INVITATIONS FROM AFAR

AuthorHouse

Chapter One

"There's something you need to know." From Houston, Max Marsh called the Copernicus for the second time in one flight day, an unusual deviation from routine.

Commander Jackson Medwin replied, "We are so ready for home. Tell me our mission's been declassified, and everyone knows what we've found."

Jack and his three crewmembers certainly were capable of maintaining silence regarding every aspect of their mission, if necessary, for the rest of their lives, even Jana Novacek, the youngest, the one he felt the most responsibility to protect. Jack did not consider the secrecy necessary or desirable. Yet, declassification was not his call.

As the video transmission sharpened, Jack experienced a heightened alertness when noting Max's strangely somber expression. Although Max in his faded plaid shirt looked like he had just stepped out of the old West, he enjoyed a sterling reputation at Johnson Space Center. Jack felt thankful that his friend, a brilliant perfectionist, was the computer systems specialist for this mission.

Yet, why was Max calling now? By procedure, he called only once during each wake cycle, the term for a flight day that often varied in length on a long space mission. Mission Control, referred to simply as Houston, continuously received all of the solarship's readings on many separate channels, and if anything was troublesome, then CAPCOM, the capsule communicator, not Max, should have called.

The time delay was lasting longer than the transmission turnaround. Jack realized that Max was deciding whether or not to divulge something. Finally, Jack said, "Whatever it is, just tell me."

Max replied, "Follow procedure XY12A. That's X-ray, Yankee, One Two Alpha."

"Wilco," Jack said. That meant, "I have received your message; I understand it and will comply." At that moment Jack realized something was seriously wrong. The video screen blurred before the transmission abruptly ended.

XY12A was Max's signal for Jack to open the private, secure channel that bypassed Mission Control. No record would be left of any communication on that channel. Max never before had asked Jack to initiate a secret conversation. Yet, after the security leak a month ago, Jack taped the code on the main console so he would have quick access if the need arose. Now, he spoke. "YELIABNALA"

The response came back. "Not a valid address." He tried again, enunciating each letter carefully, and for each asterisk saying, "star."

As he waited, he did not speculate on what Max might tell him. Instead, he allowed himself to think about his family. In five days, the Copernicus would dock at the spaceport that orbited synchronously with the International Space Station. After nearly a seven-month mission, he and his crew soon would be home.

It was many seconds before Jack got a response. "Hello, this is Max. The video is not clear."

"What's up?" Jack asked.

Again the delay was lasting too long. Max still was deciding. Finally, he quietly announced, "There may be an explosive device—a bomb—heading toward you."

"What? Who would consider such an act? We're talking big bucks. At the very least, sabotage like that requires lift-off and guidance capabilities. It also requires knowledge of our trajectory." His mind flew, trying to make sense out of what Max told him. Finally, he said, "Should I presume that Houston is working the problem? Does CAPCOM not want to worry us?" Jack tried to joke. "And you, on the other hand, are worrying us."

"It's not like that," Max replied. "Today, someone totally outside JSC brought me the coordinates where you'll be tomorrow afternoon at 1600 hours. That's when the bomb supposedly impacts the Copernicus in a little more than 24 hours."

"What's Director Clayton doing about this situation?" Jack asked.

Silence on Max's end stretched longer than the normal transmission delay. Finally, he answered, "I'm checking out some things on my own before going to him."

Jack rapidly evaluated this startling information. Later, he would evaluate more slowly and carefully. Until this moment, he had trusted Max's judgment completely, but now his friend of all people had chosen not to tell the JSC director. It made no sense.

As far back as the initial planning stages, Max had been included in the small circle of people who knew not only about the secret mission but also about its main goal. A thought too horrible to consider came to Jack, but for now he pushed it away and proceeded in another direction. "Who told you this? How credible is the person?"

"Highly credible. This is a secure transmission, I hope, but, still, I'll not mention the name. I'll tell you this much, and then you'll figure it out right away. Last fall, shortly before you went into isolation for this mission, someone wanted to meet you. The three of us went to lunch."

"Yes, I remember," Jack replied, noting that Max's caution extended to not even mentioning the name of the restaurant.

"This morning, that person learned about a bomb plot and was concerned for your safety. He asked me if his information-a set of coordinates and the corresponding time of tomorrow afternoon at 1600 hours-meant anything. A bomb hurtling in space toward you, I thought, was impossible, but to reassure him, I checked out the numbers he brought me. Everything lined right up."

Jack seldom felt confused, and he did not like the feeling. Only a small but growing group within JSC and another small group high up in government knew about their secret mission. Fewer knew about the mission's main goal.

On the other hand, Jack thought, the Copernicus's stealth shield and cloaking devices were not infallible. Neither were their other techniques to avoid detection. Their burns, the fuel expended for course corrections, were planned carefully with detection avoidance in mind. Yet, telescopes all over the world and more orbiting Earth were operated by astronomers and amateurs, always hoping to find something out of the ordinary. However, if some group were tracking them, the Copernicus would appear as an unidentified object in the heavens, not as an identifiable solarship. Jack asked, "How did ... this person know about our mission."

"Easier than you think," Max replied. "This person thought there could be a mission. Remember the security leak last month?"

"Of course," Jack replied. "That would have been the perfect time for Director Clayton to get permission and announce our mission, even with the extraordinary ramifications."

"True," Max said, the corners of his mouth quivering. "Mission Control decided not to tell you that the rumors have intensified, even in the mainstream press."

"Then the secret's out, and the world knows about us," Jack said. "I'm glad."

"Not this way, Jack. Top management has verified nothing. The secret's distorted."

"Describe."

"Not now, Jack. You have enough on your plate."

"If our `secret' mission is common knowledge, then the whole bomb thing could be nothing but another rumor by someone who gained access to our trajectory. What are the worst rumors?"

"One deals with contamination," Max replied. "Some scandal sheets are running with the idea that your crew is contaminated."

"Director Clayton himself needs to make a public announcement immediately and put frantic minds at ease."

"If only he could," Max replied. "I've recently heard...