The farewell party had run late, and Jake had planned on getting some shuteye on the flight to Australia. The idea was at least to get a little rest before the coming launch. Unfortunately, that flight had encountered a turbulent tailwind. There was no way in hell he could have slept through that.
On the upside, he had arrived hours before the others got there. His gear and personal stuff had already been checked in. He found a seat in the staging area, sat down, and promptly fell asleep.
He snapped awake when his foot was kicked and focused on Samantha standing in front of him with hands on hips and a smirk on her face.
“Hey, Jake. Wake up, sleepy head!”
She gave his foot another kick.
“Get your ass in gear. We’re boarding.” Then grinning, she asked. “Or do I need to kick you harder?”
“Alright, alright. I’m moving.” He said, levering himself up. “Let’s go.”
Getting to Mars is no easy task. First, you have to escape Earth’s gravity well. To that end, the Consortium had created a fully reusable, human transport system—a two-stage launch system designed to reach high Earth orbit.
Stage One is an aerodynamic, rocket-assisted jet. Stage Two is aerodynamically nested into the body of Stage One. Stage Two is a jet-assisted passenger rocket capable of carrying up to 50 people, plus flight crew, into high Earth orbit. Both vehicles are then flown back to the launch site to be readied for relaunch within hours.
Jake and the rest of his training class were first aboard and stuck in the back. Now all they could do was wait and watch as the rest of the passengers were assisted and checked by the ground crew.
Being first on, he was buckled in first and could take a minute to take stock. He was about to leave everything he knew and try to live on a planet not of his birth. A minimum of 5 years on Mars. The risks were huge. But so was the paycheck. As well as the opportunity to live and work close to the greatest discovery in human history.
An alien spacecraft. Huge.Mangled. Broken. But undeniably the product of an advanced lifeform.
Totally inert, and totally impenetrable.
Every scientist on the planet wanted to study it. Every government on the planet wanted to control it. Every private company wanted to exploit it.
Mars is a long way away. If you wanted to study it, you had to go there.
In the twenty-plus years since The Wreck had been discovered, lives had been lost.
Many lives. Space is unforgiving.
Now here he sat getting ready to be hurled into that “Final Frontier.”
To say he had butterflies would be vastly understated. Intellectually, he knew what was coming. He knew the mechanics and the odds. But still. That little corner of doubt is always there.
What if?…
At “T” minus 15:45:15, the countdown timer suddenly displayed “Hold.”
The background of low-voiced conversation paused a beat, and then began to rise, with the obvious questions. As the conversational volume increased, the co-pilot stood and announced,
“It seems we have a last-minute passenger. I don’t know who it is, but we have a 15-minute window before we have to scrub.”
Like everybody else, Jake had the same question in mind when he noticed a vehicle coming straight at the bus at high speed. He lost sight of it as it skidded under the bus’s Stage One wing, cringing in anticipation of the sound and feel of a collision. Then nothing until the hatch was cycled open again and a space-suited figure entered and grabbed the jump seat behind the launch crew.
“Thanks for waiting, Andy.” The newcomer said to the pilot..
Twisting in his seat, Andy said, “ Hey, Ric. Leaving so soon? I just brought you down here last week.”
“Yeah, I had one last tie to cut. I’m done here. Do me a favor and light this thing up?” He replied.
Stuck in the back, they had no idea who the late passenger was until he heard Mark say out loud to himself,
“No shit. I don’t believe it. Ric fucking Mathews. I thought he was still on Mars.”
Jake was getting ready to ask what he was talking about when Andy announced over comms that the hold was clear, and they were at “T” minus 5 minutes.
Depending on your point of view, those 5 minutes can last forever, or flash by in the blink of an eye.
Between double and triple checking his restraints and umbilical connections, and flashes of what he was leaving behind, those 5 minutes lasted about 10 seconds.
Soon, he was being pressed against his seat as speed and altitude built. Blowing past the point where a passenger jet levels off, the pressure continued to build.
