by TS Paul
“The touchdown pressure engines have fired.” Nestor pointed to large pods with char marks, attached to the legs of the bulbous lander.
“So it appears to have landed safely. The folding ladder’s been deployed, so someone has either gone in or out of it. It only held one cosmonaut...So who wants to go first?” Nestor looked at the three members of his group.
“I would like to.” Everyone turned to see Maxim picking his way out of the debris. Nestor high-fived his cousin.
“Are you better now?” Yana looked him over, carefully checking his suit for tears.
“I’m fine. I think I should go since I did bounce off it, breaking my bones. Wechselbalg, crack us, beat us up but we just heal back together again. Do you think it’s occupied?”
Nestor popped open some of the survival boxes attached to the lander and looked inside. “These are empty. He may have survived the landing. Go ahead and look.”
Maxim grabbed the ladder and pulled himself up. The gravity was at about half, so it was easy to do. The circular hatch was slightly ajar.
Knocking on the side of the hatch to announce his presence, Maxim opened the door. “It’s empty. Someone was here, though.”
“What’s up there?” Ron almost climbed the ladder himself.
“Lots of empty ration packs, air bottles, and some sort of mission log. Give me a moment.” The inside of the capsule was tiny and very clunky in design. The cosmonaut would have had to stand or lean for most of the mission. There was almost no room even to think of getting out of the spacesuit. Maxim just shook his head. Brave men.
“Here.” He handed the book to Yana as he climbed down. Ron jumped on the ladder and went up for a look.
Yana carefully opened the mission log. It was two pieces of aluminum holding several dozen pages of handwritten notes. She rapidly read through it.
“This is insane.” She looked at the others after a moment.
“Why? I guess he survived the landing?” Tina took the book from her hand. She learned some Russian in school, but her understanding of the written language was poor.
“He survived. The mission was a secret, he and his partner were volunteers. Russia wanted to say they landed on the moon too and he was to be the first. The mission was successful until he landed. They picked this location because of the details the Luna 15 sent. His communications failed as soon as the lander touched down. Despite swapping out his batteries and realigning the dishes, he couldn’t connect to his partner in orbit. The ascent propulsion unit failed to deploy, and he was unable to access the electronics to check it. He logged several moonwalks here as he tried to fix the craft.”
“Does he say what his name is Yana?” Ron jumped off the ladder and walked over to them.
“It does. Andrei Mikoyan was his name. He mentions his partner ‘Ivan’ but gives no last name or other identifying information. This mission was in 1972. Nestor, didn’t you say the Soviet moon missions were over by then?”
“I did. At least that is what the museum said in Moscow. But we both know how accurate the Soviets are about history. This man can’t possibly still be alive.”
Tina laid her hand on Yana’s arm. “What happened to him after the rockets failed?”
“He was getting desperate. He was about to attempt to take off his helmet and commit suicide when he felt the lander move on its own. Instead of going up, the vehicle was being dragged sideways. He looked out the door, but it was night, and the exterior lights wouldn’t work. All he had was a very small amount of ambient light reflecting off of objects. The lander bounced and shuddered as it continued to move laterally until he found himself surrounded by wreckage. This document claims that he saw aliens moving around and they went into a door in the central column. The last entry says his food, water, and oxygen were almost gone. He went in search of the aliens.”
“Andrei may have been seeing things if his oxygen was failing. But, we have all heard of TOM, so maybe it was aliens.” Ron looked at Yana. “Did he say anything else?”
“‘Mother save me.’ His last words were for his mother.” A small tear made its way down Yana’s face. “I don’t want to die here like this man! We need to find a way out.”
“Yana, honey, calm down. We don’t know for sure we are trapped yet. This is only a small part of the junkyard. That up there isn’t natural so maybe they are good aliens. Don’t cry.” Tina patted her on the back.
“Nestor, check out the batteries on the LK, see if we can use them. Ron, check the column and see if you see any trace of an opening or door. Tina, why don’t you get Yana to sit a moment. I’m going to see if either rover is salvageable.” Maxim said as he started to climb up the LK.
“I am fine Maxim. Stop babying me!” Yana refused to sit still.
“Fine. Why don’t you and Tina look around and try to find something we can use to get out of here then?”
—
Back on board the QBBS Meredith Reynolds.
Diane closed the tablet and screens in front of her and looked at her sister. “Are all the kids back for the night?”
