President Patterson finished his prepared speech in front of the retired Space Shuttle Discovery at the National Air and Space Museum, not because he was needed there, but because it was an amazing photo op. As an asteroid approached Earth, threatening to end all life, the united efforts of the space agencies and militaries of the world would come to fruition today.

And he needed to feel useful.

He had not been useful. For starters, he had tried to defund the telescopes that the Eigenweasels used to detect the asteroid in the first place. A quaint nickname for quantum supercomputers that really bothered the career politician. It gave a frivolity he just didn't care for. Sure, he'd memorized the buzz words. 'Thermal annealing' and 'quantum quadratic optimization' sounded great in a press conference. But when the reporters shouted, 'Didn't you vote against the Eigenweasels?,' he felt both undignified and annoyed at his political blunders.

But now he was front and center as the nuclear missiles approached the asteroid. Not nuclear warheads. Nuclear reactors. Six rockets built by the consortium, they would be landing at strategic locations the Eigenweasels had calculated under direction of astrodynamicists, rocket engineers, and geologists.

He frowned as he sat down. His speech had received only a pity clap. But Nancy Umber, Director of NASA? She was being cheered like she was a rock star. It was her efforts that had united the world space agencies these last seven years. It was her efforts that led to sharing of all telescopic data with the Eigenweasels. Her efforts led to every space agency teaming up to make rockets. This was her victory.

Maybe he should fire her? He'd probably get impeached by his own party if he did.

The countdown sounded and he rose, trying to find a spot to be in the limelight. Nothing. As touchdown was called and the crowd went silent, waiting on the results of the clamping operations, his face was neutral. As the crowd cheered wildly as the rockets were confirmed attached correctly, he frowned in fury. As the crowd wept as the rockets fired and the asteroid trajectory began to shift as planned, he slumped.

Not everything was about him, and he resented it.