Rocket to Luna

The blue rocket contained the oxygen cylinders, and Ted marveled at his luck in going to this rocket first, ignorant as he had been about its contents. It also contained vehicles for easier transportation on the Moon. They selected a tractor and quickly dragged it onto the ground, Forbes sitting on the flat surface and using his arms to guide the wire as the tractor came over the lip of the hatch.

“I may not be able to use my leg,” he said, “but there’s nothing wrong with my arms and shoulders.”

The tractor was powered by a turbine using rocket fuel, an air-breathing engine being worthless on the atmosphere-less Moon. They loaded enough oxygen onto the vehicle for the return trip, giving themselves more than enough in case of delay, and then they moved over to the large red rocket bearing the fuel they would need for the ship back in Mare Crisium.

Forbes felt better behind the wheel of the tractor. He managed to drive it expertly, using one foot which he shifted constantly on the floorboards.

They set to work loading their fuel. The fuel was packaged in large tanks. Whoever had designed the tanks had apparently been farsighted, though; a fact for which Ted raised a silent prayer. The tanks were not bulky. They could be carried fairly easily, the object being to make transportation simple on the Moon. They were designed to be emptied into the larger tanks of the rocket ship, each separate tank being equipped with its own fueling hose.

Forbes backed the tractor against the loading port of the red supply rocket, and they started the unloading process at once.

“There will be no smoking in the fueling area,” Forbes cracked.

“Repeat,” Ted said, as he swung one of the tanks onto the tractor, using the rocket’s boom and loading net. “There will be no smoking in the fueling area.”

“And no fooling while fueling,” Forbes said.

“Roger.”

It took them longer than they figured. Forbes estimated the number of gallons they’d need, down to the last pint. He was thoroughly familiar with the Moon ship’s potential, and he knew just how much fuel she’d need to blast free of the Moon’s surface, swing into an orbit, and then come down by braking.

For a while they thought the tractor would not be large enough to carry all they’d need. The tanks seemed to take up so much room. Ted sighed in relief when Forbes announced one more tank would do the trick. They lowered the tank into place and then began lashing everything down.

When they had finished, they surveyed the supply dump with careful eyes, wondering if they’d forgotten anything.

Oxygen. Fuel. Food? No, they’d be back soon, if everything went as planned. Water, ditto.

“I guess we’ve got everything,” Ted said.

“Yep. Let’s get started.”

Ted hopped into the tractor, and Forbes started it, backing away from the rockets. They had gone several hundred feet from the dump when Ted shouted, “Our batteries!”

“Holy jumping...”

Forbes swung the tractor around without hesitation. He drove up to the bright yellow rocket, the one bearing the food.

“There should be an air lock on this one,” Forbes said.

“How do you figure?”

“Simple. A man sometimes has to taste food to see if it’s gone bad. You can’t taste food when you’re wearing a helmet. Therefore, an air lock. Listen, we engineers think of everything.”

Forbes turned out to be right, though Ted doubted if his reasoning were exactly accurate. Nonetheless, there was an air lock, and when Ted had taken two batteries from the green rocket, he carried Forbes piggy-back into the lock, and they waited for the blinking light to flash.

The first thing they did when the pressure had equalized was remove their helmets.

“Brother, that feels good,” Forbes said. Ted put him down and helped him out of his suit. Then he took his own off.

He quickly put the batteries in place inside the suits, and they began dressing once more. Before they left the rocket, they stuffed their mouths with grapes which they found in one of the refrigerator lockers. Then they clamped on their helmets and went down to the tractor.

If they hurried, they would make it. This time it would be a race against the Sun.

It was slow going.

The tractor was loaded, and the fuel tanks were heavy. Forbes drove carefully, anxious to avoid any accidents. They talked very little.

It was funny, Ted thought, but the Moon seemed to discourage conversation. Everything was so quiet that it made you want to keep quiet too. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And when on Lunar...

Ted left the thought unfinished. There were no Lunans, or Lunarians, or whatever you wanted to call them. Except the plant Forbes had found. Wouldn’t Dr. Gehardt be excited? Life on the Moon! Not intelligent life, certainly, but life at any rate. The scientists had pretty much agreed that the Moon was a dead world. What would they say when the first expedition brought back evidence of life?