Jake reached under his bed, pulled out his backpack, unzipped it, and placed his scriptures in it. Both men walked into the corridor in silence.
**********
Jake and Skip made their way through the ship to the flight deck. They entered through the hatchway and saw Taylor sitting at his copilot’s station. Taylor Young, a brilliant computer programmer chosen as the third member of the mission, looked at Skip and Jake with excitement in his piercing hazel eyes. Skip floated to his station and buckled himself in his seat behind Jake’s. Jake floated to his seat and secured himself in as well. They both looked through the flight deck’s plasma shield and saw the red planet growing larger as they approached.
Jake had a feeling of calm come over him. He felt that his dad was near. It was a strange feeling, one that he could not explain.
Taylor turned and looked at Jake. “Well, Jake, you’re the commander. What do we do?”
Jake felt a little weird giving orders to Taylor and Skip. Skip was already a dear friend. And on the three-month journey, Taylor had become just as true a friend. Taylor was a little more reserved and quieter than both Jake and Skip, but when he did have something to say, it was always positive. And Jake and Skip both respected him for that. Jake didn’t consider either Taylor or Skip his subordinates, so when it came time for proper protocol, they all seemed to mock the system.
Taylor spoke again. “Mars II to Commander. What do we do, sir?”
Jake, looking at Mars as he spoke, said, “We follow protocol. We do what we have been trained to do. I’ll put this thing in orbit around Mars. Taylor, you make sure all computer systems are working properly.” He then turned around and gave Skip a small smile, letting him know everything was all right between the two of them. Skip seemed to relax a little and smiled back. “Skip, will you set Mars II’s computers to scan for any gravimetric anomalies, and see if we can’t find this wormhole?”
Skip softly slapped Jake’s back. “Yes, sir. Computer …”
“Yes, Doctor Hendricks,” the computer replied.
“Retrieve program ‘Operation Wormhole’ … authorization code nine-four-three-dash-alpha, and activate it.”
“Yes, Doctor Hendricks.”
“Are you sure that program that you guys designed at NASA will find this so-called wormhole?” Jake asked.
“Don’t worry, Jake,” Skip said. “We used data from the probe that we sent to find your dad when he disappeared. The program is designed to indicate any gravimetric anomalies.”
Jake turned back to face Mars. “I hope you’re right.”
Taylor looked at Jake. “Don’t worry, Jake. Everything is going to be fine. We’ll find this wormhole, go through it, find your dad, and come back.”
Jake gave Taylor a skeptical look. “You’re a little too optimistic for me. I haven’t told you guys this before, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in this mission.”
Skip and Taylor glanced at one another. Skip spoke first. “We’ve traveled millions of miles to Mars, and you tell us this now.”
“I’m sorry. I just don’t know if I believe in your theory, Skip.”
Skip put his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “You’re lucky, then.”
“What do you mean, ‘lucky’?”
“You’re lucky that I believe in it enough for the both of us, and Taylor believes it too. Don’t worry. You just do your job and pilot us through this thing if we find it. You don’t need to worry if it exists or not. That’s my job.”
Jake shook his head. “That’s just it. If this thing exists and we enter it, how do you know we won’t be crushed to death or shot clear across the universe?”
Skip smiled and said, “I don’t.”
“That doesn’t help me, Skip.”
“I know. Sometimes you just have to have faith.”
Jake gave Skip a funny look. “Faith, huh. Faith in what?”
Skip laughed. “You know. Faith that God will get us through this.”
Jake turned his seat back to face Mars. Deep down, he knew that Skip was right, but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it. If they were going to survive this, it would have to be God that helped them.
Taylor piped in, “Yeah. Faith, Jake. That’s all we have besides us.”
Jake glanced at Taylor and then at Skip. “You know what, guys? I couldn’t have asked for better men to go on this mission with. It’s an honor.”
Taylor and Skip nodded their heads in acknowledgment. They all had grown extremely close. In fact, each man knew that he would give his life for the other if he had to.
