Stars & Empire 2: 10 More Galactic Tales (Stars & Empire Box Set Collection) Page 7
“So, do we get the rover out and go looking for the source of the interference?” Jason asked once more. While Jason wasn’t married, he still had a brother and sister he would like to get back to Earth to see.
“I guess it’s better than sitting around here waiting for our air to give out,” Greg replied after thinking about it for several moments. “At least it will give us something to do.”
“If we can shut down the interference, we can contact Mission Control from the rover. If they know where we are, there’s a good possibility our company can send a supply drone to the Moon. It would allow us to replenish our supplies and survive until our people down on Earth figure something out.”
“They could even send us something to set the lander back up,” Greg spoke with some excitement flowing into his voice. “If we can right the lander, we can go home!”
“Perhaps,” replied Jason, looking up into the star-studded sky. The Earth was plainly visible above the distant lunar horizon. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We still have a lot to do and even if we can contact Earth, we may be on the Moon for quite some time.”
The two climbed back up into the lunar lander and shut the hatch behind them. After a few moments, they had the small airlock pressurized, and they opened the inner hatch to the inside compartment. Helping each other out of their cumbersome spacesuits and stowing them away, the two crawled over to their acceleration couches and sat down. Due to the way the lander had fallen over, they were in a reclining position, but all the controls were still within easy reach.
“Anything on communications?” Jason asked still hoping that the interference would come to a stop on its own. They still had short-range communications from an internal antenna.
Greg pressed several buttons and flipped multiple switches, but all that came over the speakers was static. The same thing they had heard for the last twelve harrowing hours.
“No, same as before,” replied Greg, disappointed. “It looks as if we’re going to have to take that trip to wherever this interference is coming from. I just hope we can find what’s causing it and shut it down.”
Jason was silent for a moment. He could see the worry on Greg’s face. He knew that his best friend was thinking of his family back down on Earth.
“Don’t worry Greg, we’ll get out of this,” Jason said, determinedly. “Once we find the probe that’s broadcasting this interference and turn it off, we can arrange a rescue. We’ll also make sure whoever sent that probe is taken care of. I’ll personally make sure their company is put out of business.”
“Let’s just find that probe first,” replied Greg, reaching forward and dimming the lights in the cabin. He lay back on his acceleration couch and looked over at Jason. “I still find it hard to believe that someone would intentionally sabotage our landing.”
“Mission Control should be picking up this interference,” Jason commented as he mentally went over the companies, and even countries, that might have sent the probe.
“Possibly,” Greg spoke in agreement. “But there’s nothing they can do. The source of the problem is here on the Moon, not down on Earth.”
“We’ll break the rover out in the morning,” responded Jason, knowing they both needed to get some sleep. “It shouldn’t take us too long to find the source of the signal.”
“I hope so,” replied Greg, reaching into his pocket and taking out a photograph of his wife and baby. He looked at his family in the dim light. He swore to himself he would do whatever was necessary to make it back home to them.
Jason tried to relax, knowing they would have a strenuous day coming if they succeeded in getting the rover out. Jason had been a military test pilot for six years before retiring and applying for the job of chief pilot for the new space company that Greg and he now worked for. His sister had been against him volunteering for this mission. She had said it was too dangerous, especially with a new space vehicle built by a private company. She had reminded him repeatedly that if something happened on the Moon, there would be no one to rescue them.
His brother had been excited and slapped Jason happily across the back when he found out that Jason had been chosen as chief pilot and mission commander. His sister had been very quiet and had gone into another room for a while. She eventually came back out and wished him good luck, knowing this was what Jason had always wanted. However, Jason could tell from his sister’s demeanor that she really didn’t want him going to the Moon.
Jason closed his eyes and tried to sleep. His sister had been right, and now Greg and he were stranded on the Moon with no way home. Jason knew that his sister would be at Mission Control and would not leave until she heard something. Her husband was currently overseas working as a consultant for an oil company and wasn’t due back for another month. Someway, Jason had to find a way home. He couldn’t let his sister down.
-
Jason and Greg had gotten up early and were out working diligently on the hatch to the rover compartment. It hadn’t been designed to be opened from a nearly horizontal position. After a little work, they managed to get the hatch open and secured so they could get to the rover.
The rover slipped out of its compartment a lot easier than Jason had expected. A little pushing and shoving and they had it positioned far enough away from the obstructing landing struts that it could be activated.
Jason stepped forward and pressed a large recessed button on the side of the rover. Instantly the rover unfolded, and the six large wheels rotated around until they were touching the lunar surface. It looked just like a giant spider unfolding its legs.
“That was easier than I expected,” commented Greg, looking at the rover.
“I don’t see any damage,” Jason replied. The rover compartment was well shielded, and the crash didn’t look as if it had harmed it.
Jason walked slowly around the rover, carefully inspecting it. The rover was a fully contained vehicle with a nuclear power source furnished by the American government. It was equipped with cameras and communication equipment that would allow them to communicate with either the lander or the orbiting command module.
