

### The Shiva  
Encounter

### Doug Cook

This book is dedicated to my daughters Haley and Madeline.

Copyright ©2020 by Doug Cook  
Douglas J. Cook  
Colorado Springs, CO

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Cover image: Doug Cook modified from NASA / JPL / USGS / ESA images

INTRODUCTION

"There needs to be an intersection of the set of people who wish to go [to Mars], and the set of people who can afford to go. And that intersection of sets has to be enough to establish a self-sustaining civilization."

Elon Musk, Case for a multi-planet civilization, Aeon, Sept. 2014

What are the Chances of Earth being Smacked by a Big Asteroid?

The motivations we have today to send humans to Mars are nurtured within a relatively peaceful, stable status quo on Earth. However, Carl Sagan stated that the most compelling reason to extend our civilization to another world is to ensure the survival of the human race. [] We can imagine a spectrum of global disaster scenarios to motivate humanity's exodus from our terrestrial cradle, not the least of which is survival: global thermonuclear war, famine, pandemic disease, and looming asteroid impact. [] Since 1998, we have been systematically searching for and cataloging near Earth objects (NEOs: i.e. asteroids and comets).

To date, over 16,000 NEOs have been discovered that are larger than 140 meters diameter and 7816 are larger than one kilometer. These pose a global impact threat. Of the NEO populations, about 4700 have been classified as potentially hazardous objects (PHOs) that cross closer than 8 million kilometers to Earth and exceed 300 meters diameter. While this sounds ominous, to date there are no PHOs that present an imminent high probability impact threat.[]

The Chixulub impactor that killed about seventy five percent of the species on Earth including the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was a fifteen kilometer wide asteroid that delivered the equivalent of ten billion Hiroshima A-bombs of impact energy. That size of impact statistically occurs only once every hundred million years. That likelihood of impact could only be delivered by a large, hitherto undetected, rogue body coming in from the outer regions of the solar system.

The premise of Arcadia Mars and The Shiva Encounter, the second and third books of the Second World Series, is that the threat of ongoing global warming, Earth overpopulation, and global thermonuclear war, together with the peaceful yearnings to explore and colonize Mars were not enough to compel the first human mission to the red planet in the foreseeable future. It took the discovery of an Earth-bound one hundred kilometer diameter Kuiper Belt Object (KBO), hailing from beyond Neptune and Pluto to pry humanity from its myopic vision.

It was named Shiva, the Destroyer. Shiva is discovered to be on a trajectory to the inner solar system and it has a one-in-fifty chance of impacting the Earth in the year 2079. This disaster would be twenty-thousand times the impact energy of the Chixulub Event. Mankind cannot afford to gamble with extinction. This threat drove us to become a spacefaring multi-planet species.

The Aquila Mission returned humans to deep space using the SLS Space Launch System (fictional name therein-- Space Rocket System-SRS) by NASA's current playbook. In Arcadia Mars, the SpaceX Super Heavy booster with its Starship for deep space travel (fictional name herein-- SpaceTrans Colossus) now becomes the workhorse to establish the first colonies on Mars at Arcadia Planitia starting in 2035. The crew from Aquila, Coby Brewster, Ellie Accardi, Vik Ivanov, and Abby Denton, lead the first colony with their extended family. Establishing Arcadia Colony Base infrastructure for the first twenty one people requires many Colossus heavy lift cargo ships and a lot of human and robot labor.

The Super Heavy/Starship Reality

In the Introduction of Arcadia Mars, we discussed The BFR Reality. As we enter 2019, SpaceX has further changed the jargon. The BFR reusable design comprises a renamed Super Heavy booster first stage along with a Starship second stage. Also discussed was the need for a low Earth orbiting (LEO) propellant depot so that a crewed Starship could launch from Earth and refuel in one rendezvous with the depot instead of waiting for up to eight propellant tanker launches to refuel.

Author's concept of a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) BFR Propellant Depot capable of storing a full load of propellant for the BFR Second Stage Spaceship (240 MT of methane and 860 MT of LOX). One BFR ship can lift 100 MT to LEO. It will take eight BFR launches to fill the depot for one deep space BFR launch from LEO. The propellant docking port mates with the propellant transfer lines in the BFR aft engine bay by present design.

We can take this concept a step further—a step which can open up the solar system to interplanetary commerce and launch crews to Jupiter and beyond.

The Super Heavy booster is not designed for low Earth orbit (LEO) and atmospheric reentry, but rather to lift the Starship part way to LEO and then return to its launch base just as the reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters have done successfully. Let's now consider launching the Super Heavy booster as a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) without the Starship load and sporting an aerodynamic nose faring.

Super Heavy booster launched as single stage to orbit (SSTO) without the Starship load and with an aerodynamic nose faring. (Modified from SpaceX images)

Assuming the dry mass of the Super Heavy booster is 150 MT (larger than Saturn V First Stage), with a propellant mass of 2900 MT, it could conceivably be launched to LEO as a single stage. It could then be repurposed to be a fuel depot or Super Heavy space-tug. The Super Heavy space-tug version would need to be converted to utilize vacuum Raptor engines.

Super Heavy booster SSTO being used as a propellant depot refueled by tankers. It can hold 2900 MT of propellant. (Modified from SpaceX images)

Super Heavy booster SSTO being used as a propellant depot to refuel a Starship. (Modified from SpaceX images)

With a Super Heavy used as propellant depot, a Starship could refuel in one operation. The Super Heavy depot holds enough propellant for two Starships. A further extrapolation suggests using a refueled Super Heavy booster to launch the Starship to Mars with a full load of propellant for Mars landing and return without refueling. The current SpaceX concept requires the Starship to refuel on the surface of Mars with propellant manufactured from in situ resources (ISRU) in order to return to Earth.

In this scenario, the now empty Super Heavy booster could then be maneuvered to a Lagrange parking orbit[] for reuse as a propellant depot or space tug. Now imagine moving huge loads of propellant manufactured from water on the Moon, Mars, or deep space asteroids. This is the commodity of interplanetary commerce!

The concept could also be used to launch from LEO truly huge spaceships for human deep space missions to Jupiter and beyond. These huge spaceships will need to provide consumables and artificial gravity using centrifugal force for the crew for voyages lasting years. This brings to mind hard sci-fi space ships such as the Discovery One of Arthur C. Clark's 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Hermes of Andy Weir's The Martian, but perhaps not a ship as large as the interstellar ship Nauvoo on The Expanse!

The Arcadia Colony

In Arcadia Mars, the Arcadia Colony expands with many adjunct international colony groups. SpaceTrans has constructed paired manufacturing and launch facilities in Japan, Korea, China, India, and the UAE on schedule to make the Mars launch window in 2039. Colossus colony ships launched with colonists from those nations at an increasing cadence. A total of twenty four Colossus ships launched in the window from September 27 to October 3, 2039 with one colony ship of forty colonists and three supply ships from each launch center in Japan, Korea, China, India, and the UAE. Coalition (International Space Coalition) and LDS ships launched from the US. Each of the four new colonies will be dependent on the established facilities of Arcadia Base until they can develop some degree of independence. The four new adjunct colonies from Japan, Korea, China, and India have been constructed three hundred meters from Arcadia Base respectively to the west, southwest, southeast, and east of Arcadia Base with tunnels connecting back to the nexus. The ships landed on their individual new landing pads from April 28 to May 3, 2040.

This is a successful realization of making Mars colonization open for a wide sector of humanity. A sobering detraction from that ideal were the massive riots in India during the selection of colonists. During the Colossus launches from India, a stampede of people tried to breach the heavy gates of the SpaceTrans launch facility driven by the desperate delusion that some lucky few of them could barge on board and be whisked out of their overcrowded suffering. Over two thousand people died in these riots and stampedes.

The total number of people on Mars in May 2040 has grown to four hundred and eleven including the thirty one births recorded on Mars to that date. The colonists begin building adjunct colonies in a larger circumference ring around Arcadia Base to accommodate the arrivals in the July 2042 and September 2044 launch windows. In 2044, they will establish the Erebus Montes Base, another nexus in Arcadia Planitia one hundred kilometers southwest of Arcadia Base. The goal of having a million humans on Mars by 2079, the arrival date of Shiva and its threat to Earth, is still a long, long way from reality. It may well be unachievable in that time frame.

Can a growing multi-national, multi-cultural colony live in peace? The stick for large scale defense measures are the industrial lasers mounted on armored rovers stored in secret bunkers below Arcadia in case of need in a future conflict. Other rovers will be fitted with a ballistic missile capable of hitting any threat on Mars or in Mars orbit. God forbid that there is a future conflict needing these weapons.

The Coalition redoubled its oversight on all SpaceTrans Mars launch manifests and inspections to insure that only the Coalition has any weapons for possible conflict on Mars. All bets are off for any future colonies that may be launched independent of SpaceTrans and the Coalition. Mars and anywhere beyond Earth is open territory if you can get there.

After nearly seven years of preparation, planning, and construction, the Shiva Diversion Mission ship Vishnu (the savior) launched in 2035 armed with a ten gigaton nuclear device to impact, detonate, and deflect the one hundred kilometer KBO Shiva from its possible extinction encounter with Earth in 2079. The Shiva rendezvous and Vishnu detonation will occur in 2044 at 37 AU from the Earth between the orbits of Neptune and Pluto. The ten gigaton explosion is calculated to give Shiva a 4.31 cm/s lateral shove that will become a 73,000 km deflection by the time it reaches Earth. Will the detonation create an expanded problem with a debris cloud?

Are we alone in the universe?

As humanity settles worlds beyond Earth, the question about finding extra-terrestrial intelligence, ETI, somewhere out there is inevitable. How many civilizations might exist in the universe and why have we not been contacted yet?

Dr. Frank Drake first tried to quantify N, the number of intelligent civilizations, ETI, in our galaxy and on the scale of the universe itself, that might be capable of communication with us. The equation for this estimate is known widely as the Drake Equation. It combines eight increasingly narrow factors of estimation beginning with estimating the number of stars in the galaxy and the number planets orbiting stars beyond our own sun.

The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet occurred in 1992. As of April 2019, there are over four thousand confirmed planets in just over three thousand star systems.[] How many of those planets could support life? Roughly one-fifth of stars have planets in the habitable zone of the star, where temperatures allow for liquid water and could support life as we know it. How many of those planets actually develop life and then go on to evolve intelligent life that sends signals of their existence into space? How long does that intelligent life exist before going extinct?

"Combining all these numbers conservatively produces estimates that give a total number less than one, meaning we are alone in the universe. More optimistic numbers can yield tens of millions of possibilities. Drake's original estimates were between twenty at the low end, and one hundred million at the upper end."[]

This is just the estimate for the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, ETI, in our galaxy. The most recent numbers estimate that there are over a trillion galaxies in the universe. Our own Milky Way galaxy has over three hundred billion stars. The number of stars in the universe is an inconceivably large number. By applying the new exoplanet data to the universe's 2 x 1022 stars, we find that human civilization is likely to be unique in the cosmos only if the odds of a civilization developing on a given habitable planet are exceedingly small, less than about one in ten billion trillion.[]

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence, SETI, has been active since the founding of the SETI Institute in the 1960s by Carl Sagan and Frank Drake. So far, the result has been disappointing though there have been a few fleeting detections of signals of interest that alas did not repeat or could not be confirmed.

The Fermi Paradox is named after the physicist Enrico Fermi. It refers to the apparent contradiction between the optimistic high probability estimates of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and current lack of evidence for them. Are the super-conservative estimates that we are alone in the universe correct?

The Explorers

What will the explorers in The Shiva Encounter find and what will it mean for humanity's future in The Second World Series? Shiva, a hundred-kilometer-wide dwarf planet, has been knocked out of the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto and is headed toward the inner solar system. Astrophysicists estimate a one-in-fifty chance it will collide with Earth in 2079. Humanity cannot afford to gamble with extinction. We must make a second home for humanity.

Refer to Dramatis Personae for a full roster of players in the growing population on Mars. Now on to reintroducing our deep space explorers and colonists of Mars. The veteran explorers of the Aquila Mission—Coby Brewster, Ellie Accardi, Vik Ivanov, and Abby Denton—are chosen to lead the colony crew of twenty-one people, including their families, to Mars to prepare for the arrival of Colossus-class colony fleets in Arcadia Mars.

Coby is a natural leader with strong chiseled features. He commanded the Aquila Mission and became the first governor of the Mars Arcadia Colony. His hair is graying now and he's past his prime. Ellie Accardi is Coby's wife and dedicated astrogeologist.

Ellie, once with the red haired look of Botticelli's Venus de Milo, has aged gracefully. She made the first discovery of fossil extraterrestrial life on asteroid Bennu and later found primitive living layers of slimy life forms on Mars. Never underestimate her strength of character.

Vik Ivanov, affectionately called the "big Russian spaceman" by his wife, Abby, had racked up more hours in space than any human before the Aquila Mission. He is a fix anything engineer and able spaceship pilot. He assumed the role of second colonial governor of Arcadia Colony.

