"I'm on your side, Mr. President," said Secretary of State Oates. "But if the shoe was indeed on your foot, what course of retribution could you take?"
"Simple," said General Post. "If I were Antonov, I'd order the Columbus blasted out of the sky."
"An abhorrent thought, but one we have to take seriously," said Brogan. "The Soviet leaders must feel they have a divine right to destroy the station and everyone on board."
"Or the shuttle and its crew," Post added.
The President stared at the general. "Can Columbus and Gettysburg be shielded?"
Post gave a slight shake of his head. "Our X-ray laser defense system won't be operational for another fourteen months. While in space, both the station and the shuttle are vulnerable to the Soviet Union's Cosmos 1400 killer satellites. We can provide solid protection for the Gettysburg only after she passes through earth's atmosphere."
The President turned to Brogan. "How do you see it, Martin?"
"I don't think they'll target Columbus. They'd be leaving themselves wide open for us to retaliate against their new Salyut 10 station. I say they'll try for the shuttle."
An icy silence settled over the Roosevelt Room as every man present struggled with his own thoughts.
Then Hudson's face took on an enlightened expression, and he rapped his pen against the table surface.
"We've overlooked something," he said in a level tone.
"Like what?" asked Fawcett.
"The true purpose behind their attack on Jersey Colony."
Brogan took the lead. "To save face by destroying all trace of our breakthrough in space."
"Not destroy but steal," Hudson said fervently. "Murdering the colonists wasn't an eye-for-an-eye punishment. Jess Simmons hit on it. To the Kremlin's way of thinking it was vital to seize the base intact in order to help themselves to the technology, the data, and the results of billions of dollars and twenty-five years of work. That was their goal. Revenge was secondary."
"He makes a valid point," said Oates. "Except that with the colonists on their way to earth, Jersey Colony is up for grabs."
"By using our lunar transfer vehicle we can have another crew on site within two weeks," said Hudson.
"The two cosmonauts who are sitting in Selenos 8," Simmons said. "What's to stop them from simply walking in and taking over the abandoned colony?"
"I'm sorry," Hudson answered. "I forgot to mention that Steinmetz transported the five dead Russians back to the lunar larder and loaded them on board. Then he forced the surviving crew to lift off and return to earth by threatening to scatter them over the moon's surface with the last rocket in his launcher."
"The sheriff cleaning up the town," Brogan said admiringly. "I can't wait to meet this guy."
"Not without cost," said Hudson quietly. "Steinmetz is bringing back two seriously wounded men and one body."
"What is the name of the dead man?" asked the President.
"Dr. Kurt Perry, a brilliant biochemist."
The President nodded at Fawcett. "Let's see that he receives a proper ceremony."
There was a slight pause, and then Post brought the discussion back on track. "Okay, if the Soviets didn't get Jersey colony, what are they left with?"
"The. Gettysburg," Hudson answered. "The Russians still have a chance at pirating a treasure trove of scientific data."
"By snatching the shuttle out of the air?" Simmons stated sarcastically. "News to me they have Buck Rogers on their side."
"They don't need him," Hudson retorted. "It's technically possible to program a deviation into the flight guidance systems. The computers can be fooled into sending the wrong signal to the drive elevons, the thrusters, and other equipment to control the Gettysburg. There are a thousand different way to nudge the shuttle off its course a few degrees. Depending on the distance from touchdown, it could be thrown off as far as a thousand miles from the Kennedy spaceport at Cape Canaveral."
"But the pilots can override the automated system and land on manual control," protested Post.
"Not if they're conned into thinking Houston Control is monitoring their return flight path."