Stepping over to the controls on the small instrument panel, Jason checked the dials. Power was operational, oxygen supplies were topped out, and the onboard guidance computer was flashing a warning light. Just like the computers in the lander, the one on the rover was experiencing problems with the mysterious transmission.
“Same as the lander,” muttered Greg, noticing the blinking light. “I guess it was to be expected.”
“Yeah; same as the lander,” replied Jason, looking over at Greg. “But everything else checks out.”
“So what do we do now?” asked Greg, perplexed. “How do we navigate without the guidance computer?”
The computer had a three-dimensional map of the lunar surface programmed into its memory. Normally all they would have to do was plug in their destination and the rover would drive them to it.
“I guess we do it the old fashioned way,” Jason replied. It didn’t seem as if they could catch a break. “We have detailed maps, which show the lunar surface. We can use them.”
Greg looked toward the south. Navigating wouldn’t be easy. There were several craters and small hills between them and the source of the interference. Without the navigational computer, the trip was bound to take longer.
Greg hated leaving the safety of the lander. At least inside of it, they had some comforts. Food, water, air, power, and they could take off their spacesuits. The lunar rover had two seats and hookups so they could run their spacesuits off the rover’s power system. There was also a small air recycling system that could regenerate their air.
“Let’s go inside, get a little rest, eat, and then we can head toward the source of the transmission,” Jason suggested. He knew they needed to be doing something to take their minds off their precarious situation.
“That source is approximately thirty miles away,” Greg responded still looking toward the south. “Even with the ro
ver, that’s going to be a long trip.” He kicked his foot at the lunar surface and watched the dust fly up. “There’s an awful lot of this damn dust everywhere. I hope it doesn’t screw up the rover.”
“All the moving parts are shielded against the dust,” Jason reminded Greg as he walked back over to the side of the lander where the open hatch was waiting.
“Are we doing the right thing?” asked Greg, stopping just below the hatch and looking at Jason. “There’s still a chance the lander could be spotted by Earth based telescopes. They could already be in the process of sending a supply drone.”
Jason paused. This was something he had already considered. “Possibly,” he admitted. “But why put all of our eggs in one basket? If we can find the source of the interference and shut it down, we can easily contact Earth. The telescopes on Earth might have a hard time spotting the lander. After all, it’s lying on its side at the edge of this small crater, which will make much it more difficult to see. We’re also over fifty miles away from our planned landing site. Even if they can spot us from Earth, it may be days before they do so.”
“You’re right,” Greg admitted with a heavy sigh. “Our best bet is to find the source of the interference. Let’s get back inside the lander.”
With a little help, Jason climbed into the open hatch and then leaned out to pull Greg up. Soon the two were back inside the lander. After getting their spacesuits off, Jason settled down in his acceleration couch and pulled down a detailed map of the Moon. He had spent several hours earlier pouring over the map, calculating the most likely position for the source of the interference. A red x was marked in a crater approximately thirty miles away in a southerly direction.
Jason turned to Greg and then spoke. “You don’t have to go,” he reminded him. “I can handle this by myself.”
“Yeah; stay here in this lander alone and I will go space happy,” answered Greg, shaking his head. “I would rather take my chances with you. Besides what would your sister say if something happened to you and I was safe back here in the lander? How would I ever explain that to her?”
Jason smiled at Greg. His sister definitely wouldn’t be happy about that. If they made it back to Earth, Jason knew he would get a long I told you so lecture from his sister. If they made it back, that lecture would be worth it.
The two settled down, ate a light meal, and drank some of their precious water. They lay quietly on their couches, both lost in their own private thoughts.
Greg finally stood back up and made his way over to his spacesuit. “No point in delaying this.”
“You're right,” responded Jason, moving over to help Greg put on his cumbersome spacesuit. Once Greg’s suit was on, Greg helped Jason with his.
A few minutes later, they were both back out on the lunar surface. Jason took his seat in the vehicle and Greg climbed in beside him. They had both spent many long hours training in the rover in the Arizona desert, and now that training was about to be put to the test.
“Let’s go,” said Greg, buckling his harness.
Jason pressed the accelerator, and the rover began to move. Jason drove slowly at first, trying to get the feel of driving in the light lunar gravity. He had to be careful to avoid small boulders and the occasional shallow crater. After a few minutes, Jason began to feel more at ease driving the rover over the desolate lunar surface.
“Just like driving a car,” he quipped, trying to sound lighthearted.
“Without shocks,” groaned Greg as they hit a small rock.
-
For several hours, Jason drove the rover across the rough lunar surface. He carefully picked his way between the boulders and small hills that blocked their path. After each detour, he always came back to a bearing of due south.
“What do you think we’ll find?” asked Greg, breaking the silence. “Do you think the probe was sent from a country or a rival company?”
