Grandpa Goes to Mars

Chapter 2

When I woke up I was on still on the floor, being attended by Comrade Sveta Ilichova, Uncle Alyosha's secretary. She was also a trained nurse who had brought wounded soldiers back from death's door. I had known her since before I could remember anything.

"Nadya Andreevna, what's got into you? Why are you dropping all over my floors like a sack of potatoes?"

I started to cry. "Sasha's gone, he's blasted off into space with a bunch of crazy men and he's going to die..." I was choking on my sobs and blinded by my tears

Sveta held me tightly. "Nadyenka, ssshh now. Nothing bad's happened yet. Your uncle and his crew are still alive, you're here, I'm here, everyone's in one piece, exactly the way they're supposed to be."

It was hard for me to penetrate her reasoning, and I felt hot with anger. "If you're telling me everything's all right when our dear Sasha just blasted himself into nowhere...!"

"Oh, he did do that, it's true," Sveta agreed, "but I don't see the need for you to feel so bad – at least not yet."

My eyes welled up with tears again and Sveta tried to comfort me more.

"Nadyenka, your uncle is a very capable man. He's anything but a helpless victim in this situation. If anyone can pilot the shuttle and the crew to safety, he can."

"Exactly," said Uncle Alyosha, "he's one of the finest pilots in the Soviet air force, and a great cosmonaut. It's exactly for this type of situation that we asked him to come out of retirement."

"Why?" I wailed. "To steal a Soviet spaceship and get himself killed? Is that what you wanted him to do?"

"Nyet, nyet," Sveta and Alyosha said together, Sveta clutching me even more tightly. But I had become a sack of crying potatoes again.

***

November 1991 - 1 Month Earlier

Baikonur Cosmodrome – Kazakhstan

The black Zil sedan parked neatly next to another one in front of the Flight Command Center. Major Zukhov and two other cosmonauts got out along with along with their driver and walked into the building. At the security desk they each presented their identifications and the guard, after confirming they were who they were supposed to be, asked to shake each cosmonaut's hand, glowing effusively about the importance of their work and the glorious nature of their heroism. His children were all enthusiastic fans of the Soviet Hero Cosmonauts and he it a point to thank each one he met profusely for their contributions. They politely thanked him in return, and continued to Comrade Flight Director Kosygin's office.

Sasha and the others entered the office and Colonel Kosygin stepped forward, embracing him as though they had been separated by a battle front. "Sasha," he said, "How splendid you've come. We very much need your counsel about our upcoming launch." He turned to address everybody. "But before your briefing on the situation, let us celebrate our reunion."

He walked to a cabinet on a wall near his desk and opened one of the glass panels, pulling out a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka and some shot glasses. He filled and passed one to each cosmonaut and raised his own glass for the toast: "To the spirit of man, unquenchable in space as it is on earth."

"To the spirit of man!" they cried, and drained their glasses. Comrade Kosygin refilled them and asked them to sit down; only the driver, nondescript in a casual black suit, chose to stand.

"You have been called here today due to some difficulties we have encountered with our next mission. You have, of course, been briefed about the program and to its current status?"

They had.

"The Soviet space shuttle is the most important space launch for the Soviet Union since Sputnik," said Kosygin. "It is completely classified for the time being, and no one but those directly involved in its launch can even be sure it exists. Of course, we had intended to issue a global press release upon successful attainment of the Earth-Luna orbit, announcing our latest victory and inspiring the peoples of the world with another example of Soviet engineering and competence. All the technical systems have checked out and the space vehicle is ready for launch on schedule."

He looked at Sasha. "The difficulty I mentioned is not a technical one, but is rather more serious."

"What is the problem?" asked Sasha.

"It's a personnel problem," answered Kosygin, "and we were hoping you could help us solve it."

"Can you tell me more about this…'personnel problem'?"

Kosygin deferred. "Unfortunately I cannot, as I am not authorized to do so, and have not been fully briefed. We are waiting on a member of State Security…"

At this point the driver stepped forward and interrupted Kosygin. "I am Colonel Andrei Lavrov of the KGB, and I am authorized to brief you and the Cosmonauts about the nature of this mission."

The other cosmonauts seemed somewhat startled at this announcement, but Alyosha and Sasha merely smiled.

"Please," asked Sasha, "tell us what we must know, Comrade Colonel Lavrov."

"There are 4 members of the original shuttle flight crew who are presently on standby for this launch. However, it has come to the attention of the KGB that the flight captain, Comrade Major Gurevich, is unreliable on several levels, and cannot continue with this mission."

"'Unreliable,' Comrade? In what way?" asked Lieutenant Petrov, one of the younger cosmonauts. "He can still fly our spacecraft, can't he?"

"Comrade Gurevich, though technically still capable of flying aircraft, has been discovered to be deeply involved with counter-revolutionary elements which presently have the support of President Boris Yeltsin. Gurevich is of questionable moral character, a disgrace to the Soviet Union and a security risk. As such he will not be piloting the Soviet space shuttle on this mission."

He looked directly at Alyosha with a gaze of steel and certainty. "You, Comrade Major Zukhov, will assume command of this mission at once."

"At once, Comrade Colonel," answered Sasha calmly. "But please tell me, when is liftoff? I haven't had even a day's training, and I haven't read the full flight orders for such an important mission. I feel somewhat unprepared…"

"Of course, Comrade Zukhov," said Colonel Lavrov, pulling an envelope from his coat pocket. "Here are the flight plan and your orders. Liftoff has been rescheduled for the first week in December."

The cosmonauts stared into the middle of the room, calculating.

"Correct," said Colonel Lavrov, "That gives you exactly one week to prepare for the launch. Your quarters have been prepared and the eminently qualified doctors and nurses of our medical staff are on call should you become overtaxed. But we don't anticipate that happening. After all, you wouldn't be here if you all hadn't proven yourselves capable of handling unexpected challenges." Colonel Lavrov smiled. "I suggest you drink another toast, comrades, and don't leave out any glory. I wish you all the best of luck."

And with that Comrade Colonel Lavrov left the room, leaving the Cosmonauts and Flight Director to contemplate the future. It was different from what they had anticipated, but it was the future nonetheless.

To be continued.