Vik's wife, Abby Denton, has long served the Aquila crew and now tends the growing number of Arcadia colonists as flight surgeon, doctor, and obstetrician. She never shirks from a disaster and has saved Coby and Vik from the brink of death on more than one occasion.

The families of Coby, Ellie, Vik, and Abby are becoming core leaders of the Arcadia colony. Sofi Brewster is the daughter of Coby and Ellie and Alex Ivanov is the son of Vik and Abby. The two were conceived on the Aquila Mission and were known as the space twins. Their personalities and shared thoughts are inseparable. They're extremely tall, intelligent, clairvoyant, and hold multiple PhDs in engineering and astronomy. Sofi and Alex were married on Mars at age eighteen and now begin their legacy on Mars.

Oleg Ivanov is Vik's son from his first marriage. Oleg is a 'chip off the old block' as a pilot and aerospace engineer. His leadership skills are waxing as he leads the first interplanetary trade mission to the nascent Ceres colony. Olga Sadoski is Oleg's wife. She is equally skilled as a pilot and engineer at Oleg's side in adventures and mishaps. Their daughter, Oksana, was the first human born on Mars.

Jacob Petrov is Coby's son with Russian astronaut Elena Petrov. Jacob and Elena are elite members of the first twenty one Martian colonists. Jacob is intelligent and handsome. He's an engineer and Ellie's protégé as an astrogeologist.

Governor Paula Jennings led the second Mars colony mission of Arcadia Beta. She succeeds Vik as colonial governor. She's accompanied to Mars by her husband Sam and astrophysicist daughter Tracy Jennings. Jacob and Tracy become romantically involved, marry, and now have a son named Filip. We'll see Jacob's leadership abilities evolve as he follows in his father's footsteps.

By 2044, there are nearly five hundred colonists on Mars with the goal of making humanity's second home self-sustaining. More colony increments from many nations arrive from Earth in launch windows every twenty six months. The legacy of the Aquila Mission's leaders lives on.

### TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

PREFACE

PROLOGUE

History of Mars Colonization and Shiva's Threat

CHAPTER 1 Earth 2044

New York

Kennedy Space Center

Houston

Los Angeles

CHAPTER 2 Arcadia 2044

CHAPTER 3 The Vishnu Impact

CHAPTER 4 Diaoyu and Huangyan

CHAPTER 5 Transport 3

CHAPTER 6 The Ceres Mission

CHAPTER 7 The Comet

CHAPTER 8 Ceres Outpost

EPILOGUE

APPENDIX Primer on Earth's Climate Change

GLOSSARY of TERMS

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

NOTES

Preface

Thanks for reading The Shiva Encounter, the third book of the Second World Series. I hope you've enjoyed The Aquila Mission and Arcadia Mars, the first and second books of the series. I've written each book so that it could be read as a stand-alone, but you'll find the story to be more satisfying and complete by reading the series in order.

The main characters from Aquila, Coby, Ellie, Vik, and Abby, lead the first colony on Mars in the desperate bid to make a second home for humanity. Close family members accompany them. In the Arcadia epilogue set in the year 2035, we get acquainted with other characters on the first Mars colony at Arcadia Planitia. The AI entities CASSI and CAMI that made the achievements of Aquila possible are even more capable in Arcadia where we see humans accompanied by true androids.

After Aquila, there is desperation to restart civilization off-world. This stems from the fact that the Earth has a one-in-fifty chance of being destroyed by a newly discovered interloper from the Kuiper belt, dubbed Shiva\- the Destroyer. The multi-national effort inevitably involves deep questions and conflict. How do we travel across the face of Mars to make new discoveries? How do we begin to govern a new civilization? How do we deal with the worst crimes a human can commit?

In Arcadia Mars, we dealt with the issues of deadly solar and cosmic radiation. Protection from radiation is a paramount concern, but exposure to some radiation is unavoidable. We expect gene mutation and an increased number of birth defects, perhaps some are advantageous, but most birth defects bring dire consequences. The offspring of the Aquila crew, Sofi and Alex, were the first humans conceived in space. They are endowed with a positive mutation giving them some level of telepathy and clairvoyance. They marry at age eighteen in 2042 and are destined to be future leaders on Mars and beyond. My hopes are with them!

Writing the Second World Series for me has been like reading a good sci-fi book but based on the very real history of Apollo and construction of ISS. The technical parts need telling to put solid technical legs on the mission ideas that I believe describes how we'll put a crew on Mars. My Arcadia readers asked for a sequel, so Arcadia Mars came to life. The Epilogue of Arcadia begs for more of the story to be told in a third book. I feel like I know the crew and the colonists-- like I've been living on Mars.

Sometimes I ask myself where I got the spark for my passion for science, space, and astronomy. The answer I come away with is that for me, this drive is innate. It did not come from a mentor or teacher in my early life, although I believe that this kind of inspiration is vital. It drives and enables the professionals in today's space industry that will send humans to Mars in the near future.

As a four year old in 1959, I set out from home to touch the sky. This was pure innate curiosity to go beyond my backyard and explore. I can remember being mesmerized not only by the sky at the horizon but also by the mirages of water on the road ahead. We were free range kids. My parents sent my older sister Karen and brother Greg on a rescue mission to find me and bring me home. Other memories tell me that I was different from other kids. While I was playing kick-the-can at age eight with a bunch of kids in the neighborhood, there was a beautiful sunset with dissipating crimson storm clouds. As I gawked in awe, no one else cared.

I offer no apologies. I've always been a geek. The night sky, the stars, the phases of the Moon feed me. In 1965, Mercury and Gemini are real. Apollo is the stretch goal--a dream, just out of reach. Today it's Mars...

December 7, 2018- While writing The Shiva Encounter, I had a real astronomical event rock my writing world. Mars and Neptune had a rare close conjunction from Earth's vantage point where I saw them both in the same field of view of my telescope. For perspective, Mars is salmon red, five months past opposition and receding from Earth at 1 AU (150 million km) distance. The InSight probe has just landed successfully and sent back the first recording of Mars' wind from its seismometer. Neptune is a distinctive sky blue color and orbiting at the edge of the solar system at 30 AU distance. While looking at this beautiful pair of planets I'm imagining Shiva lurking at 49 AU, its distance from Earth at its fictional discovery in 2027. These things feed my passion to continue the Second World Series.

The Mars Arcadia Colony is growing! For reference, I've added a History of Mars Colonization and Shiva's Threat in the Prologue. I constructed a Dramatis Personae list to help me get to know the new characters. I encourage readers to find that list and a Glossary of Terms following the Epilogue.

If you're wondering why all of my writing uses Metric measurements, it's the measuring system of science, it's decimal, and a hundred times easier to use. In my fictional world, the USA abandoned Imperial measurements in 2023!

I would like to acknowledge the contributions by my wife Elizabeth. Her guidance on the UAE, LDS, and Indian colonies, interpersonal relationships, and ETI got me past some tough questions. I acknowledge that the seed concept of an ETI maneuvering an asteroid and aiming it at Earth was planted in my head by Ian Douglas, one of my favorite sci-fi authors, in his Earth Strike Volume 1 of the Star Carrier Series. The motives implied in The Shiva Encounter are far different however. I would also like to acknowledge my editors Adam Berry, Haley Cook-Simmons, Jeanie Ross, Matt Russell, Sam Siriano, and Susan Vella. Their careful attention to detail and acumen for a good sci-fi story helped improve the book.

I hope you enjoy The Shiva Encounter!

January 19, 2020

Doug Cook

Colorado Springs, CO

Prologue

"Comets giveth and comets taketh away."

Carl Sagan, Comet, 1985

July 14, 2027- The Shiva KBO is discovered to be on a trajectory to possibly impact the Earth in 2079.

January 29, 2028

Planetary Defense Conference

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Livermore, California

"No! It won't work! It can't be done!" exclaimed ESA Chief Astrogeologist Lennart Werich.

"Exploding the biggest nuke we have one hundred meters from a one hundred kilometer KBO would be like trying to move Mount Everest by having your four year old child blow on it. Most of the impulse farts away into empty space. We've done the calculations. At best, a near surface detonation will impart less than five percent of the nudge we need to save Earth even at the distance beyond Neptune."

"The surface composition," added ESA's Dylan Reid, "has some effect for vaporizing the object's surface to impart some additional lateral impulse to the nudge. Vaporizing nitrogen ice from the surface could be particularly effective but it will still be far, far short of the shove needed to do the job."

Dr. Daniele Lorenzo was appointed as the Chairman of the Planetary Defense Conference by the International Space Coalition. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've been assigned the task of finding the solution to saving Earth and all of humanity from the possibility of impact from Shiva. An answer of 'It can't be done' is unacceptable and unthinkable. We need to work this harder. We have over fifty of the brightest minds on Earth in this room."

Rogozin Zakharovich of Roscosmos responded. "Thank you for that last comment. I accept the compliment! We are part of the Coalition Space Force which is dedicated to protecting space assets with only conventional and laser based weapons. This case is different and calls for extreme measures. Our CSF team worked with the assumption that the combined resources of Russia and America can assemble a ten gigaton thermonuclear device to deliver to Shiva. Instead of detonating above the surface, we've modeled making the 'mother of all bunker buster bombs'. A super hardened, super massive warhead traveling at 28 km/s velocity relative to Shiva, can penetrate several kilometers into a nitrogen ice body while it drives the plutonium trigger to critical mass. With the penetration point on the side of the body where the impulse is needed, the full force of the detonation is imparted to the task. This gives the needed deflection far enough from Earth to guarantee we are not hit by Shiva. We can do this!"

"Great!" replies Dr. Grant Jeffries of NASA ARES. "But now you've created a cloud of debris with nearly a one hundred percent chance of hitting Earth instead of the one in fifty chance of Shiva hitting Earth."

Rogozin reasons, "We'll still have about fifty four years to clean up the big debris with more Destroyer missions. We may get hit by some of the smaller pieces but we have to weigh that against the odds of total annihilation."

The room erupts in an emotional clamor. One voice drowns out the others. "We're screwed either way!"

Daniele Lorenzo tried to bring order back to the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, quiet please. Quiet! We've reviewed the trajectory data and know the severity of the threat. We've eliminated the options that will not work to deflect a 524,000 cubic kilometer object. So, now we have two options: 1) We do nothing and hope that mankind lives by winning the odds of Shiva missing the Earth 2) We go with 'the mother of all bunker buster bombs' and deflect Shiva while we pray that we can clean up the debris. We're professionals and we will come to a consensus recommendation to take to the Coalition and the United Nations."

Planetary Defense Conference debates and adopts the 'bunker buster' option and names it the Shiva Diversion Mission. It was launched in 2035 with a gravity assist from Jupiter in 2036 for its fateful rendezvous with Shiva and precisely aimed detonation in 2044.

The UN Security Council and General Body votes unanimously to execute the Shiva Diversion Mission. It is with hopes and prayers that ongoing observations of astronomical interferometry using Earth based ELT, the Webb JWST, and lunar far side telescopes will give the needed precision for the Shiva rendezvous nuclear detonation.

**History of Mars Colonization and Shiva's Threat**

What follows is the historical record of the key events that led to the first footsteps on and colonization of Mars. It's extracted from—

Commander Coby Brewster Personal Log:

2044- How did we get here?

August 20, 2024- The Aquila Mission returns to Earth after a thirteen month mission as the first crew to venture beyond the Moon. Coby Brewster, Ellie Accardi, Vik Ivanov, and Abby Denton enter the history books. Their exploration of asteroid Bennu and comet 125P made discoveries that pushed the boundaries of science.

June 1, 2025- The Space Coalition forms the Coalition Space Force (CSF) with six Earth orbiting robotic conventional and laser weapons platforms for protection of space assets. The facilities will be expanded to the Deep Space Gateway.

July 14, 2027- The Shiva KBO is discovered to be on a trajectory to possibly impact the Earth in 2079.

January 15-30, 2028- A global Planetary Defense Conference at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory addresses the Shiva threat by planning to attempt to divert the one hundred kilometer beast with a ten gigaton (Gt) nuclear device,[] one hundred times the yield of any H-bomb ever exploded on Earth. This is not the Hollywood Armageddon or Deep Impact scenario where astronauts need to bore into the threatening comet to plant nukes to break it up just before it impacts Earth. This impact will be in deep space beyond Neptune with an impact velocity of thirty kilometers per second!

January 30, 2028- An emergency meeting of the United Nations directs a huge expansion of the International Space Coalition with a commitment to focus on establishing colonies on Mars. The Humans to Mars Constellation Project was tremendously accelerated. The initial Mars infrastructure is delivered by Constellation ships. The Colossus fleet of super-heavy lift vehicles enters service and eventually supersedes the Constellation ships. Colossus ships, when fully fueled, can carry one hundred metric tons of cargo or cargo and colonists.

April 13, 2029- 99942 Apophis, a 340 meter diameter asteroid streaks by Earth at only 30,000 kilometers above its surface. This is a wakeup call to the reality of Shiva. It brings, to everyone tuned into the event, an awareness of asteroids and planetary defense.

