Parting Gifts

by gerald hall

  We needed to greatly expand the underground areas of the colony’s complex because of our growing population. We did all of this to provide ourselves with needed insurance that we would have enough sheltered space in case of another crisis like that CME that happened four years ago.”

  “I guess that is why you also buried a lot of the habitat modules with the spoil from the pit excavations. I would imagine that the thermal mass of the soil helps regulate temperatures inside the modules.” Cecil noted.

  “Yes, that’s true. It also protects us from any micrometeoroids that still occasionally make it through our thin atmosphere. But as our atmosphere continues to thicken, we become far less dependent on all that shielding. It is rapidly becoming the case that the soil around us is becoming more important for economically moderating our temperature than anything else. Most of the tunnels have no need at all for additional heating or cooling. That significantly reduces the amount of power needed for environmental control.”

  “How are you dealing with all of the new volcanos and other subsurface activity after the Third Event? There has to have been a lot of tectonic plate movement with the heating of the planetary core.”

  “It has actually been very easy to deal with. In spite of all of the new seismic activity, we are on a relatively stable portion of the Martian surface in spite of being inside of an old impact crater. Of course, we have been very careful to reinforce all of our tunnels to prevent collapses. We have even created a Martian equivalent to concrete for use in reinforcing our tunnels. Notably, the diameter of Mars itself has even increased slightly due to the all of the energy that went into the core. We also get to feel the occasional ‘bump’ from a Mars quake. But there has been little excitement overall.”

  As the group walked further into the colony’s underground complex, they encountered a growing number of the colonists going about their business. Talia and Cecil noticed something else very unexpected as they walked.

  “Look there, Cecil. I’ve seen at least a dozen families with three or more children already. When we left the Alliance, hardly anyone was having children anymore there. It was as though they were afraid to bring children into a world that was destroying itself.” Talia remarked.

  The group’s escort overheard Talia’s remark and responded to it.

  “Well, we Martian’s are a very hopeful people. We believe in the future of humanity on this world. So we are willing to bet the lives of our children that they will be inheriting a better world than the one that we all came from. We are still very much on the frontier of humanity. We have to all work hard to make a home here. That’s something that I hope all of you understand as well. There are no free lunches here. You are responsible for your own upkeep and wellbeing. But the joy and freedom here is unlike anything you have ever experienced.”

  “I don’t see any police or anything like that. I’m originally from New York City, so I am used to always seeing police around. What do you do to prevent crime here?”

  “We are basically a very civil people here on Mars. For the vast majority of us, our faith guides our morality and actions. So there are a lot more ministers and rabbis than police here, although most of the religious leaders also have a day job doing something else in the colony. But also what you don’t see is that at least half of the adults walking around here are carrying a concealed weapon of some sort. Also pretty much every household owns one or more firearms that they brought here from Earth. Even so, Mars has never had a problem with gun crime.

  No one would dare commit a crime with a gun for fear that they would immediately face at least half a dozen armed citizens. Then, they would have to face our legal system. So, things are very peaceful around here, even without a lot of law enforcement personnel here.” Jeremy laughed.

  Chapter Nineteen:

  Martian Interplanetary Transport Renown

  Mars Orbit

  September 10, 2045

  Renown finally entered Mars orbit after a slightly longer than normal journey due to the extra payload that she had been carrying.

  “Begin separation of the space station.” Captain Whittaker ordered.

  A few moments later, a muffled clank echoed throughout the transport as the locking clamps holding the space station to the transport. A few gentle firings of Renown’s maneuvering thrusters created enough Delta V to separate the transport from Space Station Freedom.

  “Welcome to Mars, Ladies and Gentlemen.” Captain Whittaker said with a smile as he watched the slowly shrinking image of the massive space station and the changing image of Mars.

  Space Station Freedom had been placed in a geosynchronous orbit over Hebes Chasma. Her crew was now being roused from therapeutic torpor by one of the Martian medical technicians. They had spent the entire journey safely sleeping. But at the end of their journey, they were being awakened.

  Within thirty minutes after the space station had undocked from Renown, a gravity drive shuttle from Hebes Chasma docked with it. One of the first people that met the newly revived station commander Doctor Heather Armstrong was Timothy Clarborne. The polymath smiled as he reached out to shake Doctor Armstrong’s hand.

  “Hello, Doctor. We are very pleased to have you and your crew join us here at Mars.” Tim told Heather.

  “I’m happy to be alive and awake. I just wish that we didn’t have to leave Earth. But I guess we didn’t have much choice in the matter. The station was on the verge of being targeted by the Islamists. So it was either accept a ride to Mars, evacuate the station or wait to die from an Islamist missile strike, I’m afraid.”

  “Well, we are going to do everything that we can to make you feel at home here on Mars. This is a remarkable world here that you, your crew and this station will make a tremendous contribution to. We’ve been working pretty hard these past few months to prepare for your arrival. The new microwave power receiver station was just completed about a week ago. So all that we have to do now is get your solar arrays unfurled and set up. We can always use the extra power, especially with all of the new arrivals here at the colony.

