The next day, the base commander called an all hands meeting to discuss the situation. Keiron’s parents weren’t going to bring him, but he insisted.
“Are you sure?” said his mother. “I don’t know if there will be other kids there.”
“That’s okay,” he said. Why would he care about that? He was going to hear what was said, not play around.
“It might be very boring,” said his father.
“That’s okay,” he said. This didn’t even make sense. He understood enough of the situation they were in to know that there could be nothing boring about it.
The meeting was held in the commissary, which was the biggest room in Metzger Base. The smell of food was still in the air from the meager dinner that had been served two hours earlier, and his stomach growled loudly. He would have been embarrassed, but he heard several other stomachs making similar noises. He sat down between his parents and watched as the inhabitants of Metzger made their way into the hall and sat down at the tables around him. His heart leapt into his throat when he saw Ro come in with what must have been her dad and sit down several tables away. She did not look at him. Her straight red hair was in a ponytail high enough on the back of her head that it bounced when she moved, and the low lunar gravity caused it to swish and fan out slowly before it settled down.
At one end of the room, a small stage had been assembled. On it, there was a microphone and several chairs. The base commander sat in one, talking to the people who sat in the others and watching the crowd.
When it seemed most people were there, he stood up, tapped on the mic to make sure it was on, and began to speak.
“As you all know, we have been in communication with Earth,” he said.
“When are we going to get off this rock?” someone shouted.
The base commander paused. “Well,” he said. “That’s the big question, isn’t it? The short answer is that we still do not know. Our contact with Earth has so far been only through the Kitt Peak emergency transceiver. Ground communications on Earth are still a mess, and the personnel on Kitt Peak have been unable to contact anyone with any answers.”
Most in the crowd were quiet. A few were not.
“If you don’t know anything, then what are we here for?” said someone. Keiron was surprised at how rude these questions sounded.
“We know more than we did a week ago,” said the base commander. “We know that we cannot expect help or resupply any time in the near future. If we are to make it through this period, we must now implement long term rations protocol.”
“What do you mean by ‘long term rations protocol’?” said someone. Keiron noticed that the questions were coming from a disagreeable looking fellow at the same table as Ro. When he spoke, others at the table, including her dad, nodded their heads or voiced their agreement. “I thought we were already rationing.”
“We have been on emergency rations protocol,” said the base commander. “That is intended for short term gaps in our supply chain. Now that it is clear we must survive on our own for much longer, a new protocol kicks in. Effective immediately, all personnel will receive half-rations. In addition, all physical activity will be curtailed.”
The crowd became more noisy. The disagreeable man several tables away said, “What do you mean curtailed?”
“Mining activities will halt,” said the base commander. “There will be no non-essential surface outings. The gym will be closed. We have to limit our energy expenditure.”
“But, we are miners,” said the man. “We are here to mine this rock.”
“Not anymore,” said the base commander. It was clear that he was losing his patience. “Until we hear from Earth and have a new supply schedule, we are people trying to survive on limited resources.”
The people at the table around the disagreeable man erupted in jeers.
“What authority do you have to impose these rules?” said the man
“I am the commander of this base,” said the base commander.
“So, we aren’t miners anymore,” said the disagreeable man, “but you are still the commander?”
The base commander paused. “Yes,” he said.
The disagreeable man paused. “What if we refuse?” he said.
“Then you will be arrested by base security,” said the base commander, “and placed in the brig.”
“And in the brig we’ll be fed half-rations and not allowed to mine?” said the disagreeable man.
“That is correct,” said the base commander.
“Then what’s the difference?”
The base commander paused. “I suppose it would be whether you consider yourselves contributing members of this community as we navigate this situation.”
“Huh,” said the disagreeable man. He looked around the crowd. Most tried to ignore him, but a few nodded their approval. “Alright then,” he said. “We refuse.” He stood from his table, knocking his chair over behind him. As he walked up the aisle toward the doors, someone clapped. With that cue, several people throughout the crowd cheered. The other people seated at the table, including Ro and her dad, got up and followed him. Her ponytail bounced slowly back and forth as she walked. Then a few more people from other tables stood up and followed the others out the doors.
The base commander watched them, lips tight. As the doors closed, he shook his head. “Well, that did not go as planned.”
The remaining crowd laughed uncomfortably. No one was quite sure what they’d just witnessed or what it meant. Keiron felt a little sick. Did Ro feel the same way as the others who had walked out or was she just following her dad? He looked at both of his parents, but they seemed as confused as everyone else.