April 4, 2033- The Arcadia 1 Mission Colossus ship Arcturus launches for the first crew landing on Mars. They will have a relatively short 174 day journey.

April 28, 2033- Two robotic Colossus ships, Pleiades and Alcyone launch for Mars on a long 274 day journey to deliver supplies to expand Arcadia Colony Base and support the first crew. The landing is scheduled for January 27, 2034.

August 1, 2033- SpaceTrans has fully commercialized its Colossus services for colonization and has signed contracts. The next colony outside Mars Arcadia Colony Base, New Kolob, will be funded by the Mormon LDS, Church of the Latter Day Saints. The third, al-Salam al-Jadid, or New Peace, will be funded by the United Arab Nations. These colonies are planned to be established beginning in 2038.

SpaceTrans greatly expands its Colossus manufacture and launch capability. A launch facility is constructed near the shore of Dockweiler Beach at the edge of LAX so that ships rolling out of the LA plant don't have to be barged all the way to the Cape in Florida. Launch of Colossus ships has earned safety rating that allows launching east over L.A. A Colossus manufacturing facility is up and running on the Cape to feed that launch facility. Paired manufacture and launch facilities are planned for construction in Japan, Korea, China, India, and the UAE. The pace of off world colony building from many nations will be at a fever pitch in a few years.

September 29, 2033- The Arcadia 1 Mission first Mars crew landing occurred on Arcadia Planitia with the Colossus ship Arcturus. The ten person international crew is led by Commander Trent Granger. He's recorded forever in the history books as the first human to set foot on Mars. This mission infrastructure laid the groundwork for the Mars Arcadia Colony. As reconnaissance predicted, the first crew has abundant groundwater ice to generate precious water, oxygen, and propellant.

January 27, 2034- The second robotic Colossus Mars supply ships Pleiades and Alcyone land to begin preparations for the first Mars Arcadia colony crew landing to expand Arcadia Colony Base and support the first crew that landed in September 2033. The supply ships landing, unloading, and infrastructure expansion will be the Arcadia 1 crew focus for the next year.

March 16, 2035- After nearly seven years of preparation, planning, and construction, the Shiva Diversion Mission ship Vishnu (the savior) launches with a ten gigaton nuclear device to impact, detonate, and deflect the one hundred kilometer Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) Shiva from its possible extinction encounter with Earth in 2079.

May 8, 2035- The Arcadia 1 Earth return window opens, and the Colossus ship Arcturus majestically lifts off from Mars with the propellant robotically manufactured from ice on Arcadia Planitia. The triumphant first crew to land on Mars returns to Earth on November 4, 2035 making a precise soft landing at the SpaceTrans Port at Cape Canaveral. After two weeks of quarantine, recovery, and medical tests, they are reunited with their families. Then they endured a two week world celebratory tour of parades and press conferences.

June 20, 2035- Two robotic Colossus Mars Arcadia colony supply ships, Hyades and Aldebaran, launch. They land at Arcadia Colony Base December 17, 2035 three days before the colonists arrive. Each ship carries 150,000 kg payload to Mars.

June 23, 2035- The Mars Arcadia Colony Colossus Ship Taurus with a crew of twenty-one colonists was launched. There are six married couples: the original Aquila Mission crew Coby Brewster and Ellie Accardi, Vik Ivanov and Abby Denton; from the Aquila backup crew Paul Earhart and Tracy Dixon; Satoshi Fukoshima and Megumi Hirakata, Trevor Brown and Mandy Shields, Harrison Frank and Eve Cain. The six single adults are Vik's son Oleg Ivanov, Elena Petrov and her son Jacob, Olga Sadoski, Dieter Schwartz, Sandy Conklin and Dao-Ming Cai. The two adolescents are Coby and Ellie's daughter Sophia (Sofi) and Vik and Abby's son Alexei (Alex). They were conceived in deep space during the Aquila Mission. They've developed as very gifted kids and are commonly called the "space twins." The Colony Colossus Ship Taurus crew lands on December 21, 2035 after a 181 day journey. The two new Colossus robotic supply landers, Hyades and Aldebaran, are there waiting to be unloaded. The colony has a primary store of twenty-seven months of supplies on the surface with emergency six month rations to cover a system breakdown.

August 14-15, 2035- The Mars Arcadia Beta supply ships Castor, Pollux, and Colony Ship Gemini launch for Mars. The launch window is not optimal and the transit time is 276 days for the supply ships and 281 days for the colony ship with twenty one international colonists. - Arcadia Beta Castor and Pollux supply ships land on Mars May 16, 2036. The Arcadia Beta Colony Ship Gemini lands on Mars. Among the twenty one international colonists is the well-known Jennings family. Sam and Paula Jennings are PhD Space Systems and Hab Engineers. Paula is the commander. Their daughter Tracy Jennings is eighteen and earned her BS in Astrobiology from Princeton.

April 21, 2036- The Shiva Diversion Mission ship Vishnu (the savior) executes a precise close encounter with Jupiter to get a gravitational slingshot boost in speed towards its target, the KBO Shiva. The ship Vishnu carries a ten gigaton (Gt) nuclear device to impact, detonate, and deflect the one hundred kilometer diameter Shiva from its possible extinction encounter with Earth in 2079. The Shiva rendezvous and Vishnu detonation will occur on October 15, 2044 at 37 AU from the Earth between the orbits of Neptune and Pluto.

March 7-12, 2038- Six colony ships arrive this week. The New Kolob LDS Colony arrives March 7th with two Colossus supply ships, Canaan and Moab, and their first colony ship, Provo.

The al-Salam al-Jadid UAE colony arrives March 12th on the Abu Dhabi colony ship with Dubai and Sharjah supply ships accompanying them. Each colony ship carried thirty persons: ten mission specialists and twenty colonists. The addition of sixty persons more than double the head count in Arcadia.

Functionally, New Kolob and al-Salam al-Jadid are adjunct colonies connected by tunnels to the original central Arcadia Base. They govern themselves and have representation on the Council of Principals. The future council will be expanded to become the United Arcadia Council headed by the Arcadia Base Governor, Vik Ivanov, as Council Secretary-General and Ambassador to Earth.

April 28 to May 22, 2040- One Colossus colony ship of forty colonists and three Colossus supply ships arrive from each launch center in Japan, Korea, China, India, and the UAE. Coalition and LDS ships arrive from the US launch centers. Each of the three adjoined original colonies received another increment of forty persons. John Meek and Jameel al-Badie are urban planning architects that have been hard at work on robotic colony construction in preparation for the big arrival of the new colonists.

Each of the four new colonies will be dependent on the established facilities of Arcadia Base until they can develop some degree of independence. The four new adjunct colonies from Japan, Korea, China, and India have been constructed three hundred meters from Arcadia Base to the west, southwest, southeast, and east of Arcadia Base with tunnels connecting back to the nexus.

The total number of people on Mars in May 2040 has grown to four hundred and eleven including the thirty one births on Mars to date.

February 20, 2042- Three Ceres Colossus colony ships launched on this date and arrive on December 21, 2042. They establish operations on an orbiting outpost base, Ceres Alpha and a small surface base, Ceres Beta. These bases have been constructed robotically from materials mined by asteroid mining companies, ATek and GalRex, on near Earth asteroids (NEAs). Ceres will become the supply depot for future main asteroid belt mining operations. Resupply launch windows to Ceres from Earth occur once in just over fifteen months where Mars launch windows occur only once every twenty-six months. The mantle of Ceres is water rich while its near surface is a mixture of water ice and various hydrated minerals. Mining water on Ceres is a greater challenge than on Mars, but eventually the Ceres colony will become a propellant depot for the outer solar system. Mars operations provide surplus water mining and propellant production for export to the Ceres Propellant Depot, the Mars Orbit Depot, and the Deep Space Gateway Depot. Ceres' synodic period[] with Mars is just over thirty-seven months so the next Ceres launch window won't be until August 2048. Eventually Ceres will be able to manufacture propellant for export.

July 20, 2042 and September 13, 2044- Each launch window sees the arrival of 280 additional colonists. Adjunct colonies in a larger circumference ring around Arcadia to accommodate the new arrivals. Another Arcadia nexus is established one hundred kilometers southwest of the original Arcadia Base. The new colony nexus is called Erebus Montes Base.

November 20, 2042- Arcadia Colony leaders Coby Brewster and Ellie Accardi's daughter Sofi and Vik Ivanov and Abby Denton's son Alex have finally reached age eighteen and are officially married today! It seems almost superfluous since their inseparable connection has been undeniable and has only grown stronger since they were toddlers. Their mental abilities and leadership abilities are equally undeniable.

September 28, 2044- China's CNSA with silent partner Russia FKA establish a colony base, Huangyan March Base, in Mars' Hellas Planitia Basin on the opposite side of Mars from Arcadia.

October 15, 2044- The Shiva Diversion Mission ship Vishnu is scheduled to impact Shiva and detonate to deflect it from its trajectory toward Earth. Will this be the end of the nightmare Earth impact scenario?

Mars Arcadia Base and Erebus Montes Base Areas Diacria Quadrangle (MC-2) Location 38.4°N 189.7°E. Erebus Montes area of Arcadia Planitia is 1500 kilometers northeast of Olympus Mons. NASA/JPL THEMIS and HiRISE imagery.

**Arcadia Planitia Hills** The soft contours, rounded pingo hills, and possible flow lines on the ground all suggest that a large amount of ice is buried beneath surface cover. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

**Surface Facilities** : Mars Arcadia Colony Base.

**Underground facilities:** Arcadia Base and adjunct colonies.

CHAPTER 1  
Earth 2044

"Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception."

Carl Sagan

Shiva is coming....

Rising sea levels have already claimed hundreds of the world's coastal communities, and now major cities—New York, Dubai, Shanghai—are being threatened. To make matters worse, Shiva, a hundred-kilometer-wide dwarf planet, has been knocked out of the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto and is headed toward the inner solar system. Astrophysicists estimate a one-in-fifty chance it will collide with Earth in 2079. Humanity cannot afford to gamble with extinction.

The pace of Mars colony building efforts from many nations is at a fever pitch to make a second home for humanity. SpaceTrans greatly expands its Colossus manufacture and launch capability with a second facility in the United States and one each in Japan, Korea, China, India, and the UAE.

University of Maryland Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science

College Park, MD

September 9, 2044 10: 01 EST

Prof. Carl Harmon is teaching **AOSC 432** Dynamics of Atmosphere and Oceans. Paul Gregory and his fiancée, Mary York, are majoring in climatology in hopes that someday they can make a difference in this world where climate change is painfully evident. They are rapt with Dr. Harmon's lectures and today's topic feeds their passion.

"We'll have an exam on this material on Friday so pay close attention and take good notes. This material explains where we've been and how we got to this point in Earth's climate history."

From pre-industrial climate records to now in 2044, the Earth has warmed by 3° C. Global warming has far exceeded the predicted rate of warming coming out of the last ice age. The Arctic polar ice cap has collapsed. Arctic ice only forms temporarily in the winter. Polar bears have nowhere to hunt. Maine lobsters, which became a bonanza around 2020, have moved through Canadian waters and up into the Arctic. The US 'Midwest Greenbelt' has become a desert. Instead of the dust bowl that Oklahoma experienced in the 1930's, it has now become a desert with swirling sand dunes. Much of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and the Middle East are nearly uninhabitable because temperatures in the summer are rising beyond 50° C. Even camels can't survive the heat and drought. In the Middle East, they've built domed cities and made underground habitats much like on Mars. Many people are immigrating to northern and southern cooler climates. Global sea level is rising even faster than predicted. In 2038, not only had the Arctic ice disappeared but the Greenland ice sheet collapsed. Then the worst happened in 2042 with the total collapse of the Antarctic ice cap. Sea levels rose one meter, three meters, and now in 2044 the sea level has risen by a full five meters. Hundreds of communities along the ocean have been swallowed up by the rising sea level. Most recently Venice, Alexandria, New Orleans, and all of Louisiana south of there, along with numerous islands in the Pacific and Bahamas have succumbed. Major cities have attempted to put up seawalls and levies but it's inevitable that if you are below the five meter rise of sea level, you're doomed. Civilization must move to higher ground.

But this is not the worst it can get. If all of the ice covering Antarctica, Greenland, and in surviving glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about seventy meters. Ninety percent of Earth's ice above sea level is locked in the Antarctic ice sheet. It has already begun to melt significantly. A melt collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet would cause a catastrophic sea level rise that would change the world as we know it.

The rest of Prof. Harmon's classroom lecture is found in the--

APPENDIX

A Primer of Earth's Climate and Sea Level Change

The Earth as a Greenhouse Planet

"Okay class. That's all for today. Remember the exam on Friday."

Paul and Mary pack up their tablets and join the rest of the students filing out of the lecture hall. Paul takes Mary's hand.

**New York- 2044**

Fire Island National Seashore

Long Island, New York

September 10, 2044 13: 00 EST

"Wow! What a day. Come on Jake lift!"

"I've got it if you've got it Paige! Just because you're five years younger and work out every day is no reason to make me out as a wimp."

