The Reveal: Part 3 of What Happens In Space

Commander Jones sat still. His eyes were focused on the screen in front of him. Nobody was claiming to have a mission with a missing astronaut. He wondered how that was possible. The person in their med-bay was real. He had to have come from one of the other stations, or there was a failed orbiter somewhere. There wasn't another way for him to exist out there.

"What is it, John?" asked Major Heder as she stood at the corner of the command center.

"Our guest," he told her. "They want us to get to the bottom of where he's from."

Major Heder stood, motionless and silent, as she considered what they meant. She was a mission specialist, not a trained interrogator. And if NASA couldn't get a hint from one of the other space agencies, she questioned what was going on.

"How do we go about getting to the bottom of it if they're intent on keeping this a secret?" she asked.

John scratched his chin. He knew how to interrogate people. It wasn't his specialty, but it wasn't rocket science. The psychological tests on astronauts were thorough. Breaking a trained astronaut wouldn't be as easy as interrogating a street punk as a patrol cop. John knew they'd need something a little more informal, a way to catch their guest off guard. That was, if it could be done.

"Why don't we have him join us for some food?" suggested John. "I'm sure our friend is hungry."

"I'll bring him to the galley," replied the major.

Thirty minutes later, Major Heder and their guest appeared in the galley. John had prepared some of the basics, and they all sat at a table near a viewport. As they sat down, John made small talk with their guest.

"So," asked John, "What should we call you?"

The guest looked at them both as he chewed. The basics of an astronaut's diet were freeze-dried foods. They hadn't gotten to the drink pouches.

"I guess," he replied, "You could call me Lou."

"Lou," asked the Major. "Do you remember anything from before you launched in the escape module?"

Behind the Major and their guest was a screen with a feed from Earth. John was distracted by what he was seeing. The United States was going to Defcon One. The world was slipping into a state of war.

"What the hell is going on down there?" asked John, questioning the news report.

Lou looked at both the Major and Commander Jones. He smiled as he looked over his shoulder. It was a wicked grin, telling his new companions he found something humorous or funny about the report.

"They've sat on the edge of oblivion for years," he said to himself.

John Jones looked at Lou, then over at Major Heder. He questioned why that was something to laugh about. The idea of World War III breaking out didn't amuse him, particularly with his only way home still on Earth.

"The pettiness of it all. And what did they expect? In more than one country, a clown is running the show. When people started accepting false idols and reality television hosts as their new gods, this became inevitable," Lou told them. "Does it really surprise you?"

Commander Jones could feel his blood pressure rising as he sat, listening to the rantings of their mysterious traveler. He didn't like what he was saying, but part of him knew it was true. They'd given control of the world's greatest military might to a guy he wouldn't trust with a peewee football game. Now, they were looking at an all-out war. What did they expect?

"I suppose you could have done better?"

Lou looked at them both. "Why don't you ask the real questions you've been tasked with? I mean, come on, Commander. These aren't the questions you intended upon."

"Okay," sighed John. "Who are you and what are you doing up here? What country are you from? Why wouldn't they acknowledge you're here?"

Lou sat back in his chair, putting his hands up in the air, yelling, "Hallelujah!"

"Saints and sinners be praised," he laughed. "Finally, you've gotten to the good stuff."

Major Heder looked concerned. She didn't like how their guest responded, and his cavalier attitude about it all suggested they might have a problem. She reached into her pocket and clutched a syringe.

"Oh, no, no, no," said Lou, turning and looking into her nervous eyes. "You won't be needing that."

He reached into her pocket as Commander Jones watched. When Lou pulled out the syringe, still clutched tightly in her hands, Commander Jones told him to let her go.

"Now, you two," he says to them. "I have a question for you."

"And what's that?" asked Major Heder, feeling the bones in her hand being crushed in the iron grip of their mysterious guest.

"Do you wish to survive what's happening down there?"

The major was the first to nod her head, tears running down her cheeks as the pain in her hand became unbearable. Lou looked at Commander Jones, who was struggling to move in his seat. They locked eyes as Lou stared deep into his soul.

"What about you, commander? Do you wish to survive what's happening down there?"

"Um...who, who, who are you?"

In that moment, both John Jones and his second in command realized who their guest was, as his face changed before them. Each of them screamed, but nobody hears your screams in space.