Chapter 64
I wished that this is the time Graham Bell had his joke, yeah even if it a bad joke I am damn willing to accept it. Just this damn once.
"You are kidding, right?" Pedro and I had the same thought.
"This isn't a good joke, Armstrong. And I don't like a life threatening jokes, I am serious man."
"How's that possible? They're done installing? They already got the signal? Why can't we received it from Earth?" I asked.
"Try to ask yourself, Monzanto. You knew the answer." I went silent. Yes, he's right.
Magkahawak ang mga kamay namin ni Pedro sa pagitan ng aming makakapal na suit hanggang sa makarating na kami sa maliit na headquarter na UASA.
Unang bumaba si Graham Bell, sumunod si Pedro, he tried to help me but I refused.
Nang sandaling bumaba na kami sa sasakyan ay nagsimula na akong maglibot ng tingin.
It is just a metal like cylindrical building with big U- shape. There were two towers with satellite plates that were responsible for signals, two big trucks, different apparatus with wires and a space with a transparent shelter.
"What are those?"
"Plants, they were trying to plant. Plants are lives." Sagot ni Pedro.
"You mean from the start?" bakit may halaman agad?
"Yeah, there were few researchers staying here for years." Nanlaki ang mga mata ko.
UASA mentioned that there were astronauts in space, but they didn't mention in public that there were actually researchers in this planet. Staying.
"They survived?"
"Barely,"
"How about the foods?"
"UASA supply them by sending capsuled items,"
"How about their family?"
"They don't have family, karamihan sa mga taong nasa loob ng ganitong trabaho ay walang pamilya. I was one of them, before."
"But you have adoptive parents, Peter."
"Still, I was drowned by the fact that my biological father died in this planet."
"Let's go," ngayon lamang nagsalita si Graham Bell na siyang nasa unahan namin.
He placed his UASA id near the door asking for password. We heard a few metal door noise until we finally entered the quarters.
Dito namin tinanggal ang aming helmet.
"It is possible to stay here, but first you need to have your enough knowledge and your survival instinct." I agreed with Pedro.
Nakasunod lamang ako sa dalawang Commander hanggang sa dumating kami sa control room.
We only got four researchers, hindi man lang naabala ang mga ito sa presensiya namin dahil kasalukuyan na ng mga itong kausap ang UASA.
Habang nag-uusap sila ay nanatili kaming nakikinig tatlo.
We accusingly looked at Graham Bell when we heard that the asteroid size was just half of the Earth.
"Don't look at me like that, they're not yet sure a while ago. But you two, forced me to spill the bean even if it wasn't confirmed yet. And the size doesn't matter at all, bigger or not, we'll receive the same result. We all die." He got the point.
We noticed that the researchers and the UASA team were having their argument, they've been finding the reason why the Mars team got the first signal than the Earth.
Simula pa lamang ay ito na ang problem, there is something in the Earth that's blocking the information for us to be ready for the calamities.
Hindi ba maaari na tanggapin na lamang nilang hindi nakikipagtulungan ang aming sariling planeta?
Earth is damn dying, kahit anong pilit gawin ng siyensiya kung sa sandaling bumitaw na ang planeta, wala na kaming magagawa.
Tumikhim na si Pedro na mukhang hindi na rin nagugustuhan ang nangyayari sa pagitan ng UASA at Mars team.
"Forgive me for my intrusion, but this isn't the time to argue with one another. Why can't we just solve the damn problem? If there's something we can do? Cause this fight won't do good, soon you'll all die there on Earth. While we're all alive here and I'll definitely change the name of this planet as Rylan Planet. I'll be the king of this planet and I'll kill the every person that will object."
"Prfft--" pinigil ni Graham Bell ang gagawin niyang pagtawa.
Habang nanlalaki ang aking mga mata sa sinabi ni Pedro. He looked so serious, na parang hindi siya nagbibiro sa kanyang mga sinabi.
"I am serious, by the way. So let's get started."
Nakapaywang siyang tumitig sa monitor habang ipinaliliwanag ng mga researchers ang nangyayari.
We only have 216 hours left, nine days.
"What do we do now?"
Nasa harapan na rin ng monitor namin si chairman at ang matataas na may posisyon sa UASA.
