The face of the young Marine popped into Mansfield's head, and he realized that millions more people just like him would die. Even if they risked exposing the secret by telling China, at least the 'Inner Circle' would save more lives in the long run. "Whatever the two of you think is best, I agree with," Mansfield said.

The Chief of Staff thought he noticed a look of disappointment from Marshall but could honestly care less about the President's opinion of him at the moment.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

JULY 17, 2015.

FIVE YEARS, ONE MONTH, FIVE DAYS BEFORE IMPACT...

At the age of 44, Andrew Brighton was one of the youngest Vice-Presidents to hold America's second highest post. During George Marshall's first campaign for the presidency, the two men ran on a platform that youth would be a positive change for America. They were energetic and lively, exactly what the country needed after the tenure of the previous Commander-in-Chief, who'd been nearly 80 after his second term.

The public apparently agreed with their philosophy, as Marshall and Brighton won with a considerable margin of victory. Brighton wanted to be a hands-on Vice President, wanted to be out in public and make a difference in America. Shortly after their win, though, Brighton endured several personal hardships that sucked all the youthful vigor out of him and kept him from the limelight.

First, his mother died as a result of a car accident, struck head-on by a car full of drunken teenagers. Thankfully the kids survived but Brighton's 71-year-old mother eventually succumbed to a slow death from multiple internal injuries. Brighton and his father went to the hospital every day for two weeks following the crash, praying she would get better, but watching with hopelessness as her condition grew worse and worse.

Brighton's parents had been married 49 years, their golden anniversary only months away when his mother finally passed. While the Vice President took his mother's death hard, his father could not handle the situation. Days after her death, Brighton's father attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of pills. He survived and was placed on suicide watch for the next three weeks before being released to Brighton's care.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Brighton's own wife, Katrina was the crutch that supported him. Brighton's father came to live with them soon after but the once lively and energetic man quickly transformed to an empty shell of his former self. He continued to blame himself for his wife's death, convinced that he should have driven his wife wherever she needed to go, that he should have been with her in the car at the time of the accident, that he should have died with her.

Brighton's father owned a Fortune 500 company and was still involved in many facets of the company but could not focus on anything after the loss of his wife. A picture of health during his entire life, it took less than six months for the elder Brighton's body to break down and cease working. It did not matter what the autopsy results said, the Vice President knew his father died of a broken heart.

During the most important year of his life, Andrew Brighton had to bury both of his parents. It was an unenviable task that most people experience when their parents get older, but the tragic way it happened made it even more painful.

The only positive event during this time was his wife's first pregnancy. The two always wanted children but doctors discovered that Katrina would have trouble becoming pregnant. When she finally did, the couple rejoiced in their own miracle.

The stress of dealing with both in-laws' deaths, along with the pregnancy that doctors warned would be difficult, confined Katrina Brighton to bed after only a few months. Andrew attempted to fulfill his duties as Vice President as best he could but refused to leave his wife's side. Andrew spoke with George Marshall about resigning his post but the President would not hear of it. Marshall had always been very kind to him, even if Brighton sensed a bit of secrecy during that first year they were in office. There were quite a few times that the Andrew looked for Marshall but was not told where the President was. Brighton figured the Secret Service agents were being overly cautious. He never realized how many secret meetings the job of U.S. President entailed.

Katrina's health steadily declined during her pregnancy, to the point that doctors weren't sure she would survive until the baby was ready to be born. The Brighton couple had a very difficult decision to make, a decision that Katrina refused to even consider: she would have the baby, regardless of health concerns posed to her.

Six months into term, Katrina was admitted to the nation's top maternity hospital. Andrew Brighton practically disregarded his job for months, leaving his wife's side for no longer than it took to shower or get something to eat. He hardly ever left the hospital himself, not wanting to face the throng of media camped outside in the parking lot. Katrina's story became national news, much to Andrew's dismay. He had a hard enough time with his life and found it increasingly difficult to put on his best face for the cameras. Death seemed to stalk those he loved and it was right on the heels of the person he loved most, and the child he never expected possible.

Six weeks before Katrina's due date, she went into labor. The risk to her health reached its highest level and it was a miracle that she and the baby survived. Andrew's first child, a son, weighed less than two pounds. Moments after birth, Katrina fell into a coma.

