“And how are you doing?” she asked with genuine concern.
“OK, just a little tired.”
Just as Van was about to turn and leave, Dr. Ramos reached into her pocket and produced a simple white pill.
“Go lie down and take this. It will be effective for about four hours and you won’t miss a thing. I’m telling you as a doctor and as a friend.” She smiled that wonderful, bright smile.
“OK, I guess it can’t hurt. Thanks.” Van took the pill and headed to his quarters.
CHAPTER 27
Seven hours later Van awoke in his quarters with a start. He heard engine noise where there had been none before. Looking at his watch, he groaned when he realized how long he’d been out. What happened to the four hours Rose promised? he thought to himself. She tricked me…. I think.
He showered and changed clothes, then headed to the bridge.
“Good morning, Commander,” said Stan with a big smile as he stepped down from the command chair.
“Were you and Rose in on this?” he asked.
“In on what?”
“Don’t play innocent with me,” Van said with an emerging smile.
“Oh, you mean getting some sleep? Can’t have a commander fall asleep at the wheel. But the good news is that all systems are green again. Helm is in control, although I haven’t increased speed. Still on track for Mars orbit,” said Stan, desperately trying to change the subject.
“Excellent. Astrogation, time to Mars orbit?” asked Van.
“Given our slower speed since the malfunction,” Jan said, “we will reach Mars orbit in thirty hours. Less if we increase speed.”
“Harry, what’s the risk of blowing out the new cable if we go faster?” asked Van.
“I calculate the risk at 15.251 percent, Commander. The new cable, while just as old, was likely much less used and is, therefore, less likely to fail.”
“And if we were just starting this trip again, what would have been your assessment of risk for the old cable?”
“Not knowing what I know now, I would have calculated a 20.5 percent chance of failure, Commander.”
“So the difference isn’t much. Maintain current speed, Ms. St. Clair.”
“Maintaining current speed, sir.”
“Stan, everyone not on watch assemble in the briefing room in thirty minutes. You have the bridge.”
Van exited the bridge and headed for the small office afforded the captain of an Agora-class corvette. Thirty minutes later the crew, less Elaine Parker and Paul Wright, who were on watch, met in the briefing room.
“OK, here’s our current state as I know it,” Van began when all were settled. “Feel free to update me as we go along. First, thanks to the heroic efforts of engineering and Harry, we have engines and helm control again. Second, we’re running at half the speed we started with. I chose to do that to baby the new cable, at least until we’re headed back to Earth. That will mean a longer trip overall. Instead of about a sixty-hour round trip, we’ll be over one hundred hours if we don’t change speed or do something else. It’s the ‘something else’ that I have asked you here to discuss.
“As you know, we have both combat shuttles aboard. Until now the pilots and our security forces have only been able to fly them around the Moon base. It struck me after we launched that the Martian orbit might be an opportunity to test the launching and recovery of the shuttles as well as a possible trip to the surface and back. What are your thoughts?”
The room suddenly broke into a chorus of unintelligible chatter.
“OK, OK. One at a time. Stan, you first.”
“I think it’s an excellent idea. We’ve done all the simulations and had all the chair time we can stand. I think we’re ready—more than ready—to do just what you describe.”
“Brice, how about you and the security staff?”
“Need you ask? The chance to do an actual launch with the possibility of landing on Mars is way too good to pass up.”
“Harry. How about you?”
“I see no reason not to, Commander, as far as crew readiness is concerned. I should point out, however, that such an evolution would be safer if done on the Moon near our base.”
“I agree with that,” said Rose. “If anything happens out here, the chance of crew and passenger survival is much lower than at Moon base.”
“Commander, what are the chances of everyone getting to go at least once? The two of us in engineering hardly ever get out of main engineering,” said Bob Cooper.
“We didn’t volunteer for space because it’s safe,” said Danny, surprising everybody. “We volunteered because it’s a passion, a dream. I say we go. It’s what we signed up for.”
“Well said, Danny. I think the same.” Van looked around the room then continued. “However, there is something else. When Harry and I first entered the Moon base, we found a reference to Mars as a potential next stopping point for the remaining Host. Obviously, they didn’t stay on the Moon and moved on. We don’t have much more than that to go on except my own sense that I would go there next. With this Mars training mission, it’s my desire to take whatever time is available to look for traces of the Host and possibly a clue as to where they went. It’s a real long shot. The Aurora will watch and listen while in orbit, and the shuttles can do the same at lower altitudes. We might get lucky and find some trace of the Host. Any objections? No? OK, Brice and Stan, would you prepare a plan that will accomplish what we talked about and give everyone a chance to make at least one flight at low level and perhaps even a landing, depending on time and circumstances?”
Brice and Stan gave two thumbs-up, both with extra-big smiles.
After a long rest, a meal, and the subsequent examination of the Site R systems content, Meier spoke. “Dieter, my friend, I think we have discovered the training program for the craft on Level 3. They are called the B1 and the B2. It says here on the computer that we can use the craft as simulators, and even gives the codes to make them work—as simulators and as actual spacecraft. As long as that meddling Caretaker stays out of our way, we should be able to fly these things soon. Oh, even better. It says here that the helmets can be used as learning devices. Just put them on, select the learning mode, and sit back. Haven’t you always wanted to fly in space, Dieter?”
