Eclipse by James Swallow

Author:James Swallow [Swallow, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
Publisher: Abaddon Books
Published: 2009-10-05T13:00:00+00:00

They kept off the main aerial corridors between Luna-1 and the outlying domeplexes, flying nap-of-the-moon over craters and between mountain ranges. Kontarsky proved her worth immediately by programming in a new, faster course that skirted the Heraclides Promontory and took them up and through the Jura Mountains. The solar flare was at its height now and with their suits and the hopper's rad-shields they would be able to survive the brief exposure to the sun's hard radiation; nevertheless, the trip was a risk. If the hopper got into trouble and ditched on the surface, both the Judges would be cooked before any rescue craft could reach them.

Other vehicles were few and far between and Dredd made sure to keep any mining rovers or transports at the extreme edge of sensor range. The flare meant that any communications except hyperchannel and landlines would be severely curtailed for the duration, preventing word of their abscondment spreading too quickly. The added bonus of the solar radiation was its disruptive effect on lunar orbital spy-sats, enough to make a visual or sensor sweep of the Moon's surface difficult. They dropped into the Bay of Dews and Dredd pushed the hopper's engines to full burn, skating the shuttlecraft over the compacted grey dust at high speed, the gravity-repulsors along the ventral hull pushing a thin bow-wave of powder out behind them.

At last, they crossed over the terminator and as the Earth disappeared behind the curvature of the Moon, a wave of shadow embraced the hopper. Kontarsky felt her breath catch in her throat as she peered out of the shuttle's windows; looking up at a star-filled sky that was brighter and denser than anything she'd ever glimpsed from home.

"Incredible..." she whispered, losing herself for a moment in the sight.

"Look sharp," said Dredd abruptly, interrupting her reverie. "Registering approach pattern to Farside Penitentiary."

Kontarsky shook off her moment of distraction and nodded. Now was not the time for sightseeing, she had to concentrate.

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