It was ten in the evening in California, but only six in the morning at Moonbase. I was just finishing a Skype call with Linda and she was very well. The bump still wasn’t visible. I missed her and despite the infuriating communication delay, I’d enjoyed seeing and speaking to her.
‘I was thinking,’ she said as I was contemplating ending the call to get ready for the day.
‘Miracle! Fire away,’ I replied.
‘It was about the fact there was no one there. That they’d all gone off somewhere. I started wondering why.’
‘They realised we must be prepared to tackle them in some way, so they vamoosed,’ I said.
‘Don’t underestimate them, Mark. I wouldn’t have done that.’
‘What, you wouldn’t have left?’
She sat quietly. The communication delay was frustrating. The view behind her showed the illuminated night-time cityscape from the apartment window. She linked her hands together. ‘No. We know they are very intelligent. What if they are outthinking you?’
‘In what way?’ I said. Knowing how bright Linda was, anything she said would be useful. Again, the few seconds delay was enforced by the limited speed of light.
‘I’d have come back after you’d checked the domes and caught you unawares!’
God, she was right. We hadn’t thought about them coming back to attack us.
I pressed my personal intercom button and asked, ‘Computer, when was any exterior door last opened?’
‘At oh five twenty hours, Mark.’
‘What? Are you sure?’
‘I am certain, Mark.’
‘Who went out?’
‘No one, Mark.’
‘Who opened the door?’
‘Crystal, Mark.’
‘What the fuck! Crystal? Was anyone with her?’
‘Roy was with her, Mark.’
‘Christ! Computer, what did they do?’
‘They stayed for a few minutes, opened the inner airlock, but never entered the main corridor. Then they closed it and left.’
‘You’ve got a problem,’ said Linda. ‘I’ll hang up. Be careful.’
‘Bye, darling. I’ll call you later,’ I said, and the screen returned to my desktop view.
‘Computer, where are Anna, Bill and Doug?’ I said.
‘Anna and Doug are in their cabins. Bill is in the geo dome, Mark.’
I quickly pulled on the airtight gloves for the lightweight suit I was now wearing, closed the visor, took a small irradiating projector and opened the door cautiously. I could see a guard sitting in the corridor, reading. It looked like Gillian, but there was no one else.
I reached Doug’s cabin, the door opened and I was face to face with him. I lifted my finger to my lips in the age-old sign for silence and pointed into his cabin. He backed in and stood beside the desk.
‘Doug. Do exactly what I say. It is important. Put your hands in your pockets,’ I said.
He looked at me with a puzzled expression and did what he was told. I leaned forward and peered into his eyes. They looked perfectly normal. No sign of the blank expression the LRP gave the infected.
‘Stand still. Don’t move,’ I said, then I lifted the projector, squeezed the trigger and irradiated him. ‘Who are you?’
‘Marine Colonel Doug Baker,’ he said, crisply.
‘Sorry about that, Doug. I had to check.’
‘What’s going on?’
‘We’ve been infiltrated.’
‘Seriously? When?’
‘Just after five this morning.’
‘Ah the time of maximum drowsiness,’ he said.
‘Two of the infected got in through the EVA dome and I think they must have released LRPs,’ I said. ‘Suit up, quick.’
I pressed my intercom button, ‘Hey, Bill, you about?’
‘Yep. Geo dome. Couldn’t sleep. This damn daylight. I was looking up information on that rille.’
‘Wait there, will you? I’ll come through.’
Doug was suited up, grabbed one of the larger projector weapons and the two of us made our way, quickly, out of his cabin. We knocked on Anna’s door, carried out the same tests and the three of us continued down a side corridor and into the geo dome, checking no one was concealed along the way.
Inside, Bill was sitting on a tall stool at one of the benches studying a map and the computer screen. We checked for anyone else concealed inside either side of the entrance and walked over towards him.
‘Bill. Do exactly what I say. Stand up, turn around, hands in pockets and face us.’
