The footage replayed slower, as James Armour gave an account of what NASSA concluded.

"The second astronaut made a valiant effort to save his comrade, although a severed SPACE line meant certain doom due to their distance from the shuttle," Armour explained. "Returning to the space shuttle would've taken five minutes at the least, far too long to survive without air. But even though the second astronaut must've realized his partner was doomed, he still attempted to help, which ultimately cost his life as well. Although the second worker went off-screen with his SPACE line still intact, the other crewmembers that witnessed the tragedy described how the construction materials also ripped his line while he tried to save his co-worker.

"Sadly, the recovery of those two heroes' bodies is impossible. I am not here offering excuses today, only reasons for how this tragic incident occurred. I, along with other NASSA members, will be available for questioning after we discover more answers about yesterday's tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the two men. Thank you."

With that, James Armour walked away from the podium, ignoring the numerous questions called to him and the countless flashbulbs that exploded around him. The television screen switched back to the newsroom.

"That was Secretary of Defense James Armour explaining a video tape of the accident from the space station," the anchorwoman said. "He did not go into detail about the extent of damage from the accident but it doesn't appear as significant as some have speculated. Apparently, none of the space shuttles have suffered damage, and none of the other construction crew appears in any jeopardy from the incident. This footage was just shown at the news conference."

Over the next few hours, the grainy footage from the space accident was replayed dozens of times. The same scientific experts who offered their expertise earlier returned to provide further insight and opinion about the new footage.

Tyler and Nigel continued to sit in Tyler's room, watching the coverage in silence long after Armour and the accident footage became stale news. Finally, nearly 24 hours after it first broke, the story was finally beginning to lose steam.

"We go now to the White House for a live press conference," the anchorman reported.

The White House media room was shown full of anxious reporters and photographers. The camera panned to an open doorway.

"What do you think Marshall will say about the accident? He can't stop construction of the space station with the time schedule they're on," Tyler said.

"Unless the comet has somehow veered off course and they're looking for an excuse to stop the station construction," Nigel said.

Although Tyler did not usually buy the conspiracy angle, that idea did make him stop and think for a moment.

"I guess we'll see," Tyler said. "Someone is coming."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.

A chorus of clicking cameras rained seas of flashbulbs on him before he even stepped in the White House media room. Andrew Brighton was not who the media expected to see but he was at least the second best option. As he took the podium, the excited stirring of the press died down to listen to the vice President.

"Good afternoon. President Marshall asked that I address the nation today, since he has only been back from his long trip for a short amount of time and is trying to learn as much about yesterday's accident as possible. Once he has a better grasp on the situation, he will address the media as well," Brighton said.

"First, I would like to express the nation's deepest sympathy to the families of the two men who died in the space station accident yesterday. Though the world has suffered the loss of two great heroes, two families have suffered even greater losses; the loss of a son and a brother, the loss of a father and a husband. While these losses will be with us all forever, I want the members of the two families to know that their losses will never be forgotten; the lives of these two great men will forever be celebrated in our hearts and in our minds.

"When a harsh fate takes two great men from us for reasons nobody will ever know, we as a people must band together and draw from each other's strength. We must stop for a moment and realize how precious life is, how easily it can be taken away. We must appreciate the people that we love most and try to forget the harshness that often surrounds us in this world. Life is truly the greatest blessing any of us has, and we must learn to live every day to the fullest. Our two fallen heroes would have understood this. I think their deaths might ultimately serve a purpose to each and every one of us. Please don't forget them, don't forget everything they stood for and everything they've tried to give the world."

The vice-President paused for a moment. He could not help but think of his wife and son when speaking these words.

"With that said, the other workers who've risked their lives for construction of the space station should also be applauded. I believe this space station has potential to be the most important work of technology this country has ever seen. It could be something truly magnificent and groundbreaking, and that's not something that can be said too often.

