"Recruitment, Wesley. And who better to recruit than the man in charge of the space station project? You're a celebrity now and people listen to celebrities," the President said.

"Celebrity? I'm more like a villain these days, Mr. President."

"With some people, yes. But not with the kinds of people we try to recruit," the President said. "I am already in the process of setting up speaking tours for you at some of the most prestigious colleges in the country."

"Kids? I don't think this kind of work is best suited for frat boys. If you needed some kegs to be worked on, maybe."

"Wesley, you aren't thinking about it. These aren't kids, these are young adults. Young men and women are strong and smart and at the age and mindset where they are unimpeded about the idea of learning new things. They are in the best shape, both physically and mentally, of any candidates for this type of work. And young people are fearless, at least the type of young people who will want to sign up. Go talk to seniors at the best Ivy League schools in the nation, young adults studying engineering and rocket science who will already have knowledge of this subject and a willingness to use their knowledge to contribute to the most significant project in history."

"This sort of training doesn't happen overnight," Maddox said. Though he knew his men would one day be grossly overworked, Maddox felt himself opposed to Marshall's recruitment idea. "Plus all of the trainers we have are part of the construction crews now."

"We know that; we're making other plans," Marshall said. "James Armour has already spoken with Russian President Metachenko about sending more teachers and students. We also plan to bring Slava Kovalchuk down to Earth to oversee most of the training process."

"But I'll need Slava in space," Maddox said. "What happens if there is another accident?"

In truth, Maddox did not feel comfortable being in charge without Slava near him. Maddox might be the official leader but still thought of himself as the student and Slava his teacher.

"From what I've heard, you were the one who handled everything during the crisis. You ordered the men to stop working and you ordered the investigation into the accident. I expect you could handle any situation on your own. Besides, Slava would only be on Earth for about half of the yearlong training program.

"The beginning of the program is still a few months away. Until then, you will stay on Earth and help with recruiting. My short-term goal is to have more American students in this program than Russians. So by the end of next year, hopefully we'll have several new teams ready for space work," President Marshall said.

In theory, Maddox thought the idea a good one, yet he did not look forward to his role. But if it meant construction would still move forward with him remaining as project leader, there was nothing he could do but smile and agree with the President.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN.

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015.

Peter Mansfield had to admit he was impressed.

Although he'd seen dozens of pictures of Tyler Ainsworth's seacraft, this was the first time he saw it in person. Mansfield was equally impressed with the progress made since Ainsworth Industries received the large grant from the government. The photographs Mansfield originally saw made the craft look like a half-completed, oversized submarine. But further construction helped complete a majority of the craft's outer shell. According to Tyler Ainsworth's personal assistant, who gave the tour as he led Mansfield to see Tyler, the construction workers labored around the clock to complete the craft.

I like the way Ainsworth runs things. Maybe we were wrong not to give more consideration to his company's space station design. He's got his act together more than Wesley Maddox ever has, Mansfield thought.

The Chief of Staff normally disliked people before meeting them but had a good vibe toward Ainsworth. Mansfield's positive attitude was rare since the passenger list had mentally drained him for months. But the news he was here to deliver was sure to anger Ainsworth.

I might like Ainsworth already, Mansfield thought. But he certainly isn't going to like me when he hears what I have to say.

"This is outrageous," Ainsworth yelled.

He and Peter Mansfield were alone in Tyler's room aboard the seacraft. Tyler had only known of Mansfield's visit for the last hour and certainly did not expect to hear such bad news.

"The President wants to choose half of the spots aboard my ship? I can't accept that. 250 is too high a number," Ainsworth said after hearing Marshall's demand for giving Ainsworth Industries a quarter billion dollars to continue the craft's construction.

"This is not an offer and it is not a negotiation. You are lucky that President Marshall is only demanding half," Mansfield said, uncharacteristically keeping his composure despite being chastised. "And I'm sorry to say but that's only half of the bad news."

"I don't want to hear any more," Ainsworth said, angrily pacing the room. "No wonder the President sent you. He wouldn't want to see me mad."

