Eagle Station

“If we were talking about a conventional earthbound mining operation, that would be true,” Martindale responded calmly. “But automation is the solution to this problem. The European Space Agency and a number of universities and corporations have already worked through what it would take to extract the helium-3 and the other valuable materials — nitrogen, hydrogen, and carbon, for example — trapped in the moon’s surface soils. They’ve drawn up plans for systems of robotic bulldozers, automated conveyer belts, and solar-powered furnaces. My people have vetted their numbers, and we estimate a carefully designed automated lunar mining operation could produce up to fifty kilograms of helium-3 per year.”

“Which would be more than enough to power a vast array of advanced space systems and fusion drive development programs,” Patrick added. He looked in dead earnest. “We’re talking about the key that could eventually unlock the whole solar system, Mr. President. Conventional chemical rockets like those we use now can only take us so far. Mastering fusion, both for power generation and as a means of propulsion, could put the United States and our allies in a position of overwhelming economic and military advantage for decades to come.”

Slowly, the president nodded. “I take your point, General.” But then his face clouded over. “Which is too damned bad, because right now the NASA slugocracy isn’t able to put so much as one doggone pound down on the lunar surface.”

“Probably not,” Patrick said. “But I bet there are private space companies who can — Sky Masters, SpaceX, Blue Origin, and a bunch of others.”

Martindale nodded. “Offer to buy helium-3 at the right price and I guarantee you the private sector will find ways to meet the demand.”

“Maybe so,” Farrell agreed judiciously. When it came to solving problems, there was almost no one better than a sharp-eyed businessman backed by a solid engineering team — so long as there was a real potential for a serious profit. There was certainly no doubt that the reusable rockets pioneered by a number of companies were already cutting per-pound launch costs far below what they’d been in the Apollo era. What would once have been unaffordable, at least at any cost U.S. taxpayers would swallow, might now be within reach.

He let his breath out. “Hell’s bells, but it sure would be nice to give this country of ours something big to shoot for — something that could really change the world for the better. We’ve been playing small ball for too long, piddling around with penny ante projects like electric cars and windmills.”

“Yes, sir,” Patrick agreed. Somberly, he looked across the desk at the president. “And if we don’t do it and do it soon, I’m pretty sure others will.”

“Meaning what?” Farrell asked.

“The Russians and the Chinese aren’t blind to the potential of mining the moon,” Patrick told him quietly. “In fact, a Chinese geologist was one of the first scientists to seriously push the idea of extracting helium-3 and other valuable resources from the lunar surface.”

“So?”

“That man is now the chief scientist for China’s lunar exploration program,” Patrick said. “If we really are in a race for the moon again, we might be starting out behind.”

Eight

Aboard Eagle Station, in Orbit

The Next Day

Eagle Station slid silently through space high above the North Atlantic, heading toward Africa’s western coast at close to seventeen thousand miles per hour. Behind it, a curving line of darkness, the solar terminator, obscured South America. Patches of bright yellowish light dotted the blackened landmass, each marking the presence of a major city still waiting for the oncoming dawn.

The large space station was made up of four, linked 115-foot-long cylinders. Three — two dedicated weapons and sensor modules with a command node connecting them — formed a vertical shape that looked very much like a capital I turned on its side. Like their Russian predecessors, its U.S. Space Force crew often compared this basic silhouette to that of a TIE fighter from Star Wars. The fourth section, containing the station’s fusion power generator, extended horizontally off the central command module.

Antennas of various sizes and shapes studded Eagle’s radar-absorbent outer skin. Two long clear tubes — Sky Masters — designed combat-grade lasers replacing lower-powered Russian systems destroyed when the station was captured — were fixed in swivel mounts at the bottom of the two weapons modules. The mount for the orbital platform’s primary armament, its Thunderbolt plasma rail gun, rose above the command node. It was an odd-looking device, with a stubby rod at its center surrounded by an array of electronic components in a six-armed starfish pattern.