Jake Graham, 27, and his wife Paige Woods, 22, are Rangers in residence at Fire Island National Seashore. They are fit, tanned, and crisply dressed in uniform khaki short sleeve shirts, shorts, Tevas, and ranger hats. They've just finished a long but delightful survey of the Fire Island coast in their two person kayak. This has been a delightfully calm blue day. The Atlantic Ocean here is remarkably clear. The beaches are white with the texture of table sugar. The kayak has carried them over a twenty kilometer traverse of this recovering seashore. They've seen dolphins, pilot whales, humpback whales, and harbor seals. Their task at hand is to carry the kayak across the beach and lift it onto their 4WD electric beach buggy. It's much less invasive than the airborne quadrotor drone vehicles commonly in use for transportation. The beach is rife with sandpipers, plovers, and seagulls.

"Ready? "

"Yeah. Heave-ho!"

"There we go. Let's get it cinched down. I've got the front."

"I'm on the back as usual."

"But you're the best back there."

"Yeah, I like the view."

"Watch it big boy!"

"Check the straps and let's go."

"Looking good. I'm in. You drive. We've gotta get back to the madhouse in West Babylon. I've got a text from Barbara Thornton that she wants our season survey delivered yesterday."

"Thanks Paige. Barbara can wait. I think we have time for a little more nature watching. If you're very good I'll cook steaks for dinner."

With a little lurch the beach buggy powers forward through the loose white sand. Jake follows the trackway careful not to venture off and disturb any of the dune grass that their team of volunteers worked so hard to establish. The dune grass project is designed to stabilize the dunes from erosion- little hope for big storms.

Over the dunes, they encounter successive recovering vegetation zones that they have been monitoring- beach heather, bearberry dwarf scrub thickets, and pitch pine woodland. Towhees, catbirds, and monarch butterflies flit about on the gentle sea breeze. Cirrus cloud horsetails play in the deep blue sky. It's a very warm day for mid-March in New York.

"Shhh. Stop...There's a red fox stalking a rabbit."

Jake whispers, "I see it! I bet the fox will take the bunny."

"I'll take that bet. I think the bunny will out-fox the fox."

Just then the white tail rabbit bolts and jinks before the fox has a chance.

"I win! What do I get big boy?"

"Steak dinner just like I promised."

"And then?"

"We'll see-- if you're nice to me."

"Always!"

The buggy is silently passing into the maritime forest. The forest including American holly, sassafras, serviceberry, and other hardwoods is still recovering from the super hurricane eleven years ago. Paige and Jake remember it well even though she was only eleven and he was sixteen. The barrier islands were wiped away and the beach was reshaped inland ten to fifteen kilometers by the transgression of the ocean with catastrophic sea level rise. All buildings and civilization inland to Highway 27 were wiped out in super Hurricane Fiona on September 13, 2033. Over one thousand people perished including some of their relatives. Paige and Jake were fortunate to have evacuated with their families to higher ground in upstate New York. Winds were clocked at 360 km/hr. before the wind gauges were destroyed.

The shape of the coastline was forever changed but the flora and fauna slowly returned and took over where people once lived. The biosphere is resilient in the face of species extinction. Appropriately, West Babylon is the new Headquarters of the Fire Island National Seashore.

Rising sea level from global warming takes its toll on coastal communities all over the Earth. Greater New York City sits behind a seawall and shipping lock system believing that the sea is at bay.

New York, Long Island, and Fire Island National Seashore and adjacent barrier Islands circa 2044 showing the inundated shoreline shaded in blue. The barrier islands were wiped clean and reshaped the beach inland by the transgression of the ocean. All buildings and civilization inland to Highway 27 were wiped away in super Hurricane Fiona on September 13, 2033. West Babylon is the new HQ of Fire Island National Seashore.

Back in their cozy cottage in West Babylon, Jake serves the promised steak dinner with red wine by candlelight. He has soft jazz playing in the background.

After dinner, Paige leads Jake to bed and shows her appreciation. They lie in each other's arms and talk about little nothings.

Then Paige says, "Everyone is talking about the end of the world in 2079. I know that's a lifetime off yet but sometimes it gets me down."

"I don't think about it. We have so much to do here and what life could be better? I have you here now and we'll be together always for that lifetime. In 2079 or anytime, I will be with you to the end."

"I love you big boy!"

Jake kisses her again.

**Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral- 2044**

Kennedy Mars Fleet Operations Center

West Titusville, FL

September 10, 2044 13: 00 EST

The Kennedy Mars Fleet Operations Center, or Ops, directs launch operations at Kennedy and processes telemetry from the Mars bound Colossus ships to hand off to Houston Mars Fleet Control Center. The staff is a combination of NASA, SpaceTrans, and Coalition employees.

Flight Director Sofia Bell has short brown hair and brown eyes. She's thirty one, single, attractive, and seems to be married to her career. Operations Manager Owen Williams has sandy sun bleached hair with a receding hairline and ponytail. He's thirty-five, single, and a professional worrier, at least in the Ops Room.

"Beautiful weather today don't you think?" Sofia muses.

"Yeah, warm, clear and calm. We've gotta keep an eye on that Tropical Storm Nicole, forming east of the Bahamas though. The path is uncertain. It's barely moved in two days."

"We haven't really tested our levy system. Let's hope this is not the one."

"I know. Since Hurricane Carlotta hit the Carolinas so hard last year, I'm getting really paranoid about storms."

"The Fleet is three days out from Big Red. Systems and telemetry are looking good. Our team is on top of things here. What do you say we take a quad out and do an official inspection of the levies?"

"Great idea! What are we waiting for?"

"Rafael, you have the con."

"Aye, aye, Cap." Rafael Ochoa is Ops Process Manager.

Sofia and Owen, coequals on the work ladder, step outside the Ops Building B381 of the new West Titusville Campus of Kennedy Space Center. The temperature is a sultry 38° C and it's ninety percent humidity. There are several quads parked there on charging umbilicals. The quads are two passenger quadrotor drone vehicles. Owen unplugs the umbilical of the first quad and opens the canopy to let Sofia step in before him. He closes the canopy and starts the powerful AC.

"Yeah, that's better! Buckle up. The route is preprogrammed. I've done this at sunset a few times."

"Cool. I'm ready. Let's do this."

"We'll put this down as an official seawall inspection."

Owen touches the green Go button on the control screen. The eight electric motors on four pods surrounding the autonomous vehicle spin up to a muffled whine. The vehicle gently rises and cants forward. Ops Building B381 recedes behind them. They're heading toward the northern terminus of the seawall two kilometers north.

The Kennedy West Titusville Campus was initiated on higher ground in 2035 after a strong spring high tide and easterly gale force winds overwhelmed much of Kennedy Space Center with flood water. The expanded historic launch pad facilities are still operational and lie below current sea level behind the impressive seawall levy system that now holds back the rising ocean.

The quad follows the ten meter high reinforced sloping cement Canaveral Seawall levy across the Indian River inlet to Merritt Island. They're flying at 80 km/hr. toward the ocean and past the old Shuttle Landing Facility. Shallow water waves are lapping on the outside of the wall. On the inside, they pass ancient beach ridge dunes that were left behind from the last sea level drop, or regression, of the last ice age. Interspersed between the ridges are ponds teaming with alligators and large herons stalking fish. The calm, blue sky is punctuated with cotton ball cumulus clouds and wheeling seagulls.

It dawns on Owen how futile it is to try and control the sea. He's fond of numbers. "The seventy kilometer long Canaveral Seawall was built in a massive five year construction project after the flood of 2035 at a cost of $7 billion. It took a hundred dump trucks with over a million loads of sand, a hundred cement trucks with over 350,000 loads of concrete, and 330,000 metric tons of steel rebar to construct the seawall. $900 million goes for massive pumps to bail storm water out of the drainage canals."

"That's damned impressive. I hope it lasts a while. Even with rising sea levels, I want to hold onto Earth. I love working with the Mars Fleet but please don't send me there."

"I'm with you on that. I thought about applying and even started filling out the application but never finished. Those are fine, brave people up there."

The autonomous quad turns south along the ocean past historic Launch Pads 39A, B, and C that have been converted over time from Saturn V to Shuttle and now to Colossus launch Pads. The Pads are built on concrete foundations such that the bases of the gantries are nine meters above ground and four meters above current sea level. A long concrete ramp with rails facilitates the rocket crawlers in delivering a rocket to the launch position on the Pad.

A CSF Colossus ship, Lunar 23, sits ready for launch to the Moon on Pad 39C. Following the seawall, they soon cross over the border from Kennedy to the extensive launch facilities at Canaveral Air Force Station. Their quad has special authorization to pass. At the south edge of the Air Force Station the seawall heads inland along the old Port Canaveral and Beeline Expressway to higher ground just west of the city of Cocoa. Areas without the seawall see the ocean transgress and the natural beach move ever more inland. The seawall becomes a sloping cliff into five meter deep water. It's scary to see the level of the ocean above the inboard historic Kennedy Space Center.

"My God, how sad that is to see the residential area of Cape Canaveral being abandoned."

"It was a compromise. The Feds cannot afford to save every seaside community. Many seaside resort towns around the country lie underwater having succumbed to storm waves years ago."

The quad crosses the Indian River again headed back to Ops Building B381. In a few minutes, the quad glides into its parking spot and gently settles down. Owen opens the canopy, steps out and then gives his hand to Sofia as she gets out. A robotic arm extends the charging plug into the quad's charging port.

Before they go back into the Ops Building, Sofia says, "Owen, are you free for dinner at my place tonight?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Well, I was so impressed by the levy tour that I felt like returning the favor."

"I remember where you live. I was there for your New Year's party."

"We don't get any time to talk about anything but the Fleet."

"Tell you what. I'll bring lobster and wine and help you cook."

"Now I'm impressed. A man with good tastes and good in the kitchen!"

"My best moves are in the kitchen."

"Oh? I'll be the judge of that. Seven okay?"

"Great. Heidi Hart will be leading Ops until 10AM."

Sofia gives Owen an inviting smile as they enter the Ops Building.

Rafael Ochoa hails them. "We're on HWN Hurricane Alert Level 4. That tropical storm is now Hurricane Nicole and its heading east and could make landfall anywhere from Miami to Savannah in four days."

"Well that's enough to get us on Alert 4. The launch window for that Colossus opens in two days. It'd be better to get her off with a launch than to have to roll her back into the barn."

"SpaceTrans VAB is rated for 230 km/hr. wind."

"That's not much comfort!"

Owen and Sofia finished their shift at 4 PM. They had delivered minor course corrections for each of the Mars Fleet ships to Houston for upload to the individual ships.

Owen quietly says to Sofia with a wink, "See ya at seven."

Almost at a whisper Sofia replies, "Don't kill yourself catching those lobsters!"

At five minutes past seven, just late enough so as not to seem eager, Owen rings Sofia's doorbell. After thirty seconds so as not to seem eager, she answers the door.

"Hi Owen! Please come in."

As he steps in, he gingerly puts his hand on her back and gives her a soft kiss on the cheek.

"As promised, I've brought two fine, fresh Florida lobsters. They're from Smitty's in Cocoa. I'd be a bit concerned about the weather to try diving for them today. I also have a bottle of Nickel & Truchard Chardonnay that Smitty himself recommended pairing with the lobster."

"Beautiful Owen! I do love lobster. Please\- come in! I have a bottle of Merlot open. Would you care for a glass now?"

"Indeed!"

He follows her into the kitchen and sets the box of lobster and bottle on the granite island as Sofia pours the glass of Merlot and refreshes her own.

"Cheers."

They clink glasses. "Cheers."

"I don't know how you feel about artichoke, but I like it as a side with lobster."

"I suppose I've had artichoke hearts in a salad."

"Good. The treat here is that I cook them whole until tender. Then we eat them as a finger food, dipping each leaf in the same melted lemon butter as for the lobster."

"Ah. Interesting. I'll keep an open mind."

"I propose sitting on the floor and eating at the coffee table by candlelight."

"Even better!"

September 11, 2044 07: 59 EST

Owen wakes and is surprised and pleased to find his arm around Sofia. Smiling, he reaches over to her nightstand and picks up his phone. There are several urgent messages from Ops.

"Oh shit..." he stifles his expletive.

Sofia stirs and opens her eyes. "Good morning Owen. What's the matter? I thought you'd be happy waking up here with me!"

"I am! I am happy being with you!" He rolls over and kisses her gently then more passionately.

"Mmmm."

"Sorry to interrupt the party dear. Rodolfo Grimes texted for Heidi. We're on HWN Alert 5. Hurricane Nicole is heading east and is expected to make landfall just south of the Cape in thirty- six hours. That will be tomorrow night at eight. We need to go in ASAP to get on top of this."

"Damn. Okay, we'll go in but after we take a shower."

"Do show me the way!"

Kennedy Mars Fleet Operations Center

September 11, 2044 09: 30 EST

Heidi Hart sees Sofia and Owen enter the Ops Room and walks up to them where others can't hear.

"Sorry I had to get you in early. I can see by your shining faces that you had a good night's sleep."

Sofia blushes but plays the game. "You're very observant Heidi!"

