Discovery

by Paul Rix

  With Georgia appearing to be in good spirits, Doctor Betts didn't have a valid reason to prevent her from helping.

  Georgia smiled and also nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, I'll be back down there as soon as I've changed my clothes. I'm eager to move into the base with the others. Above all else, I can't wait to get my first shower in months."

  "That's what I wanted to hear. Head down to Commander Anders and the chief. They're expecting you."

  Georgia didn't need any further encouragement and left before the doctor could raise any objections. Megan looked at Captain Winter and said, "I hope you know what you're doing, Liam."

  "So do I," he replied.

  Chapter 40

  Captain Winter was filled with an immense sense of satisfaction as he looked at the crew gathered around the galley, eating breakfast together for the first time. There was an air of excitement among them as they shared stories and experiences. This was, after all their first morning in the base. At that moment in time, they could be anywhere. Work colleagues in a canteen relaxing over a meal before the start of a workday. There were no windows to betray the fact they were deep inside a cave on a planet other than Earth. The normality made it almost surreal.

  The first night had reminded him of spending time at summer camp as a child. The experience of camaraderie in a new and exciting environment. As a crew they had worked hard and accomplished far more than he ever expected in the time they'd been given to build the base.

  Despite fatigue, Winter knew that many had found it hard to sleep in their new surroundings. He had heard people talking and moving around for some time after he returned to his own cabin but knew it wouldn't take the crew long to settle into a new routine. He was eagerly expecting what they could achieve over the rest of their mission. Winter poured a steaming hot coffee into his personal mug with the face of William Shatner, given to him by Kristen as a joke one week before launch. Being able to use it gave him a sense of connection to her.

  He saw Commander Anders sitting at one of the tables, having a conversation with Redmayne. They paused as they saw him walking toward them. "Don't stop on my behalf," Winter said cheerily, while noticing that Redmayne looked annoyed at his interruption.

  "Good morning, sir," replied Anders. "I hope you slept well in your new quarters. The base is far better than the mock-ups we saw in Houston. And far more luxurious than my quarters on Eden."

  Winter had to agree. "Absolutely the best living conditions I've experienced in my time in space. A huge advancement."

  "Have you received any updates on the asteroid's track? Tom is keen to set up some experiments."

  "Yes, captain," said Redmayne. "This is a unique opportunity for us. Asteroids burn up in Earth's atmosphere. I have a chance to observe what happens in a much thinner atmosphere. Obviously, there will be an impact, but I can also record what happens in the time before it crashes. It won't take long to set up once you give me the approval."

  "Relax, Tom. I understand you're eager to further our knowledge for mankind's benefit, but I'm waiting for Ground Control to provide their daily update. It wouldn't surprise me if the asteroid has started to break up and I don't want any of the crew to take unnecessary risks by leaving the cave."

  It wasn't the answer Redmayne wanted. "I think that's short-sighted. We may never get this chance again."

  Winter was angered by Redmayne's directness. He was not used to being spoken to like that and had to tell himself that Redmayne was a civilian scientist. He'd probably never had to follow orders.

  "Mr Redmayne, may I remind you I am in charge here. You may not like all my decisions, but you will have to respect them. I am responsible for everyone's safety, including your own. You will wait until we understand the risk. Is that clear?"

  Redmayne paused for a moment, glowering at the captain. "Yes, sir, perfectly." And with that, he stood and quickly left the room.

  Winter clenched his fists tightly as the anger rose inside him. "Did you have any issues with Redmayne during your voyage here, Lars?"

  "Not really. Although to be honest he kept himself to his quarters most of the flight. He may be overly arrogant at times, but he is highly regarded in his field."

  "Can you look out for him? I'm not convinced he took my orders to heart."

  "I will, but I'm sure he'll behave. He knows this is a long mission."

  "Thank you, Lars." Winter's watch suddenly beeped, indicating he had a message waiting for him. "This will be the latest mission update I've been waiting for. I'll take it in the command room." He stood, picked up his coffee mug and said, "You can join me, commander."

  ***

  Captain Winter keyed in his ID password and the large video screen on the far wall flickered on. "Good to see that everything is working, commander," he said, glancing at Lars. "We'll carry out a full shakedown of the systems over the next few days."

  The two of them sat in their command chairs as the captain said, "Computer, play latest message for Captain Winter."

  The image of General Stockton resolved itself on the screen, looking directly at the camera. Winter thought he looked even more stern than normal, if that could be possible. It didn't bode well. "Good morning, captain," he began. "I trust you and the crew had an uneventful first night in Alpha Base. I look forward to receiving your update shortly."

  The general looked down at some information on his desk before continuing. "As we expected, the asteroid started to splinter about eight hours ago as it began to encounter the Martian gravity field. Our long-range telescopes have detected three rocks, about one hundred and fifty feet across, have broken away from the main body. We forecast two of those to crash into Hellas Planitia at shortly after fifteen hundred hours, your time. I am told that we cannot accurately plot their trajectory, but there is a seventy percent chance that they will crash within seventy miles of your position. We can't be more precise than that, as we do not fully understand the composition of the asteroid. Needless to say, it is far too close for comfort and Expedition Two is to remain in the safety of the base from at least two hours before the asteroid's arrival."