The Peter Mansfield of old would've exploded at a comment like that, especially from some young punk like Tyler Ainsworth. But the Chief of Staff's usual anger never surfaced.

"I have a bit of advice for you," Mansfield said calmly. "I wouldn't ever make any comment that could be misconstrued as a threat to the President."

Mansfield spoke with such an icy calmness that Ainsworth immediately backed off his comment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like a threat," Ainsworth said. "I'm only frustrated that the President is choosing now to drop this bomb on me. He had to wait until an accident on the space station happened to worry about his backup plan, which just so happens to be my seacraft." Tyler took a deep breath. "Okay, give me the second bit of news."

"At the time of launch, you must hand over control of the seacraft to somebody who President Marshall decides," Mansfield said.

Ainsworth grunted disgustedly but the Chief of Staff continued to explain.

"I can guarantee you this person will be military and will bring along some of his people to act as security on board the craft once the comet strikes. The only weapons allowed on board will be kept and controlled by these soldiers."

Ainsworth continued to pace, shaking his head while he listened to the President's ridiculous demands.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Tyler repeated. He couldn't help remember the warnings Nigel Huffington had given him about not trusting the government. Tyler dismissed those warnings as simple paranoia but now they'd come true. Tyler felt utter helplessness.

"If I knew Marshall wanted complete control of my craft, I never would've agreed to take the government's money," Ainsworth said.

"It's too late to think like that," Mansfield said. "You did take our money and used most of it already. Besides, you're under the false impression that you've ever had a choice in any of this. You haven't. Once we found out your real motivation behind building this seacraft, you lost any control you thought you had. Once you realize this and accept it, you won't feel nearly as miserable as you do now."

"It's almost like I created this seacraft for no reason at all," Ainsworth said quietly, the fight taken out of him. "I've risked everything I've ever had in life and this is how I'm repaid."

Mansfield sympathized with how Tyler felt. If somebody came along and stripped the Chief of Staff of all his clout, especially after having worked for years to earn it, he would feel disheartened as well.

President Marshall's second term in the White House would end after next year, leaving plenty of uncertainty about the space station project. If someone uncooperative won the next election, the Inner Circle's well-laid plans could come to a screeching halt. The station's future, as well as the secrecy of Comet Clement, would be put into the hands of another person, a frightening thought for the Chief of Staff.

"I understand your frustration," Mansfield said. "But you have to focus on the control you do have. Think about it: you have the ability to hand select 250 of the 1,500 survivors on this planet. That's one-sixth of the surviving population of the entire world and that's assuming the space station is actually completed."

Mansfield was still hopeful that the space station would be a success, though his confidence in Wesley Maddox's leadership ability declined even more since the accident. But the Chief of Staff was trying to make Ainsworth feel better and that meant propping up the man's ego any way possible.

"If the space station doesn't pan out the way we hope, your 250 selections will be half of the world's survivors. And that's pretty good," Mansfield said.

"That part I can accept. I was expecting Marshall to demand some passenger spots, maybe not quite so much. But placing someone else in charge of my seacraft is a slap in the face. It's stripping away everything I've worked to accomplish," Ainsworth said. "And for what? Money, and not even enough to finish the rest of my boat."

"The President has no doubt you'll raise the remaining funds needed to complete construction. You're a smart guy, you've proven that by everything you've accomplished so far," Mansfield said. "And you won't be losing as much control over your ship as you think. Whoever the President puts in charge won't be interested in the same type of power you want. Marshall will assign a person to captain your craft, make sure things run smoothly and make sure it stays out of danger. You'll still serve as cruise director or whatever it is you want."

"As long as this captain of yours doesn't step on my toes," Ainsworth said, trying to convince himself that he was okay with Marshall's proposed plan. "But I still don't like any of this. I don't like being the backup plan and I don't like being strong-armed. I've been very cooperative about keeping this comet secret, especially when I could've gone public with everything I know."

Although Mansfield had been a changed man in recent months, he refused to be threatened, even if Ainsworth's attempts at intimidation were subtle. No matter how much he respected Ainsworth for what he'd accomplished, the Chief of Staff finally lost his patience and his composure.

