Fly Me to the Moon Pt. 03

The next morning we ate breakfast, said our goodbyes and flew back to Area 51, our short honeymoon over.

Major McCandless was waiting for us as we landed. Our appointment with the Secretary of Defense was set for the following week in Washington at the Pentagon. I knew I shouldn't be nervous but I was.

*****

The Secretary met with us. We were prepared as much as could be. Joining us were Alessa and Maria to give credence to the Corporation's seemingly generous donation of the spaceships to the new Space Force. Our new proposal was that we get astronauts from NASA, now that the Shuttle program was over as well as pilots from the other services.

"I'm quite surprised," began the Secretary, "that you were able to create these spaceships..."

"It's just something that we were able to accomplish," answered Alessa, keeping to the premise that the Corporation had built them.

"...and you want nothing for them?"

"America's been good to us and it's time to give something back." Alessa took a drink of water, her hand slightly shaking as she was telling the biggest lie of her life.

I started the video we had made of the ships flying across the Nevada desert and then into low Earth orbit. We had decided to keep the moonbase a secret for now.

I only wished the craft had windows but it was impossible to put one in and the chase plane's view would have to do.

By the time we were finished there were congratulations all around and the realization that even with the knowledge of their existence now part of the Pentagon, it was ultra secret.

The four of us had dinner that evening at one of the hidden treasures in Washington, "Officina", for Italian food, and talked about the future. It soon became obvious that the two women wanted a spaceship of their own and I could tell that Max was giving it serious consideration, his hands folded together as I had learned he was prone to do when he was thinking when he said, "Why not? We'll have to teach you how to fly it and you'll have to keep it under wraps until we go public."

I could tell that Maria was excited, trying hard to keep it under control, not wishing to pop the balloon, so to speak.

Arrangements were made to have them come to Area 51 over the next month to learn how to fly one of the spacecraft. There were built in protections to keep them from crashing but even so the possibility of being stranded in space was still a reality.

We all the spent the night at my house in DC. I was glad to see that it was OK and I was giving serious consideration to having someone stay there. I would put a notice on the Pentagon electronic bulletin board and find someone from there to live in my house.

Max had never spent the night at my house and this gave me the opportunity to show him what I had and where I had grown up after my parents had died.

Over the next month, we accepted applications from those we had sought out to form the basis of our Space Force and as they came to Groom Lake several unused Hangars were quickly converted to living quarters. With the reality of what we had, finances were no problem and every effort went into making the housing comfortable. All it took was the where with all to combine NASA, Air Force, Navy and Marine pilots into one cohesive group.

*****

The time finally came for us to bring everyone together and flights into Nellis became the status quo over the next two weeks. Each group was introduced to the concept of the Space Force without saying too much in case someone decided not to transfer.

In order to make the program work we determined early on that each flight crew would be a mix so that no cliques could form.

The general came into my office and after looking around, gave me a kiss to end all kisses, bringing my heart rate up to match that of my first flight in the spacecraft.

"Good afternoon, darling," he started to say when the phone rang.

"Colonel Origlieri," I answered, having kept my maiden name for military matters. "Would you repeat that, please?"

I put the phone on speaker, shocked at what I had heard. "The president," the caller repeated, "has gone public with the Space Force news and has given the press photos of the spacecraft from the material you gave the Secretary of Defense."

I sat down, surprised at what we had heard. It was Johnson and the SR-71 all over again. "Are you sure?" I asked, hoping that the caller was mistaken.

"Fox News led off with it and the other networks picked it up a few minutes later. You should be getting a call in a few minutes from the White House."

All our work in keeping everything secret was up in smoke and I dreaded what the call from the White House was going to say.

Max went to his office to await the call while I sat there, too stunned to move. Whatever advantage we had had was gone now that the world knew what Groom Lake had up to now kept hidden. The only thing we still had going for us is that most everyone thought the Corporation had built them and their true origin was still a secret.

*****

When the general finally returned, he sat down on one of the two chairs available and put his hands over his eyes, leaning forward in frustration.

"We've been 'invited'", he started to say, "to bring one of the ships to Washington for a press conference to highlight America's superiority."

"When do we leave?" I asked, knowing full well we really had no choice in the matter.

"Tomorrow... enough time to let them get their act together. Well... let's do this right, shall we? Get some Blackbird spacesuits and all and arrange for an escort as we approach the capital so there's no problem with security."

That night, we lay in each other's arms, hoping that everything would turn out well.

*****

The next morning we donned our orange spacesuits and entered what we considered 'our' ship, carefully lifted off from the Hangar and made a ballistic approach to the east coast, covering the distance in a little less than fifteen minutes, finally slowing down as we came down from low orbit. We had learned how to adjust the radio to our own military frequencies and met up with surprised F-22 Raptor pilots that had been waiting for us. Even though they knew we were coming, to have us practically appear from orbit was something they had not seen since the end of the Shuttle era. We flew in formation for a few minutes. I could see the pilots taking pictures of our ship as we stayed close by.

