The Moonwalker

Chapter 14.2

The MAF rises over the horizon as a negative space where stars disappear. Aula pulls up near its rear platform. It feels oddly reminiscent of parking in someone's driveway. The SEV's lights catch herself and Kelly's footprints scattered around the place. No new craters are apparent. She looks up at the MAF, which appears relatively unharmed.

"There she is," Kahashnikoff says in a hushed voice.

Aula glances at him. "Houston, SEV-1. We've reached the MAF."

"Copy," Hinton replies. There's a brief pause. "Go ahead, SEV-1. SEV-2, follow when ready."

"Copy, Houston." Harvey's voice is flat.

He's still mad over her push for this mission, but she's still mad that he didn't back her up so it evens out. She unbuckles her harness and heads toward the rear where their suits are docked. The left is hers. She goes through the familiar motions of contorting into the Z-1. When she peers through her helmet, the lunar surface is even more striking than before. It's glittering, shadowy, and blue. She admires it for a moment before the sound of Kalashnikoff wrestling with his Z-1 breaks the spell.

She activates the rear hatch and disengages from SEV-1. The lights of SEV-2 flash over her as it swings in beside them.

"Alright," Bauer says over comm. "The party car is here."

Kalashnikoff makes an incredulous noise. "We are the party car. We are prettier."

"Hey now. I may not be the first black man on the Moon, but I am definitely the most handsome."

"Ooo, sign my suit, Mr. Handsome Man."

"If you're nice to me, I might throw in a photograph."

Neither Aula nor Harvey add to the banter. She grips the ladder and slowly descends from the SEV's bed. When her boots sink into regolith, she turns and lopes toward the MAF. It towers silently over them, the entirety of it visible only by the starlight it blocks. She approaches the rear platform and studies it for any sign of damage, but there are none. Only a gossamer layer of regolith as fine and grey as moth wings.

"We've got some dust settling here." Aula grasps the MAF's ladder. "Watch your step."

The metal is cold through her gloves even though today is a relatively mild -139 ℃. Because her suit is so close to the ladder itself, she can't look up or down for visual cues. She squeezes each rung against the rigidity of her gloves. Her fingers quickly begin to ache with exertion and cold. By the time she ascends to the MAF's rear platform, her fingers have lost some feeling. She activates the heater pads on the back of her EVA gloves and her fingertips immediately thaw out. Vibrations run through the metal floor and into her boots. She turns to see someone climbing the ladder behind her. It's Kalashnikoff. Harvey and Bauer are visible only as bobbing pairs of light leaving SEV-2. Though if allows her eyes to adjust, they all cast shadows.

"Houston." Kalashnikoff lopes to the MAF's external controls. "Are you ready for some Russian magic?"

"Always," Hinton replies dryly.

He starts by assessing the craft's internal pressure, power, and fuel. Aula knows the drill. She unlatches the toolkit on her side and grasps a telescoping pole. It's small but surprisingly heavy. Originally designed for emergency spacewalks between vehicles in 0 G, it's heavier incarnation is now used in low gravity environments. She hops to the upper righthand corner of the MAF's platform and lights up the small latch above the front right landing gear. The pole acts as a temporary zip line she can latch her tether onto and slide across. Vibrations rumble up her feet again. Harvey's heaving himself up the ladder while Bauer's lone pair of lights hop around the regolith below.