“Find a staff and have it raised above the E-DARES facility. I’m sure you can rig up a rod or something from hoist to fly. To keep it visible, even in vacuum.”
Frank grinned. “Yes, sir!”
“Maybe it’ll help remind ’em why we’re here. Dismissed.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
He executed a ninety-degree left-face and strode from the compartment. Jeff used the comm channel on his PAD. “Send in Dr. Ishiwara, please, Sergeant.”
“Yessir!”
Shigeru Ishiwara was a small, compact man with a guarded manner. The CWS science team had withdrawn to their own labs and personal spaces in the E-DARES facility since the Marines had come aboard, and Jeff had rarely seen, much less had a chance to talk to, any of them. Lately, Ishiwara had become more and more of a spokesperson, a liaison of sorts, between the civilian and military branches of the base personnel.
“Konichiwa, Dr. Ishiwara.”
“Konichiwa, Major.” Shigeru Ishiwara was a traditionalist, bowing, rather than shaking hands. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“My pleasure.” Well, that was a lie, but a polite one. Jeff was facing a small mountain of work in the wake of the attack yesterday, and didn’t have time at the moment for civilian or scientific concerns. He was especially worried about the morale of the company, especially after losing twenty-two men. That was a 37 percent unit loss; 10 percent lost in a single action could cripple a unit, break down discipline, destroy morale. That was why he’d okayed Kaminski’s rather wild-sounding special project.
Still, he was here to protect these people, and that meant keeping the lines of communications open. “Have a seat. What’s on your mind, sir?”
The scientist seated himself across the desk from him and handed him a data clip. “That, Major,” Ishiwara said, “is a complete list of the damage suffered by the base yesterday during the attack. It includes an inventory of supplies damaged or destroyed.”
“Thank you, sir.” He’d asked Hallerman, the base supply manager, to give him a list of losses and damages. “Briefly, can you give me an overview?”
“Our most serious material loss was food. When we were told you people were arriving, we moved much of the food out of supply lockers here in the E-DARES facility and placed it in three storage sheds on the surface. A natural deep-freeze, you might say.”
“Yes. Keeping it well clear of the waste storage sheds, I presume.”
Ishiwara ignored the weak joke. “Two of those sheds were badly damaged in the attack. The director has Hallerman and two of our technicians checking it, but many, perhaps most, of the food packs were torn open and exposed to vacuum. Some may have been…cooked, I guess is as good a word as any, by the surface radiation. It poses no health threat to us, but frozen liquids and sauces boiled and burst from their packs. Frozen meats and vegetables exploded. Like putting them in a microwave, you understand?”
“Yes. Yes, I do. So how much do we have left?”
“Mr. Hallerman will have the complete report later today. As a first estimate, however, I would guess that we have one week of food left for everyone here. If we skimp and go on short rations.”
That was bad. It would take a week for a ship to get out here from Earth. The Chinese sure as hell weren’t going to share their food. “Very well. We will go on short rations, Doctor. And I will talk to Earth at once about getting a supply ship out.” If it could run the blockade of that Chinese cruiser up there. What was really needed was a full relief expedition, with an American warship to take out the PRC vessel.
“There…is another matter, Major Warhurst.” Ishiwara looked uncomfortable. “Something I must discuss with you.”
“Go ahead, Doctor. I’ve had nothing but bad news so far today. A little more won’t hurt me.”
“Dr. Vasaliev and the others…requested that I speak to you. They are…we are concerned about what the Singer may think about what is going on up here.”
“The Singer? I thought you all believed that to be an automated beacon of some kind? Do you have some new information? That it’s…manned?”
“During the fighting yesterday, shortly after the Chinese ship bombarded the crater, in fact, the Singer fell silent.”
“My God!”
“It is the first silence we have heard since its discovery. It remained silent for twenty-eight minutes, sixteen seconds, and then resumed its song. The patterns of sounds seem to be much the same. ELF emissions have increased, however.”
“Extreme Low-Frequency radio waves?”
“Yes. The Singer has always emitted some, but the power of its transmission has increased now by a factor of two.”