What's Wrong?

NASA knew it, and just about every country with a telescope did as well. The object, as they called it, was a small asteroid that would just miss the earth. In astronomy terms, it wasn’t a big deal. It would actually be in the troposphere for several minutes, and nick the stratosphere for a few moments. Instead of causing a panic, it was touted as an amazing event, and a good part of the world could view it! It would be a fun time, and no one would realize how close it was to being a horrible event that would kill millions.

“Central, we have eyes on the object.” The captain of the newest space shuttle spoke into the radio.
“Copy.” Came the crackled reply.
“Something is wrong here.” Mission agent Ross said. “No one did all the math... damn.”
“Don’t tell me it’s going to hit Earth!”
“No. Not them, just us.” Before any more could be said, a relatively small explosion happened in the outer atmosphere. People watching the event marveled at the color, took beautiful pictures, but would never know the story.

(WC:185)