"Believe me, we are still watching and listening to make sure you don't go public," Mansfield said. "If you ever tried that, you'd disappear to greater depths in the ocean than your craft will ever reach. But you'll be there with hundred-pound weights tied around your ankles.

"Remember this, you have no say in anything. President Marshall makes the decisions; I am only the messenger. We all have difficult issues to wrestle with. That's the price you pay for knowing about Comet Clement. Now if you'll excuse me, the President is about to go on the air."

Without saying another word, the Chief of Staff turned and walked out of Tyler's room.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT.

President Marshall stood behind a podium, a large symbol of NASSA hanging on the wall behind him. A small TV off to the side displayed the Presidential seal but faded away when a red light on the camera in front of him switched on.

"My fellow Americans, I apologize for the interruption to your regularly scheduled viewing this evening. It seems I've needed to do this more often in the last few months than I ever have before, but I promise to take only a few minutes of your time. As most of you probably realize, the reason I'm here to speak to you is not as exciting as times in the past.

"Last week's tragic accident aboard the space station ended with two workers, Frankie Barnes of Philadelphia and Vladimir Maskaev of Moscow, giving their lives for our cause. The accident placed the future of the space station in limbo. Unfortunately, the accident has taken all excitement out of what I hoped would ultimately be the greatest technological advancement in our nation's great history."

Peter Mansfield sat in the backseat of his limousine, taking the long drive from the Washington seacraft construction facility to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. His meeting with Tyler Ainsworth ran longer than anticipated. The Chief of Staff rushed back to the limo to make sure he heard the beginning of the President's speech on the radio. He wasn't happy this meeting took place the same day as Marshall's speech but the President wanted his demands to be known to Ainsworth before making this announcement.

"So instead of giving you an update on how well construction of the station has progressed, I must instead inform my fellow Americans of where the future lies for our project," Marshall said.

When the announcement was made that President Marshall would give a speech that night, the workers at NASSA's mission control instantly became nervous. With the President's past history of axing the original NASA due to the 'accidental loss' of the deep-space probe years earlier, the workers did not feel confident that Marshall would stick behind them this time. Failure of any kind was apparently not an option.

James Armour had to pretend that he was nervous in front of his colleagues, too.

"Even if Marshall does shut us down, you will all have jobs for awhile," Armour had told a few of the workers when asked earlier for his opinion on the President's speech. "Coordinating the retrieval of our crews in space will not be a job accomplished overnight."

Armour hated acting sneaky and his foul mood from having to do so was misinterpreted by many workers as nervousness. President Marshall's speech was displayed on one of the large projection screens in mission control.

"In recent days, I've heard and seen numerous reports from the media, many consisting of interviews with average Americans, asking their opinions regarding the future of the space station," President Marshall said.

In his heart, Colin McKay did not care what the President had to say about the future of the space station. But in his mind, he knew he'd better pay attention and listen. The space station saga was a topic his teachers loved to discuss at school and the story was something his best friend John never shut up about.

Colin's father, on the other hand, listened intently, at least when the sound of his cracking beer can didn't drown out the President's voice. Colin's old man stumbled back from the kitchen, holding yet another beer. He bypassed his usual beat-up recliner, instead opting to take a seat on the couch next to Colin. He plopped down beside his son, his swinging leg hitting the coffee table in front of them, knocking a dozen beer cans to the floor.

"Pick them up, boy," Colin's father ordered.

The beer cans were lying on the floor because of his father but arguing that point was worthless for Colin. Instead, he slowly picked them up and placed them on the table.

"Keep it down, boy," his father said, even though the noise Colin made was nearly inaudible. Colin's father turned the volume up on the television.

"Most opinions seem to have everyone against the completion of this project," President Marshall said on TV. "The reasons for stopping construction range from unknown dangers to our astronauts or the budget far exceeding the original estimate."

"That's right," Colin's father yelled. "My taxes gone up way too much because of that stupid space station."

Emily Peterson sat on a chair by the window of her bedroom, staring outside at the night sky. It was a clear night with hundreds of stars splashed across the sky. She knew the names and locations of many but was not looking for any one star in particular. She was simply staring off, trying to become lost in any faraway world that would take her out of the life she now lived.

