“I’m pleased to hear that, but as commander-in-chief it is never easy making a decision that costs American lives. Before I ever make such decisions I always think back to my father’s death, and the grief I felt. I always want to make sure I remind myself every person has someone who loves them and who will be hurting deeply when they pass away. I want to make sure I have considered all options. I never take death lightly.”
Appreciating the president’s concern for his men, Jack said, “Sir, I understand. But I am sure any one of our agents would be proud to take on this mission and end this crisis.”
The president looked out the window for a moment. Without turning he said, “I want to be assured whomever you present this to is informed it’s strictly a volunteer mission and declining it will have no effect on his future.”
“I will make sure I present it that way, sir.”
The president turned back. “It will take one brave, lucky man to pull this thing off. He will definitely be a hero in my book and I will make sure his efforts are never forgotten.”
Jack nodded.
The president patted the binder in front of him. “Doug’s report says the quickest way of getting your man to the moon is using the space station’s escape pod as discussed in our last meeting. Unfortunately, since the space station is considered international property, we would have to get approval from all the contributing nations. Of course they would never approve of such an operation, so it must be done without their permission. In other words, your agent will have to hijack the escape pod.”
Jack’s eyes grew wide as he straightened in his chair. “Wow, hijack the escape pod! That might be a challenge for one man.”
“We don’t expect too much resistance from the crew, so one man could probably handle it. Also, regarding modifying the Soyuz, we lucked out. Doug learned that one of the escape pods docked at the station is a newer version Soyuz, called the K model. Apparently, this model has been modified for lunar travel. According to Doug, the Russians were hoping to charge paying tourists $100 million each for the chance to swing around the moon. Can you believe that?”
“Wow, that’s a lot of money.” Jack jotted down some notes.
“More than I have. The project was stalled after the recession and the booster rocket that was to take it to the moon was never built. However, the manufacture of the Soyuz was too far along to stop production on a couple of these prototypes, so Russia paid for them and put them in service. So according to the report, all that needs to be done to this Soyuz is attaching that plasma engine, which makes it more doable by one man.” The president linked his fingers behind his head.
Jack was tapping his pen on his notepad still thinking the operation sounded tricky. “Sir, you know such a takeover at the space station would definitely become a major international event. It would be all over the news.”
“No doubt, and China will probably figure out why he is doing it. Maybe that will ruffle some Beijing feathers.” The president smiled broadly. “Though one man should be able to pull this off, Doug did suggest there would be a better chance of success if it was a two-man mission. I hate for two men to die. I’ll let you and your agents decide what would give the mission the best chance of succeeding.”
Jack scribbled down a note. “How do we plan on getting our agent up to the space station? Will he go up with SpaceQuest as Doug mentioned?”
“That looks like the best way. We looked into putting him on a Russian flight, but after discussions with Russia, it was made very clear they do not want to get involved. We even considered having your agent go undercover as a backup astronaut that we insert onto a prime crew going to the space station, but Doug feels this would be impossible to pull off without drawing suspicion. Plus there would be too many repercussions that could come up with Russia and the world if the mission was unsuccessful. Right now, it looks like the best option is to go with SpaceQuest.”
Jack was struggling with the idea of his man going into space with an unproven commercial company. “Are they ready to send a man into space?”
The president nodded. “Doug feels they are. Even though they’re late on their first resupply mission, they still have had a few successful test launches. They’re much farther along than NASA, even if we tried to revive the Shuttle program, which I would be against anyway. I prefer NASA and the Air Force stay out of this so we don’t go directly against the UN sanctions. Doug verified SpaceQuest’s capsule would only need minor modifications to be able to handle a manned flight.”
“So if they get our man to the space station, how is he going to attach the plasma engine to the Soyuz?”
“The full details on how to do this are still being worked out. But it looks like he will attach the engine with explosive bolts during a spacewalk. These bolts will detonate after the engine does its job and jettison it free early during the flight. Doug promised to provide a detailed procedure on how to do this in less than a week, along with the recommended training.”
“What about the fuel for the engine?”
“It looks like there is enough fuel at the station, but this still needs to be confirmed as well as how to transfer it.”
Jack’s unease with the whole idea must have shown on his face, as the president added, “This probably will take a miracle to work and if your man is successful, he still dies. That’s why I want to make sure he understands what he is taking on and no pressure is put on him to accept. But I consider this a national crisis. I know you have a difficult decision deciding who you feel should take this mission. But the agent you choose will be doing a needed and honorable service for his country.” The president leaned back to let Jack think for a moment before asking, “You mentioned you had an agent in mind. Who is it?”
Jack hesitated, knowing any agent he mentioned would probably take on the mission, and thus he was giving him a death sentence. But he and Gavin agreed Peter was the best man for the job. “Peter Novak, sir.”
“The son of Tom Novak?” asked the president with a flash of surprise in his eyes.
“Yes, sir. He is our best SID agent and is well qualified for such a mission.”
“Interesting. Well, I guess he has a vested interest in all of this. Do you think he would be willing to give his life for this mission?”
“I hear he’s pissed at the Chinese. He said his dad has been struggling with all the crap that has been coming his way ever since the accusations came out.” Jack briefly looked out the window before turning back and saying, “He has never turned down a mission. I think he’d take it.”
The president tossed a copy of Doug’s report to him. “Everything’s in there. You’ll notice Doug contacted the CEO of SpaceQuest, Allen Ferguson. Since they’re a private company, we cannot be held responsible for any launches they put into space. Of course we would have to reprimand them after the fact. But if the mission is successful, all will be forgotten. Allen is an old friend of Doug’s. Doug will make sure all the needed equipment for the mission and training is passed on to SpaceQuest. Have Peter work through Allen.” The president’s tone suddenly hardened. “Jack, if Peter accepts this mission he can no longer be connected to the CIA. I do not want our fingerprints on this in any way. The only line of communication will be between Allen and Doug. Peter will need to resign from SID, and only a few of us will know he’s doing this for America. In fact, he needs to know our official response will be to denounce the act when it happens. It’s probably a good thing his dad was a moonwalker. It would seem more plausible to the world that a rogue agent would do this for his dad. Once this is put in motion, I do not want him contacting you or any other U.S. agency. He must do this on his own, and I pray to God he is successful.”