"This is SS-4... thanks for the escort," radioed Max to the waiting Raptors who circled beneath us as we descended through the clouds on our way to Washington. It took longer to arrive the last ten miles than it did to cross the country. A minute later we were above the White House lawn and quietly settled down, coming to rest as usual a half meter above the grass. The Raptors headed toward Andrews.

The White House press corps were standing behind the temporary barriers that had been hastily set up with Marine guards making sure everyone observed the restrictions in place.

By then, the ship had cooled down and we exited it, taking our helmets off as we stepped down onto the grass and headed toward the president, the vice-president and members of the cabinet.

The president shook our hands as we were finally close and welcomed us to Washington, all the while looking at the ship hovering above the lawn. We had left Major McCandless and Captain Americo onboard to protect the ship from anyone that might try to enter. We had built in extra seats for just this reason, knowing full well that some missions would require more than just two people.

Television cameras covered us as we stood there in the early afternoon sunshine, trying to smile even though we were angry that our secret was now known to the world. On the other hand, becoming known made the tension to keep everything quiet disappear. I didn't know if the UFO followers were happy or sad now that it was common knowledge.

"Today," the president began, "marks the beginning of a new era in American history, in world history, as we welcome the first of many spacecraft into the American Space Force." He waited for the applause to die down before continuing. "It also shows that American technology is second to none."

I tried not to laugh, knowing full well the history behind the ship. I looked at Max, standing at attention, listening to what the president was saying. I knew that our two friends that we had left in the ship were following what was being broadcast. It had taken days of fine tuning to adjust each ship's audio-visual capabilities to match those of modern television and radio frequencies. I wondered if they were amused.

We went into the White House for dinner, leaving the news broadcasters on the south lawn to fend for themselves as they made their closing remarks. We were shown to the Lincoln bedroom to change into the formal clothes we had brought with us. I felt sorry for our friends who had stayed in the ship but it was necessary to maintain the security of the craft.

The president and his wife were gracious during the meal, keeping the conversation light and talking about the program, asking what if felt like to fly in the ship.

To my surprise, Max offered to give the president a ride. "You don't need a spacesuit, we just wore them to look cool," he said. "We could just take a quick jump to low orbit. You could be the first president to fly into space."

So, an hour later, the three of us walked out of the White House and into the ship. Major McCandless stood behind the acceleration couches, giving his place to the president who nervously sat down.

"This is SS-04 to Andrews. We are lifting off for a quick trip to orbit."

"Roger that, SS-04. You are cleared for liftoff."

Max looked at the president. "Ready, sir?"

"Yes," he replied, gripping the handrail. By the time he had answered, we were already five miles up and heading farther into space. We reached orbit five minutes later, heading over the Atlantic, its dark waves far below.

Max pointed out the various aspects of the controls, including the holograms that showed where we were. We soon approached the International Space Station and radioed them of our approach.

We stayed 100 meters away from the station and circled it slowly, carefully. It was at times like this that I wished the craft had real windows so that we could see what there was rather than the holograms but I suppose it was a safety concern that had led the first designers to make it that way.

We left the station and completed an orbit an hour and a half later. "Time to go home," I said to the president. "This is SS-04 to Andrews. We are approaching Washington airspace in five minutes. Is an escort necessary?"

I turned to the president. "I guess I should have said 'Space Force One.'" I laughed. "I hope that you have enjoyed your flight with us."

"Yes, very much," he replied, "thank you."

By the time Andrews had said that an escort wasn't necessary we had already landed on the south lawn and waited a few minutes for the ship to cool down even though our landing was slow, unlike that of the famous shuttles.

"How soon will you have the fleet ready?" he asked, sorry that his flight was over.

"Probably in six months, after everyone has been trained to the best of our ability."

"Good... glad to hear it." The president rose from the acceleration couch and waited for John to open the airlock. He carefully stepped down onto the grass, looking underneath the craft as it hovered above the ground. "Amazing," I could hear him say as he walked away and toward the White House.

The crowd of correspondents shouted out questions about the flight, cameras capturing the event for television and the evening news. I wasn't sure if we were leaving or not until the president turned and waved goodbye at us. The airlock was closed and we contacted Andrews one last time, informing them that we were leaving.

Five minutes later we were heading west, gaining altitude as we contacted various Air Force bases. Twenty minutes after that we were back at Groom Lake, anxious to hear what spin the news would have about our little presidential trip.

*****

"And... to the surprise of everyone, the president became the first president to fly into space aboard the new Space Force spaceship that landed at the White House piloted by General Maxwell Stanbery."

The broadcasts were full of video showing us taking off and then landing. One had video from the space station showing us circling around. It was the first time that I had the opportunity to see what the ship looked like from space. I hugged Max, saying "It's real, isn't it?"

He laughed, answering, "So, that's what it took?"

I stood there, dumbfounded at what he had said, realizing finally how true it was. "Sorry..."

He took me into his arms and held me tightly, giving me a kiss. "How are you feeling?" he asked, "you know, with the..."

"I'm OK," I said, not really wanting to talk about it, wanting to put it behind me forever but knowing it would always be there.

"What do you think the president felt? Probably going to take credit for it, don't you think?"

"Maybe... but then we're in good. I'm looking for a big boost in the budget, especially since the spaceships didn't cost anyone anything."

