Pilgrimage (The New World) (14 page)

Soon those waiting for the landing in Florida would hear the twin sonic booms created by the shuttle informing them that the time was near. Ross performed a series of turns to help spill off some speed, and the guidance computer helped him line up with the new runway at Cape Canaveral. In the early days of the shuttle program all landings had been at Edwards Air Force Base in California, with one landing at White Sands in New Mexico due to poor weather conditions over the California site, but NASA had now built a long enough runway adjacent to the launch facility in Florida.

Ross brought the Discovery down to a smooth textbook landing, and at “wheels stop” spoke his customary “What a fun ride” into the microphone before signing off. Many had doubted that he could bring the shuttle safely back to Earth, but were glad to hear that in spite of the added pressure of a solo landing, he still maintained a certain amount of levity. As the commander of the flight, Ross refused to leave the ship until Dennis had been properly removed, so a platform was brought up next to the escape hatch of the Discovery. Four technicians that Ross knew well from pre-launch then came aboard with a gurney to remove the body, and took turns shaking Ross’ hand.

Unafraid of any repercussions or interpretations by NASA or the media, Ross stood at attention by the escape hatch and saluted his old friend and fellow astronaut as he was rolled onto the awaiting platform. Only after the body of Dennis was safely at ground level did Ross disembark the Discovery and begin the walk towards the awaiting recovery vehicles.

The debriefing was of course much different than his two previous flights into space, and the media was everywhere. Ross now had an answer to his internal question of a few minutes before, as it was obvious that the news about the accident on the Moon had gotten out somehow. Ross felt bad about not being able to field all the questions from the media straight away, but there was information about the mission that Ross couldn’t tell them until cleared to do so by his superiors. He also knew that there was some information that he probably couldn’t ever reveal.

Before he would ever get an opportunity to field the inevitable multitude of questions from the national and world media, Ross knew that he would have to deal with a barrage of questions from the NASA administrators. The mission had been going so well up to the point of the accident that killed Dennis, and from a technical standpoint everything had been perfect.

The launch and Earth orbit, the three day glide to the Moon, the engine burn to slow the spacecraft down for orbit and subsequent landing on the Moon had all gone exactly as planned. The two astronauts had unloaded the gear from the space shuttle’s cargo bay and spent more than eight days exploring, collecting core samples and surface rocks, and recording the data in the small lab aboard the ship without any problems whatsoever. In spite of that, to some the mission would be considered a failure due to the loss of one life. Even the return “never been done before” horizontal launch from the Moon, assent to orbit, three day glide back to Earth, and a successful landing at Cape Canaveral had gone better than ever hoped for because those aspects of the mission had been done single handedly by Ross.

Much to their credit, NASA stood up for Ross by pointing out all those positive aspects of the mission when a few members of the media attempted to put a negative spin on things. It soon occurred to Ross that in the eyes of NASA he was a hero for bringing back the space shuttle in one piece and proving that establishing a permanent base on the surface of the Moon was possible. Was it dangerous? Of course it was, but all exploration and scientific advancement was inherently dangerous and the envelope had to be pushed if mankind was to advance. When all was said and done, it was comforting for Ross to know that NASA had his back.

Even though it had only been a few hours since Ross had landed the Discovery, it seemed like forever before he was done with the initial debriefing. He wanted to see Patty and the girls who were waiting for him in another building nearby, and each minute that passed before he could hug them all was pure torture to him at this point. When Ross strolled down the hall to the family waiting room with a lone NASA representative by his side, his thoughts once again moved to Dennis. His parents were supposed to be in the room as well for the reunion, and he wondered how that had been handled by NASA.

His escort opened the door for him, and waited outside while Ross reconnected with his family. The girls had run over to him in their customary fashion, while Patty stood motionless fighting back the tears. Ross picked up the girls and carried them over to his wife, then set them down to receive a long awaited embrace. Patty fell into his arms and kissed him as her tears began to flow. Then she said, “I would really appreciate it if you would promise me that you will never venture into space again.” To which Ross said, “Based on what happened to Dennis, NASA may have already made that decision for me, but I can’t promise you that I won’t go back into space again if the opportunity presents itself!”

After a private thirty minutes of telling the girls and Patty all about, well mostly all about, his adventure on the Moon, a knock on the door informed them that a vehicle was in place to take them all away from the media circus outside. Ross knew there would be a more complete media intrusion with all their questions in the future, but he was glad it was over for the day. Before they departed Patty informed Ross that her mother Elizabeth had flown down to Cape Canaveral with them, and had agreed to take the girls out for pizza and keep them overnight. Patty’s plan was to have some alone time with Ross, and he smiled broadly when she winked at him and said, “It’s not every day a girl gets to make love to a man who has walked on the Moon!”

Later that night after a recovery nap, Patty informed Ross of the other news that had occurred in the last few days. She wanted to keep it from him until after they had their time alone, because she knew it would shake him up considerably. She told him that his father Robert had taken ill, and Jessica had informed Patty that the doctors didn’t think he had much longer to live. Jessica was already by his side in the Army hospital at Fort Hood, and Patty, with the help of NASA, had arranged for Ross to fly out there in the morning. Patty, along with the girls and her mother Elizabeth, would fly back to Houston and wait for Ross to contact them.

