Sunset Conversation Sunset ConversationBreakaway + 2 weeks
Helena Russell opened the door with a sigh, glad to be in the sanctuary of her own home. She kicked off her black high heels and wiggled her toes as she sorted through the mail, most of it going straight to the trash. Apollo, the elderly black lab tapped his tail, but stayed in his dog bed in the corner of the office. Once he would have greeted her at the door with leaps and bounds, but now he got up only when it suited him. She smiled at the dog and leaned down to run her hand down his silky coat then laid the rest of the mail on her desk and headed for the living room.
A salt water aquarium made soothing trickling noises in one corner. Helena sank onto the sofa, unbuttoning the top button of her silk blouse. Ignoring the peaceful lakeside and her tree-covered back yard, she leaned forward and put her face in her hands. Grief counseling was not her forte, but for now, everyone with any experience was needed to deal with family, friends, and co-workers left behind by those on Moonbase Alpha.
There was a tinkle of ice in a glass by her left ear.
“I think you need this more than I do.”
Helena looked up. “I didn’t know you were home!”
“Got here about half an hour ago.” Lee turned to the sideboard and fixed himself another drink.
Helena sipped her own drink and noticed how tired and haggard her husband looked. “How did it go?”
Lee joined her on the sofa and held out his arm. She curled up against his side, ignoring the way her tight skirt rode up her thigh. Lee didn’t seem to even notice the view. He must be exhausted. “It’s bad Helena. Very bad. Worse than they’re saying on the news.”
Helena frowned. “I haven’t even had time to watch the news. Grief counseling,” she reminded him. “By the time I get home, all I want to do is collapse.
Lee ran his hand through her silky hair. “And who’s counseling you? You knew several people on Alpha, didn’t you?”
Helena nodded and leaned against his shoulder. “Bob Mathias and I have been working on a longitudinal study together for years. And Ben Vincent worked with me here in Houston for a while.
The sun was setting. It was their favorite time here on the lake. The house faced the west and the view in the living room was of a spectacular sunset with oranges, reds and pinks.
“I talked to your friend Professor Bergman this week. He was just down from Alpha days before it happened.”
Helena nodded. “He sent me an email. I’m glad to hear he’s safe.”
“From what he’s telling me, this beautiful sunset we’re watching is the beginning of an extinction level event.”
Helena sat up and looked at her husband. “Extinction level—“
Lee nodded gravely. “Nearly every active volcano on the planet has erupted, along with new ones on fault lines. California is a mess. Los Angeles is burning to the ground from the earthquakes. The port at Long Beach has had every kind of oil and gas leak possible, poisoning the waters around there. The north is worse. San Francisco is nothing but rubble, and the Cascades have are still blowing ash into the air from Mount Shasta to Mount Ranier. We’ll be lucky if the atmosphere is still breathable in a couple of decades.”
Helena shivered.
“Bergman wants me to back a plan to use the force fields he’s designed to enclose entire cities.”
“Can we do that?”
“He seems to think so. He’s the expert. And he’s trying to marshal all the support he can before we’re in too bad a shape to do so.”
“And the space program?”
Lee shook his head and caressed her cheek. “We don’t have a space program any longer. There’s not enough left, and any additional resources the government has will be going toward refugee relief and whatever rebuilding we can do. I think Bergman’s domed cities may be our only hope.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Lee…”
He pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head, offering whatever comfort he could. She sobbed quietly against him. “So many people…”
“We’ll try to save as many as we can. Use refugees to begin building the protected cities. Keep the message positive. I’m going to do my best to get the space agency involved as the most logical to advance these technologies since our people invented them. Perhaps change the name to the ‘Science Agency.’ How does that sound? It would keep most of our people employed with the least turmoil. If less turmoil can be found in this. Think you can help?”
Helena sat up again and looked into his eyes. “I’ll do whatever it takes. You know you can count on me.”
Lee smiled at his wife. “That’s my girl. I knew you’d be with me. It won’t be easy, and I’ll be traveling a lot. But we’ll salvage as much as we can out of this. You’re going to need to leave the grief counseling to others, I’m afraid.”
Helena nodded. “Just let me know where and when to start. I’ll want to know more about what Victor plans.”
“Of course. Just call him. He’s in Chicago right now, where the interim government has convened. Chicago is in better shape than the east coast, but I think we’ll need to start a rebuilding project for the New York/Washington area. That’s what I’m going to advise the president.”
“There’s one person I’d like to continue counseling, though.”
“Who’s that?”
“Jean Koenig. Commander Koenig’s widow.”
Lee nodded. “John Koenig was a good man. I wish the Lunar Commission hadn’t appointed him to that position. There are rumors they knew something was badly wrong. Perhaps not as wrong as things ultimately went, but Koenig was out of favor after that Ultra probe problem last year, then suddenly he’s the one they send to solve this latest crisis with the Meta probe. Looks like they wanted to get their fair-haired boy, Gorsky out of there before things got too bad. How is Mrs. Koenig taking it?”
“She’s still in denial. She doesn’t believe they’re dead.”
Lee sighed. “They may not be. Alpha was well-built. They might have lived through the explosion, and if so, I expect Alpha could be repaired. They didn’t have to deal with an angry atmosphere, or plate tectonics and a molten core. If they lived through the initial problems, they might survive, but there’s nothing that can bring them home and no way we can go get them. They’re gone.”
“I think she’ll at least come to realize that. I like her. She’s a very strong woman, and very devoted to her husband. I’m not sure I could be that strong if the situation were reversed.” Helena was still remembering a time several years ago when Lee’s Jupiter Probe fell out of contact and for a tense few days it was speculated that all had perished. Fortunately, atmospheric braking had wrought havoc with their communications equipment and once it was repaired, the crew was back in communication and able to return home.
“You’re pretty strong yourself. By all means keep in touch with her. You might find she can be a good ally in the times to come. I seem to remember something about her on the news putting together a foundation in the name of the Alphans.”
“Yes, a foundation to further research into space exploration, and perhaps a rescue mission.”
“Well, a manned mission will be out of the question, but there are other avenues the foundation could consider, even just communication improvements could help, or even funding research into some of those alternate avenues like matter transporters. Things we’ve never been able to get government funding for. Private funding can be a big help for things like that.” Lee sat up, glancing outside at the darkening sky. “Come on, let’s fix some dinner and we’ll talk more about our plans. I’m probably going to need to fly to Europe tomorrow or the next day and there’s more for us to discuss.”
September 2006
ECL
