"It is not that I wish to show disrespect to either of you," Marshall explained. "But this meeting was scheduled for President Sun-Li and myself. It is not often that people cancel meetings with me at the last moment after I've flown halfway across the world. I have to wonder whether Sun-Li is really busy or whether his absence from this meeting today is meant to be an insult to me or my country."

The Foreign Affairs Minister remained stone-faced even as President Marshall directly accused China of insulting America. Lu Chun spoke to the Prime Minister, who again gave an animated response.

"Ironic that you should speak of insults, President Marshall," Lu Chun said. "Because the People's Republic of China could very easily be insulted that your country has formed such a close bond with Russia, who just happens to be our enemy. Your space station project that you call a scientific experiment, how are we to feel about your country possibly building a weapon with our enemy?"

"I don't know how many times I've said in public that the space station is the greatest technological project in history," Marshall said. "But that technology is purely for scientific advancement. I assure you, your country has no reason to worry or feel threatened by the space station."

Lu Chun spoke to the Prime Minister. Marshall did not know if Chun was acting solely as an interpreter or if the two men discussed Marshall's response.

"Mr. President, the People's Republic has never truly felt threatened by the space station. In fact, we know for certain that America does not even possess the type of weapons technology needed to make a weapon that could harm us from space," Lu Chun said.

While Lu Chun's statement seemed to take an offhand swipe at the scientific capability of the U.S., President Marshall was glad to hear that he no longer had to argue the issue of hidden weapons. The amount of time he had to spend at this meeting was far too short for such irrelevant topics.

"President Sun-Li, as well as the Prime Minister and myself, was most disappointed with the U.S. when Russia was selected as the country with whom you chose to align," Lu Chun said.

"As I assured you earlier, Minister, that alliance was built strictly on the grounds of scientific advancement," Marshall said, not wanting to admit the truth that the Russian President was more than just a scientific ally. "By no means was that alliance a statement that we have chosen sides on any political differences your country has with Russia."

Another angry outburst erupted from the Prime Minister before Lu Chun had a chance to translate.

"Prime Minister Mau makes a valid point," Chun said. "He wonders, as do I and President Sun-Li, why the United States did not decide to come to us for assistance with the space station. Russia might have a more significant past history with space experience, but the People's Republic of China is becoming the new power in the field of space aeronautics."

This meeting had not taken a single positive step but Marshall began to form another plan in his mind. Since China appeared so concerned with America's reasoning for not choosing them in a space station alliance, Marshall began to consider a third participant in the historic endeavor. Procuring the partnership of China could only help the space station's chances of being completed.

"You are correct, Russia's past with building space stations was the reason we sought assistance from them," Marshall said. "But I can honestly say that I've erroneously overlooked the People's Republic as another viable option in the construction process."

Admitting failure was a concession of guilt that America normally did not make during diplomatic meetings but Marshall thought it best to obtain the good graces of the Prime Minster and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Little did the President know that his apology would only incite an even higher level of arrogance in these two ambassadors.

Prime Minister Qui Song Mau finally stood from his chair, looking at President Marshall for the first time since he arrived.

"Indeed, you have made the mistake of overlooking our country and our people," the Prime Minister said, his English and accent not as refined as Chun's, yet still intelligible. "It is a mistake you will learn the hard way, as the People's Republic will show the world who controls the cosmos. We will build our own space station and it will be far superior to anything done by the United States and Russia."

The way Mau said Russia reminded Marshall of a snake hissing at an attacking enemy. The Prime Minister sat back in his tall chair, looking away from Marshall yet again. The President had no time to ponder the surprise of Mau's sudden mastery of the English language. Marshall suddenly felt certain that his character and the United States were now under attack.

"Gentlemen, this does not have to be a contest between our countries," Marshall said. "There is no reason we can't work together. I would like to take this opportunity to formally invite the People's Republic to join the United States and Russia in helping complete the space station."

Mau and Chun conversed in Chinese. Since Marshall now knew for certain that both men spoke English, he had to control his anger that they would speak about him in their native language. Their conversing went back and forth for nearly a minute until Mau said one last thing and shot Marshall a quick glance. Marshall could sense the malevolence in the elderly man's eyes; the President realized before Chun spoke that he was fighting a losing battle.

