Moonfall

3.

WE REGRET NEWSNET SERVICE IS TEMPORARILY OFF-LINE DUE TO RELOCATION OF NEWS AND PROCESSING CENTER FROM CHICAGO TO TORONTO. CHECK THIS SITE TOMORROW. Skyport Orbital Lab. 1:10 P.M.

Andrea was a useful addition. She took over the communication systems without undue delay, learned to monitor the data feeds that provided information from hundreds of remote and manned facilities and relay it to appropriate consumers, and showed a natural talent for mollifying researchers who weren't satisfied with the quality or alacrity of responses.

The lab, and the various facilities it served, were now almost exclusively concerned with the fallout from the collision between Tomiko and the Moon. A subsidiary branch of specialization had appeared almost overnight: an interest in Tomiko itself, and the suspicion that it was something more than simply a comet. That notion was rapidly developing into a full-scale argument. But like philosophical and religious debates, it appeared to be an argument that would lead nowhere. The comet had vaporized, and if anything unusual had lain within its frozen exterior, it was hard to see how any of it could have survived.

Meantime, the return of POSIM-38 had claimed primary attention. People who wanted details, say, on energy release or gravity fluctuations during the collision were being put on hold. Virtually every instrument under the lab's auspices was aimed at the Possum.

For her part, Andrea was delighted to be back at work. Windy had even signed papers to grant her status as a temporary employee. (It turned out the government had rules against using volunteer professionals without paying them.)

By this time a small network of stations directly involved in the effort to get rid of the Possum were linked directly to the Lowell. These stations included the Lyndon Johnson Space Center in Houston, Feinberg's temporary location at Hartsfield, the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, Palomar in California, an advisory post at Cambridge University, and the AstroLab. All other communications to the Lowell were funneled through the Orbital Lab.

Most of these were either for Keith Morley from his producers, or for the president. The latter were, for the most part, scrambled.

Andrea was a professional. She did not try to eavesdrop, but it was her duty to stay on the circuit until she was sure connections had been made. In so doing she'd learned that Evelyn Hampton, the chaplain, and Rachel Quinn had all received book and movie offers. She also knew that the president had spoken to the families of Tony Casaway and Bigfoot Caparatti; that Hampton had called Jack Chandler's son.

She wondered about Chandler. He hadn't been on the microbus, but she knew he'd volunteered to stay behind. What had happened?

A new Lowell radio operator had appeared. The voice was familiar, but she couldn't place it. "This is Andrea Bellwether," she said. "Do I know you?"

"Yes you do, Andrea," the voice said. "This is Mark."

"Chaplain, hello." They'd been only casual acquaintances at Moonbase, but now he seemed like an old friend. "You're the comm officer now?"

"Yes. Bottom of the barrel, you know. I'm glad you got back all right."

"Thanks," she said. "I think you had a rougher ride than I did. Tell me, are you going to get rid of that thing?"

"I hope so. I think Charlie Haskell will go after it with a pickax if he has to." Percival Lowell Utility Deck. 1:19 P.M.

Evelyn and Saber stripped off their p-suits. Lee Cochran was gracious enough to keep his back turned. "I think we did pretty well," he said.

They had. They'd established that four of Feinberg's preferred sites were located on solid ground, and eliminated two others. Three to go.

Evelyn was stiff and sweaty, but she felt good. She'd come through the most desperate crisis of her life and had been nothing but extra weight the whole time. Until today. Today she'd gone out with Lee and Saber and they'd wrestled the laser drill around, bored holes, collected samples, gotten back inside, and waited while Rachel moved the ship to another niche on the rock's surface, where they got out and did it all again.

They were accomplishing what they needed to and they were running ahead of schedule.

She cleaned off in the scrubber, changed back into her blouse and slacks, and went to the galley for a quick lunch. Mark Pinnacle looked up as she walked in. "Hail the conqueror," he said. "We've got some great videos of you and Lee with the tractor."

"Thanks." She opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a QuikPack. Turkey sandwich with cranberries. "Save me one to put over my desk."

Lee walked in. "That is a very big boulder out there," he said. "Seven pairs of rockets don't seem like much against it."

"Seven is historically a sacred number," said the chaplain. "Seven sacraments, seven sins against the Holy Spirit, Japan's seven gods of happiness, the Seven Against Thebes. Maybe we'll add to the canon."

"Let's hope so," said Evelyn.