We went to dinner, seeing everyone looking at us as we walked back to our table. The need for secrecy was gone although the true origin of the craft would forever be hidden.

*****

The next several months were spent training our new pilots how to fly the ships, most importantly how to lift off and reach orbit without leaving a sonic boom across the western sky. There were thousands of UFO enthusiasts parked outside the fence hoping to see something even though we were miles away but once in a while Max would fly 'his' ship over to the Groom Lake boundary and hover several feet above them giving them a chance to say they saw it. One time he broke his own rules and cracked the sound barrier. It wasn't long before the White House had us sending one to air shows around the country and we were happy to oblige. We usually flew in tandem with a B-2. I always liked that plane, it just looked so crazily futuristic.

*****

I was listening to Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" when it came time for another check-flight with two Marine pilots that had joined the program. I loved that song, it brought memories back of my friends from Afghanistan's conflict, especially the part about the Statue of Liberty shaking her fist.

The two pilots saluted me and took their places. I was sitting behind them on one of the newer seats we had installed for extra passengers and watched as they went through the checklist, so different from the time when we first flew into space by 'the seat of our pants'.

We slowly moved through the Hangar doors and out onto the tarmac and then away from the buildings, radioing the control tower and after getting clearance, lifted into the late afternoon sky and headed west toward the Pacific, soon reaching fifty miles high and then speeding up to reach orbital velocity.

Every time I flew into space I felt refreshed, born again, looking down on the planet, the beauty of it all, no lines on the map, just one great scene after another.

After identifying ourselves to Pearl Harbor far below, we headed southwest toward Australia on a goodwill tour, showing the flag as it were, to give the prime minister a quick ride to orbit. The president had been generous in offering rides to our longtime allies and I wondered if the British princes were next. Max had delegated me to this task, deciding that I would be less intimidating to our flight guests.

We came in from the Pacific up Sydney Harbor and slowly circled the Opera House and then flew to Canberra to meet with the prime minister.

Due to time differences, it was early morning when we arrived, escorted by two Australian F-18 Hornets. We came upon an open area just outside the government buildings and hovered quietly as a crowd gathered taking pictures and pointing at us. The pilots shut off the ship and as it cooled, I waited to leave. Ten minutes later, the temperature had dropped enough for me to exit and I did, dropping down to the grass as gracefully as I could, wishing the craft could have settled down to the ground.

"Good day," said the prime minister, "welcome to OZ."

I shook hands with the man and said 'thank you' for his welcome and looked around at the spectators. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yes... do I have to have anything special?"

"No, what you have is fine. After you." I led him to the ship and stood aside while he managed to climb aboard. I got in and closed the airlock. "Please, sit here," I said, taking the other passenger seat.

"Clear to takeoff," said the pilot. He contacted the Australian air force planes circling overhead as we slowly glided toward the sky, leaving the Aussie politicians far below.

"Where would you like to go?" I asked. "Perth?"

"You can do that?" he asked back. "Of course you can, you flew all the way here."

"Perth, it is."

We went into our usual ballistic flight path, heading west to the other side of the Australian continent. Twenty minutes later we were coasting down toward the city, having passed over all the kangaroos far below.

We asked for permission to land from the Perth airport and joined the line of aircraft approaching the city. For political reasons, we went to the civilian airport rather than either of the two military bases in the area.

"This is incredible," intoned the prime minister, his eyes glued to the various screens giving a view of our approach.

We 'landed' and approached the first terminal, now packed with passengers pointing at our ship as we neared. I waited five minutes for the ship to cool down and then opened the airlock, exited, and helped the prime minister down to the tarmac. As soon as he reached the ground, he looked around and then began waving to everyone, ever the constant politician. I would have done the same thing, I thought.

Ten minutes or so later the local officials arrived, definitely surprised at our arrival. Photographs were taken for the next half hour as the prime minister told everyone about his trip across the continent in record time. I wondered how much this would help his re-election when the time came.

Finally, it was time to return to Canberra and we carefully lifted off, not wanting to disturb the arriving flights who were unaware of our presence. I was proud to say that our craft was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before.

After returning the prime minister we were home two hours later, having stopped at Pearl to give them a view of the ship. While it had not been a particularly long day, I was tired just the same and wanted my bed.

*****

"You've been awarded the Bronze Star for what happened in Afghanistan and leading the rest of your troops to safety."

I was surprised. I was just doing my duty and still felt miserable about those that had died, feeling there should have been something more I could have done but knowing it wasn't my fault.

Max gave me the medal and I looked at it in the mirror. I decided to accept it for what it was.

While all this was going on, Colonel Paras had completed her training on flying the spacecraft and the two women had taken delivery of it, flying it back to Malibu. We were going to send them another ship to further the attempt to reverse engineer the technology and build new ships.

I stood in the Hangar looking at all the ships levitating above the cement and had an idea I wanted to run by Max... name the ships after the states. After all, there were now fifty of them and it was a perfect match. I wanted mine to be 'California'. An hour later, it was a done deal and the fleet was officially baptized with a bottle of Dom Perignon, all the flight crews present, smiling. First dibs were going to those whose home states were chosen by seniority.