Peter looked at Anya’s picture in front of him, happy her pendant had floated in front of him and was now safely in his pocket. While waiting, he reached through the collar of his suit and pulled out his dad’s locket. With both hands he unlatched the chain and put it in one of his hands as he reached into his pocket and took out Anya’s pendant. He meticulously slid her pendant onto the chain so it now dangled next to his dad’s locket. He held the necklace in front of him for awhile, smiling at the floating glimmering jewelry.
“They nice together,” said Viktor.
Peter smiled at his partner as he put the necklace back on, happy to have her pendant safely stored.
Noises within the ISS’s hatch indicated it was being opened. He straightened up as he prepared himself for what he was going to say. Soon the hatch released, and once open a head popped in upside down.
A decidedly Soviet-looking man with a puffy red face and balding salt-and-pepper hair squinted in at them. “So who’s the commander in here?”
Peter extended his hand to the cosmonaut. “I am. Hello, I’m Peter Novak.”
The man focused on Peter but did not shake his hand. “I’m Commander Boris Sokolov. Before you board I need to know your intentions.”
Peter pulled his hand back. Before he could answer, Viktor chimed in. “Hello, Boris.”
Boris glanced at Viktor with a stern look and studied the old man before his eyebrows lifted his whole face in surprise. “Viktor Alexandrov?”
“Da,” answered Viktor.
“What the hell are you doing up here?” Boris gave him a big smile.
“I miss space, thought I come up one last time before die,” said Viktor grinning.
The two began speaking Russian in such a manner that Peter was unable to keep up. He just sat quiet. This was definitely one of the reasons he had Viktor along. Finally Boris turned to Peter, extending his hand. “Sorry I was a little rude. It’s not every day we get unexpected visitors. You two are welcome to come aboard.”
Peter shook his hand. “Thank you.”
After helping them out of their capsule, Boris introduced them to the five other ISS crew members, of whom three were Americans, one was Russian, and one was Japanese. One of the Americans was a woman, and looking at her confirmed they were in space with her hair floating all over the place, almost like she had stuck her finger into an electric socket. Peter had to grin when he shook her hand. After introductions Boris offered to give a tour, but Viktor interrupted him, asking something in Russian. Boris then informed his crew he and Viktor were going to the Zvezda module for further discussions and to give Peter a tour. Viktor winked at Peter before floating down the corridor following Boris. Peter wondered what his partner was up to.
After the two left, Todd, one of the Americans, looked at Peter. “I remember you. Not sure you remember me. I was a rookie during your last year at NASA.”
Peter couldn’t remember the kid but it was in his best interest to say he did. “Oh, yeah, I remember you. Congratulations on getting up to space so quickly.”
“Thanks. I always wondered why you never got a ride, especially being a moonwalker’s son. Most of the senior astronauts always spoke highly of you.”
“Politics, I guess. But hey, I’m up here now,” said Peter with a grin.
Todd smiled. “I’m sorry to hear about your dad. He is one of my heroes.”
“I’m happy to hear he still is, especially with the latest news.”
“Yeah, what a bunch of crap that is. How could China claim we never landed on the moon?”
“Yeah, what is that bullshit?” Peter relaxed his shoulders, glad to have the locals on his side.
Soon Viktor and Boris met back up with them. Once they reached the end of the tour, Boris told his crew, “Until further notice, Harmony is off limits. I’ll escort anyone who needs to enter.”
The ISS astronauts looked at each other with puzzled expressions, but none dared to question their commander, at least not in front of Peter and Viktor.
Boris stunned them all by saying, “Both these men will be doing a spacewalk in the morning. To insure they don’t have any problems with decompression sickness, I want them to sleep in the Quest Airlock and only breathe pure oxygen tonight.” Boris looked at Todd. “Once we get them situated in the airlock, I want you to reduce the pressure to .7 bars. Are the EMU’s ready?”
Todd’s mouth gaped open as he blinked. “Yes, sir. One of my tasks today was to check out both suits, and they checked out fine. They need their batteries installed, which I can do now.”
“Okay, make sure the SAFERs are okay as well. Tomorrow, I want you to be in the airlock to help both men dress.”
“Okay,” said Todd, slightly shaking his head.
Boris looked at Peter and Viktor. “Gentlemen, I suggest you get what you need out of your capsule for the EVA tomorrow and put it into the Quest Airlock.”
Peter and Viktor nodded.
Boris continued, “Let me know if there is anything else you need.”
Peter couldn’t believe how cooperative the commander was and wondered what Viktor had said. Thinking he might be pushing his luck, he asked, “Do you know how much fuel is in the VASIMR engine?”
Boris calmly asked Todd, “Any idea?”
Todd tilted his head. “She’s about half full.”
Boris looked at Peter, asking if that was sufficient.
“We need it full.”
Boris looked at his crew. “Make that happen.” Looking back at Peter he asked, “Anything else?”
Peter, wide-eyed and amazed, said, “Nope. Thanks.”
Peter and Viktor turned and started drifting back to their spacecraft, Peter dying to ask his partner what he said. As soon as they were alone back in Galileo he asked, “What did you say?”
“I told truth. I told him we go to moon and why, and China will try to stop us. I say we have a fake bomb, which I showed him.”
Peter’s jaw dropped. “You told him the truth? What if he tells Houston the bomb is a fake?”
Viktor shook his head. “I take gamble. We have history together. He respects and trusts me. I figure we need his support. Only he know bomb is fake, and he ask we not tell anyone we told him. He will tell Mission Control bomb is real. Also he concerned about hijacking Soyuz. They need two spacecrafts for all crew escape emergency. I say Galileo could be second lifeboat, and SpaceQuest Mission Control could fly them home. I promised to give education.”
“So he just said okay go ahead?”
“Not exactly, not until I reminded him who bought 75 percent of this station, and he not want to piss America off.” Viktor grinned.
PETER ALREADY HEARD VIKTOR SNORING, proving once again he was an old pro in space. Peter was strapped in a sleeping bag on the ceiling of the airlock, Viktor below him on the floor. They’d had a nice meal with the crew, and it was now time to get some sleep before their big day. The small airlock module was closed and filled with oxygen to help purge the nitrogen from their system. The airlock was broken into two compartments, the equipment lock and the crew lock. Peter and Viktor slept in the equipment lock, the bigger of the two, which housed most of the equipment needed for an EVA. The crew lock was where they would wait out depressurization before opening the hatch and going into space.
Peter was exhausted from the day, but his mind was still racing with all that happened and with what was to come. Not only did he hear Viktor snoring, he also heard all kinds of humming and noises from the station’s many fans and pumps, which only added to his troubles of getting to sleep. He also was having a hard time getting comfortable because he was floating in his sleeping bag. Though weightlessness was a sensation he had expected, the lack of a definitive up or down was still difficult to adjust to. Wide elastic bands that acted like bungee cords were strapped over him to keep him from floating around the room and bumping into equipment. They permitted him the flexibility to move around in his sleeping bag, but they also allowed him to float. The best position was to lie on his back. The chamber was orientated in such a manner that his brain told him he was on the ceiling, an odd sensation. Why the hell did Viktor get the floor?