Page 94 of Stars

Earth’s Orbit

“Hello, Moscow,”roared out of the ISS speakers. “This is Iakov Zeytsev. I will speak to the man who claims to be president, Sergey Puchkov.”

The crew was huddled inUnityagain, crowded around Michaela and Rafael. Michaela had gauze pressed to her face, trying to stem the blood flowing from her eyes and nose and beginning to trickle from her ears. Rafael tested her vision, flashing a light into and out of her pupils. The left was fixed, no longer moving.

Every head went up, and they stared at the speakers embedded in the bulkheads. The signal was scratchy and filled with static, popping and whizzing like a hundred-year-old transmission.

“What the fuck is that?” Sarah snapped.

“It’s the Russian VHF radio link,” Sasha said. “It’s managed outside of NASA.”

Phillipa grabbed a laptop and tried to open up the station’s communications systems. She cycled through the channels on her headset. “I can’t find the broadcast. We can’t talk back.”

Sergey’s voice erupted out of the static. “This is President Puchkov. What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“We’re not meant to respond,” Sasha said. “We’re meant to listen.”

* * *

Johnson Space Center

Houston, Texas

Radiological alarms blaredacross Mission Control, each station registering its own radiological emergency. Flight controllers forFreedomregistered the highest readings, calling out the alert levels from their computers over the roar and din of the sudden chaos.

General Duncan rose from his observation post at the back of the room, holding a secure satellite phone to his head. He moved to Roxanne at the flight controller station in three long strides. “The nuclear warhead onFreedomhas gone live. I have a call from the Pentagon. Turn your radios to VHF.”

* * *

Kremlin

Moscow, Russia

“Mr. President,”Zeytsev said, a smug smile filling his voice. Sergey’s teeth gnashed together, and his fingers dug into the edge of his desk as he grabbed the old wood. “You have lost control of your nuclear warheads.”

“I’m about to drop a warhead on Yamantau,” he growled. “You have ten seconds to surrender and return control of Yamantau to the government.”

“How can you drop a nuclear warhead on me when I control them all, Mr. President? I only have to flip a switch and I’ve armed every warhead on our country’s submarine fleet. Or all of the ICBMs on Kamchatka.”

Sergey cursed.

“Or detonate the warhead orbiting overhead on the ISS.It is counting down as we speak.”

Sasha.Blind fury slammed into him, made him double over across his desk as he tried to breathe. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear.Sasha. Sasha.Gasping, he choked out,“You would murdereveryastronaut on that station.” His voice trembled, the very edge of control.Sasha.

“What would happen, Mr. President, if I let this count all the way down? If I let this warhead explode?”

I would find you and murder you. Rip your organs out through your neck, pulverize your heart in my bare hands. I would spend the rest of my life hunting you, and then put a bullet in my skull after I watched the life bleed out of your eyes.

He dragged in a ragged breath. His hands shook on his desktop. He forced his mind to work, to put words to thoughts, try to put the nation, the world, ahead of the love of his life. His heart felt like it had been sliced down the center, the very core of him bleeding down his insides. “You would plunge the world into technical anarchy and seteveryoneback decades with the loss of the global space infrastructure. And you would ignite a war of reprisal that would decimate this country. That is what you want?”

“I would turn the world upside down, burn it to the ground, if it brought Russia back to her rightful place!” Zeytsev snarled. “Back on top!”

Sergey said nothing.

“No, I will tell you what would truly happen: you would beruined. Finished. The final failure in your abysmal presidency if you let this warhead detonate. How many nations would turn on you? You would be run out of office, chased out of the Kremlin and down the street and beaten to death by the good patriots of this country for your long, long string of humiliation. You, Sergey Puchkov, would be the face offailure.”

Sergey flushed, burning. He closed his eyes. Sasha’s perfect face filled his mind. His gorgeous smile.Sasha.