“Everyone except for Craig in Team Bravo and all of Alpha.” Dorene checked her braid in the mirror as she spoke. The Academy had standards for everyone, even the directors wore uniforms and kept their hair according to the old military regulations.
“What happened to Craig? I didn’t understand Jean’s message on that one.”
Dorene chuckled. “I shouldn’t laugh. Kids getting hurt is never funny. Dr. Running Wolf gave him a lecture to go with the ear-burner Jean gave him. She had the kids out on the range testing the new personal side arms and human Guardian weapons. She had Rangemasters in place, and everyone was under supervision of course. Craig is from one of the Midwestern Packs, Iowa I think. He thought he was tough and tried to fire the prototype for John’s new guns after being told to leave it be.”
Diane closed her eyes and winced. “Did Jean hurt him?”
“It wasn’t Jean. Before anyone could notify her, he snuck it out onto the firing line and set it on level eight. He’s very lucky he didn’t put it on ten. As it is, they’re already calling him stumpy.”
“What happened?”
“Stupid kid blew his fingers right off. Those pistols have so much recoil, only the most advanced Guardians can even hold them. Jean told me even she hadn’t fired them on full maximum.”
“Where is Craig now?” Diane pulled out his file from her desk.
“He’s in the main infirmary. Dr. Keelson says he’ll live. Dr. Running Wolf told me about it, in detail. I sent you the medical and incident files for when you need the information. I also gave a copy of the Safety Report to Jean with the information on how he snuck the weapon out of the Armory. The Queen could speed up his healing, but everyone says she said he needed to learn a lesson about No meaning No.”
“I can see that. So where is Team Alpha?”
“Them? Marcus and Bozo took them down to the old moon base to dismantle it. I called a while ago, but only the E.I. answered. She said they were on a field trip to the EM field and communications were temporarily down. Whatever that means.”
“I think I know the area. It was in the notes about the moon base. Remind me to touch base with them tomorrow. We need some sort of update on what they are learning. Just to make sure it’s not paperwork again.” Diane closed the tablet again and put them away.
“I can take a pod down and go terrorize Bozo again if you like?”
The redheaded twins both laughed for a moment. “You are too much woman for him. Leave him be for now. You can scare him later. So how are the other classes doing so far?”
“Well Foxtrot is enjoying working with Jeo so far, he has them…”
—
“Did you find anything?” Ron and Tina compared notes.
“A lot of space junk. I think this is where old NASA equipment goes to die. Moon probes, a couple of rovers, a few Chinese probes, and what I swear is the remains of an LRV.”
“You found
another LRV?” Tina stared at him.
“It’s over here. It just can’t be here. They only brought up three of them.” Ron led her through a pile of meteor bits and scrap metal that had the word ‘NASA’ on it. A classic moon rover lay upside down in the dirt of the crater. The smashed communications array lay in front of it. On the bottom, Tina could plainly see the hinge that allowed it to be folded to store inside the lander.
“It’s real Ron. NASA might have sent all sorts of things up here without telling anyone. Look at the Russian lander we found. What happened to Apollo 18, 19 and 20? Maybe this is from one of them.”
Ron shook his head. “No. They canceled those. The landers are on display in museums. NASA's own documents say the LRV for 18 was used for spare parts. There is no record they built anymore.”
“Ron, there is a hole in your logic. If they used the LRV for spare parts, where did they use them? Now ask yourself, why would they need spare parts in the first place? Hmmm?” Tina gave him a questioning look.
“I… I don’t know. I’ll ask Yana about it. We need to get back.” He pulled her toward where their own LRVs were located.
“I meant to ask you. Did you find any sign of aliens or a door on that thing?” Tina pointed at the huge column that held up whatever that was that was glowing.
“No. Not a single thing. I looked for drag marks too. Yana said that Andrei might have been suffering from hypoxia. That would cause you to see things. Can you imagine going out into space with limited oxygen and supplies? Those men were some kind of brave.”
“We are very lucky Ron. These suits and the helmets would seem like magic to the early space explorers. The only thing I don’t like are the rations. It’s like eating toothpaste.”
Ron laughed. “Nutritional substitutes. That is what Chef Norman called them. I had asked him before we left. According to him, they perfected the paste during the asteroid mining phase. Each of those tubes will keep you alive for a week.”
“But do they have to taste so nasty?” Tina made a face at him.
“Mine are pretty good, what flavors have you been getting?”
