David in mission control finally came in clear. “Tom, Houston. What is your status?”
Tom raised his hand and the two astronauts stopped. “Houston, Dusty and I are fine and we see Explorer.”
“Roger, Tom. That is wonderful news. It’s great to hear your voice.”
“Copy that, David. You have no idea how happy we are to hear yours.”
Tom turned to Dusty and patted him on the back. “Looks like you were right, buddy. Good call!”
Dusty flipped open his visor, a relieved grin on his face. “Commander, you made the call.”
29
QUESTIONED
Tom was embarrassed by all the looks of admiration he was getting as he walked through the Administration Building on his way to Dick’s office. This was his first time back in the building since returning from the moon, and everyone he passed took the time to say something positive. Tom felt he should be thanking them. After almost dying on the moon, he had a newfound perspective on life. Though only he and Dusty knew how bad their situation had really been, anyone associated with NASA, no matter what their role, had a hand in the two making it back home safely. He did his best to acknowledge each person as they called out to him.
Tom reached Dick’s door and took a moment to clear his mind of all the accolades. Dick wouldn’t be awed by a moonwalker in his office. Even though Tom successfully passed over the lunar material to his boss on the recovery ship, Tom fully anticipated being drilled on the details regarding Dusty’s backpack.
After analyzing the mission data, a few flight controllers had suggested that the failure probably had happened sooner than Tom and Dusty were claiming. In an effort to take the heat off Tom for not leaving Dusty, both astronauts stated the unit broke down while walking back to the Lunar Module. Since the PLSS backpacks were left on the moon, there was no way of proving the story wrong. Without hard evidence, it came down to their word versus any superficial findings. Though Dick had been backing their story, he obviously wanted to know the truth.
After a quick knock, Tom gradually opened the door, peeking in. “Hey, boss.”
Looking up with a surprised expression, Dick peered down at his watch. “Wow, it’s 10 a.m. already?” He closed up the file on his desk. “Come on in.”
Tom took the initiative of locking the door and sat down.
Dick leaned back in his chair. “So, Commander, that was one hell of a mission.”
“That it was. Sorry we didn’t achieve all our objectives. I feel for those science guys whose experiments we didn’t get to.”
“Don’t sweat it. No matter what we do up there, I doubt that community is ever satisfied.” Dick lowered his voice. “So how the hell did you snag that sample without Dusty seeing you?”
Since it happened when his partner was moving the rover, Tom felt it best to stay away from specifics. “Let’s just say I found the right opportunity.”
Dick studied Tom for a moment. “Okay, we’ll leave it at that.” His boss clasped his hands together over his stomach. “Well I’m glad you were able to get it, and more importantly, that the two of you made it safely back to the LM.” The room quieted for a second as Dick calmly pulled out his chair and walked around to the front of his desk. He leaned back before crossing his arms. “So I have a question I want answered.”
Tom straightened in his chair. Uh-oh, here it comes. I hope I don’t have to lie.
“When did Dusty’s backpack fail?”
Wow, he’s getting right to it. Tom stared into Dick’s eyes. “Boss, as we explained in our debriefing, it happened about a quarter of a mile from Explorer. So with the emergency O2 between us, Dusty had plenty of air to make it back.”
“I know what you two said on record. This is off the record. This is just between you and me. I think things occurred differently. I suspect the backpack failed earlier, probably on that crater rim when Dusty fell.” Dick bent over to get closer. “Did it?”
Tom began to squirm, trying to determine the right words without actually lying.
Placing a hand on Tom’s shoulder, the director broke the awkward moment, saying more softly, “I’ll tell you a secret. I was involved in some of the early meetings to decide how far we should allow astronauts to venture out with the rover. After shrinking the distance down to account for a single failure, many wanted to cut that distance again by half to account for the possibility of a double failure. Since the odds were extremely slim of that happening, the argument was that if the distance was cut that short, what was the purpose of even having the rover?” Dick took his hand off Tom, leaning back against his desk. He put his hands in his pockets. “Finally, the decision seemed to depend on me. I was asked directly if a double failure happened, would our astronauts accept the order to leave their partner to save themselves. Even though I knew it wasn’t true, I answered absolutely. I wanted our team to have the opportunity of using the rover.” Dick looked Tom straight in his eyes. “But I’ll tell you this. If I was put in that situation, there is no way I would ever leave my partner to die.”
Relaxing, Tom winked with a sly grin.
Understanding, Dick smiled. “I thought so. Listen, you’re a hero in my book and I’ll back your story. You did the right thing, regardless of when the failure happened. If there was a dead astronaut on the moon, this whole program would shut down. Apollo 17 would never happen.”
The stress flew right out of Tom as he practically melted into his chair from relief as Dick went back to his seat.
“Because of your heroics, I guess you won’t have your new title for long.”
Tom tilted his head. “What title is that?”
Dick grinned. “Last man on the moon.”
Letting out a hearty chuckle, Tom hadn’t even thought about the label. “No matter who has that designation, it won’t last long.” Tom thought back to Dusty’s comments about what Dick said and the possible bet. “Dusty mentioned you said it could be forty years before we get back to the moon after Apollo 17.”
“Yup, I said something like that. In fact, it might even be longer.”
“No way. That’s crazy. I’ll take that bet and even give you odds.”
Dick smiled. “Tom, I don’t want to take your money. Besides, I’m not sure I’ll still be around in forty years to collect.”
“I plan on being here.”
“I hope you are, and I hope you’re right. Maybe you’ll even get an opportunity to fly back someday with your son.”
“I’d love to show Peter his initials on the moon.”
Dick sat back in his chair, a devious smirk on his face. “Speaking of your son, have you been able to get in some quality time with the family lately?”
Tom crossed his legs, wondering where his boss was going with the question. “Not with all the post-flight appearances. Why?”
“Well, how would you like to take the family on an all-expense paid vacation to Disneyland and meet Mickey Mouse?”
What family wouldn’t want a trip like that? Tom knew there was a catch. “What are you talking about?”
Bending down behind his desk, Dick quickly reappeared holding a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll. Dick had a big grin on his face as he plopped the plush toy on the desk. “Guess what’s inside this?”