She watched his expression intently. Does he already know about this? Has he already cut a deal with Faure?
At last Rashid said, ‘That does cast a new light on the situation. Perhaps the media would be interested in such a story. Do you have any evidence to back it up? Any corroboration?’
Suddenly Joanna felt wary. ‘Plenty,’ she said, thinking to herself, Omar could be part of Faure’s scheme. He’s never been a supporter of Moonbase.
Almost as if thinking out loud, Rashid murmured, ‘There is a reporter on board the Clippership heading for Moonbase.’
‘I don’t want a reporter,’ Joanna said. ‘I want all the networks. I want every news service on Earth!’
‘But the commsats have been programmed to reject all transmissions from Moonbase.’
‘I don’t need the commsats. How do you think we’re talking? The technicians here can beam my transmissions to any spot on Earth, almost. All the news services have optical receivers on their rooftops.’
Rashid was silent far longer than the three seconds it took for the round-trip transmission from Moon to Earth and back again.
‘Perhaps Faure would be willing to speak with you, after all,’ he said at last. ‘Let me see if I can reach him and get him to listen to reason.’
‘Good,’ said Joanna. ‘We’ve only got a little more than two and a half days before the Peacekeepers land here.’
‘Yes, I know.’
‘Don’t let Faure delay until his troops land. I won’t wait that long. Tell him he’s got twenty-four hours to get in touch with me. Or else I go to the media.’
‘Harkening and obedience,’ said Rashid, just as he did in the old days when Joanna was chairman of the board and he was only a rising young executive.
TOUCHDOWN MINUS 38 HOURS 30 MINUTES
Edith’s nausea was almost completely gone. A tendril of unease persisted deep inside her, but she thought it was probably more psychological than physical now. She still felt slightly dizzy whenever she moved her head too fast, but the moment passed quickly.
In fact, floating free in zero gravity was fun! She had set up her two minicams in the spacecraft’s cargo bay, amid bulky crates marked AMMUNITION: 9 MM: FRANGIBLE and GRENADES: CONCUSSION: MARK 17/A.
She had interviewed two ordinary troopers, a shy teenaged boy from Bangladesh and his sergeant, a tough no-nonsense Cuban woman. It was like interviewing athletes: monosyllabic answers, platitudes, and long, perplexed silences.
Edith checked her hair in her hand mirror. It was floating nicely; not so wild that it would distract the viewer, just enough to show what weightlessness could do. The cameras were tightly tethered to a pair of tied down crates so they wouldn’t bob around; there were no girders or other projections on the smooth curving bulkhead of diamond on which to secure them.
Captain Munasinghe glided through the hatch, trying to look as if he was unaffected by zero gee. He had removed the medication patch from behind his ear, but Edith saw faint rings there, like the scars from an octopus’s suckers, and wondered how comfortable the captain really felt.
He was small and slim, dark skin shining as if it had been oiled. He had put on a fresh uniform, Edith saw, crisp and clean. His eyes were his best feature, large and dark and somehow fierce-looking. They’ll show up great on camera, she thought. But he’s so little, I’ll look like a horse next to him.
Then she smiled to herself. Zero gee to the rescue. I’ll just let him float higher off the deck than I do. Keep the focus tight, head and shoulders. He’ll look taller than me and I’ll bet he’ll love it. Realistic journalism.
‘ I just want to ask you a few questions, Captain Munasinghe,’ she said, trying to put him at ease. ‘Just look at me and ignore the cameras.’
‘Yes. Fine.’
‘Ready?’
Munasinghe nodded, then licked his lips.
Wondering who had taught him to do that, Edith pressed the switch on her remote control wand and said, ‘Okay, here we go.’
She arranged herself facing Munasinghe and slightly below him, so his head topped hers by a few centimeters. Camera one held the two-shot; the second camera focused on the captain’s face. Edith would do her reaction close-ups afterward; they would be spliced in Earthside as cutaways.