by Bob Lee
“It would take us an hour to get to your landing site, according to my report about your colony’s destination,” Grant said. “We couldn’t get there in time to help you.”
“The radar array and its power are programmed to deploy by remote manual control,” Roy said. “I can send you the frequency and command codes. Once it’s deployed and active, I’ll need you to also relay its signal from your location. This way the computers on the Pegasus can triangulate our exact position at all times.”
“Da, I can do this,” Sergey said.
“Is there anything else you need from us?” Grant asked.
“Yes, I’ll need you to come out and assist us after landing. We may crash, and most of the people on board do not have spacesuits. Bring all the spares that you have. In addition, we’ll need to deploy the habitat for the colony. The more hands that we have to set up, the faster we can get everyone safely inside.”
“Alright, we’ll get going immediately, Roy. Serge here will get the radar deployed remotely. The rest of us will bring suits and emergency kits with us in case anyone is injured.”
“One more thing, Grant. Were you aware that the Chinese were about to land on Mars?”
“No, we haven’t had any reports from Mission Control on that. They’ve been keeping a tight lid on all information reaching us.”
“Well, just be careful while you’re out there. I don’t know where they are landing, but I had a brief conversation with one of them and he didn’t sound too friendly. I guess the tensions on Earth have ratcheted up since we left.”
“We’ll keep an eye out for them and thanks for the warning. If they mess with us, they’ll be in for a surprise. We’re not totally helpless anymore, thanks to Serge. We’ll see you shortly. Good luck!”
# # #
In the lower level of the habitat, the hopper was still active in its hiding place and relaying all conversations to Probe Spit and the Master.
“Here is the opportunity I have been waiting for,” the Master said. “This Brother Jacobs and his group will want to come to us. They have stated that they want to protect us from the others. We should be able to easily lead one or more of them directly here.”
“We will reveal ourselves to them?” Spit asked.
“Yes. By the humans’ conversation, it is obvious this group will not reveal us to the others, and have no wish to attack. They seem so eager that they will most likely come willingly and unsuspecting of any danger.”
“How will we do this?”
“Direct the hopper to hide on the Earthlings’ transport. They are planning to meet with this group after they land. We will relocate the hopper to this new group’s vicinity and expose it at the right moment. Send the instructions immediately, before the opportunity has passed.”
Probe Spit directed the hopper to enter the rover and hide while the astronauts were still upstairs. It was commanded to monitor all activities and await further instructions.
CHAPTER 38
As Mars filled the entire front screen of the Pegasus, Sam turned to her left to look at the Commander. “Roy, tell me you’ve tried this cockamamie skip reentry idea before. I don’t want to think we’re putting our lives on the line here without at least some hope of pulling this off.”
“It’s a bit of a long story.”
“We have nothing but time at the moment,” Sam said. “We’ve got about a half hour before we start hitting the atmosphere.”
“Well, I was backup for this mission before you were assigned as my copilot, and the simulation guys threw a scenario at me where a leak caused the front steering rockets to fail partway through the descent. As you know, without those babies, we can’t point the nose up to slow down through the atmosphere or perform the needed S-turns.” Roy shook his head. “I hated that sim. I tried it ten times and I burned up ten times.”
“The Sim guys never threw that one at us while we were training together,” Sam said. “As part of our normal deorbit checklist, we’re mandated to test those thrusters as critical components. It’s also why we tested the front thrusters each month while in the hangar of the Cycler. If they are malfunctioning, we either never leave the hangar or if we have departed, we abort the deorbit burn and return to the AB Cycler.”
“Yeah, well, after our consistent crashes, they decided that was the best course and dropped the sim. But I wasn’t about to give up. I studied up on entry techniques and discovered the skip reentry concept. I insisted that they give me another shot at the scenario.”
“So, it worked, right?” Sam asked.
“Well, almost.”
“What do you mean, almost?”