  The folks running Mars Space Station One will certainly be relieved to see your arrival. They had been our orbital way station and communications relay ever since about six months after Earth’s nuclear autumn. Between the two stations, we can observe and communicate with Earth far more easily than even before.”

  As Tim and Doctor Armstrong talked, another man walked up to join them. He wore the same grey coveralls that Doctor Armstrong had on, but his clothing bore the rank of Major in the United States Air Force.

  “Hello, there. I’m Major Tyler Evans. I am the military liaison from the Eastern Alliance to Space Station Freedom.” The officer introduced himself.

  “Hello, Major. My name is Timothy Clarborne. I’m pleased that you could join us here. I don’t know what sort of work we might have for you here just yet. But I’m sure that you will be an asset here. I also wanted to note that your strikes on the Islamist targets were very effective in degrading their capabilities. You probably bought the Eastern Alliance another six months to a year as a result of the damage that you did to their leadership and facilities.”

  “Thank you, Sir. I really wish I could have permanently stopped the whole jihadist offensive though. I still feel pretty guilty about leaving all of those folks behind, even if I don’t have any family left on Earth anymore.” Major Evans grimly replied.

  “Major, I know that we have a bunch of soldiers, airmen, Marines and even a few sailors at Hebes Chasma who would more than welcome you here. We have a new world here that we feel is also worth defending from any threats too. Of course, you do have the option to return back to Earth aboard Renown, if you would prefer.”

  “Thank you for the offer, Mister Clarborne. I will meet with your militia after I get settled into here.” Major Evans answered with a sigh. But Tim could tell that the officer was relieved to have a new home and future to look forward to now.

  “Incidentally, Doctor Armstrong. I think
that you will find this very interesting as a scientist. With the appearance of the Martian magnetosphere, we’ve actually observed the creation of this world’s very own Van Allen belt. Mind you, it is quite tiny and not nearly as intense as the radiation belt surrounding Earth. But we have only had a few short years for ours to accumulate the charged particles. Our planetary scientists are absolutely ecstatic over this phenomenon and the opportunity to learn from it, of course.” Timothy then said, turning back to the space station’s leader.

  “That sounds fascinating. Will the radiation cause any problems for our space station while it is in Mars orbit? We had to periodically go to the radiation shelters whenever our orbit around Earth intersected the Van Allen belt, you know.”

  “No, we don’t think so. But, we are in the process of establishing cosmic observatories on both Phobos and Deimos. They will be used to study both Mars and the rest of the universe. We are all so very excited about the expansion of our knowledge of the universe that we are gaining from here on Mars.”

  “That is very good to know. I would like to go to Renown and meet with her captain and crew to thank them for taking such good care of us during our journey here.” Doctor Armstrong then said.

  “Well, Doctor. I’m afraid that your ride won’t be able to stay long. Renown already has orders to prepare to return back to Earth for another load within the next seventy-two hours. But she will be going with a new crew so the people who flew you here can have a chance to spend some time with their families. You will have plenty of opportunity to meet with Captain Whittaker and the others though.” Timothy said with a smile.

  “Thank you.”

  “Now, I would like to invite all of you to come down with me to Hebes Chasma to tour our facilities. I’m sure that you would appreciate learning about all that we can do for you. We are certain that your facilities here will be very helpful for all of us at Hebes Chasma.”

  Chapter Twenty:

  Eastern Alliance Space Operations Center

  Huntsville, Alabama

  September 23, 2045

  “What do you mean that you have an armed boomer there, Mister Wilkes?” Jerrod asked over the secure radio. He had continued to work as the coordinator with the US Navy and other navies that had been transferring their boats to be transported to the growing lunar colony.

  “”Yes, Sir. I was just informed of this myself. Apparently, the Western Alliance had been keeping a handful of nuclear-powered submarines, armed with ballistic missiles, in a fully operational status since the split with the Western Republic. The leaders of the Eastern Alliance just kept this hidden strategic reserve force pretty quiet, it seems. Now that the Caliphate is gaining so much ground, the President of the Alliance had decided to do something to keep these weapons out of enemy hands.” Captain Wilford Bloch explained from his office near Kings Bay, Georgia.

  “What about the other boats in this hidden reserve force, Captain?”

  “This particular vessel is the last of the Ohio’s. The other Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines were quietly decommissioned over the past decade because we couldn’t afford to maintain them any longer. The other strategic reserve boats were of the late-flight stretched Virginia class that had the four Trident tubes behind the sail. The humpback Virginias have all mostly been configured for firing cruise missiles, Sir. The National Command Authority decided to focus on hitting the enemy fleet rather than risking another nuclear autumn. But this last strategic missile boat not only has a full load of ballistic missiles and warheads, but also has a nuclear reactor core with a lot of miles left on it.”

  Jerrod shuddered to think about what those other purposes might be in mind for around two-hundred 150 kiloton yield thermonuclear weapons. But now, he had to deal with what he was being presented with.

  Jerrod was shocked at this revelation and opportunity. But he also immediately knew that he needed to pass this decision on to the Council on Mars. He was very concerned that even putting those weapons on the Moon would not take them far enough away from the Caliphate. The presence of nuclear weapons on the Moon may also make the colony a prime target there.

