Chapter 2

What now? All the pictures have been taken, all the stages have been destroyed, what’s my job now? Do I go home? Or do I just stay an asset? If I go home, maybe I’ll get a promotion! I could become a national hero! The children calling my name, the streets lined with adoring fans chanting my name “Al-ex! Al-ex! Al-ex!” I’ll be the next Yuri Gagarin! I’ll…

“Alex? Alex! Are you OK over there?”

Startled out of my thoughts, I replied “I’m fine. Just thinking about my future.”

“Care to share?” Luna asked, “After all, ever since you moved into this office with me, our futures seem to be tied together.” She must have seen my smile because she quickly added “Professionally, I mean.” As she said this, she turned her head down to the stack of papers in front of her, although not fast enough to hide the blood that was rushing to her cheeks.

“Well,” I said, slowly and deliberately, making her wait for my response, “I was just thinking about how much more we can do here. I mean, we’ve already faked a moon-landing, what’s next? I don’t think anyone would believe a Mars landing, just this soon. What do you think? What’s next for me?”

“I hear that there’s a big market now for special effects artists, you could try that. Apparently there’s some guy named Lucas poking around, looking for help on some space movie he’s cooked up.”

“It’ll never work; there’s already too much sci-fi in the world, especially around here.”

“You never know, they said the same thing about Star Trek, and look at it now!”

“Be serious! I really need to find another project I can throw myself at. Do you think you could help? I mean, maybe you could take me into your little side project.”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked, abruptly sounding defensive.

“Come on, I know that you’ve been working on something special. The late hours. The constant shuffling of papers when anyone walks in. Tell me. Maybe I can help you with whatever it is.”

She suddenly stood up and walked over to the coffeemaker squatting on the particleboard table cluttered with books on everything from Solid Stage Rockets and Their Benefits to Your Cannon EF and You: A Practical Guide. I could tell that she was nervous. Luna only drank coffee when she had something on her mind that she couldn’t shake off. Raising the cup to her lips, I could see the coffee inside forming ripples as her hand shook. She started to open her mouth, even going as far as forming a syllable, when a sound from behind me caused her to abruptly clamp her mouth shut, sit down the coffee, and stare at the doorway.

As I spun around to look at the newcomer, she said “Hello Director Gooding.” She was trying desperately to hide the fear in her eyes but failing.

“Hello Alex,” he said, looking at me. He turned his gaze to her. “I need to speak with you. Now.”

Fumbling her hands over each other in front of her, she was the image of terror. I could understand. When I first came to NASA, Director Gooding was the most intimidating man I had ever met, including some particularly venomous drill sergeants from my special ops training days. Tall, but not lanky, and with a face that looked as if it had been cut out of rough marble not with an artist’s chisel, but dynamite. But as I rose in the ranks of his organization, he began to grudgingly give me his confidence. A mumbled compliment here, an approving look there, and suddenly I found myself in his good graces. But poor Luna was not so lucky. No matter what she accomplished, none of it seemed to please him.

“Yes, sir.” She mumbled, staring at the hardwood floor as she walked towards him. Director Gooding was beginning to exit the office as well when he turned back.

“Oh, and Alex?” he said.

“Yes, sir?”

“Keep up the good work.”

“Will do, sir!” I replied with a grin and a salute.

As he closed the door, I cursed him for interrupting my conversation with Luna. I had been so close! She was seconds away from letting me join her in her “secret” mission. I knew she was working on something monumental. She must be, if she hasn’t told me about it. Why did he have to speak with her just now? But as I stood there, staring around the room, I realized that maybe this was a blessing in disguise. With Luna gone, I was free to have a look at the papers she so constantly hid. The lock on her desk was no match for me, so it was only a few minutes before I opened the drawer and freed the sheets. The majority of them were covered in equations and notations, every other inch of the paper canvassed with diagrams. To the average photographer, these numbers would have no meaning, but I am no average photographer. As I deciphered page after page, I grew more and more astonished.

“This could actually work…she can actually do it!” I murmured to myself as I thumbed through the documents.

It was all about rockets! There were trajectory equations, diagrams of air purifiers, descriptions of launch facilities contained within these pages, and so much more. Everything that would be needed to actually launch a man into space was here. This was it!

When I came here 15 years ago and set out to become the perfect American, I never expected that it would be this easy. I put so much effort into blending into suburbia. I wore the suit and tie. My lawn was perfectly manicured. I had a 9 to 5 job at a prestigious photography studio. All the exercise regiments, the propaganda resistance training, the strict dietary plans were for nothing but extracurricular activities for my personal satisfaction. I had been ready for any eventuality. Hand-to-hand combat? Code breaking? Escaping security system detection? These were my bread and butter, each honed to a fine point. But when I finally saw my opportunity, imagine my surprise that it wasn’t a locked safe or an armed guard, but a simple girl, barely out of MIT. This one girl held the key to the moon, and I was here to steal it, no matter the cost. And I could wait.