The doctors were not overly optimistic that either would survive. He split his time between the ICU and baby ward, where his son was kept in an incubator. The first couple of days were pure hell, as the tiny infant struggled just to breathe. But after a very long week, the doctors finally became optimistic that he would survive.

Andrew's wife, on the other hand, grew worse as time passed. The amount of blood loss and internal damage caused during labor reduced her chances of survival to 50/50. With little thought to the outside world or what was happening in the country around him, Andrew prayed and prayed that his wife, his only true love, would survive.

Please, God. You've put me through a lot this year, Andrew prayed. I think I deserve one here.

Apparently, God listened. Two days shy of a month after she fell into a coma, Katrina Brighton woke to her husband and their son. The Vice President emerged from his wife's pregnancy a changed man, with a newfound appreciation for life that had never been so strong.

While the tragedy of losing both parents and the joy of gaining a new family had taken a toll on Brighton's mind and soul, his exterior was a completely different story. He'd mostly hidden the fact that he was balding during their first campaign. Halfway through his first term, the rest of his hair on the top of his head fell out. The little bit left on the sides had turned to a grayish-brown, more so gray than brown, no doubt having changed during his few months in the hospital.

But now that his son was five years old and running wild, any hint that Brighton ever had brown hair was completely gone. His face still appeared young but he felt a new wrinkle show up on a daily basis. Brighton's once muscular, athletic body was now a thing of the past, having been replaced by love handles that he never expected to have.

At least his designer suits could hide that.

With only a year and a half remaining until the end of George's Marshall second term in office, many people began to wonder who would be the next candidate to run. After performing his duties as Vice-President during Marshall's second term, the media seemed ready to name Brighton as the top candidate for next year's election. With Brighton's family now healthy and his personal life balanced, Marshall's choice to keep him as Vice-President had paid off. If there was one thing Brighton's political career gained as a result of his numerous hardships, it was America's respect. And many thought that respect would translate perfectly in the next election.

As Brighton walked out of the children's hospital, the same one that had been his son's home the first few months of his life, a horde of reporters and photographers waited to ask him about the impending election. Visiting such hospitals was a public relations move that many politicians made, more so for the positive attention. Since Brighton had such a personal connection with children's hospitals, especially this one, he felt ashamed to even receive press coverage for the visit. Whether he was Vice-President or not, Brighton liked to think he would've done anything possible to show his appreciation to the hospital. Hopefully, the public knew his intentions had nothing to do with publicity.

"Mr. Vice-President, Mr. Vice-President," one reporter shouted as Brighton took his first steps out of the hospital's sliding doors. "Any word on whether you will be making a run for the presidency next year?"

"I have made no decisions yet," Brighton said. "But I can tell you one thing that is very important: children's hospitals all around the country are short of the crucial funds they need to survive, and desperately need contributions. I know better than anyone else the importance of these hospitals."

Flashbulbs exploded around Brighton and a sea of questions continued. As expected, the questions had nothing to do with his visit to sick children.

"Are you saying you will not run for President next year?"

"I did not say that at all," Brighton responded, finding it increasingly difficult to force the smile on his face.

"So you will be running then?"

"I did not say that either," Brighton said. "I love my role as Vice-President right now. And there is a chance I would love a role as the President. But there's also the chance that I won't. I will reach that decision with my wife, Katrina, and my son, Andrew Jr. Believe me, you'll be the first to know what I decide."

Brighton nodded to the Secret Service agents that accompanied him, signifying that he was done answering questions. The two bulky men began to clear a path through the reporters when a new line of questioning made the Vice-President stop in his tracks.

"What about the President's trip to China he scheduled for early September? Can you tell us the reason for this trip?"

The question caught Brighton off guard. He had yet to hear about the trip. President Marshall had mentioned the possibility of such a trip once or twice but he mentioned many possible plans to his Vice-President that never came to fruition. Needless to say, this China trip was one that Brighton never expected to happen.

"President Marshall and I have discussed this trip briefly," Brighton said, not completely lying. "And as a matter of fact, I'm on my way to the White House now to speak with him more. I'm sure the President will brief you on the matter when he is ready."

Again, Brighton told the truth, yet led the media in a different direction. It was true that the Vice-President had a meeting with Marshall scheduled for later that day but the briefing had nothing to do with the China trip.

We'll certainly have one more topic to discuss, Brighton thought.

