Thwarting Another Attempt

[John Randall 0]

OFFICIAL LOG

LIEUTENANT JOHN RANDALL

USS CHALLENGER

 

(Personal Log Stardate 11305.30

16 July 1969 O.E.)

 

 

John awakened form a deep slumber as the alarm clock went off at

6:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. He sat up on the side of his bed,

yawned and stretched, then grabbed a couple of towels, exited his

room, and went down the hallway to the main bathroom to take a

shower. Some 15 minutes later, he toweled off, then shaved, and went

back down the hallway to his room. He changed into everyday

civilian clothes, as his supervisor at the Kennedy Space Center, Chris

Barber, had given them this day off so the NASA technicians could go

watch the fruits of their labors, so to speak. Barber had given them

permission to go watch the actual launch of the Saturn V rocket

that would carry the astronauts to the moon.

 

John's cab arrived at the safe house at 6:55, and the cab ferried him to

the Center. John got out, paid off the cabbie, and went inside, showing

his ID badge to the guard, who nodded and waved him through. John

had a specific purpose in mind for today's visit to the Center; he was

going to personally get Ed Freeman out of the office that he had been

virtually imprisoned in, and take him over to the launch site. There was

also another reason: after the Challenger team had found the sinister

looking device hidden inside the space capsule, they were now on

full red alert to watch for any signs of another attempt by the still unknown

terrorist group to sabotage the history-making mission to the moon.

 

John went to the main assembly room of the VAB (Vehicle Assembly

Building), ascended the stairs to the second floor, where the offices were

located, and went down the hallway to the one that housed his boss

aboard Challenger, and his friend, Ed Freeman. He arrived, and glared at

the guard. "I'm here to see my friend," he growled, and the guard just

nodded, and went out into the hallway. Freeman had turned when he

heard Randall's voice, and regarded him curiously as John walked into

the office. " 'Sup?" he asked.

 

Randall walked over to him. "How you doing?" he asked. Freeman

shrugged, and replied, "Can't complain. Maybe with the launch today, the

director will let me outta here. Or maybe he'll just fire me." He got out of

his chair, and hoisted a hip upon the corner of his desk. "How about you?"

he asked Randall. John smiled and said, "I'm doing good, and I am here to

tell you that you're coming with me to watch the lift-off." Freeman nodded,

eyes widening slightly, and said, "My minder will have to follow, probably;

unless you're gonna stop me entirely?" The guard had re-entered the

office upon hearing Randall's declaration, but, when he saw the determined

look on John's face, and Freeman also regarding him in somewhat of a

hostile manner, silently decided it couldn't do any harm, and shook his

head negatively.

 

John walked up to the guard, and stared him straight in the eyes. "No

problem," said the Challenger engineer. "This guy is gonna let you go, one

way or the other. If you got a problem with this," he said to the guard, "I

suggest you get hold of your superior, because my friend IS coming with

me." The guard looked straight back at Randall, shifted his position

uncomfortably, then said, "He's allowed to go to the launch site, but I

have to escort him." John nodded. "That's all I need to know," he said.

He turned back to Freeman. "Come on, Eddie," he said. "I have a car

downstairs, provided by Barber." He looked back to the guard. "We'll

give you a ride," he said, and the guard nodded that it was all right with

him.

 

"All right," Freeman said, and got up off the desk to follow John downstairs,

the guard bringing up the rear. The three men walked along the hallway,

and descended the staircase to the main assembly area. As they went

into the lobby, the guard flashed a sign to his compatriot behind the desk,

whose eyes had widened when he saw Freeman with the group. The desk

guard nodded, and the men went out into the parking lot area, heading for

a car with a NASA rearview mirror badge hanging from it. The badge,

Barber had promised, would allow them access to any area of the complex.

 

They arrived at the vehicle, and got in, John taking the wheel. They drove

away from the VAB, and navigated their way to the launch site; as promised,

they had no trouble with security; they were immediately waved through as

the guard saw the NASA badge hanging from the mirror. John searched

for a parking space, finally found one, and pulled in. The two engineers had

been listening in on their comlinks as the rest of the away team had spotted

a suspicious-looking vehicle that had been admitted to the launch site area.

Freeman, during the ride, had been looking out the window, trying to spot

the designated car.

 

The men exited the vehicle, and both John and Eddie made sure their weapons

were accessible as they got out of the car. As the guard climbed out of the

backseat, John caught Eddie's eye, and gave an exaggerated nod. Freeman

raised his eyebrow in response, then both men looked at the guard as he

turned to them. "Well, this way, I guess," said the guard awkwardly, and the

Challenger engineers fell into step behind him.

 

Over their comlinks, the men heard a confrontation developing, and glanced

at each other, grim looks on their faces. But, the space gods must have been

with them; the guard took them to almost the exact area where the driver of

the suspicious vehicle was apparently making yet another attempt to stop

or sabotage the launch. Involuntarily, Freeman started drifting in the direction

where the driver was standing. The guard noticed, and started to go after

him when John suddenly bent over to ostensibly tie his shoe. It just so

happened that he was directly in the path of the guard, who had to stop,

and all he could do was watch Freeman.

 

John stood back up, and he and the guard watched Freeman make his way

back from where Starfleet Marine Jack O'Neill had apprehended the driver

of the car. Randall had overheard the exchange between O'Neill and the

driver, who turned out to be a woman, and, as Freeman drew alongside

him, the Challenger chief engineer whispered, "Remind me to buy that guy

a beer." He and Randall then assumed their places beside the guard. John

whispered back, "We'll get him a case if he wants it." Freeman nodded, and

started scanning the crowd. John did the same, and the guard now started

watching both men. He didn't like Randall anyway, and was now determined

to keep an eye on him as well.

