Chapter 20• Commander's call
*Still Day 11 of Origenes Crisis*
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Day 11 concluded with a dull, lack of ceremony.
Everywhere I went was wired with anticipation, but I was not.
I was exhausted but managed to put on a brave face for my last G-force centrifuge training.
MacGyver's breathing techniques made it so much easier. I almost welcomed the sensation of losing my vision.
Afterwards, they once again stowed me in a room by myself alongside massive amounts of food; more than any one pup could eat on their hungriest day.
I was so tired; I could barely keep my face out of the bowl.
My last sensory deprivation was also somewhat of a letdown. From the moment they closed the hatch I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.
The quiet was nice, the water still scared me- the way it clung to my fur.
I saw no images, no "slideshow", no memories plastered into the darkness.
In a strange way, I was sad that it was over.
Yes, the past days had been frantic, a stark contrast from the previous months where I progressively struggled to get myself out of bed in the mornings.
I had no idea what the future would be like, in fact, my brain was kicking around a possibility that I hadn't even considered.
We would be bringing three months' worth of food on the journey, split so that Arlo could eat a month's worth while he was alone; leaving Weston and myself with a month's each while we were down on the surface.
But what if the repairs took more than a month? When would we abandon?
Hypothetically speaking, we could stay on the surface for 30 days even as the moon changed phases. But working in complete darkness wasn't ideal.
As I was thinking about this, the hatch opened, and the blinding light attacked my senses.
I had to have passed out while I was in there, I thought.
I was led to my usual drying/changing area. But when I opened the door to leave, I was surprised to see Arlo waiting for me.
"Rocky, how'd it go?", he asked.
"It went fine, actually. Thanks", I said.
"Good stuff. You're done now, right?", he asked.
"Yes, I am, thank goodness", I sighed, "tomorrow's the big one though."
"I was just about to say that, why don't you take a walk with me?", he invited.
I wanted to jump at the chance, though I hesitated.
"I'm really tired", I said, "It's all I can do to stay standing at this point."
"Well, let me reiterate. It's more like a car ride to a walk, then a car ride back. And, well…we're never going to have enough time to do it otherwise. Dress rehearsal's tomorrow, Mission's the day after, and by the time we get back we'll be 'famous'- which means we'll have no time for anything", he said.
"Well, okay", I said, secretly hating my inability to tell people 'no.'
We walked outside, where a few off-duty NASA workers and security guards took our pictures to show their friends and loved ones.
We waved and hopped into a NASA van that was waiting.
"I planned for all three of us to go, but I thought about it and….well. Better to let Weston have this time by himself", Arlo said.
"Well, where are we going?", I asked, though I'd half-guessed it.
"We're going to see our Rocket!", he said, "Up close, that is."
At that moment of confirmation, I became a bit less tired and admittedly excited.
Arlo wasn't going to let the Van-ride to the legendary Launchpad 39A go by in silence.
Firstly, he offered an apology for not being more forthcoming since the first day. Compared to Weston, I didn't think Arlo had been bad at all.
I wasn't prepared for all he was ready to share with me, but I was happy about it, especially because he told me things about Weston that I doubt I would have learned otherwise.
Arlo confirmed that he was 8 years old (two years older than me) and Weston was 7 (one year older than me).
Although Weston had been in the NASA system for a longer period, Arlo had been preparing for spaceflight since he was 3.
"You should have seen me, I'm sure I've got pictures of me reading a book two times my size about aerodynamics", he'd said.
The first time Arlo was employed by a space agency, however, was in Tokyo, Japan.
He spent time in the Japanese space training program with JAXA (Japan's NASA) for a year and a half.
Aside from three systems of writing and finding spots to get heavenly Souffle pancakes, Arlo couldn't remember learning anything noteworthy.
Eventually a joint Canadian-American program called "Geo-sent" reached out to him and Arlo flew rocket planes for the next year.
The building anticipation already had me on edge, but I nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard that.
"Wait, so you've been to space before?!", I practically screamed.
"Well, if you want to get technical, yes, of course I assumed you'd know what a rocket plane is", he said.
"Yes, a small, rocket-propelled vehicle that's attached to a plane and gets released at a high altitude and leaves the atmosphere, typically capable of Mach 1.3 to Mach 5, depending on the engine."
"Yep, I'm beginning to see that my assumptions about you are often spot on. Virgin Galactic still uses the model", he said, "Technically the spaceflight criteria states that any flights exceeding the altitude of 50 miles (80 km) makes for astronaut status. Although, I think they've changed that since. But I definitely remember going that high."
"Still, you're technically a returning veteran, like an X-15 pilot. What was it like?", I asked.
"It was fast, took a lot of studying and ungodly hours of prep. And still, it was over before I even knew I'd done it", he scoffed, "If you aren't in a proper rocket, I don't consider it a spaceflight."
