by T I WADE
Ever cautious, when the ship entered the millions of miles of the asteroid belt, Ryan decreased speeds to less than 20,000 miles an hour. The slow progress added 100 days to the four-year journey.
The worst accident occurred when they were traveling through a particularly dense section of the asteroid belt; radar alerted those on the Bridge to a ten-mile wide asteroid cannoning into other asteroids a quarter of a million miles away.
It passed harmlessly behind America One two hours later, speeding out of range, but not before smashing into hundreds of smaller asteroids which in turn collided with others. Like balls on a pool table, there were so many asteroids careening out in different directions, that SB-II and SB-III were launched out of the cocoon of the blue shield around America One.
Both craft lowered their shields to uncover their frontal lasers and for several hours VIN and Jonesy in SB-III, and Fritz Warner, Allen Saunders and Michael Pitt in SB-II, blew up any asteroids larger than a basketball before they got within a hundred miles of the mother ship.
Over a hundred asteroids of different sizes were demolished or angled away with the lasers. One house-sized asteroid, which must have been made of materials similar to DX2017, was not affected by the laser barrage coming from both shuttles. Glancing off the shield of the mother ship, it went speeding off in a new direction, missing Jonesy by less than a hundred yards. Ryan couldn’t understand why two of his most powerful lasers didn’t change the direction of this smallish asteroid one degree. Afterwards, Boris told him the asteroid must have been pure metal, as the dozens of laser bursts did absolutely nothing. Commander Joot, who was co-pilot in SB-III, was dumbfounded at what these light beams could do, and then at what the shield did.
Captain Pete, Ryan and several others watched from the Bridge as the incoming asteroid became visible through the blue wall of the shield. A call to “Action Stations” resounded over the intercom several minutes before impact was certain. All the emergency doors at the ends of each cylinder were already sealed by the crew, the elevators stopped, and all personnel moved towards the central cubes for protection.
Observed through the telescope, the asteroid was approaching like a bowling ball at a tremendous rate of speed and video of the incoming rock was shot through the telescope before it glanced off the shield.
The shield didn’t break but, like a water or air bubble on Earth, it took the brunt of the blow by bending around the asteroid. The rock changed direction slightly, angled off the shield, and sped away towards SB-III.
Ryan and the crew on the Bridge watched as the wall of the shield deflected inwards and forcefully struck the top rear cylinder, which immediately bent nearly ninety degrees. The walls of the cylinder opened where it had been kinked and the crew saw thousands of small cartons of supplies float around the inside of the shield in every direction.
The shield wall rebounded, still vibrating and emitting a deep humming sound that was audible throughout the ship. It gradually regained its original oval shape.
“I see frozen chicken, rabbit, containers of frozen vegetables, canisters of water and tanks of liquid hydrogen from one of the emergency supply pods to be used for evacuation,” Captain Pete reported. “The broken cylinder is Cylinder 19, Astermine II’s emergency escape pod and one of the ship’s long-term storage units. No accommodation units, but valuable supplies are now floating out there. All spacewalk personnel not in build crew suit up immediately!”
“America One has passed the asteroid danger with minor damage,” Ryan announced over the intercom. “Cylinder corridors 1 and 3, mid- and upper levels can be taken off emergency status, and all the doors unsealed. Corridor 2, both upper and mid-levels must be fully inspected for structural damage. The rear elevator on Corridor 2 will be kept sealed until the mechanics wearing full suits inspect the upper cylinders for damage or leaks. All mechanics, please suit up. Build crew, we need to gather debris and supplies floating inside the ship’s bubble before any damage occurs to the ship’s outer skin. Close down rear thrusters. Shuttles, stay out there until further notice,” ordered Ryan.
“Report, Jonesy in SB-III, it must have been close,” Captain Pete requested.
“Missed us by a few feet. It was quick, but zero damage here, Captain,” replied the lucky astronaut.
