Ad Terram in Luna [Chapter2] - a space story by SE
"Ad Terram in Luna”
"To Land On the Moon"
"To Land On the Moon"
“The Exploits of Three Men, and the Moon"
[Chapter 2]
Schedules Change
I proceeded to knock on the door. “Come in.” came a voice from behind the door. I opened the door to find a seemingly old fellow; of course that is what one would expect someone from the Apollo days to look like now. “Mr. Dawson! It’s good to see you.” said Randle. We all shook his hand and sat down at his ovular shaped table. Mr. Randle began to speak, “Now, to get down to business. I trust you have seen the reports on the improved DGIV, Dawson?”
“Yes, sir I have. We finished implementing John’s DGIV with the new design you engineered.”
“That’s good. I guess that these two fine looking gentlemen are your crewmembers?”
“Your assumption would be accurate, Mr. Randle”
We then discussed how his design works, and explained how to use it. He said that they were modifying the Simulator with his design so we can practice our skills.
We said goodbye and headed back to the VAB where our DGIV was being prepared for Monday’s launch. The DGIV was the same color white as the space shuttle with dark grey tiles on the bottom. She was stacked up with two Solid Rocket Boosters and an External Tank in-between them. She was a beauty of a spacecraft. Coming along with us on the mission was a woman by the name of Kelly Clarkson. She was 5’5 feet in height and very slim. She had brown eyes and light brown colored hair. She seemed to be in her mid-thirties, and she had a very protective father. Remarkably enough, her father was our boss! Robert Clarkson was funding this mission personally, and didn’t quite trust us as we are, as he calls, “American underclasses”. Surprisingly, he liked my buddy John Wiley which was also an “American Underclass”. I never could understand Robert; but on the bright side, he had a great sense of humor.
It was 6:00PM before we finally made it back to the “Living Quarters” section of Wide-awake International. I got to my room, and lay on my bed to think about all that had happened today. I glanced to the right and saw a picture of me and my family. Picking it up, I noticed a small line of text on the bottom of the photo. It read, “Fly straight and steady, and never turn till it seems right.” It was my mother’s handwriting. She gave this photo to me before I left home for the Air Force years ago. I placed the photo back, and got up to take a shower. When I had finished showering I returned to my bedroom. Lying on my bed, I started to doze off into the night. I quickly got up when I remembered that I was supposed to go next door to Mill’s.
I quickly packed my suitcase and walked down the hall to Mill’s quarters. I knocked on the door quietly so I would not disturb anyone else. He finally opened the door and we chatted for a few moments. “Would like anything to drink, man?”
“You got any Cola?” I replied
“I do, let me get some”
When he had returned with the drinks, he handed me the paperwork that he had finished. “Good, we have everything now to give to Mr. Clarkson.” “Now everything is ready for our launch Monday morning.”
“I’ll bring it to him in the morning.” I replied. We chatted for a bit longer, than I left to go back to my room.
“I’ll bring it to him in the morning.” I replied. We chatted for a bit longer, than I left to go back to my room.
Not much longer after I walked in did the phone ring. It was Robert Clark. “Hey George, we need you to get over to the simulator.”
“Now?” I replied. “Yes, Clarkson said he wanted you and Dick to get over here. He has something to tell us about tomorrow’s launch. “I’ll be there soon.” I groaned.
“Now?” I replied. “Yes, Clarkson said he wanted you and Dick to get over here. He has something to tell us about tomorrow’s launch. “I’ll be there soon.” I groaned.
I called Dick and told him that Clarkson needed us at the Simulator.
“At this ungodly hour!?”
“Yes, he wants us over there now.” I replied.
“Yes, he wants us over there now.” I replied.
It was 7:30PM when we finally left for the Simulator. Pulling up in the parking lot we saw Robert Clark, and Clarkson. “What do you need, boss?” I asked. “I need you both to get in the simulator and get familiar with the procedures.” “Yes sir”
We were in the simulator until midnight before we were able to get back to our rooms. “Finally, some sleep.” I thought to myself. I had just fallen asleep when the phone rang again. “Is this George Dawson?” “Yes” I replied. “I got some bad news. The engine on the DGIV exploded into a million pieces. Your mission is canceled until further notice.” “What the heck? You are joking?”
“No sir, Mr. Dawson.”
“Damn! Thanks for notifying me. I’ll call the others and tell them the news.”
Total Comments 0