Of course the sound of the President's voice on her thirteen-inch television made dreaming nearly impossible. The volume was turned up high, even though Emily's grandmother made her promise she wouldn't watch TV until her homework was done. Math and science were subjects Emily always loved but the English assignment frustrated her to no end. After a half-hour of reading the same page of a novel ten times, Emily had given up and turned on the TV.

The young teenager knew her grandmother would come in and check her work at some point but she didn't care. All of the yelling in the world from her grandmother would not force her to finish the homework. In fact, Emily turned the volume on the TV even louder than was needed, trying to goad the old woman into an argument.

No matter how irate it made Emily, her grandmother loved to say how she wouldn't treat her any differently because she was physically disabled. Emily's disability was a constant source of embarrassment for her grandmother, even though she would never admit it. The way she looked at Emily and spoke about the accident let Emily know the way the old woman truly felt.

Emily heard the President's voice in the background but was more interested about listening for her grandmother's approaching footsteps.

"Consequently, many polls have found the approval rating for the space station at an all-time low," Marshall said.

Vice-President Andrew Brighton watched Marshall's speech with two senior Senators, one the Senate Minority Leader, the other the Speaker of the House of Representatives. These three men were members of the same political party, men who helped Marshall and Brighton get elected to two terms. Brighton received a call earlier in the day from the Senate Minority leader, who asked the vice-President to have a small, intimate sit-down meeting later that night.

When Brighton arrived at the home of the Senate leader, he was surprised to see the three most powerful men of his political party not currently residing in the White House. But as Brighton suspected, the White House was the exact topic the three men wanted to discuss.

"The media has all but labeled you the next candidate to run for next year's presidency," the Senate Minority leader said, getting straight to the point after short greetings were exchanged.

"Most two-term vice-Presidents are the logical choice," Brighton said. "But as I've told the media, I have not yet decided what I want to do."

"With the exception of this whole space station fiasco that George Marshall seems to stand alone on, the party has been very happy with the job the two of you have done in office," the other Senator said. This man was by far the oldest in the room and though he held no recognizable title as each of the other men did, he was still the most powerful of the four. "The last two elections were landslide victories; we think that has a lot to do with how much the public likes and respects you. Therefore, we will support your nomination if you decide to run next year. In fact, we would like you to strongly consider doing so now that you have the total backing of your party."

"We would endorse you throughout any primaries, which would guarantee you a spot on the ballot," the Speaker of the House added.

Brighton always assumed he'd be the favorite to win the nomination but hearing this vote of confidence made him feel empowered. He would have to discuss this with his wife but Brighton knew he could convince her, knew he could do everything needed to be elected to the most powerful office in the world.

"The backing of you three fine gentlemen definitely makes my decision easier," Brighton said, smiling broadly.

The other three men smiled as well and cigars were soon passed around.

"I only have one warning for you, Andrew," the oldest Senator said. "This space station issue could be the only thing that damages your chances. We expect you to continue stating that you don't share the same enthusiasm about the project as the President. Your statement last week about halting work was a wise move. We want you to continue your subtle opposition-no need to come out against Marshall-but make it known that you don't completely agree with him. When you win your election, God willing, we can put an end to this space station nonsense."

It was true that Brighton was not the biggest supporter of the space station but he was not sure he would shut the project down if the decision were up to him. But if that was what these three men wanted him to say right now, he would be more than happy to agree with them.

"Let's just hope Marshall does not mention your name during his speech tonight and sully your good reputation," the Speaker of the House said, the other men nodding.

Brighton suddenly became nervous about exactly what Marshall would say in his speech. While the four men sat around smoking cigars and watching the speech, the vice-President found himself hoping against hope that Marshall would not mention his name in connection to the space station. He just decided to run for the presidency and did not want his goal derailed before it even started.

"Even my Vice-President, Andrew Brighton, has publicly stated that he feels this project should be put to a halt for the time being," Marshall said.

The three men smiled at Brighton.

"We couldn't have planned for Marshall to say something better than that," the elderly Senator said.