Marshall's original intention for this conference had been to inform President Sun-Li of Comet Clement but his meeting plans had changed dramatically. Whether China decided to join America or not, Marshall still had to decide if he should accomplish what he originally set out to do.

"We formally decline your invitation, Mr. President Marshall," Lu Chun said. "The People's Republic of China will not be an afterthought in the minds of two countries who don't treat us as an equal. It is too late to make such an offer anyway. As Prime Minister Mau stated earlier, the People's Republic will be completing a space station of our own. In fact, the Chinese space station has already completed ground construction. Much like your project, we will soon begin our work in space."

Marshall thought the Chinese were bluffing. Hiding something like that would be quite a difficult task. With all of the high-tech surveillance equipment the United States government controlled, it was likely that a Chinese project as large as this would've already been discovered. But if one person could understand the possibility of hiding a major secret, it was George Marshall.

"The People's Republic has done such work without requiring the aid of any other country," Lu Chun said. "We pride ourselves on standing on our own two feet, without needing to rely on anyone else."

Marshall was still caught off guard by this new revelation. As Lu Chun passively insulted America, the United States President found it difficult to remain diplomatic.

"If we all decided to work together, success would be guaranteed," Marshall said, his suggestions starting to resemble pleading. "On your project as well as ours."

"I know a few things," Lu Chun said, not attempting to suppress a chuckle. "I know that we will be successful without your help. I know that America will not be successful, even with the help of the Russians. Our experts have completed countless hours of research into your proposed space station design and they have assured me that its successful completion, while not impossible, is highly implausible. We don't think-"

"I hope those researchers aren't the same ones that designed your space station," President Marshall interrupted angrily, not wanting to hear another word from the smug Minister of Foreign Affairs. "Because if they are, your space station is already doomed to fail. America will succeed, we must succeed, no matter what you think."

The Prime Minister came to life once again.

"How dare you come to our country and interrupt while we try to spread diplomacy with America. You have rudely chosen the help of our enemy and now you come here and treat us with blatant disrespect," Mau said.

President Marshall felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. This was a special phone, one that was encrypted and known only by his fellow 'Inner Circle' members. James Armour and Peter Mansfield knew the President would be at this meeting so the call must be important. But at the moment, Marshall felt he had to avert an international crisis.

"I've been shown nothing but disrespect during the entirety of this meeting. Your President has insulted me by not showing up, and the two of you have insulted my country and our space station at every possible turn," Marshall said.

"We must have different definitions of the word 'insult' then, President Marshall," Lu Chun said, sensing Marshall's anger and trying to calm the situation. "By saying that the American space station will fail, we do not mean this to be taken in an insulting manner. We are merely stating the findings of our researchers, who think the People's Republic will succeed where you will fail."

President Marshall knew it was pointless to bicker about the odds of success. This was not a subject he came here to discuss.

Marshall ignored the buzzing cell phone in his pocket for the second time, paying it no mind as he placed the briefcase he'd brought with him on the table.

"Petty squabbling was not part of my intentions when I asked for this conference," he said. "What I have to tell you today far supersedes any type of nationalistic superiority that either of us feel."

"I have much doubt that anything you could say is that important, but we are curious nonetheless," Lu Chun said.

The President pushed the five-digit combination on the side of the briefcase, opening the case that contained a significant amount of information about Comet Clement. Charts of the comet's path through space, photographs of Clement, historical information about past comet impacts and accounts of Neil Peterson's space probe mission were just a few examples of the data he planned to share. Along with his two fellow 'Inner Circle' members, Marshall spent nearly a week stockpiling this information with the hopes that any and all questions China might have would be answered in these pages.

The sheets on top of the pile of pages were copies of the Russian spy reports that first led James Armour to discover the changed course of Comet Clement. The 'Inner Circle' members agreed that these reports would be Marshall's ideal starting position in describing the lengthy chain of events that would end with Clement's impact in five years. Marshall took these two sheets out of the briefcase, about to give them to the two men when the door to the conference room suddenly burst open.

In an instinctive response to protect the comet's secret, Marshall shoved the pages back into the briefcase and shut it before he turned to see the source of the interruption.

"I said no interruptions," Lu Chun yelled, raising the level of his voice for the first time since Marshall arrived.

The President turned to see two men in military garb, wheeling in a cart with a television sitting atop. One of the military men stopped and spoke with Chun in Chinese, while the other man wheeled the TV to an electrical outlet and plugged it in. After exchanging a few words, Marshall watched as the expression on the Foreign Affairs Minister's face turned from anger to satisfaction.

