Riding on the back of his brown and white Appaloosa, Oscar smiled merrily at Ana. The two were enjoying a brisk morning ride on the spacious ranch in El Paso, Texas. The morning was perfect. A cloudless sky, a promising day with comfortable heat, and most of all, a new beginning of life together as one.

Oscar had almost completely forgotten about his acute asthma attack two days ago. When Ana replied that she would marry him, Oscar forgot everything else and devoted his entire time to loving and cherishing his fiancé. This new day was warm and peaceful; a foreshadow of what their marriage years would be like.

Just then, two huey helicopters appeared behind the two riders. The sudden approach of the helicopters momentarily startled the horses but both Oscar and Ana were able to maintain control of their frightened horses.

As the helicopters landed and shut off their engines, a high ranking military officer came over to Oscar and Ana. From the single star on each shoulder, Oscar guessed that the officer was a brigadier general. He wondered if the reason why the general was there was due to his unpaid parking tickets.

"Are you Mr. Choi?" the general asked.

"Yes," Oscar replied, dismounting from his horse and coming hesitantly towards the general.

"I'm Brigadier General Kalls and I need you to come with me," the general stated.

"What's this about?" Ana curiously inquired, coming up beside Oscar. She gave an inquisitive glance at the general and asked Oscar, "You're not in trouble are you?"

"If it's about the parking tickets I can explain," Oscar tried to say to the general.

General Kalls stared confusedly at Oscar and replied, "I don't know anything about any parking tickets Mr. Choi. But you're still going to have to come with me."

Oscar looked at Ana and saw her giving the general a suspicious stare. To the general, Oscar stated, "I'll go with you, but I'm taking my fiancé with me."

"Fine then," General Kalls replied.

Ana gazed at Oscar and gave him a comforting smile. Whatever Oscar faced, Ana thought, whether it be bad or good, they would be there to face it together.

Several black cars pulled up in front of the N.A.S.A. headquarters in Houston, Texas. The cars were followed by a show of police escort.

Harry, Grace, and Dan Truman (the N.A.S.A. executive director) came out of the lobby and stopped on the sidewalk. Truman eyed the new arrivals with questioning suspicion and doubt.

Max came out of his car and saw Bear exiting his a car away and greeted loudly, "Hey Bear!"

Bear saw his friend and dashed over to him, calling, "What's up baby? Yeah baby!"

The two playfully wrestled, Bear exclaiming, "What's up? What's up?"

Truman continued to glance at the group in doubt. He thought, "So these are the people who are going to save Earth? Oh dear lord!"

Bear came towards Harry, asking, "What's up Harry? Did N.A.S.A. find oil in Uranus, man?"

Harry smiled knowingly at Bear. He was damn pleased to see his trusted friends and co-workers. Behind him, Grace smiled proudly at the bunch. She saw Ana with Oscar and waved to her friend.

Truman looked each individual over carefully, wondering if he had made a mistake allowing Harry to call upon his men to save earth.

Max groaned and rested his head in his hands. A.J. gazed solemnly about the room and at his friends. Oscar gazed at the space shuttle model sitting directly in front of him on the table.

They had just received news of Earth's unprecedented destruction and were just asked to help save the world. They were Earth's last hope. Just them. No one else.

Harry told them slowly, "None of you have to go. We can all just sit here and wait for this big rock to crash into it and kill everything and everybody we know." He let his words sink in for a couple seconds before continuing, "The United States government just asked us to save the world. Anybody wanna say no?"

Chick spoke up slowly, "Twenty years. Haven't turned you down once. I'm not about to start now." He looked up at Harry and stated, "I'm there."

Harry nodded.

Noonan spoke up, "Guess I can't let you go up there alone."

Bear agreed, "I'm with you."

Oscar, still gazing at the space shuttle and thinking about their mission, said, "I mean, this is, this is historic." He looked at his friends and said, "Guys, this is like, deep blue, hero stuff." He looked directly at Harry and stated, "Of course I'm in."

Rockhound gave Oscar a look of doubt and replied, "Well, I don't share his enthusiasm." He gazed nervously at Harry and said, "You know me. Beam me up Scotty."

Harry nodded and looked at Max. He could see that Max was still in shock from the news. Harry asked, "You all right Max?"

