First ... Chap 1

 

Chapter One

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            She stared at the placard on her desk.

 

“BRIG. GEN. ANNA SALDANA”

 

Her eyes drifted from the placard to the five neat stacks of folders. Each stack represented a highly qualified team of over achievers. Each folder represented the credentials of a consummate professional and expert in their field. Each team had their pluses and their minuses. She reflected, even the minuses where still well above the standards required. Her eyes drifted back up to the placard.

 

“BRIG. GEN. ANNA SALDANA”

 

I still can’t decide, she thought as she looked at each stack on her desk. She had been at this most of the day. She had read and reread each file several times. She knew these people extremely well. She could nearly quote their service jackets by now. But she could not decide. I am a General. I am supposed to be able to make these decisions. Her mind wandered back to her desktop. She picked up the communiqué she received yesterday.

 

LT. GEN. SANDERSON

5^TH REGIONAL COMMAND

EARTH SPACE AGENCY

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

EARTH

 

BRIG. GEN. SALDANA

COMMANDER

MARS ORBITAL OBSERVATON STATION ONE

MARS

 

 

ANNA, IT’S EASY. IT’S A LOTTERY. PUT THEIR NAMES IN A HAT AND PICK ONE.

 

MATT.

 

“Easy for you to say, Matt.” She said to her empty office. “Your decision doesn’t decide the outcome of history.”

 

She laid the communiqué down beside the five stacks and sighed. “No one will believe this.” She opened the drawer on the right-hand side and pulled out five pieces of her personal stationary. She wrote a name on one sheet and crumpled it up. Four others followed. She spun her chair around and picked up her hat from the credenza. She placed each crumpled ball of paper into the hat. Shaking her head, she shook the balls of paper around until she was satisfied she did not know which was which. Facing her desk, she reached behind herself and placed her hat back on the credenza. Reaching around with her left hand, she found her hat and reached in. She pulled out one crumpled ball of paper. She set it on her desk in front of her and stared at it. I’m a General, she thought. She opened the crumpled paper slowly and smoothed it out. She read the name and therefore the team.

 

“And, that is how you decide history, Anna. No one will ever believe this.”

 

*                     *                     *

 

“Send in the Major.”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

The door opened and in stepped a crisp, professional in duty military garb. The officer marched forward in precise, measured steps. Came to a halt in front of the General’s desk. Snapped a crisp salute and held it.

 

“Major Tomlinson. Reporting as ordered, ma’am.”

 

The General returned the salute.

 

“At ease, Major.”

 

The Major relaxed from attention to parade rest, a stance with feet wide and hands resting behind the back.

 

“Major, I have reviewed your file and those of your team. You are all well above board. Your fitreps indicate highly skilled, highly developed, highly motivated professionals well able to handle the tasks for which you are assigned.”

 

“Thank you, ma’am.”

 

The General relaxed her demeanor a bit. She looked at this fine example of an officer. She pushed her chair back and stood up. She walked around her desk and stood next to the younger officer. “Congratulations, Janey. Your team was selected. You get to go.” The General extended her hand. The young officer snapped to attention and accepted the proffered hand.

 

“Thank you, ma’am. We will do the job right for you.”

 

“I know you will.” Releasing the handshake, the General walked back around her desk and sat down. Looking up to the Major, “You may tell your team. Remember OpSec until your selection has been officially broadcast. That is all and God speed.”

 

“Yes, ma’am. Understood.”

 

The Major snapped a crisp salute and held it until the General returned it. Taking one step backward and executing a perfect about-face, the Major exited the General’s office. She carried on past the Aide’s desk and into the hall outside. She looked to her left and right, noting no one in sight. Bringing her right hand into a fist below her chin, she dropped her elbow quickly, slightly lifting her knee. “Yes! We’re going to Mars!” she exclaimed in a forced whisper. Squaring her cover, she proceeded down the corridor as if nothing had happened.

 

*                     *                     *

 

“Moose 1 Argos,” the radio clipped.

 

“Argos Moose 1, copy,” was the reply.

 

“Moose 1 Argos, you are cleared for liftoff. Begin sequence.”

 

“Argos Moose 1, confirm. Cleared for liftoff. Beginning sequence.”

 

The intercom squawked and a voice sounded. “Secure all loose gear. We are cleared for liftoff. Take your places and batten down.”

 

“Alright, you heard the skipper. Stow it. Park it. Anchor it. No time to waste.”

 

The Major looked up from her seat as the Captain went through the compartment final checking all clamps, locks, and belts. He took his seat in the cockpit and strapped himself in. Putting on his helmet and plugging in, “Hermes 1 Argos all green.” He looked back into the cabin and grinned. She knew what was coming next.

It started as a vibration and turned into a low rumble. The low rumble built into a deafening roar. The passengers within the cabin bounced and shook as the Argos began lift off from MOOS 1. The deafening roar built into a crescendo then there was nothing. No sound, no roar, no mad bouncing, only a slight vibration.

 

The intercom squawked, “We are clear of Moose 1. We are beginning our approach vectors over the designated insertion point. ETA in 2. Begin checklists for departure and insertion.”

 

The Captain spoke into his helmet mic, “Hermes 1 Argos, copy and confirm. Beginning checklists for departure and insertion.” Pulling the mic out of the way and turning his head to look at the Major, “You are green for make-ready.” The Major nodded.

