Lifeline полностью

Above the center of the torus, connected by a long, cylindrical shaft, floated an aluminized mirror, nearly invisible except where it reflected a smear of sunlight down into a central network of angled mirrors that, in turn, directed light into the station. The central shaft seemed able to swivel and point the mirror in different directions, perhaps to focus incoming energy toward different spots on the Kibalchich. In the zero-G environment it puzzled Ramis that the Soviets would expend so much unnecessary mass and reinforcement on a structure that would hang in place by itself.

The central shaft extended through the hub and out the bottom in a long, antenna-like prong. A rotational stabilizer for the mirror and the colony? Ramis wondered. Large masses hung hundreds of meters “below” the central hub sphere, centered on the prong; at the end of the prong, a broad inverted cone pointed toward the Sun like the Aguinaldo’s shadow shield.

Slag left over from the Kibalchich’s processing of lunar rock had been encrusted on the sides of the hull for additional radiation shielding, and another sheath of rubble drifted around the main torus. Ramis saw wide swathes where the rubble had been stripped away, as if the Soviets had needed to salvage more raw materials for their own purposes.

Cyrillic characters stood out in one of the clear patches, black against the silvery metal background. Ramis assumed the characters spelled out the name of the station, though he couldn’t read the language or even the alphabet.

As Ramis drifted in, he made his way toward the central hub sphere. He had to attach the weavewire where it would not be wound up like a fishing reel by the Kibalchich’s rotation. And from the telescope photos back on Orbitech 1, the hub would also be the most likely place for him to get inside through one of the emergency access hatches.

Orienting himself to the relative positions of Orbitech 1 and the Soviet station, Ramis shot another spurt from his MMU. He seemed to be moving in faster than he expected.

Karen’s voice broke the silence. “Ramis, we have you at approximately one hundred yards from the Kibalchich. How are you doing?”

“Fine. I doubt I can miss it now.”

He had reserve fuel in the MMU, but he had greatly increased his forward velocity by jetting with the air tank early in his Jump. Without bothering to tell Orbitech 1, Ramis turned toward the Kibalchich and kicked on the MMU braking thruster. A force hit his chest as the maneuvering unit pushed in the opposite direction, slowing his motion.

Gyrating once more about his center of gravity, he saw with some satisfaction that he had slowed himself enough, but now he had veered off course.

“Ramis, are you all right? The video showed you rotating.” Karen sounded worried.

“I am just preparing to land.”

No problem, Ramis thought to himself. This is getting easier. He made a quick estimate and, trying to hold down his breathing rate, he gave two more squirts on the thruster. He found himself drifting toward the Kibalchich’s giant mirror support. The flat reflecting surface grew closer, like a tilted plate filled with stars. Everything seemed to be in slow motion, inexorable, like a dream.

Holding his breath, Ramis reached out and grabbed onto the approaching mirror support girder as he started to sail by. His feet swung around, slamming his upper body into the mirror’s surface. He let out an audible “Ooof!” The reflector rocked back and forth, wobbling with the impact.

“Ramis! We’ve lost you on the visual. Have you reached the Kibalchich?”

Ramis pushed backward, hand over hand, down the girder. It was made of a dark, porous material—some sort of composite manufactured from lunar soil. He eyed the central hub and caught his breath for a moment. “I am here, but I need a few moments to position myself.”

“Keep in contact,” Brahms broke in.

Ramis did not bother to answer. Looking above him at the mirror’s surface still oscillating from his impact, he continued crawling down the support structure. The dish mirror did not appear to concentrate light, as the Aguinaldo’s did, only reflect it. Then the conical light collector below the station probably provided for their energy needs, he thought. So why bother with the big reflecting mirror above?

Ramis keyed his mike. “Karen?”

She came back instantly. “Yes? Are you all right?”

“I am right above the Kibalchich. It is rotating quite rapidly. I intend to move down to the hub and try to enter from there.”

“That’s just what we were going to suggest,” Brahms said.

“Be careful,” Karen added.

“By the way, the Soviets have sent no welcoming committee. I see no one so far.”

“I didn’t expect anything,” Brahms said.