It was morning, and Clint was the first to open his eyes in the Magellan V capsule.
He floated over and looked out the window.
He looked at Earth down below.
He saw the United States.
He wondered what his eight-year-old daughter Becky and his wife Nancy were doing at this exact minute. He looked at his watch. Becky's on her way to school on the bus, and Nancy's getting ready for work, he thought to himself. He smiled, having a visual of that happening.
He turned and looked at Todd and Ricky, still asleep. He had doubts these young boys could pull off this vital mission. But he knew they were the only option while glancing at his spacesuit with the tear. He felt sorry for these boys who now had the fate of humanity weighing on their little shoulders. He was determined to ensure the tikes would never get in harm's way during this mission.
Clint floated around and woke everybody up.
Clint floated over to the hatch and went inside the Lunar Module.
Scoota was already dressed in his orange space suit when Clint floated into the Lunar Module.
"Good morning, Scoota," he said.
"Morning? What's that?" Scoota asked.
"We have three phases of our day. Morning, afternoon, then night," Clint said.
"Oh, that. We have two. The beginning and the end," Scoota said, then thought about what Clint said. "But I like how you call it," he added. "We say "Welcome Beginning" after we first wake up. Then before we retire at the end of the day, we say, "Goodbye Ending," Scoota said.
"That's interesting. Well then, "Welcome Beginning," Clint said. "We'll be ready in a few minutes after we get something to eat," Clint added.
"I've been ready for a while now and filled my insides with nourishment," Scoota said.
Scoota and Clint floated into the Magellan capsule.
After Clint, Lance, Jake, Ricky, and Todd ate their tubes of scrambled eggs and bacon paste; they were ready to proceed.
“Let’s start the mission,” Clint said.
Todd and Ricky took deep breaths of courage.
Clint, Jake, Lance, Todd, Ricky, and Scoota took turns and floated through the hatch into the Lunar Module, bringing a roll of Duct tape, the stool, and R1D1.
Inside the Lunar Module, Clint floated over to R1D1, still secured to the floor with Duct tape. He removed a pocket knife from a pants pocket. He opened up the knife and freed R1D1 from the floor with a knife while Jake floated through the hatch with the stool.
Clint floated over to the control console with R1D1 while Jake floated over with the stool.
Jake secured the stool to the floor with Duct tape.
Clint secured R1D1 to the top of the stool with Duct tape. He double-checked, and R1D1's arms reached the joystick.
Lance floated through the hatchback into the Magellan Capsule.
They waited for five minutes.
Lance floated back through the hatch with that black box. He floated the box to the stool, where he secured it to the floor with Duct tape.
He opened a side door on the box and removed a wire harness with a connector at the end. He grabbed the connector and connected it to a rear port of R1D1.
Lance opened up another door on the other side of the box. He removed a thicker wire harness with a bigger connector.
He floated to the hatch used by the Apollo astronauts to exit to the Moon's surface. They were lucky since that hatch was at the top and would provide easy access to the top of the asteroid. Lance secured the connector to the side of the hatch with Duct tape.
Clint powered up R1D1 and the black box. In a small message box on the chest of R1D1, Clint noticed a "Ready To Support This Mission" message in red digital words. "Great, things are clicking into place," Clint told everybody, then looked at Todd and Ricky.
The boys swallowed hard as they knew they were on deck.
"Let's get you into your suits," Scoota told the boys.
Scoota floated over to the other two orange space suits that hung on the wall under the fishbowl helmets.
He helped Todd and Rocky get suited up.
He helped them into their space boots and gloves. The boys didn't float, and they both looked surprised.
"How come we're not floating?" Ricky asked.
"These boots are special and create gravity," Scoota replied.
Todd and Ricky smiled with approval.
Jake, Clint, and Lance all loved the idea of gravity boots.
"We could use a pair like that," Clint said, and Jake and Lance nodded in agreement.
Scoota heard but didn't want to respond as these boots were secret Stardonia design. His Commander would never approve of him giving out their high technology secrets.
"Okay. This will be easy. We'll be in the Magellan capsule and will watch your every move about twenty feet away. We'll guide you through every step of the mission. You'll be safe," Lance said.
"Now, the Space Buggy is easy to drive," Clint said.
Todd and Ricky's eyes lit up.
"Did you say Space Buggy?" Todd asked.
"Yeah, a real Space Buggy!" Jake replied.
"Cool!" Todd and Ricky said in unison.
"We now need to double-check the communications between our ship and your suits," Jake said. "I'm going to the Magellan and run a test. Adjust your suits, Scoota, and I'll make sure we can transmit and receive," Jake added.
"Okay," said Scoota.
Jake floated through the hatch into the Magellan capsule.
Scoota waited a few minutes. He waved his right hand over a button on the right side of his chest.
To the left of that button, a small door slid to the side and revealed a pad with knobs. Scoota turned one of the knobs, and nothing happened. He turned the knob some more, and nothing happened. He turned the knob again. "This is a test. Can you hear me?" Jake said over the speaker from Scoota's helmet.
Scoota reached over and grabbed his helmet off its hook. He placed the helmet over his head. It clicked when it locked in place.