  The Caliphate already had some nuclear weapons. Jerrod was very concerned that they could put a nuclear weapon on top of a missile. A space launch vehicle could easily push a small nuclear warhead into a lunar intercept trajectory.

  There had to be a better place to put this submarine and her deadly payload.

  Less than an hour after receiving Jerrod’s message, the Mars Colonial Council met to determine a course of action. While the lunar colony was nominally an independent entity, the transfer of equipment was being managed by Martian personnel, especially with the employment of Martian gravity drive shuttles. The Martians, especially the polymaths, were simply the best people for the task.

  “I propose that we transport this submarine and her weapons directly to Hebes Chasma instead of sending it to the lunar colony. We can transfer it to one of our intrasystem transports to bring it here. Then we can integrate it into our facilities here. This is an American Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine with twenty-four Trident II missiles, each carrying eight 150 kiloton yield thermonuclear reentry vehicles for a total of one hundred and ninety-two warheads.” The commander of the Marine detachment, Colonel Matt Walker told the Martian Colonial Council.

  “You are talking about making us a major nuclear power then. That is a very big step for us. We could simply dispose of the submarine and its weapons altogether.” Stephanie Wilkins cautiously told the others on the Council. Everyone already knew that it would be a relatively simple task to send the boat on a ballistic trajectory towards either the Sun or Jupiter, guaranteeing the submarine’s destruction.

  “Yes, it is. But, it happens that I completely agree with Colonel Walker here. We need to do this for several reasons. The first is that we can certainly use the additional power generation capacity that this submarine’s nuclear reactor offers us. This alone is sufficient reason why we cannot simply dispose of the vessel. Secondly, we cannot afford for these weapons to fall into the hands of the Caliphate.” Deborah noted.

  “Could we just send the submarine to the lunar colony just like we have for the others?” Stephanie asked.

  “We could. But if the Caliphate finds out, it will be like painting a huge bullseye on the people living on the Moon. The lunar colony certainly could launch those missiles to hit targets on Earth, we all know. You can also bet that if the Caliphate learns about this submarine and her missiles being present on the Moon, they will see it as an imminent threat. That will prompt the Caliphate to strike first to eliminate that threat. The Caliphate might survive a missile attack launched from the Moon. But the lunar colony, in all likelihood, would probably not survive a hit from even a single Caliphate nuclear weapon.” Tim Clarborne explained.

  “So we are back to why we need to bring the submarine here instead. It will be far more difficult for the Caliphate to even learn that we have these weapons on Mars in the first place. Secondly, I’m sure that the Caliphate already sees us as a threat, even if it is only a far future one. If the Caliphate chooses to threaten us in the future, we will need a deterrent.” Deborah insisted.

  “Will the missiles on this submarine be able to do more than hit targets on the Martian surface?” Stephanie asked.

  “I have been talking to some of our people who know a thing or two about the Trident II missile ever since Jerrod got in touch with us. They tell me that even with a full payload of eight warheads, that because of the reduced gravity here on Mars, that the Trident will be able to not only put its payload into orbit, but also reach escape velocity with it.” Colonel Walker explained.

  “If we are going to use these weapons to defend ourselves, the warheads themselves will need some sort of guidance system, won’t they?”

  “Yes, they will. But we have plenty of time to develop one for them. We may have to reduce the mass of the warhead heat shields or slightly reduce the number of warheads on the miss
ile bus. But both modifications are very doable. While I have a great deal of confidence in my Marines, having a strategic missile system to help deter or defend against an enemy threat would certainly be helpful.”

  “I think that we have established why we need to do this and how it will benefit the colony. Unless there are any other objections, I propose that we tell the American President that we are going to assume custody of the missile submarine and bring it to Mars.” Deborah announced to the rest of the Council.

  “So now, we have to decide how we are going to integrate this vessel into the rest of the colony’s physical structure.”

  “I think that we need to separate this vessel from the rest of the Hebes Chasma colony infrastructure. First, such separation will help with security of the weapons. Secondly, in the event that it is attacked, we need that separation to avoid the rest of our facilities being hit and suffering collateral damage by any weapons targeted on the submarine’s location.”

  “That will require a lot of extra work to accomplish this. We are going to have to excavate a special pit for the submarine and basically bury it all the way to the top of the hull. Then we can cut down the sail to reduce the aboveground profile.

  We are then going to have to dig an underground passageway from the main colony to the submarine to share power and life support.”

  “If we are going to do this, it will not only take up a lot of our excavation resources but will have to be started immediately if we are going to be ready for this asset’s arrival. I’m not even sure that we will be ready even then.”

  “If we are not ready for the submarine when it arrives, we are going to have to leave it in orbit for a while.” Tim noted.

  “That would be a bad idea. Someone from Earth with a long-range telescope might be able to see it. A ballistic missile submarine has a very distinctive appearance. I think that we should attach it to either Phobos or Deimos temporarily in such an event. That way, the shape of the vessel will be obscured by the shadow of whatever moon we decide upon.”