“Stage One rocket ignition in 5 seconds,” Andy announced.
A horse sat on his chest.
Andy announced, “Hot stage separation complete, all engines full throttle.”
An elephant sat down on the horse. Breathing became difficult and his vision was beginning to narrow when Andy announced, “MECO,” and the elephant vanished.
A chorus of gasps and groans greeted this announcement. His own among them.
Andy continued.
“We have one more burn in about an hour. Feel free to remove your headgear and loosen restraints. But please remain in your seats. The next burn will be less than half a gee and only for about 5 minutes. Then we’ll begin docking procedures with Midway Station. Everybody needs to be suited back up and strapped down.”
“Damn! What a rush!” John exclaimed. “That was nothing like the Sims. The simple fact that this is real makes all of that pale by comparison. I wanna do it again!”
As Jake was fumbling with latches and buckles, he heard Samantha reply,
“If that’s what you call a rush, we do not belong to the same species… Oh shit..”
Helmet forgotten, and floating to bounce off the overhead, she began clawing at her restraints to reach the emesis bag (barf bag) on the seat in front of her.
Seeing her distress, Alex grabbed the bag and passed it to her.
“Here you go, Sam,” he said.
Grabbing the bag from his hand, she told him,
“Shithead, “I told you, don’t call me Sam.” And then transferred the contents of her stomach into the offered bag.
When Jake turned to look at Mark, he could see he had missed (or dismissed) the mini emergency. Mark’s attention was focused forward at the cockpit and the last-minute passenger.
Jake asked,
“That’s Ric Mathews?” The Ric Mathews? As in the CEO of Cratertown? Are you going to sit there and tell me you know the man?”
Just then, Heather finished unbuckling and floated around to Samantha’s side and loosened her restraints for more freedom of movement. Suddenly, Samantha began to stiffen and convulse.
“It’s alright, people. I’ve got this. You know about her neural implants. The flight surgeons said this might happen.” She said.
Over comms, Andy asked—” seat 50. I have a red light. Why are you unbuckled?”
“Just a minor medical issue with zero gee,” Heather replied while tightening Samantha’s restraints again. “This is not unexpected. I have the situation under control.”
Stuck in the very last seat, Jake could only watch. He could see the other passengers rubbernecking to see what was going on. He could also see Ric float up and begin making his way down the aisle to “assess” the situation.
Half turning to Jake, Mark replied, “That is exactly who that is. And yes. I know him.”
Jake watched as Ric spoke with Heather. She told him about Samantha’s neural implants and that she had administered a sedative. She assured him that she had everything handled.
Satisfied, Ric turned to go back forward, when Mark suddenly spoke up and said,
“Hey, shithead. How’s it going?”
Startled, Ric turned back around to stare at Mark. Puzzlement, then revelation, crossed Ric’s expression.
“Well, shit! Look what the cat dragged in! Mark Jeffries. What the hell are you doing here? Last I heard, you were getting bumped up to Master Sargent.”
Mark replied,
“Yeah. They put it out there, but I decided on early retirement. Tried the whole civilian thing, but I just couldn’t shake the memories of Mars. Once I decided to try going back, the Consortium all but shoved me to the front of the line.”
Just then, Andy announced over comms,
“Can I have your attention, please? We are 10 minutes away from the next burn, and I need everybody in their seats.”
Looking around to make sure everybody was strapping in, He said to Mark,
“We still have a long trip ahead. There’ll be time to catch up.”
Glancing at Mark as he began preparing for the next burn and docking, Jake said,
“Now that sounds like a conversation that could last all the way to Mars. I wouldn’t mind listening to that.”
Mark replied.
“Like he said, it’s a long trip. This is space, and anything can happen. Look out the window.”
Until now, the bus’s arc had kept the Earth below the wings. As the craft rolled to the new burn, he could see the site that would forever be burned into his memory. The clinical term is “The Overview Effect.” Much has been written about this, but words cannot convey how profoundly it can touch the human soul.
