Read Online This Old Rock by G. David Nordley - Free Book Online Page B

the shuttle, reaching the right
landing gear. “I really wanted to see you again, Liz.” He turned away from the
shuttle, triggered the switch, and set the sample case down as carefully as he
could. He started running toward Liz, not daring to look back. Five… four…
three… two… one…
    The blast wave almost knocked him over. Now he looked back
and watched the shuttle topple to the ground. Back to square one, he thought.
He turned back toward Liz and stood motionless, trying to figure out what to
say. She would probably be upset.
    A sudden sting in his arm told him just how upset.
    ••∞••
    Liz had skimmed along the regolith toward David, wanting to
believe him, wanting to get him and get out of here. But she’d been deceived.
Should have had the robots tranquilize him earlier, she thought. But she’d held
back. Maybe there was an explanation that made sense. Once he was in her arms
again, surely he would listen to reason. He had run toward her; she could see
the light on his helmet bob up and down with each long stride. Surely they
could still sort things out.
    The blast took her totally by surprise and she watched in
horror as the shuttle toppled to the ground. There was no second explosion and
its navigation lights stayed on. The port light created a pool of red on the
lava and showed the crumpled side of the vehicle in high relief.
    Liz brought herself to a halt. Take him down, she
sent to the hovering robots. Talk about closing the barn door after the horse
escaped.
    Liz, Ned. Are you okay?
    I’m fine. He got the shuttle before I got him. Can you
get another one down here?
    We’ll have to try, won’t we? The port manager and I’ve
got it in works, but it looks like an hour to fuel and check out and four
hours—make that four point three—down to the surface where you are. That’s
collision time, I’m afraid.
    Her heart skipped a beat and a knot suddenly tightened in
her gut. Chaos, try to shave ten minutes off that somewhere, will you?
    I’ll try my best. Do you want me to tell Cyan?
    So it’s down to this, Liz thought. What would Cyan Mutori
do? A word from her now, and the full power of the beam could be thrown against
the planetoid, possibly breaking it up, possibly pushing it away. But that
diversion would also throw the impactor off profile, perhaps irretrievably so.
Damn Peal! There was no margin, none.
    Not just yet. See where you get on the spare shuttle.
    Are you sure, Liz?
    It could mean the difference between probably living and
probably dying, for both her and David. But it could also be the difference
between carrying out her mission with certainty, and leaving humanity’s
greatest project to chance. She’d wanted to be the big fish in the small pond,
to have the big decisions. Well, this was one that would echo through the rest
of history.
    Yes, I’m sure. Ned, if it doesn’t work out… It’s not your
fault. But get that damn shuttle here!
    It’s been on its way since you asked. Everything
optimized for minimum time. Good luck. Ned out.
    Liz looked up at the oncoming planetoid and its halo of gas,
rising high over the eastern horizon. It would not, if she remembered the
simulations correctly, quite reach the zenith from her location. In the last
minutes, it would begin plunging back down to the horizon. Then a hypersonic
detonation wave would jet out above her and the blast wave would roll over the
horizon at the local speed of sound, some twenty minutes later.
    Human beings had voluntarily gone to their deaths before,
for a big enough cause. She had not ever quite thought of herself that way. All
told, she would rather not. But one of the things that human beings were about
was will. We were out here because of will, she thought.
    Liz, Cyan. What’s going on down there?
    Liz sighed. It hadn’t taken her long to find out.
    A small delay. He’s tranked now. I’m going after him.
    Wait.
    You are stranded!
    Maybe. Cyan, am I still in charge? Is it my call? You
know what