Salvador Mercer - Lunar Discovery

“After the purging of several Space Command executives and intra-departmental directors and managers, the PLA has taken control over the program and initiated a massive effort to build a rocket large enough to launch nearly five hundred tons into lunar orbit,” the advisor said.

Jack leaned back, turning around to whisper at Rock. “Did he just say the Chinese Army is in charge over there?” Rock nodded, only looking at Jack briefly in the process.

“In order to further our various objectives, we will be breaking into a series of compartmentalized groups, but under the direct command of the president through the Director of National Security.”

The aide went on to separate their various assets into the ELINT group, Electronic Intelligence, SIGINT, Signals Intelligence, and HUMINT, Human Intelligence. Rock’s group was placed, as predicted, in the SIGINT group. The briefing was adjourned, and the participants broke for their respective working locations. The press corps was kept at the guest building near the main entrance, and Rock was relieved that they were being kept at a good distance from their working locations. It was like a zoo out there, and the fact that the president activated the Reserves for all branches of service was a hot topic with her pundits.

Rock’s team grabbed a few cups of coffee before heading to conference room three that faced south, away from the main gate. The view was rather peaceful, and only the occasional security patrol driving by interrupted the warm, sunny spring day.

“Richard, I’d like you to meet a couple of our team members,” John Lui said as two people dressed in NASA jumpsuits and carrying notebooks stepped around the large table.

“Hey, Rock, good to see you again,” Craig Alders said, presenting a hand to shake.

“Likewise, Craig,” Rock said, shaking the man’s hand vigorously, a big smile across their faces. “You’re just back from the Russian station, no?” Rock asked.

“Last Friday they poked and prodded us for sixteen hours and then let us spend a weekend with the fams before shipping us back here,” Craig said.

Rock stepped to the side, nodding at Craig’s news, and greeted Craig’s companion. “You must be Julie Monroe,” Rock said, shaking her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Crandon. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Julie said, returning the shake albeit a bit more formally than Craig.

“Have you two worked together?” Jack asked, stepping up to greet the two astronauts.

“No, Jack, Julie came onboard right after our rotation and has been working with Fred Greer the last two years,” Rock answered, referring to the current mission leader for the space station ops.

“So why isn’t he here?” Jack asked, finishing the handshaking and looking at Rock.

“Mr. Greer has other orders right now, Jack,” Director Lui said, answering for Rock. “For now the Feds have requested that Richard handle the lunar ops from conception to execution.”

“Hello, Julie, how have you been?” Lisa said, entering the room, a cup of coffee in her hand that she quickly sat on the table. The two women gave each other a quick hug, smiling.

“You guys acquainted?” Jack asked.

“Didn’t you know? Julie and I were in the same prep class together and served in the same air wing back in oh twenty,” Lisa said.

“They’ve had me busy, but good to know,” Jack said.

Rock felt the situation a tad awkward as Julie and Lisa had competed for the same astronaut spot and Lisa fell short. If she was holding a grudge or felt slighted, she sure wasn’t displaying it, and Jack’s inattentiveness wasn’t helping.

“People, could we take our seats, please?” Mrs. Brown said, motioning everyone to be seated.

“I’ll be damned,” Tom said. “Another meeting?”

“Just suck it up, old timer,” Lisa said, giving Tom a wink. Rock wondered at this display of friendliness from Lisa since she wasn’t very fond of Tom and his “antiquated thinking,” as she liked to refer to the man’s ramblings.

“It’s just a quick focus session,” Mrs. Brown said. “We’ll be done in less than half an hour and you can return to your duties.”

“Just not our families,” Jack said under his breath.

“What was that, Mr. Connors?” Mrs. Brown asked.

“Nothing, dear, Jack was just getting seated,” Tom said, being about the only man in the room who would dare “dear” Mrs. Brown.

Rock shook his head and sat down, dreading another session.

“Director Lui, would you like to make a quick introduction so all the team members are familiar with one another?” Mrs. Brown said.

“Maybe we should all wear name badges,” Marge said, taking a seat near Rock.

“Did Marge just say what I thought she said?” Tom asked, his brows arched.

“Maybe there is a sense of humor buried under that façade,” Jack responded.

“Gentlemen,” John Lui began, standing, but before he could continue, the doors opened and several Secret Service agents entered the room.

A man in a black suit talked to Mrs. Brown and then left the room. “We will have a few visitors, so please remain seated and remember your manners,” Mrs. Brown said, sounding far too natural for a spook.

President Powers, her aides, and the Director of National Security entered the room as well as several more Secret Service Agents and a lone military officer, a four star general. The president and staff seated themselves at the head of the conference table. There are no other military or academia types, making this meeting much more intimate , Rock thought, wondering why he was so fortunate to always have the president attend his mission meetings.

“Please continue, Director Lui,” Mrs. Brown said, seemingly un-phased by the president’s presence.

“I was just making introductions, Madam President.” President Powers nodded at Director Lui. “Julie Monroe and Craig Alders here have joined our team as of today. I don’t think particulars need to be discussed, but at the highest levels we have been mandated to execute Operation Twenty-One in order to acquire or otherwise secure the unknown object on the far side of the moon.”

“Where do they come up with these original mission names?” Jack asked.

“Better to call it Operation Been There, Done That,” Tom said.

Director Lui ignored the jests, and Rock noticed Mrs. Brown’s countenance had hardened considerably. “We’ve added Jeff Wheeler to represent electrical engineering, and if necessary, we’ll add a few academic members once the nature of the object is understood more fully.”

“What kind of academia?” Rock asked.

“Linguists, geologists, metalurgists, those kind,” Lui said.

“Can you go around the table, please, Director Lui,” Mrs. Brown asked in her best schoolmarm tone.

Lui seemed inconvenienced but addressed the group a tad more formally now. “So, Jeff Wheeler, electrical engineering. Tom there, mechanical. Julie and Craig, I already mentioned, are the ops arm representing our astronautic section, so any ideas you come up with as a team will most likely be putting their lives on the line. Make sure you take this into consideration.” Lui paused for effect.

“You guys volunteer or get drafted?” Tom asked.

“We’re voluntary,” Craig said, and Julie nodded.

“Lisa Wilson here,” Lui said, nodding toward Rock’s team member, “represents our advanced systems analyst while Jack Connors is our signals expert.” Both team members nodded.

“Finally, we have Marjorie Jones, our chief science officer and assistant mission lead, the number two in command behind mission lead, Richard Crandon.” Rock nodded when his name was called. “And you all know Mrs. Brown, second liaison between NASA and the NSA,” Lui finished.