  Winter paused the message and glanced at Commander Anders, who was looking as concerned as he felt. "That's an understatement. We've only been here just over a week and we're already being bombarded!"

  "It's as if the planet doesn't want us here. We should be safe here though. The lava tube is structurally sound."

  Winter had seen the survey reports and knew that to be true. But he had other issues. "I'm more concerned for anything not in the cave. Rocks and debris thrown up from the impact could damage or destroy any of the ships and supplies. Can you work with the chief, Mancuso and anyone else you need for retrieval missions this morning? All urgent supplies need to be brought to the base." As Anders left the control room, Winter added as an afterthought, "Tell Redmayne he can set up his experiments. He'll get a front-row seat for the impact by the sound of it."

  Alone in the command room, Winter watched the rest of the message as the general continued his update. "As I mentioned yesterday, the Russians and Chinese have no plans to land until the dust has settled, quite literally, from the asteroid impact. That has not prevented them from going to the United Nations to argue that it is too dangerous for you to be on the planet. They say we are unnecessarily putting your lives at risk. That is ridiculous, but that's not stopped a significant amount of public opinion agreeing with them. The President has made a statement to assure the public that you are safe inside Alpha Base and that we have taken all available precautions. It is imperative therefore that you keep the crew safe.

  "There's a lot of tension building and I can't see it going away. We've seen the Chinese Navy increase their presence in the South China Sea and Western Pacific. The Russians have also been moving their military strategically." The general forced a grim smile as he added, "You're probably in the best place at the moment, at least until the Russians and Chinese land on Mars. I've not witnessed this type of aggressive sabre rattling
for a long time. Stockton out."

  "Oh great!" said Winter to himself. He could see some difficult times ahead with the Russians and Chinese. He wasn't surprised as this had been building for a while. But he had enough on his hands without being a politician. He would have to delegate more of his duties to Anders.

  Chapter 41

  Seven hours later, the whole crew gathered in the command room, watching the monitor in silence, as the asteroid rapidly approached. The video camera located near Endeavour was pointed at the region of the sky expected to see the rocks arrive from space. Everyone in the room was eagerly expecting a spectacular display, and they were not disappointed.

  Georgia stood next to Jim. Like everyone in the room, her stomach was knotted in anticipation. There was now absolutely nothing they could do but wait to see what happened. Her expectation was that the mass and velocity of the asteroid would cause tremors. She nervously flicked her attention from the screen to the countdown clock and back again. Unconsciously she leaned several inches closer to the screen, as if that would give her a clearer image.

  Emily was the first to spot something. "Top right," she said, pointing excitedly. "There are several pieces streaking through the atmosphere." Georgia looked where Emily was pointing and could just make out the main asteroid moving at high speed, glowing brightly as it encountered the atmosphere. It was soon clear that it was heading a long way north of their position. But there were several other fragments that were flying parallel to it that were heading closer to them, including one that looked as if it would fly directly overhead.

  "That one looks far too close for comfort," said Joe Mancuso.

  Captain Winter looked over at Redmayne, who was trying to interpret the data coming through on his terminal. "Tom, can you give me any news on the anticipated crash sites?"

  Redmayne kept his eyes focused on the information in front of him as he coolly responded. "I'm verifying the trajectories at the moment, captain. At looks as if most of the fragments will land well away from here. The main asteroid will crash over eighteen hundred miles away, so we do not need to worry about that." He stopped to read through more numbers, his brow furrowed as he rechecked the calculations in his head. "That one to the left is likely to crash into the cliff face above us, if we're unlucky, but it may miss the crater entirely. It's too difficult to be sure. And there's one other large fragment that will impact about twenty-five miles short of the ships. I would say that is the one likely to cause some damage. Impact is less than forty-five seconds, so we don't have long to wait."

  Redmayne's assessment was unnerving. Although survivable, the asteroid strike was likely to affect the mission for days to come.

  The camera followed the fragment that crashed into the floor of the crater. A huge plume of dust and rocks was kicked tens of thousands of feet into the air. The other fragment flew out of sight of the camera, but several seconds later the crew heard a loud rumble and the base shook violently.

  Georgia had experienced earthquakes before when she was in Los Angeles and this was no different. The shaking lasted for nearly one minute as the crew gasped and hung on to tables and chairs. She could hear falling rocks rebounding off the top of the base and the joint seals as the structure flexed to deal with the tremors. Georgia held on tightly to Jim's hand. She was waiting for an air seal to fracture and for them all to be asphyxiated.

  The shaking stopped as quickly as it began. Jim squeezed her hand to acknowledge that everything was okay and she let go, slightly embarrassed.

  "That was more violent than I expected. Looks like we got away with it though," Jim said, trying to break the tension.

  The view screen showed a wall of dust that was growing larger and darker by the second. When Winter switched the view to the camera at the entrance to the lava tube, there was no image at all. Georgia ran to the nearest window for a clear view of the entrance and was immediately dismayed at what she saw. "It's pitch black out there," she called to the crew. "The asteroid has blocked the entrance. We're trapped!"