“Hot and spicy ones. Thai noodle, Pad Thai with peppers, Pho, and a couple others I can’t pronounce.”
Ron laughed again. “When we packed, didn’t you check the labels first?”
“There are labels? Where?”
“Food processing makes four different kinds of tubes for the survival packs and for mission food. Regular has things like meatloaf, spaghetti, and tuna casserole. Vegetarian has veggie dishes with tofu and beans for protein. International has a variety of countries and regions. They are labeled. I like the German ones myself the best. To me, it sounds like you got one of the Asian packs.”
Tina made a face at him and stuck out her tongue. “What is the fourth type?”
“Chef Norman said that one was called a ‘Special.’ They are very bland flavors and foods that can be eaten by anyone, anywhere. He said they are used in rescue missions or trips down to Earth where they have to give food away. It’s why all the governments down there think we are desperate for food up here.”
She nodded her head. “I see. More of the Queen’s tricks.”
“Probably. Look there’s Yana.” He pointed up ahead.
“Hey Yana, did you find anything?”
She turned to the two of them, “Define anything. I found lots of junk. Some of it doesn’t look like it’s from around here. Have either of you ever seen TOM’s ship?”
“No. Mom has, she told me about it. Did you find a Kutherian ship?”
Yana shook her head. “I have no idea. I found what looks like part of a saucer as well as a rocket with German writing on it. Did the Nazi’s go into space? Because it has a swastika.”
Ron just stared at her. “Not in any real history book I have ever read, but they did succeed in the conspiracy stories on the internet. We found another LRV out there that isn’t supposed to exist either. Have you seen Maxim or Nestor, they should be around here still?”
“Maxim and his cousin are over by our LRVs. They got them down, and Nestor is trying to combine the batteries.” She joined them as they headed back.
—
“Will it work?” Maxim stared at his cousin’s legs and feet. They were sticking out from under a much battered Rota-Ree.
“I don’t know. You’ve asked me the same question for an hour now. I’ve got them wired up, and according to the readouts, this goofy green light is recharging the batteries some. These, plus the ones off the Soviet relic over there, might be enough. If the others find a couple more, we would have enough to get back to the base. But. We still have to get up to the surface first.”
Maxim replied, “One problem at a time cousin. Just fix the rover.”
“I’m trying to. God, it’s like talking to Fergus, the innkeeper's son. Remember him? He was like a post with feet.”
“What happened to him?” Maxim resisted the temptation to hurry his cousin some more, again.
“He and his father didn’t trust Boris, so they left town when the trouble started. There, I think I have it now.” He pushed his way out from under the rover.
“I told you I could do it.” Nestor batted Maxim’s hands away as he engaged the engine. The pink rover thrummed to life.
There was a flash of light like a strobe, and the power died on the rover. “Hey what the hell?”
Both boys heard a whirring noise. They looked up and all around their area trying to track on the sound. Suddenly, out of the shadows, a large, black as night, metallic arm grabbed Maxim’s leg.
—
“It sounds like they are arguing again.” Tina nudged Ron.
“They fight constantly. I’m surprised they haven’t killed each other yet.” Ron elbowed her back.
“They are cousins. It’s how they show they care about each other. Just ignore it. I do.” Yana smiled at them.
“By all the Gods of Earth and Sky! What is that?” Tina pointed at a large black shape appearing near the boys. As they watched, it attacked the boys.
Maxim felt something grab him, and he tried to jerk his leg away. The metallic arm held fast to his leg and started to drag him toward the central column. A door that had not been there before was now open. A bright, piercing light, shone out of the opening.
“Nestor! Help me.” Maxim began to pummel the robot like thing with his fists. Being a Were made him stronger than usual, and he was leaving dents on the metal surface.
Nestor ran to his cousin’s aid and began to beat on the thing with a metal rod.
“Quick! Block that door open it may be our only chance to get out of here!” Yana pointed at the door, yelling at Tina and Ron.
She grabbed a large rock and joined the others in beating on the robot appendage.
“Let.” Clang. “My.” Clang. “Friend.” Clang. “Go!” Clang.
The robot released Maxim and waved its arms trying to escape from its tormentors. Aiming at the blinking lights, Nestor whacked it as hard as he could with the rod.
“Is it dead?” Yana hit it again just for good measure.
Nestor poked it with the rod. The whirring noise had stopped as well as all movement. “Looks like it is.”