Max stammered, talking in his arms, "I, I don't." He panted heavily, "I, I don't." Max looked up weakly at Harry and replied, "What ever you think Harry."

Nodding, Harry turned to A.J. and inquired, "What about you?"

A.J. quietly said, "I'm in."

Looking up, satisfied, Harry said, "All right then. We go."

Rockhound suddenly asked, "Hey, I don't mean to be the materialistic weasel of this group but, do you think we'll get hazard pay out of this?"

General Kimsey stared coldly at Truman. He didn't like the looks of the supposed, "saviors of earth". He growled to Truman, "If you're trying to make me feel better about this scenario, give it up."

Truman replied, "To tell you the truth, I'm kind of encouraged. This guy Chick here was an Air Force commando for six years."

General Kimsey broke in, regarding the files of the guys, "We got robbery, assault, arrest, resisting arrest. We got a collection agent for the mob!" He slammed the folder shut and growled, "Two of these guys have done serious time."

Truman sighed, "Look, they're the best at what they do."

"So am I," the general smiled. "And I'm not so optimistic. We spend two-hundred and fifty billion dollars a year on defense and here we are, the fate of our planet is in the hands of a bunch of retards I wouldn't trust with a potato gun."

A little while later everyone was put through physical examination. Max was sitting on a stool and was regarding a huge, oversized needle the doctor was getting ready to put into him.

Max asked, "Who's that for? Mr. Ed?"

The doctor looked at him, puzzled.

Max continued, "You stick that in me and I'm going to stab you in the heart with it." The doctor gulped. Max asked, raising an eyebrow and lowering his voice to a menacing tone, "Ever see Pulp Fiction?"

Rockhound was laying on his stomach on the bed while waiting for the nurse to perform her task. He shook his head at the lady's attempt of singing "The Star Spangled Banner". He didn't see what made the lady sing.

Next to him he saw Oscar playing with a pair of paddles and pretending that he was an emergency room doctor.

Oscar rubbed the paddles together, exclaiming, "Uh-oh! We're losing him! We're losing him! Clear!" He put the paddles against his chest and jerked forward with his imitation of the shock, "Caboom!"

Down the way Chick was watching Freddie Noonan hobbling down the lane bent over and clutching a movable cart. Chick curiously asked, "Freddie? Y'all right?"

Noonan glared at Chick, halting, "Does this look okay to you? Does this look okay?"

Max jogged by, replying, "It's not all bad. It's kind of tingly!"

Noonan shook his head in disgust.

The same female nurse who had been working with Rockhound appeared and called out to Chick, "Mr. Chapple." She looked directly at Chick and said, "You're next."

Chick gave her a stare and replied, "Oh gee lady, I just came here to drill."

The nurse smiled, "Oh, so did I!" She pulled out a thick rod and turned cold stare to Chick.

A doctor sat with Bear, trying to explain to him about his health, "You're triglyceroids are way high and your bad cholesterol is shockingly bad."

Max laughed, "Gotta lay off them Pork Rinds, Bear!"

Bear laughed, climbing on the table and began tearing away his gown, "Pork rind this!" He ripped it off, exclaiming, "Yeah!"

Truman looked from the scene inside the examination room to General Kimsey and stated optimistically, "Well, at least they're in good spirits."

The head doctor threw each folder down, exclaiming, "Failed, failed, impressively failed." He glanced up at Truman and stated, "One toxicology analysis revealed catamen. That is a very powerful sedative."

Harry replied, "Sedatives are used all the time doctor."

The doctor smiled flatly, "This one's used on horses."

Truman and General Kimsey shot Harry a questioning glare. Harry stated calmly, "Some of these guys are pretty big."

The doctor said, "It would normally take eighteen months to psychologically prepare prescreen viable subjects for space travel. We have seen evidence of a wide variety of territorial aggression. And this guy Choi here, he has asthma which could be a problem."

Truman hissed impatiently, "Can they physically survive the trip? That's all I need to know here, okay?"

"Personally," the doctor stated coolly, "I don't know how they survived the test."

"What about Oscar?" Harry asked. "You said he has asthma and that could prove to be a problem. What kind of problem are we looking at?"

