Five
Tritium’s wobbling gravity makes jogging a game of Busted Leg Roulette, but I walked as quickly as I could—what we call double-heavy—off the beach. The rule in a crisis: make haste, but slowly. The broad stairs carved into the basalt cliff face demanded a steady, slow pace, but even so I huffed with the pressure suit’s weight. The stale-tasting air didn’t help, either. Maybe I should wear a pressure suit on the treadmill. I’d only need a few days a week to get used to it—but no, I was leaving Tritium tomorrow.
Half an hour ago, I’d been content to leave this assignment.
Of course the aliens appeared on my last full day. The most amazing discovery of the last five years, and I had to leave the next morning.
I decided to make the most of the time I had.
The hovercraft bay was a rec