"At the same time, we can't continue to risk the lives of our hard working crew members. We must do everything possible to avoid another accident from ever happening again. The next time a breaking news story concerning the space station happens, the next time I give a press conference because of the space station, I want to make sure the reasons will be for celebration, not mourning," Brighton said.

The vice-President hardly stopped speaking when the questions flew in his direction.

"Vice-President, Vice-President. Do you know the names of the two men who were killed?"

"That information will be made available shortly," he answered, anticipating that this would be the first thing asked. The families of the two men had already been informed but it was decided they should have some time to grieve before being inundated with media requests.

"Vice-President Brighton, do you think space construction should continue despite glaring safety issues?"

This question was tougher, one that Brighton had not discussed beforehand with the President. Brighton knew how committed Marshall was to the space station and did not know how the President would handle the continuation of construction. But Brighton knew that the President was not likely to put anyone in fatal danger if it could be avoided.

And continuing space construction under such dangerous circumstances could be avoided. Therefore, Brighton was confident in giving the answer he expected the President to give.

"I think the construction of the space station should be halted for now, at least until better safety precautions have been made to avoid anything like yesterday's accident from ever happening again," he answered. "It could take weeks or months to come up with a new system for construction, but if it saves even one life, it will be well worth the delay."

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE.

Vice-President Andrew Brighton continued to speak on TV but John Fare did not hear a single word. John was interested in any news related to the space station but his focus had been elsewhere for the last hour. President Marshall could have gone on the air and announced that John was the first person selected to live in space and he still wouldn't have paid attention to the television.

John's parents were fighting.

Again.

This fight lasted longer than the others and his parents were using more foul language than usual. John was no stranger to cursing; he did it all the time when he hung out with his best friend, Colin. But he cursed to feel older and seem cooler. Nothing about the way John's parents cursed at each other seemed cool. It was the first time John heard them use those words out of anger and it made him cringe each time.

John knew he should've taken the television off mute, turned up the volume and drowned out his parents' argument. He felt uncomfortable eavesdropping, knowing his mom and dad would not want him to hear. But something in the back of his mind stopped him from touching the remote, even as a few tears escaped his eyes.

"Why don't you just get the hell out already?" John's mother yelled.

As usual, she did most of the accusing and most of the yelling. John had been watching the news when the fight started so he was not even sure exactly how or why it began. If it was the usual reason, though, she was tired of his father working all the time and neglecting her when he was home.

"I can't wait to get out of this house and away from you," his father bellowed back. "You have never appreciated anything I've done for this family and you probably never will."

"Everything you've done? Like abandoning John and me six days a week and ignoring us the few hours you are home? Sorry I can't appreciate that."

On the television screen, John noticed Vice-President Brighton walking away from the podium, the press conference obviously ending. He left the volume muted and wished he could do the same to his parents.

Why couldn't I have stopped all this fighting from ever happening? John thought.

John wished he'd tried to get his family to do more things together. He thought of all the time that he did what he wanted to do, all the countless hours he spent putting together his dumb models and playing his stupid video games. If he spent that time with his parents, maybe his mom and dad would not have had so much time to get angry and fight.

A door slammed upstairs and John heard heavy footsteps coming down the steps. He quickly turned the volume back up and wiped the tears from his face. The last thing he wanted was for either of his parents to know he was listening.

John pretended to listen to the anchorman when his father walked into the living room. John glanced at him and immediately noticed suitcases in each hand. Although he knew his dad was angry a few minutes earlier, his father's facial expression did not reflect anger. In fact, he looked embarrassed.

"Hey, kiddo," he said, putting the suitcases down. He glanced at the TV. "Anything new going on with the space station?"

John momentarily got nervous, having not paid close attention. He quickly realized that his father wouldn't have known what happened, either.

"Not really," John answered. "Same stuff they they've said the last few hours."

