It’s scheduled for dawn, so it should be quite a sight.’
‘Sure you can watch, Foster,’ Shaffer said. ‘Buzz at the tower door tomorrow at zero five thirty, say that I sent for you.’
‘Thank you sir, I’ll look forward to that.’
‘We don’t usually launch until it’s fully light,’ Donaldson added, ‘but this one’s a special case due to the launch window. We’ll be ending our night-time air mining operations early so that we can get up above the clouds before dawn.’
If there was ever a reminder of where they were, that was it, Clare thought, as the steward topped up her glass. The clouds below them were composed of droplets of sulphuric acid, not water. Yet those same clouds contained the raw materials that enabled the carrier to make oxygen, water, and all the other chemicals that it needed to sustain its operations.
The steward refilled the captain’s glass, then turned to Hartigan, who shook his head regretfully. ‘Flying tomorrow, I’m afraid.’
‘I’d heard that another of the Mercury mines was closing,’ Donaldson observed to Hartigan.
‘Yes, I’d heard the same – Chesterton, wasn’t it? I think in a couple of years there’ll only be Erebus left, at the South Pole. The price of helium-3 has fallen so much, the smaller mines just aren’t economic.’
‘What would that mean for us, sir? For the carriers I mean?’ Clare asked Donaldson.
‘Well, that’s a good question.’ The captain turned his glass in his hand, watching the rising lines of tiny bubbles. ‘We’d still need stopovers at Venus when there’s no direct launch window for Mars, but we’d certainly see less traffic through here. I suppose there’s a possibility that one of the carriers might not be replaced when it gets to the end of its service life, and we’d manage on two instead of three. Fortunately for us, that decision is a number of years away yet. You’re going on to Mercury next yourself, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, sir, in April, to Erebus Base – it’s a staging flight back to Earth.’
‘Yes. Well, if you get the chance to go round the mine there, I recommend you take it – it’s quite a sight. Massive place, in permanent darkness at the bottom of a crater. I know the mine manager there. Remind me when you’re going and I’ll ask him if he can organise a tour.’
‘Thank you sir.’ Clare did her best to sound enthusiastic, but the prospect of a dull tour round a mine at the bottom of a dark crater didn’t really interest her. Now, if it had been on Mars …
While they talked, the room had filled with the ruddy glow of the sunset outside. Donaldson turned towards the window, and indicated that Clare should do so too. ‘It’s nearly sunset. Keep watching as the Sun goes down.’
Clare focused on the disappearing arc of red fire that hovered on the world’s rim. It thinned, shrinking to a glowing ember on the horizon. Clare was about to turn away, but just before the Sun sank altogether, a sudden flash of green light stabbed upwards, briefly turning the high clouds a livid green, and was gone.
A green flash . She’d heard of them, but never seen one before. She stood there, transfixed by the sight, and the irony that her first sight of one had been on Venus, and not on her own world.
‘And I think that’s the signal for dinner,’ Colonel Donaldson said with satisfaction. He indicated to his steward to put the lights on, and they moved to sit down at the dining table in the centre of the room. Donaldson sat at the head of the table, and Clare noticed that his place had a small display and intercom set into the table surface next to him, for monitoring the ship’s progress. He inclined his head towards the intercom:
‘Helm, captain here. Take us down at your discretion.’
‘Descend at discretion, roger sir.’ The reply came from a small speaker set into the table.
‘And take it gently; I’ve got guests for dinner.’
‘Yes sir.’
There was no discernible movement,
‘Sure you can watch, Foster,’ Shaffer said. ‘Buzz at the tower door tomorrow at zero five thirty, say that I sent for you.’
‘Thank you sir, I’ll look forward to that.’
‘We don’t usually launch until it’s fully light,’ Donaldson added, ‘but this one’s a special case due to the launch window. We’ll be ending our night-time air mining operations early so that we can get up above the clouds before dawn.’
If there was ever a reminder of where they were, that was it, Clare thought, as the steward topped up her glass. The clouds below them were composed of droplets of sulphuric acid, not water. Yet those same clouds contained the raw materials that enabled the carrier to make oxygen, water, and all the other chemicals that it needed to sustain its operations.
The steward refilled the captain’s glass, then turned to Hartigan, who shook his head regretfully. ‘Flying tomorrow, I’m afraid.’
‘I’d heard that another of the Mercury mines was closing,’ Donaldson observed to Hartigan.
‘Yes, I’d heard the same – Chesterton, wasn’t it? I think in a couple of years there’ll only be Erebus left, at the South Pole. The price of helium-3 has fallen so much, the smaller mines just aren’t economic.’
‘What would that mean for us, sir? For the carriers I mean?’ Clare asked Donaldson.
‘Well, that’s a good question.’ The captain turned his glass in his hand, watching the rising lines of tiny bubbles. ‘We’d still need stopovers at Venus when there’s no direct launch window for Mars, but we’d certainly see less traffic through here. I suppose there’s a possibility that one of the carriers might not be replaced when it gets to the end of its service life, and we’d manage on two instead of three. Fortunately for us, that decision is a number of years away yet. You’re going on to Mercury next yourself, aren’t you?’
‘Yes, sir, in April, to Erebus Base – it’s a staging flight back to Earth.’
‘Yes. Well, if you get the chance to go round the mine there, I recommend you take it – it’s quite a sight. Massive place, in permanent darkness at the bottom of a crater. I know the mine manager there. Remind me when you’re going and I’ll ask him if he can organise a tour.’
‘Thank you sir.’ Clare did her best to sound enthusiastic, but the prospect of a dull tour round a mine at the bottom of a dark crater didn’t really interest her. Now, if it had been on Mars …
While they talked, the room had filled with the ruddy glow of the sunset outside. Donaldson turned towards the window, and indicated that Clare should do so too. ‘It’s nearly sunset. Keep watching as the Sun goes down.’
Clare focused on the disappearing arc of red fire that hovered on the world’s rim. It thinned, shrinking to a glowing ember on the horizon. Clare was about to turn away, but just before the Sun sank altogether, a sudden flash of green light stabbed upwards, briefly turning the high clouds a livid green, and was gone.
A green flash . She’d heard of them, but never seen one before. She stood there, transfixed by the sight, and the irony that her first sight of one had been on Venus, and not on her own world.
‘And I think that’s the signal for dinner,’ Colonel Donaldson said with satisfaction. He indicated to his steward to put the lights on, and they moved to sit down at the dining table in the centre of the room. Donaldson sat at the head of the table, and Clare noticed that his place had a small display and intercom set into the table surface next to him, for monitoring the ship’s progress. He inclined his head towards the intercom:
‘Helm, captain here. Take us down at your discretion.’
‘Descend at discretion, roger sir.’ The reply came from a small speaker set into the table.
‘And take it gently; I’ve got guests for dinner.’
‘Yes sir.’
There was no discernible movement,
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