For the third time, Marshall felt the cell phone in his pocket vibrate. He quickly took it out and looked at the small LCD screen, which displayed the name 'ARMOUR.'

What can be so important that James keeps trying to reach me? Marshall thought as he put the phone back in his pocket.

He had little time to ponder this when the military man turned on the TV.

"I am very sorry for the interruption, Mr. President Marshall," Lu Chun said. "But my men inform me that there is some major news that requires our watching."

The military men left as the television screen turned to a familiar-looking symbol. The American NASSA symbol appeared on screen and quickly changed to a news desk featuring two Chinese anchors. They spoke in Chinese but President Marshall read the English subtitles that scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

"It has just been reported from the American press that an accident during space construction of their space station has occurred within the past hour, leaving two astronauts dead," the first anchorman said.

The screen switched to footage of a space shuttle lifting off followed by a computer-generated model of the station and its docking shuttles.

"American Shuttle Revolution, the newest of the American space shuttles, lifted off today to perform the second transfer of space construction crews in the four months since work began in space. At this time, we do not have details of exactly how this accident occurred, if more men are in trouble or if there was any damage caused to Shuttle Revolution or the space station. Also, the names of the deceased astronauts have not been released. We will have more on this story as information becomes available."

President Marshall was too concerned with the space station to feel any sort of embarrassment in front of his two naysayers. It was suddenly clear why Armour tried so hard to reach him. Marshall realized this meeting was now over. He had to get back to America right away to learn more and figure out how to proceed.

Without saying a word to the two Chinese men, Marshall grabbed his briefcase and headed for the exit.

"Maybe you should not be so sure of yourself in the future," Lu Chun said.

Marshall's first thought involved his fist and Chun's face but he had more pressing matters. Instead, he turned to the man and said one sentence before leaving.

"Just make sure your space station is completed in the next five years."

Marshall threw open the two large doors to the conference room and quickly walked down the hallway, his Secret Service agents quickly following. The phone in his pocket began to vibrate again and President Marshall finally answered.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015.

Tyler Ainsworth and Nigel Huffington sat in Tyler's room aboard the seacraft. Although deep within tons of metal that made up the craft, they still heard the distant pounding of men working and felt slight vibrations beneath their feet. It was noise they had grown accustomed to during months living aboard the craft, a sound always there since construction workers began working around the clock.

But at the moment, neither man was aware of anything happening outside Tyler's room. They were totally fixated on the television and the story about the "Space Station Disaster," as the media had labeled it. The two had been watching the "breaking story" for hours, waiting for anything new to be reported.

They watched expert after expert reiterating the same theories based upon the limited amount of information released so far. Most people probably stopped watching the news coverage by now but Tyler and Nigel knew the space station wasn't just an overzealous scientific project. Because they knew how significant the station would ultimately be in the future, they waited breathlessly for any new reports.

But it was the same vague information; an unspecified accident occurred at the space station; two as-of-yet unidentified astronauts were killed; damage had been done to the station; President Marshall was on his way back from a conference in China; more details will be made public when NASSA reviews the facts.

"It could take weeks before we find out anything else," Nigel said. "The government isn't known to be forthcoming with information that could damage their reputation."

"They can't hide the identities of the dead for too long," Tyler disagreed. "The longer they hold back that info must mean the dead people are important."

"Do you think it could be Wesley Maddox?" Nigel asked. "Maybe the government became unhappy with his leadership and decided to make a change."

Always the government conspiracies, Tyler thought, wondering if Nigel thought about half of what he said.

"The government is in too big a rush to complete the space station. They can't risk causing damage just to eliminate Maddox," Tyler said. "There are far easier ways to do that then causing an accident."

After another hour of nothing new, Tyler realized he had not slept in nearly a day.

"I'm taking a nap," he said, crossing the room and laying down in his bed. "You can stay and watch the coverage if you want."

"I will," Nigel said. "I don't know how you can sleep at a time like this."

Tyler was not surprised that Nigel stayed. His television was the only one aboard the craft and Nigel was an insomniac. Tyler heard him roaming the seacraft hallways all hours of the day and night...

"Wake me up if they say anything new," Tyler said, rolling over and closing his eyes. His head barely hit the pillow when the sounds from the TV and construction faded.

