.”

“Great, send it to my phone.” Peter planned on forwarding the snapshot to SID.

“Will do. I’ll hide the PDD in a cabinet in my office.”

“Got it.”

“SIR, I WAS just informed Peter Novak was not put on the flight.” Kuang crumpled the paper in his hand in anger as he looked up at his assistant standing in his doorway. “Why?”

Ming grabbed the doorknob to steady himself, his voice was deep and uncertain. “We are not exactly clear, but it sounds like our contact was concerned postponing the flight could lead to the bomb being discovered.”

Kuang’s upper body jolted erect. “So he rejected an order? You tell him we decide what happens, not him.”

Ming bowed. “Yes, sir.”

Kuang jutted his finger toward his assistant. “You pass on that I want that American, Peter Novak, eliminated. I don’t care how.”

With his head still down, Ming answered. “Yes, sir.”