 

Unstrapping herself from the seat, the Major stood up. Using the handholds above her to steady herself in the near 0G atmosphere, she looked into the cabin at the faces staring back at her. “Alright, you wannabee starjockeys! Look lively! It’s time to earn your paychecks. Officers to your stations. Prepare for insertion. Run final checks on all equipment and back to your seats for the bounce in 1 45. Now, let’s move!”

 

A flurry of motion occurred next as officers and enlisted moved back and forth throughout the cabin. Equipment diagnostics were run and gear was confirmed securely stowed. Officers went over checklists and confirmed results with Tech Sergeants. Each officer in turn reported their findings to the Major. The Major and her second in command walked the cabin inspecting everything. Satisfied that everything was spec, they moved to the front of the cabin and began reviewing their Op Orders. The Major looked down at her chrono. “Time!” People made it quick time for their seats and began strapping on gear and pressure helmets. “O2 checks now!” One by one each crewman gave a thumbs-up. “Strap it!” As she donned her own pressure helmet and checked the 02 she could hear her team strapping themselves in for final approach. She gave a thumbs-up to the Captain in the pilot’s seat. He returned the gesture. Even though she could not see his face behind the helmet, she knew he was smiling. “Comm check. Round Robin.”

 

“Copy, Major. Listen up, starjockeys, pipe up when you name is called.”

 

The Captain went through the crew. Everyone’s comms were operational. He did his final check on their straps and locks. After checking the Major, he made a horizontal circle with his index finger while pointing down followed by an okay sign with his hand. The Major acknowledged with a thumbs-up. Everyone was secure and okay. The Captain sat back in his seat and strapped himself in. He gave a thumbs-up to his co-pilot who returned the gesture. He plugged into the console and flipped a switch.

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. We are all green and ready to drop.”

 

“Argos Hermes 1. Copy. Green and ready to drop. We are on final vector. Stand by for release.”

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. Standing by for final release.”

 

Metal clanging against metal sounded around the Hermes 1 as docking clamps released their hold on the launch.

 

“Argos Hermes 1. You may ignite your engines.”

“Hermes 1 Argos. Copy. Igniting engines.”

 

A whooping sound traveled through the cabin. It slowly built in tempo until it was a constant thrumming sound.

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. Engines are green.”

 

“Argos Hermes 1. Copy. Engines are green. Stand by for release in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.”

 

Clang, shwoosh. Floating. Falling. Tilt. Dip forward.

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. We are clear and 0.”

 

“Argos Hermes 1. Copy. Clear and 0. Have a safe trip.”

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. Roger. Now for the fun part.”

 

Simulations and near orbit bounces were nothing compared to actual atmo penetration. They all started out the same though. A sick free floating sensation followed by a heavy jar then the earthquake, the noise, the incessant vibrating of everything. Just keep gritting your teeth, the Major thought to herself. Just keep gritting your teeth. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Starjockey landers are taught how to semi-sleep. With eyes shut and breathing easy, the body goes into a hyper-relaxed state similar to sleep. The difference is the mind is acutely aware of all surroundings and can perform limited functions. She had become comfortable with staying in this state during all of her teams near orbit bounces. This was different though. This time they were going all the way through. She had to keep her focus on the mission and what it took to get there.

The hard bounce had begun. It was as if every bone in her body was trying to work itself loose. She watched the cloth of her pressure suit bounce and flop around with every hit and rebuff the Martian atmosphere gave them.

 

“Woohoo! Ride’em, cowboy!” He was laughing as he fought with the controls.

 

She wanted to tell him to can the chatter, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t sure she could speak cogently now, anyway. Captain William “Wild Bill” Rogers was from Texas. He fancied himself a Texas cowboy. Although the closest he ever came to beef was on his dinner plate. She allowed him a certain amount of leeway. He was an ace starjockey and coxswain. She knew it was his way of handling the stress of the situation. The launch continued to bounce and buck. Then as abruptly as it started, it stopped.

 

“Adjusting thrusters. This air is thinner than we thought for this weight. Fuel burn will be faster than anticipated, Major.”

 

“Copy that. Hold station long enough to lock GPS then roll into some currents to buoy us.” She replied.

 

“Roger. Holding station. Commo, do your magic. Get us a lock, Barker.”

 

“Working it, Captain. Will have it in just a few secs.”

 

“Copy.”

 

The Captain flicked a switch.

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. Do you copy?”

 

Static.

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. Do you copy?”

 

Static.

 

“Major, we gotta move if we want to talk to Argos.”

 

“Roger that. Take us lateral and hold at 10,000.”

 

“Copy. Lateral and 10,000.”

 

The Hermes 1 swayed and pitched as the Captain maneuvered the launch into wide arcs looking for air currents.

 

“Skipper, I have GPS lock.”

 

“Copy. GPS lock. Major, do we have your go?”

 

“Affirmative. You are go for insertion. Just get us down safely, Captain”

 

“Roger. We are go for insertion.”

 

She knew he resisted the pitch-roll-s-curve dive he often pulled in sim. This was real with real hardware, real people, and really hard dirt that was unforgiving if you landed too fast. Captain Rogers dipped to port and slid the nose forward. The vibration from the upper atmosphere began to buffet the launch. Riding waves of upper air turbulence, the Captain guided the small craft in a long, slow ellipse of descent.  

 

“Major, we are green and 0. Attempting contact with Argos.”

 

”Affirmative. Green and 0. Contacting Argos.”