His contemplation was interrupted by Andy, on comms, announcing,
“Just a little higher, folks. And then some orbital gymnastics to match numbers with High station.”
The burn and orbital gymnastics resulted in his view of the Earth beginning to shrink as the burn continued. Soon, in the darkness ahead, a small bright dot could be made out.
Switching through the feeds in his suit, he brought up a direct visual to his HUD. The small bright dot resolved itself as a spoked wheel on an axle, drifting in the void. Docking took hours.
Jake was burning with questions for Mark. But this wasn’t the time, or place, for that conversation. He and Mark had connected well in training for this. He knew Mark had prior experience in space. Hell. They all knew that. It was a surprise to learn Mark had been in the military as well. But that training had left little time to learn about that past.
Idle conversation had dried up the closer they got to docking. A few final bumps, some solid clamping sounds, and then some hissing. And they were docked.
The comms suddenly announced,
“Shuttle Bus, welcome to High Station. We understand there is a minor medical issue aboard, and we will address that first. Please remain seated.”
From the back, Jake watched as three unsuited med techs entered the bus and made their way to Samantha.
Heather spoke up as they approached,
“My name is Heather Chapman, and she is Samantha Easton, and she and I have been friends for years. There is no immediate emergency, but we do need to get her within the station’s rotation as soon as we can.”
“Okay. Good.” One of the med techs replied. “Come with us.”
Jake watched as they unbuckled and guided her weightless body through the hatch. Without a word to anybody, Ric pushed off from the jump-seat and followed close behind.
The Co-pilot rose from his chair and announced off comms,
“One row at a time, please. Station personnel will handle everything from here.”
By the time he exited the bus, Samantha, Heather, and Ric were long gone. As well as the majority of the other passengers. As he joined the others, a station crewman drifted over and introduced herself,
“Welcome aboard. My name is Cindy, and it’s my job to see that you get to where you need to be, when you need to be. You are the final passengers for the Mars transit, but it will be a few hours before the last shuttle for your ride to Mars is ready.”
“What about Heather and Samantha?” Alex asked.
“They should be in the medical section by now, and well looked after. Please follow me, and we’ll get you into spin and some solid footing. We have a lounge area where you can relax and grab a bite to eat.”
“How about a tour of the station?” John asked. “Can we look around?”
Consulting her tablet, she replied,
“You have about 10 hours before the shuttle launches, and I need you all together at least an hour before that. So yes, you have plenty of time.”
Turning to the others, he asked,
“What about it, guys? Wanna take a stroll?”
From the corner of his eye, he could see Mark shaking his head.
“I’m for the commissary. I’m starving. Besides, I know for a fact that the lounge has one of the best views of, well, everything!”
Alex and John looked at each other, and almost as if they had rehearsed it, blurted out,
“Walkabout!”
Then they all looked at him.
“Guys, I’ve had about an hour of sleep in the last 36. One third G and someplace to park my ass, sounds wonderful right now. I’m with Mark.”
Cindy spoke up,
“Alright then. Let’s get you down to the hub and out to the ring.”
Floating down (up?) the docking wharf, and then to the hub. And then, down, or at least seemingly down, to the outer ring was almost surreal for him. The adrenaline rush that had been keeping him going was crashing, and all he wanted to do was sleep!
He soon found himself standing with the others. Despite the fact that the outer ring of the station was nearly a half mile in diameter, he could make out an obvious curvature to the avenue(?) where he was standing.
Cindy, looking at Alex and John, said,
“You’re standing on the concourse. It’s a circle, you can’t get lost.”
Consulting her tablet, she told them to be back at the lounge by eighteen hundred. “Release will be at eighteen forty-two. Do not be late.”
Turning to Jake and Mark, she made a little bowing motion and directed them to the doors behind them.
“Gentlemen, the same applies to you. Enjoy yourselves and be here at the same time. Your launch window is about 10 seconds long. Out here, being prepared and early beats being unprepared and late, every time.”