"Well, for one," the doctor answered, "If he has a sudden asthma attack while in his space suit, he will not be able to access his inhaler." He looked at Truman and added, "But we can work on a solution for that though."

"Good," Truman nodded. He watched the doctor stamp each failed file with "N.A.S.A. approved."

Colonel Willie Sharp regarded the men in front of him. To him, they looked like the sorriest bunch of people he had ever seen. He greeted them as they quietly waited for him to begin as they sat on a single row table.

"Good morning. I'm Colonel Willie Sharp. In addition to flying one of the X-71 teams to that rock, my job is to train you how to deal with the mental and physical rigors of working in space so you don't freak out on the asteroid." He paused briefly before continuing, "United States astronauts train for years; you have twelve days." He looked over the bunch and asked, "Do we have any intelligent questions before we get started?"

Chick raised his hand and asked, "What's an X-71?"

Truman guided the men into the hangers and spoke to them, "You're the first civilians ever to see her."

Entering the large hanger, everyone gazed at the space shuttle in amazement. Truman continued, "We call them the X-71's. It's a top secret, joint venture with the Air Force. She and her sister ship in Vanderberg are leaving tomorrow for launch prep in Florida but I thought you oughta take a look."

Oscar stared at the X-71 in awe. He couldn't believe he was actually looking at a real space shuttle! He had always dreamed of being able to travel in space ever since he was little and saw Star Wars for the first time. He glanced over at A.J. and saw his friend gazing at the X-71 in amazement as well.

Truman continued, "The two shuttles going up are the Freedom and the Independence. Her titanium alloy impenetrable skin covers the toughest, meanest, most sophisticated space vehicle man has ever made."

He pointed the space crew that had just arrived and gestured to each crew member as he introduced them, "Okay, Air Force Colonel Davis. N.A.S.A. pilot Tucker will command the shuttle Independence. Air Force Colonel Sharp, N.A.S.A. pilot Watts, shuttle Freedom. Munitions specialists Gruber and Halsey will supervise the nuclear ordinance." He glanced at each side as they carefully studies one another. He said, "I just thought, thought you guys should meet."

Each crew stared at each other with penetrating and careful eyes. Neither side seemed too trusting of one another. Truman shrugged.

The next day, everyone met up with a fighter jet pilot who wore dark shades and had a mustache that matched his shades. The pilot stated to the group, "This is about the sorriest group of people I have ever seen in all my entire military career. Your space flight's gonna be a brutal assault on all your senses." He stared at everyone gathered in a respectful, semi-circle around him. "I'm here to give you a taste of that. N.A.S.A.'s got some of the finest pilots in the world. They're gonna be suckin' your eyes to the back of your heads.

"I'm gonna twist ya. I'm gonna flip ya, frap your body 'til your bones hurt!" He smiled at the group as they exchanged nervous glances at one another. He continued, "When you squeal, I'm just going to go faster and harder."

Oscar was listening to his heart beat heavily against his chest when he heard his friend A.J. in the trainer jet next to him say, "I just wanna seriously say that I have a small fear of flying."

Oscar gave a nervous chuckle and tried to swallow his own fear and anxiety about the flight. He knew that he had always wanted the opportunity to fly in a fighter jet and now he finally got that chance! Oscar thought to himself, "Why am I nervous? I should be excited! This is what I've always wanted to do! I'm certainly not afraid of going fast, doing dives, or going,"

His and A.J.'s jet suddenly went inverted and swooped downwards towards the earth. Both Oscar and A.J. yelled loudly as they felt themselves turn upside down and fall backwards towards the earth.

Bear squeezed his eyes shut as he felt the jet pushing past Mach One, breaking the sound barrier. He cried, "No, take me down!"

The jet barrel rolled a number of times as Bear broke into screaming, "Help!"

The jet then backed off the R.P.M.s and then pulled sharply into the air before dropping the nose back to the ground and falling. Bear continued to scream.

Harry walked with Chick and was observing his men as they exited their planes. He saw Oscar practically hopping up and down excitedly, begging his pilot for another run in the jet. Next to him, A.J. and Rockhound gazed disgustedly at him while hurrying away from their jets.

Harry asked Chick, "How's the rest of the crew?"

