Moonfall (1998) by Jack McDevitt

Author:Jack McDevitt [McDevitt, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 1998-11-26T06:00:00+00:00

Saber was watching the recharge. “How we doing?” Bigfoot asked.

“Okay. We’ll have enough to power the systems. How’s the fuel?”

“About halfway.”

Tony came back on: “Everybody’s in and the hatch is secure. You can disconnect the tube.”

Saber aimed the remote. The walkway came loose and began to retract.

Bigfoot’s entire world narrowed down to the two fuel counters and the clock. He let the numbers slip out of focus. Saber’s eyes were dark pinpoints behind her visor.

The narrow patch of black sky visible through the entry doors had acquired a haze. He found himself torn between terror and an inclination to dismiss the entire affair as hysteria. Earlier, when he’d made the decision to stay, he’d gotten patched through to his mother, who’d cried and prayed on the phone; and an old friend with whom he’d played college football, who’d told him he was a damned fool but that he was proud to have known Bigfoot. It was said in the past tense.

“Can we get moving?” asked Tony.

“Almost done,” said Bigfoot.

At ten twenty-six, the liquid oxygen tank reached full and the pump shut off. Bigfoot disconnected, and threw the umbilical aside. Saber decided she had enough power, and broke her line loose and dropped it.

“Get inside,” Bigfoot said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

“Why don’t we call it a tankful and clear out?”

Yeah. What the hell.

She started for the cargo hatch while Bigfoot shut down, jerked the umbilical out of the fuel receptacle, capped it, and closed and secured the latch. He lobbed the line as far as he could, which in lunar gravity was a substantial distance. Then he was right behind Saber, dashing for the open hatch while she told Tony that refueling was complete. They’d cut it a little short in the interests of time, she said, but he shouldn’t start the engine yet. She was scrambling into the cargo deck airlock and simultaneously extending a hand to Bigfoot. “We’re inside,” she told Tony. “Go!” Bigfoot stabbed at the control panel and the outer hatch swung shut. Oxygen poured into the chamber. The engine lit and the bus trembled.

The inner hatch opened. Saber popped through and dashed across the hold, removing her helmet as she went. She was quite agile in low-g footwork and she left Bigfoot far behind.

She swung up the ladder and erupted into the passenger cabin, still carrying her helmet. The Micro began to rise.

Bigfoot meantime had closed and sealed the airlock. Then he tried to follow Saber into the passenger cabin, but the bus was moving quickly now and his weight was increasing. He struggled halfway up the ladder, realized he couldn’t make it, and concluded his sole mission was to close the hatch between decks. He caught a last glimpse of Saber moving monkey-style up toward the cockpit as he pulled the hatch shut and secured it. Then he retreated back down the ladder.

They were on their way.

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