Ice Tomb Second Edition by Jackson Deborah

Author:Jackson, Deborah [Jackson, Deborah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deborah Jackson
Published: 2012-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-two ~ Antarctica

“You’re not going to believe this.” It was Captain Sandwich talking in her head.

Erica jolted from the mesmerizing landscape and looked toward the front of the Hercules.

“You’ve got a call from Houston.”

“Excuse me?” said Erica, finally realizing that he was talking though the headset. “Houston?”

“Lana, at McMurdo, rerouted the call through the radio. Here, I’ll connect you.”

“Hello?” said Erica, frowning. Why would Houston be calling her?

“Is this Erica Daniels?”

“Yes.”

“We have someone here who’d like to talk to you. Hold on.”

Erica held her breath. Had they found out about her commandeering a Hercules and trying to stop Commander Staten? Well, she didn’t care. They couldn’t stop her, no matter what they said.

“Erica?” The voice bled through the line, crackled and distorted.

“Yes, sir. You have to understand why we’re doing this. The Commander is a madman. We can’t let him start a war.”

“Erica. It’s me. David.”

She stopped. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Are you there?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be on the moon?”

There was a slight delay in his response, even longer than the standard satellite transmission delay. Then he came back on. “I am. I’m in trouble and I need your help. Although it sounds like you might be in trouble too.”

“You could say that,” she said. “Is this the kind of trouble in which I bail you out and you take all the credit?”

Another pause. Of course, if he were really calling her from the moon, there would be a two-and-a-half-second delay. “Erica, please.” Did she hear pain in his voice? Actual pain?

“What’s going on, David?”

An even longer pause followed. “I’m not . . . quite sure. I was exploring a lava tube, tapping a wall to collect a sample and there was an explosion.”

“Explosion?”

“Something blew us backward. Vochenkov was knocked unconscious and I had to carry him back to the Luna Cat. I don’t know what really happened and . . . I’m not . . . qualified to come up with a theory.”

Erica blinked. Had he just admitted his inferiority? Over an open channel, through Houston, where everyone was listening and recording? It just wasn’t possible. “Do you want one from me?”

“Yes, and no. I want you with me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I want your theories, openly recognized, but I also need you with me tomorrow. I’m going back into the tube and I would like you to keep an open channel with me. I want you to talk me through it.”

Erica took a deep breath. “David, I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“Trying to stop a war? Sounds like you.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“You’re right. I’ve been the biggest jerk in the world. It should be you up here and not me. I can’t change that now. But I can start being a scientist instead of a stage-hog. I need you up here. NASA needs you.”

She closed her eyes. “Okay. I’ll keep my satellite phone on, and barring a full-scale war down here, I’ll talk you through tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” he breathed. “I’ll call you in five hours from the Hadley Rille.

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