“I don’t know,” Jason responded as he drove around a small boulder, stirring up more lunar dust. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense if you really think about it.”
“What do you mean?” asked Greg, looking over at Jason feeling puzzled.
Jason hesitated as he tried to organize what he wanted to say without worrying Greg too much. “I can’t see the probe being from another country. It could cause some serious international problems if it was ever discovered that our landing had been sabotaged. I’m not sure any of the ones wanting to reach the Moon and Mars would risk that.”
“What about another company?” asked Greg, agreeing with Jason’s assessment of other countries probably not being involved. “Do you have any in mind that might want to take us out in order to get one of the contracts?”
“A couple, possibly,” responded Jason, thinking about the half dozen rival companies that were competing for shares of the lucrative space contracts. “There are only two that might be willing to take such a risk. What surprises me is that no one detected the probe being launched.”
“It could have been launched from a ship out on the ocean,” suggested Greg, trying to think of how a launch could have been accomplished in secrecy.
“Possibly,” Jason said. “Even then, it should have been detected. Someone should have noticed. There are a number of tracking stations that should have picked up an ocean launch.”
“Or they didn’t mention it,” added Greg, knowing that money sometimes had an extremely long reach. “Someone could have been paid to look in the other direction.”
“It’s a possibility,” Jason admitted as he drove the rover up the slope of a small hill and then back down the other side. So far, the rover was responding very well.
-
Three hours later, Jason brought the rover to a stop at the base of a long ridge. He looked to his left and then to his right, seeing that the ridge extended as far as his eyes could see.
“I don’t think the rover can climb over that,” commented Greg, frowning. “It’s too steep.”
“Way too steep,” Jason replied in agreement. Everything had been going too smooth. He should have expected to run into some type of obstacle.
He took out the map of the lunar surface for this area of the Moon. It was difficult to unfold with his thick, insulated gloves. After struggling for a moment, he finally succeeded in opening the map, and he gazed at what he thought was their location. The suspected location of the interference was in a crater just on the other side of the obstructing ridge ahead of them. He had noticed the ridge while still in the lunar lander, but he had hoped to find a way to cross it with the rover.
“Looks as if we’re walking,” muttered Greg, reaching forward and unbuckling his safety harness. They had come too far to turn back now. “It’s time to find out what’s causing this interference.”
“Make sure your oxygen tank and power supply are topped off,” spoke Jason, agreeing with Greg’s assessment. They would have to walk from here. If the map was correct and he had properly pinpointed the location of the interference, they had about a mile to go.
Jason reached forward and unbuckled his safety harness. As he did so, he checked his oxygen supplies and suit power levels. Both were topped out and should last for six hours, there was also a two-hour emergency supply if needed.
The two men exited the rover and walked over to the base of the ridge. It wasn’t too terribly steep. However, the rover wasn’t designed to climb such a slope. Being careful, the two began their ascent. They had to watch for loose rocks and small patches of lunar dust. Some of the dust was several inches thick in places. More than once, they dislodged small stones and caused patches of dust to begin sliding down the ridge. Due to the low gravity on the Moon, everything moved as if it were in slow motion.
Jason was the first to reach the top of the ridge. He turned and grabbed Greg’s hand, pulling him up the last several feet. Then they both turned and looked down at the crater in front of them trying to spot the probe. From the top of the ridge, Jason knew it should be easily visible.
“Oh my God!” Greg uttered his eyes growing wide in disbelief. He felt a cold chill run down his back. “It can’t be!”
Jason looked down at the crater and the massive amount of wreckage strewn across it. This was a crash site! A crash site that extended for nearly a mile, with mangled wreckage everywhere. It ended at the far side of the crater. Jason felt stunned by what he was seeing.
On the far side of the crater were the remains of an extremely large spacecraft. Only the front section of the spacecraft still seemed to be intact. The rest was scattered across the crater. Jason estimated that the intact front section must be nearly four hundred feet long and at least two hundred feet wide.
“That wasn’t built on Earth,” spoke Greg, quietly. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. This was the last thing he had expected to find. Hell, he hadn’t even considered this possibility.
“No, it wasn’t,” agreed Jason, wondering what to do next. It had taken them nearly forty minutes to climb to the top of the ridge. He figured it would take another twenty minutes to climb down and about thirty more to reach the main part of the wreckage.
“I wonder how long it’s been here?” asked Greg, trying to estimate how big the spacecraft had been from all the wreckage scattered in the crater.
“For quite some time,” responded Jason, turning to look at Greg. “A crash like this and all the dust it would have stirred up would have been spotted from Earth. For all we know, this thing has been here for hundreds of years or even longer.”
“What do we do now?” Greg asked still gazing at the wreck. Exploring a crashed alien spaceship wasn’t in his job description. But did they have any other option? “That ship must still have an active power source and some type of working transmitter on board that’s causing all the interference.”
“We have no choice,” answered Jason, trying to sound calmer than he felt. “We go down there and see if anyone’s home.”