With that, she turned and left them to discuss things among themselves.
Suddenly, Jake found himself the focus of attention. He simply pointed at the entrance to the lounge and said,
“Sleep.”
Mark, looking at Jake, said,
“Yup. You’re done. Let’s go find a place to camp out.”
Looking at John and Alex, he told them,
“Go on, go play. I’ve got sleepy-head, and it seems the girls are in good hands.
Walking into the lounge and looking around, Jake’s eyes were immediately drawn to the huge windows and the view beyond. At the moment, the Earth’s disc was slipping past the window, and the stars were beginning to resolve themselves to view.
Nudging him with his elbow, Mark, grinning, sad,
“You should see your face right now. Shut your mouth. You look like a drunk idiot. Hey, look. There’s a good spot over there.”
Shedding his flight hardware, gloves, and helmet, Jake plopped himself down on a recliner, looked around, and said,
“I could get used to this… “
Then the Earth came back into view. As he watched, the Earth rose and slowly drifted across the panorama of the stars. The station’s rotation and its orbit around the planet brought the full glory of our planet into view.
“Forget what I just said. I don’t think there is a way to get used to that view.”
Chuckling, Mark stated,
“No, there is not. I had this view for 3 months before my tour on Mars. They were still working on it when I rotated back to Earth. I never got tired of it. But that was then, and this is now, and I’m starved. Coming?”
Leaning back in the recliner, he laced his fingers together behind his head and said,’
“Maybe later. Right now, I just want to soak in the view. I’ve dreamed of this for years, and I just want to savor the moment.”
“Suit yourself,” Mark replied over his shoulder. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Left alone with his thoughts, he almost made it to the fifth rotation of the station, and then he was out like a light.
The next thing he knew was a finger poking him in the shoulder and Samantha’s voice telling him to wake up.
“If you don’t wake up, I’m going to poke you in the ribs next.”
His reaction surprised all of them as he sat up suddenly and found himself launched into the air. Three sets of arms brought his flight down before he did a nosedive into the other chairs and the table.
As he was getting his feet planted back onto the floor, John, grinning, quipped.
“One third, G dude. Better get used to it, or you might break something.”
“Lesson duly noted,” Jake said, and then turned to look at Samantha, who had both hands clamped over her mouth in an attempt to stifle the laughter that was bubbling out.
“Oh yeah! That was great! Do it again!”
“Samantha! Good to see you too. And no. We’ll not be doing that again. You’re looking much better than the last time we saw you.”
Some of the mirth left her face, and a trace of embarrassment framed her reply,
“Not my best moment, I know. It seems my implants and space flight don’t seem to agree with each other. But thanks to Grok and modern science, I get to wear this gadget behind my ear.”
Turning her head and pulling her hair back, she showed him a shaved area just behind her ear. A chip of some kind, about the size of a dime. The healing irritation of a fresh, healing wound made it obvious that there was much more to Samantha than he knew.
“There’s a long, drawn-out story about this. But we’re getting close to seventeen hundred, and you’ve slept long enough. Now you need to eat.”
Turning, she picked up a tray and offered it to him.
“A genuine Mushroom Swiss Burger, some of the best fries I’ve ever tasted. Topped off with a chocolate shake. Take a seat, welcome back to the land of the living.”
The tray had caught his immediate attention. His stomach had awakened almost as fast as he had. As he sat down and grabbed the burger, she told him,
“Enjoy it. It’s probably the last “fresh” food we’ll see for a while.”
He was just leaning back, finishing his shake, when Cindy walked into the lounge. Looking around, she spotted them at the same time Alex spotted her.
Heads up, people, I think we’re on time. Here she comes.”
Walking up to the group, she glanced at her tablet and said,
“Six. And six. On time and accounted for. I need you all to grab your gear and come with me.”
