Salvador Mercer - Lunar Discovery

“The shielding doesn’t surprise me, though we were way too close to that blast for my comfort level,” Julie said, looking at the rear dash and checking the systems display there. “Did you notice the alien signal has stopped? Our coms are all clear.”

“I see that,” Craig said.

“Try pulling the lever back into reverse. I can’t see much back here, but it may help, and can we get Houston on the line?”

“Hang on a sec,” Craig said, and the rover stopped vibrating, and then very slowly Julie felt it moving backward. “It’s working, though I can’t see a damn thing behind us. I’m just glad it stayed upright.”

“Yeah, another engineering marvel. They kept the center of balance low in case we hit a bump, and the rover took off in this low gravity,” Julie said, taking off her gloves and lifting off her helmet to inspect it, hearing the gentle sound of small moon rocks as they bounced off the top of the rover. The sound reminded her instantly of a soft rain.

Craig stopped the rover and then pulled out and around the outcropping gingerly and then veered hard right till the crater’s edge was visible as a silhouette against the starry night sky. “My God, did we actually jump that, and what the hell is hitting us?”

Julie sat her helmet down and looked at the rim in awe. “That’s got to be a good thirty feet high, though the slope isn’t at a bad angle. I think the blast ejected a lot of lunar material and it’s coming down now.”

“Yeah, but still, that was one hell of a drop,” Craig said.

“Well, that drop may have saved us. Let me see if I can get Houston on the line,” Julie said.

“I doubt it. Check the high gain antenna mast. It’s on the ground to your three o’clock,” Craig offered.

Julie looked to her right and could just barely make out the four foot mast that had once sat on the top side of the rover. “Well, damn, can we use the LF transmitter?”

“We can, but I’m not sure it’ll reach the minis,” Craig said, referring to the dual small communication satellites that relayed incoming messages.

“All right, I’m on it. You get us back to the lander—we can use the transceiver there—but in the meantime, I’ll try to get Houston on the low band,” Julie said.

Craig started to drive the rover west with a slight northern bias, but at a much slower speed than their mad dash to safety just minutes earlier. The darkness of the rear was disconcerting to Julie as she tried to put it out of her mind.

Finally after several minutes, she heard the call from Houston. “ Blackjac k, this is Houston. Do you copy?”

“ Blackjack here, Houston. We copy. How do you read us?” Julie responded.

After an uncomfortable pause, Houston repeated, “ Blackjack , this is Houston. Do you read us, over?”

“We’re here, Houston. Radio check, over?” Julie said.

A pause, and then, “ Blackjack , this is Houston. Over.”

“Damn, they aren’t receiving us,” Julie said.

“I see that. Let me pick up some speed now that nothing seems to be broken—” Craig was cut off as he veered the rover hard right to avoid a basketball-sized rock that landed barely ten feet in front of the rover, impacting hard and sending a considerable amount of lunar soil into space.

“What happened?” Julie asked, unable to see forward.

“Damn rock almost hit us,” Craig answered.

“Get back to the crater’s edge,” Julie commanded. “That may be the only thing saving us from the debris.”

Craig veered right again, almost heading due east until they came up to the edge of the wall, and he pulled the rover north to sit parallel to its edge. The pelting was less but constant, and they could see streaks far to the west, indeed in all directions, glowing as they returned to the lunar surface.

“I sure as hell hope the lander is all right,” Craig voiced his concern.

“Me, too,” Julie said, looking out the glass side to the west and wondering if she should put her helmet and gloves back on. One faint streak, however, seemed to be traveling in the opposite direction. The lighting seemed more artificial, as if it was reflecting something instead of emanating. “Do you see that just above the horizon?”

“Yeah, I was just looking at it. What do you think?”

“Either an orbiter or…” Julie paused for a moment. “Isn’t the Gordust the only sat in retrograde orbit?”

“It is. Do you think that’s it?” Craig asked.

“We’re going to find out,” Julie said, changing the frequency of her radio and enabling the low gain transmitter. “ Apollo to Gordust , this is Commander Julie Monroe. Do you copy?” Julie let a full ten seconds go by before she repeated the greeting.

“ Apollo , this is Russian Gordust , Yuri Temshenko commanding. Julie, is that you?”

Julie let all formalities drop when she heard Yuri’s voice. “Yes, Yuri, this is Julie on the surface. How do you read us?”

“Loud and clear. Are you all right?” Yuri asked.

“Yes, Yuri, but our high gain antenna array is out of service. Can you relay a message for us?”

“I think so. Do you have a frequency?”

“Yes, Yuri, use ninety-nine point seven and see if you can raise Houston for us,” Julie said.

“Switching now. Were you able to confirm the status of our crewmembers?” Yuri asked, concern in his voice.

Julie felt a pang of guilt at not mentioning or even thinking of their concerns, so focused was she on reestablishing communications with Houston. “I’m sorry, Yuri, be advised that your crewmembers are both deceased. We have, however, retrieved them, and they are with us.”

The pause was obvious as Yuri chose his words carefully. “Roger, Apollo , received and understood. Thanks for the assist. Be advised, however, that we just crossed the terminator and won’t be in communication’s range for another forty-two minutes.”

“Yuri,” Julie said, “use the broad range broadcast. We have communication satellites in orbit. They’ll relay the signal as long as you use the frequency I gave you and transmit in the clear.”

“Standby,” Yuri said. After a full minute, his voice resumed over the mike. “Russian Gordust to American Houston, do you read us?”

Julie almost shouted for joy at what she heard next. “ Gordust , this is Houston, we read you loud and clear. State the nature of your transmission.” The voice was obviously Jack’s, and he was calm, neutral, and professional.

“Houston, this is Gordust . We have someone that wants to talk to you. Go ahead, Apollo .”

Julie keyed her mike, overriding the voice activation to make sure she transmitted. “Houston, this is Blackjack . Do you copy?”

The three second relay time, even at the speed of light, was obvious, but the reply wasn’t. “ Blackjack , this is Houston. We read you loud and clear, and boy, are we glad to hear from you.” Jack delayed in releasing his mike, and Julie smiled as shouts of joy, applause, and glee were easily conveyed through the radio.

NASA Space Center

Houston, Texas

In the near future, Day 48

“Praise the maker,” Tom said, leaning back as the room calmed down. “How in the hell did they survive that?”

“Who cares?” Lisa said, smiling and clapping. “They’re alive!”

Rock breathed a long sigh and looked at the vice president, who just nodded, took his phone, and departed the room. “Let’s get a sit-rep from them now,” Rock ordered, and the room started to bustle with activity as systems data was received from the Gordust , piggybacking on the same frequency, although at a much lower streaming feed.