CHAPTER 18
“They found three more crawlers, each with a missile just like the one that destroyed the Shenzhou-X.” Stetson was briefing Gesling and the rest of his team on what had happened in the Gobi the day before. They were sequestered in a Chinese army base several hundred miles from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, protected by nearly five thousand Chinese troops garrisoned there.
“This guy is a veritable arms dealer,” Melanie said.
“Two remotely piloted drones and four remote-control toy trucks armed with homemade missiles. The attack was brilliant. And I think some Chinese military heads are going to roll as a result. They never imagined that an attack like this could happen on Chinese soil.” Stetson was scrolling through projected slides showing the remains of the hardware that had nearly killed them all.
“Mr. Childers confirmed that the drones were identical to the ones that damaged the Dreamscape in Nevada. It looks like they were going to fly themselves directly into the rocket. The trucks, each the size of an ottoman, were clearly modified versions of a commercially available radio-controlled survey vehicle like was commonly used to identify property lines in remote regions throughout the world. There are serial numbers, so the FBI and others can hopefully track them back to where and when they were purchased.”
“Any sign of Zhi Feng?” Gesling asked “He had to be close by in order to control the drones and the trucks.”
“No sign of him. The transmitters on the devices had enough power to broadcast a signal up to a hundred or more miles away. He could have been anywhere, watching his toys and steering them our way by remote control. But the Chinese authorities assure us that he will not escape to continue this personal vendetta of his. I think they were severely embarrassed by this event on a very global scale.”
“What now? Is there a Plan B?” asked Gesling.
“You mean, plan C? The Dreamscape was the original plan. The Chinese were the backup,” Melanie corrected him.
“You know NASA.” Stetson surveyed the room’s occupants before he explained. “Yes, there is a Plan C, but you aren’t going to like it. The NASA Commercial Crew Office can have a modified Falcon 10 ready to go by the end of the week. But there’s a catch.”
“And that is?” asked Melanie.
“It can only carry three of you. It’s designed to take replacement crew to the Space Station. The next crew was scheduled to go up later this month, but the bird is already on the pad and they just moved up the timetable. The trajectory can be easily modified to allow it to rendezvous with your ship.”
“What about the other two of us?” asked Reudiger.
“Grounded. There’s no other rocket available.”
“Wait, my friend. You are forgetting about Russia. I have it on good authority that NPO Energomash is readying a rocket for launch as we speak. I am not sure of its destination, but it is the same rocket we use to send crew to the Moon. I’ve ridden on it personally and it can easily take the remaining crew to space for the rendezvous,” Mikhail boomed in reply.
“Mikhail, we checked on that. The Russian Academy said that the rocket is being readied for a national defense mission and cannot be modified to carry crew in time to meet our schedule.” Stetson frowned, wishing that Mikhail’s option would work. He didn’t like the thought of only three of five astronauts making the trip to the asteroid.
“Have you checked with ESA?” asked Reudiger.
“Yes, of course. They don’t have anything that can be readied in time.”
“And none of the other commercial launch services companies have anything that we can use?” asked Melanie. “What about Sierra Nevada or Blue Origin?”
“None. And we looked everywhere. I’m sorry, but only three of you will be going to make the trip.”
“Which three?” asked Melanie.
“Gesling, Tian, and Rykov. We’re flying you to Florida on a plane that leaves in three hours. Melanie, you and Reudiger are being added to the ground team. I’m sorry, but that’s all we can do.”
“Hell no!” Ledford quickly stood and nearly shouted. “You are not going to take this away from me. My team was ready to launch for Mars and then this whole crisis scrapped those plans because of the stupid so-called commercial space industry! The result of the stupid barnstorming and reckless space business put millions at risk and destroyed years of training making me second fiddle to this bus driver,” she said, pointing at Gesling. “And now you’re telling me that I’m to remain on Earth while these three take on a job that we all know will require at least all five of us to accomplish safely? This is total bullshit!”
“Wait a moment.” Reudiger raised his hand before he finished speaking, “Surely Mr. Gesling should be dropped from the crew to eliminate the terror threat from our mission. As Hui told us, these actions aren’t directed at the rest of us, merely the members of the team that are somehow affiliated with Space Excursions and you, Mr. Stetson.”
“Melanie, Reudiger, I hear you. But the decision has been made and it cannot be changed if we are to not miss our launch window. Paul is going on the mission,” Stetson said forcefully. He’d expected some disappointment and pushback, but not an outright attack on his friend Paul.
“This is not the end of the discussion, by God!” Melanie shouted as she stormed out of the room while punching numbers on the touchscreen of her smartphone. “We will see about this.”
“No, I suspect it isn’t the end of the discussion. But while we’re discussing, we have a mission to accomplish and little time to make changes if we are to be successful,” Stetson said frowning and shaking his head.
“Not much time at all,” he reiterated.