  Chapter 42

  Other than the communications link to Earth being severed, there was no obvious damage to the base. However, the captain determined it unsafe to exit Alpha Base until they were sure there would be no more tremors.

  It wasn't until the following morning before Captain Winter stepped out of the airlock to inspect the damage, along with the chief, Mancuso and Rashid.

  The beams of light from their flashlights shone through the thin cloud of dust that filled and drifted around the cave. Captain Winter whistled as he saw the mound of rocks and boulders that was now blocking the entrance to about waist height. Beyond that was a thick wall of dust. "What do you make of this, Jim?"

  The chief pointed his flashlight at the roof of the cave. "The lava tube looks secure with no cracks or damage. The rock fall happened outside. Maybe a landslide or debris from the asteroid impact."

  Winter agreed, but the news made him anxious. "If the asteroid caused this much debris, then it doesn't bode well for the state of our ships. How long do you need to create a path out?"

  The chief gave the matter some thought as he looked at the pile of rocks. "Several hours at least, depending on whether any of the rovers are serviceable and the volume of rocks we discover outside the cave. The good news is that the power cables don't appear to be damaged."

  "Okay, get on to it. I'd like to get to Endeavour to make sure it's still standing. Then we can worry about the other ships. Let me know when you're ready."

  Winter turned and strolled back to the base deep in thought. If the asteroid had destroyed any of the ships, it could critically affect their ability to complete the mission. If the chief couldn't restore communications, he wouldn't even be able to send out a request to be rescued. What would Ground Control's reaction be?

  Usually an optimistic man, he was having doubts about whether the mission would be a success. So many things were going against them. But, as captain, he had to keep those thoughts to himself.

  ***

  Winter was sitting at his desk dictating a report which he hoped he'd be able to transmit to Earth at some point. Pausing to gather his thoughts, he looked fondly at the photo of Kristen and Maisie next to his computer monitor. It had been taken on their last vacation, just over eighteen months ago, in Yellowstone Park. It was their favorite destination and had seemed an appropriate place to visit for a final holiday before his mission.

  He desperately missed both of them. It was no understatement to say that Kristen was his best friend. She was always there to listen to his problems and celebrate his triumphs. When he'd been stationed on the moon for the one month of training, he'd still spoken with her every day. He couldn't even do that now as the distance between them meant one-way messages and waiting hours for a reply.

  With all the troubles escalating back on Earth, he should be there looking after his family. The tensions between the East and the West had turned serious in a very short time. It concerned him he was so far away from those he loved, and he prayed that the world would see sense before his grandchild was born.

  Although the mission would always come first, and Kristen was fully supportive of his leading the expedition it didn't prevent him from sometimes wishing he was back on his ranch.

  Before Winter could complete his report, Georgia knocked on his door. "Have you got five minutes, sir?" she asked as she poked her head around the doorframe.

  "Yes. Come in. What can I do for you?"

  Winter noticed that Georgia looked fidgety as she sat down opposite him. He was curious to find out what favor she was about to ask and found her discomfort amusing.

  "Captain," it was clear Georgia was trying hard to phrase her question correctly. "You've known me for a long time, and I think you trust my judgement."

  Winter nodded but said nothing.

  "Doctor Betts has ordered that I take several days' break as she believes the past week has put me under excessive pressure. She says that I need time to recover my str
ength if I want to fight this cancer. I disagree with that assessment and wish to continue on active service."

  "So, you believe you know more than our esteemed flight surgeon, who has over twenty years' experience and more medical qualifications than anyone on this planet?"

  Georgia sat forward. "Sir, I know how my body is adapting."

  "Are you really okay, Georgia? Honestly? Remember, it's me you're talking to."

  "Honestly? I've not felt this good since leaving Earth. Over the past few days I've had more energy, no more headaches and I'm eating regular meals again. I'm no different to any other member of the crew."

  "Except for your tumors."

  Georgia's face darkened. "Yes."

  "What are the doctor's thoughts on your recovery?"

  "She can't explain it, which is why she wants me to take some rest. She said it could be a build-up of adrenaline from the recent excitement and is concerned I'll come crashing down."

  "I have to agree with her."

  "But, sir. We're on Mars. There is no reference source for Megan to base her diagnosis on. There may be other more beneficial causes that we're not aware of."

  "You don't know that. We may be on a different planet but you're still human. You're grasping at straws. I don't blame you. I know you want to carry on your duties as a part of the crew, and I admire that. But sometimes you need to pay attention to your colleagues who only have your welfare at heart."

  "So, you agree with Megan?"

  "I'm taking her advice seriously. As you should. If she says have some rest, then do it. It looks like we'll all be on light duties for the next few days until the dust clears. Enjoy some downtime. You've earned it so don't view it as a punishment."

  "Is that your final word on the matter?"

  "Yes, I'm afraid it is, Georgia. I can't tell you how happy I am that you're improving but I want you to look after yourself as much as you can. I'll have you working hard again in several days, don't worry about that."