Last Shuttle to Planet Earth — John Rankine

Seen from far enough off, a shanty town of flattened kerosene tins and mud daub can appear like some glittering Shangri-la. An observer at the Met Station of Earth's moon, if there was any hardy soul still batting on that ash heap, would see the sprawling, wheel satellite as the last triumph of Technical Man. Only the close observer would see the derelict sections, the areas where robot fault finders had finally jacked it in and let meteorite penetration have its way. Wirral City--ten thousand people gave it the status of a small town. The Maynells, the Stedmans, the Honeybones and other leading free-trader families had it all buttoned up. Nobody could pack a bag and leave to seek fortune elsewhere. Nobody wanted a shoot out in the fragile envelope of the spinning wheel. There were tranquillisers on demand and a library of 3-D actualities that would run for half a century without a repeat. And then the peace was disturbed - the daughter of a leading family kidnapped and the last space shuttle in working order stolen and set on a course for Earth...