"We've come closer than I care to think a couple times. The commanders hid the crew helmets."
"We heard. Then things went silent."
I forgot about the open channel. "Right. A cosmonaut named Sonin is in the other craft. I used Ivanka as an airlock. Now I'm hiding here waiting for the commanders to shove the nuke into the EVO unit."
"Then you're going to do the switch. Right?"
"Something like that."
"You know they probably have a camera aimed at the EVO launchers."
"Yeah. I guess that would make sense."
"That means you need to move your ass quickly as you can to retrieve the bomb because if they see you on the monitor…"
"Boom goes David."
"Boom goes my satellite television."
"Got it. It'll take them a few minutes to cycle through the airlock. And they might not even have a dead-man switch."
"Or they might. Want to take that chance?"
"No, ma'am."
There's a flicker of light on my face shield. At first I think one of my instrument lights is acting up. Then I realize on the stealth suit none of them are all that bright. In fact, I think you can only see them from my point of view.
"Something wrong?" asks Laney.
"There's a flickering of light hitting my helmet."
"Where did you leave Sonin?"
"Right!" I look down and see her spaceship. The light is coming from her porthole.
At first I think she's making some kind of Morse code signal, then I realize it's just frantic flickering as she tries to warn me about something. I wave a hand at her and the light stops.
I point upwards towards the EVA airlock. She flicks the light on and off.
"Is it aliens?" asks Laney.
"I wish." I see a glint of light from overhead. "Hold up. I think they're on the move."
I slide my helmet's black visor into place. According to the manual, it's supposed to reduce the amount of light reflected from the suit to almost nothing. It does a fairly good job without rendering me blind.
Since we're on the night side over Earth, I risk poking my head over the edge to get a better view of what's going on above me.
One of the commanders is working his way around the rails. There's a tether fastened to his belt leading ten meters back to the waist of another astronaut holding a large hardshell case. Copious amounts of red duct tape are stuck to his free hand — which I assume is the dead-man switch.
It's practical, but rather absurd. Yablokov, the one I assume is holding the bomb, looks like a balloon tied to Domnin as he makes his way to the EVO.
Rather than have both men with only one hand free, they decided to have Domnin pull Yablokov over to the EVO.
The fact that they have a dead-man switch out here tells me how paranoid they are about having someone try to stop them — even 200 miles up.
I keep a watch on them, but remain motionless. While I might blend in as a shadow, quick movement on my part might get me noticed.
It takes them several minutes, but they finally reach the EVO tubes. Domnin pulls in his fellow commander and they both use their waist tethers to clip to a rail next to the launchers.
I duck under the module above me when they're looking the other way.
After securing themselves, they open the release doors to the EVO and place the case inside. Domnin makes some adjustments to the EVO then shuts the panel.
I watch as they return to the airlock and count off the seconds it'll take for them to enter and shut the door.
Once I'm sure they're inside, I slide out from my hiding position and move as quickly as I can, hand over hand, to the EVO tube.
In my head I count off the seconds as they go through the airlock cycle and pumps fill the chamber.
Satisfied they're not coming right back out, I pull open the release on the top of the EVO, take the suitcase, then shut the door.
Moving back down to my hiding spot is difficult with just one free hand. I'm too afraid to let go of the suitcase and don't dare let it dangle from a tether where it could serve as an atomic anchor ready to bash into the K1 or me.
Finally, back under the shade of the module, I call down to earth. "So… um… I think I have a nuclear weapon. Um, now what?"
77
Super Power
Earth is a giant half blue, half black marble below me and I've got a nuclear weapon in a suitcase…
Holy crap — I have nuclear weapon. I mean, it's scary and all, but wow. I'm like a one-man nuclear power.
If I ever had any plans of super-villainy, now is the time to pursue them.
And… I got nothing.
I'm interrupted by the slightly more sober responsible people back on Earth. "David, this is Baylor. We're getting someone on the line to help with this."
"Uh, great. Why didn't we think about that before?"
"We did. We're not all just sitting around down here waiting for you."
"Is this the man with the nuclear device?" asks a male voice.
"Yes?" I say hesitantly. "Who is this?"
"I'm Major Lewis with Army Ordnance Disposal. Is the device in a container?"
"Yes. It's a large plastic box."
"Okay. I need you to set it down on the floor and check the sides for wires."
"Um, Major, there's no floor here."
"The ground, whatever. We just need to make sure that it's not rigged with some kind of anti-tampering trigger."
Did they just call the guy in the middle of the night without telling him what was up?
"I'm in space. So we'll have to make do. I'm betting they didn't put a booby-trap on the case."
"We need to be sure before we open it."
I don't think he understands the kind of time constraint we're working under. I undo the latch and feel my scrotum shrink to nothing.
"Nope. No hidden triggers."
"What? How do you know?"
"Because I just opened it." I stop squinting and stare inside the case at the round device with a cord running to a smaller black box.
"You shouldn't have done that."
"Right. Next time I'll remember."
"Okay, Dan, I need you to describe to me what's inside the case."
I don't bother correcting him about my name. After I explain what I see, he asks me to check a serial number and confirm some details.
"Alright, Dan. You're looking at an NK3 nuclear package that would normally be the payload of an air to ground missile. It sounds like they've modeled the detonation system on an old Soviet mobile delivery system. The small box — that's the detonation trigger. It can either activate a timer or go off immediately."
"Got it. So now what?"
"See that yellow cable that runs from the box to the cylinder?"
"Affirmative."
"I need you to pull that from the cylinder connector. Let me know when you've done that."
I reach a nervous hand to the cable, afraid I'll screw up and grab the wrong one.
Slowly, as if the fate of the whole world, not just half, depended on it, I unplug the first cable. Beads of sweat drift off my face and splatter on the inside of my helmet.
"Done. Okay, now what?"
"Did you detach the cable?"
"Yes." My fingers are starting to shake. "What's next?"
"There is no next. You disarmed the device."
"Just like that? Huh, I was expecting more…"
"Yes. This isn't some Hollywood movie, Dan."
"David. My name is David."
"Okay. Anyway, this hardware was meant for Russian military to operate. With the exception of the potential booby-trap on the case, they don't really expect any other party to actually get this close to their bomb."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense."
A green light flashes on the smaller box. "Hey, there's a light that just turned on."
"Does it say 'Zaryad' or 'Taymer'?"
"Zaryad. That's Russian for "charge", right?"