Kaz glanced back at Chad, who was working through the steps of bringing the Bedstead back to life. “And we’re not sure how long we can keep this quiet. So far the press hasn’t caught on that there’s anything different about this Apollo mission. But there are lots of people in the know—engineers, scientists, technicians. Heck, even the cleaning staff in the Vehicle Assembly Building must be able to see that you don’t have a rover attached this time. Eventually your ugly face will be on the cover of Newsweek with a ‘Secret Military Apollo Mission’ caption. And then the Soviets will be hyper-alert.”
Tom thought about it and said, “Add that to the training jerk-around that intercepting Almaz has caused, plus all the last-minute changes with the Moon landing site.” He looked at Kaz, his face serious. “I’m not happy about it.”
Kaz nodded, commiserating. “Are you getting heat from the Air Force too?” Kaz was well aware that the Pentagon had its own agenda, bolstered by an unassailable sense of self-importance. And, unlike with typical Apollo crews, they felt they could reach out directly to the former MOL astronauts.
“I’m getting phone calls every few days from Washington,” Tom admitted. “But our crew secretary is the most polite stonewaller you’ve ever met. Al has drilled that into all his staff, and it works.”
Al was Al Shepard, Chief of the Astronaut Office. One of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, the first American to fly in space, and a man who had walked on the Moon as commander of Apollo 14. He understood external pressures on flight crews like nobody else, and he ran things like the famous Navy Rear Admiral he was.
Kaz persisted. “What’s Washington calling you about?”
“Oh, a mix of things. This is a real recruiting moment for the Air Force, especially with the mess in Vietnam. They want me to be the poster boy for their ‘Tame the Wild Blue Yonder’ advertising campaign.” He smiled. “Al’s helping me stiff-arm them, so they’ll just have to take what they can get from NASA PR.” He shook his head slightly. “They’re also asking me what I’m going to do afterwards, maybe make me the commandant of the Air Force Academy, or the Test Pilot School at Edwards, though they’d have to promote me. But the truth is, I’d like to stay here if we can swing it. The kids are liking school, and Margaret likes Houston way better than the desert at Edwards. Maybe I’ll leave the Air Force and hire on directly with NASA, work on Skylab and the Space Shuttle.” He smiled. “Hell, if this flight goes okay, maybe even fly in space again, as a civilian next time.”
Kaz nodded. He’d do the same thing in Tom’s shoes.
Both men winced at a sudden roar from the Bedstead, and stuck their ear protectors on as Chad brought the jet engine back to life.
10
Manned Spacecraft Center
“Hi, Lieutenant Commander Zemeckis, it’s Dr. Woodsworth.”
Kaz had been deep in study of Lunar Lander systems, getting ready to support the crew during an upcoming sim, and had picked up his desk phone distractedly when it rang, still staring at the page.
Dr. Woodsworth? Hey, she actually called!
“Good morning, Dr. Woodsworth. Did you find any more holes in the Moon?”
“As a matter of fact, I did. Four so far! Everybody’s pretty excited over here in the lab. I thought it might be worth showing you the pictures.”
He glanced at his watch. “How about over lunch? Building 3 cafeteria, say, noon?”
Kaz grabbed a tray and walked along the steam line, choosing as he went. He had to admit that looking down at the NASA logo printed on his tray—the famous blue ball with a stylized spacecraft and orbit—gave him a ridiculous level of pleasure that he was actually here in Houston.
As he was paying the cashier, he scanned the tables. Laura, in her white silk blouse and pleated pale-blue skirt, was easy to spot among the male engineers.
“Good to see you, Laura,” he said as he unloaded his lunch on the table she’d chosen by the window and set his tray on an empty chair. “Thanks for making time on short notice.”
“A girl’s gotta eat,” she said.
She handed him the folder of pictures she’d brought, and picked up her sandwich.
He scanned them one by one. “The holes look so similar.”
“Yes, that’s a surprise to us as well. They all seem to be made the same way, but we haven’t figured out how.” She pointed to the one he was studying. “Notice that there’s no ejecta around the hole, so they weren’t made by impact.”