Leading them from the lounge to the main concourse, she continued,
“You will soon be in a small, lightly shielded shuttle, and there is no airlock. I’ve checked your personnel files, and with the exception of Mr Jeffries here, none of you have been to space before.”
Before she could say anything else, John jumped in and exclaimed,
“I know where we’re going! Me and Alex took the walkabout. We saw the Dock. But It was In”
“Vacuum. Yes, Mr. Richards. Now, please close your mouth, listen, and do as you’re told.”
With that, she turned and proceeded down the concourse. Turning to the others, Mark said,
“You heard the lady. Let’s move it, people.”
Arriving at the hatch to the Dock, Cindy directed them to get ready for hard vacuum. Once they cycled through the airlock, they would be standing on the inside of the last layer of the station.
“After that is naked space.” She stated. “You will proceed down the ladder, enter the shuttle, and strap yourselves in.”
Concentrating on making sure they were ready for vacuum, and focused on the airlock hatch, they were all surprised when a voice spoke up from behind them.
“And once again, I’m the last one to the party. Good to see you all again. Cindy, open the hatch, please. Mark, I trust you remember vacuum. So you first, and help everybody strap in. The rest of you, follow him. I’ll bring up the rear.”
The tone of command, as well as the voice itself, turned everybody’s attention around to see Ric Mathews, suited for space, and donning his helmet.
He just looked back at them and said,
“What? Did you forget we’re going to the same place? The next best Mars transit is six months from now. I need to get back home ASAP. Mister Jeffries, you are on point. Lead on.”
“Sir. Yes, Sir.” Mark replied with a grin. “I see nothing has changed. The same old pushy asshole I remember.”
With a grin of his own, Ric replied,
“Then you know to get your ass in gear and get on board. Help the newbies.”
The immediacy of the moment allowed Jake no time for reflection, but all kinds of questions. Looking at the others, he saw that he wasn’t the only one. How did these two know each other? They only knew each other because of the training for this trip. A whole 3-week, cram course in how to work and, most importantly, how to survive and live in space. Not really enough time to really “know” the people you were thrust together with.
He soon found himself strapped down and preparing for his second launch in as many days. Climbing down the ladder was exciting as hell. But it was a caged ladder and not much time for sightseeing
.
But. Even blocked by the launch support equipment, he could see the famous “Blue Marble” that was home.
And he was about to leave it behind.
Once Ric entered the shuttle and confirmed everybody was strapped in, he took his own seat and told the pilot,
“All set here, Captain. Hatch is secure, and passengers are all strapped in.”
“Thank you, Mr. Mathews.” The pilot replied. “Can I have everybodies attention please?. We have 5 more rotations before launch. If you want to watch the action, the video feeds are on channels 10 through 20. Launch is a kick in the pants. So be prepared. We will hit almost 2.5 Gs in the first 10 seconds. Once released, engines will fire and take us to 4 Gs for about 10 minutes. Then we coast at zero-G coast for about 15 minutes, then another 10 to match orbit with your ride to Barsoom.”
“Barsoom?” Jake thought to himself. What the hell is..”
His thought was interrupted by John’s sudden laughter over comms.
“Barsoom! And we’re going to Helium! I love it!”
Heather, ever the quiet one, spoke up.
“John, you’re weird. You know that, don’t you? Only a true geek would know that reference.”
“Sounds to me like I’m not the only geek here.” John quipped back.
Chuckling, the pilot broke in,
“Nice to know there’s still some culture left in the world. Hang on, people. 10 seconds. Here we go.”
He had switched his HUD to the aft camera feeds, and while he was trying to catch his breath, he could see High Station rapidly shrinking behind them. Behind that, the planet’s disc began to shrink as well.
Pinned to the seat by almost 4 Gs, watching as the Earth became smaller, the silence on comms was broken by Alex, voicing what they all were all thinking.
“That has got to be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m going to miss it.” Heather sighed. “It’s hard to believe we’re really here and really doing this.”
