Page 115 of The Devil's Ransom

Palmer didn’t respond. Gordon said, “Hello? Did you hear me?”

“Yeah, I heard you. Look, it’s your call, but we have a greater chance of saving that capsule than they have if they abort. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Sir, it’s not my call. I have no authority here.”

“Do you agree with what I just said?”

“Yes, it makes sense. If you have even a sixtypercent chance of success, that beats the odds of them aborting.”

“Then figure out a way to convey that.”

Gordon saw the group of Auriga engineers huddle around a computer and said, “I gotta go.”

He hung up and went to the computer, pulling the lead engineer away. He said, “What’s going on?”

“We decided to punt. Let Skyler make the decision.”

“I just talked to the White House. The thinking has changed. They no longer want an abort.”

“Well, no offense, but it’s not the White House’s call. It’s ours, which means it’s Skyler’s. Not only is he CEO, but it’s his ass on the line.”

“You don’t understand. They think they can clear the ransomware.”

“They think? The longer we sit here, the less chance that capsule has for coming home.”

“It has less of a chance right now than the odds of clearing the ransomware. Don’t let them abort.”

One of the engineers pulled the lead away, handing him a headset. He put it on, and Gordon grabbed one from an adjacent computer. He heard “Mission control, this is Valkyrie One. More precisely, this is Skyler Fitch. I’ve decided to abort. We will initiate shortly.”

Gordon keyed the mike, saying, “Sir, this is Gordon Dillard from NASA. We believe that’s premature. We recommend waiting until being forced to do so due to time constraints.”

“That’s great, NASA, but you aren’t running this show. My people have told me the pluses and minuses and I’ve made my decision.”

The Auriga lead engineer tried to pull off Gordon’s headset, but he batted the hands away, keying the mike again. “What’s the mission commander say?”

Skyler came back with “I’m the mission commander.”

Gordon said, “Fabio, Fabio, this is NASA, are you on the net?”

On board the capsule, Fabio looked at Skyler, then keyed his mike. “This is Fabio, go ahead.”

“Don’t abort. I say again, do not abort until I say so.”

Skyler said, “Mission control, get that man off the net.”

They heard nothing for a few seconds, then the lead engineer came back on, saying, “He’s gone. If he gives us any more trouble, I’ll call security.”

Skyler said, “Okay, we’re proceeding with the abort. Prepare to receive.”

Fabio did nothing. Off the net, Skyler said, “Push that button.”

“No. We’re not aborting. I’m the mission commander.”

“And I’m your boss. Push that button or you’re fired!”

Fabio looked at him and said, “Fuck off.”

Skyler’s eyes grew wide and Fabio wondered if this was the first time someone had ever told him no.

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