Just before the Vice President got into his waiting limousine, one final question was asked.

"Mr. Vice-President, do you agree with President Marshall that he must explain to China the reasons for building the space station?"

"I believe that President Marshall always does the right thing for our country."

"I don't think this is the right thing for our country," Brighton told President Marshall as both men met in the Oval Office. "We have no reason to explain ourselves to a hostile nation who makes paranoid threats."

"I assure you, Andrew, this is the right thing to do," the President said in a soothing voice that made it difficult to disagree. "Russia is China's enemy and they could view our pact with them as a threat to their own security. After all, China would not expect us to sit around if they decided to help Afghanistan develop a nuclear bomb."

"That's totally different," Brighton argued. "The space station is purely scientific. We aren't in cahoots with Russia to develop some sort of secret weapon to use against our enemies."

The calm with which Marshall responded made Brighton feel like he was talking to a wise elder. The two men were not so different in age and had been equally inexperienced when they first ran for the White House. Brighton could see the maturity Marshall had gained in his years as President. The cocky, conceited Marshall of old always more concerned with public appearance than politics had changed dramatically.

"China does not know what we're developing. They are only accusing us of building a weapon to cover themselves. If I can explain that the space station is what we say it is, maybe they'll put more faith in their own safety," President Marshall explained. "China has become one of the world's top players in the space race. Who knows what sort of threat they're capable of posing to us or our space station?"

"Are you suggesting that China would be foolish enough to attempt some sort of physical assault in space to stop our construction? You might have watched Star Wars too much as a boy, sir."

"All I'm saying is we aligned ourselves with China's enemy and the least I can do is give them personal reassurance that our motives are by no means combative."

The Vice-President still did not believe the President's reasons made the trip to China necessary. While Marshall did not seem to obsess about the public's perception of him, surely he realized he could not appear weak to the country.

"I'm just afraid the public will view this trip as a sign of weakness, that we are caving to China's demands."

"I don't think the public worries much about things like that," Marshall said. "They only care about the space station. Have you seen how much television coverage it has gotten since we first launched?"

"You mean since we secretly launched," Brighton said. That first launch was such a big secret, in fact, that the Vice-President did not know about it until he saw the story on the news. "Besides, the public is already starting to lose interest. Now that the original excitement of space construction has passed, people are beginning to realize how long it will be until the station is completed."

"The public is restless. Don't worry about them, they'll come around," Marshall assured. "They always do. You just keep smiling for those cameras and get ready for your own nomination for the next election."

Marshall smiled at Brighton like a proud father would his son. Brighton, on the other hand, was not so sure he was happy about this.

"Mr. President, as I've been telling the media, I'm not sure I'll be running in 2016," Brighton said.

"Why not? Our approval ratings have been so high recently, you'd be a shoe-in to win," Marshall said.

Brighton sighed. His true reason for wavering on the decision was the exact reason he gave the media, whether they believed that he was undecided or not.

"To tell you the truth, George, a quiet life with my family sounds pretty appealing after these past six and a half years," he said. "I've been in D.C. for a dozen years now. It's cold up here, I miss the weather in Florida."

Marshall lost the smile but did not appear unhappy or angry with his Vice President. Actually, the President looked to Brighton as if he was lamenting his own time spent in the White House.

"If anyone can understand the stresses of this place, it's me," Marshall said, his voice dropping an octave. "But whether you realize it now or not, we are reaching a critical junction in this... country's history. I hope you'll run for President next year but I agree that having time to think about your decision is a good thing. In the end, I believe you'll do what's right."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

"Our construction is right on schedule," Wesley Maddox said, his voice coming through to mission control clearly. The quality of communication equipment allowed conversations between astronauts in orbit and people on Earth to sound crystal clear. Technology advanced far beyond the quality of equipment James Armour had used during his astronaut days.

"What progress has been made in the past week?" Armour asked.

As always, the Secretary of Defense was alone in mission control during weekly communications with Maddox.

"The third of four utility arms was installed two days ago," Maddox reported. "The last should be completed by the end of the week. We planned for the four arms to be finished before the end of the fourth month, so we are nearly two months ahead of schedule. The first arm to be installed was completed by Team One on the North Corridor; it had minor repairs done at the beginning of the week. But since then, significant progress has been made on that corridor. The men have really raved about the use of these arms and how construction should progress quicker than expected."