Before he knew it, Tyler was being shaken. He heard the distant rumbles of construction before his eyes slowly opened and saw Nigel standing above him.

"Breaking news is about to air," Nigel said, crossing the room and taking his seat in front of the television.

"What is it?" Tyler asked.

"I don't know yet," Nigel said. "That's why they call it breaking news. But James Armour is involved and they're going to show some sort of video after the commercial."

Tyler instinctively looked around for a clock before remembering he didn't keep one aboard. Time would be totally different once he lived on the craft underwater so he wanted to get used to being free of clocks in the meantime.

"How long have I been sleeping?"

"About an hour," Nigel said. "Do you think NASSA has completed its preliminary findings?"

Tyler rubbed his eyes, feeling more tired than before he took his nap.

"Maybe," he yawned. "Marshall obviously doesn't want to start a panic concerning safety issues of space construction. He probably figures that giving details of the accident can curb negative speculation about what happened."

"Sounds like something the government would do to pull the puppet strings even more than-"

"Shh, it's back on," Tyler said.

The NASSA logo displayed across the TV screen, which soon showed Secretary of Defense and NASSA Chief James Armour, who stood behind a podium.

"NASSA has been working hard to gather information about yesterday's tragic events," Armour said. "We've spoken with many of the space construction crews, who provided eyewitness accounts. We reviewed tapes of the incident shot by stationary cameras attached to the space shuttle.

"After piecing together this information, NASSA has come to a preliminary conclusion of yesterday's events: pure and simple, what happened was an accident, a very unfortunate accident in which two of our best men were killed. Although the crews endured countless hours of training to make this process as safe as possible, any astronaut can tell you that planning for every type of accident is impossible. And that is exactly what this accident was, impossible to train for, impossible to predict. Let me show you."

Secretary of Defense Armour nodded his head and the screen filled with a black-and-white image. The footage was grainy from being zoomed in too much. It showed five men in space suits walking along the top of a corridor. The footage of the space walkers was not very clear. It wasn't until James Armour explained the scene that Tyler or Nigel knew what they were watching.

"This is a view from a camera aboard Shuttle Exploration. In the distance, you can see five crewmembers atop the North Corridor of the space station. Those small lines connected to the back of their suits are called SPACE lines. SPACE lines provide breathable air to the workers and keep them connected to the space shuttle so they don't just float away. Countless hours of drills trained the workers how to walk and coordinate as a team using these lines.

"This team was currently in the process of transporting materials back to their space shuttle. As I'm sure most of you have already heard, these team members were scheduled to return to Earth today with the liftoff of Shuttle Revolution. This was a routine task they were performing but what is about to happen is something none of us could have planned for."

The video footage paused for a moment, as a yellow circle was drawn around a strangely-shaped object between two of the men.

"This object is a utility arm. It's a basic tool used in space construction work going back to the days of Russia's MIR. We have one of these arms set up for each of the four corridors currently being assembled. They're basically large iron clamps connected to the station on a tracking system that allows the arm to slide the length of the corridor. Large amounts of heavy construction materials are held by these clamps and can be easily transported the length of the corridor. Again, much like the SPACE lines, these arms are used because they make transportation of the heavy building materials much easier and safer."

The yellow circle disappeared as footage began to roll. The utility arm slowly slid along the tracking when it suddenly began tilting to one side. There was a tiny burst of debris that exploded from the base of the utility arm, although it was barely noticeable and not very dramatic. Tyler doubted most people would even see it from the grainy footage.

The utility arm and the building material it held slowly drifted toward the man on the far right of the screen. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion but the speed things moved in space was not comparable to the speed on Earth. Again, the footage paused momentarily and another yellow circle appeared around the SPACE line of one of the workers.

"This is where tragedy struck the first time," Armour said. "I assure you that the following scene will not appear graphically violent but does cause the death of one of the crew. If this is something you do not feel comfortable watching, please turn away now."

The footage continued as the disconnected utility arm severed the SPACE lines of one of the workers. The worker with the severed line soon disappeared to the right of the screen. The only other worker in the vicinity of the accident quickly moved toward him and was soon out of the picture as well.

"It looks like the second worker tried to help the first one," Nigel said. "If I was him, I wouldn't-"

"Be quiet," Tyler said. "I want to hear this."