«Well… I’m not sure, but it might be that some antennas got damaged while we were in orbit. They could have been hit by, I don’t know, space debris or things of that sort. If you remember… the communication with Yan ceased all of a sudden.»
Jordan sat in silence, studying his rice and considering her words. Effectively it was a very plausible theory and he wondered how could he have not thought about it before. Then a realization struck his mind and he raised his eyes back into Anna’s.
«You’re not going to go out there, I hope.»
The girl pursed her lips.
«It’s our only option.»
Jordan shook his head briefly.
«Do you have any idea how risky that is?» he snapped.
«Yes» she replied immediately, «I’ve been thinking it through for five sols, Jordan, I decided to try.»
«It’s too dangerous. Can we not leave things the way they are and just go on?»
«No, we can’t. Once we reach the terrestrial orbit we’ll have to get in touch with Earth in order to land.»
«Then let it be me to go out, I don’t want…» he stopped suddenly and dropped his gaze to the floor.
He was about to say “I don’t want something bad to happen to you”, but he failed.
«What?» Anna encouraged him in a low voice.
He swallowed.
«Well, you’d handle it all better than me in here, if necessary.»
Jordan took a glimpse of a disappointed twinkle in the girl’s eyes, who probably expected him to conclude the sentence the way he had thought it before. But maybe it was just him, for it disappeared too quickly and her expression returned stony.
«Forget about it, Jordan. I’ve been studying this ship more than you and I know how to move on the outside. I need you to stay in the descent module where there are the computers and tell me if there’s any signal recovery.»
Jordan stared at her in silence. He wanted to tell her he was afraid something bad would happen to her, he was afraid he could lose her and all of that was highly risky and he wouldn’t be able to go on without her, but not a word left his mouth, not a sound, as if he had lost the ability to speak. He wanted to tell her all of that, but on the other hand he didn’t because he feared what could happen. Therefore he did nothing but nod slightly because that was his only option.
They finished their dishes in silence and then they headed to the service module where there was a small airlock and Jordan helped Anna prepare for that spacewalk. The suit was white and incredibly big. He helped her slip into it and to seal it, then he connected it to the miniature Life Support System that she carried on her shoulders like a backpack. He tied the toolbox to a belt of the suit so that she wouldn’t lose it and then moved around her as Yan had done with both of them, to double-check everything. She remained still, her movements were very much limited by that spacesuit. They took some more time to run all the verifications on every system in order to make sure the suit had no pressure losses and everything worked properly.
«You’re fine. Everything’s okay?»
«Everything’s okay» she confirmed.
Then Jordan pushed a button next to the airlock, opening it, and they entered together. There was a rope rolled up next to the external hatch, Jordan grabbed it and attached the clasp to Anna’s suit, so that she wouldn’t fly away in space. The two looked at each other in the eyes through the suit’s visor.
«Listen-» Jordan began, uncertain. «Just, you better come back, you hear me? Alive, I mean.»
The girl nodded with decision and then let out a tense chuckle at his last statement. Jordan backed away out of the airlock. He nodded once again at Anna and then pushed the button again. The airlock closed. Within few moments, Anna was going to be in the frigid vacuum of space.
Once in the descent module, Jordan slipped into the narrow compartment with the three seats and the on-board instrumentation. He sat in the center and put on a pair of headphones with a microphone.
«Anna, do you copy? Over» he called.
The answer arrived shortly after and Jordan took the first sigh of relief: it meant the antenna for the extravehicular activities communication was still intact.
«I copy you. I just got out of the airlock. It’s bone-chilling.»
Jordan could perceive the deep emotion leaking out in her voice.
«I imagine, but stay focused and don’t waste time.»
«Have you forgotten who you’re talking to, Jordan?»
«Now’s not the time.»
«So, hear me out. There are two computers. The one on the left deals with communications and telemetry, you follow me?»
«I follow you, I’m in front of it.»
«You have to try send a message to the Aresland. Everything’s automatic, just find the right chat-room.»
«I proceed. Where are you?»
«At the moment I’m… moving around the service module. The antennas are on the opposite side of the airlock. Right now I could literally sit on a solar panel if I wanted.»
«Please, don’t.»
Meanwhile Jordan inspected the entire computer on the left and after ending up on a section showing the telemetry until the point when all the communications had shut down, he found the way to send messages. He also found the possibility to contact Houston on Earth, but he opted for the Aresland as he was told to do.
He typed “Odysseus spaceship here, are you receiving us?” and pushed the “send” button, but a red text appeared right away on the screen, saying “No signal”. Jordan read it out loud in the microphone.
«Normal» Anna commented as expecting it. «Okay, I’m on the opposite side of the service module. I see the antennas and…»
«And?»
«I need to take a closer look.»
Jordan sighed and a good minute of silence passed while the boy’s eyes remained fixed on that red text on the screen while hoping with all of himself it was nothing too bad.
«Oh...» he heard Anna’s voice and he straightened up on his seat.
«What? What do you see?»
«As I imagined. It’s the bigger antenna, the high-gain one. The parabola. It seems impossible it’s still here, I swear» a nervous giggle followed.