"Oh, okay. I mean... I guess I understand. I hope you'll forgive me. That's just…the coolest thing to me. You said there was a whole group of 'us', trained to go to space in earnest. Back when I was just dreaming about it", I said, trying not to gush.
Arlo looked out the window as the van traversed the flat ground and turned towards the launch pad.
"You should know better than anyone the capabilities of canines doing 'human' work, even puppies. I mean, that's the PAW Patrol's whole mission, right?", he asked.
"Yeah. I suppose it is. 'No job is too big, no pup is too small'- that's what Ryder says anyway", I said with a laugh.
Arlo didn't say anything for a minute, but he eventually picked up his story where he'd left off.
For a time, he did geological surveys, the most notable taking place in Pompeii.
"Rocky, I promise you. One day, you and I are going to Pompeii- I'll take you to the chicken district, it's the absolute most divine place you'll ever see/smell- and that includes the moon. I'm getting emotional just thinking about it- food you would not believe!", he gushed.
I accepted his invitation then, of course, but felt a little bad about a certain friend back in Adventure Bay.
That particular time, Arlo said, was a joint training between Geo-sent and NASA, where he saw going to the moon as a real possibility.
By that time all the other canine astronaut programs, including JAXA's, had ended. It was collectively declared that it would be extremely unlikely to see dogs sent anywhere other than a space station, and humans were the only one's volunteering.
However, NASA subsumed the Geo-sent program. So, it was either 'join or quit', according to Arlo.
The van pulled to a stop.
We had arrived right next to the pad where the crawler had stopped.
I wasn't sure what vehicle would take us for the mock-launch the next day, but I knew that the waiting would be dreadful.
Anticipation and I were never friends to one another.
The sun was low in the sky, but we still had about an hour or so of dimming light.
I thanked the driver and climbed out of the van.
Arlo and I stood there, in a moment of pure admiration.
It was almost as if someone had dropped a building in the middle of the glades.
The sunlight glinted off of the cockpit windows.
The rocket was tall and majestic, with the area buzzing with activity.
Even now, NASA was hard at work.
NASA engineers rode the elevator up, nearly to the spacecraft's 210-foot top.
"We can't actually go up to it yet, but we can walk around it", Arlo said.
From gravel, to concrete, to grass, we walked; The rocket seeming to ever so slowly rotate as it revealed more of itself to Arlo and I.
I noticed other things too.
The sides of our vehicle, which were black, were covered with massive TPS heat tiles that were about twice the size of my body.
A row of 8 Ziplines extended down from the crew access tower next to the bridge- thin and barely visible against the sky.
These "emergency" lines led downward in a steady slope far from the rocket, making what would be a five-minute walk, about a 45 second trip.
We stopped after some walking to where we could see the very front- which faced towards the very track it had been delivered down.
Underneath the NASA logos read- "Cygnus Recovery & Support V-3"- in Large, Cambria-like text.
"This would make for an awesome shot, don't you think?", Arlo asked, his tail wagging again.
He noticed and held it still.
"Definitely", I replied, "Guess it's hard to control the excitement. And you know, why would we?"
"You're right, what can I say? My training has all but ironed out my "doggy" impulses, but this is something I never thought I'd have. A rocket; my rocket. One I get to take command in, y'know?", he said.
"Yeah, I almost wish that you could have….", I stopped, "Never mind."
"Oh, you were going to bring up the 'Command module Pilot's dilemma', weren't you?", he said.
"I didn't want to", I admitted.
Arlo had been through so much, yet it would be Weston and I descending down to the moon's surface and not him. He'd earned the title of mission commander, in charge of the launch vehicle and solely responsible for getting us and the space telescope back to Earth. Yet the so dubbed 'third astronauts' of these crews seldom received the credit they deserved until recently.
"It's alright, I think about it too. But I have a job to do so you all can do your jobs. Plus, I don't know. Michael Collins didn't seem to mind it. Nice contemplative time going around the dark side of the moon without the radio constantly babbling in your ears. I'm very much looking forward to being lulled to sleep that way", he said with a smile.
The thought of being cut off in the dark for any period of time made me terrified, but I understood what he meant.
"Rocky, let me be frank. I only heard about the PAW Patrol as a concept right at the time of the NASA x Geo-sent merger. I was overwhelmed, so I didn't pay a lot of mind to the 'puppy rescue team' then. But plenty of others did. The first time I ever saw videos of you and your friends in action was much later, and I wasn't in love with the idea. I couldn't wrap my head around why a human kid was constantly in the way, giving you all orders", Arlo said.
Although he wasn't the first to heap criticism on the PAW Patrol's use over regular first responders, he was the first of my species to tell me to my face.