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. Do you copy? We are green and 0 for final insertion.”

 

Static.

 

“Argos Hermes 1. Glad you to hear you, Bill! Copy you are green and 0 for final insertion.”

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. Thanks, Margo. Glad to hear you too. Hermes 1 standing-by.”

 

The Captain turned to the Major. “Major, here comes the fun part.”

 

The reversing thrusters hit and everyone was thrown forward. The bull ride began anew. Decelerating from upper level atmosphere to lower level atmosphere was a bumpy ride. While the Hermes was designed for in-atmosphere navigation, the Martian atmosphere was turbulent. The roving bands of sand storms and super-tornadic events made a constantly shifting air mass which seemed to toss the Hermes around like a leaf in a wind storm. The Major lost track of the comm traffic that the pilots were shouting out. Green zero, minus1. Compensating. Green plus 1, plus 2. Yellow plus 2, minus 1. They were having a difficult time. Instead of focusing on the pilots’ chatter, she focused on sleep, the landers’ at-rest state. She had no control over the pilots, the atmo, or how hard they would land. She had control over how calm she was going to be during the ride. It was a bull ride and longer than the eight seconds required before the horn.

 

“We are going to over shoot ideal,” the Captain said over the comm link. “Major, should we make another pass to hit ideal?”

 

Not trusting her voice in this bouncing, she kept her response short, “Hit… ideal,… Captain.”

 

“Confirm. Hit ideal.”

 

She could feel the Hermes banking to port, shifting and bouncing through the air pockets. She tried not to focus on time, just staying at rest. The Hermes shifted again, this time to starboard, and fell for a moment before hitting hard against another air mass. The long looping turns were to reduce their speed in upper atmo and to shorten the length of their descent. She knew “Wild Bill” would later say this was the best part of the whole mission. She would remember the bouncing. There was more bouncing, more shifting, more dropping, more hard hits against air masses, then finally what she wanted to hear.

 

“We are green and 0-0 for final approach. Topography is unchanged. I have visual on ideal. It won’t be long now. Stand-by for landing sequence. Applying reverse thrusters.” The Hermes threw everyone forward into their harnesses as the thrusters sounded. “We are still too hot for landing gear. Apply 30 percent flaps.”

 

A low whine sounded followed by a greater rushing of air around the Hermes. This really angered the bull and it began to kick and buck hard.

 

“We are still green and 0-0. Air speed is yellow for landing gear but do-able. Going 60 percent flaps and breaking.”

 

The thrusters sounded louder and the bucking kicked up more. Then it eased off.

 

“Air speed is green. Landing gear is green. We are on target for ideal.”

 

The Hermes bucked and bounced a bit more then stalled. The thrusters sounded louder. Forward motion had stopped and they were descending vertically. Time seemed to stand still. All that could be heard was the roar of the engines slowing the effects of gravity. All that could be felt was the vibration of the rockets. The sensation of motion stopped then there was a hard jolt. The engines began to wind down. The noise of thrusters softened. Then quieted to a low rumble. They were down.

 

“Major,… Welcome to Mars. Commander’s privilege?” Captain Rogers turned in his chair to look at the Major.

 

“Give me a link, Captain.”

 

The Captain flipped a switch. “You are go, Major.”

 

“Hermes 1 Argos.”

 

“Argos Hermes 1. Copy.”

 

“Hermes 1 Argos. We are on Mars.”

 

*                     *                     *

 

The Major went over her checklist again. Everything was in order. All indicators were green. All comms were green. Commo was setup. Data was being sent back to Argos and MOOS 1. All eyes, it would appear, were on her team now. Atmo checked green. No storms. Initial sensor checks confirmed satellite imagery. The ground was hard enough to support their weight. This is it then. Time to go outside.

 

“Listen up, team!” Her team of highly skilled, highly motivated professionals stopped what they were doing looked to their team commander. “This is it. Time to go outside. Let’s play it by the numbers. Everyone to your positions. Stand by your gear. Let’s take a walk outside.” There were the muffled sounds of gloved hands clapping and several thumbs-up as the Major made her way to the rear of the compartment and into the hold. Looking around to ensure everyone was in their place and clear of the compartment, “Hermes, secure the hold.”

The pressure door slowly slid into place. She could hear the clamps locking and the air in the hold being sucked out. The Major turned to the ramp at the rear of the hold area. Mars. The first human step on Mars, she thought.

 

“Hermes to ME1-6.”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. Copy. Open it up.”

 

“Hermes ME1-6. Stand-by for Martian air.”

 

It began with a hissing sound as the clamps to the exterior ramp released. The hissing continued as the pressure in the hold slowly normalized with the Martian atmosphere. A thin line of light formed around the edges of the ramp. The light grew until she realized she was looking at the Martian sky. The ramp descended slowly opening up more and more of Mars to view. There were no other noises. No voice chatter. Everyone in the hold was mesmerized by the spectacle in front of them. Mars. The ramp came to a stop. The hiss of pressure release was heard as the ramp settled into place. Mars.

 

“Ready vids. This one is for posterity.”

 

The Commo replied back, “We have you, Major. You are green for entry into Mars.”

 

The Major swallowed. Mars. Taking a deep breath she strode forward. The gravity was lighter than Earth but not as light as Lunar One. A slight adjustment to gate was all that was needed. She stood at the entrance to the hold at the top of the ramp, the Martian horizon silhouetted around her. She stepped forward. Walking slowly and confidently to the end of the ramp, the Major looked down to the reddish sand just beyond the ramp.