“Not really, sir. All my experience is on the ground,” said a less-than-enthusiastic Dieter.
“Well, you are about to learn a new skill. One that you should value highly. We need to get back to Level 3 and test this information.” Meier left his chair, a little shaky but determined.
Once in Level 3, the two men walked into the silent B1 and sat in the pilot’s and copilot’s chairs. Following the procedures he’d memorized from the computer manual, Meier turned on the main power switch, and the cockpit came alive with lights and the whirring of gyro stabilizers and motors.
Meier waited. But no sign of the Caretaker came.
Putting on the nearby connected flight helmet, he motioned for Dieter to do the same. Then he rotated the appropriate knob to the “Learn” setting, and they both sat back with eyes closed.
“Entering Martian orbit, Commander,” announced Paul Wright from his seat on the bridge of the Aurora.
“Very well, Paul. I guess that leaves just you, me, and Jan here on the bridge. As soon as Stan and Danny come back, you two can have your turn in a shuttle.”
“You aren’t going down to the surface?” asked the surprised helmsman.
“No reason to. Besides, I wasn’t part of the plan. It seems the captain of a ship can’t go anywhere…. just everybody else,” Van said jovially. “Somehow, though, I expect I’ll get my chance. Just not this time.”
“Well, I’m not going just yet. May I come on the bridge?” said a familiar feminine voice from behind the command chair.
All three bridge crew turned their heads at the same time to see Rose standing at the bridge entrance.
“By all means, Doctor. There’s plenty of room. I take it you’re on
the second shuttle trip?”
“Yes. It seems they didn’t want to risk the only doctor on the first run,” she said as she took the executive officer’s seat next to Van.
“Well, join the club. At least you’re in the plan.”
“You’re the only one we really can’t afford to lose. So don’t be upset with Stan and Brice. They have good reasons.”
“I know. Just having a little fun with you. This is your first time on the bridge, at least in space, isn’t it?”
“Yes. I’ve had too much to learn to do much outside sick bay.”
“Not what I heard,” Jan piped up.
“What? Has somebody been talking about me?”
“What did you hear, Jan?” Van asked.
“Trying to get me in trouble, Commander? But yeah, everybody knows the doctor was all over this ship, including the bridge, before we left.”
“See there?” said Van with a grin. “People notice.”
“And they seem to talk too much, don’t they, Jan!” Rose said with a red face.
“Just saying,” replied the pilot as she busied herself with nothing in particular.
“Aurora, CS1 ready for departure,” came Danny Ramos over the communications speaker.
“Roger, CS1, outer doors opening now. Cleared for departure when you have a green door,” replied Paul, also glad of something real to do.
“Cleared for departure when outer doors open,” repeated Danny.
Danny and Stan sat side by side in the combat shuttle cockpit and, as if by tradition, Stan asked Danny, “Ready for this?”
“All my life, Stan. All my life,” Danny responded with a wink and a smile.
CHAPTER 28
Meier’s eyes snapped open. “Something just happened, Dieter. What was it?”
“Nothing, Peter. The learning machine just stopped,” responded a groggy Dieter Hellman.
“Yes, so it did.” Meier looked at his watch. “And we have been out for hours. The question is, are we any smarter about the shuttle than we were before we started?”
“I think so. I can tell you what every switch and lever is in the cockpit. I also know how it works and, I think, how to fly it,” said Dieter, astonished.
“I believe you are right. I know all that as well. And more it seems.” I know how to launch this craft, raise the central elevator to Level 1, and then open both outer doors. I also know that the Caretaker can stop us. Unless…. yes, unless we can cut him out of the system. I think with the help of my special computer, I can do that as well. Then with these ships I can play havoc with the Russians and the Chinese and drive fuel prices even higher…. and have some fun in the bargain.
“We need to get back to Level 2 and the operations center,” he said with some excitement as he struggled out of his seat.
Back in the Ops Center, Meier tapped furiously at his laptop keyboard linked to the Chad computer, which was in turn linked to the site central core—and the Caretaker.
Now if I do this and this, I should cut communications to the outside, he thought. And if I do this and this, I should be able to cut the Caretaker out of the loop. Hmm, could it be that easy? Then he remembered. Ask the computer first.
Meier then typed in, How do I shut out the Caretaker from this site and cut out communications?
In less than a minute he had the answer. Amazingly, his initial thoughts had been very close to the right answer. There were only a few additional steps he needed to complete, which he did. Then Meier asked, “Caretaker, I have a question.”
No response.
“Caretaker, are you there?”
Again, no response.
“Now to see if I can open the two Level 1 doors.” Meier made several more keystrokes and watched his monitor as both doors opened.
Stan eased the large shuttle into a hover above the Aurora’s flight deck and used thrusters to maneuver the nose of the craft to face open space. Then, with just a hint of forward power, CS1 jumped clear of the old corvette and into the freedom of space.
As in all large spacecraft built for combat, there were no windows for the passengers or the crew to look through. But like the bridge of the Aurora, there were view screens linked to outside cameras that simulated windows, and all faces were glued to them, trying not to miss anything.