For the whole of the next day, and with at least one shuttle out on patrol at all times, several of the crew floated around inside the bubble collecting anything not tied down and sending it through the freed up docking port. From the Bridge it was like watching a computer game with space-suited individuals springing off parts of the ship as if they were diving into a giant swimming pool to capture hundreds of cartons and sealed silicone bags of supplies that were gently bouncing off the shield walls.
That was the only problem they encountered going through the asteroid belt. It was up for debate if travelling through at a higher rate of speed might have been safer than slowing down and spending more time in the danger zone. Ryan was aligned with the latter, and believed that the incoming asteroid could have proved a danger inside, or outside the belt.
Weeks later, the densest section of the asteroid belt safely passed through, the journey returned to the usual daily grind aboard ship.
Over the long non-stop journey, younger crew members were growing up and adults were beginning to show signs of age. Grey hair started to appear on several of the men and women; hair coloring had not been included the cargo manifest.
Jonesy was one of the first to have it pointed out to him—by his wife—that his hair was beginning to grey at the temples. Captain Pete and Mr. Rose also noticed changes when they looked into their mirrors to shave.
Even Ryan, now over 50, could see signs of age, and was unceremoniously informed of the changes by older and smiling crewmembers. Only VIN, still in his forties, was young enough to forestall the telltale appearances of age like the older men.
Few diseases affected the crew. There was no obesity or diabetes aboard ship, except two of the adult scientists who were already taking daily doses of insulin before leaving Earth. The children grew rapidly and all were thin and healthy.
Three of the older scientists passed on, two from the chemistry department and one from Suzi’s biology department. The popular final request aboard ship was to copy naval funerals. A couple of the older scientists had prepared Last Wills with the Captain, the most senior law official. They wanted to be sealed in silicon coffins, and sent out into space, much like sailors had been buried at sea for centuries. The biologist wanted a funeral and burial on Mars, and the two chemists wanted to be set free into the universe.
Ryan agreed to the requests to be “buried” in space. The only accommodation aboard ship was to deep-freeze the remains for burial back on Earth and, not many crew members retained close ties to family on Earth which would necessitate taking their bodies home.
Everyone, including the Matts who were all now considered members of the crew, had a choice of three daily menus: meat, vegetarian, and vegan. The Matts did not eat meat or drink alcohol, “rocket fuel” as they called it, but they loved fresh eggs, cakes, and anything sweet. Any frozen fish aboard ship was long gone, just a memory in the minds of many, especially VIN and Jonesy.
Several of the crew still ate meat. Jonesy, Maggie, VIN, Suzi, Captain Pete, Ryan’s wife Kathy, and most of the ex-military personnel still enjoyed the chicken and rabbit, and a few had meat with every meal. There was plenty for them, even though the animal breeding program had been reduced by half.
The scientists and Ryan had decided on vegetarian diets. The kids were given freedom to choose and the two boys opted for a meat diet while most of the girls did not. Only Saturn Jones and Lunar Richmond ate meat, even though they spent a lot of time tending to the animal population with Suzi and her team.
“Compute a 75-mile orbit, Captain Pete,” Ryan ordered as they edged closer to the red planet a year after leaving the asteroid belt. Finally, the crew on the Bridge had something to look at out of the windows, fo
r what had seemed a lifetime.
The water supply was depleted. Martha Von Zimmer, her hair now totally white and called Grandma by the also aging Jonesy, already had plans afoot for her enemy (Jonesy), to fly down to the dangerous watering hole to begin refilling supplies for the next leg of the odyssey, the 12-month flight to Earth.
One hundred days behind schedule, Mars had passed the opposite side of the sun to Earth, with Earth catching up to the slower orbiting Mars. The longer they stayed on the red planet, the shorter the last leg would be.
Nobody knew what to expect down in the Matt base on Mars. Most, if not all the crew had already been found dead. Commander Joot hoped that the unopened cryonic chamber still held life. Other than on their home base on Earth, the Matts had little chance of finding more of their tribe.
Water supplies and liquid hydrogen fuel were at dangerous minimums. America One had used up all 30,000 gallons of water collected on Enceladus during the four year journey to Mars.
