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growth opportunities . It never revealed the location of such supposed labs. Instead the advertisements admitted that it was in a remote and harsh environment. The layout contained several outdoor, snow-covered landscapes, deceptively hinting that the Antarctic was the likely location.
    Annie looked exhausted when she walked into the office. “It’s all done,” she announced. “PDEF has a net worth of two billion dollars. Lots of unasked questions but bankers at this level are used to keeping things discreet.”
    “Good job,” Luke replied. “I know you’d like some rest but are you ready for some grunt work? It’s a little more basic than all the high finance you’ve been doing.”
    “As long as I don’t have to wear this business suit anymore, I’m in.”
    Her new task was purchasing. The hand-scanner worked fine for food, but not for complex hard goods. Luke wanted her to buy one of everything necessary to supply the Moonbase and then transport the goods to where George had sophisticated scanning tools. Once scanned, each item would be permanently available in the replicator inventory.
    Luke’s plan was to furnish several of the living quarters to function as model homes. It would give the soon-to-be residents a head start in creating their new lives on the moon.
    “Can you take care of this for me?” Luke asked.
    “You kidding? You’re asking a woman if she has a problem with shopping? I will handle this. What’s your next project?”
    “We need a chief of operations for Moonbase. Before we begin recruiting large numbers of people, we have to have someone who can keep everything running. My last boss was a colonel in the air force. Doctor Roth Higgins; he has a PhD in physics. He always thought of himself as a scientist. I felt the military was something he did to stay around leading-edge tech. Last I heard he was working at UNLV. I bet he would be open to what we have to offer.”
    “Sounds like the guy.”
    “He’s gotta be in his sixties, though. I’m hoping he still has some of the adventurous spirit that some of the old service guys have.”
    “Like you?”
    Luke chuckled at the thought. “Not at all. The only thing I want is a small office with no responsibility. Then I can hang out and have a beer now and then.”
    “Is that what you call what we’re working on, saving mankind from a massive alien invasion?”
    “Well, I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I don’t really see me becoming some kind of interstellar warlord. If we can just get this thing working, it should take on a life of its own.”
    Annie shook her head skeptically. “So when are you leaving?”
    “Next Monday. I called and got an appointment with him. I’ll go down on the Gulfstream.”
    Annie glanced out the window at the luxury aircraft sitting on the tarmac. The pilot was walking around the jet, giving it a visual inspection before taking off once again. “I could get really spoiled flying on that thing,” she admitted.
    “More so than with Sadie ?”
    “ Sadie won’t let me drink alcohol. They give me wine coolers.”
    “She probably thinks you’re too young for booze.”
    “Oh, right. Should I start calling you Grandfather?”
    Luke smiled at his young colleague. He did think of her as a youngster and hoped he hadn’t made it too obvious. “If this works out, I’ll be back the same day.”
    # # #
    Luke was surprised by how much Roth had aged. He seemed a bit smaller than Luke remembered. His hair was thinner now and had gone completely white. But his eyes were bright as ever and the friendly smile was just as broad. Books were stacked everywhere around his office. The floor-to-ceiling bookcases behind Roth’s desk were stuffed with manuscripts, thick tomes, and documents of all kinds. One side of the small room was paneled with four-by-eight-foot dry erase boards filled with colorful notes and diagrams.
    “I like your place here, Colonel,” Luke said affably, admiring the academic’s office. He sat