«What’s the problem?»
«It fell off. It’s hanging on a wire only. I think one of the nuts that kept it in place wasn’t closed well and it ceded under an impact, followed by all the others.»
«You think you can repair it?»
«Yeah, it’s nothing really. It’ll take a moment.»
«Alright, hurry up.»
«Don’t rush me!»
«The longer you stay out there, the riskier it gets. Just do the work and come back.»
«Be silent one moment, please» she pleaded and Jordan sighed impatiently.
Several, long moments passed before Anna spoke again.
«Now the antenna’s in position. I’m about to tighten the third bolt.»
«Still no signal.»
«It’s okay, it’ll take some minutes.»
Jordan was about to take a sigh of relief, convinced that everything was going to be fine. But when he heard Anna’s voice again, his heartbeat accelerated suddenly and he went pale.
«No no no no no!» he heard her shriek.
«What happened? Are you alright?» he jumped up, alarmed.
«No! Damn it!» she continued with a frustrated tone.
Jordan was horrified, the girl breathed as if to calm herself down.
«I lost the toolbox, it flew away. I accidentally hit it and now the antenna is fixed with three nuts instead of four!» she explained with glum voice, then she resumed with an almost amused hint, «Even two screwdrivers got out of it and are now floating away in different directions.»
Jordan rolled his eyes and hid his face in his hands while he realized nothing bad had happened and Anna was still fine.
«You scared me to death, you know that? Don’t dare do that again!»
«This is still an awful s
ituation! It isn’t well assured and it could break again! And… For Olympus’ sake, wait a second.»
«What now!?» Jordan asked once again with his hands in his hair and almost mocking a desperate tone.
«I can’t believe it, that wasn’t only debris! It seems we’ve gone through an entire swarm of meteorites» she sighed, daunted. «One of the two Star Trackers was destroyed, there are just some pieces left here.»
«But there are two, right?» Jordan pointed out.
«Yes, indeed. The backup one was activated automatically. Jordan, do you realize what trouble we’re in? If we happen to meet another swarm we’ll be left without communication and orientation! We’d be lost in the fuckin’ nothing!»
Jordan was about to answer, when suddenly a brief notification alarm started off on the computer in front of him, capturing his gaze. He saw that the text “No signal” had disappeared and his message had been sent. Since the signal took about seven minutes to reach Mars from there, he wondered how long would it take for them to read it and answer.
«The signal’s back!» he exclaimed in the microphone, «The message was sent!»
«Well, at least that.»
«Reenter, now. I’ll wait for you in front of the airlock.»
«Fine, I’m coming back to the airlock. Over.»
Jordan took off the headphones and sneaked out of the descent module, heading back to the airlock. He wasn’t sure if he felt better or worse than before. But at least Anna was fine and in that moment it was the only thing that mattered to him.
At least half an hour had passed since the signal had returned. Jordan was helping Anna get rid of the spacesuit when suddenly a notification alarm started off from the descent module. They flew into it as soon as they finished the work and briefly exchanged looks before opening the chat-room with the Aresland. There was an answer.
[Aresland]: YOU’RE ALIVE THEN! Maybe you’re not aware of it, but for three damn months the whole Martian population has feared the worst for you! Ah, I forgot, but probably you already figured it out… This is Yan talking, directly from the Hong Se De Du’s main hall, Aresland station, Hellas Planitia, Mars. I’ll write a quite long message because a chat with short and immediate messages is kind of far-fetched considering the distance and the time-delays. I got to tell you some things, I’ll leave the questions to the end. So, the communication link had just shut down when the base was taken over by an enemy army… Alright, just kidding. Six people from the Aresland arrived with three rovers. I admit I was a little scared at the beginning, I thought they would scold me brutally, but it didn’t happen. Well, of course they weren’t all smiles and hugs, but when they asked why had we done it and I answered “Because it was written in the instructions for the Nostoi Mission” they didn’t reply. I think I convinced them. For the entire trip back they explained to me that we weren’t ready yet for that mission, speaking in terms of physical development etcetera, and so you might encounter quite serious problems on Earth. That’s why they kept it hidden: they feared that what happened would actually happen. However, useless to say that once I got home I’ve been grounded for one month: no digital devices for twenty-eight long sols. No videogames at all, can you believe it? However I’m just fine now. Everyone here was uncertain on whether being terribly mad at us or admire us, but eventually they all passed to the second option. We’ve launched a kind of rocket with the two of you onboard, Holy Olympus! Then we’ve tried repeatedly to make a contact with you, but every attempt was in vain and so we all began to worry seriously. You have no idea of the happiness to know you’re still alive! By the way, there’s everyone here around me right now, literally everyone. There has been a kind of explosive party when I announced I had received a message from you. They say hi and wish you a safe trip and landing. Ah, Jordan, Hans is telling me to remind you to visit the German countryside. While, Anna, your father says on the Odysseus there’s a package with many books you may enjoy. So, this is it. How are you? What happened and how did you solve it? You can’t imagine how amazing it is to be able to communicate with you again.
