New Hope: Book 1
22

Julius and lieutenant Lassiter reached the edge of the crater carrying the body of the tragically killed Sergeant Holmes.

“Captain, you have to go up first,” said John. “I’ll start the winch remotely so you don’t need to do anything. Just watch out for the sharp edges of the rocks. I’ll secure the Sergeant’s body and fasten him to the cable. Let me know when you get there and we’ll transport Holmes to you. I’ll be there right after that,” he said, carefully laying the body down at the foot of the cliff.

“Understood. I don’t want to spend another minute here. I know the radiation is much lower here than at that monstrous building but I’ll gain some piece of mind only when I can stop constantly glancing at the dosimeter. Mine’s red, how’s yours?”

“Same. We don’t have much time, so please hurry,” said the lieutenant. At these words, Julius Cousteau turned toward the wall and the hanging cable line, gave the thumbs up to say he was ready, and lieutenant Lassiter activated the engine of the hoisting winch. At a pace of 5 feet per second, Julius was quickly pulled up. The momentum made him shoot up a little over the hoisting device, before resting gently on the crater’s edge. Lieutenant Lassiter arrived a moment later with the soldier’s body. The two astronauts quickly dismantled the winch and took the body to the vehicle. At this height, the radiation fell drastically with every foot away from the edge. A while later, their Geiger counters stopped making alarming sounds, and both astronauts could stop worrying about this part of the expedition.

Now, they only had to inform Dr. Yeager of two events, with at least one having fatal consequences. Not only were they returning with half the mission crew, they had also lost the only person who could operate the alien technology. Oh dear, it’s not going to be an easy conversation with control, thought Lassiter, as both astronauts entered the moon vehicle carrying Sergeant Holmes’ body. They started the engines and flew off toward the secret installation leaving a cloud of moon dust behind them.

Julius didn’t exchange a word with the lieutenant for the entire flight back. Despite knowing there was no other way but to evacuate from the tragic site, he still could not forgive himself, or even the younger lieutenant, that they made this decision. Maybe nothing would have happened to them if they stayed a little longer? Maybe Ellie got out of the building right after they’d left? Cowards! What if Ellie is wandering around lost and can’t contact them, because there’s no way of sending a signal without the vehicle at the edge? The thoughts were stirring in his mind. How can I forgive myself for leaving Ellie on the Moon? His conscience was haunting him.

Lieutenant Lassiter, also deep in thought, wondered if anything could have been done differently. Objectively, could they have predicted Ellie’s disappearance after touching the building? Of course, we could’ve guessed that everything is possible! But who could know that the wave of events would soon lead to such a tragedy? Besides, if Ellie hadn’t disappeared, we would have tried to get inside using octanitrocubane, anyway, he thought. If all other possibilities failed, someone could have been killed anyway, considering the unpredictable consequences of using explosives. Perhaps the defense system of the building would have treated them all the same as it did Sergeant Holmes?

The lieutenant was aware that there was not much point to all these deliberations, so he forced himself out of this vicious circle by contacting the director of the secret installation. They had to know what happened.

“Mission Control, come in,” he said to the microphone.

“Mission Control,” replied a kind woman’s voice. “Hello, lieutenant. What news of your mission?”

John gathered his thoughts, took a deep breath, and reported everything that happened in the crater. He knew it was better to do this sooner, rather than later, while everything was still fresh in memory. He also didn’t want to omit any significant information. Of course, all the suits were equipped with video recorders, so there was a chance that anything he forgot would be on the memory card. However, he was aware that the high radiation could have impeded a proper recording. He preferred not to rely solely on technology.

“Understood, Lieutenant,” replied the controller, clearly saddened by the news. “I’ll pass everything on to Director Yeager. Get back safely. We’re waiting for you,” she added before the lieutenant cut off the connection.

Lassiter glanced once more at Captain Cousteau, but he didn’t even raise his head from his pilot desk, still in his own thoughts. He must have a total mess in his head right now, thought John sadly. It’s probably best to leave him be...

The last part of the flight went by without any unpleasant surprises, although the silence made the time drag on for both the passengers. It livened up a little when the familiar shapes of buildings and various installations appeared on the horizon. When the vehicle was at the door of the hangar inserted in the Moon’s surface, it hung motionless for a moment before the great gateway started opening. Julius lowered the flight and, with a few feet to spare on each side of the vehicle, descended into the shaft. He sat it down carefully on the movable landing plate, which would transfer the vehicle to the proper dock once the main gateway was shut and atmosphere was restored in the hangar.

When the engines were turned off, the men unfastened their seat belts, took off their helmets, and prepared to exit. A crew was waiting for them, including Dr. Yeager and two soldiers, who were to take the fallen body away from the passengers and transport it to the morgue where an autopsy would be conducted. When the door of the shuttle opened, the greeting group saluted the soldiers and approached the vessel to take the remains.

Dr. Yeager, seeing the sorrowful faces of the two men, greeted them gloomily. “I decided to come personally when I heard about the tragedy.” She turned to lieutenant Lassiter, “I’m very sorry, lieutenant. I know you feel responsible for the situation, and the loss of a subordinate is surely not easy to absorb,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am, thank you. I will include all the information that could help analyze this event, and any of my errors, in my report. It will be ready by tomorrow morning,” he said, standing straight at attention.

“Thank you, lieutenant,” said Dr. Yeager, and she turned to Captain Cousteau. “Captain, I’m sure we’ll find the Doctor safe and sound. I’m refusing the worst; we know she had a unique contact with the alien technology and I don’t believe it did her any harm. I’m confident something happened, which we simply don’t fully understand, but Dr. Johnson is alive,” she replied consolingly.

“We left her...” said Julius.

“You wouldn’t have been here talking to me otherwise. The radiation would have killed you extremely quickly. You had no choice,” she said, cutting any further discussion short with a gesture of her hand. “Let me walk you a little to the clearance room. I want to talk with you some more.”

When the sergeant’s body was taken from the dock, the two soldiers and Director Yeager headed deeper into the installation through the corridor.

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