 

“Hermes 1 Argos.” She knew they were listening to their chatter. “Another small step for Man. Another giant leap for Mankind.”

 

The Major stepped onto the sand in front of her. Bringing her other foot off of the ramp and onto the sand, she stared at her feet. Major Jane Booker Tomlinson was the first human from Earth to ever set foot on another planet. She grinned and took another step.

 

The Mars Expedition team had set up their base of operations around the Hermes. In ever increasing arcs, they explored the immediate area around the Hermes. Weather monitoring stations were deployed. Soil samples were taken and were being analyzed. Rock and core samples were being taken and hermetically packaged for further analysis in Earth-side laboratories. The mostly CO2 atmosphere was deadly. The high iron content of the dust that covered everything played havoc on comms. The electro-magnetics were all over the spectrum. There was not a detectable magnetic pole. They relied upon the GPS satellites in orbit over them. It was time to venture beyond their base.

The Major took command of Rover Alpha. There were three other Rovers. She had almost gotten used to the crunch of the sand under her boots. Sound traveled differently in the Martian atmosphere. She sat behind the steering controls and throttled up. The sand and loose rocks crunched under the wheels of the Rover.

By the numbers, she thought. Their first excursions were to be short distance along predetermined compass points. These exploration trips were to continue until they met the halfway mark on their oxygen supply then they were to “bingo for air.” She would let them know to make next gen rovers with their own air supply for longer ground reconnaissance, she thought. The Rover bounced along over the terrain in the light gravity of the atmosphere.

Except for the extreme danger of their situation, the excursions had become almost routine. Rover Alpha was on its third compass point when it picked up a low power reading just beyond bingo. The Major stopped the Rover and scanned the horizon. There were no visuals of anything other than more rocks and sand. She adjusted the scanners to better pinpoint the origin of the signal. The electromagnetic distortion was still too great.

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. Are you copying what I have here?”

 

“Hermes ME1-6,” the Commo replied. “We are.” The excitement in the officer’s voice was readily detectable. “What do you think you have, Major?”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. Dunno, but I will need more air to get closer to it. Confirm with Argos they are receiving this. Get someone working on getting me set up with more air. ME1-6 out.”

 

She marked the location with a beacon and turned the Rover back to Hermes. She will need more air. She had to see what it was. Proceed cautiously, she reminded herself. The Major willed herself not to day dream about the possibilities as the Rover bounced and jostled its way back to Hermes. She put her mind to the problem of more air. She had to get there.

It was several hours later and many conferences with Argos and MOOS1. They were told they had to sit tight while the engineers worked out the problem. The Major played it by the numbers. There was a lot of speculation by the Hermes ground team. Speculation was just that. Guessing. She needed hard facts not just theory, educated guessing. She had her Rover teams continue their sweeps along their assigned compass points. She even went back out along her other assigned points. She did not have the spare manpower to work the problem of additional air. There was only so much time they had on the ground. There was only so much air, food, and water. They would have to work their current assignments before the team was bingo on supplies and had to lift off for Argos in station above them holding geo-stable orbit.

While the engineers worked out the problem, the Major did too. The compass point excursions had become mundane. Drive to bingo air, turn around, re-supply, rest, take the next point and go. Her mind kept working the problem around confirming the data collection as she chased her assigned compass points. Moving the Hermes would be too expensive on fuel and platform. Whatever is out there might get disturbed by the insertion of Hermes in closer proximity. And, there would be the question of a stable platform for Hermes. What was the terrain like in that area? Would it support Hermes? Evac and rescue of a multi-ton ship and crew would take too long for the crew. They could run out of supplies, heat, and air long before MOOS1 could get a rescue team to them. What to do? She asked herself again.

She found herself lost in thought. Steering the Rover had become almost automatic. The terrain variations were minimal. The readouts on the screens never varied. Mars appeared to be very boring around their base of operations. True there were other very exciting features around Mars but the first expedition, it was decided, should be “safe” and for data collection. Hmmph, she mentally shrugged to herself. They were doing that. She looked down at her readings. O2 green. Distance 100km. Temperature normal. GPS normal. Comm links green. Sensor data moving. Rover power supply green. Everything was progressing fine. She pushed on. Her mind wandered back to her other problem. How does she get to the low power source she detected? She continued to play several scenarios through her head. None of them seemed to work. The static and comm link sounded in her head.

 

“Hermes ME1-6. You are bingo plus 10. Do you copy?”

 

The Major looked down at her panels and O2 levels. Yes she was.

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. Roger. Copy that.”

 

“Hermes ME1-6. What is your status? You need to get your butt back here QT.”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. I am green on everything but O2. Set rescue teams to receive me. I am on the way to you QT.”

 

“Hermes ME1-6. Copy. What happened, Major?”

 

Lost in thought, she chided herself.

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. Saving air. Call you when I am closer. ME1-6 out.”

 

The Major looked down at her panels. She had gone 200km beyond bingo. This was going to be a long ride back. She turned the Rover around and locked on Hermes signal. She checked the emergency beacon on the Rover. It was green. She checked her personal beacon. It showed green. At least they will be able to find me, she thought. She put her focus on the horizon in front of her and began to relax. If nothing scary happened to make her heart and respiration rate go up, she should be able to get really close to Hermes before she asphyxiated. She began to take her body into the semi-sleep she was trained to do as a starjockey lander.

