Moonbase Crisis: Star Challengers Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

remember,” Dyl said. “Over.”
    JJ elbowed him.
    “If it’s so high-tech, why isn’t the system just voice-activated?” Song-Ye asked.
    Mr. Zota considered her question, his face serious. “We have that technology, of course, but only the human mind has the discretion to know which words are important to share, and which are not. It is not necessary—and sometimes not even wise—to transmit every comment.”
    “Makes sense,” JJ said. “In the movies The Right Stuff and Apollo 13, there were plenty of things going on that Mission Control didn’t tell the astronauts about—especially the problems.”
    “If there were problems affecting me, I’d rather know about them right away,” Song-Ye argued.
    King shrugged. “I saw those movies too. The guys in Mission Control waited until they had a solution to a problem before they turned on the mic to tell the astronauts about it.”
    “Most often, the reasons for not turning on the mic are quite simple,” Commander Zota said.
    “Right. The people in Mission Control might be talking about what to have for lunch,” King said. “The astronauts wouldn’t need to hear that stuff.”
    “Or,” Dyl added, “they might just have to sneeze or burp or make some other embarrassing bodily noise.”
    Song-Ye raised both hands in mock surrender, as if someone were holding a gun to her back. “Got it. I withdraw the question!”
    After her acquiescence, Commander Zota gestured the Korean girl to take the seat at the comm console. “Now, if you would, Cadet Park, we should be receiving a message from the moonbase right about now. Please make sure we’re ready to receive it.”
    Accepting the instructions with a pfft sound, Song-Ye bent, flicked a switch and pushed the Receive button. JJ thought she saw a flicker of real interest, maybe even a hint of a smile, on the other girl’s face and wondered how much of the Korean girl’s stick-in-the-mud attitude was just for show.
    The comm console became active, and static blasted from the speakers. Dyl quickly reached over to adjust the tuning, as Commander Zota had shown them, and the static resolved into crystal-clear sound. A picture of a woman’s face appeared on the viewscreen above the communication console. She looked young and confident. Behind her was a high-tech room with other stations and several oblong windows that showed a swath of stars and a desolate cratered landscape.
    “Cadets, this is Chief Noor Ansari of Moonbase Magellan. Welcome to the moonbase, and thank you for taking part in our Virtual Visitor program.” Her golden-brown eyes seemed to look right through the screen at all of them. Her chestnut brown hair was pulled back to reveal an oval face. Even though it must have been a costume, her blue flight suit looked convincing. JJ noticed, however, that her patch sported a logo that was not NASA.
    Since they had seen no one but Commander Zota in the Challenger Center that morning, JJ assumed this “live” message was a recorded video that was used over and over again for student simulations.
    “Other than the International Space Station Complex, Moonbase Magellan is the largest modular human habitat ever constructed and used outside of Earth’s atmosphere,” Ansari continued. “The base was built to support up to twelve full-time workers. Our crew is made up entirely of international scientists who volunteer their time. Currently our staff is reduced, but we are managing to meet our mission requirements. It’s a long assignment here, up to a year at a time.”
    The moonbase chief seemed disappointed when she mentioned the smaller crew. JJ leaned over and whispered to her brother, “If this were real they’d probably have thousands of volunteers to choose from. I’d sure volunteer.”
    Onscreen, Noor Ansari continued talking. “Each dedicated volunteer on our crew is responsible for raising enough private funds to support his or her entire stay at this base. That can cost as much as half a