In the MSS control room, Buzz, Neil, Jake, Butch, and Ronnie relaxed at a console where they drank coffee and read newspapers.
A door slid open, and Kurt and Vadim entered and floated over to them.
Wayne painfully floated through the door with a megaphone shoved up his butt from an encounter with Vadim a little while ago.
Vadim had a satisfied smirk on his face for what he did to Wayne. Paybacks are hell! He thought in his head while he floated over to everybody.
"The man with the megaphone is Wayne Jenson. And the guy with the smirk is Vadim Labko," Kurt introduced the two guys.
Kurt removed a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and unfolded it. "You can rendezvous with the asteroid in the morning," he read the paper that came from the system engineers down at the Rocket Ranch.
"Ah, sir, can I go to medical?" Wayne painfully asked Kurt.
Kurt looked over at Wayne and shivered at the thought of having a megaphone shoved up his butt.
"Sure," he said and motioned for Wayne to leave.
Wayne painfully floated over to the door.
Then a fart was amplified from the megaphone while he floated through the door.
Vadim looked proud of himself when he heard the fart.
"Can we get some assistance with fueling our craft for leaving tomorrow?" Jake asked Kurt.
"Vadim can help," Kurt replied while he looked over at Vadim who floated nearby.
Vadim gave Jake a "Thumbs up" sign.
Later that day outside Parking Garage #1 of the MSS, the Magellan was parked in space near three fuel pumps that looked like gasoline pumps from a neighborhood gas station.
Near one of the fuel pumps, the right BLAH was extended from the Ferry Ship's Storage Bay and held the Space Module Mayflower in the grips in its mechanical hand. Vadim was inside the Magellan using the joystick that operated the right BLAH. Strapped around the Mayflower capsule were the three rocket engines to be installed at the rear of the asteroid.
The Mayflower was supposed to be flown for another Moon landing in 1973, but the Uranus program was canceled after Jake, Butch and Ronnie's mission. So now it was on a mission to save earth from the asteroid.
At the front of the Mayflower, was a docking station that was installed to it could dock with the old Uranus Sweet Thing Moon Lander.
Attached to the rear of the Mayflower was a trailer where a 1960s VW looking dune buggy vehicle with oversized rugged tires and a specialized designed rear rocket engine was secured. It was called the Space Buggy.
The Space Buggy consisted of a driver's and passenger bucket seats and a rear bench seat. Above the back seat was a roll bar that had a reel of wire installed. At the rear was a small bed that contained numerous containers that had supplies for the mission.
Jake floated in space near the fuel pump in his spacesuit with a small rocket pack strapped to his back. The rocket packs used with these spacesuits had a cylindrical shape with a nozzle at the end and were fueled by hypergolic fuel and oxidizer.
Jake putt putted over to the Mayflower and had a nozzle in his glove and a fuel line that trailed back to the pump.
Butch also floated in space near one of the fuel pumps in his spacesuit with a small rocket pack strapped to his back. He putt putted over to the Space Buggy and had a nozzle in his glove and a fuel line that trailed back to another pump.
Jake and Butch looked at each other while they shoved the nozzles into their respective fuel tanks. They both started fueling, and it was another competition between the pair.
A ding was heard when Jake filled up the Mayflower's fuel tank.
A ding was heard when Butch filled up the Space Buggy's fuel tank. He looked over and saw Jake was already at the first rocket engine strapped to the Mayflower.
Jake started to fill up the first engine with fuel.
Butch headed over to the second rocket engine strapped to the Mayflower. He started to fill that engine up with fuel.
A ding was heard, and Butch saw Jake had filled up the first engine.
Butch clenched his teeth in anger when he saw Jake rush over to the third rocket engine.
Jake started to fill up the third engine with fuel while the ding of Butch filling up the second engine was heard.
The last ding was heard that indicated Jake filled up the third engine with fuel.
"I filled up three tanks. You filled up two. I won!" Jake boasted and did a little victory dance in space.
Butch clinched his fists and wanted to beat Jake. He refrained.
They putt putted back to their respective fuel pumps and placed the nozzles back into the pumps.
Vadim then used the right BLAH and moved the Mayflower and Space Buggy back into the Storage Bay of the Magellan.
Jake and Butch putt putted into the Storage Bay of the Magellan. The Storage Bay doors closed once they were safely inside.
Then Vadim slowly flew the Magellan back into Parking Garage #1.
Meanwhile, back down on earth, it was morning in a small New England town. The town folk milled around the sidewalks and cars drove around the streets with everybody going about their peaceful existence.
Then it suddenly got dark, and the cars screeched and crashed into each other.
"The news didn't mention a solar eclipse!" a man said while all the town folk looked up at the dark sky.
Then part of the sun became visible when The Finger asteroid moved across the sky.
Then half of the sun became visible when The Finger asteroid moved farther across the sky.
Meanwhile, at this same moment across the big pond in a small town in England, people stood around and watched while three-quarters of the sun was visible.
"They didn't tell us about a solar eclipse," a woman said while she stared at the sky with the other folks. Then her eyes widened in fear. "It's not an eclipse! It's that asteroid!" the woman yelled out in a panic.
All the eyes of the people around her widened in fear when they realized it was the threatening asteroid.
They all screamed and ran around their town in chaos.
Back in that small town in New England, everybody's eyes widened in panic when they realized it was The Finger asteroid that moved across the sun.
They all screamed and ran around their town in chaos.
In Moscow, Russian President Ivanov sat behind his desk and stared at a small digital display on the front of his desk.
On this display, "The Finger - 292 Miles Away" scrolled across the small marquee window.
President Ivanov tapped the receiver of his yellow "Launch Missiles" phone while he watched the display. He debated if he should make the call to launch his missiles.