**********
3 days later …
After days of orbiting Mars, Jake was becoming frustrated. The computer had not detected any gravimetric anomalies or anything that even resembled this hypothesized wormhole. Jake knew that he had to take action soon. “Okay, guys, I don’t know if we’re going to find this thing, so I think maybe it’s time we switch to Plan B. Taylor, keep this thing in orbit. Skip and I are going to take NightHawk down to the surface and do a search.”
“Roger that, Commander,” said Taylor.
Jake pressed the communicator button to contact Houston. “Houst … that’s weird.”
“What?” asked Taylor.
“I can’t get a signal for the communication satellite orbiting Mars,” Jake said.
Skip spoke. “That’s strange. We just spoke with them a few hours ago.”
“I know. Maybe the satellite is out. Computer …”
“Yes, Commander Palmer,” the computer replied.
“Are all communication satellites active and operational?”
“Negative. Scans cannot locate the Mars’ satellite.”
Taylor interjected, “Just two hours ago, we passed it in our orbit, and it was there.”
Jake looked confused. “Yeah, I know. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to go back and see if we can’t locate it. Whether it’s there or not, Skip and I are going to go down and do a quick search. Then we’re going to head back home.”
Two hours later, Mars II was back to where it had passed the satellite before. All three crewmen looked around for the missing satellite. “Computer …” Jake said.
“Yes, Commander Palmer.”
“Are your scans able to detect the satellite now that we are back to its previous orbit?”
“Negative, Commander.”
Skip unbuckled himself and floated to the hatchway that led from the flight deck to mid-deck. “I wonder if it fell out of orbit.”
Jake unbuckled himself and followed Skip. “Maybe. Even so, let’s get down to the surface and do a search for my dad’s re … Mars I’s remains.”
Jake had a hard time saying it. Even though he was skeptical about the existence of wormholes, he still hoped that they would find one. He really did not want to go the surface and find whatever was left of his dad’s crew.
Skip spoke before he opened the hatchway. “Maybe after our search on the surface, we should wait a few more days to see if we can’t find the wormhole. I’m still positive it’s around here somewhere.”
“If the satellite was still here, I would agree with you. But under the circumstances, I want to get back to Earth as quickly as possible. I’m sure they’re pretty worried by now.”
Skip looked disappointed. He succumbed to the fact that he may not get to prove that his theory was true. “Yeah, you’re the commander. Whatever you say.”
Jake gave Skip an annoyed look. “Don’t patronize me, Skip. I just think that we need to communicate with Earth as soon as possible.”
Skip did not respond. He opened the hatchway and went through. Jake followed him as he spoke to Taylor. “Taylor, keep this thing in orbit. We’ll be in constant communication with you. Once we retrieve our necessities from our quarters, we’ll prep NightHawk in the payload-deck. Once we’re ready to leave, I’ll give you the order to open the payload doors.”
Taylor turned in his copilot’s chair to face Jake and saluted. “Roger t
hat, sir.”
Jake smiled and followed Skip to their quarters to get ready for man’s first descent to the surface of Mars.
**********
A few moments later, Jake and Skip floated through the payload-deck in their flight suits. They were within fifty feet of NightHawk. Jake loved the little ship; not that it was little. It was only little compared to Mars II. Nonetheless, Jake loved to fly it. It flew a lot like the new F-81 Tigers that the Air Force used, which were actually updated versions of the F-22 Raptors. It could maneuver as well in space as it did in an atmosphere and, with hover technology, there wasn’t any need for a runway. Its sleek and slim design resembled the F-117 Nighthawks of the earlier twenty-first century. The only difference was that it was longer and wider, and could accommodate seven passengers comfortably with bathroom facilities and sleeping quarters for each crewmember.
Jake opened the door in the back of the craft, and the two entered. NightHawk’s computer chirped. “Welcome, Commander Palmer and Doctor Hendricks.”
