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Authors: Israel Sanchez
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adjusting her hair. “But now that I think about it, he did look tense. I just thought it was stress from work. What did Houston say?”
“Nothing,” Willmore said.
“Maybe they don’t want us to worry for no reason,” Samantha said. “If there’s a terrorist attack, what could we do from here, except worry?”
Avery thought about it and it made sense. NASA would not worry the astronauts over something that is beyond their control, as Samantha said. Orbiting around the Earth every 90 minutes, conducting experiments and following a strict regimen was already enough to keep the astronauts busy. Knowing about some terrorist attack would only add more anxiety to individuals in a high stress environment. But his wife also knew this and her demeanor was worrisome.
“I get that,” Avery said, “but I know Veronica and if she broke protocol and tried telling me about whatever’s going on down there, then it must be big.”
Willmore didn’t say another word. He turned around, sat on his desk and put his headset on. He then pressed a button on the keyboard.
“Houston, this is Commander Willmore, do you copy?”
There’s usually a one-second lag when communicating with Houston, but after a few seconds, there was no response.
“Houston, this is Commander Willmore, come in.”
More silence. Samantha eyed Ryder. Her face revealed a growing concern.
“Houston—”
“Commander Willmore, this is Houston, I read you,” a voice said.
There was an almost permeable sense of relief in the air.
“Houston, can we switch to video call?”
“Commander, our communication systems are having some minor difficulties. Only audio for now,” the voice said.
“Copy,” Willmore said, and then he looked at Avery. “Houston, some of our family members tried warning us about a terrorist attack or something of that nature taking place back home. I tried calming my crew down, but some of us are worried. What do you know of this?”
There was a long silence.
“Nothing to worry about, Commander,” the voice said. “There has been a week of disturbances across the nation, but the federal government is getting things under control.”
Avery looked at the Commander. A week of disturbances across the entire nation? That didn’t sound good.
“Copy that, Houston. Can you elaborate?”
Again, a prolonged silence filled the air.
“Negative, Commander. Until we learn more about what’s going on ourselves, there’s no need to burden you guys with information you don’t need. Your families are safe.”
Avery thought of the Oxygen Generation System near the Discovery Lab. He knew that the system was fully functional, and yet, only when Houston confirmed that their families were safe, did Avery feel like he was breathing again. He knew it was selfish, but he didn’t care if the entire world was burning, as long as his wife was safe, as long as his father was safe, that’s what only mattered to him.
Before accepting the mission, Avery knew that he would be able to talk to his wife almost daily, so he thought that the things he would miss the most were the comforts of planet Earth, like sleeping without having to tether his sleeping bag to the floor or ceiling, or like not having objects float away constantly. However, once he found himself in the International Space Station, he realized that despite video chatting often, he missed his wife the most. He also missed his father, who had raised him by himself since Ryder was 12.
“Is the Soyuz still on schedule?” Willmore asked, yanking Avery back to reality.
“Affirmative,” Houston responded. “The Russian crew will be there in two hours.”
“Copy that,” Willmore said. “Sorry for breaking protocol, but we appreciate having the peace of mind. You know how important that is up here.”
“We understand, Commander,” Houston replied.
Then, the ISS
“Nothing,” Willmore said.
“Maybe they don’t want us to worry for no reason,” Samantha said. “If there’s a terrorist attack, what could we do from here, except worry?”
Avery thought about it and it made sense. NASA would not worry the astronauts over something that is beyond their control, as Samantha said. Orbiting around the Earth every 90 minutes, conducting experiments and following a strict regimen was already enough to keep the astronauts busy. Knowing about some terrorist attack would only add more anxiety to individuals in a high stress environment. But his wife also knew this and her demeanor was worrisome.
“I get that,” Avery said, “but I know Veronica and if she broke protocol and tried telling me about whatever’s going on down there, then it must be big.”
Willmore didn’t say another word. He turned around, sat on his desk and put his headset on. He then pressed a button on the keyboard.
“Houston, this is Commander Willmore, do you copy?”
There’s usually a one-second lag when communicating with Houston, but after a few seconds, there was no response.
“Houston, this is Commander Willmore, come in.”
More silence. Samantha eyed Ryder. Her face revealed a growing concern.
“Houston—”
“Commander Willmore, this is Houston, I read you,” a voice said.
There was an almost permeable sense of relief in the air.
“Houston, can we switch to video call?”
“Commander, our communication systems are having some minor difficulties. Only audio for now,” the voice said.
“Copy,” Willmore said, and then he looked at Avery. “Houston, some of our family members tried warning us about a terrorist attack or something of that nature taking place back home. I tried calming my crew down, but some of us are worried. What do you know of this?”
There was a long silence.
“Nothing to worry about, Commander,” the voice said. “There has been a week of disturbances across the nation, but the federal government is getting things under control.”
Avery looked at the Commander. A week of disturbances across the entire nation? That didn’t sound good.
“Copy that, Houston. Can you elaborate?”
Again, a prolonged silence filled the air.
“Negative, Commander. Until we learn more about what’s going on ourselves, there’s no need to burden you guys with information you don’t need. Your families are safe.”
Avery thought of the Oxygen Generation System near the Discovery Lab. He knew that the system was fully functional, and yet, only when Houston confirmed that their families were safe, did Avery feel like he was breathing again. He knew it was selfish, but he didn’t care if the entire world was burning, as long as his wife was safe, as long as his father was safe, that’s what only mattered to him.
Before accepting the mission, Avery knew that he would be able to talk to his wife almost daily, so he thought that the things he would miss the most were the comforts of planet Earth, like sleeping without having to tether his sleeping bag to the floor or ceiling, or like not having objects float away constantly. However, once he found himself in the International Space Station, he realized that despite video chatting often, he missed his wife the most. He also missed his father, who had raised him by himself since Ryder was 12.
“Is the Soyuz still on schedule?” Willmore asked, yanking Avery back to reality.
“Affirmative,” Houston responded. “The Russian crew will be there in two hours.”
“Copy that,” Willmore said. “Sorry for breaking protocol, but we appreciate having the peace of mind. You know how important that is up here.”
“We understand, Commander,” Houston replied.
Then, the ISS
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