Her mind wandered in semi-sleep as she maintained the hyper-relaxed state. The bounce and crunch kept her awake, just barely. Her eyes drifted from the controls to the horizon to the readings. She was AOK as long as she maintained rest. She lost track of time. Her thoughts wandered back and forth from her hometown of Bixby to the unknown power source to the rocky terrain in front of her to the chewing she would receive back on MOOS1 to the real possibility of suffocating to her time at the academy to her training missions to the landing to her first steps on Mars to her childhood visits to the Moon to the control panels and readouts. The horizon was constant and did not change. The bounce and crunch over rocks and sand continued. She looked at her O2. She was still yellow. Good.

Time had become a routine of putting down the thoughts of CO2 poisoning as she suffocated, watching the panels and Hermes signal beacon, managing the controls at the Rover’s best speed, and focusing on staying semi-asleep-relaxed. An alarm was sounding. The Major scanned the panels. She had just gone red. O2 was dangerously low. She turned off the alarm.

 

“Hermes ME1-6. Your O2 just alarmed. What is your status?”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. I am AOK. I’d rather not talk about it right now. I am beyond bingo air and on my way to you.”

 

“Hermes ME1-6. Copy. We show you just over horizon. Can you make it?”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes. I will.”

 

The Major saw the dark speck on the red horizon. Hermes! She had to fight the urge to be excited. Her eyelids were slits. Her breathing shallow and slow. A gaze at her panels indicated everything green except for breathable air. She was nearing 0 percent. Fear tried to well up. She fought it. Her heart rate was increasing. She exhaled slowly. She held her breath and counted. Thirty. Forty-five, Sixty. She inhaled deeply. Thirty, Forty-five, Sixty. She exhaled slowly then inhaled. Thirty, Forty-five, Sixty. She exhaled slowly then inhaled. She knew if she kept this up she would black out soon. She had very little air left. She reached up with her right hand and clicked on her personal beacon. She could see dust clouds along the horizon. Thirty, Forty-five, Sixty. She glanced down at her panels. Hermes was 0 in front of her. Thirty, Forty-five, Sixty. She was beginning to get lightheaded. Thirty, Forty-five, Sixty. She wondered if she was actually seeing the Rovers approaching her. Someone was saying something over the comm link. Something about stopping. There was someone on her Rover removing her hands from the controls. Thirty, Forty-five, Sixty. She wasn’t bouncing anymore. There was a hiss. She lost all of her air now, she thought. And, I almost made it too. Sorry, Janey. She felt a sting in her arm.

The Major opened her eyes. She looked around. She was on the Hermes. She was still in her pressure suit.

 

“She’s awake, Doc.”

 

“Copy that. Keep her mixture rich and make sure she eats.”

 

A helmeted face came into view as she tried to sit up.

 

“Not so fast, Major. Your head is going to hurt for a bit and you will be a little woozy. Just relax and eat something. Okay?”

 

“Yeah, head thrumming.” She connected the fluid and food tubes to her pressure suit and began taking in nourishment.

 

“What happened out there, Major? You went way off the grid.”

 

What did happen out there? She thought. She couldn’t tell them she was daydreaming and lost track of distance. She wouldn’t lie. So, what happened? What could she tell them?

 

“You did a 1000km turn around. That far exceeds your bingo for air.”

 

“Yeah.” Her head still hurt but the food and water were helping.

 

“I think I found away to get to the power source without too much additional engineering.”

 

The medic just stared at his patient. She doesn’t let up, he thought to himself.

 

*                     *                     *

 

The Major had explained in detail, again, what she planned to do. The risks were high, but the potential rewards were higher. She would load additional canisters on Rover Alpha. Rover Bravo would follow her to bingo air with the same load out and hold station. Rover Alpha would continue onward to the power source detected earlier. There would be no time for investigation beyond the initial sightseeing tour. If anything of significance was discovered, a second team would be deployed from Argos to investigate. The window for execution was short. She would have enough time to get out there and back before Hermes had to lift off. It was risky but she was used to taking risks. She was a starjockey lander. She was trained to go into inhospitable environments, survive, and return to report. This was just another mission within a mission. MOOS1 had approved the plan with exceptions. Hermes 1 was to rendezvous at point bingo if her timetable was not met. It would put them closer on fuel than anyone would have liked, but it was agreed that getting more initial information on the power source was worth the risk.

The Major oversaw the pack out. Everything except for the listening posts, experiments, and a marker beacon would be removed from the landing site. A small ESA flag was anchored deep into the rocky soil. The flag also contained information regarding Earth and ESA. There was hope that some other intelligent life might find the flag and the data. But the evidence thus far from Mars was it was not likely. Posterity then, she thought. She inspected the flag one last time. Saluted it and returned to her ground crew at Hermes.

 

“Everything is ready, Major. Any second thoughts or anything we may have left out of the plan?”

 

The Major eyed her second in command. Major Mark Dawson was an excellent officer and friend. He was every bit the leader she was. His fitreps marked him as an officer of distinction with a brilliant career ahead of him and an already envious career behind him. He might have been leading this mission if he had just six more months of seniority. It was that way with all five teams. Everyone was so well matched that any senior officer in the group could have been a mission commander. There was no jealousy. There was no animosity. Mark was an excellent member of the team and the best second anyone could have.