His father nodded. John looked at him, saw that he struggled with what to do or say next. John did not know what to say either. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, John turned back to the TV. His father sighed deeply and sat on the couch next to him.

"I'm sure you heard your mother and me fighting," he said.

"I didn't hear what you were saying. I mean, I heard you two fighting, but I was trying not to listen."

"I know but I'm sure it was hard not to hear," his father said. "I'm sure it's been hard not to hear for quite a while now."

John nodded. He tried to stay strong and composed but his breathing quickened and he could feel a well of tears forming at the back of his eyes.

"I'm sure you heard your mother ask me to leave," John's father said. "Well, I guess it was more like she yelled at me to leave. And I know you're a smart kid and saw the suitcases."

Again John nodded, afraid that saying anything now would cause that well of tears to burst.

"Then I don't have to explain to you why I'm going."

"Where will you go?" John asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

His voice cracked ever so slightly, enough to splinter his dam of tears. One tear escaped down his cheek and while he wiped it away quickly, he knew his father saw it.

"Don't worry about me, I'll find somewhere," his father said. "Probably a hotel for a few nights and then figure things out from there. I might have to start looking for an apartment nearby."

The fact that he mentioned an apartment made the situation all too clear for John: his parents were going to get a divorce. During all of their fights and the rising tension in his house, John always knew it might come down to this. But now that it was actually happening, he could not handle the thought. The tears began flowing freely now and he made no attempt to hold them back.

"What's going to happen?" he asked between sobs.

His father slid closer on the couch, putting his arm around him.

"Your mother and I are having some hard times," his father said, having a difficult time controlling his own emotions. "It's not her fault, it's not my fault and it's certainly not your fault. It's nobody's fault, it's just something that happened over the years."

"Why can't you two make up? Just stop all the fighting and love each other again. Leaving isn't going to help make everything better."

"I wish it was that simple, buddy, I really do. But believe me, time apart from your mother is best for all of us now. It's something we should've done awhile ago but it was too hard. But now we have to, now we have no choice. And if it's meant to be, I'll be back."

"But what if it isn't meant to be? What if you both like spending time apart and end up getting divorced?"

"Everything happens for a reason," his father said. "If it comes to that, you won't have to deal with all the fighting anymore. You could still come and stay with me whenever you want. I promise we'll spend so much time together you'll be excited to get rid of me."

John began to cry harder and his father hugged him tighter. When he calmed down, his father let go. John wiped tears from his eyes again and forced a smile. His father stood from the couch and walked to his suitcases, picking them up in each hand.

"Don't forget, everything will work out for the best," his father said. "You be good for your mother and listen to what she says. Don't give her a hard time, either. This will be rough on her, too."

John nodded.

"I'll call you tomorrow."

With that, John's father turned and walked out of the house. John hoped his parents would work things out but he wasn't a stupid kid. They had been fighting so long that any chance of reconciliation was impossible. From the moment the door closed behind his father, John knew his life was going to change dramatically.

For the next hour, he sat on the couch and stared at the television, lost in his own thoughts. He paid no attention to what was being shown or said on the news, did not notice when James Armour appeared for his second news conference since the space station accident.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR.

For the second time that day, James Armour stood behind a podium in front of a room full of media. While his first press conference had been general, he actually had specific information to relay to the press this time.

"The families of Frankie Barnes and Vladimir Maskaev have been informed that they were the two men killed in the accident during space construction yesterday," Armour said. "Frankie Barnes was the leader of his construction team, Team One. He was born and raised in Philadelphia and leaves behind both parents, two siblings and his longtime girlfriend. I never had the pleasure of meeting Barnes but from what I've heard, he was a great guy to be around, a fun-loving man in his personal life. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.

"Vladimir Maskaev was one of many Russians who became an invaluable part of our construction team. He was born and raised in Moscow and has been part of the Russian space agency for nearly twenty years. His wife and two sons currently reside in the Russian Star City, where only top members of the Russian space team are admitted. Again, our thoughts and prayers are with Vladimir's wife and two sons.

