“The rocket didn’t explode over the launch pad.”
Kline hesitated. Lee kept walking. Kline fell back into step. “Did they get to Fra Mauro?”
Lee handed Kline his datapad. Kline scanned the report. Apollo 13 had made it home. The explosives had gone off, but too late. The spacecraft had circled the moon before hobbling back to earth. A moon landing had been aborted. The astronauts had survived, but Fra Mauro hadn’t been explored. Operation Yamato remained intact.
“They won’t trace the explosion back to us,” said Kline. “It’ll just look like a malfunctioning oxygen tank.”
“That’s not the problem. They’re going back.”
“Fra Mauro?”
“They’re more persistent than we thought.”
“I’ll get a team together–”
“No,” said Lee. He stopped next to a set of thick, reinforced double doors. He motioned to the security guard to let them through and then led Kline into the octagonal control room. “I need you for something else.”
A buzz of activity surrounded them. Operation Yamato’s excavation team. Operatives manned stations that monitored worker fatigue, depth ratios, equipment maintenance, and noise levels. Lee checked the video screens that monitored the excavation project’s progress.
The foreman hurried over to greet them, “Afternoon, sir.”
“Afternoon. Progress report?”
“Everything’s on schedule. One of the drills broke this morning, but we were able to fix it within an hour. We’re close, real close.”
“Any more injuries?”
“No, sir. The seismic activity seems to have stopped. We’re monitoring everything we can, and control measures are now in place to ensure nobody else gets hurt.”
“Good. And the cloaking device?”
“Being monitored even more closely. Back-ups have been put in place, too. If there’s another disruption we’ll still be under the radar.”
“Excellent work.” Lee turned to Kline. “The bounty hunter can handle NASA. When we breach the Union facility we’re going to need firepower. Something big.”
Lee held up his datapad. A rendering of two small spheres appeared.
“You’re going to Russia to get it.”