 

“Major Dawson, everything is green. You have command of ME1. I will see you at pick up.”

 

Major Dawson saluted. She returned the salute. They stuck out their hands and clasped them in a last “farewell.”

 

“You heard the Major. Pack it up. Make ready for lift off in 6.” Major Dawson walked off to begin herding the team into action.

 

“Okay, let’s saddle up. ME1-6 Hermes 1. Signal.”

 

“Hermes 1 ME1-6. I have you 5 by 5. Good luck, Major. Have fun.”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes 1. No luck to it. Just a drive in the park.”

 

The Major checked the Rovers one more time. Her number two on this mission was Captain Jeff Parker. A serious operator that performed extremely well under pressure.

 

“Everything is green, Major.”

 

“Roger. Saddle up, Captain.”

 

The Major sat in the pilot’s seat and strapped herself in. She began turning on various functions of Rover Alpha, including the locator beacon. It was decided it would best to have a clearer picture of where her Rover was as they departed away from Hermes. Checking her screen, she could see Rover Bravo’s beacon. On her screen, it was right next to hers. Looking right, she gave a thumbs-up to Captain Parker. He returned the gesture. The Major adjusted her seating position one more time. She laid back just a bit more then throttled up. The twin Rovers kicked up a small dust cloud as they headed in the direction of the marker beacon left behind just a few days ago. Immediately, she began the regimen of relaxation breathing that would allow her to enter the near-sleep-relaxed state. She steeled herself against the excitement of the unknown and drifted into a pattern of slow, easy breaths, minimal movements, and letting her eyes scan from the horizon to the panels to her teammate on her right.

It was in no time before they had visual on the marker beacon left behind earlier. This is where they had planned to leave Rover Bravo, but Captain Parker argued since they had covered so much ground and O2 levels were well above bingo, they should continue onward until he reached bingo. She agreed. They collected the beacon and continued onward. The Martian terrain never varied. It was all rock and sand covered in red dust.

An alarm sounded. The Major checked her panels. The Captain was at bingo. She motioned they should stop.

 

“I’m alone from here, Captain. Set the beacon and wait.”

 

“Major, I knew I forgot something.” She looked at the Captain questioning. “I forgot my cards. I could get in a few games of Solitaire while you are gone?

 

The Major just shook her head as she got back into her Rover. She toggled a switch. “ME1-6 Hermes 1.”

 

“Hermes 1 ME1-6. Copy.”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes 1. We are at bingo. Repeat. We are at bingo. I am moving forward to power source. ME1-4 remaining at bingo. Copy.”

 

“Hermes 1 ME1-6. Copy. ME1-4 at bingo. ME1-6 moving forward. Hermes 1 will be stand by in 1.”

 

“ME1-6 Hermes 1. Roger. You are in stand by in 1.”

 

The Major reviewed her panel. The signature detected was weak but still there. She throttled up and bounced away toward the source of the power signature. Instinctively, she restarted her regimen of breathing and relaxation. She was going far beyond what her vehicle and equipment were designed to do. She kept the telltale reading on her 0 and scanned the horizon. Topo maps showed no major valleys or craters in her path. It should be easy driving in front of her, she laughed to herself. Except for the constant bump and bounce as the Rover road over the rocks and rough terrain.

An alarm sounded. The Major looked down at the panels. Captain Parker was well behind her now. The alarm was her O2 sensor. She was in red now. The first challenge of the mission. Change out O2 without any assistance. The power signature was still distant from her position but she was closing on it. It should be on her screen shortly. The Major brought her Rover to a stop. She inspected the ground around her. Rocks and sand and red dust. Unstrapping herself from the pilot’s seat, she carefully stepped out of the vehicle. No sense in making any careless mistakes out here, she thought. Slowly she walked to the storage area of the Rover and unstrapped a spare tank. Taking a few deep breaths, she held one. With a quick twist and a hiss, she was without air. Acting calmly and slowly, she connected the nozzle to her suit. Click. It was in place. She released the valve. She could feel the pressure building back up in her suit. She looked down at the gauges on her wrist. Green and full. Carefully, she unhitched the air pack off of her back and replaced it with the fresh one. Carefully, she strapped the spent one to the back of the Rover. Only when she was seated back in the pilot’s seat strapped in and moving did she release the tension that was building.

Her new enemy was daylight. The mission had to be completed before the sunset over the horizon. The temperatures on Mars could get quite cold over night. And, the late evening dust storms could bury any sign of the power source. And her, she thought soberly. The Major pressed on keeping the throttle up, as high as she could safely go.

Three more bottle changes and she would be bingo for air. Captain Parker was at the edge of her screen and far behind her. Hermes was even farther. There was also something else on her screen. A small power signature in her 0. She was closing on it rapidly. In the far distance along the horizon, a dust wall was forming. Flashes of lighting could be seen as the static electricity arched across the sky into the sand and rocks below the brewing storm. There was something in front of her, in her 0. Something was out there. Something that showed on her screen.

The power signature was closing on her 0-0, but she still could not see anything. Whatever it is, it is small, she thought. The Rover bounced along kicking up its own little cloud of dust. It was her only telltale that she was passing through this way. The Major noticed the ground elevation was increasing. She looked to her panels. The Rover was definitely moving upward. The CO2 rich atmosphere made it difficult to visually tell small degrees in elevation. Some of the plateaus were so large and elevation so gradual you could be running up the side of the mountain long before you realized it. The elevation seemed to increase rapidly. The Rover was nearing a small ridge. It could be a crater, she thought. She slowed the Rover as it neared what appeared to be a low ridge. Looking at her panel, the low power source had to be nearby and still on her 0. Slowly she edged forward toward the top of the ridge.

