Its mission accomplished, Aztec accelerated away flat-out on the fastest intercept course for Earth.
* * *
With no external friction to slow it down, an object set spinning in space will continue indefinitely until something acts to retard it. It took almost twelve hours for Walsh and his crew in the crazily turning and toppling Trojan to drag themselves together into a functional team and figure out a firing pattern for the maneuvering thrusters that would bring about recovery. Even then it was only partly effective, for some of the spokes had buckled, distorting the ring symmetry and introducing permanent instabilities that couldn’t be corrected. The result was that life in the modules took on the feel of crossing a slowly pitching ocean, and a number of the occupants became acutely seasick. Several parts of the vessel that had suffered containment failure and were leaking into space had to be sealed off. Beyond that, the precision targeting instrumentation for the long-range weapons systems was malfunctioning and would have to be reset and recalibrated—which was neither here nor there as far as Aztec was concerned, since Aztec was long gone—and the main drive focusing system was out of alignment, which would reduce acceleration to thirty percent of normal until repairs could be effected.
But all was not lost. Valcroix delivered a rallying speech to the entire company, reminding them that the base on Earth was held, and with the Varuna and Surya in their possession, Trojan could be restored to full battle-strength before anything to match it could be organized and reach it from Saturn. Aztec would never be allowed to pull the same stunt again. So what would it do? If it continued to Earth, it would become their prize. If it returned to Saturn, the opposition on Earth would be reduced accordingly. True, the resources aboard it would have been a valuable asset to own, but they were not essential. Trojan itself carried a full complement of conventional industrial seed equipment that had been intended to establish a pilot capability in the Jovian system. With enough will and devotion to their cause, they could still regain Earth and make themselves impregnable. Oratory and inspiring followers was Valcroix’s calling. With morale revived and a new determination sharpened by adversity, Trojan set course once again.
And then the news came in from Earth that there was no haven to be reached there after all. Zeigler’s bid had ended. He and his followers were no more. It was the first anyone on the Trojan had heard of Gallian’s murder and the deaths of the others there. Adreya Laelye had assumed control in the name of the government of Kronia. An hour later, a signal came in from President Urzin at Saturn. He exonerated Valcroix from direct responsibility for the crimes, since Zeigler had exceeded his orders, promising him and his followers a fair hearing if they recognized the inevitable and gave up. Meanwhile, Kronia was preparing an armed force.
What was there to do? With its armament and propulsion system impaired, its structure damaged, leaking, and likely to undergo further failures at any time, no friendly base available for making repairs, choices were nonexistent. Before his assembled entourage, a tight-lipped Valcroix sent out a message accepting Urzin’s terms and announcing that the Trojan would make its way to Earth.
The term of the independent Terran Planetary Government was over.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
It had been a while since the days when anyone with the inclination could come into the upper level of the OpComs dome to watch the shuttles from orbit come down, and to await incoming arrivals. OpComs was still there, but more restricted these days to air and orbital traffic control, which was what it had been built for in the first place. Buses from the new landing silos and service bays on the far side of what had been the pad area now delivered to the Terminal Building, erected a short distance along from the OpComs dome in front of the dorm blocks. The dorm blocks had acquired some individual rooms as well as billeting and were still used for shorter-term and temporary accommodation. However, most of the original inhabitants had moved to a residential complex outside the central work area of the base, which had separate living units as well as communal dining and recreation and offered more comfort and privacy. On the opposite side of the central area, the workshop and production facilities had grown and diversified.