“I have given the command to launch again in forty-eight hours, as I do not believe we can keep postponing. The Russian attack can come whether we launch now or in one year. The threat will always be present. Therefore, my officers and I feel it is better to confront the threat head-on and take the necessary steps to prevent the Russians from destroying us. I am giving you one hour to make your decision. If you wish to leave the spaceship and remain behind, I respect your decision. I am hoping you all stay and that we will get through this together. If you wish to leave, please pack your belongings and go to the entrance to the spaceship. I will be there in one hour to let you disembark. At that point, I will announce the new directives to provide us with the best opportunity to make it through this attack. Thank you, everyone, and may you forever hold onto the promise of tomorrow and that together we can overcome.”
Sam and Jose started looking around again. It seemed that there must have been a hundred different conversations happening at the same time. For Sam and Jose, there really was no choice. Their fathers were officers, so they would be staying. Sam did not know if a few or a lot of people would leave due to the danger presented to them. They could only wait and see what would happen in one hour. They decided to go to the entrance to stand with Tom and the officers.
Sarah, Dr. Sato, and Luis joined them. Dr. Sato and Luis made it clear they were staying, as they believed that Tom would not deliberately send them to their death if there was a way to prevent it from happening. They were willing to take that chance.
“In fact, based on all the discussions we have had with those who have funded this endeavor and those interested in the medical application of our ongoing scientific research, I couldn’t leave all my work behind. It would feel absolutely wrong. Better to face it together, given all the progress we can make to push the limits of human potential, and I feel you will help us overcome this and many things that lie ahead, Dr. Burns. I didn’t sign up thinking this was going to be easy.”
Tom smiled.
Luis turned toward Tom and said, “There is no place I would rather be than going on this spaceship with you.”
Tom and the others stood near the entrance waiting quietly for anyone who wanted to depart the ship. Sam and Jose expected as many as a hundred would be leaving. However, to their surprise, there were precisely zero people who wanted to depart. Sam knew each person had their own private reason for staying, but they also knew if they stayed behind, they would probably die soon anyway. In any case, Tom and the officers seemed relieved about the situation. There did not seem to be any panic. In fact, it seemed that all the people on board were deadly serious about being prepared for the possible missile attack.
“May I have your attention again, please. I would like to thank every person on this ship for having the confidence in me and my officers to get you through this safely. We will do our very best. I will be giving you these directions, so please pay attention to every word I say. The safety of this ship may depend on our actions while in orbit. First of all, do not release your seat belts unless I give the word.
“Second, we are going to be moving some of you to more strategic locations so that we can access our weapons and shuttles faster. All shuttle pilots and shuttle control crew will be strapped in as close as possible to the shuttles. All shuttles will be armed and ready to fire the weapons on board. All weapons experts will be strapped in near the space torpedoes so we can fire them as fast as we need to. Everyone will have their spacesuit on for some time after launch, so please make sure you are as comfortable as possible.
“Also, make sure you are near someone else in case you get stuck somewhere. Our communicators may or may not be working depending on the events as they unfold. Senior officers will be in charge. In the event something happens to me, Bob Jackson or another appointed officer will give directions. Please do whatever they say. Our lives may depend on it.
“If the ship is hit, there are only five shuttles for evacuation. Please try to get to the shuttle launch. It is the only way off the ship if we are hit by a missile. That is all the instructions for now. If I need to update them, I will do so at two hours to launch in which case all of you must be strapped into your positions. The forty-eight-hour countdown has now begun.”
Chapter 63 – Doveryai, no Proveryai (Trust, but Verify)
Yuri Pavlov, The Oligarch, near Moscow
“Fire eight missiles when I instruct you to,” Ivanov had told the Russian generals in the Kremlin.
Ivanov was intent on reestablishing the Soviet Union. No country was allowed to evacuate the Soviet Union. One missile was a ballistic missile with a nuclear tip. This would be the one to shoot down the spaceship. The other seven missiles were to be shot at Ukraine and Estonia, former Russian colonies during the Soviet Union.
Yuri was anxious. If the Russian missile attack failed, it would be up to him to destroy the American spaceship. It was entirely possible that if he were unable to do so, his own ship would be destroyed. His family and many friends were on board with him, and he did not want any harm to come to them. When he first started on this project, Putin nor Ivanov had mentioned anything about destroying the other ships. Only in the last few years had Ivanov become more involved with the space voyage.
There were times Yuri enjoyed collaborating with Dr. Burns and times he did not want to even speak with him. It was not personal. It was just that Yuri believed he knew more than Dr. Burns about rockets and spaceships and how to build a superior ship that would reach the desired destination safely. While Yuri thought that Dr. Burns was a little stubborn, he admired him for pursuing something that had never been achieved.
He also believed that Dr. Burns was a capable military commander. If the two ships had to battle with each other, Yuri had no idea who would survive. If Dr. Burns were aware of the attack, he would prove to be a formidable adversary. With Ivanov intending to destroy all the other ships, it made things difficult for Yuri.
What would happen if he needed help once they left the solar system? That was one of the benefits of having four ships. Each ship could assist the other, and everyone could learn from each other.
He also enjoyed working with the other two commanders. It would be nice if all four ships could land on the same planet and live in peace.
Ivanov interrupted him for an update. Yuri informed him that now there were around forty hours left before the Americans launched. They had had another six-hour delay in fixing the fuel system. The Russian ship was due to start two hours after them. So far, all of the systems on the Russian spaceship were working well. They were ready.
Ivanov then told him, “Yuri, tomorrow will be a great day for the Russians. I have spoken to Stevens and told him that we are cooperating in everything and have no plans to harm anyone on the voyage. They may suspect something, but I do not think so. Please listen to me. One hour after you launch, we will send seven missiles towards the Ukraine and Estonia. I expect the Polish missile defense will try and knock them down or blow them up. Twenty minutes after we send those seven missiles, we will launch the ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead straight to the American ship. I doubt they will expect this attack and certainly not a nuclear attack. They will be too busy complaining about and destroying the missiles we sent twenty minutes earlier. They will begin to debate with their allies about what to do next, like they always do. Once the American ship is destroyed, it is up to you to convince the other two ships to support you, or you will let them know they will also be destroyed. I will contact the German and Australian prime ministers and give them the option of joining us. If they do not agree with this, you can destroy them at will. Is everything clear to you?”