The Rover crested the hill. She scanned the horizon along her 0. Increasing magnification, she scanned again. There. Something metallic was partially buried near the center of the crater. The Major observed the sides of the crater were not too steep. If she got in, she could get out.

 

“ME1-6 ME1-4. Do you copy?”

 

Static. The iron rich red dust played havoc with ground comms.

 

“ME1-6 ME1-4. Do you copy?”

 

Static.

 

The Rover’s comms were set to talk with Hermes which would still be on the ground and over the horizon. The Major got out of the Rover and set a beacon. At least this can be heard, she thought. The Major reentered the Rover, strapped herself in, and made ready to go into the crater. One last look at the panels. Everything still showed green. She pushed the throttle forward and the Rover rolled over the lip of the crater and into the bowl.

The dust was thicker inside the bowl. The Major reduced the Rover’s speed to limit the cloud it was making. The dust seemed to have the consistency of loose snow. Rather than going across the middle of the crater, she steered the Rover along the edge of the bowl. She didn’t know how deep the dust was along the bottom of the crater and did not want to find out. The power signature was close. The Major drove the Rover the last few 100 meters by sight rather than her panel indicators. She could barely make out something metallic protruding from the surface of the crater floor. She drove directly for it.

The dust nearest this metallic object was deep and very thick. The Major drove the Rover a bit up the crater wall, away from the thick dust. She unstrapped herself from the pilot’s chair and carefully tested the ground under this lake of red dust. The red dust covered her foot entirely to above her ankle. There was solid ground under the dust. Slowly and cautiously, she got fully out of the Rover and stood on both feet. This will be interesting, she thought. She picked up one foot partially from the red dust and moved it forward pressing down until she could feel the floor underneath her foot again. This will be like walking in mud and beach sand, she thought. Slowly, she waded her way closer to the metallic object.

The Major stopped. There was motion coming from the object. It was slight but there was definitely motion coming from the object. She waded laterally and toward the crater wall. She was careful to not move too quickly or to lose her balance. Circling around the object, she could see the machine was robotic. She moved in closer. She decided that it was mostly harmless and moved toward it with less temerity. She was nearly on top of it when she saw what looked like a small insignia on it. Carefully she moved close enough to it to push away some of the dust. ASA was still discernable. She pulled out her handheld interface.

 

“HHI on.” The small acrylic tablet came alive. Information flashed across the screen. A small box appeared in the upper right hand corner. It flashed the words “Link Active.”

 

“HHI. Earth tech. Mars missions. Vehicles. Search name “ASA.”

 

A scanning indicator flashed on the screen as it searched it database. It stopped and a box appeared listing numerically options to her questions. The Major read through the options quickly. One of the references showed “NASA” and “more.”

 

“HHI. Number 4. More.”

 

The box opened to information regarding the NASA organization, specifically vehicles sent to Mars. She saw an entry that said “land missions.”

 

“HHI. Land missions.”

 

A new box open listing land missions to Mars conducted by NASA. The Major saw “imagery” links for each one.

 

“HHI. Images. Mars. NASA. Vehicles. Landers.”

 

The screen came to life with pictures opening up.

 

“HHI sort by date.”

 

Again the screen came to life and the pictures were cascaded on the screen. And, there it was. “Spirit.” The Major looked down. The Earth tech buried in the dust was the same as in the picture.

 

“HHI. Access comm link files for NASA Mars Lander Spirit.”

 

The screen shifted and more data appeared.

 

“HHI. Activate and download.”

 

The screen on the HHI shifted again. The scanning indicator flashed and the HHI was trying to connect with Spirit. Spirit whirred, clicked, and jumped in response to the HHI. The Major was not prepared for the sudden noise and motion in the vast desert of Mars. The noise and the motion caused her to jump slightly. She lost her footing and slid. Before she had a chance to recover, she was on her back covered in red dust and sliding downward. She bounced and slid. Flailing for anything to stop her forward motion. Then nothing. She knew she was falling.

 

An alarm was sounding in her ears. She tried to open her eyes but all she saw was black. She tried blinking. Her eyes were open. Still black. She tried moving her arm. Nothing. It must be pinned, she thought. She tried moving her other arm. It moved but it was very heavy. I’m buried, she thought. I need to turn on my beacon. If it still works. The alarm continued to sound in her ears. Slowly, she worked her arm against the great weight upon it and found her chest. Slowly again, she worked her hand to the switch for her personal beacon. Click. Something moved underneath her. That’s not good, she thought. Great pain came searing up from her legs. She gritted her teeth. Meds… her brain strained against the pain. She struggled to move. With every attempted move, the thing underneath her twitched. She struggled to work her hand down to the control box on her waist. It twitched again. More searing pain wracked her body. She found the small control box. Numbly, she began sequences blindly. Pin pricks stuck her in various places until she found a combination that eased the pain. She relaxed. It twitched again. It didn’t hurt so bad that time. She hit the happy combination again. More numbing. She could feel herself falling into chemical slumber. One more time should do the trick, she thought.

“I’ll wait,” she said out loud. No one answered.

