The noise quieted as the pictures started to appear on the screen behind Steve. He clicked through each picture giving a brief commentary on each. When he came to the shots of China’s landing site the noise seemed to pick back up. While clicking through these he suddenly got a signal from his assistant standing to the side, indicating they were receiving the video feed. He turned back to the Assembly. “I have just been informed we are receiving the live video feed from our astronauts and we will now put that up on the screen.”
All three Chinese delegates abruptly stood and began working their way to the aisles. Steve purposely stopped talking to stare in their direction, developing an awkward moment in the hall as many turned to see the Chinese scurrying toward the exit. Right before they exited, Jose stood and started to clap. To Steve’s delight, many delegates soon followed. As he listened to the applause, he turned back to see Peter now on the screen, floating by his spacecraft with the moon close behind, waving at the camera he held with the other hand. Young man, you did it!
PETER WAS FLOATING BACK to the spacecraft, having finished transmitting the live video feed. Curious how his little TV show came out, Peter asked Dmitri, who had been monitoring the feed and forwarding it on to NASA. “How did it all look, over?”
“It looked good. You’re a natural out there. I’ll check with NASA to see how everything went and make sure the pictures came in okay. I’ll let you know when you come back around. How much oxygen do you have left in your primary supply? Over.”
Before reaching the Soyuz, Peter looked down at his oxygen monitor; he had close to seventy-five minutes left in his primary supply, enough to get him around the back side. He figured he would be close to switching to his emergency supply by the time he was back in radio contact. “I have about an hour and fifteen minutes left on primary.”
“Roger,” Dmitri said solemnly.
Peter reached the entrance of the Soyuz and as he placed the video camera inside he couldn’t help taking a brief look at Viktor, which only reminded him he would soon be dead himself. The end was near and he would soon have to choose how he was going to die; Peter took a peek at the cyanide pill taped inside his helmet and winced. He simply didn’t feel right taking his own life.
He still had a few pictures that needed to be transmitted and he hoped to send them before he lost transmission. He began working on the laptop inside the entrance as his body dangled outside. “Dmitri, I’m going to finish transmitting the last few pictures I was unable to do earlier. But since I only have less than an orbit left, I would love to talk to Anya when I come back around, over.”
“Roger that,” Dmitri said with encouragement in his voice.
Peter had about ten minutes before he would be out of communication with Mission Control. After a few minutes of working, Dmitri came back on the radio. “Peter, have you seen China’s spacecraft around? It looks like they’re right on top of you, over.”
Peter was surprised to hear this. Curious, he pushed slightly away from his ship, allowing him to easily spin around and see behind him. As he floated in place, he was shocked to see the Chinese spacecraft parked only 200 meters away, looking very ominous. The sun was reflecting off the ship’s non-painted metal, causing a glare that required Peter to flip down his sun visor as he stared at the peculiar sight. This was the first time he had seen one of China’s spacecrafts up close and he found their design similar to Russia’s. The silver craft was decorated with red Chinese characters along its side, which he couldn’t decipher, along with a big Chinese flag insignia. A small window faced his direction, but with the glare he was unable to see in.
“Roger, I see them. What the hell are they doing here?”
“No idea,” said Dmitri. “I just learned of their position, over.”
Peter lifted his right arm and tried to curl in all his gloved fingers except for his middle finger. He chuckled as he struggled doing this. “I’m trying to flip them off, but with these damn gloves it probably looks like I’m waving.” Peter shook his head, wondering if the Chinese even knew what the bird was.
“Peter, LOS is in two minutes,” said Dmitri with concern in his voice. “Do they look to be approaching?”
Peter studied them for a moment before answering, “Nope. They’re just sitting there. They’re probably pissed off they couldn’t stop us and now want to watch me die. I’m not worried about them.” Peter turned back to the Soyuz as he casually said, “I’m going to clean house and should have everything done by the time I come back around. Please have Anya there waiting.”
“Roger. She’s just two desks over and has been listening. She’s excited to talk to you. I’ll also give you an update on how it all went at the UN when you come back around, over.”
“Roger, talk to you on the flip side.” Peter ended the transmission and looked back out at the Chinese ship sinisterly floating in front of him. What the hell are you up to?
ANNE NOVAK SAT ALONE in Tom’s office in one of the leather chairs across from his desk, quietly reading a book with a cup of hot tea by her side. Ever since her husband died, this had become her daily ritual. Every afternoon at 4:00 p.m. she would make sure she was in his office. To her it was a time of the day when it was just the two of them, just like the many afternoons before he died. He was her best friend, and she could tell him everything. They had always made it a point to spend time together every day with no TV and just talk, maybe about the latest news, or just about the day. The sharing time was one of the things she missed most. Though Tom was never out of her mind, this was one of her favorite times of the day when she felt a little closer to him. She purposely left the office just as it was when he died, not changing a thing except for cleaning up the blood stains. Knowing his last moments at home were in this room surprisingly comforted her. Some days she just sat and would have conversations with him. On others, she would quietly read a book, sometimes making an observation or blurting a question out loud. His office had become her favorite room. She loved being surrounded by all of his mementos and pictures; it was like being covered by a cozy blanket.
The phone suddenly rang, which startled her. Setting the book down on the desk in front of her, she reached for the phone. “Hello.”
“Hello, Anne, have you been watching the news? Have you heard?” said Virginia, breathing heavily.
Anne was surprised to hear her sister-in-law sounding so frantic and out of breath, and calmly answered, “No I haven’t turned on the news. Why, what’s up?”
“Do you know anything about Peter? Where he is?”
Anne was surprised by the question; how could Virginia know where Peter was if he was on some top secret mission? Her heart pounded, an inner sense picking up the tone in Virginia’s voice, prompting her motherly concern. “No, why?” Her question met with silence. “Virginia, what happened? Where is Peter?”
Virginia finally said, “Turn on the TV, to CNN.”
Anne got up and was about to turn on the television, but then stopped and sat back down. She was scared of what the news could be and decided she wanted to hear it from her sister-in-law. “No. You tell me first. Where’s Peter? Is he okay?”
“Those astronauts that stole the spacecraft. The ones the news said might be on their way to the moon.”
Anne straightened up in her chair and began squeezing the phone tightly as she softly answered, “Yes.”
“Well, they’re at the moon and one of them is Peter.”