 

John, who had been surreputiously watching the guard, decided to do a little

playacting for the guard's benefit. He elbowed Freeman in the arm, and spoke

loudly. "Hey, catch an eyeful of the chick in the third row, the blonde in the tank

top," he said to Freeman. The engineer looked where John had specified,

wondering if this was a ploy for the guard's benefit. and suspecting it was.

The guard also was looking, and John saw him. "So, what do you think, dude?"

he asked the guard. "Do you see her?" The guard was actually startled by

Randall's question; recovering, he said haltingly, "Uh, can't really see that well

from here; but looks nice, though." John gave a short laugh, and said, "Man,

I'm always on the lookout for a good-looking chick; lot of fish in the sea, you

know?" He winked at the guard, who stared at him for a second, then nervously

replied, "Um, I'm not allowed to spend too much time being distracted while I'm

on duty; especially not on this job."

 

Randall lightly shrugged his shoulders, and said, "Don't know what you're

missing, my man," he said lightly, but underneath, he was seething. 'I'd like to

knock this guy out,' he thought to himself, then just ignored the guard, and

resumed scanning the crowd. Over their comlinks, the engineers heard the

news that the suspicious woman had been sedated, and beamed up to the

ship. As they continued to scan the crowd, John thought to himself, 'Now, if

I were gonna try something, where would I try it from?' He and Freeman

made eye contact briefly as they scanned the crowd, and Randall could tell

Freeman was thinking the same thing.

 

As John idly shifted his gaze to the rocket, he saw the astronauts walking

along the catwalk to the rocket, and suddenly thought, 'The catwalk. They

may have a sniper somewhere.' But, much to his relief, the astronauts made

it to the capsule without incident. And, at the same moment, the announcement

came over the public address system that the astronauts had boarded the

rocket, and a big cheer went up from the crowd. The two engineers looked at

each other, and relaxed somewhat. All that had to happen now was the rocket

launching successfully. A half hour later, that's exactly what happened. The

rocket took off from the launch platform with a lot of fire and a spectacular

WHOOSH, to the roar of the crowd gathered. The two engineers watched as

the rocket went up into the sky, then looked at each other, and smiled.

 

John then turned to the guard. "Okay, man, you can escort us back to the VAB;

the show's over." The guard nodded, and led the way back to the vehicle they

had arrived in. The men got in the car, and drove back to the VAB. They exited

the vehicle, and marched into the lobby. The desk guard saw them, and shouted

at the other guard to bring John and Eddie over. The men went to the desk,

and the desk guard said, "Mr. Freeman, you are to be escorted to the director's

office." He nodded at the other guard, Freeman gave Randall a look and raised

his eyebrows, and the two men departed. The desk guard then said, "Mr. Randall,

you are to report to Chris Barber's office."

 

John nodded, and set out for the main assembly room of the VAB. He arrived at

the staircase leading up to the second floor, and made his way down the hallway

to Barber's office, where the NASA technician had been watching the launch via

closed-circuit TV. He smiled at Randall as the Challenger engineer entered the

office. "John, good to see you," he said. "Sit down, please," and he indicated

the overstuffed chair in front of his desk. Randall sat down, and looked at him.

"John, your service has been exemplary during this moon mission, and I am

very grateful to you for providing it," said Barber. "I feel very confident about this

mission; in fact, something tells me this will turn out to be an extrordinary one."

John thought, 'You don't know how right you are,' but kept his expression

carefully neutral.

 

"Just glad I could help, sir," he said modestly. Barber smiled. "You did a lot

more than help, Mr. Randall; don't be so modest. I was wondering, and the

reason I sent for you, what your future plans are?" John had been anticipating

this, and, some two days earlier, had requested Morrison to make some official-

looking documents that would state a request from the nuclear plant at Oak Ridge,

Tennessee, to come work for them. It wasn't really that far-fetched; as a matter

of fact, John had learned that a John Francis Randall had indeed been employed

as an engineer at the Tennessee nuclear plant in the early 1970's. For all history

knew, he was that man. He had learned about the other John Randall by having

the computer onboard Challenger do a trace on his family's ancestry.

 

"Well, sir, I have received a request from the nuclear plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee,

to come work for them," he said. "It's closer to home, and, actually, pays a tad

better than here. So, I decided to take them up on their offer. Here's the request,"

and he took the document out of his shirt pocket, giving it to Barber. The NASA

technician sighed as he read it. He put it down, and looked at John. "I hate to

lose you, John," he said regretfully. "But, I can see why you would want this

position. Good luck to you, my friend, and I'll send a letter of recommendation

to the office there. They're getting a fine engineer, as far as I'm concerned." He

stood up, and held out his hand. John took it, and the two men shook hands.

 

"If I ever get up toward Tennessee, I may look you up," grinned Barber. "You do

that, sir," replied John. "You would be welcome any time. Thank you for the

opportunity you gave me here. I've learned a lot." "Thanks again for your service,

John," Barber replied. The two men lifted a hand to each other, and John exited

the office. He made his way along the hallway, and descended the staircase to

the main assembly room. He paused for a moment before entering the main

lobby, and made a note to himself to visit the museum here in his own time when

they got back. He reflected for a moment on being part of history, then went

through the door into the main lobby.

 

He made his way to the guard desk, and removed his ID badge. The guard gave

him a look, and John said, "My time is done. See you around." The guard nodded,

and John went into the foyer to call his cab. A few minutes later, the cab arrived,

and John was transported to the safe house. He paid off the cab, and walked

across the yard to the house. He went inside, and made his way down the hallway

to his room. He packed his clothes and equipment, made sure nothing was left

behind, then pulled out his communicator. "Randall to Challenger, one to beam

up," he said. A few seconds later, the musical chime sounded, and John

shimmered out of existence.

 

 

END LOG