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3H (Tritium)
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Contents
Surprise From Space
After Effect
Plato
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Preview
Suprise From Space
“I just finished clampin’ the cargo tube down when I happened to look up and see a tiny bright star. It’s not normal to see stars on the worksite at night; the work lights usually flood ‘em out completely, except for the brightest ones.
"So I’m watchin’ this star for a couple of seconds, thinkin’ how funny it was that I could see it so clearly, and how bright it looked. Then all of a sudden it disappeared. At the time I didn’t really think much about it. I didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.
“A second later there was this bright flash of light behind the mountains off in the distance. Davy saw it too and he just started yellin’ out loud over the radio. I gotta tell ya that when that thing hit, the top of the mountain kinda like exploded! Boulders went shootin’ up high in the sky and then rainin’ down in slow motion all over the place! Later on, I figured that the bright star I’d seen musta been a meteor just before it hit the mountain, or maybe it was a comet. I don’t know. But I figure it must have passed into the mountain’s shadow just before it hit. That would explain why it seemed to disappear.”
I glanced at Schnurer. He was still starin’ at me. It was like he was analyzin’ every single thing I said.
“Mr. Walker,” he said. “How do you account for the fact that a meteor…”
“It mighta been a comet –“
“- or a comet,” he continued, “could get so close to the Hertzsprung site without being detected by the site’s radar?”
That smirk was really getting’ me. I looked him straight in the eye.
“Well how do I know?” I said. “I’m no radar engineer!”
Ed put a hand on my arm, signaling me to shut up.
After Effect
Kuuj considered the situation carefully, his eyestalks partially withdrawn as his thick greenish-gray form slid across the floor. The upstart had, up to now, performed his duties in a reasonably professional and efficient manner. This latest blunder however, would reflect poorly on his staff’s performance and of course on Kuuj himself. Retaining the junior officer could prove embarrassing if his detractors used his testimony in an inquiry.
Kuuj was not aware of any particularly sensitive information that the upstart might divulge, but it is better in these matters not to tempt fate. Kuuj addressed The Network.
“Yes Commander,” The disembodied voice of the Network responded immediately to the Prime Commander’s voice, it had been tracking his every motion since he entered the Central Complex.
“Arrange for Ballstrov’s immediate termination. His records and properties are to be appended to my accounts.”
“Yes commander,” replied the Network automatically. The command was instantly recorded and processed, his command unquestioned by the system, as Kuuj’s authority was second only to that of the Supreme Commander’s.
Kuuj sighed, indulging in a moment of regret in giving the order. Baalstrov was one of his brighter sons. Ah, the demands of command, he mused. He would miss Baastrov, but his death would not be in vain. It will serve as an example to his command, as well as to the rest of his spawn.
PLATO
A motion in the distance caught his attention. Something was blotting out the stars as it moved. It seemed to grow closer to him.
His radar imaging provided more detail. He was stunned by the appearance of a huge jagged boulder bearing down on him fast.
His first impulse was to fire his thrusters to get out of its way. Instead, he mentally ran through several trajectory calculations and quickly determined that he wouldn’t be able to gain enough speed to avoid colliding with the huge mass, unless –
Bergin abruptly fired his aft thrusters and accelerated himself toward the oncoming menace. At the same time, he fired his port thrusters to push him off to the side of the giant space rock.
He knew his only hope was to try to go around the juggernaut by using its gravity to help him gain enough speed to swing around it.
As he accelerated forward, an indicator alerted him that his port side thruster was about to run out of fuel. He immediately shut off the port thruster and executed a roll to position his starboard thruster toward the asteroid. Although the maneuver took less than a second, Steve’s urgency was intensified by the fact that the object was now so close to him that he faced nothing but the blackness of the mass in front of him.
The rotation accomplished, he fired his starboard thrusters until they reached full throttle. Presently, a slim string of stars appeared over the edge of the huge black mass.
He was so close to the asteroid now that he could make out a few of the faint features on its surface, lit in quiet relief by the dim starlight around him.
As the surface of the asteroid past below him, the slim band of stars widened slowly. Black jagged forms on the asteroid’s surface suddenly rushed past below him, some of them alarmingly close. His radar indicated that he was averaging only twenty or thirty meters above the asteroid’s surface, but his distance from its surface was holding steady.
He continued moving alongside the asteroid at tremendous speed, and before long, the rocky blackness of the giant rock slowly gave way to an expanding star field.
Steve cut off his starboard thrusters. The asteroid was now safely behind him.