He knew they were still early in the construction phase but James Armour was ecstatic to hear that everything ran so smoothly. He also knew that President Marshall would be glad to hear it.

"So what is the next step once the corridors are complete?" Armour asked.

"The utility arms are extremely helpful but it will still be a long time before the corridors are completely assembled," Maddox said. "When they are, we can begin to attach the pods. Fabrication of those pods should be starting in Arizona. Once the rest of the construction on Earth is complete, the ground workers can begin to focus all of their energy on those pods."

The two men rehashed similar plans during their weekly communications. With there being so little new progress to discuss, their conversations always steered to the future of space construction and the addition of the pod dwellings.

Armour felt most nervous about these pods. 120 of them would eventually be installed on the space station, each pod containing eight single living quarters. Every one of those living quarters would be approximately the size of a small jail cell, not exactly an ideal home for anyone who suffered from claustrophobia. Unfortunately, those chosen to continue the human race would have no other option but to deal with the lack of space and the infiniteness of space.

What made Armour nervous, though, was that none of the pods had been built yet. Until the rest of the building materials were made, the construction of pods had to be put on hold. Therefore, if blueprints for these pods were anything less than perfect, the possible delays could be catastrophic.

No use worrying about that now, Armour tried unsuccessfully to convince himself. We'll just have to deal with any problems that arise when the time comes.

That was the mindset the 'Inner Circle' had taken throughout the entire Comet Clement and space station ordeal. As a former astronaut who had trained to follow dozens of contingency plans during crises, Armour often found himself conflicted with the 'play-it-by-ear' strategy. But the situation he was in did not allow for any other alternative.

The other major problem with the pods had to do with how successful the space shuttles would ultimately be in delivering them to orbit. Thus far, the schedule for the shuttles had not gone as planned. In fact, the entire plan to rotate construction crews and shuttles in space had been completely abandoned. Teams Four and Five were still on Earth, not having relieved the other teams at all due to unforeseen issues with launching the final two shuttles.

Once the pods were built, a shuttle would only be able to transport two pods at a time. That meant that the fewest number of shuttle trips required to transport all of the pods was sixty. And considering zero shuttle trips had been made in the previous two months, sixty seemed to Armour like a number that would be impossible.

At least that zero would soon be changing.

"How have your crews been holding up with the increased length of their work schedule?" Armour asked. "Are you making sure they aren't overexerting themselves and getting careless?"

"If I ask them one more time if they're okay, I think the crews might send me back to Earth without a shuttle," Maddox answered. "The workers assure me their extra time in orbit is helping them work better as a unit. I suppose that practice does make perfect."

"I have some bad news then if that's the case," Armour said. "Shuttle Escapade has finally worked out its kinks and is ready to launch. Team Four has been putting in extra work at the training facility and is ready to relieve one of your squads. The construction supplies will be loaded on board by the end of tomorrow, so the first team change will happen by week's end."

"That's great," Maddox said. "Team Two hasn't been making the same progress the past two weeks that they did the first six. I think they can use the relief, even if they say they're still sharp. Any word on when Shuttle Revolution will be ready?"

Revolution was the newest of the five U.S. space shuttles, not to mention the least battle-tested. Its newer technology made the shuttle harder to maintain during years of inactivity but NASSA experts agreed that Revolution was the finest ship they had. One day, Armour expected Revolution to join the space station around the orbit of a comet-decimated Earth.

"Revolution is still a ways off," Armour said. "There's a chance that Team Two's returning shuttle will be used to transport Team Five on the second shift switch. But we hope to have the shuttle timetable on schedule by the end of the year."

With updates made and construction progress reported, Armour signed off. The shuttle change was one more thing to make Armour nervous. He tried to think of something else when he felt a stress headache begin to attack his brain.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

AUGUST 1, 2015.

Tyler Ainsworth inhaled a deep breath of salty, ocean air. He stared at the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, at the vast possibilities where he could travel in years to come. Despite the worldwide devastation that would force him into the oceans, Tyler felt a bit of excitement for the adventure ahead of him. He closed his eyes and listened to the waves crashing, imagining which parts of the world that fate might one day take him...

"These docks don't look in the best condition," a shrill voice said, stating the obvious, ripping Tyler away from his world of imagination.