"I'm also here to share a more detailed reason for how yesterday's accident occurred. Project Leader Wesley Maddox sent two of Team One's most-experienced crew members to the scene of the accident to find the cause of the utility arm's malfunction. I have their findings and preliminary hypotheses."

James Armour opened a folder and laid a few papers on the podium. The pages held only theories as to the nature of the accident but Armour had been informed by President Marshall to report the findings to the media. The President figured if the public was given concrete evidence as to the accident's cause, people would not be as opposed to a quick return to work in space. Armour did not know if the strategy would work or not, but it was not his decision to make.

"As I explained in my earlier press conference, the base of the utility arm was attached to a tracking system on the top of the corridor. As seen in the video footage from the accident, the utility arm somehow broke free from the tracking system, thus severing one man's SPACE line in the process. When the second man tried to help, his SPACE line was ultimately severed as well.

"When our investigators returned to the spot on the North Corridor where the arm broke free, they found the entire right side of the system completely worn through. This means there was a problem with tracking for a lengthy period of time and yesterday's accident was more of an inevitability than a freakish occurrence. Unfortunately, we now know too late that this sort of problem is something very easy to prevent, if only we had known to investigate such a matter regularly. Needless to say, all of these tracking systems will now be scrupulously inspected on a daily basis.

"Looking back on records of construction progress, Wesley Maddox discovered a report logged by Frankie Barnes on July 4 stating that a small section of the utility arm's tracking system had been damaged at the end of Team One's daily shift. This shift had the final pieces of the utility arm being installed. The records also show that the first thing Team One did on their next shift was to repair this damage. We've concluded that Team One must not have sufficiently fixed the damage, thus leading to a gradual dissolution of the lining on the right side of the tracking system. Again, a problem that could have been avoided if we'd had the knowledge we do now.

"We're still investigating the cause of the original structural damage to the tracking system but our questions may never be answered. Barnes and Maskaev were the two leaders of Team One; those two men might be the only two who could have solved that mystery. While the cause of that problem might never be known with one-hundred percent accuracy, there is a lot we can learn as a society from Vladimir Maskaev and Frankie Barnes."

A large television screen switched on behind Armour, replaying the accident footage. The footage paused moments before the utility arm tore free from the top of the north corridor.

"We have now positively identified the crew member to the far right of the screen as the Russian, Vladimir Maskaev. We have also determined that Maskaev was out of position during this entire operation to clear the utility arm of its materials. Because of Maskaev's positioning on the corridor, we think he might have known there was a problem with the tracking system. The Russian was very experienced, having logged the most number of space hours of any crewmember. Therefore, we don't think he would have been out of place accidentally. Also, we think this might lead back to my earlier point concerning previous damage to the tracking system."

The footage played frame-by-frame, no faster than one per second.

"Either way, we believe that Frankie Barnes knew his co-worker was in trouble. As you can see, he looked back at the arm and Maskaev this entire time. And if there's one thing I know from my time in space, it's that you always pay attention to what you're doing and nobody else, unless there is a problem. And there was obviously a problem."

The slow-moving frames finally reached the point when the utility arm broke and dragged the first astronaut, now known to be Maskaev, out of the picture. Frankie Barnes did not hesitate to move toward his friend in trouble.

"Frankie Barnes must have known immediately the dire trouble Maskaev was in but he did not hesitate to place himself in harm's way to help a co-worker. Although the workers were trained never to put themselves in a compromising situation, Barnes showed a total disregard for his own safety in order to help his fellow man."

Once Frankie Barnes also disappeared off camera, the television behind Armour went black.

"Yesterday's accident was tragic but the actions of Maskaev and Barnes show the true meaning of unity between the United States and Russia as we combine efforts to build the space station. Not only can America and Russia learn from the selflessness one person can show for another, but so can the whole of humankind.