Both Peter and Anya worked out exactly what her contribution would be and why she needed to be involved. It seemed to be the perfect set up, only if he could convince Allen. If all worked out, he would be training for the mission of a lifetime with the woman of his dreams by his side—the best of both worlds.
They seemed to be getting closer by the minute. Peter escorted Anya back to her room and was pleased when she invited him in. As he took a seat on an oversized plush chair, she suggested ordering a bottle of champagne while she slipped into something more comfortable. Peter couldn’t contain a mischievous smile. This was going to be a special night.
18
GOOD NEWS
“Sir, it looks like China knows of our plans to send a man to the moon.” Jack sat in the oval office next to Doug Rose and across from the president. He’d arrived to inform President Edwards of recently learned intelligence, and Bill had insisted Doug be present as well. Waiting for Doug to arrive before divulging his news had not been easy. “Our intelligence has confirmed CNSA moved out one of their Long March moon rockets a couple of days ago in Jiuquan and are preparing for launch.”
“How do we know China isn’t preparing the rocket for their publicized moon landing?” Bill asked.
Doug shifted in his seat. “Sir, it’s too early for that. China doesn’t plan on launching until November. They have shown in the past they usually place their rockets on the launch pad a week, maybe two, before lift-off. Doing it any earlier requires unnecessary maintenance and makes the rocket vulnerable to the elements.”
Jack nodded. “Our sources have confirmed this rocket is being positioned to intercept and stop any mission we launch to the moon.”
“When will they be ready to launch?” asked the president.
“Probably in a week,” Doug interjected. “But we doubt they’ll fuel it. They would probably hold off fueling until they’re certain we’re attempting to send astronauts to the moon. It would be too costly to have it sit fueled, and there is a long turnaround involved if they defuel it.”
“When is our man going to launch?”
“June 28, but this could change,” said Doug.
“Damn, so they’ll be ready. How long does their rocket take to fuel?”
Doug answered, “They usually take over a few days to have a rocket fueled and ready for launch. If pressed, I’m sure they could do it in less than forty-eight hours. If it wasn’t on the launch pad, it would probably take CNSA two to three weeks to get it to that point. So they’re definitely planning on something.”
“Any chance this rocket is being used for another mission?”
“Mr. President, this particular rocket is designed and built for deep space travel,” Doug said. “China has told the world their next deep space mission is the one to the moon, in five months. Hearing what Jack has learned from our intelligence, it sounds like they’re preparing this rocket to intercept any rocket we launch to the moon.”
The president leaned forward and pounded his fist on his desk. “How the hell did they find out about this mission? This was supposed to be kept top secret!”
Jack said, “We’re not sure, but we think it could have been Chris Riddick.”
Bill looked sternly at Jack. “I thought you locked that asshole up?”
Doug leaned forward. “Sir, we did, but unfortunately, this happened after we had made the decision to send a SID agent to the moon. Though the operation was treated top secret as you requested, with Chris’s high security clearance, he could have snooped around and come across information pertaining to the mission.”
“Damn it, there goes our element of surprise. Sounds like they’re just waiting for us to launch, then send up this moon rocket to intercept us.” Still glaring at Doug, the president asked, “Will China definitely send up a manned spacecraft, and if so, what would they do if they caught us?”
“Absolutely it will be a manned rocket, sir. No country has a weapon they could launch to intercept a spacecraft flying to the moon. However, I am not sure what they will do to stop us. Perhaps they have a particular type of weapon they could fire at our spacecraft. I seriously doubt they would ram us, since doing that would damage their spacecraft and prevent their taikonauts from returning home.”
Jack added, “We are unaware of any weapon they could use in space other than the MK Laser. Though we originally suspected they were firing that laser on the back side of the moon from their spacecraft, we now know they deployed it when they landed. So I doubt with the short time available they could set up such a weapon on their spacecraft. I question they’ve considered such a scenario. They probably don’t even know what they’ll do.”
“I never underestimate the Chinese. I’m sure they have a plan,” the president said. “Jack, I want you to continue to monitor the situation and see if you can figure out how they plan on stopping us.”
“Yes, sir,” Jack said.
The president peered at them both. “Should we call off the mission?”
Jack shook his head. “Sir, I don’t believe we should at this time. Keep in mind, SpaceQuest will be taking Peter up, and China knows their Newton rocket is not capable of flying into deep space. I doubt they would fuel their rocket at that point. They, of course, would still monitor the flight closely. Once it becomes international news that Peter is hijacking the escape pod, China will probably assume he is trying to reach the moon, and rush to get their rocket ready.”
“That is, if Chris didn’t inform them of our plan to hijack the escape pod,” Bill said. “If they already know that, they’ll fuel their rocket as soon as SpaceQuest puts their Newton 9 on the launch pad.”
“Sir, I am confident Chris didn’t have access to that information,” Doug said. “He was put on leave before any files or information pertaining to that option was put into our system.”
“Well, that’s good news,” Bill said. Leaning back in his chair, he put his hands behind his head as if in deep thought. After a few moments he turned to Doug. “How far ahead would our astronaut have to be to allow him to beat China to the moon?”
Doug put his head down as if working the numbers before saying, “Roughly a thirty-six hour head start. With the boost from the VASIMR engine, the flight should take four days from the ISS. If China reduces its weight load on the Shenzhou spacecraft, they probably could get there in two and a half days from Jiuquan.”
“Wow, that’s not a lot of time. How long does our agent need at the space station before he has the escape pod ready to fly to the moon?”
“Right now, with the spacewalks required, we are expecting two to four days after launch,” Doug answered.
“Unacceptable! They can’t be at the space station for more than two days. You just said it takes two days for the Chinese to fuel and we need a thirty-six hour head start. Therefore, we need to be out of there within twelve hours from when the Chinese start to fuel.” The president leaned forward and briefly pointed at Doug before bringing his hand to his chin, lightly rubbing it. “China will be monitoring the flight closely. I doubt they’ll figure out why he’s docking with the ISS initially, but once it’s known the Soyuz is being modified, China will quickly decipher what’s going on and start fueling. Four days is too long. Odds are, China will have their rocket gassed up and ready to go before our boy even climbs into the Soyuz for the moon. They will easily be able to catch him and destroy his spacecraft.”
“Sir, I will see what we can do to get the Soyuz ready in two days,” Doug said. “We also will do what we can to keep what occurs at the space station quiet as information starts coming in from the ISS crew. We will pass on only minimal details to the press.”