Cosmonaut

Rudy loved the Soviet Union. The state had brought him up and educated him and he had been proud to be, first, a fighter pilot and then a Cosmonaut. Showing the evil, arrogant Americans how far they lagged behind the Soviets. His orbital flight in 1966 had made him a hero and he had received a promotion to Major.

But a Hero's life was too valuable to risk on further space flights. Since his three days of glory, he had spent his time in attending parades, opening ball-bearing factories and meeting visiting dignitaries.

And he had met the American astronauts when they visited Star City, preparing for the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission. Together, they had drunk Bourbon and Vodka and the Cosmonauts and Astronauts had discovered how much they had in common. In many ways, each group found that they had more in common with the other than with their own governments.

Rudy loved the Soviet Union. But the old certainties had become less certain.