Eagle Station

Leonov forced himself to smile in response. In all probability, Li’s confidence was justified. Careful study of America’s space capabilities — even those of its mercenary corporations like Sky Masters and Scion — showed nothing that could threaten the Sino-Russian alliance’s military hold on Earth’s moon. Then why do you feel so uncertain suddenly, Mikhail? he asked himself privately. Was this merely a case of nerves? Or was it something more serious, a premonition of real trouble headed their way?

Thirty-Five

Korolev Base, on the Rim of Engel’gardt Crater, the Moon

Two Days Later

Captain Shan Jinai carefully closed the Chang’e-13 lander’s outer hatch and sealed it. Now that the Americans knew China and Russia had established a presence on the far side of the moon, there was no further need for any subterfuge. Instead of waiting for a deceptive rendezvous with the Chang’e’s unmanned ascent stage, the Federation spacecraft that had ferried Shan and Major Andrei Bezrukov here from Earth was already several hours into its long journey home. And so Chang’e-13’s unused ascent stage could wait here empty, high up on the crater rim, until the day it was needed to carry humans back into lunar orbit.

Moving awkwardly in his bulky EVA suit, the taikonaut slowly climbed down the Chang’e’s ladder and stepped off onto the powdery surface of the moon. He turned around and saw Bezrukov waiting near one of the landing struts.

Shan went over to him — practicing the half-gliding, half-hopping gait that experience had shown was the most efficient in this strange, low-gravity environment. From here, all of Korolev Base stretched out before them.

Parts of seven other spacecraft dotted the desolate plain. Four were large Mă Luó cargo ships. The rest were the spent descent stages of earlier crewed Chang’e landers. Brightly colored insulated inflatable tanks ringed some of the space vehicles. Each contained stores of oxygen, water, or hydrogen reclaimed from the lunar soil. Low, mounded heaps of loose dirt and rock showed where buried hoses and conduits connected these tanks to the base’s cylindrical habitat module.

Farther away, beyond the array of landed spacecraft and other infrastructure, Shan spotted several automated rovers moving. They were sharply outlined against the pitch-black sky. Rooster tails of fine-grained dust sprayed out from behind their wheels and scraper blades. Each rover was collecting the regolith needed to feed Korolev’s furnaces and chemical reactors.

Out near the very edge of the crater rim, the taikonaut could see three larger mounds of soil and rock rising several meters above the surrounding plain. Each was topped by what appeared to be a matte-black dome. Power conduits stretched across the moonscape, linking each mound to the small metal cylinder containing Korolev Base’s two-megawatt fusion reactor. For a few moments, he studied them more closely. In the end, the powerful weapon and sensors hidden beneath those domes were the whole reason for this difficult and expensive undertaking so far from Earth.

“An incredible sight, isn’t it?” the Russian cosmonaut said, sounding awed.

Silently, Shan agreed. Together, their two countries had built mankind’s first permanent fortified settlement off its home planet. Effectively, Korolev Base gave them complete control over everything in lunar orbit. As a result, once they developed their own affordable, reusable rocket technology to match that of the Americans, Moscow and Beijing would be the ones to unlock the awesome potential of the moon’s helium-3 resources. Russia and China would control the world’s future, not the United States.

Hangar Three, McLanahan Industrial Airport, Sky Masters Aerospace Inc., Battle Mountain, Nevada

Several Days Later

Scion’s big, black S-29B Shadow spaceplane sat parked in the middle of the large hangar. Not far away, several rows of folding chairs faced several video display screens and a podium.

Dry-mouthed, Brad McLanahan watched President J. D. Farrell and his closest national security advisers, including his father and Kevin Martindale, file in and take their seats. They were followed by General Kelleher, his top staff officers, and the cadre of Space Force pilots and crewmen that he, Nadia, and Hunter Noble had helped train.

“Man, that is one hell of a lot of brass,” Boomer muttered. Grinning wickedly, he leaned closer to Brad. “You know, this looks like a tough crowd. Want me to go out first and tell a few dirty jokes to loosen ’em up a little for you?”

Before Brad could reply, the other man suddenly grunted. Rubbing his side, Boomer glanced warily at Nadia. “Hey, that hurt.”

Wearing an innocent expression, she shrugged. “With pain comes wisdom, Dr. Noble.”

Despite his growing tension, Brad felt himself smile. “Settle down, kids. Don’t make me stop this car and come back there.”