Rocket to Limbo

“I know that you are your father’s son, yes. I’ve known what you have been doing for quite a number of years, you see. I’ve known that one time or another we were going to have to face things out. We can never break free of the past, and we never make decisions that are universally good. I owed you this voyage, and I hoped that out of it you might grow to understand what happened to your father so long ago. I hoped you might even understand why my decision was right, even though it killed Thomas Brigham. But be that as it may, I do know that I can’t in clear conscience order you to join a landing party here. You may go, or stay on the ship, as you choose.”

Peter stared at him for a long moment. “Lars is going with you?” he asked finally. “Yes.”

“Then I want to go.”

“You understand that we can’t have any fun and games. I’ve got to have a hundred per cent support. If you have any doubts about that, I warn you: stay on the ship.”

“I want to go.” There was no hesitation in Peter’s voice. Commander Fox nodded, and offered his hand. Peter took it.

An hour later, the first landing party moved through the lock and stepped down to the surface of Wolf IV.

Chapter Eight The Foulest Blow

They stood on a cold and gloomy land. An icy wind whipped down the valley that the river cut in the mountain rim and howled like demons in their ears. They were not cold; the bulky heater-suits with their power-packs strapped on their backs kept arms and faces warm enough, filtered and warmed the thin oxygen atmosphere before it struck their nostrils. But the heater-suits could not begin to keep out the desolation and coldness that spread around them and chilled them far deeper than their bones.

Lars had heard of the feeling. The old-timers called it “land-shock” and it struck Lars like a tidal wave as he felt frozen mud crunch under his boots. Until this moment he had been protected, warm and secure in the bosom of a ship that was, in effect, an extension of home. Hull plates were thin, and the shell of the ship was frail enough, but its strengh lay in what it represented. Now that strength was sheared away, and he felt for the first time the desolation of no protection, the almost physical shock of standing alone, a frail flesh and blood creature, on the open surface of a barren, alien land. There was a sense of loss, of overpowering dread, and Lars found a dozen panicky thoughts flooding his mind as he glanced over his shoulder at the ship behind them: Suppose it’s gone when we come hack. What if we were stranded here, without ship, without food? What if—they— attacked while we were gone? What if—

He thrust the thoughts angrily from his mind, even as a shiver went through him. The groups of men were huddled around Commander Fox now as he gave them their last briefing. Lars moved into the huddle, heard the Commander’s voice, metallic through the speaker-plate of his suit.

“Now this is a routine reconnaissance, nothing more. We aren’t aiming to go far from the ship, nor to do too much on this trip, just a standard look around. Got that? We’ve got two major objectives: to confirm our preliminary findings of surface conditions, soil, atmosphere, any indigenous plant or animal life; and to see if it’s practical to try to take our half-track crawlers up that mountainside to the wrecked ship. Mr. Lorry, you’ll take your men and try to find a way across the river on your side, then check for an approach from the right. I’ll take my men and do the same on the left. We’ll make hourly checks with each other, and with the ship. Got that?”

Lorry nodded. “What about encampment?”

“We’ll have a short day, so it will be best to find a good encampment place, and return back to the ship tomorrow. You can break in any newcomers to outpost camping techniques, and get them trained for an assault on the wreck later. Kennedy, keep an eye on the terrain—I’ll want your opinion on the best approach to that thing up there—whether you can drop men from the scooter and pick them up again, or whether you can bring the scooter in to land somewhere higher than this. Okay? Let’s go!”

The Commander’s group began assembling. Salter and Leeds were huddled to one side with Bob Tenebreck of Lorry’s crew, talking rapidly and quietly, but the Commander was concerned with a final check of equipment and did not notice the hasty conference. Lars could not find Peter, at first; then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and they checked each other’s packs. But Peter was watching the conference closely, and when it broke up he moved in beside Leeds as Lambert came up to join Lars.

They started across the frozen delta land, in pairs, with Commander Fox in the lead, carrying the light intercom equipment as they moved.

“Cold!” Lars said between his teeth as Lambert joined him.

“You feel it?”

“Just inside.”