The chaplain had been munching a piece of meat loaf. He swallowed it, finished off a container of apple juice, and got up to go. "Got to get back to my work station," he said, looking pleased with himself. "By the way, they've got one of the Moonbase people manning communications at the Orbital Lab."

"Really?" asked Evelyn. "Who?"

"Andrea Bellwether."

"I don't think I know her," said Evelyn.

"Is she by any chance related to Frank Bellwether?" asked Cochran.

"His daughter," said the chaplain.

"If we're going to talk about omens," said Cochran, "that's not a good one."

Frank Bellwether, the pilot who'd bounced. Who had come in with damaged instruments and a damaged Ranger, and who had tried to insert himself into the atmosphere at the precise angle needed to maneuver between a ricochet and a burn-up, and who had ricocheted. Beyond any hope of rescue.

There'd been talk about the incident recently, of using a Lowell-type vessel to recover the Ranger, which in its lonely solar orbit was still visible on the world's radar screens. But the consensus seemed to be that it was better to leave the ship where it was. Evelyn shared that view.

"Nobody's talking omens," the chaplain said, a surprising edge to his voice. Out of character. Evelyn wondered if he was beginning to feel the pressure. SSTO Berlin Fight Deck, Hartsfield Maintenance Facility. 1:43 P.M.

"Try it now, Gruder."

The flight engineer looked down at the yellow box they'd mounted on the bulkhead by his hip, and pressed the black button. This time, lamps lit up and machinery moved beneath the deck. The engineers who were crowded together on the hangar floor, where they could see the undercarriage, jabbed fists upward and shook hands with each other. "That's good, Gruder," said Kathleen's voice in his earphones. Kathleen was down below with the engineers. "It was a loose cable. We'll put the panels back, try it one more time, and we should be ready to go."

The SSTO was on a cradle so the pitons wouldn't dig up the hangar floor.

Gruder nodded to his captain.

Willem finished going over his preliminaries and glanced out at the engineers. One of them was a deliciously attractive blonde.

"When we come back," said Gruder, "we will be heroes. Women like that will be our oyster. They will open to us on request." He grinned and the captain grinned back. It was, of course, quite true.

The ground crews brought in three flatbeds of brown earth. They drove them under the spacecraft, positioning one beneath each of the three pitons.

Kathleen spoke to him: "Okay, Gruder, try it again."

He hit the button and felt the spikes come down. Felt them dig into the dirt, felt the spacecraft lift slightly as weight was transferred from the landing gear, watched the lamps stay amber until a string of lights indicated the pitons were fully extended. Gruder touched a presspad and flanges pushed out in three directions from the head of each piton, anchoring it. If necessary, he had a break switch that would jettison the units and allow the SSTO to lift away from the surface. The break switch was hidden inside the box to prevent its being accidentally activated.

"Retract," said Kathleen.

They would not be able to retract on the Possum, where the pitons would be anchored in rock. But here, it was no problem. Gruder keyed the command. The flanges released their grip and the pitons withdrew into the mounts. The undercarriage creaked.

They went through the exercise a second time, after which the pitons received a thorough cleaning and lubrication. The engineers, satisfied, walked away, and Kathleen, after shaking hands with a couple of them, left the group and returned to the plane.

"Berlin," said a voice in Gruder's earphones, "installation is complete. We are ready to move you out."

Kathleen came onto the flight deck and took her seat. "You know," she said, "I wish they'd come up with something more appropriate than 'Operation Rainbow.'"

"Why?" said Willem. "It's a reference to the aftermath of the flood. Everything turned out all right."

"Only for Noah and his family. Everybody else drowned."

Kathleen was a distant cousin of Gruder's, although he hadn't known that until they began working together. Both were from the Bremerhaven area, both had flown combat jets, and both had the same birthday, although Gruder was a year younger. They were fond of thinking their lives were linked, and that time would either uncover or produce other parallels.

They already had one: They were both on the same historic mission.

The earth-haulers reappeared and left the hangar. Now a pair of tractors tied onto the spacecraft and began to draw her outside into the bright afternoon daylight.

"Tower," said Willem, "Berlin is ready for departure."

"Roger, Berlin."

The tractors connected them to the SSTO track, which hauled them inside the Transatmospheric Terminal and began moving them slowly toward the launch tunnel. They passed the boarding platforms, which ordinarily would have been crowded with passengers.

Willem started the engines.

"Berlin" said the tower, "you are locked and loaded. Go in sixty seconds."

Gruder looked at his watch, but failed to note the time. All the women you could possibly want. He wondered what Kathleen was thinking.