In Beijing, Chinese President Wang stared at his small digital display that sat on the front of his desk.
On this display, "The Finger - 292 Miles Away" scrolled across the small marquee window.
President Wang tapped the receiver of his yellow "Launch Missiles" phone while he watched the display. He debated if he should make the call and launch his missiles.
In Pyongyang, North Korean President Chul-Moo stared at his small digital display that sat on the front of his desk.
On this display, "The Finger – 292 Miles Away" scrolled across the small window.
President Wang tapped the receiver of his yellow "Launch Missiles" phone while he watched the display. He debated if he should make the call and launch his missiles.
Jake and Butch floated down one of the halls of the MSS still in their spacesuits.
Butch's iPhone from inside one of his multiple spacesuit pockets rang, and he quickly removed it.
"Hello my darling," he quickly answered with love in his eyes.
Jakes got jealous when he knew he spoke to Jennifer. He floated away and longed to talk that lovingly to June again.
"I've been trying to call you," she said from his iPhone.
"Sorry, we were outside fueling up our spacecraft for the mission," Butch answered.
"Listen, I have to be quick. I heard Richard talking with Buzz, and they're planning to send you two off in the escape pod," Jennifer quickly told Butch from his iPhone.
"That bastard!" Butch replied.
"Please watch your back up there," Jennifer said.
"I will," he said then there was a beep, and he looked at the viewfinder and saw Jennifer blow him a kiss. He turned his iPhone around and took a pic of him blowing a return kiss.
He shoved his iPhone back in his spacesuit pocket.
He looked down the hall where Jake waited.
He floated down the hall to Jake.
"Listen, we have a problem," he told Jake then whispered in Jake's ear and told him about Jennifer's news.
Jake looked pissed when he heard the potential threat.
Jake and Butch walked away and went inside their rooms.
A little while later, Jake relaxed in his bed when the monitor on the wall by his bed suddenly powered up.
Jake looked and saw Richard while he sat at his console in the Ferry Room down at the Rocket Ranch.
"Jake. There's one more training you and Butch need to complete first thing in the morning," Richard said with a bit of a smirk on his face.
"What's that?" Jake replied and played dumb.
"Meet Buzz and Neil for some training in the escape pod at six in the morning. It's imperative you attend, as this is a requirement for staying up in the MSS," Richard said with a stern fake look.
"Yes sir," Jake replied, then turned off his monitor.
He stared at the ceiling and looked determined not to let Richard have his way.
It was later in the early hours of the morning and Buzz, and Neil floated down a hall.
They floated past a digital clock with "5:54 a.m.," that hung on the wall.
They floated farther down the hall.
They stopped at an "Escape Pod" sign above a door next to a switch. This was the auxiliary switch for launching the escape pod.
"Richard told Jake and Butch to get some escape pod training at six," Buzz told Neil then he looked at the digital clock. "They should be here in five minutes."
Buzz pushed a button on the wall then a door slid open. Buzz and Neil entered the escape pod.
Inside the pod, they immediately sat down in the two seats. Buzz looked at the console that had gages, switches, buttons, and knobs.
"Let's prep the pod for take-off," he told Neil.
They both started flipping switches, turned knobs, and pressed buttons.
Then Buzz held up a syringe above his thigh. "We'll drug em, drag em inside, then we'll be heroes," he said with a cocky smile.
Neil held up his syringe above his thigh.
"We better get out of here before the door slams closed," Buzz replied.
They both stood up to leave the pod.
But then there was a loud banging sound, and the MSS shook violently. Then another banging noise and the MSS shook even more violently. Buzz and Neil were knocked back into their seats and accidentally jabbed the needles into their thighs.
Then another bang and when the MSS shook violently and Buzz and Neil accidentally pressed down on their syringes.
"This ain't good," Buzz said while he saw the syringe stuck in his thigh and it was empty of the drug.
Neil opened up his mouth to agree, but the drugs from the syringe immediately hit their bloodstream, and they both passed out.
Back out in the hall, Jake and Butch wore childish pajamas while they cautiously floated down the hall.
"What was all that shaking about?" Butch asked while he looked around.
"Maybe it's something the MSS normally does up here in space?" Jake replied as he didn't have a clue and made his best-educated guess.
They walked a little farther down the hall and stopped at the "Escape Pod" sign and door.
"They should be here soon," Butch said while he looked at the digital clock that now showed "6:00 a.m."
"We'll have to be on our toes when they show up," Jake said.
Butch nodded in agreement while they both looked up and down the hall for Buzz and Neil.
There was another loud banging sound, and the MSS violently shook again, which knocked Jake and Buzz on their butts.
All the lights in the MSS went out, and it was eerie darkness in the hall.
"There's a light switch on the wall," Jake told Butch.
Butch felt around the wall and eventually found the switch. "I found it," he said in the dark and flipped the switch.
The whine of an engine starting up was heard from behind the escape pod door. Then a whoosh sound was heard from behind the escape pod door.
It was still dark in the hall.
"Rats, no lights," Jake replied.
Out in space at the bottom of the MSS, a door opened with a whoosh.
The escape pod flew out from underneath of the MSS.
The escape pod, which looked like a giant egg, tumbled down to earth.
Back in the hall of the MSS, Jake and Butch still floated in the dark. The lights to the MSS came back on, and they were relieved.
Jake and Butch looked up and down the hall for Neil and Buzz.
"Where are they?" Jake asked, curiously.
Butch shrugged his shoulder. "Beats me. Maybe they changed their minds," he said.
"It doesn't look like they're coming. So, we better go get some breakfast and start our mission," Jake said.
Butch nodded in agreement, and they floated away down the hall.