APH: Shoot For The Moon Pt. 3

Things were going a little bit differently in Mission Control.

"Ludwig!"

Yao calls sharply, and the flight director looks up.

"I've got a leak in the oxygen tank over here."

The German's eyes widen and he immediately runs over to Yao's computer screen.

"Verdammt." He mutters, frowning at the computer screen.

"ATTENTION!" Ludwig's loud voice echoes through Mission Control. "Ve have a problem. One of the oxygen tanks is leaking. I vant everyone in zhis room to try and figure out a solution. Do it quickly before zhey lose oxygen."

His voice sounds grim and suddenly everyone in Mission Control is working to solve the problem.

"Do you vant to inform ze crew?" Ludwig asks.

"Yes, they deserve to know-aru. They have already finished the recording-aru." Yao replies, and the flight director nods.

"Orion 6, do you read-aru?" Yao's voice comes in through the astronauts' headsets, and Alfred quickly exchanges looks with the others.

"Yessir, we read you loud and clear."

The commander replies carefully. Hopefully there wasn't a problem. Maybe it was just an update or something.

"One of your oxygen tanks is leaking-aru. We are working to solve the problem-aru."

Alfred's face pales and he glances at his crewmates, who are speechless.

"Okay. Let me know when you've found a solution."

He closes his eyes and lets out a breath.

"Alright, men. They're working on it. I guess we just wait until they inform us again."

Matthew Williams was never noticed. He was always overshadowed by his older brother and people just sometimes forgot that he was there. But his brother was on that spacecraft, flying towards the moon while their oxygen was quickly running out. Matthew worked in the space program, but he wasn't an astronaut like Alfred. He was one of the flight engineers, one of the people behind all the science. But he wasn't going to let his brother die in the middle of space. No, not him. Even if he was always forgotten and left out, he wasn't going to let this pass. No one messed with his family. Matthew leans over his computer, typing in data and checking the status. He reviewed the oxygen tanks and examined the parts. And then…it was that simple.

"Ludwig!" Matthew shouts in a tone that silences everyone in the room.

"I've found something…they can still land and come back home!"

"Can I talk to Matthew?" Alfred asks. There's a pause for a moment, and then a wary "Hello?" comes on the line.

"Matt!"

"Al?"

"Thanks. Thanks a million."

"For what?"

"Dude, you freaking saved my life! And the space program!  I heard that you fixed the problem. And that's the best thing that's ever happened to me, period."

"Oh…you heard? Well…it really wasn't that much…"

"Y'know Matt…I think it's high time you were the hero."

Long pause.

"Me? But Al, you're the one who's walking on the moon!"

"Yeah, but…you're the hero too. I wouldn't be walking on the moon if you weren't here."

"So…can we both be heroes?"

"Yes, sir. Come see me when I land."

"Yeah. I will. B-bye."

"Bye."