“I had to conserve using the front thrusters until the right moment. In order to do the skip, the ship needs to be travelling in a path horizontal to Mars but pointing straight up so that the bottom of the ship takes the brunt of the atmospheric friction to slow the ship down. The front thrusters aren’t powerful enough to do that, and even if they are, there isn’t enough fuel in them to perform that maneuver and still have enough for the landing itself. So, of course, the backup pilot and I crashed the sim again.”
“I’m not liking where this is going,” Sam said. “They always say that there’s hope unless a pilot runs out of altitude, airspeed and ideas simultaneously, so I hope you came up with another idea when you did that simulation that we can use today.”
“Let’s just say, you’re not going to like it. We can’t use the autopilot; we’re going to have to hand-fly it all the way down,” Roy said. He then explained the technique that they were going to use while Sam’s eyes got bigger and bigger.
# # #
“Chyort,” Sergey cursed. He dialed in the frequency of the MMTV transport. “Commander,” he said. “The radar system that the Pegasus requires in order to land is stuck. The exit hatch of the supply rocket will not open. I cannot deploy the radar remotely while it is still inside. Are you near the ship yet?”
“We had to detour around a large crater,” Grant replied. “We’re about ten minutes out.”
“They may not have that much time,” Sergey stated. “They will be entering the atmosphere at any second.”
“I’ll see what we can do. Let the Pegasus know our status. We’ll radio you when we get to the supply ship,” Grant said. He turned to Brad and Charles. “Get in the click suits. As soon as I stop, I want you both out. Release the trailer, grab any pickaxes or shovels you can manage, and click back in as fast as you can. Without the weight of the trailer, we should be able to travel faster. Stay in your click suits so the minute we reach the supply ship, you can immediately drop down and get at that stuck door.”
The two astronauts hurried to the rear of the transport and into their suits. As soon as the Commander saw they were ready, he screeched to an abrupt halt, sending red dust flying in all directions. In moments, Brad and Charles had detached the trailer, grabbed a few implements and were clicked back into the transport. “Go,” yelled Charles through his helmet radio.
As the Commander accelerated, the trailer decoupled and in moments was left far behind. “Terrific, that made a big difference; we’re really moving now,” he said to his teammates.
Chuck, who was suspended over the surface while attached at the rear of the transport, could see a rooster tail of dust flying away from him. He was jostled in every direction as the MMTV bounced around over the uneven terrain. “Let’s just hope when we get there that the supply ship isn’t on its side with the door buried in the sand,” he said over the radio. “If it is, those folks on the Pegasus are screwed.”
“Just be ready to move fast,” Grant replied. “We’ll come back for the extra supplies on the trailer later. Let’s just hope that with a lighter load, we get there in time to make a difference.”
# # #
Bonnie could feel the Pegasus thrum as it entered the outer reaches of the Martian atmosphere. The constant vibration was making her large pregnant belly ache.
“Everyone, please tighten your harnes
ses,” she heard the pilot say over the intercom. “This is going to get really rough, and you can thank your leader for what is about to happen. Pray to whatever deity you believe in that we land safely, and under no circumstances get out of your seats. The ship is going to get bounced around pretty hard, so brace yourselves.”
Bonnie helped her younger daughter Julie tighten her restraints. Then, ignoring her own discomfort, she turned towards Jean. “Are you okay, Sweetie?” she asked.
“Don’t worry, Mom. The Commander and Pilot Sam are the best. I have total faith in them. They’ll get us down safely.”
A moment later, when a sharper vibration elicited a groan from Bonnie, old Sue turned around. “Hang in there, Honey. If you need some help, let me know. I don’t care what the pilot said, if you need something I’ll unbuckle and be back there in an instant.”
“Thanks, Sue,” Bonnie replied, “but I’m okay for now. You’re a good friend. Don’t endanger yourself; I’ll be fine.” She turned towards Jean. “The landing doesn’t take too long, right?”
