Rocket Dawn

by Richard Tongue

  “I’ll be damned.”

  “Possibly you should consult a priest, though our intervention should mean that you will not need to worry about that for some time yet. LeGrand out.”

  Knox laughed, long and loud, echoing through his helmet. He was going to live. Beyond all expectations, all his hopes, he was actually going to live through this mission. He took a deep breath, fired a last pulse from his thrusters to stabilize himself, and settled down to wait for his friend to arrive, looking out at the distant Earth.

  LeGrand was right. It was an amazing view.

  Epilogue

  “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” Knox intoned, standing above the crevasse. “From the stars we came, and ultimately it is to the stars we return our honored dead, from now until the end of time. We hereby commit the body of Major Gregori Nelyubov to the night. Guard, atten-shun!” He snapped too, Antonova, LeGrand and three others from the crew of Hyperion Two matching his move, as the old, worn flag of the Soviet Union stood proudly over the pit. They’d gone through the capsule, taking all the records and samples they needed, and now, ironically, they were fulfilling the mission of the late Murphy, sealing the module and leaving the lonely guardian behind.

  “Are you sure about this?” Maxwell asked, his voice creeping through the speakers. “We can take him back to Earth, Kat. We’ve got the capacity now.”

  Shaking her head, she replied, “I know what would happen if we did. The medics would get hold of his body, would spend years studying him, and the claims of his family would be lost and forgotten. I’m the last survivor of his line, anyway. I somehow think that this is the sort of funeral he’d have wanted. To lie in the remains of his greatest achievement, the greatest achievement of the decade.”

  “No argument there,” Knox said. He looked down the crevasse, and said, “Rest in peace, Major. You’ve earned it. It might have taken a while, but your name will live forever.”

  “Flash from Vandenburg,” Maxwell said. “Breaking news. They caught Bishop in Acapulco. Mexican authorities are expediting his extradition to face charges in the United States. I guess they can throw him in the same cell as Franklin. That means the NASA Administrator’s job’s open, Tom. Probably yours if you wanted to throw your hat into the ring.”

  “Not a chance,” he replied. “I’m having far too much fun where I am.” He turned to LeGrand, and added, “Thanks again for everything you did.”

  “My pleasure,” LeGrand said. “Our nations might not be on the best of terms, but out here, out in the dark, I do not truly believe that any of that matters. Besides, it isn’t as though either of us was ever going to become the first man to walk these lands. That race was won before either of us was even born.” He chuckled, then added, “I think there are now a great many politicians on both sides that would rather be up here. The repercussions of this little conspiracy will echo for many years to come.” He looked at the three flags, the permanent monument to the dead hero, those of the United States, the long-dead Soviet Union, the European Federation. “Perhaps that will have more meaning than we think, when we return home.”

  “Perhaps so. We can home that some good will come of all of this, sooner or later.” Knox cracked a smile, and said, “The dead can rest. The living have work to do.” Looking at his watch, he said, “Specifically, we’ve got a ticket back to Earth, and we’ve got to start thinking about cashing it in. Enjoy Daedalus, Felix. The view is stunning, the science spectacular, and the history something to behold.”

  LeGrand smiled, and replied, “That I can already see. Have a safe journey back to Earth.” He looked around, and added, “I think you’ll be back, one day.”

  “Maybe,” he said. Turning to Antonova, he said, “Come on, Kat. Let’s go home.”

  Thank you for reading ‘Rocket Dawn’. For information on future releases, please join the author's Science-Fiction Mailing List at http://eepurl.com/A9MdX for updates. If you enjoyed this book, please review it on the site where you purchased it.

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