"Yeah-- but holy crap!, we're on Alert Level 5 for Hurricane Nicole. Max sustained winds are 190 km/hr. We're ten hours into the count on Lunar 23 and two hours from launch. The five crew are onboard and strapped in. Let's pray that we get that bird in the air today. The CSF Lunar Base 1 needs the supplies ASAP. The Mars Fleet has their course corrections updated."

Owen asks, "How's the count?"

"We had a minor pressure anomaly while we were fueling so we had a hold at T minus 4 hours. All systems are looking good now. Let's go through the handover book."

"...T minus twenty seconds...ten...nine...eight...ignition sequence start...all engines full power...and lift off...Lunar 23 is clear of the tower. Engines at one hundred percent. Houston the bird is yours."

"That's a firm Flight. Houston has the bird. Hope you can batten down the hatches there," responds Brendan Walsh, Houston CAPCOM

"Roger. Thanks and Kennedy out."

Operations Manager Owen Williams speaks to the Ops room. "Okay people. Good show. Our bird is gone. Emergency crews have been working for the last day and a half to get the Cape battened down. Now that we don't have to worry about Lunar 23, we're going into shut down here. I want you to make sure that all systems are backed up to Goddard. This new building has a higher wind rating than any building in Brevard County. You're welcome to shelter here with a spouse if necessary. I'm sorry but I don't have the authority to allow families with children. There's time for parents to close out here, go home, gather your family, and evacuate north.

Let's get those quads secured inside in their storm bays. We're going to need them when this is over."

Kennedy Mars Fleet Operations Center

September 11, 2044 18: 00 EST

Senior staff Owen Williams, Sofia Bell, Heidi Hart, Rodolfo (Rudi) Grimes, Rafael Ochoa and twenty other employees and spouses chose to ride out the storm in the shelter of the windowless Ops room. They have cots and emergency supplies of food and water.

Hurricane Nicole is now a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 300 km/hr. The outer rain bands arrived hours ago. The predicted path of the eye hasn't wavered. It will hit just south of Cape Canaveral putting the worst side of the storm and storm surge flood potential dead on top of the Cape. Rain, lightning, and howling wind gusts of increasing ferocity make the Ops shelter a place of echoing hell. It will take about three hours for the worst of the storm to pass.

"I can't stand this noise! It's brutal!" Sofia goes to Owen for comfort and he holds her close. Others couples are quietly doing the same even some that were almost strangers before the storm.

Outside, palm trees are being shredded. Roof and siding panels are being ripped off of historic NASA buildings at Kennedy Space Center sending deadly debris everywhere. This is not the first major hurricane to hit these facilities: Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004, Hurricane Mathew in 2016, Hurricane Irma in 2017, and Hurricane Celeste in 2028. Each storm taught lessons in hardening facilities and replacing substandard ones with structures rated to 230 km/hr. or higher wind loads. Wind gusts in Hurricane Nicole have already exceeded that and will exceed 300 km/hr. soon.

The storm surge dome of water associated with the very low atmospheric pressure of the hurricane combined with high tide is creating a storm tide four meters over mean sea level. Giant ten meter waves are overtopping the Canaveral Seawall. The Cape is flooded with a meter of seawater and rising. This never happened here in previous storms. When the storm abates, if the seawall survives, it is hoped that the massive pumps can drain water from the Space Center which technically sits below current sea level.

Kennedy Mars Fleet Operations Center

September 11, 2044 20: 00 EST

The wind shrieks ever higher and louder. The Ops Building shudders but seems to be holding up. There are no roof leaks.

Sofia cries out, "God please make it stop!"

Owen holds her, now playing the role of strength while Sofia needs consolation. "It's gonna be okay. We're okay- just scared shitless! There'll be a hell of a mess to clean up but we're going to get back to the business of launching rockets."

"I'm rethinking Mars. It can't be as scary as this."

"Calm now. It'll be over soon."

Others in the room are whimpering too. "What about our home?"

Most are laying covered in their cots now, but sleep won't come until it's over. The power goes out.

"Eeek!"

Then the emergency generator kicks in...

Kennedy Mars Fleet Operations Center

September 12, 2044 06: 31 EST

Owen is awake and so are most of those sheltering in the Ops room. "Good morning people. It's time to eat and then try to take stock of the damage. We're still on the emergency generator. We should have four days of fuel. It seems that communications are out. I've been able to reach Kennedy Emergency Response on the FM walkie-talkie. They have a chopper survey underway. I want our team to survey the damage first hand. After we eat, Sofia and I will take Quad 1 out to look at the seawall and launch Pads. I want Heidi and Rudi on Quad 2 to survey the Kennedy facilities on the other side of the Indian River. Rafael, please stay here and monitor developments on FM."

Kennedy Mars Fleet Operations Center

September 12, 2044 08: 13 EST

Owen addresses the people sheltering in the Ops Room. "We're gonna be here for a while. Hurricane Nicole shredded a path across the Florida peninsula. In its path, the slash pine forests are mowed into pulp. The cities of Cocoa, Orlando, and Kissimmee are all but destroyed. Cape Canaveral is devastated. Most of the Kennedy buildings east of the Indian River had the roofs and sides torn off and are standing in five meter deep flood water. The Canaveral Seawall was breached in several places. The huge pumps are useless until and if the seawall breaches are repaired."

The ocean and global warming has proven to be unstoppable. The only things relatively unscathed are Launch Pads 39A, B, and C still standing proud in five meters of water.

**Houston- 2044**

Galveston and the Bolivar Peninsula, once the guarding barriers to Galveston Bay, have succumbed to the advancing sea that threatens all of the low lying cities and industrial areas surrounding the bay. The Army Corps of Engineers built a ten meter, $5 Billion, eighty-five kilometer long Houston Seawall levy from Alvin, south of Houston, to Galveston Bay south of LaMarque, and north to Baytown on the east side of Houston. A lock system allows the passage of shipping by lowering ships from present sea level into Galveston Bay which is now below sea level. The low lying urban areas surrounding Galveston Bay including the NASA Johnson Space Center feel protected by this engineering marvel.

Houston Mars Fleet Control Center

September 12, 2044 00: 39 CST

Brendan Walsh, CAPCOM, opens a voice radio channel. "Mars Fleet, Houston. Mars Fleet, Houston. Each of your ships has received telemetry for automatic final course corrections from the latest DSN interferometric navigation calculations. From here, your Mars based nav beacons will bring you in. CRONUS and ADCO report that all ships systems monitors are nominal. Double check and triple check your inboard descent engines before atmosphere contact in forty-six hours."

Round trip communication takes ten minutes and fifteen seconds.

"Houston, New Mumbai. Houston, New Mumbai. Commander Khan here. Affirmative on ship system monitors being within nominal readings. I must report however that our inboard descent engines were at one percent under power on the last midcourse correction and the methane header tank pressure was at one hundred ten percent during the burn. Do you have any suggestions for correcting these anomalies so that we have no worries on Mars descent? Over."

Elizabeth Brooks, FDO Flight Dynamics Officer, and Madeleine Allen, PROPs Engineer, discuss the anomalies and make a recommendation to Flight Director Tony Griffin who passes it on to CAPCOM.

"New Mumbai, Houston. New Mumbai, Houston. We've had a conference with FDO and PROPs engineers. We recommend that you do a recycle of the header tank turbopump five minutes before your final trajectory correction. Houston over..."

... "Houston, New Mumbai. Roger the turbopump recycle. New Mumbai over and out."

Flight Director Tony Griffin addresses all of the personnel in Mission Control Center. "Our job for today is complete. As we speak, KSC is offline since it was overwhelmed and severely damaged by Hurricane Nicole as a strong Cat 5 storm. Nicole has crossed Florida, and is reorganizing in the warm Gulf of Mexico. Nicole has sights set on Houston."

There are gasps and murmurings in the room.

"The storm's forward speed has increased westerly at fifty km/hr. It's predicted to enter Galveston Bay at 2300 today. I want you to go home, put your kits of essentials together, get some rest, and report back here at 1800. We have the entire fleet landing between 0015 and 0615 tomorrow during the passage of Nicole. This building is rated as a storm shelter for a strong Cat 5 storm. You can bring your immediate family members with you to shelter in the adjacent VIP room. We have enough cots, food, and water for a hundred people for five days. I do need you back, but if your personal situation requires you to evacuate Houston, text me your details and God be with you. Okay, be on your way. See you at 1800."

Houston Mars Fleet Control Center

September 13, 2044 00: 07 CST

Flight Director Tony Griffin, Flight Controllers, other essential personnel at Houston Mars Fleet Control Center are sheltering in place, maintaining contact with the Mars Fleet during increasing storm winds, torrential rain, and flooding across south Texas from the now slow-moving Hurricane Nicole. The eye of the storm is now only moving at ten km/hr. to the northwest. The maximum winds of 250 km/hr. are expected at 6 AM. The Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center, or MCC Building, houses the Mars Fleet Control Center in its multi-story building six meters above the seawall abated level of Galveston Bay. All communication lines are via network fiber optic cable including the DSN deep space dish sites.

Brendan Walsh, CAPCOM, reports, "Incoming radio traffic from Mars Fleet are on speaker now."

"Atarashī, Erebus Base. Atarashī, Erebus Base. Communications check."

"Erebus, Atarashī. Commander Nakama Tadayuki here. We read you five-by-five. We are leading the fleet on the Mars entry corridor and reading the homing beacon from Erebus Base."

"Reading you and wishing you a smooth landing. Oleg Ivanov, Erebus Base over and out."

The Japanese colony ship Atarashī Heiwa, New Peace, is the first of the colony fleet to land today. Next, the Coalition colony ship Rigel and a supply ship Betelgeuse land at Arcadia followed by three ships each from LDS and UAE.

September 13, 2044 06: 06 CST

The huge MCC building is so solid and insulated that the Fleet Control personnel can barely hear the Cat 5 storm as it passes wreaking havoc and destruction outside. The Mars landing ballet gracefully alternates between Arcadia and Erebus with successful touch downs. The four ships from Korea and four ships from China have landed by 0600 CST leaving only the approaching New Mumbai to complete this historic series of landings.

Inside the Fleet Control Room suddenly there is a huge sound- screech, screech, thump, BOOM! There is panic and screams in the room. The power has gone out and almost instantly blinks back on the emergency generator.

Flight Director Tony Griffin bellows above the cacophony, "QUIET! WE ARE STILL SAFE!! There now, stay calm! We have another landing to monitor. My guess is that an HVAC unit on the roof ripped loose. We still have a roof over our heads."

Brendan Walsh says, "Incoming radio traffic from Mars Fleet is on speaker now."

The radio and video feed is just over five minutes delayed from the actual events on Mars.

"Mayday, mayday! Erebus Base. This is New Mumbai in imminent danger of a rupture of our methane header tank. God and Krishna help us."

The audio and video feed cuts out just then.

"Oh dear God! No!" Brendan Walsh exclaims. "Our DSN link is down! We're blind here."

Others in the room are weeping and holding on to one another.

"Let's have a moment of silence and prayer for the New Mumbai." Tony requests. "Commander Khan is very capable and I pray that he can solve the methane header tank issue. They're in the hands of God and the personnel from Erebus Base now."

"FDO, do we have coms on our weather status?" Tony asks. "Certainly the worst is passed."

Elizabeth Brooks replies, "My weather console blinked out a few times. Now it shows Nicole's eye passed just twenty kilometers west of us and it's now a hundred kilometers northwest. Right now, we're between rain bands and wind is down to thirty. There's another feeder band due here in about twenty minutes. NOAA reports major flooding. The Houston Seawall held but massive amounts of storm surge water overtopped it. We've had fifteen inches of rain and more on the way. It could take two weeks to pump out the flood water."

"I can't imagine what the butcher's bill is here. Elizabeth and Brendan, please join me and have a look outside."

"I'm not sure I want to look but we've got to get a handle on it."

The MCC building is considered high ground for any of the surrounding Clear Lake and Taylor Lake area. The ground floor of the MCC building is flooded with a meter of water. The parking area is flooded and all the cars that were in it are piled helter-skelter against a building and bank of trees to the west of the MCC. All of the visible buildings have the ground floors flooded. Some have roofs ripped off. Some have huge gaping holes where wall panels were ripped off. Some have been ripped completely apart with only a few columns remaining above water to indicate where the foundation was. They have reports that most of the houses in the Taylor Lake area are destroyed by wind and extreme flood damage. Their homes are gone.

Houston is no stranger to hurricane disasters. The list of monumental disasters in recent memory must include Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Harvey threatened as a huge Cat 4 storm that lost wind strength and slowed its advance. Harvey dumped up to a full meter of rain in three days in some areas of the greater drainage watershed. The flood damage cost about $125 billion- comparable to Hurricane Katrina's flood damage to New Orleans in 2005.

The list of major catastrophes in the US from hurricanes continued at an increasing pace as the oceans warmed and sea level rose. Houston suffered terribly from Hurricane Laura in 2027 and Hurricane Teddy in 2035. Each major storm caused worse wind and flood damage than the previous disaster. The Houston Seawall levy was constructed after Teddy and was completed in 2041.