Jake secured his backpack under his seat. He responded as he and Skip buckled themselves into their seats; Jake in the pilot’s seat on the left and Skip in the copilot’s seat on the right. “Computer, prepare for flight and descent to Mars.”
“Yes, Commander,” the ship’s computer replied as the craft came to life. The computer panels lit up, and the engine began to hum.
“Taylor.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Open the payload doors.”
“Roger that.”
Skip spoke as the doors began to open. “Do you think we’ll find anything down there?”
Jake looked at Skip and said, “I hope not.”
Skip gave Jake a puzzled look.
Jake continued. “I mean … honestly, I wish your wormhole theory was right. I don’t want to go down there and find anything because I know that there was no way that my dad and his crew could have survived this long on Mars. If I find my dad is dead down there, I don’t know what I would do.”
Skip didn’t speak. He only nodded in acknowledgment and watched as Jake maneuvered NightHawk out of Mars II.
**********
After a successful descent to Mars, NightHawk landed softly on the red planet’s surface. A surge of energy shot through Jake. He and Skip were about to become the first human beings to take steps on the surface of Mars.
He looked at Skip and smiled. “Okay, we both agreed that if we had to come to the surface, one of us would be the first to touch the ground. You got the quarter?”
“Yep,” said Skip, unzipping a pocket on his space suit and pulling out a quarter. “You call it.”
“Heads.”
Skip flipped the coin into the air, caught it, and flipped it over onto the back of his left hand. He looked at it and then looked up at Jake with disappointment. “I guess you win. It’s heads.”
Jake smiled and said, “Hey, look at it this way, you’ll always be remembered as the second person to set foot on Mars, behind the great Jake Palmer.”
Skip gave Jake a smirk. “Shut up.”
“Taylor, we’re ready to leave NightHawk and set up a perimeter to triangulate our position,” Jake reported.
“Roger that,” Taylor replied.
Jake lowered the ramp, and he and Skip walked to it. The two men stopped before descending. They looked at the surface of Mars with awe. They were the first two men in human history to see the red planet with their own eyes and it was a breathtaking sight. A massive mountain range pierced the pale orange skyline directly in front of them. To their right was a canyon and to their left were miles and miles of a flat, red landscape. The wind was blowing ferociously, spitting red dust into the air. It looked like something out of a painting.
Jake took a deep breath and said, “Well, here we go.”
The two men slowly walked down the ten-foot ramp; Jake in front and Skip step for step behind him. Just as Jake was about to set foot on the surface, the comlink within his ear crackled with static. He could make out Taylor’s voice. Jake stopped before he set foot on the surface, holding his hand up to stop Skip. “Taylor, what’s going on?”
Taylor responded, but Jake couldn’t make out what he was saying through the static. “Com … ars … cked … to … le … g … ack … ic …”
Jake tried hard to make out what Taylor was saying, but there was too much interference. “Taylor, repeat! I say … repeat!”
No answer.
“Taylor, come in! Come in, Taylor!”
Again, no answer.
Jake turned to face Skip and could see the worry in his eyes. “We’ve got to get back up there to see if Taylor’s okay!”
Skip turned and ran up the ramp, with Jake on his heels.
A few seconds later, the two men buckled themselves into their seats. Jake closed the ramp and prepared for takeoff. He was nervous because NASA had never been able to simulate a takeoff from Mars. He just hoped that NightHawk would have enough thrust to pull away from the strong gravitational force of the planet. Jake grabbed the flight stick and hovered the ship a few feet off the ground. He looked at Skip and said, “Let’s pray this works because if it doesn’t, this might just be our burial site.”
Skip nodded and closed his eyes. Jake punched the launch button on the computer panel with his index finger. NightHawk shot up like a bullet. Jake could barely keep his eyes open. He wanted to black out. The G-forces were incredible. Never before had he felt such power, not even in all his training as a pilot and astronaut. For a moment, he thought that the G-forces were going to rip him right through his seat. His breastbone felt as if it was pressing against his spine.