"Well, uh," Chick replied, glancing over at Max being helped from the jet by the two pilots.

Max apologized, "Sorry about the rib chunks all over your dashboard."

Harry gave an odd smile at Chick while shaking his head. His boys were doing okay for their second day.

Later on, Harry was overlooking everyone at work. He yelled, "Don't forget we gotta x-ray all of these,"

Oscar didn't hear Harry as he chatted with A.J. while working on a drill, "If you had to say, who'd you say?"

A.J. replied, half-listening to Oscar, "I, I don't know Oscar. Who do you think you are?"

Looking up and at A.J., Oscar replied, "Han Solo!"

A.J. laughed, "No, if anybody's anybody, I'm Han." Oscar stared at him blankly. A.J. continued, "And you're, you're Chewbacca."

Looking up from his work and then at A.J., Oscar protested, "Chewie? Have you even seen Star Wars?" He continued working while saying, "I'd say that you're Luke Skywalker and I'm Han."

"Why do you say I'm Luke?"

"Because you seem more eager like him."

A.J. laughed, "Well, you'd have to be Luke then because you were the only one besides Chick who didn't get sick while in the jets. You were the one who said that this mission was, "deep blue hero stuff". You're more like Luke than I am."

"Sides," A.J. continued, looking at Oscar, "You're scruffy like him."

Oscar laughed, "Dude, you have never really seen Star Wars!"

Six Days to Lift Off:

Truman stated to the group in the conference room at the Space Training Center, "Okay gentlemen, so here's the flight plan. Now lets keep the laughter to a minimum I know this is not to scale."

Truman picked up his two model X-71's and walked next to his model replicas of the Earth, the Moon, and the asteroid. He continued, "Both shuttles will take off on Tuesday at six thirty p.m. Now, sixty-seven minutes later, you're gonna dock with the Russian Space Station to meet with the cosmonaut Andropov (who will refill the shuttle with liquid O2." He glanced at the group and told them, "That's your fuel.

"Then you'll release and take a sixty-hour trip towards the moon. Now, we only have one shot of landing on this rock. And that's precisely when the asteroid passes by the moon. You'll then use lunar gravity and burn your thrusters, slingshotting you around the moon, coming up behind the asteroid. You'll be upward of eleven G's."

Rockhound broke in, "Yeah, I remember this one. Its where the coyote sat his ass down on a slingshot and he strapped himself to an Acme rocket. Is, is this what were doing here?"

Harry shifted agitatedly in his seat and gave Rockhound a tired glare. He growled softly, "Rockhound."

Rockhound continued, undeterred, "No, no, really! 'cause it didn't work out too well for the coyote, Harry."

Truman smiled, "Well actually, we have a lot better rockets than the coyote." He gave Rockhound a knowing smile. Now, when you've finished your 'road runner' thrust move, you'll be moving at twenty-two thousand, five hundred miles per hour. Coming around behind the asteroid, where we're hoping that the tail debris will be cleared by the moon's gravity, and you'll land right here."

He pointed to the asteroid. He said, "That's it."

The Flight Director added, "We got separate landing sites for each team. Softest parts of the rock as we can figure. At N.A.S.A., we don't take chances. We double up on everything. First team that hits eight hundred feet wins.

"Now, this rock is big, its dense, its got some gravity, you can walk around. But use your thrusters so you can work easier."

Oscar asked, "Okay, Mr. Truman. Lets say that we actually do land on this. What's it going to be like up there?"

Truman replied, "Two hundred degrees in sunlight, minus two hundred in the shade. Canyons of razor sharp rocks. Unpredictable gravitational conditions. Unexpected eruptions. Things like that."

Oscar nodded, swallowing his slight fear and picturing the meteor Han landed the Millennium Falcon on. He replied, "Okay, so the scariest environment imaginable. Thanks. That's all you gotta say: 'scariest environment imaginable."

Truman nodded and said, "Okay, so you drill, you drop the nuke, and you leave. Now here's key: You're gonna remote detonate the bomb before the asteroid passes this plain," He pointed to a map of the asteroids path to the earth. "'Zero barrier'. You do that and the remaining pieces of the rock should be deflected enough to pass right by. Now, if the bomb explodes after 'zero barrier', game's over." => => =>




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