 

She began to relax herself into the landers’ semi-sleep state. She counted the number of seconds between each twitch. The counts grew longer. Whatever it is, it is calming down. She continued counting. The twitching all but stopped. The alarm continued. Her breathing became shallower. Her mind drifted as she counted between twitches. The pain was only secondary. The effects of the drugs in her suit did their job. Now, all she had to do was wait. The alarm continued. She continued to count. She slowed her breathing even more. And she waited. She felt her eyes shut. She fluttered them open. They shut again and she could see her mom and dad at her graduation ceremony. They seemed so proud of her. She was a giddy little girl; long hair, pretty dress, yellow graduation robe, holding her hat. How silly she thought she looked. But, Mom and Dad are so proud. Her mind wandered. Her breathing relaxed. She fell asleep.

Reviews

[Vanessa Whiteley]

Let me begin by stating that I don�t read a great deal of sci-fi so I�m not your ideal reader.

I�ve just been suggesting to another writer that avoiding speech tags would strengthen his writing and your story is an excellent example of that. I thought the beginning was excellent and I loved the idea of history being decided by the random choice of crumpled up paper.

�Easy for you to say, Matt.� She said to her empty office. �Your decision doesn�t decide the outcome of history.�

Great. However, I don�t think you need �And, that is how you decide history, Anna. No one will ever believe this.� as you are only repeating what you�ve already stated and it weakens what went before. It doesn�t justify the line for the characters name especially as the reader has already been told. Moreover, the action moves away from her to her choice of candidate for the Mars mission - Major Janey Tomlinson.

The journey is well described, albeit, I found these sentences weaker.

�A flurry of motion occurred next as officers and enlisted moved back and forth throughout the cabin.�

She watched the cloth of her pressure suit bounce and flop around with every hit and rebuff the Martian atmosphere gave them

The last one being difficult to read. Do you need to state that she watched her pressure suit rather than just describing it? Or if you want this to help the reader identify with the character�s experience could you trim the sentence elsewhere. Also, while I am aware that you want to place emphasis on the bounce I think that you have too many.

I like the character Captain William �Wild Bill� Rogers who was from Texas. �He fancied himself a Texas cowboy. Although the closest he ever came to beef was on his dinner plate.� Excellent, he works very well.

I think the spacecraft journey is well described. One is followed by another equally well described but the same thing. Now this may be because I�m not a sci-fi fan but at this point my mind began to wander on a little flight of its own, it became increasingly hard to focus and I entered a form of semi-sleep.

I don�t think that the character of

Major Janey Tomlinson is sufficiently developed for the reader to care what happens to her.
Yet you have the opportunity to develop her character where she loses track of time and �her thoughts wandered back and forth from her hometown of Bixby to the unknown power source.� If you could develop this part it would be a natural area to tell the reader a little about Janey. And it would give added weight to, �She couldn�t tell them she was daydreaming and lost track of distance.�
It is, also, an ideal opportunity to contrast Bixby and Mars. Both would become more interesting.

While you state that things are exciting they don�t feel exciting. Even here,

She lost her footing and slid. Before she had a chance to recover, she was on her back covered in red dust and sliding downward. She bounced and slid and flailed for anything to stop her forward motion. Then nothing. She knew she was falling.

Maybe something like:

She lost her footing. Covered in red dust she slid downward. She bounced, slid, flailed for anything to stop her forward motion. Then nothing. She knew she was falling.

Not saying that is spot on either just a tightening of the description. I leave that to you.

At the end you do introduce a little background detail but this would work better earlier so we know who Janey is before she gets into difficulties.

She fluttered them open. They shut again and she could see her mom and dad at her graduation ceremony. They seemed so proud of her. She was a giddy little girl; long hair, pretty dress, yellow graduation robe, holding her hat. How silly she thought she looked. But, Mom and Dad are so proud.

As stated earlier I�m not a sci-fi fan and don�t know that much about the generic conventions. These are just my ideas for you to take or leave as you see fit.

[Hh/happy Bunny Lives On..]

I liked this story, interesting, holding the readers attention. You leave off with the reader wanting more. And so I wait...





HH

[Krystal Waters]

The formatting is great! Wow, you could just copy and paste onto msword and there you go! I don't really read a lot of sci fi, but I enjoyed your story. You brought me in right away, which is good as you know! And the dialogue is the most important and you really did a great job with that. I think this is a great start! If you make a novel out of this I'll read the entire book! Great work!


Krystal

[Jrquick]

There are a few things in this story that could be changed in order for a better read. Such as many of the paragraphs ae large and complex and some feel awkward and to straight to the point when reading. Try describing with more adjectives and 'show dont tell'. That means dont just staright out say what a character is doing explain how the character is doing ti and what it feels like to them in there five sense. Clean the story up a bit and you will have a nice read.

[TL Boehm]

reading purely for content and character appeal as i am not a sci fi afficianado (although I do like the genre) I thought the piece was well written - this can't be a first draft by any stretch I am guessing we are reading at least a second or third.
Loved some of the elements - a female character is always nice to see in a technical piece like this - gives the story a different flavor. Loved the last scene where she is drifting off and I also thought the crumpled paper bit was great. Always like dialogue too...great to see it here. There were the technical references - but it wasn't so over the top that I had trouble understanding what was going on, the story reads easily. Nicely written and i am looking forward to the next chapter.

[Dave "Doc" Rogers]

I hope you like this. I am working on Chapter 2 now.
More later.

Doc.