A Step Beyond

A numbness enveloped his body as he realized they had lost contact with the Volnost. He looked to his colleagues for an explanation. They had risen to their feet and were staring dumbfounded at the blank screen. It was the rising pitch of the alarm that finally startled Tretyak into action.

"Oleg, try to contact the cosmonauts," he said to the communications engineer. "I must call Schebalin."

"What does it mean?" asked one of the scientists.

As Tretyak dialed the operations director, his mind raced with possibilities. He knew that even a small mishap could be fatal, and with the craft several million kilometers from Earth there was little hope of rescue. If they were not already dead, they would almost certainly soon be. But he mustn't jump to conclusions. He was overreacting, he told himself. He must be. But what if he weren't? This was to be Russia's greatest technological and political triumph, the crowning glory of the New Republic. Details of the mission were being publicized worldwide. A disaster now would be a major political embarrassment. Tretyak felt ashamed. The political consequences should be secondary.

The phone rang several times before Colonel Leonid Schebalin answered. Schebalin was the operations director for the Mars mission and the second Russian to walk on the moon; difficulties with his inner ear as a result of a cold contracted during his last space flight had scrubbed him permanently from the program. Until then, he had been the primary candidate for mission commander of the Mars mission.

"Yes," he said, tired and disoriented.

"Sir," began Tretyak, "we have a problem here."

"Who is this?" Schebalin asked drowsily.

"Yuri Tretyak at mission control."

"Yes, Yuri, what is it?"

"Sir, something has gone wrong. We received a telemetry from Volnost several minutes ago indicating a fire and loss of pressure in the flight deck. Then all transmissions ceased. I called you immediately." Tretyak struggled to maintain a professional tone. The other scientists were crowding around him. He closed his eyes and waited for Schebalin to speak.

"Who knows about this?"

Tretyak was momentarily taken aback by the coldness in the colonel's voice. "Just the men on duty. You were the first person we called."

"Good. It would be unfortunate if this matter reached the press before we were able to determine the extent of the damage; if indeed there is a problem and this is not simply a computer malfunction. We must determine the facts before we release them. It is imperative that you alert no one else. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Tretyak replied automatically.