“Do you not believe that the United States could attack you with their nuclear arsenal?”
“They have disarmed most of their land-based nuclear weapons, so I am not afraid of them. They are having too many problems with earthquakes and other natural disasters to think about war with us. Stevens does not like war. He will chicken out from a fight with us. He would probably try to have a United Nations meeting to protest our missiles, but it will not do any good, as we will veto whatever they want. Now I must go to meet our generals in the Kremlin to prepare our missiles and observe everything. Good luck with your mission. Don’t forget to clone me soon after you leave the solar system so I can govern in space.”
Yuri hung up. Until the American ship was destroyed, he was going to be very nervous. He did not trust anyone at this point. Yet, Ivanov was right about one thing. If the missile failed to hit the United States ship, Dr. Burns was going to come after him.
Now it was either kill—or be killed.
Chapter 64 – Country Mile
Tom Burns, The Imagine, Rocky Mountains, CO
The shuttle was armed and ready to speed toward the Russian ship if necessary. For the next thirty-eight hours, Tom, and his officers focused on making sure everything was perfect for the launch.
His military officers made sure they could launch torpedoes as soon as the missile was launched towards them.
Tom was informed that Grissom was getting ready to go outside and help with the fuel. Major Johns was in continuous contact with Tom, the president, and the Pentagon, as he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to get the ship in orbit and prevent it from being blown up by a Russian missile.
Sam and Jose were strapped in together near the bridge in Tom’s line of vision. Both of them seemed nervous about the launch ever since hearing about the potential of a Russian attack.
Dr. Sato and the medical staff had prepared supplies in the event anyone had an injury during lift off or during the attack, and Tom saw her anxiety level register all over her face. Although Tom knew she wished for an antidote beyond any she had on hand for radiation exposure should the time come, there was not much she could do about a missile attack. No antidote would help them if they were struck by a nuclear missile.
The rest of the people on the ship were all set to go, all waiting for the announcement to come two hours before the flight.
Exactly two hours before launch, Tom came on the view screen again to make his announcement.
“Everyone, may I have your attention again, please. We are now two hours away from blastoff. All systems are go. I am not a man of religion, but I do support your right to pray as you wish. I have already said my prayers in the hopes of a safe launch, and I encourage all of you to pray in silence if you wish. I have never heard God speak to me, but if there is a God, I think he or she or it will be on our side. Best of luck, everyone. Let’s get this done. It is going to be a hell of a ride.”
The entire crew and passengers were strapped into their assigned places.
From the command post on the bridge, Tom was keeping track of everything. This time everything looked great.
Twenty minutes before liftoff, Tom instructed Major Johns to start pumping in the fuel.
Tom was impressed with Grissom as he made sure the flow was even and adjusting the lines and magnets as needed. Unfortunately, he was breathing in some of the fuel all the time and it bothered Tom, recollecting his own father’s last days.
As Tom and everyone heard the countdown on the ship, the other three ships also were made aware of the countdown.
The countdown lights flashed 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Suddenly, all eight rockets attached to the main ship and the ship itself started to rise at a quick pace. Smoke and fumes surrounded the Imagine.
Major Johns was doing a good job controlling the speed and trajectory as the ship moved into orbit. It was now going at 50,000 miles an hour which was more than enough to break gravity and get into orbit. Five minutes before they reached orbit, the eight rockets detached. They would either go into orbit or fall back to Earth after a specific time. In eighteen minutes, the ship was out of the blackout period.
Tom blacked out suddenly. It was only for a few minutes. He was wide awake when they reached orbit and ready to spring into action. First, Major Johns was contacted to tell him what an outstanding job had been done, and then Tom asked about Grissom.
“As the ship took off, Grissom fell down on his back. He gasped for air. Once the rocket was at a certain height, the president had run out to help him. When he saw Grissom, well, he knew the end was near. The president grabbed him and held him so he could see the spaceship moving away from Earth. He whispered a wish for his daughter, Janet. The president congratulated him and told him how proud he was and that he was a greater hero than all of the men who served America. Together, they had watched the ship go into space with his daughter. He knew that she was safe and would reach her destiny and that soon he would be with his wife again. He smiled at the president and then slowly closed his eyes and died in the president’s arms. When the president closed Grissom’s eyes, he lifted him and took Grissom into the space center to prepare him to be buried alongside his wife.”
Tom cried as he listened to the major describe Grissom’s last minutes.
“May his soul rest in peace. I will let Janet know at the appropriate time about the sacrifice he made so that we could launch the ship. How is the president holding up?”
“Hi, Tom. The launch looked fantastic,” announced the president. “Now comes the hard part. In two hours, the Russian ship will launch, precipitating a whole bunch of events. None of these actions are going to be endearing to anyone. We expect the Russians are prepared to launch their missiles at the targets and your ship. I think he will send the missiles even if the Russian ship does not get off the ground. I am sure you and your shipmates are all prepared for this.”
“Yes, we are, sir. All hands survived the launch, and we are all still strapped into our assigned places. We are ready to confront the Russians if we have to. We may have a surprise for the Russians when they fire their nuclear warhead at us.”
“Keep in contact. We have a short time left, and then all hell is going to break loose probably. Good luck.”
Tom made an announcement. He told everyone that the launch was a success and to stay where they were until the Russian threat had passed. They were going to have to evade one powerful nuclear missile.
Tom could see everyone waiting in anticipation. He didn’t blame them if they were wondering whether everyone was going to die a horrible death in space. He watched his own son and Jose appear calm and Sophie holding her mom’s hands. He was sure they were as wracked with nerves as he felt, his body buzzing, his lips tight.
Two hours later the Russian ship blasted off without a hitch. It joined Tom’s ship in orbit as they waited for the Germans and Australians to launch. Once the Russians were in orbit, Tom was in continuous communication with both Major Johns and the Pentagon.
President Stevens and the Pentagon were waiting for the Russians to launch their missiles. They had expected them to be launched after the Russians were in orbit, but so far, it was very quiet. Could the Russians have backed down from the plot? Did they know the Americans were ready for them? The only thing they could do was to wait and keep on monitoring the Russians. The Russian missile would travel at 25,000 miles an hour. That would not give them a lot of time to make a decision or for Tom’s ship to avoid it.