Part 20 (1/2)

'Your instincts chose the proper course.'

'Huh?' Gary said.

'Your hearing has not been damaged, Major.' Bill addressed them all. 'Our instruments show we have enough fuel remaining to attain a shallow orbit. But we have come here for a purpose, and thanks to Gary, we can still hope to achieve it. We will a.s.sess our damage and begin repairs. We can use the living area for an airlock until we have repressurized the bas.e.m.e.nt. We are in no immediate danger. Questions? Lauren?'

'How far are we from the Russian landers?'

Bill stepped to the porthole and peered out at the snow-covered desolation. 'I saw one of them when we were coming down, but I don't see it now. How far would you say, Gary?'

'About a mile. Due north. Hey, Bill, I'm sorry for screaming at you like that.'

'I stopped listening to you long ago, Gary,' Bill said.

'Bill,' Lauren said. 'If they think we've exploded, shouldn't we repair our communications immediately?' Terry would be pulling his hair out.

'Each damage to the Hawk will be repaired in the order we see fit after an inspection,' Bill said. 'But our communications will naturally be at the top of the list.'

'Say we're unable to fix our communications,' Lauren said. 'We'll still be able to dock with the Nova, won't we?'

'Yes,' Bill said. 'It will be difficult, because Mark will now have to drop down and meet us halfway. But even without contact, it can be done. Friend will know where the Nova is at all times. Any other questions?'

There were none. They unfastened their belts and stood and stretched in the cramped quarters, while twilight deepened outside the windows. Jim patted Lauren on the back.

'We'll be all right,' he said. 'Mark won't go off without us.'

Carl's eye winked at her. The memory would die slowly, she realized, the same way Carl had. She rubbed her own eyes, trying to shove it away. 'I just hope he doesn't cut his throat,' she said.

NINETEEN.

There was good news and there was bad news. Lauren tried to focus on the positive side. Number one, Gary and Bill had been able to patch the tear in the Hawk's hull. Number two, communications had been restored with the Nova, and consequently with Earth. Lauren had sent a message to Terry complaining of the poor working conditions. Terry had responded with a tape saying that her biography was already exciting enough, and that no new material was necessary. He had looked worse than when she had left Earth. She hoped he hadn't started drinking again.

The bad news. The puncture to the bas.e.m.e.nt had sucked out a good portion of the available air inside the s.h.i.+p and had caused their one and only water tank to explode. Their filtration system, which allowed them to reuse their urine, had also been wiped out during the rough landing. They had only three one-gallon bottles of water, plus the small amount that was still lying in their pipes. Without water they couldn't steam-clean their suits when they came in from the outside. Without water they would be thirsty.

The morning after their second landing on Mars, Lauren searched in what was left of the laboratory for an aspirin. She didn't find one. The majority of her medical supplies lay strewn at the bottom of a mile-deep creva.s.se that lay but fifty feet south of the Hawk's landing pads. Gary had cut it pretty close. Lauren had a headache, another one. She had worked hard the previous day, and then had slept poorly. In dreams Carl told her how beautiful she was. He a.s.sured her that he had a good eye for women. She had awoken with a wretched taste in her mouth.

Lauren left the bas.e.m.e.nt and climbed into the living area.

'So it's definite,' Jim said as she came in. 'There's only one lander?'

'Yes,' Bill said.

'In the scopes,' Gary said, 'I can see a big hole where the other s.h.i.+p is supposed to be.'

'Interesting,' Jim said. He exchanged a glance with Bill.

'What is it?' Gary asked.

'Nothing, Major,' Bill said. 'Let's concentrate on the remaining Russian s.h.i.+p. According to Lauren, within two days our thirst will become unbearable. We will use these two days wisely. We will take the jeep to the Karamazov now.'

'Who's going?' Gary asked.

'Jim, Lauren, and myself,' Bill said. ”There will be no discussion. Gary, you will remain with Jessie and continue with the repairs. Understood?'

Gary looked disgusted. 'Yes, sir.'

'Friend,' Bill said. 'Open the garage and start the jeep.'

[Yes, Bill.]

Bill turned to Jim and Lauren. 'We will take two laser rifles with us,' he said.

Given the rough terrain that surrounded them on all sides, the plateau where they had landed was a freak of nature. Covered with pinkish-white snow, its shape was roughly oval; two miles long and half that in width. They had been fortunate Gary was able to bring the Hawk down on the plateau. The nearby cliffs and peaks would have made the bravest of mountain climbers shudder. North, south, and west was no man's land. East stood Olympus Mons, its forty-mile-wide caldera invisible behind s.h.i.+fting ice clouds.

The bulbous wheels of the jeep spun briefly in the snowflakes and then caught, as Bill steered them slowly forward. Their vocals were open, and they could hear one another speak.

'It's flat here, and then it's so mountainous,' Jim mused. 'It was thoughtful of the Martians to provide us with such a nice landing strip.'

The Karamazov waited in the distance, standing twice as tall as the Hawk; a cold stake pointed at a desolate sky. It looked intact.

'What do you think of this place, Jim?' Lauren asked.

He was a long time in answering. 'It reminds me of when I hiked in the Himalayas. Yet, it's different, so alien.' He paused. 'To tell you the truth, I hate this place.'

His remark startled Lauren. 'I think we're all on edge after the last couple of days,' she said.

'Perhaps,' Jim said.

Soon the Karamazov filled their field of view. Bill parked the jeep in the shadow of the lander, and they climbed down onto the snow, huddling like insects at the base of the s.h.i.+p's landing pads.

'I a.s.sume you have the key to this castle?' she said to Jim. He held up a small metal box with three dangling wires.

'Gandalf couldn't have been better prepared,' he said.

A many-ranged ladder scaled halfway up the side of the Karamazov. At the steps, Bill stopped them, saying, 'I will go first. The metal may have weakened in the cold. Once I am on the platform before the airlock, you will follow, Professor. Then you, Lauren, after Jim has joined me.' Bill turned his radio on. 'Major Wheeler?'

'Gary here, sir. How might I help you this fine day?'

Bill glanced up the ladder and then to the west, where the missing lander had once stood. 'Listen to me, Gary, and listen good,' he said seriously. 'We're in now, and we will be keeping in contact. But if for any reason you do not hear from us in the next hour, begin preparations to lift off. If after two hours, you still haven't heard from us, you will wait for the next favorable opposition with the Nova and then leave. You will not under any circ.u.mstances come looking for us. Is that understood?'

Jessica wailed in the background. Gary said with a trace of humor, 'You can't be serious.'

'I am very serious,' Bill said.

There was a lengthy pause. 'As you say, Colonel,' Gary replied.

Bill broke the connection and said, 'Release the safety on your laser, Lauren.' He stepped onto the ladder.