In this episode of “Things Get Worse On The Moon”, things get worse on the moon….

Some minor repairs and inspections have been made. One of the cosmonauts also brought a habitat module to the bug-out location. Matthew Frelong, the base commander is still sodding missing.

Finish Comm Line to Goddard (quick job, holdover from last session) - Jan and Sanchez

Lovely dayside view of the Earth, but focused mostly on driving. Goddard seems to be abandoned.

• Entrances are probably claymored Definitely a vehicle mine on approach. Full-on castling up for some reason.
• Jan gets boosted up to a viewpoint by Sanchez. Still a few monitor lights and such on. Possibly one person left here to monitor things - will be armed.
  • Attempt to reach out on short-range, possibly someone moving inside, but tricky. Probably get someone, but no actual acknowledgement.
• Set up the communication array anyway.
  • As they leave, a small shadow is seen moving, low to the ground: smaller than a human, but about the same speed¹.

Evacuation Prep - Desjardin

Need to check emergency supply caches and similar.

• Are accounted for as part of normal supply, but can be moved out - Desjardin will be putting them into separate storage, to make them all easier to grab in an emergency. While taking some of the supplies, the Ukrainian chemist Kadenyuk, seems a little down - feels like he is being watched from both sides. Is worried about Volkova, who has been on the radio constantly, under crazy stress. Is also worried about what might happen in the case of an evacuation: not enough Soyuz capsules to get everyone home, so maybe base is best not evacuated?
  • Not his original position.

Check the landers are nominal.

• Muhammed Faris is helping out. The checklists for the NASA landers need to be located.
  • Hear a blowtorch going somewhere, check in and find Snachez with a sawn-off shotgun. Apparently it was hidden in the commander’s locker. Decide to take it to Pettersson, as the resident spook. Get the checklists from Sanchez, leaving him to take the shotgun.

Four Apollo-style modules. The others are probably also going to be damaged.

• Inspect the rest: some have been hit.
  • One lander has totally dead batteries.
  • One lander has temperature regulators damaged: coolant has escaped.
  • One lander has damaged leg (mentioned above). One is tilted about 25 degrees from vertical: hit by shrapnel.
    • Not the best direction, so will be an issue with a heavier load - only 82% of initial thrust, in order to get to orbit. Might be able to have one less passenger and still get to orbit. All might still have internal systems with damage.

Soviet landers (LK-L5) hold five pax.

• One has big hole in it, but seems to have missed most of the internal bits.
• Missing radio antenna, comms system is probably toast.

Need to do full internal check of everything else for both sets, so we will see.

Rescue Mission for Frelong - Teresa & Sanchez

Teresa takes a rover and do a close circuit of the base to see if we have any tracks that stand out: most trips are to known places, so something standing out should probably be Frelong, especially if there are no returning tracks.

• Able to account for most of the tracks, but not all.
  • Two possible directions: Barmingrad or Camp Goddard, and Lunex-1 or DLB-4. These are west and east of Unity Base respectively. Sanchez is going to snoop in Frelong’s personal effects.
• There are a pair of rust-like stains that have been smeared in his bunk.
• To open the locker, Sanchez rigs up something to help defeat the combination lock. Mostly empty, but looks like there was a flaregun, there is a laptop charging brick, box that looks like a military radio with Cyrillic text on it.
  • Also: A BLUEPRINT Looks like a means of attaching binoculars or night vision goggles to one’s helmet. Seems to be Frelong’s handwriting.
  • Locker also feels smaller than standard. Blowtorch open a false ceiling and reveal a cut-down double-barrelled shotgun. Seems to be specially brought here, with additional shells. Look like there is fabric inside the casing.

Are going to head towards Lunex-1/DLB-4 to see which one is the most likely.

• Fritz is not happy about Teresa taking a bunch of supplies for this. Tells Volkova, who is looking even more run-down than usual, that Volkova should delegate more. Volkova looks actually unwell, and keeps coughing.
• Volkova refuses, because there are already people who want to get her out as number 2. Asking for help is just going to be giving more ammunition to those people, who will want to take over.
  • Wants Teresa to promise to do what is best for the base and to not let anyone else drag her down.

Saboteur - Pettersson

Has a solid suspicion that Kadenyuk is the one behind it, but has not been able to fully prove it.

• Intends to confront him in private. Pulls his Beretta 92 from the SERE kit.
• Chemerkin meets him, with a bandage on. Got to DLB-4, but has not had much success, apparently.
  • Is not saying everything for some reason.

Confront Chemerkin and he breaks down and reveals all.

• Seems mostly that he was second fiddle, wanting to prevent someone doing an actual kinetic sabotage. “No one should be on the moon right now.” Is not trying to kill anyone, but just slow things down. He found guns (plural!). Accuses both Chemerkin and Pettersson of having guns and plans to kill each other. Everyone is ready to shoot everyone else, and he is trying to make it more difficult for people to die.
  • Has hidden some explosives in various other places, electrically isolated and well-hidden. Found a Colt SMG that he destroyed, took the ammunition from a Vz Skorpion.
    • Chemerkin is particularly interested in the Skorpion’s location.

Volkova is very angry with Leonid, consigns him to the detached module, at least overnight. Will “deal with him later”.