“No, it’s pretty quick. It will be over in about seven minutes,” Jean replied. Of course, she did not know that this was not to be a normal landing.
CHAPTER 39
On the Pegasus flight deck, Sam flipped off the rear cabin intercom. “Hopefully they’ll listen back there this time,” she said to Roy. “I’m not unlocking that door to check on them, though. I’m actually surprised that Brother Jacobs and his Platinums aren’t pounding on the door trying to get in.”
“Yeah, maybe they’re finally coming around to thinking that the Great Consciousness helps those who help themselves.”
“Hey, you made a joke,” Sam laughed. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet. Now, since Sergey just told us the radar system isn’t deployed yet, I hope you have another idea for how we’re going to do this.”
“We still need the radar system, but luckily we don’t have much choice at the beginning part of our entry. We’re basically just diving in like a meteor and pulling out. We’ll need the radar guidance on our pull up. Set the dashboard display to the radar frequency and turn it on. It will show our path once they get the system activated. I’ll need you to monitor it constantly and give us feedback on our trajectory. I’ll also need you to tell me our G-forces and temperature at all times.”
Sam could see a small wisp of vapor off the nose of the ship and felt the vibration increase as the Pegasus started its nosedive. Simultaneously, the Entry Interface red light came on and the ship’s voice calmly stated, “Entering atmosphere. Incorrect entry orientation.”
“Turn that voice off,” Roy commanded. “I am so glad the builders finally listened to us after all the sims and found a way for us to disable it. It will only distract us in what is about to happen.”
As Sam entered the new command into the computer, she looked ahead. The giant rift valley called the Valles Marineris filled the viewscreen. It looked like they were headed straight for it. “How many times after you thought this up did it take before you and your backup pilot managed this maneuver successfully on the sim?” she asked.
“Only five,” Roy stated grimly.
# # #
Grant slammed the brakes on the MMTV, fishtailing as he skidded to a stop next to the supply ship containing the radar that the Pegasus desperately needed. “Go, go, go!” he yelled.
Charles pulled his release and fell slowly off the back of the transport the few feet to the surface. “C’mon Brad. We’re in luck. It looks like the ship didn’t fall over. I see the door.” As he ran over to it, he could see that the ship was tilted away from vertical. One of the legs had come down directly on a large boulder. The leg had accordioned, but could only shrink a limited distance.
“It looks like the shock on that leg buckled the door,” Brad said as he came up next to Charles. “Look, it’s open a crack. C’mon, let’s see if we can pry it open the rest of the way.”
“How much time do we have?” Charles asked Grant over his radio.
“Serge says you have about three minutes. I’ll be out to help in a few seconds.”
“Geez Louise, this is cutting it tight,” Charles said as he took the pickaxe he was holding and wedged it into the narrow opening. “Get your shovel in here too,” he told Brad. “On the count of three; one, two, three!”
The two astronauts pulled on their tools simultaneously. The door cracked open another inch. “Again!” Charles grunted. On the third heave, the door released and followed its previously received remote command to slide open fully.
“We don’t have time to deploy the ramp,” Brad said. “I see the radar in there. Let’s just carry it.”
Grant loped over to assist, having exited using the main hatch of the transport. Between the three of them, they managed to pull out the radar array. “Let’s put it over there away from the supply ship,” Grant said. “The ship looks like it might topple, and we don’t want it to crush the system. Once the radar is placed, Serge will detect that and start it up.”
As the three astronauts focused on carrying the radar system a few tens of meters to a safe location, they did not see the alien hopper emerge from their transport. The Master had taken this opportunity to provide it with new instructions. The hopper zigzagged its way over to the supply ship, and with a mighty leap entered the open door. Soon it had buried itself amongst the supplies, awaiting an opportunity to meet with the group named the Called if they managed to survive the landing.
