Peter crossed to the chair. The office still looked the same, beautifully decorated with mahogany furniture, immaculately cleaned. Even the papers and files on Gavin’s desk were perfectly organized. He set his coffee gently down on the front of his boss’s desk. Next to the coaster sat a new framed picture of a pretty girl who Peter assumed was Gavin’s youngest daughter, Krystal. He picked up the picture frame to get a closer look as he sat in the chair, “Wow, Krystal is growing up. How old is she now, fifteen?”
“She’s sixteen and driving me crazy,” Gavin said with frustration in his voice. “Between her and her mother, I’m glad to be able to get away to the office. You were definitely smart not getting married and having kids. It can drive you out of your mind sometimes.”
Peter laughed as he put the picture back. “Gavin, you know the grass is not always greener on the other side.”
Gavin leaned forward in his chair. “Who are you trying to kid? I know the bachelor life you live. I think most males with a pulse would love to spend a few days in your shoes.”
Though Peter loved his life, he did feel like he was missing something. “Kids are a wonderful joy in life. I miss not being able to experience that.”
Gavin smiled. “Yes, they are a joy… just a pain in the ass sometimes.”
Peter sobered. “I just saw Chris Riddick in the hallway. What is that asshole doing here?”
Gavin chuckled as he shook his head, “You still have issues with him. He is out here to advise me on possible astronaut candidates for SID. He also updates me on what is going on at NASA, including current training developments.”
Peter mashed his lips together in disgust, but kept quiet.
Gavin said, “I was surprised he never recommended you for SID.”
“It didn’t surprise me, but I am glad you looked beyond his recommendations. I needed to get out of NASA and away from him. So if he was wrong about me, how can you trust who he suggests?”
“Well, I don’t rely solely on him, though he usually gives a pretty fair assessment of the candidates he has. I guess he must have had personal issues with you.” Gavin leaned back in his chair and asked, “So, how is your dad taking all this crap?”
Peter appreciated Gavin thinking of his dad considering all that had been going on. “I talked with Dad shortly after those crazy allegations came out. It’s been tough on him, and Mom. They’ve been bombarded by media invading their privacy. It seems more fanatics are coming around, insulting Dad with absurd talk about how he’s a liar and never walked on the moon. It’s just ridiculous stuff.”
“Well, it should be over soon,” Gavin said. “In fact, I was informed the LRO reached the moon earlier today. We should be receiving detailed pictures later this week of one of the landing sites, which should shut China up. Plus we’re supposed to hear from the UN either later today or tomorrow on the outcome of the rocks’ origins. So tell your dad we should have enough proof this week to end all of this ridiculous talk.”
Peter smiled in appreciation.
The meeting turned to Peter’s future. As expected, Gavin told him they did not have a new mission for him as of yet, but the agency did want him to get refresher astronaut training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Peter was happy to hear this since it would give him an opportunity to visit his parents.
Peter debriefed Gavin on his mission in China. After thirty minutes of discussion, Gavin’s phone rang. While he usually never picked up his phone in a debriefing, Gavin frowned at the caller ID screen and excused himself as he answered. Peter leaned back in his chair during the long pause as his boss listened to the other end. Gavin’s jaws tightened as he lightly shook his head in disgust. Soon Gavin replied with an upset tone, “You’re kidding me. Any idea on how this happened?” Again, a long pause as he turned away from Peter and looked out his window while listening. “Well let me know what they find out and if they determine the cause.”
Gavin turned back, hanging up the phone. He slowly put both hands through his hair as he leaned back in his chair, keeping them behind his head. “Bad news. That was Jack. He just spoke with Doug Rose. For some reason the LRO came around the moon in pieces, completely destroyed. NASA has no idea what could have happened. All systems were a go to enter lunar orbit. They assumed there must have been some kind of explosion on the back side, possibly during its burn. Since they have no data at the time of the explosion, Doug feels they may have a hard time figuring out what exactly happened. NASA is gathering a team together now to try to determine possible causes.”
“Damn, that was not the news I wanted to hear. Does NASA have another orbiter they can send up?”
“Jack mentioned NASA does have a backup unit, but probably won’t be ready for a month.”
Peter thought for a moment. “I wonder if the MK Laser is somehow involved?”
Gavin’s eyebrows raised and he leaned forward putting his hands on his desk.
Peter continued. “As I mentioned, I’m convinced China used the laser on their last space flight to the moon. I assumed they tested it in space while they were circling the moon, but maybe, instead, they deployed it somehow to where it could shoot down satellites orbiting the moon. They could have released such an orbiting weapon with the MK Laser on it, designed to fire at other satellites. This would explain why they needed Rob and me so quickly in Jiuquan. China needed to fix the problem with the laser while they were orbiting the moon, or possibly their mission would have been a failure.” The more Peter thought about the possibility, the more it started to make sense. “Maybe that was their plan all along. If they knew before the mission they were going to claim our landings were a hoax, they would expect us to send a satellite camera to prove them wrong. If that was successful, their lie would be exposed. But if they could prevent pictures from being taken of our landing sites, the only way to prove them wrong is with evidence here on Earth.”
“Is such a weapon even possible, and would China be able to operate it from Earth?” asked Gavin.
Peter looked Gavin in the eye. “Possibly yes, but does China or even the U.S. have the required technology to design and deploy such a weapon? I don’t know.” Peter suddenly creased his forehead. “There’s one problem with this idea. If the laser is orbiting the moon, NASA should be able to pick up a radar signal. I haven’t heard anything about that, have you?”
“No. I’ll check with Jack and Doug. Regardless, both should know this immediately. NASA may want to reconsider sending up a second LRO if there is a chance it too, could be destroyed. I need you to research this further and see what you can find out. I know you requested some time off, but I want you to stay here and see if you can find out more information. Maybe you can get more intelligence from your contacts at CNSA.”
“Possibly. I’ll be happy to see what I can find out.”
Peter wondered if he should tell Gavin about his dinner meeting with Dmitri later that night. Since they were getting together as friends first, he figured to hold off and if anything worthwhile came from the meeting, he would immediately let Gavin know.
As Peter stood, he leaned over Gavin’s desk. “Gavin, you know I have a vested interest in all of this. I will do whatever I can to prove China is full of crap.”
Gavin smiled. “I know Peter… I know.”
8
SHOCKING NEWS
The smell of garlic filled the air as Peter walked into his favorite D.C. restaurant. He loved stopping by Da Luca’s Ristorante whenever he was in town. It was an old fashioned bistro with authentic Italian food and wine. As he entered the quaint, dimly lit dining room, he scanned the restaurant looking for Dmitri. Booths lined the walls, each with a flickering red candle in the center of the table illuminating the red leather seats. Many were occupied by romantic couples sitting across from each other, holding hands, a bottle of Chianti on the table.