‘What?’ he said as he rose. ‘Oh, hi, Doug, Anna. What’s going on?’
‘Stand still,’ said Doug, making it clear the projector was pointed at him.
I stared into his face. ‘All clear. We’ve been infiltrated, overnight.’
‘How?’
I explained what had occurred and we discussed how we were going to proceed. Our biggest problem was not knowing how many had been affected.
‘Computer, where is Krishna?’
‘He is in the surgery, Mark.’
‘Computer, is anyone else in the surgery?’
‘Alexei and both nurses, Jack and Diana, Mark.’
Bill closed his faceplate and we all left the geo dome. There was still just the one guard sitting in the corridor. We approached her; it was Gillian.
‘Hello, Gillian, all quiet?’ I asked.
She was about to answer when Doug irradiated her with his weapon, and she collapsed to the floor.
‘Quick, carry her into the surgery,’ I said, and we headed for the medical dome.
I opened the double doors cautiously. Three of the four strong medical team were sleeping on makeshift couches. They woke as we entered.
‘Can you all stand and face us, please? Where’s Diana?’ I said.
‘Sleeping in ward A. What wrong with Gillian?’ asked Alexei with his clipped English.
‘Just stand still and face us. Hands in pockets!’ said Doug, rather more forcefully than I would have.
We checked their eyes.
‘We’ve been attacked. Gillian has been infected. We’ve dosed her. Can you do a full body scan and be sure not to allow skin to skin contact with any of you? She might contain several LRPs, so a really thorough check, please. Doug is going to irradiate you and the room lightly to be sure you’re not carrying any of them on your person or clothing. Someone wake Diana.’
‘Poor Gillian,’ said Alexei and Jack as they took her from Doug and Bill and began to strip her out of the spacesuit.
‘Let’s hope I can keyhole it out of her,’ said Krishna.
‘Bill, Anna, stay here with projectors,’ I said pointing at them on the shelf nearby. ‘You guard them until we get back.’
‘Will do. At least we now know for certain that the projectors work when a person has been infected,’ said Bill.
‘Keep a close eye on the doorframe. If there are live bugs around, they’ll be able to get in through the damaged door without much of a problem,’ I said, feeling most relieved that none of them had already been infected.
‘Doug, where’s the emergency multidirectional projector?’ I asked.
‘Damn it. It’s in the common room, still in its packaging.’
‘Not good. Exactly where? I don’t recall seeing it. Why’s it not set up?’ I said, trying to control my anger at this oversight.
‘A tall cardboard box between the left end of the kitchen counter and the lounge area. I was going to set it up this morning. When we realised Moonbase was not occupied it dropped in priority. Sorry, Mark.’
‘It’s still sealed?’ I snapped my question.
‘Taped, yes.’
‘Okay, let’s be methodical about this,’ I said. ‘Computer, how many people are in the common room?’
‘There are eight people in the common room, Mark.’
‘How many in the com dome?’
‘There are nine people in the com dome, Mark.’
People had put makeshift bunks in common areas. I wondered how many were awake. ‘Where are the rest, computer?’
‘In the bio dome and the surgery, Mark.’
‘Right, Doug, let’s check out the rest of medical.’
Doug and I checked the two wards and cold store for anyone hiding, then made our way out in the main corridor. Doug walked one way up the corridor irradiating, while I did the opposite direction.
Eight crew in the surgery were clear and one being treated. There were still another nineteen to check. How many LRPs had they released into Moonbase? They would almost certainly have moved into the common room. We were in trouble.
‘Common room next, Doug?’
‘Think so.’
‘How do we do this?’ I asked, bowing to his superior military knowledge as a Marine colonel.
‘I’ll head in first. You follow and be ready to irradiate me with the larger projector if I’m attacked. Then we’ll irradiate the others and see how many collapse. While I’m doing that, can you open the multidirectional projector and hit the red button on top? The on-switch is right beside the red button.’
‘Okay, ready when you are,’ I said.
Doug approached the common room door.