# # #
Sam maintained her calm demeanor as the Pegasus streaked nose down towards the Martian surface. Hours of practice in the NASA flight simulator had taught her that, in times of stress, it was best to focus on what she could actually control and to rely on her training. “Holding steady at two G’s, Roy. Outside temperature at ninety percent maximum and rising. Radar display not functioning.” She spoke into the radio transmitter. “Sergey, we could use that radar system any time now.”
“Da, it is booting up. Another two minutes,” the reply came back.
“Keep sounding off the temperature readings to me,” Roy said through gritted teeth as he hung onto the controls of the craft as it bucked its way through the denser atmosphere.
Sam could see flames coming off the nose of the Pegasus. They curled over the top and up and over the front screen. “They would be beautiful, if they weren’t so deadly at this speed,” she thought. She came back out of her reverie to look at the gauge readings. Multiple warning lights were blinking on the front panel. “Ninety-five percent of max temp on the nose and wingtips. Ninety-eight percent. Max redline! Pull up!” Sam yelled.
“Not yet!” Roy shouted back.
“Three percent over max! Roy, what are you doing?” Sam shouted. Just then, a tile from the top of the nose peeled off from the beating the Pegasus was taking and slammed against the window, disintegrating in a splash of particles. “We’re going to burn up! Five percent over!”
“No, we’re okay. It’s an old fighter pilot technique going all the way back to World War I. Engineers always build in a safety margin. We can go over the max on the gauges.”
“Why would they do something like that?” Sam asked incredulously.
“To keep pilots from doing something idiotic like this!”
“Eight percent over!” Sam shouted. She looked up from the display and could see the nose of the ship glowing cherry red with flames ferociously flying all around it. Another tile peeled off, smashing directly in front of her before flying off into oblivion.
“Now!” yelled Roy. “The maneuver we discussed!”
Sam flipped a switch that was designed for the maintenance and test people back at the NASA labs. The switch allowed them to manipulate each aileron separately, but was never designed to be used while flying. What Roy had discovered in his attempts to beat the simulation was that this control would allow the Commander and Pilot to each separately control one aileron. Thus, instead of one flap going up and the other one going down to initiate a coordinated
turn, they could make them move independently and in the same direction if needed.
Sam flipped the switch, and both she and Roy pulled back on their controls simultaneously. Both ailerons flipped up part way, pushing the wings down and causing the nose to rise up. Sam punched the control to add the front bottom nose thrusters to their efforts to raise the front of the ship. Slowly the Pegasus started to level out of its dive. “Three G’s, Roy. The ship wasn’t built to come in this fast! Ten percent over redline temperature!”
“Almost level,” Roy stated calmly as the Pegasus pulled out of its dive. “Almost level … Now! Maximum power on the thrusters and pull back all the way!”
Sam and Roy yanked on their respective control columns. As the ailerons both flipped up to their maximum extent into the atmosphere howling over them, the wings stalled, causing them to drop and nose to rise up. Both astronauts felt a huge swat to their rears as the air slammed into the bottom of the Pegasus. “Forward to neutral position!” Roy yelled as soon as the ship was pointing straight up.
Sam quickly turned off the thrusters and moved the aileron on her side so that it was flat with the wing surface. “Three G’s and coming down, Roy, and nose temperature dropping slightly. Bottom and rear temperature climbing,” she grunted. “By God, I think we might have done it!” She glanced out the side window. The Pegasus was hurtling horizontal to the Martian surface with its nose pointing straight up. The black tiles on the bottom of the ship were facing forward and taking the brunt of the heat as they were designed to do.
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Roy said. “We need that radar to show our trajectory. As the Martian surface curves away below us, we might just be hurtling back into space never to return. If we don’t adjust our trajectory in the next few seconds, we’re goners.”
Meanwhile, in the rear of the craft, the extra weight everyone was feeling from the reentry was affecting Bonnie the most. Since she had lived for five months at one-third G, she groaned under the six times larger strain of three G’s and struggled to breathe. Suddenly, Bonnie felt a huge wetness underneath her. “Oh, no,” she moaned. “I think my water just broke.”
