Space Hoax

10 ABOUT TIME

A nasty stench lingered in the sun-drenched cabin of the Galileo. Ever since removing their helmets, Peter had been overcome by the body odor of the three other men with their scraggly faces, who had been in their flight suit for days. He blocked out the unpleasant smell as he prepared their spacecraft for re-entry. Though all four men were alive and returning home, they were exhausted. All the spacemen were feeling the after effects from the rescue, especially Sergei. Peter was happy he took the calculated risk of saving the commander, even though the Russian was experiencing severe symptoms from decompression sickness. Peter had to block out the commotion going on around him while he studied the monitors, double-checking that their re-entry into the atmosphere was going as planned and at the proper angle.

Peter radioed in a raspy voice to SpaceQuest’s mission control which was handling the re-entry. “California, velocity is 33,578 feet per second.”

“Roger, Galileo. We will have you for about seven more minutes before blackout. How do your coordinates look?”

Moisture returned to Peter’s palms and the perspiration welled up on his forehead as he prepared for another fiery re-entry. At least this time he would be landing in friendly international waters instead of a communist country with soldiers waiting. His demeanor stayed steady as he answered, “Copy that, California. We look to be going right down the middle of the corridor.”

“We concur, Galileo. Looking good.”

Peter was stone-faced as he continued to review the information developing on the monitors. This was the first manned re-entry for SpaceQuest, and he wanted to make sure they got it right. If their ship was just a few degrees off on their angle of attack, they would skip right off the atmosphere, like the many rocks he used to skip off Clear Lake as a boy.

Out of the corner of his eye, Peter saw Sergei’s body once again go into convulsions. Peter’s heart sank, as it was the third seizure for the cosmonaut since being rescued. Every muscle in the cosmonaut’s body appeared to be contracting simultaneously as he arched his back off the seat, his body fighting the straps that kept him secure. Peter quickly looked over to see the cosmonaut’s eyes darting about, as if he was possessed. The worried engineer shoved a small towel in the commander’s mouth, hoping to prevent him from biting his tongue. A sinking sensation overtook Peter as he witnessed the disturbing scene. Regrettably, there wasn’t much anyone could do except try to comfort the tough cosmonaut until they were back on Earth. The ship that would retrieve them had a hyperbaric chamber where the commander would immediately be placed to recompress. Peter prayed it wouldn’t be too late.

Sitting next to Peter was the spoiled ass tourist who regained consciousness soon after he was saved. To Peter’s dismay, the madman hadn’t stopped bitching since. The man turned away from the shaking commander and looked Peter square in the eye. With no expression, he coldly said, “I better not have to pay for this fucked-up trip.”

Peter couldn’t take it anymore. He cut his mic to mission control. “Shut up, asshole.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to? I demand respect.”

Peter’s fist tightened. “Are you serious? Your commander is having a seizure next to you, and all you care about is money? Dude, you’re lucky to be alive, and you better hope you stay that way. So stop your bitching and prepare for re-entry.” Peter yanked out the man’s headset cord from the ship’s connection, making sure he didn’t have to listen to the asshole over his headset.

All four men had snoopy caps on with their helmets off, breathing the cabin air since their oxygen hoses did not link up to the spacecraft’s connections. If they were to lose cabin pressure, they would all be in trouble.

“Galileo, California. Forty-five seconds until blackout. Please reset the two blue circuit breakers under and to the left of the pilot’s monitor. Punch those in. Over.”

Peter scrambled to locate the breakers before the blackout hit. Once located, he hurriedly pushed them in with a grunt of relief. “Roger, breakers reset.”

“Good job. You’re going over the hill shortly. You’re looking mighty fine to us.”

“Copy that. Talk to you on the flip side.” Peter called out to the crew. “Gentleman, prepare for re-entry.” Peter looked over to see Sergei’s seizure had subsided. He said a quick prayer for the man before he braced himself for another violent re-entry. He closed his eyes and thought of Anya.

“WHAT’S THE LATEST on the space rescue?” President Edward’s fine age lines were starting to appear around his youthful eyes. Jack was called to the Oval Office to inform the President whether the cosmonauts had been saved.

“Sir, Peter was able to rescue all three men and they are currently in the SpaceQuest spacecraft. They should be going through re-entry at any moment, probably splashing down in the Pacific off California within the next ten minutes.”

The President’s face relaxed as he leaned back in his chair. “If it looks like they’re going to make it back safely, maybe we should let the world know of the rescue.”

“Mr. President, NASA is concerned that going public will lead to the Soyuz being grounded. Maybe we let Russia make that call.”

President Edwards instantly picked up the phone. With a quick push of a button, he had his assistant on the phone. “Mary, get me Russia’s prime minister on the phone immediately.”