Hurricane Nicole is sure to top the list of historic storm disasters in Houston.

Because of rising sea level threat on Manhattan, the United Nations and the International Space Coalition has been headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland since 2033. Russia and China had lobbied to take the honors but Switzerland's longstanding political neutrality, mild climate, and distance from the rising ocean won out. Geneva is four hundred meters above sea level. After the 2044 Hurricane Nicole disaster in Houston, the Mars Fleet Control Center and Coalition Command will transition to Geneva.

**Los Angeles- 2044**

SpaceTrans Executive Meeting

Hawthorne, California

September 12, 2044 09: 01 PST

Dexter Williams, Vice President of Production, opens the SpaceTrans Production and Launch Schedule weekly meeting. The meeting style is relaxed. There are no suit coats or ties. Business casual and rolled up sleeves describes the room. The meeting is teleconferenced on 3D vid to each of the executive meeting rooms worldwide.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. The Colossus deep space vehicle is the most successful, safe, and versatile transport vehicle conceived by the ingenuity of mankind. We aim to keep it that way as we expand. We have a fleet of twenty-four Colossus ships launched this year due to land on Mars tomorrow. This'll be our biggest achievement to date! Today we'll be reviewing the Colossus production schedule for the February 2046 and April 2048 Mars launch windows. Our facilities in L.A., Japan, Korea, India, and China, under our supervision, have been keeping pace with producing four ships each for the last two Mars launch windows. We have orders in place to increase this to six ships from each production and launch facility for 2046 and 2048. We're doing everything possible to get humans to Mars! That's our mantra. By the 2050 launch window we project that we'll need to increase this to eight ships from each facility. We'll be pushed even harder in the future as the Shiva threat approaches Earth. I want to hear from you why we can't make the 2046 schedule and then what we can do to make and to increase production with the same high safety standards we have today."

Jasmine Ward, Manager of Production L.A. speaks up, "Dex, I have no doubt that we can meet the 2046 schedule in terms of hiring quality people and producing the extra components. What we lack at each facility is production space. We're tight now but we need to expand. We need to double our floor space. We have the area to expand at each facility, but we need the green light and the budget."

Scot Dunnel, SpaceTrans CFO speaks, "Consider it done. We have the finances with the new contracts."

The conference room door opens and Barry Yonge, Manager of Corporate Security, steps in and walks to the head of the room. "Sorry to interrupt the meeting but I have an important announcement. I'm sure you knew we have strong Santa Ana winds today. The last thing we need in this high fire danger situation is a fire. We had a big wreck and car fire in Whittier thirty minutes ago. The fire jumped to surrounding brush and has already consumed a whole city block. We've put the Colossus plant at the Port of L.A. on alert for pre-evacuation preparation. It's directly downwind of the fire. Here at Hawthorne, we're on alert but currently not in danger."

The Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry offshore winds that characteristically sweep across Southern California. Santa Ana winds are known for the hot, dry weather that they bring in autumn--often the hottest of the year. These winds, which can easily exceed sixty kilometers per hour, are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires.

The population of California has declined steadily since the 2020's because of severe drought and wildfires. California's once prodigious agriculture was supported at the expense of water brought in from elsewhere to support it.

The political clout of agriculture finally caved to the reality of climate change and extended drought from about 2025. Merged agricultural giant corporations changed focus to areas that had become warmer and wetter. Montana, North Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta have become North America's agricultural cornucopia. Exports from the region now support much of the world's 9.5 billion people.

The world's desert areas, generally around the subtropical highs of 30 degrees north and south latitude, have deepened into their extremes of dryness and high temperature. The advance of blowing sand is as unstoppable as the encroach of rising seas. Dune areas expand and begin to resemble the geologically extensive dune belts of Earth during the Permian, Triassic, and Jurassic Periods from 300 to 150 million years ago. In 2044, a great dune belt stretches from the great central valley of California, parts of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri.

In 2044, a great dune belt stretches from the great central valley of California, parts of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. [Author photo- Modern sand dunes in the great Rub al Khali Desert, Saudi Arabia]

Jurassic Navajo Sandstone- 180 million year old dune sands, part of a global desert dune belt.[]

Seaboard areas that were historically fighting the encroaching sea for the last hundred years have conceded to the inevitable. Huge areas of Louisiana, Eastern Seaboard barrier islands, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Shanghai Province, Malaysia, Indonesia, and innumerable Pacific Islands have been drowned. A portion of the city of Shanghai remains as a virtual island behind a seawall dike.

By the mid 2030's, the human factor of CO2 rise causing rapid global warming was nearly universally accepted. The annual human CO2 emissions had risen to 15 gigatons per year and atmospheric CO2 rose dramatically to 700 ppm. Major efforts to stem CO2 emissions have been underway since the mid 2020's. Coal produces more CO2 and sulfur dioxide greenhouse gas emission per unit energy output of any fossil fuel. All coal fired power plants were decommissioned by 2025. China was the last holdout on banning the use of coal.

Now, truly massive wind farms and solar power projects produce most of the Earth's electrical energy. Virtually all ground transportation is powered by electricity. At first it seemed an unsolvable problem to eliminate using jet fuel for air transportation until liquid hydrogen burning jet engines were developed. Even intercontinental Colossus flights were converted from burning methane to liquid hydrogen which is readily derived from the electrolysis of water. Even with all of these initiatives, it will take decades to see a drop in atmospheric CO2.

For Los Angeles, the threat from CO2 related global warming is twofold. First is the threat from rising sea level. The five meter rise required building an L.A. Flood Control Seawall stretching thirty-seven kilometers from Cabrillo Beach on the west to Newport Beach on the east controlling Long Beach Harbor, the Port of L.A., Seal Beach, and Huntington Beach.

The second and even greater threat is from wildfires. The Camp Fire that consumed Paradise, California in 2018, taught the state's residents that firestorms don't respect city boundaries and don't need heavy forest growth to spread. Fifty km/hr. winds fanned the flames and consumed 18,000 structures in just four hours. Even brick homes and aluminum panel buildings were consumed because of the intense heat from wind driven flames. Aluminum car engines and car parts melted as temperatures exceeded 600° C sending rivers of molten metal down the streets.

The Whittier Fire started September 12, 2044 in the hills of Whittier, California. In one day, the 100 km/hr. winds pushed the fire forward at a voracious speed stoking the fire like the bellows on the forge of Vulcan. Temperatures exceeded 1100° C. It made the Camp Fire of 2018 seem like child's play in comparison. The monstrous Whittier Fire roared across the suburbs of Los Angeles engulfing Norwalk, Bellflower, and Lakewood. Over 100,000 people were trapped and perished. The fire overran the Long Beach Airport and Signal Hill threatening greater Long Beach, the Port of Long Beach, and the SpaceTrans launch facility at Dockweiler Beach.

SpaceTrans has been anticipating that such a catastrophic event could threaten their facilities in Hawthorne and the Port of L.A. Their plan is to fight an advancing wall of fire with a bank of water cannons in a 200 meter arc around the north and landward flank of each facility. The water cannons, fed by Pacific seawater and huge turbopumps, put up a wall of intense spray a hundred meters high.

SpaceTrans Executive Meeting

Hawthorne, California

September 13, 2044 07: 01 PST

The conference room of executives looks drawn and unkempt- most have not slept during this long night.

Lauren Ross, Vice President of Commercial Missions, opens the meeting. "Ladies and gentlemen, our Colossus plant at the Port of L.A. and launch facility at Dockweiler Beach were saved-- for this day. The Whittier Fire is still not 100% contained. The swath of fire across greater L.A has cost as many lives and homes as Hiroshima." Tears are welling in her eyes and her voice is trembling. "H-how could it get any w-worse? First, I'll say that SpaceTrans has enjoyed a virtual monopoly on Mars colony missions and we have a l-long, distinguished record of safe space travel. We have twenty-four Colossus ships landing at Arcadia and Erebus today. What do we know about their status so far?"

Lisa Bush, Manager of Propulsion Development, starts to stand then drops back into her seat, "Hmm, Lauren, we did get instrument telemetry and voice confirmation from Commander Khan, that the methane header tank is over pressured from a faulty pressure sensor on the liquid methane turbopump. Several Mars landings since 2035 have had to switch to outboard engines as an emergency workaround from underperforming primary landing engines. The workaround has been successful but we really must fix these problems to keep our landing record unblemished."

"We'll have to get concurrence from the Board on the major engine overhaul, but God yes I support it. Jasmine, tell us about the fire and our facilities."

"The fire cannons and wall of water we put up stopped the fire short of the L.A. Plant and Dockweiler. The fire continued to race west of there and is just now consuming the forests of the Palos Verde Peninsula. With the Santa Ana wind holding southwest, we think the fire can be contained there against the sea. Firefighters are holding a hard line at the Pacific Coast Highway from Wilmington to the coast to keep the fire from creeping north against the wind towards Torrance and here at Hawthorne. Our fire cannon defense here is up and on the ready."

Then Jasmine Ward breaks down sobbing. "God, I can't stand this! When will it end?"

CHAPTER 2  
Arcadia 2044

" _Amidst the vicissitudes of the earth's surface, species cannot be immortal, but must perish, one after another, like the individuals which compose them. There is no possibility of escaping from this conclusion."_

Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology (1837), Vol. 2, 202

Shiva is coming....

Colossus Ships

Colonies on Mars are rapidly expanding. At every launch window, once every twenty-six months, one Colossus colony ship of forty colonists and three Colossus supply ships are sent to Mars from each launch center in the United States, Japan, Korea, China, India, and the UAE.

Colossus ships when fully fueled can carry one hundred metric tons of cargo or combined loads of cargo and colonists. The ships are reusable and fully paid for at launch. When the ships can be refueled on Mars and returned to Earth, a credit is given to the colony sponsor. Some ships are scrapped on Mars to recycle aluminum, electronics, and mechanical parts.

The Coalition is under no allusion that their monopoly arrangement with SpaceTrans Colossus colony ships will last in the long run. Intelligence reports say that China has reverse engineered the Colossus from spying on the SpaceTrans ship building plant in Hainan, China. The Chinese colonists and SpaceTrans Colossus cargo ships for the Chinese colony at Arcadia were built and launched from there.

Power on Mars

A portable ten megawatt SSTAR[], small, sealed, transportable, autonomous, nuclear reactor has been designed to fit into a Colossus ship to be sent to Mars, Ceres, or any future human colony. The SSTAR power capacity can supply energy for over one thousand homes or all of the energy a growing Mars colony will need for the foreseeable future.

Underground Habitats

Arcadia Base has a massive shallow ice layer that is excavated by a robotic boring machine called the HORTA. It's a large, one and a half meter AI robotic CARIIN boring tool for mining ice and in the process it excavates underground tunnels and habitats. Horta was a minor Etruscan goddess of agriculture but the machine on Mars is affectionately named after a tunneling creature on the planet Janus VI from the original Star Trek series. A kilopower nuclear reactor on the HORTA is the power source for both the boring operation and most importantly, for melting the pulverized ice. The underground ice habitats are lined with insulation of sintered regolith.

Propellant for Returning Colossus Ships

Mined ice is melted to liquid water to be used as feedstock for electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen. Oxygen is used directly for breathing in the habitats and is liquefied for propellant. Hydrogen feeds a Sabatier Reactor along with carbon dioxide from Mars' atmosphere to produce methane for propellant. A Colossus ship fully loaded takes eleven hundred MT of liquid methane and oxygen propellant. This propellant production requires ten gigawatt-hours of power-- equivalent to forty days of power output from the SSTAR Reactor.

The Big Blight

Last year in 2043, a crop blight hit the aquaponics units and wiped out all of the crops in six of the ten modules at Arcadia Base. The cause was traced to the most recent agri-seed bank shipment. The infusion of new seed was designed to increase genetic diversity. An undetected fungus wreaked havoc not only on the crops but it found its way into the aquaculture tanks and killed much of the fish stock.

A series of fungicides were tried to eradicate the blight until one was found that worked. Meanwhile, the Arcadia Base had to dip into stores that were designed to weather such an event while the colonists grudgingly had to go on rations. Most of them had forgotten or never experienced space food rations. Spirits waned but famine was averted. Erebus Base aquaponics units cranked up to 110% of capacity to fill the gap. In the end, that helped bind relations between the Arcadia and Erebus Bases.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

September 13, 2044

MCT SOL 3189: 07: 25: 38

Vik is speaking to Coby in the Interplanetary Communications Center in the Arcadia Nexus. "Well Commander Brewster, today we're going to be monitoring the largest Colossus fleet landing sequence in our history. Most of them will land over our horizon at the Erebus Montes Base."

"You can drop the Commander bullshit! We've both served our time leading this colony. We're older and grayer but you know buddy, I feel younger here in one-third g than I did before we left Earth. Oh, yeah, the landings. What a show that's gonna be with twenty-four ships landing in six hours. That shouldn't be a concern. They're spaced out on the entry corridor."