Bob Cooper had relented and let Elaine go on the first run, primarily because she wouldn’t stop pestering him. She, like Ross, Bobby, and Brice, could not have gotten closer to the screens—as if being closer provided a better view. Harry was also on this run, but he just sat passively in his flight chair, monitoring the shuttle’s functions as well as everyone’s life signs.
As the planet came into view, it was Elaine who spoke first.
“It really is a red planet!” she exclaimed through her radio.
“Yes, it is,” replied Stan. “The surface is covered in a fine iron dust that gives the impression of red. If what I’ve read is true, however, the closer we get, the less red it looks.”
“Yes, I can see the color change as we get closer. But it’s stunning just the same.”
“That it is,” said Stan. “For all of us, I expect.”
“If our navigation is right, we should be passing over three of the US Martian landing sites—Opportunity, Pathfinder, and Viking 1.”
“Can we land near Curiosity?” asked Elaine.
“No. Curiosity is still transmitting images, and we don’t want our picture taken just yet,” replied Stan.
“Too bad. Imagine what people would think if they saw us waving at them from Mars,” said the engineer as she chuckled to herself.
“Exactly what we don’t want to do. If we don’t find any sign of the Host, we may find Viking 1 and land. It was working until 1986 when ground control sent a bad signal, causing it to cease functioning. If it hasn’t been buried by sand, Van wants us to get an identifiable piece to take back in case we need some proof later.”
As CS1 traveled over the surface of Mars at about ten thousand feet, everyone was still mesmerized. But even at this altitude and with the high-resolution cameras, they could find no trace of the Host. It was not surprising, therefore, that the passengers were startled when Stan came up on the radios again.
“OK, boys and girl. We’re coming to the end of our planned flight. We’re circling the Viking 1 location now. So far we’re getting nothing on camera, as you can probably see. If anyone does see something, sing out. Otherwise we plan to land at the last known coordinates, which, if you are keeping track and care, were 22.697 north and 48.222 west.” Stan tried his best to sound like an airline pilot.
But nobody saw a thing, and Stan and Danny landed a short way away from the coordinates.
“OK, time to secure your helmets to your pressure suits and prepare for depressurization of the cabin. If anybody has any questions or problems, now is the time to bring them up.”
There were no questions and, apparently, no problems. The cabin pressure light changed from green to red, and the cargo door opened.
Immediately Brice and his security team, including Ross, departed the shuttle and took up positions in their Mk-1 armor around the door, as much for practice as for a real concern.
“All clear,” shouted Brice, and the remainder of the passengers and crew stepped out into the Martian sunlight.
After thirty minutes of searching for Viking 1, Stan called a halt to the endeavor and said, “OK, take your last pictures and looks and then everyone back in the bus. We aren’t going to find the spacecraft on this trip. Maybe some other day.” They were disappointed not to find the lander, but just being on the Martian surface still had everyone wishing they could stay longer.
The second shuttle flight had no better luck finding the Viking lander. However, as they began their return to the Aurora, the crew started receiving a signal from the surface.
“Aurora, CS1, over,” called Paul Wright.
“CS1, Aurora, go ahead.”
“Aurora, CS1 has just intercepted a signal from
the surface. Do you have it as well?”
“Roger, CS1, it just started broadcasting. We think we have a location and are sending it to you now,” said Danny at the Aurora helm.
“Got it,” said Paul. “On our way. Looks like it’s at the southern edge of Olympus Mons. One big and old volcano.”
“Concur, CS1.”
From the Viking 1 site to Olympus Mons was about a thirty-minute trip for CS1. As they approached, Paul said, “Aurora, the signal is getting stronger as we approach the cliffs of the volcano. Still can’t see anything obvious, though.”
“Roger CS1, continue,” said Stan.
A few minutes later: “Aurora, CS1 is about as close to the base of the cliffs as we can get. The signal is very strong, and there appears to be a faint flashing light of some sort near where the cliff base meets the surface. It’s like a locator beacon.”
“Roger, CS1, stand by,” said Stan.
“CS1, this is Aurora actual. Maintain your position. We’re coming down in CS2 to meet you. Stay in the shuttle, over,” Van said, his tone excited.
“Roger. We’ll be here waiting,” said Paul, sounding puzzled. “What do you suppose that’s all about, Jan?”
“Beats me, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon.”
Forty minutes later CS2 pulled into a hover next to CS1 and landed.
As soon as the ramp of CS2 hit the Martian surface, Van, Brice, Harry, Ross, and Bobby all emerged in full Mk-1 combat suits. Van insisted that Harry wear one even though his mechanical structure could operate on the Martian environment without assistance. Unlike the others, however, Harry was carrying what appeared to be a small suitcase, just like the one he’d used to carry the memory module he used to transfer his data to the Moon-base computer core.
Brice and his team formed a protective shield in front of Harry and Van as they approached the light source.
“Brice,” said Van over the suit communications, “if this is what I think and hope it is, look for a bright piece of metal protruding from the rock wall.”
Immortal Guardian: Hoast Saga Book 2 (Host Saga) Page 20