“Take any time you need to deal with it, but when you’re ready, we have a few things.”
Chad spoke. “Gene, we appreciate it.” He looked at Michael, who shrugged. Death wasn’t welcome, but it wasn’t new to either man. “We’re both okay with doing what needs to be done.”
“Okay, thanks. As you can imagine, Washington is about to get involved, and we still have to decide what we’re going to do when we get to the Moon—orbit and land, or just slingshot around and come straight back home. Those are going to be tough decisions, and Al, Deke and Kaz are working it on your behalf right now.”
Chad and Michael nodded.
Gene continued. “For now, we need to decide what to do with Luke’s body. The team is looking at options, but we recommend he stay sealed up in his suit for now.” The message was clear: Luke’s decomposing body would overwhelm the spaceship’s air purifiers.
“We understand, Gene, thanks. His suit looks like it’s airtight,” Chad said. “I recommend we stay on the lunar orbit and landing trajectory for now, stick with the timeline. Keeps options open.”
Michael glanced at him. No way would Chad want to lose the moonwalk.
“Agreed.” Gene paused. “Is the cosmonaut listening? Does she speak English?”
“She’s not on a headset, and it seems like she only knows a few words,” Michael said.
Gene nodded. “For now I recommend you just treat her like a new crewmember, show her the critical safety and ops items, keep her out of trouble.”
Svetlana noticed them both looking at her, and looked questioningly back.
“Makes sense, Gene,” Chad said. “We’ll let you know how it’s going.”
“Good. We’re going to stay under total media blackout until told otherwise.” The implied message: there was no need to limit what they said on the radio. “You two have any questions?”
Chad looked at Michael, who shook his head.
“Nope, thanks for the update.”
CAPCOM spoke. “18, we’re back with you, if you can pick up in 3-9 of the Flight Plan. We’d like the LM/CM Delta-P, and for you to get the cabin fan filter back on.”
“Roger, Houston, in work.” Michael flipped the page of the checklist and glanced at the cosmonaut. She calmly watched him, then turned to look at Chad. Michael saw her frown.
Looking over at Chad, Michael saw a faint smile on his commander’s face. What was that about?
The phone rang on the flight director’s console in Moscow. He picked it up and listened intently, making notes in his green daily logbook. He interrupted a couple of times to verify details, and then slowly set the phone down.
He turned to face Chelomei.
“Comrade Director, as you know, our ground stations have been listening for transmissions from the Apollo capsule.”
Chelomei’s stare burned into him. Ever since they’d sent the command to fire the gun on Almaz, they’d had no comms. It had been more than one full orbit, and neither of the relay ships had been able to get even basic telemetry data from the orbiting station. More ominously, there had been no word from the Almaz crew.
“Khvatit!” Chelomei spat. “Out with it!”
“It seems the Americans also had a comm problem, and recently got it fixed. Our interpreters are now hearing the Apollo crew clearly.” He took a deep breath and then spoke in a rush. “The battle at Almaz killed one astronaut and one cosmonaut, and appears to have very badly damaged our ship. They referred to”—he checked his notes—“a ‘trail of debris.’ ”
Chelomei’s lips went thin.
“The Apollo Command Module was damaged but has been repaired, and they have fired their engine to leave Earth orbit for the Moon. They have extracted their lunar lander from the rocket body, as per normal. Somehow, after our crew’s defense of Almaz, one cosmonaut was still clinging to the American ship as it turned for the Moon, and has since gotten inside.”
He straightened in his chair. “Captain Andrei Mitkov is dead, Comrade, killed in battle. His body has floated free. Senior Lieutenant Svetlana Gromova is the one who is aboard the Apollo ship.”
Chelomei wanted to scream. Almaz a trail of debris. And Mitkov killed? The Americans did this! He glared past the flight director, his thoughts reeling.
He took a lung-filling breath, held it and then forcefully exhaled, pushing it all out, clearing his mind. He pictured what was going to happen, assembling the logic. Since the Americans had not stayed in Earth orbit, they must still be intending to land on the Moon. And with only two astronauts, one would have to be in the lander, the other in the orbiting capsule.