"CASSI has each ship on a separate frequency. The landing pads and homing beacons are ready to go. We get eight here at Arcadia. Our Coalition ships are first and then come the colony increments for LDS and UAE. Sixteen ships will land at Erebus- Japan, Korea, China, and India is "tail end Charlie." I hope that slot brings them good luck. Even their supply ships will land ahead of the colonists. Bomber crews in World War II felt that the "tail end Charlie" position was a curse, especially because fighters could pick you off more easily."

"Thankfully our skies aren't filled with fighter ships. By the way, I'm really impressed with our industrial robots. They've risen to the challenge of getting the base infrastructures constructed in time to accept this huge influx of colonists. It's why we came here."

"Da. I just want everything to go by the book. That's a lotta heavy metal comin' our way."

Coby Brewster personal log:

Vik Ivanov, our big Russian spaceman, is now age seventy-five. I'm no spring chicken and just nine months younger than Vik. He's shaved off what little hair he had left on his head but I've still got a healthy crop of gray hair going white. Vik has been my closest friend and confidant, after my Ellie, since our Aquila training days back on Earth. We both speak five languages to keep up with our multinational colonies. English is still the common language but it helps to be multi-lingual and to hear side conversations to keep up with social dynamics. Vik handles English well with his charming accent, brusque laugh, and quick wit. Russian is a close second of language importance in space and on Mars. My Russian is rough but it gets me through occasional emotional exchanges with Vik and his son Oleg.

Vik held the office of Arcadia Colony Commander and Governor for the term limit of six years from 2037 to 2043. Commander Paula Jennings assumed that role in 2043 after she was elected by Arcadia colonists and confirmed by the International Space Coalition. Her position also places her as the President of the United Arcadia Council with representation from all of the adjunct colonies surrounding the original Arcadia Colony Base. The members of the original Council of Principals including Ellie Accardi, Vik Ivanov, Abby Denton, and I sit on the new United Arcadia Council.

Today sees the arrival of 120 new colonists here at Arcadia and 160 colonists at the new colony nexus, Erebus Montes Base. Engineers and construction experts from Arcadia have just completed the initial phase of construction of Erebus Montes Base. Most of the work is done by CARIAN[] android robots and CARIIN[] industrial robots and industrial 3D laser printers. The supplies needed for the task arrived during the 2042 launch window or were manufactured on Mars. Construction crews are rotated from Arcadia with the new Mars hopper Transport 2.

The Erebus surface facilities and landing pads are modeled after those at Arcadia Base. The ice layer for underground construction is at a similar depth at ten meters. The underground living quarters and common areas were designed on Earth by the sponsor nations of these new colonists. Japan, Korea, China, and India add their cultural-architectural influence to their respective colony areas through the robotic ice excavation and 3D printing facilities on Mars.

Now in 2044, all colonies are eighty percent self-sustaining and growing with in situ resource based construction and crop growth for food and oxygen. There are lots of Mars kids-- enough that we now have some statistics to project our growth. We urge couples to consider having babies at a sustainable rate. The statistics have worked out now so that our birth rate is about four times the equivalent population on Earth. This has been a natural outcome of a young population motivated to grow the human population on Mars. The growth is easily sustainable for now in terms of resources and child care.

Beginning in 2046, each launch window will send a fleet of twenty-five Colossus ships divided into five wings. Each wing will have four robotic supply ships and a colony ship with a working crew of five and sixty colonists in hibernation sleep. Hib-sleep was recently perfected and provides: 1) a means for colonists to make the trip while conserving precious consumables and life support needed for normal metabolism 2) the volume of each ship is manageable for sixty colonists in hib-sleep. [It would be untenable with sixty five people constantly bumping into one another] 3) a person in hib-sleep with slowed metabolism has drastically slowed bone and muscle mass loss in micro-gravity and can be better shielded from solar and cosmic radiation.

My dear mother used to say to me at any point in my life worthy of praise, "Coby, I think you finally have a start in life." Well, I can say the same about our Mars colonization efforts. We are finally off to a good start.

Not everything has been perfect. We lost Barry Peterson, one of the first people to land on Mars. Back in 2036, we lost Dieter Schwartz to murder and Elena Petrov, his murderer, to suicide. We nearly lost the Arcadia Beta Colony Ship Gemini on landing. More recently, there were massive riots in India during the selection of their colonists. During the Colossus launches from India, masses of people tried to break through the heavy gates of the SpaceTrans launch facility. They were driven by the insane thought that some lucky few of them could barge on board and be whisked out of their overcrowded suffering. Over two thousand people died in these riots and stampedes.

My God, the Earth cannot support more humans. The words "Be fruitful and multiply" could be the end of all of us. When I was a child in grade school, we used to hear about zero population growth with efforts to convince people to not be quite so fruitful. Back then the world population was 3.6 billion. Now it has exceeded 9.6 billion and population growth is still accelerating. If Shiva doesn't kill the human race on Earth, famine or global pandemic will.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

September 13, 2044

MCT SOL 3189: 07: 41: 26

Trevor Brown and Mandy Shields are the Directors of Mars Aquaponics and Food Production. They are walking through Aquaponics Unit 3 and admiring their progress.

Mandy says to Trevor, "We seem to have a problem-- the tilapia are over-producing. We have to increase harvest and increase the amount of freshwater input. The soybeans seem to thrive on the nutrients runoff from the fish the most. All this is a good thing but we need to have better control on the systems. We need more automation of systems' chemical analysis and fresh water input. Robots can do it better."

"The water production from ice tunneling is more than we need. The oxygen production from electrolysis and from plants in the greenhouse is more than we need. Imagine the day when we could feed water and oxygen into the atmosphere and enough to make a difference!"

"Yeah- terraforming Mars--I don't think we'll see that in our lifetimes. Mars is too big to imagine human activity affecting its atmosphere with the few colonists we have."

"Never underestimate the will of a few million people in the future!"

MCT SOL 3189: 08: 01: 37

Coby and Vik are in the Arcadia Interplanetary Communications Center. They're monitoring the approaching colony fleet with CASSI's assistance. Video feeds show panoramic views of Mars encompassing the landing pads at Arcadia and Erebus. Sam and Governor Paula Jennings, Ellie, Abby, Megumi, and Satoshi have joined them.

Rotating advance teams of twelve engineers, construction specialists, and urban planning specialists have been working for long months on the construction of Erebus Montes Base. This construction rotation tour includes Oleg Ivanov, Olga Sadoski, Sofi Brewster, Alex Ivanov, Oleg's half-brother, Tracy Dixon, Paul Earhart, Jacob Petrov, Alex's half-brother, John Meek, and Jameel al-Badie. The construction team is gathered in the Erebus Interplanetary Communications Center monitoring the fleet arrival in parallel with Arcadia.

Sofi and Alex tend to dominate any gathering since they are a head taller than almost anyone else. Their intellect is unmistakable. They share one another's thoughts telepathically and often finish the other's sentences in conversation. Alex has dark hair, hazel eyes, and strong rugged features like his father Vik. Sofi has auburn hair and blue eyes like her mother Ellie. She's radiant and showing at five months pregnant with twins. Ironically, people called Sofi and Alex the space twins since they were conceived in deep space but born back on Earth a day apart.

Oleg is Vik Ivanov's son by Vik's first wife. He's dark haired and greying at the temples. He has natural talent as a space systems engineer and is a natural leader like his father.

Oleg gets on coms, "Arcadia, Erebus Base. Arcadia, Erebus Base. Communications check."

"Erebus, Arcadia. Paula Jennings here. Oleg, we read you five-by-five."

"Thanks Paula. It should be quite a show for all of us today."

"Roger that! Arcadia out."

"Atarashī, Erebus Base. Atarashī, Erebus Base. Communications check."

"Erebus, Atarashī. Commander Nakama Tadayuki here. We read you five-by-five. We're at the head of the fleet on the Mars entry corridor and reading the homing beacon from Erebus Base."

"Reading you and wishing you a smooth landing. We have a sand storm headed our way around 13: 00. We'll have you down safely but New Mumbai will be coming down just about the time the storm gets here. Oleg Ivanov, Erebus Base over and out." Oleg expects that New Mumbai is monitoring the transmission but he'll send them a special warning after he gets the first ships down.

The Japanese colony ship Atarashī Heiwa, New Peace, is nearing Mars' atmospheric contact as the first of the colony fleet to land today. The ship is homing in on Pad 1 at Erebus Base. Japan's three Colossus supply ships and the rest of the fleet are following in fifteen minute increments.

Satoshi breaks the news, "Megumi and I will be moving to Erebus to join the Japanese colony. "

"They need us to help work out the bugs on their hab systems. Our best friends Yaneno and Yadama from JAXA have begged us to come and join them."

Ellie and Abby gather close and take their hands, "This is a surprise! You've been with us for all these years."

"You'll be missed here."

"You're part of this colony, part of our family, but we can't stop you." Coby adds.

Megumi responds, "Yes, we've been part of the colony and helped you get established. For that , we are proud. I mean no disrespect, but we have not felt as close as we are with Yaneno and Yadama and our own people."

"Of course, of course. Mars is a big place. Now we have two colony complexes. Soon there will be more. You will not be forgotten here. Please use the coms to welcome your friends to Mars."

Next, the Coalition colony ship Rigel and a supply ship Betelgeuse land at Arcadia followed by three ships each from LDS and UAE. Paula officially welcomes them on video coms. A colony contingent team will help them to disembark and escort the colonists to their new quarters and orient them to the sizeable and growing colony maze.

The landing ballet gracefully alternates between Arcadia and Erebus. The four ships from Korea and four ships from China have landed by MCT 1400 leaving only the approaching four ships from India to complete this historic series of landings. Other colonists have come and gone from the coms center in the Nexus during the long day, but Paula, Coby, Vik, and CASSI maintain vigil on the landings. Caring teams at both Arcadia and Erebus help the arriving colonists to disembark, enjoy a reception, and get oriented to their new homes.

Erebus Montes Colony Ship New Mumbai

September 13, 2044

Mission Elapsed Time 191: 13: 05: 13

Commander Khan establishes ground communication with the Interplanetary Communications Centers at Arcadia and Erebus. The New Mumbai is in the entry corridor.

"New Mumbai, Erebus Base. New Mumbai, Erebus Base. We read you in the entry corridor."

"Erebus, New Mumbai. Commander Srijan Khan here. We read you five-by-five and reading the homing beacon from Erebus Base."

"We are on the front edge of a sand storm here. It's not a big threat to getting you down safely on the landing beacon just before the big angry wall hits. Once you're down, we recommend that you sit tight in your ship on the landing pad until the storm passes. See you soon. Oleg Ivanov, Erebus Base over."

"Thank you Erebus. It's not the Mars welcome we were looking for but we'll make the best of it. Peace be with you. New Mumbai over and out."

Commander Srijan Khan and his command team, pilots and engineers Vikas Heravdakar, Raghu Mandalik, Satya Badakar, and Mahi Tavade, are in pressure suits strapped into the five seemingly solid and safe couches on the Command Deck of the Colossus Ship New Mumbai. Thirty-five colonists, carefully selected for their expertise in the New Mumbai Colony, are suited and strapped into couches on Deck Two and Deck Three. Each carries personal pride in being selected and some measure of guilt knowing that people died in riots trying to join them and escape the horrendous overcrowding in India.

The red planet looms large in the panoramic windows just before they execute a maneuver to angle the Colossus ship belly first, presenting the massive heat shield into the rapidly approaching Martian atmosphere.

"My fellow colonists, it has been a long journey. I liken this to Ghandi and his followers' sacrifice on the Salt March so many years ago. Our journey has been crowded and not without challenges on board. We rose to the challenges whether mechanical or personal and overcame them. This is the finest ship in the Colossus fleet, built by engineers and skilled workers of our mother Bharat, our India."

There is some minor dissent on Deck 3. "Ghatiya! If I never hear Khan make his Ghandi speech again it will be too soon. I just want to get my feet on firm ground and feel gravity again!"

"Mars atmosphere contact expected in fifteen seconds...Contact! We're on our way to landing at New Mumbai and to pioneer a new life on a new world. We could be the 107th Pioneers infantry regiment..."

There is more dissent on Deck 3 on a local feed that does not reach the Command Deck. "Oh please! I'm about to soil my underwear for fear of all this shaking and Khan is pontificating about the 107th Pioneer Regiment. Everyone please join me in the mantra of lord Krishna for safe passage."

"Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah

Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah

Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah..."

Commander Khan speaks to all decks, "Oh my! Buffeting now! How do those g forces feel after six months of micro-gravity? This is a good ship made at SpaceTrans in India by Indian hands and machines. CASSI, please give me a readout on retro fuel pressures and time to retro-fire."

"Retro-fire is scheduled for seventy three seconds from now. LOX header tank pressure is nominal... Just now, the methane header tank is passing red line at one hundred ten bars and rising."

"...Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman  
Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah..."

"CASSI, can you diagnose the overpressure and effect a relief before the tank reaches the two hundred bar rated burst pressure?"

"Negative. Relieving the pressure can only be done by dumping propellant with a one hundred percent chance of a hypervelocity landing. There is an eighty percent probability that we will be in retrofire relieving pressure before we reach burst pressure."