PETER FELT LIKE he was inside a neon light bulb as their cabin took on an eerie glow. Galileo was now a fireball falling to earth, their communication cut off from mission control. Carlos was screaming like a baby as the g-forces increased. His cries penetrated through Peter’s snoopy cap, even over the roar that engulfed the cabin. Peter rolled his eyes, wondering how this asshole had qualified for a ride to the ISS.

Intense flames surrounded their ship as they entered the dense atmosphere. The deceleration was driving Peter deep into his seat. He held on tightly to his armrests, trying to reduce the shaking. Lifting his head was like moving a cinder block with his neck muscles. He tilted his head just enough to get a g-force reading. The indicator showed 5.5 g and holding. After experiencing 9 g without a re-entry suit, this was a walk in the park. Though he didn’t expect the g-force to get much worse, part of him wished it would if it would knock Carlos out.

After four minutes of radio blackout and listening to Carlos whine the whole time, Peter heard mission control call in over his headset. “Galileo, this is California. Do you copy?”

Before he could answer, a soft muffled explosion rang through the cabin, which he hoped was the deployment of their drogue parachutes. Sure enough, a few seconds later the spacecraft did a hard jolt. Peter exhaled. “California, this is Galileo, drogue chutes deployed.”

“Roger.”

Soon a louder explosion took place above their heads, a sign the main parachutes were being let loose. After a few moments, a strong tug slowed them before their ship started to sway side to side. “California, main chutes deployed.”

“Copy that, Galileo. Good job, men.” A loud cheer came over his headset. He smiled, knowing the historical importance of what just happened. SpaceQuest achieved a feat that many thought wouldn’t happen for years by a commercial company, bringing men back from space safely. He figured they just solidified their lead on getting NASA’s future contract taking astronauts to the space station.

Peter looked over at Carlos to see his eyes bulging out of their sockets while his face was as white as a ghost. Peter couldn’t contain himself as he covered his mic. “How’s our little baby doing?”

The frightened little man didn’t say a word.

AFTER THE COSMONAUTS returned safely to Earth, Dmitri hustled over to Medical to check on his sister. With all the commotion going on when she passed out, he was unable to help or be by her side. As he swung open the door to the small checkup room, he saw Anya on one of the two beds with an IV coming out of her left arm. She was still in her clothes, sitting propped up by two fluffy pillows, her hair a mess.

Dmitri waltzed into the room. “How’s my baby sister?”

Anya forced a smile as she looked up at her brother. “I’m okay…I guess.” She looked to the floor. “I’m embarrassed.”

Dmitri grabbed a lone metal chair that was against a wall. A soft screeching noise ricocheted off the bare walls as he slid it over the cement floor and placed it by her bed. He reached down and placed his hand on hers as he took a seat. “Why are you embarrassed?”

A flash of disappointment shot across her face as she raised her blue eyes. “The doctor said I had a panic attack. He attributed it to my fear that something bad will happen to Peter when he’s in space.” A small tear began to roll down her face. “I hate it that I lost control. I’m stronger than that.”

Dmitri squeezed his sister’s hand. “You are one of the strongest women I know. I’m convinced the recent miscarriage contributed to all of this. Besides, the last three weeks have been one big emotional roller coaster ride for you. You need rest, and the good news is you will be able to do that with Peter.”

A slight twinkle appeared in her eye. “I heard Peter saved the men. I tried to get back into the control room, but the doctor wouldn’t let me.”

“I’m sure Peter felt your presence.”

The twinkle in her eye quickly dissipated as a distraught look overtook her face.

Dmitri was taken aback by her abrupt change in demeanor. “What’s the matter? You should be happy.”

Anya let go of his hand and levered herself higher on the pillows to sit up more. “I am. I’m happy he survived and proud he saved the men.” She pulled her charm out from under her shirt and rubbed it as she looked right through him. The room was still for a moment. “I love Peter so much. He’s everything I have always wanted in a man.”

Dmitri was confused. “I know. He’s a hell of a catch, perfect for you. And once again, he impressed me with his flying skills.”

She turned away and stared at the blank gray wall. “Remember how Mom used to lock herself in the bathroom for long periods of time when Dad was in space?”

Dmitri nodded. “Yes.”

“I often heard her crying through the door. One day the door was unlocked and I walked in. She quickly grabbed a towel as she tried to hide her face, wiping away the tears. I told her I knew she was upset and that I often heard her crying. I asked why. She was very hesitant to tell me at first, but finally she opened up. She said she had always had this premonition Dad would die in space. She was so sure she was right that whenever he left on a mission, she was convinced it would be the last time she would ever see him.”

