Scone had followed Broward. After Titiev had left, and after making sure their bonephones were not on, Scone said in a low voice, "There were seventy-five Russians stationed here. I doubt if there are over forty left in the entire base. I wonder how many in Pushkin?"
Pushkin was the base on the other side of the Moon.
They walked back to the group around Panchurin and turned on their phones so they could listen in.
Panchurin's skin paled, his eyes widened, his hands raised protestingly.
"No, no," he moaned out loud.
"What is it?" said Scone, who had heard only the last three words coming in through the device implanted in his skull.
Panchurin turned a suddenly old face to him. "The commander of the Zemlya said that the Argentineans have set off an undetermined number of cobalt bombs. More than twenty, at the very least."
He added, "The Zemlya is leaving its orbit. It intends to establish a new one around the Moon. It won't leave until we evaluate our situation. If then."
Every Soviet in the room looked at Lorentz.