A chorus of agreement sounded over comms, and then Alex said,
“Yeah, that’s pretty, but I’m talking about the forward view. Don’t look at where we’re coming from. Look at where we’re going. The future of space travel. I give you the “Sir Isaac Newton.” We’ll be on Mars in less than two weeks!”
If it weren’t for the tracking overlay in his HUD, he wouldn’t have seen their destination. Just another star in a universe of stars. Maybe a bit brighter, but still a dot.
As he watched. That dot began to resolve itself into the first spacecraft to use “Overdrive” engines. Engines that could produce constant acceleration. Granted, that thrust was only fractions of a G, but applied over a short period of time, they vastly widened the Mars transit window. Just an hour or so of constraint acceleration at a half G got them to Mars in less than two weeks.
“I followed the construction of this ship from day one.” Alex sighed. “Now here I am. Five years to build, I studied every technical detail I could lay my hands on.”
A brief silence followed that statement, and then Samantha piped up.
“Damn! I think he’s in love!”
A chorus of chuckles sounded over the comms, and then Ric, chuckling, broke in,
“We just call her the ‘Newton’ or ‘Sir Isaac.” And in the interest of not hearing about anybody’s love life, I suggest you all get as much rest as you can. We have about 8 hours of coast time, then some orbital gymnastics before docking. We are the last shuttle, and we’ll start burning for Mars a few hours after that. It’s probably going to be a while before you all get another chance to grab some shut-eye.”
Jake tried to take the advice. But he’d just had several hours of sleep back on the station, so despite his best intentions, his brain just didn’t seem to want to shut up. The best he could do was watch the approach and let his mind wander, and reflect.
First and foremost was the revelation of Mark knowing Ric Mathews. The same Ric Mathews who more or less ran the Consortium’s jewel, Cratertown. He already knew that Mark had a military background and previous experience in space. But where and when did their paths cross?
Then there was the connection between Samanth and Heather. It had been obvious from the beginning of training that these two were childhood friends. The way he understood it, when Samantha had become the victim of a hit-and-run driver at a young age, the only way to restore the connection between body and brain was with implants.
Heather seemed to be easy to figure out. Childhood friend, turned caregiver to Samantha. Licensed Nurse. Other than that, he had no idea.
Alex and John were pretty easy to understand. Like him, they were looking at the adventure. Going to Mars. Working and living around the greatest discovery in the history of mankind. And. To be honest, there was that paycheck.
Then there was Ric Mathews himself. The man directly responsible for the integrity of Cratertown. His new boss. What the fuck was he doing here? And just what the hell did he and Mark have in common?
Before he knew it, comms squawked, and the pilot announced,
“Okay, sleepy heads, we’re coming up on final docking. Check your gear and prepare for some bumps.”
Docking wasn’t really the right term. It was more like being captured. The shuttle was a part of the Sir Isaac and was used at both ends of the transit. Rather than simply “dock”, they would be drawn into a pressurized “hangar”, but still in zero G. They wouldn’t get gravity back until they were truly on their way.
Once aboard the Newton Ric announced,
“I have duties I need to attend to.” Glancing at the crewman standing next to him and at his name badge, He said,
“I’m leaving you to the care of Mr.Carver here. I had a chance to look at your personal files, just a quick once-over. But I liked what I saw. In the meantime, get settled in. I’ll want to see each of you later, to see where you’re gonna fit into the infrastructure of Cratertown.”
Turning from Ric’s retreating back, Mr. Carver directed them.
“If you’ll follow me, we’ll get you situated for launch.”
“Launch?” Samantha asked. “What is that? Three in three days? And here I thought space travel was slow.”
Chuckling, Mark replied,
The advantage of being the “Tail End Charlie.” Last aboard. First off. Less hurry up and wait. You all heard the man. Mr. Carver, we are at your command. Please lead on.”
“Just call me Jim. We don’t really stand much on formality around here. If you’ll follow me..”
{{{ End Chapter One.}}}