Svetlana followed him, shaking her head. When would he have stopped? I’m on the Moon with a crazy man. As she walked, she felt the reassuring weight of the pistol moving in her leg pocket.
Both of them were focused on the traverse back towards Bulldog, immersed in thought. Neither looked back to notice Lunokhod, starting and stopping with successive commands, moving in 10-second increments.
Following them.
In Simferopol, Gabdul glanced worriedly at the clock. Thirty minutes until they lost signal. It was helpful to have footprints to follow, as the team didn’t have to analyze each image as it came down before sending another command to move. He just verified he was on track, adjusted direction, rolled forward for 10 seconds and then stopped. Repeat.
He wanted to get to whatever the astronauts had been looking at before the radio link dropped out. To give him time to think about it and maybe pass on a request to them while they were still on the Moon.
Part of the problem of building a tough, compact rover was that the topmost camera didn’t stick up very high. The Moon was small enough that the horizon dropped away rapidly, and he couldn’t see very far into the distance. It was like driving at night with the headlights on low beams, and it made him uncomfortable when he had to hurry.
But Chelomei had ordered him to do it. And this was what he had trained for. His quick responses had helped the astronaut find the Ugol rock, and he’d even moved the magnetometer to show the other astronaut where to dig around for any more fragments. Decisiveness and finesse.
He jammed the stick forward again, counting raz, dva, tree in his head, and on up to ten, and then released, waiting for the refreshed image.
This one showed something odd, though. Only one set of footprints now, and a low darkness beyond them. Better to move with more caution. He decided on five seconds forward, not ten. He eased ahead on the stick, counted carefully and released.
He glanced up at the clock. Twenty minutes. Get a suite of images, and some scientific samples. Then they’d have to wait until the Earth brought them around again.
Until moonrise in Simferopol.
47
Le Monnier Crater
“Chad, we need you to check on the power to the TV camera, and then get the flag set up for the joint event with Washington and Moscow.”
“Copy, Kaz.” Chad glanced at Svetlana, who’d just arrived beside him at the lander. “You want me to bring the cosmonaut down the ladder first to make more room up there?”
Kaz looked at Gene. “We talked about it, Chad, and we’d prefer her to come down the ladder at the start of the joint event. So please leave her inside for now.”
Chad shrugged. People playing games. “Copy.”
He pointed at Svetlana and swung his finger around and up the ladder, towards the cockpit of Bulldog. She couldn’t already be on the surface when he got the TV camera working again.
The interpreter’s voice came into Svetlana’s headset from Houston. “Lieutenant Gromova, the astronaut will be coming back up into the lander now to check on the TV system, and we’ll have you come down to the surface to speak with Director Chelomei in about ten minutes.”
Ah, that’s why he’s pointing.
“Ponyala,” she said. She walked past Chad to climb the ladder, crawling on her hands and knees through the hatch.
Chad walked around the camera on its tripod, checking for loose connections. “Houston, all looks normal with the camera itself. I’m headed up the ladder now.”
Svetlana stood and turned inside Bulldog, raising her gold visor and looking at the pulled TV circuit breaker. Best to show ignorance, she decided. She shuffled back and pressed into the dead body, making way as Chad crawled in and stood up.
He ran his fingers across the panels, quickly narrowing in on the black-and-white stripes of the protruding breaker. He turned deliberately, raised his visor and looked accusingly at her. She met his gaze steadily.
“Houston, I see the TV breaker is out. Did you see any overcurrents? My guess is the cosmonaut bumped it or snagged it somehow, being clumsy in here.”
Kaz had already confirmed with the electrical back room. “No, Chad, no abnormal signatures, so we agree with you. You have permission for a reset.”
“Copy, on my mark, three, two, one, mark.” He pushed with his thumb and felt it click back into place.
Instant response. “Chad, we’re seeing current flow and camera boot-up signal. Should have good video by the time you get back outside. We’re about ten minutes from the Washington-Moscow event, if you can get the flag in place, please.”