Lifeline

Rurik answered tiredly, “The electromagnetic pulse from the detonations would be sufficient to destroy most communications substations. Perhaps the equipment is out of commission. But some will still be intact. Have faith.”

They continued without success. None of the lines seemed to be working, or else no one felt like answering. “Just like the phone system back in Vladivostok!” one of the men muttered.

They proposed a toast to their commander, but found they had run out of things to drink. Bumping and floating, they made their way to the lift platforms that would carry them back out to the main torus. Rurik moved to follow them.

Turning back, he looked around the command center, where he spent so much of his time. A cylindrical holotank filled the center of the room, surrounding the station axis.

Switching off the vision recorder, Rurik recorded a terse warning in the holotank. In a day or so, when the station was quiet and deserted, he would broadcast the message to the three other colonies on their own ConComm channels, then he would shut down the unit on this end.

“We of the Kibalchich hereby sever all ties with other survivors on Earth’s space colonies. Do not attempt to contact us; we wish to remain isolated.”

It sounded childish and silly to Rurik, but he knew Cagarin would approve. It would keep the other colonies away for a while, at least, and it would give him time alone.

Plenty of time to do what he had to do.

Chapter 11

CLAVIUS BASE—Day 10

“All right, guys, this isn’t going to be like working on Orbitech 2. Don’t get cocky on me.” Clifford E. Clancy surveyed the five space-suited engineers crowded in the base airlock chamber.

“Tomkins wants us to bring back everything that isn’t welded to the Miranda’s hull. That includes the power pile, if it isn’t too hot. We’ll be taking both six-pack rovers out, so we’ve got plenty of room. Any questions?”

Clancy left his channels open, but waited only a beat. His people were never too shy to ask questions. They had worked well enough together on the massive Orbitech 2 construction project.

“Okay, folks, let’s go sightseeing.” Clancy activated the airlock that opened out to the Moon’s stark surface. A faint hiss indicated that the last of the trapped air had out-gassed. Behind them, the mound that covered the base entrance looked like any other hillock in the lunar wasteland.

Clancy much preferred the broad, shining girders and massive wheel of Orbitech 2, the most glorious man-made object in the solar system. By contrast, Clavius Base seemed a bunch of tunnels for ground squirrels to hide in.

Clancy heard only breathing on the comm-links; he couldn’t see any expressions behind the gold-mirrored faceplates. Something was definitely wrong if his people weren’t ribbing each other. “Teamwork communication,” he always called it—the informal, friendly attitude that turned them into a real team instead of a bunch of workers with the same job assignments.

He had thought that giving the crew a chance to go outside and get away from the base might let them work off some steam. Clancy himself wanted to see space again, even if it was only overhead and not the full 4 pi.

He could take only five out of the two hundred construction engineers transferred down from the L-4 site. But it gave at least some of his people a chance to do something worthwhile. And the salvage operation would provide a new story for the daily ConComm broadcast. The rest of the crew could watch and stop twiddling their thumbs for a while. After all, they were a construction team—not a bunch of “Lunatics” like the other Moon colonists.

Clancy began a low whistle into the comm-link, a tune his grandfather used to sing to him. After a faltering start, the others picked it up over the communication channels. Hi ho, hi ho! It’s off to work we go! They even seemed to march along with the tune. Clancy allowed himself a grin. Silence broken. Mission accomplished.

Outside the base, Clancy led his salvage crew out onto the pressed gravel walkway. They followed the path to the two six-pack vehicles sitting on the fused-rock parking area. Stars wheeled overhead, burning with a brilliance that seemed enhanced against the heavy lunar shadows. Still nothing like the awesome drowning sensation of open space, though—here, the ground gave him a frame of reference.