"This is Scoota. I can receive your voice. Can you receive my voice," he said in his helmet.
"I hear you five by five, Scoota," Jake answered from inside Scoota's helmet.
Scoota waved his hand over that button, and that door slid closed.
He waved his right hand over that same button on Todd's suit, and a small door slid open. Scoota turned the knob to the same setting as on his suit.
Scoota waved his hand over that button, and that door slid closed.
Scoota waved his right hand over that same button on Ricky's suit, and a small door slid open. Scoota turned the knob to the same setting as on his suit.
He waved his hand over that button, and that door slid closed.
"We can now test Todd and Ricky's suit," Scoota said across the communications net.
Scoota placed Todd and Ricky's helmets over their heads. The helmets clicked when locked in place.
"This is a test," Todd said into this helmet.
"I read you five by five," Jake answered from Todd's helmet.
"This is a test," Ricky said into his helmet.
"I read you five by five," Jake answered from Ricky's helmet.
"Great. Are you all ready?" Clint asked.
Todd, Ricky, and Scoota all nodded their heads that they were ready. But down inside their little bodies, they trembled with fear.
Jake floated back into the Lunar Module from the Magellan capsule with a small bag in hand.
"Here's some food for your mission," Jake said and opened his bag. He removed twelve tubes of space food. He handed Scoota, Todd, and Ricky four tubes each.
Scoota waved his right hand over pockets on their spacesuits. Todd and Ricky shoved the tubes inside their pockets and closed them. Scoota did the same with his tubes of food.
Scoota reached down, tapped on Todd's, Ricky’s, and his boots, and they all floated.
Clint and Lance floated back through the hatch and into the Magellan capsule.
The hatched closed and locked. There was an eerie silence inside the Lunar Module. A silence that indicated there was no quitting this mission, as they were in it for the long haul.
Scoota floated up to the hatch, and he opened it.
Todd and Ricky looked in awe when they saw the stars in the darkness of outer space up above.
Scoota floated up through the hatch into outer space.
Todd and Ricky looked at each other to see who would go first.
"Go first, buddy," Ricky told Todd, as he wanted to make sure his buddy was not still depressed.
"Thanks," Todd said with a smile. He floated up to the hatch.
In outer space, at the top of the asteroid, Scoota stood on top of the Lunar Module.
Todd floated up through the hatch into outer space.
Scoota grabbed Todd's glove and brought him down to the top of the module. He tapped on Todd's boots, staying on top of the Lunar Module.
Ricky floated through the hatch and floated into outer space.
Scoota grabbed Ricky's glove. It slipped through his grip, and Ricky continued to float into space. Ricky's eyes were as big as baseballs when he realized he was drifting away into outer space. He was too scared to scream.
Scoota grabbed one of Ricky's boots. His grip held, and he lowered Ricky to the top of the module. He tapped on Ricky's boots, and he stayed on the top of the Lunar Module.
While they waited, Todd and Ricky looked in awe at all the stars.
They looked and saw the Moon. The vastness of outer space was excellent, and it brought a tear to the eyes of the young men.
The boys looked at the thousands of pieces of collided space junk on this twenty-mile-long asteroid.
"Man, I can't believe we had all this junk floating around Earth," Todd said.
"I know. There are thousands and thousands of this stuff. We, earthlings, look like slobs," Ricky added.
"You took those words right out of my mouth," Scoota replied.
It was quiet while they looked at the monstrous asteroid. The Lunar Module shook while the Magellan capsule separated.
"Okay, we've undocked from the Lunar Module. We'll be near the Payload Stage Module in a few minutes," Lance said from the communications net.
Scoota, Ricky, and Todd secured above some space junk at the Payload Stage Module.
They walked over to it and had to climb over some space junk.
Three minutes later, the Magellan capsule floated ten feet above them. The capsule floated down to the top of the asteroid.
The door on the Payload Stage Module opened. The Space Buggy, with the reel of cable and three rocket engines, was inside. Two straps secured it to the payload stage.
"You can now drive the Space Buggy out," Clint said from the radio net.
"No wheels?" Todd asked.
"It hovers," Jake replied from the radio net.
Todd and Ricky loved that thought.
Todd walked inside the payload stage and climbed inside the Space Buggy. He sat in the driver's seat and installed the seat belt over his waist. The seat belt was original from the 1960s VW dune buggy.
"I'm in the real Space Buggy," Todd called out joyously. "A real Space Buggy!"
Jake chuckled on the communications net over his excitement.
"Good, now press the start button," Jake said from the radio net.
Todd pressed the start button, and the Space Buggy started up with a whirl, then it quieted down to a low hum.
"It's started," Todd said.
"Good. Look at the console. Now, around the joystick, you have a "U" button for up movement. A "D" button for downward movement, An "F" button for forward movement. A"B" for backward movement. An "L" for left side movement and "R" for right side movement. The "H" button will cause the buggy to hover. Wait until I tell you to move," Jake said from the radio net.
Todd looked and saw the "U", D", "H", "R", "B", “L", and "R" buttons where they circled a joystick.
The straps disconnected from the Space Buggy. That was from a button that Jake pressed inside the capsule.
