Read Online Lifeline by Kevin J. Anderson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kevin J. Anderson
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destination.
After a pause, the voice on the speakers returned. “We have adjusted the homing beacon. If you’ve got an inexperienced pilot aboard, we warn you that Clavius Base is close to the crater wall. Watch out.”
“Inexperienced, my ass,” Garland muttered to herself, then spoke over her shoulder to McLaris. “You’d better suit up. And get Jessie suited up, too. All I have to do is skim a rock, rupture the hull—the suits won’t do much good, but let’s take all the protection we can get.”
McLaris squeezed back to the storage lockers and found the hanging suits.
“Jessie, come here.” He looked at the smallest one in dismay: Oh, great.
Jessie unstrapped herself and floated over to the lockers. She looked at the bulky adult suit in his hand. “Diddy, that’s too big!”
“I know, baby, but it’s the only suit we’ve got. It’s just for a little while. I want you to wear it for protection. You don’t have to do anything in it. I want you to try to get your feet into the legs of the suit. I’ll seal everything else up. You won’t be able to see out of the helmet. You’re too short.”
“But I want to see!”
McLaris took a deep breath. “I can’t help that, Jessie. Just think of it like a big sleeping bag. You have to wear it. It’ll make you safe.” He smiled at her. “This is going to be rough. I told you. But I want you to be brave.”
“I am brave.”
“Good, I know you are. Let’s see if you can keep being brave for just a few more minutes until we land. Then we’ll be on the Moon.”
“Okay.”
McLaris kissed her on the forehead, then playfully tugged at her braids before he made her sink down into the voluminous suit. The suit ballooned as he sealed the helmet. It didn’t appear to leak; he hoped the seams would hold.
Dismayed at the way the suit fit her, McLaris lifted Jessie and carried her back to the acceleration seat. He strapped her in carefully and squeezed where he thought her shoulder was.
He brought a suit back for Garland and slipped into another one himself. As he tugged on the thick material, McLaris closed his eyes and thought back to the intense training he had taken before he, Jessie, and Diane had moved up to Orbitech 1.
“You’d better hurry—we’re coming in,” Garland called back without turning her head. “ Clavius Base , we’re on our way!” She switched off the radio again. “Does Jessie remember any prayers from Sunday school? You’d better have her start saying them.”
McLaris went cold. “Let’s not get her worried,” he said shortly, then sealed his own helmet.
Garland muttered, glancing at the cross hairs on one of the screens as the landscape streaked beneath them. She pulled on her own helmet, and McLaris heard her voice crackle in his headset. “Here we go!”
The Miranda dropped in its descent, and its rockets fired to stop the fall. The jagged surface of the Moon rose up toward them. McLaris felt his stomach clench.
The upturned lip of a crater opened before them, and a vast flat plain spread out. Suddenly McLaris could see the blurred forms of the buried buildings on Clavius Base , and the shining, kilometers-long rail of the mass launcher used for catapulting lunar material into orbit for construction of the Lagrange colonies.
The crater Clavius spread out like a giant bowl—it seemed so smooth, a perfect spot to land. But as they came closer, McLaris spotted sharp edges, jutting rocks of smaller craters and fissures.
“Diddy!” Jessie cried, muffled in her suit.
The far wall of the Clavius crater grew visibly with each moment. “It’s now or never.”
Garland fired the attitude jets in an attempt to slow them down further, to take the shuttle in gently. They still seemed to be descending too fast. The rockets sputtered.
“So much for the safety factor in the fuel supply!”
Garland clutched at the controls, but the shuttle did not respond. A last spurt from one of the engines tilted them sideways at
After a pause, the voice on the speakers returned. “We have adjusted the homing beacon. If you’ve got an inexperienced pilot aboard, we warn you that Clavius Base is close to the crater wall. Watch out.”
“Inexperienced, my ass,” Garland muttered to herself, then spoke over her shoulder to McLaris. “You’d better suit up. And get Jessie suited up, too. All I have to do is skim a rock, rupture the hull—the suits won’t do much good, but let’s take all the protection we can get.”
McLaris squeezed back to the storage lockers and found the hanging suits.
“Jessie, come here.” He looked at the smallest one in dismay: Oh, great.
Jessie unstrapped herself and floated over to the lockers. She looked at the bulky adult suit in his hand. “Diddy, that’s too big!”
“I know, baby, but it’s the only suit we’ve got. It’s just for a little while. I want you to wear it for protection. You don’t have to do anything in it. I want you to try to get your feet into the legs of the suit. I’ll seal everything else up. You won’t be able to see out of the helmet. You’re too short.”
“But I want to see!”
McLaris took a deep breath. “I can’t help that, Jessie. Just think of it like a big sleeping bag. You have to wear it. It’ll make you safe.” He smiled at her. “This is going to be rough. I told you. But I want you to be brave.”
“I am brave.”
“Good, I know you are. Let’s see if you can keep being brave for just a few more minutes until we land. Then we’ll be on the Moon.”
“Okay.”
McLaris kissed her on the forehead, then playfully tugged at her braids before he made her sink down into the voluminous suit. The suit ballooned as he sealed the helmet. It didn’t appear to leak; he hoped the seams would hold.
Dismayed at the way the suit fit her, McLaris lifted Jessie and carried her back to the acceleration seat. He strapped her in carefully and squeezed where he thought her shoulder was.
He brought a suit back for Garland and slipped into another one himself. As he tugged on the thick material, McLaris closed his eyes and thought back to the intense training he had taken before he, Jessie, and Diane had moved up to Orbitech 1.
“You’d better hurry—we’re coming in,” Garland called back without turning her head. “ Clavius Base , we’re on our way!” She switched off the radio again. “Does Jessie remember any prayers from Sunday school? You’d better have her start saying them.”
McLaris went cold. “Let’s not get her worried,” he said shortly, then sealed his own helmet.
Garland muttered, glancing at the cross hairs on one of the screens as the landscape streaked beneath them. She pulled on her own helmet, and McLaris heard her voice crackle in his headset. “Here we go!”
The Miranda dropped in its descent, and its rockets fired to stop the fall. The jagged surface of the Moon rose up toward them. McLaris felt his stomach clench.
The upturned lip of a crater opened before them, and a vast flat plain spread out. Suddenly McLaris could see the blurred forms of the buried buildings on Clavius Base , and the shining, kilometers-long rail of the mass launcher used for catapulting lunar material into orbit for construction of the Lagrange colonies.
The crater Clavius spread out like a giant bowl—it seemed so smooth, a perfect spot to land. But as they came closer, McLaris spotted sharp edges, jutting rocks of smaller craters and fissures.
“Diddy!” Jessie cried, muffled in her suit.
The far wall of the Clavius crater grew visibly with each moment. “It’s now or never.”
Garland fired the attitude jets in an attempt to slow them down further, to take the shuttle in gently. They still seemed to be descending too fast. The rockets sputtered.
“So much for the safety factor in the fuel supply!”
Garland clutched at the controls, but the shuttle did not respond. A last spurt from one of the engines tilted them sideways at
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