Moore broke the silence. “I’ve radioed ahead to the base, and they are battening down. But other than an exposure-mandated early rotation to groundside for some of the crew, there won’t be any effect at that distance. We face more risk if we have to detonate early. But as long as Pritchard keeps sleeping—or whatever it is he does—we can hold off.”

Castillo nodded. “Twenty minutes, and we’re shiny. I’ve already prepared a report. I’ll forward it to you to vet. No choice, blah blah, imminent danger, blah blah.”

Moore nodded without comment. They both understood the Navy way.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Moore and Castillo stood over the keypad, looking at each other. This would be a career-defining moment, one way or the other. They were about to detonate a nuclear weapon in the environs of the Earth/Moon system in peacetime. Technically, several Earth nations, including the SSE, could interpret it as an act of war.

Castillo said, “I agree to the necessity of this action and I take full responsibility for my decision.” With that, he ran his Ident through the scanner, then entered a code.

Moore, nodded, then went through the same routine. As he finished entering his code, a large square red button became illuminated, the word DETONATE written clearly in its center.

Moore put his index and middle fingers on the button, and looked at Castillo. “Last chance…”

Castillo shook his head, the movement barely visible. With a feeling that his career was taking a right-angle turn, Moore applied pressure.

Detonation. They couldn’t watch, of course. Especially in space, a nuclear explosion would be the last thing you ever saw.

They could grow you new eyeballs, these days, but it wasn’t cheap. And Moore doubted the process was comfortable.

“I guess that takes care of the problem,” Castillo said.

Moore snorted, and gave him a disbelieving look. “That takes care of the Pritchard part of the problem. Now we have to deal with the ICDC, with Jennings’s lawyers, with the Navy senior brass, with the news media—because you can bet Jennings and his bunch will go public—and with the United Earth Council, if we can’t get it quashed at a lower level. Not to mention that the Sino-Soviet Empire will probably claim that it’s either an attack or a trick to screw them out of a piece of the pie.” He looked to the ceiling for a moment. “We are by no means out of the shit, yet. All we have going for us is the conviction that we are doing the right thing for humanity.”

Castillo sighed. “Yup. I guess I’d better make some calls. I have some people who owe me favors. It’s time to cash in the markers.”

59.Finding Refuge

59.Finding Refuge