Moonfall by Jack McDevitt

either. “I’m sorry, sir. I just can’t allow it. It violates procedure.”
    “Relax, Sam,” said Charlie. “I’ll be fine.”
    Moonbase was an underground facility. The surface was nine floors up from the Director’s Dining Room. Evelyn, Charlie, Sam, and Isabel took the elevator, which climbed the outside of the headquarters building, providing a panoramic view of Main Plaza. From this perspective, Moonbase resembled nothing so much as a vast park.
    At the top level they passed along a winding corridor whose walls were decorated with a series of prints depicting Moonbase at various stages of construction. They stopped before a heavy metal door marked CAUTION—AUTHORIZED PERSONNNEL ONLY . An intercom was mounted on the wall. Evelyn keyed it, said her name, and the door opened.
    They entered a long room filled with benches, equipment bins, cabinets, and racks. Pressure suits in various bright colors hung from overhead bars. A technician rose from a desk and stood by.
    “We have several ground-level exits,” Evelyn explained. “We’re quite busy outside. Moonbase is still under construction, as you know. The crews are in and out all the time. And researchers. And our maintenance people. And occasional tourists.” Here she brightened and pursed her lips.
    The technician provided them with two p-suits. One was gold and the other, vermillion. Evelyn accepted the gold suit and removed her shoes. “You get the loud one,” she smiled.
    “Wait a minute,” Charlie said. “I didn’t intend for you to have to go out.”
    “Nobody goes out alone. We don’t allow it.”
    It made sense. “Okay. But why not send someone else? I don’t want to take up your time.”
    “It’s my pleasure,” she said.
    “I’ll need a suit, too,” said Sam, looking resentful.
    “Why?” said Charlie. “Who’s out there to take a shot at me?”
    “Sir, I don’t see that it matters. It’s dangerous and I wish you wouldn’t do this.”
    “It’s settled.”
    “I have to go along. It’s in the regs.”
    “How familiar are you with the equipment?”
    “Not much.”
    “Which means, in an emergency, how much good would you be?”
    The muscles in Sam’s jaws were rippling. “Not much.”
    “You might even become the emergency. Sit tight. Evelyn’ll take care of me and we’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    Evelyn gave him a quick course on procedure, which consisted mostly in not jiggling the suit’s controls unnecessarily once they’d been set. She showed him how to modulate the air pressure, how to control the temperature, and how to use the radio. “Keep in mind the gravity differential,” she said. “That’s the real danger. There are lots of fissures, craters, cracks, you name it, for you to fall into. Keep your eyes open. The suit is tough, but it’s still possible to punch a hole in it. Red light means you’ve got a problem and you should come back immediately. If you see a red light, they’ll see it at the same time back here and they’ll tell you to return. Anything like that happens, no argument, okay?”
    Charlie was no dummy. “How often do you get red lights?”
    She shrugged. “They’re not unheard of.”
    They put on his helmet and air hissed into the suit. Evelyn did a radio check. “You okay?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Good.” She was pulling on her own helmet. “You’ll enjoy it, Mr. Vice President.”
    The technician led them into an adjoining room where an airlock stood open, waiting to receive them. Charlie followed Evelyn inside and the technician closed the door. Colored lights flashed. “You’ll feel a tingle as the air pressure changes,” Evelyn said.
    He couldn’t see her face anymore behind the smoked Plexiglas. “How many times have you been outside?” he asked.
    She laughed. “Once or twice.”
    Charlie assumed she was tweaking him, but a long silence followed. “You’re kidding,” he said.
    “Yeah. I’ve been out a few times. Not as often as I’d like.”
    A green