"It actually felt, I don't know, 'gimmickier' to me, that a PAW patrol member was actually being considered for this mission. But, after examining the field of candidates I would have definitely selected you for the team had they asked for my input- which they didn't", he said, "That's the truth."
"Thank you, Arlo", I said after it sunk in, "It means a lot to hear you say that."
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this to flatter you. I think you'll be good for this team, not because of your PAW Patrol's reputation, but because you yourself are capable", he said.
After all I'd learned about Arlo, it didn't seem that outlandish that he'd see the PAW Patrol as a less subtle example of what he already knew to be true- pups are more than capable of doing what humans can- sometimes they perform even better.
Even his position on Ryder made sense. Chase made a fine leader, but he wouldn't even know of his true potential without Ryder- none of us would. Or at least, that's what I thought.
"Whether you are the 'right choice' will just have to wait to be seen -but that's the same for all of us, so I'm not going to contemplate too long or hold that over your head. I'm not a micro-manager", he said.
Then we just sat there, staring at the majestic vehicle as the sun continued its exit.
"Thanks Arlo, I'm…. actually really glad you talked to me", I said, sounding more like a child than I would have liked to.
He smiled and extended his paw. I shook it, in a showing of respect and- in a way- compromise.
We may not agree on everything, but there wasn't anyone else that I wanted to serve under in the coming days.
On our drive back he also apologized on behalf of Weston.
While he didn't tell me how long they had known each other, Arlo knew Weston was more of a 'hard-exterior' kind of guy and had always been that way, despite our combined efforts to reach him.
Arlo's advice to me was, "Don't be afraid of him. If you shrink away from him, he'll never respect you."
To which I replied, "I'm not afraid of Weston, or at least not anymore. I think what I'm most afraid of is…."
"Failure?", he asked.
"Change, I think...", I said.
Arlo tilted his head to one side, either he didn't know what I'd meant, or he wasn't expecting the answer.
"Don't get me wrong, the reality that I'll be strapping into a NASA rocket is only now feeling real, but it's weird. My first thought wasn't: 'What's going to be the aftermath if something goes wrong', but it was more of me asking myself- 'What's going to change if everything goes right?'", I said.
"You strike me as someone who's gotten the whole "importance of confidence" lecture before", Arlo said.
"I'm plenty confident", I managed to belt out without second-guessing myself.
"I know", he replied.
"But… I could use some advice, maybe I need a new way of thinking. I hope it's not too 'unprofessional' to ask you that", I said.
"Oh please, I'm not Weston", he laughed, then paused.
"Hmmmmm, why does history get a bad rap, do you think?", he asked me.
I was Momentarily stumped by his question.
"….Maybe because some people don't teach it right, not all the time I mean, I rather enjoy it. Space travel has a whole side of history that most people don't even know about", I said.
"That's it! You have a history too, you know that!", he said.
I was pleasantly surprised, I had never shared my own story with him, yet it was almost as if he could tell that my story didn't just start with Ryder and the pups.
"My advice to you- think about your own history. Just because you aren't a prominent figure or a topic of study doesn't mean you don't have one. I would say the vast majority of us had times when we weren't afraid. I mean, sometimes Nostalgia creeps in and kind of tweaks the images of the past, but that doesn't mean the past wasn't there- it certainly can't mean it wasn't good", he said.
His words hit me in a deep place.
I remained quiet.
"Oh, or am I assuming something I shouldn't?", Arlo asked.
"No, of course not", I assured.
"Well, that's what I'd do anyway. I say, go back to when life made sense, when you weren't so afraid to change- surely there's someone you can call", he said.
"Yeah, I think there might be", I conceded.
"Well, Rocky. It's only a mindset; that rut you feel like you're in. Tomorrow we'll really see what everyone's made of", he sighed, then added, "I'm scared too."
The next day would be the last before launch, which consisted of a full dress-rehearsal of the launch procedure to the exact letter, aside from the actual launch.
I took one last look at the rocket through the van's back window before turning back around; quietly hoping I'd picture it roaring through the Florida sky in my dreams.
***End of Chapter 20***
Author's Note:
I hope you all enjoyed, as always. My epic struggle to write enough but not too much is certainly on display. Lol.
One thing I've always enjoyed about Rocky, and what made me want to write a story on him, was the way he stood out among the other pups. I'm not just saying that because he's potentially the only (labeled) mixed-breed dog we see. I mean, he's the Recycling pup. That's more of a job of privilege than necessity. I'm sure the show's writers just wanted to teach kids about recycling and the environment, but there has always been more "under the hood" to him in my eyes. Call me crazy for thinking that hard about it, but he's my Main character and I'm happy about it! I might write a future paragraph or two as its own thing to go further in-depth at some point, but that's a shortened version of my thought process.
As always, thank you for reading!
Until we meet again!
- HM