Prologue
"Mission Control, this is Cabot. We have established standard
orbit at Sierra Seven-Five, and are beginning preliminary survey."
Lieutenant Colonel Julian LaVree's voice crackled from the overhead
speakers, echoing in the hard-walled Mission Control Center. The chamber
was one of the largest in the Union's Tycho Crater Moonbase.
Communication, telemetry monitoring, and long-range scanner terminals
stood in ordered ranks, occupying much of the room's floor space. One
wall was taken up by larger, flat-screen monitors.
"Roger, Cabot," senior controller Adam Paige responded. "Mission
Control awaits your feeds."
Paige logged in Cabot's message, glancing at the largest of the
wall-mounted monitors. In the center right of the display, a yellow
cursor marked the position of the mission currently under way. The
cursor, in the shape of a tiny spaceship, held position over a
near-Earth body designated Sierra Seven-Five. In the lower right-hand
corner of the display was the mission clock. Bold white characters
proclaimed the time and date, 08:38 A.M. 27 March 2114.
No one knew the origins of that p ... read full excerpt from Vor: Operation Sierra-75 ebook
