“All of your orders will be carried out, sir.”
“Wait till they fire, then give the full response.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. President. We are ready for anything they have. Where will you be during the attack?”
“I will be near the spaceship, watching it launch. Wherever it goes, I hope it avoids situations like this. This world is crazy for letting us do this to each other. I will talk to you later. Bye.”
The president hung up. He was confident they could handle the Russians.
If the spaceship succeeded in getting out of the solar system, it would be a real positive experience. However, that would soon be followed by the worst possible experience a president could have.
He now had to call Tom again and focus on helping launch his ship and avoid being hit by any missiles, if possible. This was going to be an experience that would never be forgotten. Of course, he might not live very much longer to remember it.
Chapter 61 – The Longest Two Hours
Tom Burns, The Imagine, Rocky Mountains, CO
It had only been two hours since the meeting with the officers and the Pentagon. Tom wondered if he had made the right decision to launch. If he waited too long to launch, it might never happen, but they would be able to live for a few years on Earth. His officers were all supportive of his decision, however. They were all ready to assume the risks of the launch and journey.
Major Johns told Tom not to worry. It seemed like the major would do everything in his power not to let them get shot down. Obviously, he had been through a lot in his life. Tom knew he would keep them safe if possible. The key word was possible.
Tom had been going over the controls of the spaceship with Major Johns and the launch team, including Dorothy and Carson, waiting to hear from the president before giving the final orders to the crew.
Was it possible to evade the missile in orbit? This had never been attempted before. There was no way to test this with simulations. If the Russian rocket did get through—into orbit—what would be the best course of action for the spaceship? No person on board could survive a direct hit by a nuclear bomb.
Then his thoughts were interrupted by the president’s call.
“Yes, Mr. President. I hope I am going to hear good news.”
“Hi, Tom, I am sorry that is not going to happen. Ivanov is going to go ahead and attack. My armed forces are all ready to take out targets in Russia and basically destroy them before they destroy us. If you do not launch, that may happen anyway, so you really have no choice but to go for it. I will be in the space center with Major Johns and Grissom and the others awaiting the launch. I can coordinate with the Pentagon from there. The Russians will not know my location, I hope. Also, I am in contact with the German and Australian prime ministers who are in turn in contact with their commanders to let them know what is happening. They need to make their own decision whether to launch their spaceship or not.”
“Thank you, Mr. President, for bringing the full force of the United States to assist us with our launch. Trump was a disaster for the world. For years I hated the government and would do anything to avoid connections with it. Now you are about to save my life and many others.
“I will reset the launch to forty-eight hours again. I need to tell everyone on the ship what we face, as it is better to be transparent. I have to order them to battle stations once we get through the blackout period if we are still alive.”
“Have faith, Tom. I am sure everything will turn out fine for you once you are traveling on your journey. Don’t forget, my family is on board with you, and I am not going to let anything happen to them. I am not sure what will be left of civilization after Russia shoots their missiles. As they say, ‘All hell is going to break loose.’ And a lot of people are going to be going there. Go ahead and do your job, Tom, and leave the rest to the military, and to me. Good luck.”
Tom said, “Thanks, Mr. President. I will be thinking of you if we survive this. Maybe the new planet will be named Stevens. You never know. Goodbye.”
They hung up, and Tom went to the bridge to prepare the launch again. The president stayed in the space center and linked up back with the Pentagon. The moment in history was finally here. How would it turn out? Neither of them would know—until it was finished.
Chapter 62 – Deadly Serious
Sam Burns, The Imagine, Rocky Mountains, CO
Sam and Jose were in the cafeteria eating with a group of friends when the announcement came on. Sam had been wondering if they were ever launching as did many of the people on board. Many of those people had no idea how complicated things were about to become. Soon they would know what was transpiring.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I am sorry for the continued delays. I have some good news and some bad news, so please pay meticulous attention to what I am about to say.”
Sam saw many of the people in the cafeteria groan.
“The good news is the launch will now proceed in forty-eight hours. We have fixed all the problems involved with the launch and things are looking great.”
Sam could hear everyone clapping. Finally, the Imagine would be on its way to Alpha Centauri or another destination. Sam was happy for the news but now worried what the bad news was going to be. People were talking about the good news and giving each other high-fives. They completely forgot that there was a second part of the announcement. Sam had never heard his dad talk about bad news, so he knew it would be something serious.
“I am glad everyone is excited about the launch. Unfortunately, I also have to give you the bad news. I could keep this to my officers and myself, but I believe I must share it with you to be as transparent as possible. We have a severe problem. I am asking all of you to keep this information as confidential as possible. Do not to contact anyone off the ship with the information that I am about to provide. It seems that the United States government has picked up information that once we are in orbit, the Russians are planning to destroy the spaceship.”
Sam could not believe what he had just heard. Why would the Russian government want to destroy everything they had worked for? He looked around him. People were now either crying or becoming very angry. Everyone went from elation to total fear.
Tom continued, “I have been in constant contact with President Stevens, and there is a plan in place to help us launch and to evade the Russian missiles. It is a very delicate situation. I have informed the commanders of the German and Australian ships. The German and Australian prime ministers have been notified of the impending attack and that most likely the Russians will attempt to destroy their crafts too. Both are furious and will cooperate with us in whatever way we wish. It has been decided that if we are killed first, the Germans and Australians are to break orbit and then make their own decisions about what to do and where to go. They do not have the firepower to fight a war with the Russians.
“Mr. Ivanov apparently only wants Russia settled on a new planet. This means we have to set up exactly what all of you will do once we launch and come out of the blackout period. First, I am giving each of you the option of leaving the spaceship and not joining us on the mission. I cannot force you to face a missile attack. We will do everything in our power to prevent being destroyed, but I cannot give any guarantee it will not happen. I can certainly understand some may now have a great fear about dying at the hands of the Russians. However, anyone who is on this spaceship will quite possibly be facing dangers, and this may cost lives. We do not know what dangers await us. We all hope for a very uneventful trip to a new planet.