He continued to resist the urge to pass out. He couldn’t turn his head to see if Skip was okay. He couldn’t even talk. How fast were they going?
Soon, NightHawk was back in orbit around Mars. Both men looked at one another. Skip spoke first. “What a rush!”
Jake smiled and shook his head. “I’ve never felt anything like that before. I thought my body was going to be flattened from the G-forces.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
Jake turned to scan space for any sign of Mars II. There was no sign of the shuttle. “Taylor, come in, over. … Taylor, come in.”
Again, there was no answer.
Skip pointed to his one o’clock. “Look!”
Jake looked to where Skip pointed. About five hundred yards away was Skip’s hypothesized wormhole. “Is that what I think it is?” he said.
“I think so. It looks like the ripple we saw on the video when the probe we sent disappeared. Taylor must have gone through already. … Oh no, it’s starting to shrink!”
Jake looked, and sure enough, the ripple was beginning to get smaller. “Hold on.” Jake grabbed the flight stick and maneuvered the ship in the direction of the ripple. NightHawk darted toward the distortion as the heads of the two men within slammed back against their headrests.
“Hurry, it’s going to disappear, and there’s no telling when it will open again!” Skip yelled.
Jake pushed NightHawk to full speed. Its nose entered the ripple just as it closed.
Jake looked around and watched as the stars elongated.
CHAPTER 4: THE CHASE
The experience only seemed to have lasted a minute. It was a strange sensation. The stars elongated, and the two men within NightHawk looked as if they were moving in slow motion. Jake looked at the rearview screen and caught a glimpse of the wormhole. As soon as he glanced, the hole closed upon itself and disappeared. Jake wondered. What would have happened if NightHawk was caught in the middle of the hole when it closed? They probably would have been crushed to death. The thought shot chills up his spine.
“Look out!” yelled Skip.
Jake looked up. There wasn’t any time to move out of the way. The object slammed into the cockpit plasma shield of NightHawk. Luckily, since the design of the original Mars I Space Shuttle, every new spacecraft that had been constructed was fitted with
plasma shields. The reason plasma was used was to provide the astronauts within larger views, and plasma protected the crews from the vacuum of space.
“What was that we hit?”
“I think it was our missing satellite,” Skip replied.
Jake and Skip both looked ahead through the plasma shield. Mars II was directly in front of them, and below the shuttle was a planet that looked a lot like Earth. The planet had blue oceans and continents, but they were shaped differently.
Jake looked just past the planet and saw two moons. “Uh, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto.”
Skip laughed. “Yeah, I think you’re right, Dorothy. This is awesome. We are actually in another solar system! Amazing!”
“And just think, Skip, you are going to go down in history as the man who discovered wormholes.”
“I think that honor will go to your dad. He and his crew were the first to travel through one, remember.” Skip pointed toward the planet. “Do you think your dad is on that planet?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Jake slowly fired the reverse thrusters and shut down the aft thrusters to come to a complete stop. “Taylor. Are you okay? Taylor, come in …”
Sadness suddenly overcame Jake. Didn’t Taylor survive the transport through the wormhole? Why was he not answering? “Taylor, come in. Tay—”
“Ja … Jake, is that you?”
“Yes. Are you okay?”
Taylor sounded groggy. “I think so. I was monitoring your … uh, descent to Mars when I felt the shuttle shake. … Uh, the force was so great … it ripped my chair right from its bolts. I think it flew back, and I hit my head on the control panel. … Yeah, I think that’s what happened. … I’m bleeding badly, and there’s blood all over the computer panel at the back of the flight deck. I-It must have knocked me out … while you were on your way to the surface of Mars … um …”
“Taylor, are you sure you are okay?” Jake asked again.
“What, oh yeah, what was I saying? Oh yeah, while you were on your way, I deployed a video probe so that NASA could see the shuttle and that we were all right. … What happened?”
“Taylor, you were sucked into the wormhole,” Jake said.
Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1) Page 6