Within three days of going into orbit around Mars, SB-III and Asterspace Three flew down to the crater to clear the red dust and see if the dry ice cap was still there to land on. It was a better, warmer alternative to heading to the colder area around the pole to gather frozen water ice. Aboard the mother ship, there was a mixture of 80 percent alcohol/20 percent ethanol for Commander Joot’s ship, as they had water to turn into hydrogen fuel; he and Elder Roo followed in their ship to see where this valuable water supply was.
Jonesy directed all three ships down on the computer readouts from the previous visit. VIN and Fritz were aboard sitting in the jump seats while Maggie worked up front with her husband. Asterspace Three had Michael and Penny Pitt flying, and Vitalily and Max Burgos to help with the water collection. Recalling how Martha nearly got herself killed on the last visit, Jonesy made sure that she wasn’t allowed to be part of the flight this time.
The kids, all now around eight and nine, watched from the Bridge as their parents flew away from the mother ship. Saturn Jones had been caught twice trying to sneak aboard SB-III and was under guard in the Bridge. Ryan observed that old habits seemed to die hard in the Jones family. Saturn Jones was to begin simulator flight training under her parents’ guidance on her tenth birthday in a few weeks, and Mars Noble would certainly do the same. He never left her side.
Lunar Richmond also wanted to be part of flight training; it was certainly better than boring school. Several of the other children thought so as well.
“My kid still on the Bridge?” asked Jonesy as he began to lose altitude and the mother ship disappeared behind them.
“Unfortunately, Daddy,” replied Saturn into the mike Ryan handed her. “I don’t see why I can’t come. I could have helped you fill the canisters with water. I am became spacewalk certified last year, if you can remember that far back!”
“Soon, soon,” replied a smiling Maggie. “Just wait until you are a little older, pumpkin. Remember, it is dangerous out here, and we don’t want the whole Jones family to be in the same place at the same time. Your grandparents might still be alive on Earth and will want to see your pretty face one more time.”
“I promise you will fly as well as I do when your training is finished. Watch your manners and listen to the bosses up there while we are away, young lady. We should be back within ten days,” added Jonesy.
It took several hours of blowing dust with the thrusters to clear the thick layer and reveal the white, dry, ice pack beginning to show. The clouds of dust went up for miles. Jonesy allowed Michael Pitt, in the lighter mining craft, to land on the ice first; next he showed Commander Joot where to park and then finally came in himself. The ice didn’t budge and the wind was just a light breeze.
They were all were surprised at how bright the sun was, which was directly overhead. Compared to the last seven years of travel the difference in the light from the sun was literally night to day. VIN hopped down the last step; life on the ice was nearly as good as being back on Earth. He was looking forward to see what trouble his old pal Opportunity Rover got into while they were away.
Nothing had changed. The canisters were offloaded out of both craft, and the two Matts enjoyed their first real outer space walk on a planet. Up to now they had always gone from atmosphere to atmosphere without the need for full spacesuits. They had completed spacewalk training with Saturn, Mars, Lunar, and several of the other kids a year earlier. The final course requirement for new spacewalkers was to float up and through the now permanent blue shield wall and spend an hour in outer space, secured to the mother ship by several cords.
Mars Noble was the only one to master the rear suit jet pack, which was only fitted to a few of the suits. VIN wanted to make sure his son could one day walk cordless in the blackness of space as well he could.
Two dozen canisters were filled in seven days of perfect weather by the entire crew, with the exception of one astronaut who remained in each craft prepared ready to launch at all times.
Captain Pete was more experienced about the speed of the wind storms across the 14,000 mile crater than previously, and alerted them to an approaching storm on day seven. The crew on the ice pack was surprised to get the warning; it was as peaceful as a summer’s day on Earth; sunny, warm at minus 10 degrees, with zero wind.
They loaded the remaining three canisters they were filling as fast as possible. By the time Jonesy, left the ice pack last two hours later, SB-III was nearly swept backwards off the pack with the first 100-mile-an-hour gust of wind.