I’m looking forward to your answer within the following twenty minutes.
I wish I were there with you, with mind and heart, I’m always there.
See you soon,
Yan.
Jordan and Anna read that message together, silently, smiling occasionally. The girl was on the verge of new tears, but she tried hard to hold them back. They read the message several times before deciding together what to write back.
[Odysseus]: Hello Nunki, you have no idea how heavy your absence is! We miss you so much, sincerely. To answer your question: we’re fine, we’re alive and everything’s alright… or almost. We’re really sorry for your grounding and, look, we’d almost feel compassion for you if it weren’t for the fact that we’re in way worse conditions. Not to mention that there’s nothing to do up here apart from reading, playing some quite boring videogames and do gym and time seems to never pass! Anyways, after we reached the orbit, we collided with a swarm of meteorites and we haven’t come out unharmed: the high-gain antenna fell off and one of the two Star Trackers was completely destroyed. Just tosol Anna got out to readjust the antenna, but she accidentally lost the toolbox before she could tighten the fourth bolt. While for what regards the Tracker, there’s nothing we can do, there’s the backup one. So, briefly, here is the situation: we have three months of trip left onboard a ship with an unstable antenna and only one Star tracker. Suppose we encounter other dangerous space debris. If the antenna breaks completely, we won’t be able to communicate with anyone anymore. If the Tracker breaks, we’ll lose ourselves in space. On top of that, it is our understanding from your message that the landing itself will be equally dangerous for us, so… wonderful.
Whatever will happen, we’ve loved you. Say hi to everyone. We’ll do our best to stay alive.
See you soon,
Jordan and Anna.
P.S. From Jordan: tell my father I’ll say hi to mum for him.
FIFTEEN
~ The sol before ~
NASA Johnson Space Center – 5 days before
The cold sun of September was high in the sky of Houston, its wintery rays softly caressed the building of Johnson Space Center, occasionally hidden away by clouds. Claire Dennis was in her office, busy signing and revising some official documents. It was an incredibly beautiful day, quiet and peaceful.
Since several weeks now, Dennis had begun to persuade herself of the fact that everything was going to proceed smoothly, yet she knew by experience that that tranquility wasn’t destined to last. Just when she was about to convince herself that she was going to have an unproblematic working day, someone knocked on her door.
«Come in» she called without lifting her gaze from her matters.
She heard the door opening but no step came forward.
«Claire, you’re needed in the briefing room» Tom Reynolds’ voice spoke.
Dennis raised her head. There was one only reason why Reynolds would come to call her at that hour.
«Tom, why am I having a bad feeling?» she asked casually, returning to flip through the documents on her desk.
«Come and find out.»
She sighed profoundly and nodded before joining her colleague in the corridor.
«So» she began while walking at a deliberate pace, «What else have those three Martians in-search-of-identity messed up this time?»
Reynolds hid a chuckle.
«Nothing dangerous, they’ve been good kids.»
Dennis’ expression darkened as she wondered for what terrifying reason had she been called then.
«How bad is it?» she asked seriously.
«Oh, it isn’t» Reynolds answered calmly, «For now.»
They entered the briefing room finding some representatives of the Ad Martem 12 and Nostoi teams. There was even John Torres, older and retired many years since. He insisted on being there even if he wasn’t the mission’s director anymore.
«It
’s the only solution we have, we must contact them immediately» a young man of the Nostoi team was saying with urgency.
«Contact who?» Dennis asked aloud as she entered and everyone turned to her.
«The Odysseus crew, ma’am» the man replied.
«They must slow down the ship» Agatha Quinn spoke up, she was the space manoeuvre specialist. «They’re moving very rapidly, it’s about thirteen point five kilometers per second. And this velocity doesn’t guarantee an optimal orbital insertion.»
«It sure doesn’t! At this speed they’d see the Earth in passing and bye bye forever, to infinity and beyond!» the young man interjected.
Agatha Quinn sent him a brief glare for his tone, then returned to look at Dennis with a sigh.
«In short: they slow down… or it’s over.»
The hall fell in silence.
«What’s the plan?» Dennis spoke.
«My team and I have first of all taken into consideration a deceleration using the retrorockets, but we’ve found it wouldn’t be efficient enough. Therefore, given these circumstances, the most ideal and practicable solution would be a flyby of the Moon. By flying over it very very closely, its gravity would slow down the ship enough to allow a direct reentry in the atmosphere, without risks. Of course, “without” so to say.»
«At this moment they are more than four million and a half kilometers away from the Moon, about four days of trip. In order to perform a flyby the orbital trajectory must be slightly modified and it must happen at least two days before. This is why we must contact them as soon as possible. There’s their life at stake» the young man concluded.
«This is a substantial reason, the manoeuvre is an immediate priority» Dennis commented with determination, sharing a look with Reynolds and Kelley, who nodded. «Proceed to contact them immediately.»
The young man and Quinn nodded and everyone rushed out of the room to head to the control room. The administrator, the vice and the associate stayed.
«How long till the landing?» Dennis asked crossing her arms and leaning against the central table.
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