"The only way to get rid of the asteroid is to shatter it apart before it hit the Earth." Panimula ni Engr. Wright.
"And how can we do that? Do we have any instrument here?" tanong ni Pedro.
This is when the monitor went on Shiela Wilson's face. Kumuyom ang aking mga kamay.
I don't like this.
"Your plane, I mean the Marsian 7832. I installed a nuclear shell bomb. It is a single time blaster that can even shatter a planet."
Umawang ang bibig ko sa sinabi ni Shiela Wilson, why did she come up with that kind of gun?
Alam na ba niya na may tatamang asteroid sa planeta?
"You installed something destructive like that in our plane without telling us? What If I accidentally tried to use the gun or something? You didn't orient me!"
"Then it is not the asteroid, it's you the Woman of Hope killed her own planet." Bitch.
"Enough with that Wilson!" pinagsabihan na siya ni chairman.
"We're thankful that Wilson, installed something like that in your plane." Ngiting tagumpay si Wilson sa sinabi ni chairman.
"Then when is the ideal time to proceed with the mission?" tanong ni Graham Bell.
They told us that the asteroid is still far away and it will took days for it's tragic arrival, hindi rin namin ito pwedeng salubungin dahil hindi kakayanin ng aming eroplano na mas lumayo pa sa Mars.
Our plane was just designed to have a travel from Earth to Mars and it is not ideal to risk its ability.
So the only thing that we can do is to wait for the asteroid to have its perfect position for it's explosion.
Sumiklab ang kaba sa aming dibdib nang sabihing wala kaming pagpipilian kundi pasabugin ito na hindi na masyadong lalayo sa aming planeta.
Ibig sabihin lamang nito kahit mapasabog namin ito at hindi tuluyang tumama sa mundo ay maapektuhan pa rin ng maliliit na parte nito ang aming mundo.
With this mission, we need to have a good calculation. Hindi kami pwedeng magkamali, dumaplis o magmintis.
We need to move exactly, no more no less. Dahil buhay ng buong mundo ang nakasalalay dito.
"Who'll shatter the asteroid?" tanong ni chairman.
Lahat ng mga researchers ay tumitig sa aming tatlo, sa tatlong piloto na siyang ngayon ay hahawak sa buhay ng buong mundo.
"I'll shatter it with no sweat," humakbang pauna si Pedro.
"This is my job and I did risk my life a lot of times."
"I'll go with him, I can support him with details and others. I can also play with systems." Mabilis na sagot ko.
Luminya ako kay Pedro, there is no way that I'll let him fly alone. He'll fly and I'll fly with him.
Forever.
Ngumiti sa akin si Pedro at sabay naming itinaas ang aming mga noo sa mga taga UASA na pinanunuod kami.
"What will I do here? I'll go too, I can't be the king of this planet. Corny." Si Graham Bell ay humakbang rin at luminya sa amin.
Universal Aeronautics and Space Administration, our chairman. Smile at us.
"Everyone, let's now salute to our greatest pilot. The three greatest pilot that will have their battle to save the humanity."
The whole monitor broadened its view, hanggang sa ipakita ang buong kalakihan ng control room. Nandito ang lahat, maging si Commander Mitts.
My tears fell when I saw Alys and Lance, as well as Pedro's parents at the back of the UASA officials.
Maging ang mga kapwa namin piloto ay naririto rin and even the six presidents at maging ang kasalukuyang mga president mula sa iba't-ibang bansa.
They all stood up.
At sabay-sabay silang sumaludo sa amin.
And for the nth time, together with Pedro and now another great Pilot Graham Bell. We saluted them back with pleasure.
"Let's survive, let's fight, let's save the Earth."
My tears fell with too much emotion when the UASA chairman made my hand gesture. Siya mismo ang unang humalik sa kanyang palapusan at itinaas niya sa ere ang kanyang kamay at marahan niya itong isinara.
Until the six presidents copied his gesture, the different president from the hologram, the pilots, the intelligence team, Alys, Lance and Pedro's parents.
Even the three researchers stood up and made the gesture. And lastly, Peter and Graham Bell.
I took a deep breath and made the last movement.
"Yes, let's touch each others heartbeat."
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VentreCanard