ROSS ENTERED THE
hospital room of his father, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Martin, and greeted his sister Jessica who had been by their father’s side for three days. His familiar comment of, “Good to see you, and how does the leg feel?” made Jessica feel better instantly. The difficulty of their father’s condition was also momentarily forgotten, as Ross gave his kid sister a hug and kissed her forehead like he had done so many times in the simpler days of yesteryear. She smiled and reported that she was doing well with the new brace, and then congratulated Ross on the success of his recent mission to the Moon. She also offered her heartfelt condolences for the loss of his longtime friend Dennis.

Many years before, Jessica had thought Dennis to be quite dashing, and had entertained the possibility of advancing upon him around the time of Ross and Patty’s wedding. Luckily for all involved she had been too shy for the moment, and had since learned that those were the misgivings of a young girl of eighteen caught up in the favorable emotions of a wedding and a man in uniform. Never the less, now a well-educated woman who would soon be thirty-one, she knew Dennis Strickland to be a man of character that her brother Ross had trusted, so she was therefore pained by his death.

At that moment a few doctors and nurses came into the room and fired off a military salute to Commander Ross Martin out of respect for his rank and recent achievement. The news of his arrival had undoubtedly been reported by the nurse who had informed him of what room his father Robert was in, and he hoped that the media hadn’t been notified as well. Ross returned the salute before asking them to update him on his father’s condition, while also requesting that the hospital staff refrain from such saluting action in the future and the media not be informed of his location on the base.

Without any level of “sugar coating” the doctors informed Ross of what they had told Jessica the previous day, and it wasn’t good news. Robert had a fast moving form of cancer that was inoperable, and he had a week to live at best. It was Monday the 25
^th
of November, and Thanksgiving was only three days away. Robert who had been sleeping soundly a few minutes before was now beginning to stir with the commotion of all the people in the room, so Ross and Jessica moved to his side. He smiled at the sight of his now fully grown children standing over him, and turned his head away briefly to gaze at a photograph on the bedside table. It had been many years since he last saw them both at the same time, but was relieved that he had the opportunity to do so.

After talking with their father for a few minutes before he nodded off to sleep again, Ross and Jessica ventured outside of the room into the hallway for a moment to converse with the doctors. They brought Ross further up to speed by informing him that although Robert now slept most of the time, they could keep him awake with medication if it was so desired. Ross and Jessica wanted Robert to remain as peaceful and pain free as possible during his final days, but liked the idea of medicating him to full consciousness should anyone in the family wish to have a final visit. They also gave the doctors all the latitude they needed to keep him alive beyond Thursday, because it would be a shame to have him pass away on Thanksgiving Day. Assured that the medical team would do their best, Ross headed for the pay phone down the hall to contact Patty with the news. If anyone wanted to see Robert one last time before his death, they had better make it quick.

Twenty minutes later Ross returned to the room to find Jessica at their father’s side once again, and asked her to come back into the hall for a discussion. He informed Jessica that Patty and her mother Elizabeth would be arriving later that night with the girls, so she should go get some sleep and a shower before they all arrived. Patty and Ross had agreed that the drive up from Houston would be easier at night because the girls would sleep most of the way, and they knew that the whirlwind pace associated with the events of the last few days had already taken a toll on them. It was important that Aurora and Rachel make the trip because they had only seen their grandfather a handful of times during their short lives, and this would indeed be their last chance to see him.

The following morning the entire family arrived at Robert’s hospital room to find Ross asleep in the corner chair. He had used his new found celebrity status to arrange for much more comfortable accommodations on base for the rest of the family, but he had wanted to stay by his father’s side. Patty woke him with a kiss on the cheek before the girls rushed to his side, and Jessica thanked him for taking over her spot in the chair. She had spent the previous two nights in the same spot, so she knew all too well about how uncomfortable the night was that her brother had just endured.

As had been promised by the medical staff, Robert was soon fully awake with the assistance of some medication and ready to take on what the next few hours would entail. He had the opportunity to see both of his young grandchildren, which reminded him of when Ross and Jessica were that age. He instantly flashed back in his mind to the glorious times they all had before his wife Janet had been taken from him, but that was now over twenty-eight years in the past. After talking with the girls for several minutes and hearing them both giggle a few times, they were taken out into the hall so he could speak with each of the adults privately.

Patty was first in line, and Robert thanked her for her support of his sons’ dreams to fly jets and become an astronaut. He knew that she had missed Ross very much when they were apart, and was well aware of the pain that one feels when their soul mate is absent. Next was his old neighbor and friend Elizabeth, and Robert was respectfully apologetic towards her. She had done so much throughout the many years before to help with the raising of both Ross and Jessica after Grandpa Hank had suddenly passed away, but he hadn’t always recognized her for it. He also realized that Elizabeth had made gestures of wanting to perhaps take their relationship to a romantic level, but he had never fully been able to get over Janet and wouldn’t walk down that path. Then of course there was his ongoing battle with the bottle, and he knew that she felt he had crawled inside it far too many times as the years went by. All those factors had made Robert somewhat of a “son of a bitch” in her eyes, but it was of great comfort to her that he had come clean and apologized to her in his final days.