Luke Marusiak - Lifeboat Moon

“Really?” Chuck asked. “Was Brexton ever in the control room?”

Sally shook her head. “No. The only one with the access to do what you suggest was Doug.”

“Because you’re above suspicion, right?” Chuck asked.

“She is,” Mark answered. “We know an embedded report file was encrypted and copied here by Doug.”

“The file was created beforehand,” Chuck said. “Is there a way to get to the source computer to search?”

“We could check the ArmCon’s desk computer but, since he had the plan in a safe, I doubt we’d find it there,” Mark said. “It must’ve been created on the director’s computer.”

“Which is in the destroyed section of Habitation Tube One,” Sally said.

Mark bubbled in anger. “So, after the gamma ray burst, Doug decided we weren’t worth it. That son of a bitch, without telling anyone, decided to kill us all.”

“All we know is that he copied the file,” Chuck said, “and talked about it to Art.”

“We know more than that,” Sally said. “We know he kept it from the ArmCon and director. We know Doug was aware of the director’s and the ArmCon’s relationship.”

“Does Doug have the chops to code daemons and set up remote beacons that crash supply pods?” Mark asked.

“I think so,” Zeke said. “There are only a few in the moon base who could and Doug’s one of them.”

“So what do we do?” Chuck asked.

“We need to detain Doug,” Mark answered.

“And we better tell Japan Station about the changed guidance codes,” Zeke added.

“What changed codes?” Chuck asked.

“Someone has a remote that will send codes to the next supply pod we bring down to crash it on top of Japan Station.” Zeke said.

Mark watched Chuck’s expression with care. His wide eyes and slack jaw, by all appearances, showed he was shocked at the news. “And we don’t know where he placed the remotes.”

“You think Doug plans to crash a supply pod into Japan Station like what happened with the director’s quarters? Can’t you stop it?”

“We don’t know if we can stop it or not,” Zeke said. “That’s the problem of relying on human trust. All of the control room shift managers can destroy us.”

“That’s why you’re talking to me,” Chuck said. He snorted. “It’s bigger than that. Nearly everyone in this station has the ability to destroy us.”

“Anyone would have an easier time at destruction in the pure oxygen environment of the caves,” Mark said. “We must make trust our ally. We have to rely on each other. There’s no other way.”

“Japan Station as well?” Chuck asked.

“Yes. Between Moon Base Armstrong and Japan Station we have 192 people. That’s all that’s left of humanity.” Mark stared at the ceiling. “We need to preserve all of us. We need to stop this destructive madness.”

“It’s not madness,” Zeke said. “It’s despair. It’s something only love can fight.”

“Detaining Doug isn’t a good idea,” Sally said.

“Why?”

“If he’s behind all of this that means he’s scary smart. The ‘I’m an environmentalist’ talk is just to throw us off. He’s got a master’s degree in computer science.”

“Isn’t that more reason?” Mark asked.

“You said he hid the remotes,” Chuck said.

“And he may have hidden a Trojan program in the control room that crashes any pod we bring down into Japan Station… or the Nexus.”

“We need Doug to confide in one of us,” Sally said. “We need him to trust one of us with his plans.”

“He’d never trust me,” Mark said. “And he and Jim are already at odds.”

“He may trust me,” Zeke said. “I need to convince him I empathize with his despair.”

“It won’t work,” Chuck said. “Everyone knows you’re paired off with Habi. He’d have to believe the person has lost all hope in the future of humanity.” He laughed. “There’s only one person he’d believe lost all hope — me.”

“That’s a bad idea,” Mark said.

“Maybe not,” Sally said. “With the new shift schedule, I’m on shift eleven hours with Chuck and then there’s our hour overlap for pass down with all four of us — Doug, Chuck, me, and Jim. All I have to do is get Jim to show me something important in the Manufacturing Pod to leave Chuck and Doug alone.”

Mark turned to Sally. “I didn’t say we couldn’t pair them up, I said it’s not a good idea.” He turned to Chuck. “What would you say to Doug to get him to trust you?”

“I’d tell Doug he was right. I should’ve let you die out there when I sabotaged your air. I’ll tell him I’ve got ideas to do that again but need help pulling it off.”

“You want to enlist his help to kill me?”

“It would start a conversation,” Zeke said.

“That’s not a conversation I’d like started.” Mark turned to Sally. “What do you think?”

“Chuck’s right,” Sally said. “The only way to get Doug to share something about his plans to crash a pod into Japan Station is to convince him others are willing to act.”

“Act against me!”

“He hates you,” Chuck said. “I can do this. I can get Doug to tell me everything.” He fixed Mark in a steady gaze. “The only thing we need for this to work is for you to trust me.”

There was a lot about the plan to trick Doug that Mark didn’t like. First, Mark had to trust Chuck. That alone took some doing. It was one thing to trust that Chuck wouldn’t crash a pod or tamper with Mark’s air; it was an entirely different thing to count on him to win Doug’s confidence. Mark grudgingly agreed to this cockamamie plan because Zeke and Sally pressed the point that there was no other choice.

Jim didn’t like the plan either. After nearly suffocating in the Manufacturing Pod seam leak, he had a special animosity for Moon Base Armstrong’s saboteur. Jim proposed forcibly pounding the Trojan horse virus information out of Doug until Sally pointed out that Doug could commit suicide the same way as Art and then all would be lost. Jim, like Mark, acquiesced to the plan only after a Zeke and Sally full court press.

Another thing Mark didn’t like about the ‘Chuck will deceive Doug’ plan was telling Japan Station. He couldn’t see how they’d be happy about it. Mark couldn’t even see how they’d accept it. They suspected Chuck from the beginning. Trusting Chuck was out of the question.

Mark dreaded the task to tell Japan Station. He feared, above all else, creating an irreconcilable rift with the one group they needed to partner with to have any chance at survival. If the cordial partnership ever turned into a universal quid pro quo blackmail power play so prevalent on earth, all was lost.

Mark stood outside the impressively sealed cave, his stomach in knots, and watched Katsumi and Yumi approach. He requested this meeting and insisted it be in person — or at least as close to in person as they could get before they were all in the cave. A small distance Bluetooth discussion was the safest.

“This is impressive work,” Katsumi said as he came alongside Mark.

“Captain Kaneko did an outstanding job on sealing the cave,” Mark replied.

“And Major Martelli and his team did excellent work with the tube and the interior preparation,” Yumi added.

The joint complements only heightened Mark’s concern. He signaled through his helmet selector to ensure he had a private three-way conversation. When he saw confirmation of their private conversation he bluntly stated the most important fact. “Director Hayashi, Captain Kaneko — I must inform you that we’ve found evidence that our enemy plans to crash a supply pod into Japan Station.” Mark heard audible sucking inhales the moment he finished speaking.