Kaz sighed. “I hate funerals,” he said. “Arlington Cemetery is such a sad, beautiful place. But it was nice for the families. The Vice President came, and Sam Phillips. Michael gave a good speech at the graveside to honor his crewmates.” Kaz looked bleakly at Laura. “Luke’s parents just sat there in their seats, trying to understand what had happened to their boy. Admiral Weisner presented them with Luke’s medals, including the Navy Cross.” He paused. “Posthumous.”
He could see tears welling in Laura’s eyes. “Chad’s folks were sitting beside them. Such nice people. So proud to be honoring their son, but forever sad that it had to be at Arlington.” He started walking again. The military had decided to honor both men there, near where the other fallen astronauts had been buried. He and Al Shepard had reluctantly agreed.
“Much media there?” Laura asked.
Kaz shook his head. “No, none of the details of what happened have been released yet, and they asked to keep it just for family. They’re calling the deaths ‘classified under investigation’ for now. As soon as Nixon and Brezhnev have a chance to meet, they’ll make a formal announcement about Svetlana on the Moon, and find a way to spin it all so both sides look good.” He shook his head. “So the two of them look good.”
He glanced at Laura. “Have you had a look at the container of moonrocks that made it back yet?”
She nodded, excitement creeping into her voice. “Sure have. We got the samples that were near Lunokhod, and mostly it’s what we expected to see. But there were two small fragments that were a total surprise. A whole different type of morphology, like they were both broken off of one larger piece. And incredibly, when we checked closely, they’re highly radioactive!” She shook her head. “As soon as we found that out, the military took charge, and everything’s hush-hush until they decide what to do with the information.”
Kaz kept walking, staring to the west, thinking. A small smile on his face.
Laura asked the question that everyone in the Lunar Receiving Lab had wanted to know. “Think this discovery will mean there’ll be another Moon mission?”
Kaz nodded slowly. “Yes, I expect so. Maybe not another Apollo, but having a potential power source on the Moon will be too hard for the DoD to pass up. And with Lunokhod having originally found it, the Soviets will be hustling for a better look as well.” He smiled at her. “Should be a bonanza for lunar geologists.”
The last glow of the sunset was fading, and stars were starting to appear. Laura looked across at Kaz’s sling as they turned to retrace their steps.
“How’s the arm?”
“Healing fine. Clean in and out.” He lifted his elbow, and grimaced slightly. “Still hurts a bit, but JW says I should have the sling off in a few days.”
Laura shook her head. “Whenever they let you, you’ll have to tell me everything that happened at splashdown.”
“I will,” he promised.
They were walking east now, and Laura suddenly raised her arm, pointing just above the horizon. “Look, Kaz! Mars!” The wavering light of the distant planet shone redly in the darkness. “From what the Mariner orbiters have been showing us, that’ll be a real geologists’ bonanza. And NASA’s building a Mars lander they’re calling Viking, to be there in a couple years!”
“But by then you’ll be too busy training as a Space Shuttle astronaut,” he reminded her.
“I sure hope so.” She looked closely at him in the near-darkness, the distant lights of Galveston on his face. “What are your plans, mister?” She’d been thinking about it, but asked the question lightly.
“Funny you should ask. Sam Phillips talked to me this morning about a new project starting up out west, in Nevada. And he and NASA want me to stay here to support any future Moon flights and Skylab.” He smiled, looking squarely at her. “Lots of good reasons to be here.”
As they walked, the events of the morning rolled back into Kaz’s head, like a newsreel. He quietly described it to her. “After the bugler played ‘Taps,’ the Blue Angels did the flypast. Six F-4 Phantoms, my old jet, tight in formation, low across the graveyard.
“Just as they passed overhead, one of the wingmen pulled hard up and away to honor Luke and Chad, leaving a hole in the formation for the missing man.” He shook his head. “It breaks my heart every time.”
He glanced back up at the Moon. The funeral had made him think of a small orphan boy, alone and afraid long ago. And an aging monk on the other side of the Berlin Wall, trying to make sense of it all.