Commander Joot couldn’t understand where the storm had come from; nothing had changed, but the dust storm was suddenly visible, coming over the horizon seconds before he took off.
At 15,000 feet, as high as the surface of the massive crater walls and in formation, they returned to America One.
A week later four of the ships left their docking ports, extinguished their blue shields, and descended to Endeavor Crater to open up “The Martian Club Retreat”, as they called their new base.
It took all the fuel they had to supply three of the ships for a roundtrip journey. The chemistry department needed another month to produce enough fuel for a second trip to the surface, as they had to begin stockpiling fuel for the return flight home to Earth in 310 days. Jonesy would have to make two more visits to collect water to quench the thirst of the chemists.
VIN was the first to see Rover Opportunity; he and Mars Noble were the only crewmembers looking for it. “There, there next to that large rock!” A helmetless VIN excitedly directed his son’s attention to a small black dot on the edge of the crater wall several miles from where he last saw it. Opportunity had travelled around the lip of the crater and looked like it was peering down onto the empty ledge. VIN suggested it had moved to tell Earth of returning visitors. “Should we check to see if Opportunity has enough juice to spy on us?” he asked Ryan, on the Bridge.
“I think that’s a good idea,” replied Ryan. “I don’t want anybody on Earth to know where we are. We haven’t heard from them for seven years. War mongering SOBs could be back in control of the U.S., NASA, the NSA, or even China, if any of them still exist.”
Once they had screwed on each other’s helmets, VIN and his son exited the docking port after Jonesy and the other three craft landed on the surface a couple of hundred yards behind the Rover.
“It looks dead to me,” VIN said, staring down at his old friend. “The red light is not operating and the wheel tracks don’t look fresh. There has been a wind storm since it moved here; the tracks are partially hidden under dust. It’s probably been at this location for a couple of years.”
“Is Rover looking rusty yet?” joked Jonesy. “Partner, offer it a bone, maybe it will wag its tail.”
“It is not a dog, Mr. Jones,” retorted Mars Noble. “Also how could it get rusty with no oxygen, Dad?” asked the young spacewalker looking up at his father’s visor.
“Don’t listen to Jonesy, son, unless he’s flying. Some day he might also tell you about all the space sharks flying
around the solar system,” replied VIN smiling. “When he does tell you about sharks, tell him that it is not the solar system they are flying around in, but the empty cavity called his head.”
“Real space sharks?” exclaimed Mars Noble.
‘Don’t you answer that, partner. I need to keep my son sort of sane out here,” replied VIN. Jonesy just smiled.
He and his son turned the Rover towards the rock it was trying to hide next to; a video picture of clear rock face would certainly puzzle the controllers on Earth for a while, if the Rover was still operational.
Once the “spy” had been taken care of, VIN and Mars Noble climbed back on board SB-III to fly over the lip and down to the ledge. The completed glass house they had built was still standing, looking lifeless and desolate without a shield. They had taken the Mars shield with them after their last visit, and the quiet sunlit, yellow ledge looked like nobody had interrupted the tranquility of the place. There weren’t any footprints in the thin layer of dust, and Jonesy, still hovering fifty feet above the ledge lowered the shuttle and expertly cleared the dust off the ledge with his thrusters.
One by one the other craft came in. Commander Joot and Elder Roo were next, and since, in theory, they owned the base, they parked as close to the glass house as possible. Next came Allen and Jamie in Astermine One and finally Michael and Penny in Asterspace Three, both craft full of food, drinking water, daily supplies, and the first ton of top soil for Suzi to begin a garden in the outer area of the man-made glass house.
There was still a decent atmosphere inside the glass chambers as they entered, except it was a cool, minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit. When VIN entered the docking port between the outer area and the tunnels, the readouts on his sleeve showed the temperature to be a warmer 39 degrees, and inside was still a perfect blend of atmospheric gases. He waited for his son, then Commander Joot and Elder Roo, before he gave them the okay to remove their helmets. The air was cold on their faces, but still felt pleasant.