"Okay, forward movement on the joystick accelerates the buggy. Backward movement slows the buggy down. Are you ready to move the buggy out of the Payload Stage Module?" Jake said from the radio net.
"I'm ready," Todd replied.
"Move out," Jake said from the radio net.
Todd pressed the "R" button. The Space Buggy moved to the right. Todd moved the joystick forward, and the buggy accelerated. He moved it out of the Payload Stage Module.
Todd pressed the "H" button, and the Space Buggy hovered four feet above the Lunar Module.
Ricky looked in awe at the Space Buggy while it hovered.
Scoota wasn't impressed since their planet had these types of crafts for the past ninety years.
The Magellan capsule turned 180 degrees. The front of the capsule gave the astronauts a perfect view of the boys from their windows.
"Your mission is simple, but I'll still explain," Clint said. “But first, Scoota, do you see the connector at the end of the cable on the spool?" Clint asked.
Scoota looked at the spool of cable at the rear of the Space Buggy, and he saw the end of the connector. "I see it," he responded.
"Good. After some cable is unreeled, mate that connector with the connector inside the Lunar Module hatch. Then we’ll move the Space Buggy down the top of the asteroid to the rear unreeling the cable. Secure the cable to a piece of space junk using Duct tape.”
"We understand the instructions," Scoota said.
“I understand,” Todd said.
“I understand,” Ricky said.
"Good. Then you'll have to remove the engines from the space buggy and secure them to some space junk. You'll have to lower an engine one at a time. Lower them halfway down the rear end of the asteroid. There are some special ropes provided in the bed of the buggy for lowering these engines. In the bed of the Space Buggy, there's a boom with a rope and hook that's stored inside a bag marked "Engine Installer Boom.” Remove that from the cabinet and install it at the rear of the asteroid on a piece of space junk. You'll find instructions on how to install it by the crank," Lance said.
"Got it," Todd replied from the radio net.
"Okay, hook an engine to it, and then you can lower it down the rear of the asteroid. There you will install the rocket engines onto a piece of space junk. Use the placard on the engine for instructions. There's also a toolbox with all the proper attachment hardware and tools. It's located in the small cabinet marked "Tool Box" in the bed of the Space Buggy. Then you'll mate the connector end of the cable to the first engine with a "Main Cable" label. Then you will remove wires out of another control box on the engines. Connect all the engines with those wires. Don't worry; we'll guide you along if this is too much to digest at first," Clint said from the radio net.
"Do you understand your mission so far?” Lance asked from the radio net.
Todd, Ricky, and Scoota all looked at each other. "Astronauts Todd and Ricky are ready to perform our assigned mission," they both said. They saluted the capsule.
Jake, Lance, and Clint chuckled across the radio net, seeing the boys saluting.
"Oh, one other thing. There are two lanyards with hooks on both sides of the buggy bed. Use them to secure the buggy to space junk," Jake added from the radio net.
"Okay fellow astronauts, let's start our mission," Lance said.
Scoota, Todd, and Ricky all felt confident they could complete the mission.
"Okay. Let's have Todd in the front of the Buggy and Ricky in the back. There Ricky can unreel the cable, and Scoota can tape it down a piece of space junk with the Duct tape," Jake said.
In the capsule, Lance pointed a portable camera out his window. This provided live coverage for NASA down at Headquarters. "Let's move out," Clint said.
On top of the asteroid, Ricky walked over and climbed into the buggy's rear. He saw the storage cabinets and the two lanyards with the attached hooks.
"Unreel some cable, Ricky," Jake instructed from the radio net.
Ricky unreeled about ten feet of cable.
“Okay, Scoota, grab the connector end of the cable. Take it back to the hatch of the Lunar Module and mate it to the cable connector inside the module.
Scoota walked, climbed over space junk to the Space Buggy, and grabbed the cable connector.
He walked back to the Lunar Module hatch while Ricky unreeled the cable using the hand crank.
Scoota walked the connector to the opened hatch. He got down on his knees and ran the connector inside. He grabbed the connector inside and mated it with the connector from the outside cable.
"The cable's connected to the cable inside the Lunar Module," Scoota said while he stood up.
He walked and climbed over space junk and returned to the Space Buggy.
"Great, now let's move out," Clint said from the radio net.
Todd pressed the "F" button, and the Space Buggy hovered forward. He pressed the joystick forward a tad. The Space Buggy moved forward a little faster and moved out two feet above the collided of space junk.
Scoota climbed over space junk and Ricky unreeled cable, which draped on top of the space junk.
"Stop here," Jake said from the radio net.
Todd stopped the Space Buggy.
Ricky unlatched the tape storage cabinet and removed a roll of Duct tape.
Scoota climbed and walked over to space junk and got to the buggy's rear.
Ricky handed him the roll of Duct tape. Scoota looked at it, unsure how to use it.
Ricky grabbed another roll of Duct tape and gave Scoota a Duct tape 101 lesson.
"Got it," Scoota said after Ricky's lesson and climbed and walked over space junk to the cable. Scoota tore off a piece of Duct tape and taped the cable to a piece of space junk.