This was news to Dmitri. He interrupted his sister while shaking his head. “Wow, her premonition was right. Dad did die in space, and what’s ironic is one of the reasons he took on that mission was to be with her.”

Anya gave a sad smile. “She said Dad didn’t know of her true feelings and she wanted it kept that way. She made me promise never to tell him. She knew how much being a cosmonaut meant to Dad and she didn’t want him quitting because of her.”

Dmitri was still shaking his head. His mother fooled him. She always seemed so strong and in control during his father’s missions.

Anya leaned back on the pillows. “Though I wanted to, I never told him. I promised myself I would never fall in love with a man who made me feel the way Mom felt.” She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know if I can make it work with Peter.”

Dmitri put his hand on her leg and lightly patted. “Of course you can. You need to tell him how you feel. I know you two can work things out.”

She grabbed his hand and looked him directly in his eyes with a stern look. “Promise me you will never tell him about this or me passing out in the control room.”

Dmitri was surprised by his sister’s sudden mood change. He definitely didn’t agree with her. He shook his head no.

Anya’s tone became surprisingly fierce as she squeezed his hand tighter. “Promise me.”

He looked away, shaking his head. “I don’t think it’s right…but I promise.”

PETER FELT LIKE a new man as he sat refreshed in the small, musty room deep in the recovery ship’s hull. He was drinking a cup of coffee as he worked on a laptop on a small metal table that was bolted to the floor. He was finishing up on his debriefing report. All four men had been safely plucked from their spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean and secretly transported by helicopter to SpaceQuest’s waiting ship. Since their mission was a covert operation, no welcoming party awaited them. Instead, they were quickly hustled below deck. Peter was pleased to have finally had a nice, hot shower and to be wearing fresh clothes, a pair of SpaceQuest-issued sweats. A grin crossed his face when he got a whiff of deodorant when the engineer walked past, pleased he no longer had to endure the man’s body odor.

The clean-shaven engineer pulled out a chair across from Peter and took a seat. “I check on Sergei. He still in some pain, but he be okay. He want me thank you for saving crew.”

“That’s great news. So everything went okay in the hyperbaric chamber?”

The engineer nodded as he turned toward Carlos, who sat in the corner of the room with his back to them. The arrogant man was talking obnoxiously loud as he was describing their re-entry to someone on the phone. The engineer rolled his eyes when he overheard Carlos imply he helped with the maneuver. “What asshole.”

Peter couldn’t agree more and was looking forward to getting away from the guy. Unfortunately, all three men had to stay in the same isolated room since most of the crew was unaware of their mission and questions would be asked if they were seen. Peter looked down to see his coffee swaying back and forth as the boat sped through the choppy seas. He couldn’t wait to reach port and see Anya.

Carlos wrapped up his call and got up from his seat.

Unsurprisingly, Carlos once again started bitching. “Why am I stuck in here? I deserve better than this, especially after that piece of shit trip you two took me on.”

Peter wasn’t going to turn around or react; nothing good would come from it. He simply stayed quiet as he went back to his report.

“Hey, I’m talking to you two.”

Neither Peter nor the engineer said a word. Peter felt a slight push from behind.

“Hey, are you deaf? I’m talking to you.”

Peter sensed the man towering over him, which he took as a threat. A loud screeching sound emitted from his chair as he calmly pushed it out before slowly rising and turning toward the irritated man. He looked Carlos squarely in his eyes. “I’m not deaf. I just choose not to speak to assholes like you.” The volcano inside him was about to erupt, so he calmly turned away to leave the room. He felt a hand aggressively grab his shoulder.

“Don’t turn away from me.”

Peter balled up his hand into a tight fist as he lowered his head. He took a deep breath; there was no chance of preventing the inevitable. He slowly turned around with fire in his eyes, elbow pulling back to lift his fist to his waist, weight on his toes, ready to strike. Carlos’s shoulders drooped as he took a frightened step back. Peter unleashed a lightning quick punch squarely on Carlos’s jaw. The powerful blow knocked the pathetic man up in the air before he fell hard to the floor.

The engineer clapped in the background.

Carlos looked up in shock as he rubbed his jaw. “You can’t punch me!”

Peter stood over the coward like Muhammad Ali over Sonny Liston. “I just did, and you better stay down, or I’ll do it again.”

Carlos made no attempt to move. “I’m going to sue you.”

Peter turned away and casually closed up the computer he was working on. “Good luck with that. Besides, I’m not here, remember? This mission never happened.”

Carlos’s voice began to whine as he looked at the engineer. “You saw what happened, didn’t you?”

As Peter picked up the laptop, the cosmonaut gave him a wink before answering, “I see nothing.”