"Those are better odds. Let's stay the course and pray!"

Khan realizes he's still broadcasting to the entire ship. He reaches down and cuts his feed while his trusted pilots and engineers, on the Command Deck are aghast.

"...Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah

Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah..."

The team at the Interplanetary Communications Centers at Arcadia and Erebus are still monitoring helplessly. The communication gets to them essentially in real time but Earth control centers will not hear it for over five more minutes at light speed. The drama cannot be changed and will be long finished by then.

"Commander Khan, surely we should do something more than watch the pressure rise," Vikas says. "There must be a defect in the turbopump pressure sensor. I think we should cycle the turbopump off until just before retrofire."

Khan asks, "CASSI can you confirm the pressure sensor fault and can we shut the turbopump down and get it restarted before retrofire initiation?"

"Affirmative on the pressure sensor fault. My readings indicate that it occurred as the turbopump spun up forty-three seconds ago. Negative on the turbopump restart. There is a ninety percent chance that if I shut down the turbopump now, it will not restart in time to effect controlled retrofire resulting in a hypervelocity landing."

"Maintain firing schedule and pray. Everyone get your helmets on and secured now!"

"...Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah

Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah..."

CASSI has the count. "Retrofire in five, four, three, engines igniting, burn initiated. Touchdown in thirty four seconds."

The big Colossus ship is rumbling as g forces rise. Khan, his command crew, Erebus and Arcadia watch the methane header tank pressure rise to one hundred ninety bars.

"God and Krishna help us." It dawns on Khan that Erebus, the Base where they are supposed to be landing, is a Greek word for a region of the Underworld where the dead would go immediately after dying.

"...Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah

Krishnay Vasudevay Haraye Parmatman

Pranatah: Kleshnashay Govinday Namo Namah..."

The Colossus Ship New Mumbai is fifteen seconds from touchdown on Pad 16 at Erebus Montes Base. This is the end of a historic long day of landing twenty-four Colossus ships to expand the colonization of Mars. The methane header tank pressure rises to two hundred and two bars.

"Mayday, mayday! Erebus Base. This is New Mumbai in imminent danger of a rupture of our methane header tank. God and Krishna help us."

The video feed shows a huge fireball east of Erebus magnified red throughout the now dust choked sky. The explosion destroys the New Mumbai short of its landing pad. The thirty-five colonists on Decks 2 and 3 only felt the huge punch of a shock wave and fireball instantaneously before they were incinerated. The shock wave severed the Command Deck free of the rest of the big ship by design. The Command Deck has a firewall and breakaway connection to the rest of the Colossus ship, a feature dating from the days of test launches over twenty years ago. The Command Deck launches upward from the force of the explosion. Gouts of flame rush into the Command Deck through the access stairway as the cabin spins end over end and crashes six kilometers short of Pad 16. Commander Khan is thrown free of the ruptured ship. His crumbled form is shrouded in the thickening dust storm.

MCT SOL 3189: 14: 16: 38

The mayday distress call issued from Commander Khan before the ship exploded was heard at Erebus Base. It takes them five minutes to suit up for the emergency operation and begin prebreathing oxygen. They dispatch the six-man, six-wheeled Rover 3 and rocket powered hopper Transport 2 to try to rescue any survivors. Oleg Ivanov, Olga Sadoski, Tracy Dixon, Paul Earhart fly to the crash site in the thickening dust in Transport 2. Tracy is a physician and equipped with first aid and medical supplies including emergency respirators. Sofi Brewster, Alex Ivanov, John Meek, and Jameel al-Badie follow in Rover 3 making their way through the limited visibility by Mars GPS. Jacob Petrov remains behind in the Erebus coms center.

Transport 2 homes in on the emergency beacon from the crashed Command Deck cabin. They land in low visibility at the crash site minutes later. The Command Deck cabin is upside-down with the main panoramic window blown out. It's the only recognizable remnant of the ship. A momentary abatement of the wind and dust reveal a crumpled form on the red sand twenty meters away. The red stripes on the helmet and sleeves identify him as Commander Khan. Hundreds of pieces of the New Mumbai, some still smoking, are scattered over a large area of the flat terrain.

On a channel open to Rover 3, Erebus, and Arcadia Oleg calls out, "Rover 3, Transport 2. Home in on our location. We're taking care of the Command Deck cabin. There may be survivors. I want you to do a spiral search from our location for any other possible survivors in the wreckage."

Sofi replies, "Roger. Our ETA is ten minutes. The dust is slowing us down. Our visibility here is down to ten meters. "

"CAMI, start cabin depressurization now and give us a count to hatch opening."

"Affirmative. Depressurization commenced. Hatch opening in five, four, three, two, hatch opening now."

Tracy grabs a med kit. "Each of you take a suit patch kit. Come on let's see what we can do. I'll take Khan. The rest of you search the wrecked cabin."

Tracy bounds down the stairs into the swirling dust storm. Visibility is down to two meters. She can no longer see Commander Khan but she stumbles in the direction where they had just seen him. After what seems an eternity, she covers the ten meters to Khan's crumpled form. She turns him over and checks his suit med readouts. He's alive and unconscious with a pulse of forty. His suit and helmet are sooty but appear intact. Sand and pebbles are pecking at his faceplate and starting to pile up against his body.

"I've got Khan here--unconscious but no external signs of trauma. I'm going to use an inflatable collar to immobilize his head and drag him back to the transport... No time to lose!"

In Mars gravity Khan still weighs about fifty kilograms in his suit. Tracy can't lift him and judges that the rocks she's seen aren't sharp enough to puncture Khan's suit. She pulls Khan's legs to reverse straddle her hips and begins trudging toward the transport using the homing beacon guidance in her HUD display. She'll need help to get Khan in through the airlock so she deposits him near the base of the ladder. Tracy checks his suit readouts one more time. Khan's suit pressure is stable and his pulse is sixty three.

Now Tracy is off to join the others. This time she makes her way through the swirling dust by using the distress beacon on the New Mumbai Command Deck. Tracy enters the wrecked cabin and joins the other rescuers. "What've we got?"

Oleg replies, "All of their couches ripped loose and we've got four people over here. The centrifugal force must have piled them tangled together. Help us turn them over and check vitals. They're either dead or unconscious."

Olga says, "She's breathing with a pulse of fifty."

"This one might have a broken arm by the way it's twisted," Oleg calls out. "Breathing and a pulse of ninety six."

"Probably in shock."

Paul's rescue victim is similar with no obvious fractures.

Tracy attends the fourth one. "This one has a compound fractured femur. The broken bone is protruding but hasn't punctured his pressure suit. Let's get inflatable collars on them...Good work... Now let's get them all back to the transport quickly so we can get pressurized and do some real first aid. Olga, help me carry this one. Oleg and Paul, pick up your victims in a fireman's carry if you can."

"Got it. Mars gravity sure helps."

"Yeah but the atmosphere and this sandstorm sucks!"

The sand and dust have returned with a vengeance. Sand impacting their helmets sounds like radio static. Even small pebbles are saltating across the sand.

"Get them in the transport and help me with Khan. Olga and I will come back for the fourth here. Quickly now!"

In a few minutes, they have all five victims from the command cabin laid out in Transport 2.

"CAMI, close the hatch and get us pressurized," Oleg commands. "Double check our pressure to be sure that the sand and grit hasn't compromised our seals."

"Affirmative. Pressurizing...Pressure increased to nominal but its dropping at three millibars per minute."

"Well that's gonna have to be good enough to get us back to base. CAMI, maintain pressure by a constant feed. Keep your helmets on."

Tracy says, "But we do need to get all of the victims' helmets off and O2 respirators on. That's all we can do for now. Oleg, get this transport back to base now! Check on Rover 3."

"CAMI, ready for takeoff. Put us down at Docking Bay 1 please."

The fuel pumps whir to life.

"Roger. Buckle up. Lifting off now."

The two rocket engines in the belly of the transport roar as the transport cants forward and swerves back toward base.

Oleg is on coms, "Rover 3, Transport 2. Rover 3, Transport 2. Report your search progress."

Sofi reports back. "We've been monitoring your progress. We're praying for your survivors. We're on an agonizing search in low visibility. We're using search radar with CAMI discriminating debris from rock formations. We've covered several kilometers of the wreckage debris field. There's no sign of any survivors or any bodies for that matter. Everything is shredded and incinerated. We've found and collected a few parts of scorched helmets. We'll use the robotic arm to collect any remains we find for the memorial. I know Mars can be cruel, but none of us signed up for this! We'll stay the course until we've spiraled out of the debris field. My senses do not indicate any human life in the area, even unconscious."

"Roger. Your service to recover and respect these colonists is the most we could ever ask of anyone committed to living on Mars. May this be the last time anyone has to be asked to do this grim task. Stay the course and thank you."

Tracy asks for the radio. "Erebus Base, Transport 2. Jacob come in please."

"Jacob here."

"I need you to dispatch five gurneys to the docking port and send assistance to get the victims to sick bay. Please get the Japanese doctor, Yadama Denbe, who just arrived. Our ETA is five minutes."

"Roger Dr. Tracy. Consider it done. Actually, we've had the team standing by. Dr. Denbe seems very competent."

"Great. We'll be at the docking port shortly. Transport 2 out."

Transport 2 lands at Erebus Docking Port 1. The robotically controlled access arm cantilevers out and mates with the transport docking hatch.

CAMI reports, "Docking seal is confirmed. Pressure equalizing...The hatch is opening now."

Tracy is the first one out. "You must be Dr. Yadama Denbe. I'm Dr. Tracy Dixon. We have five crash victims: unconscious, on oxygen, with suspected broken arms, legs, and concussions. We need help getting them carefully on the gurneys then to sick bay stat!"

"Certainly Dr. Dixon. I have many years of experience at the Hokkaido University Hospital ER. I will assist you. We'll need to cut their pressure suits off first."

"Right. I agree, but keep in mind that I'm in charge here."

"Certainly Dr. Dixon. This is a terrible way to be introduced to Mars. It could have been any one of our ships. "

MCT SOL 3189: 16: 18: 21

They have the patients moved into the twenty bed sick bay. The Korean doctor, Chi Jung, and Chinese doctor, Wang Bai, from their recently landed colony ships are also there to assist.

"These are tragic circumstances but I'm grateful that you're here to help. OK, doctors, let's cut their pressure suits off. We know there are broken bones. Get them on oxygen, get full vitals, and get full x-ray scans."

All of the patients have fractures and concussions from the hard fall of the command cabin. They escaped most of the fireball of the exploding ship. The limited fire that entered the cabin was abated by their pressure suits. The five victims, Commander Srijan Khan, Vikas Heravdakar, Raghu Mandalik, Satya Badakar, and Mahi Tavade, are now on oxygen and IVs for hydration and medication as needed.

Just over an hour later, Khan is the first to begin to regain consciousness.

"W-where am I? Where's my ship? Oh Krishna! My head hurts."

Tracy attends to him. "Commander Khan, I am Dr. Dixon. You're on Mars at Erebus Base. Your ship crash landed a few hours ago. We recovered you and four others from the command cabin that broke free of the rest of the ship. You all took a beating in the crash. You have a concussion. That's why your head hurts and you're confused."

"W-What happened to my ship? Crashed? We were in the entry corridor. We were the last ship. Where are the others? There were thirty-five people on Deck 2 and 3. My wife! My daughter! I want to see them now!"

"Commander Khan, please calm down. I'm giving you something in your IV to help you rest. We have a search party out to find all the others."

"My wife...m- my..."

The other four survivors remain in a coma.

"Erebus Base, Rover 3. Erebus Base, Rover 3. Sofi here. We've finished our survivor search."

"Rover 3. Erebus. Jacob here. We're hopeful but realistic. Did you find any survivors?"

"No. We can only conclude that the thirty-five passengers on New Mumbai Decks 2 and 3 have perished, or rather were completely incinerated by the intense blast. We found partial remains of seven pressure suit helmets. That's all that was recovered of those colonists after an exhaustive search. We have found no human remains to bring back. If miraculously, someone did survive intact, their reserve oxygen would have run out over an hour ago."

"Noted --No survivors. God! What a tragic end to the hopes of these colonists."

"Jacob, are you alone?"

"Affirmative. My ears only."

"I have to discuss something with you and Arcadia Base on secure channel X-ray Sierra. Please raise them and let's have a three way on the secure channel."

"Arcadia Base here. Coby, Paula, and Vik are on coms here alone. We are reading both of you. Switching to secure channel X-ray Sierra."

Arcadia Base, Erebus Base, and Rover 3 are joined on the encrypted secure channel XS for which only they know the frequency and decryption codes. No other ship or Earth ears can hear them. John Meek and Jameel al-Badie are security cleared members of the United Arcadia Council. They are envoy members of the LDS New Kolob Colony and UAE al Salam al Jadid colonies subscribing to the Mars weapons ban.

"This is Sofi in Rover 3 with Alex, John Meek, and Jameel al-Badie. We found no survivors but we did find a cargo module marked ISRO Only. It has an electronic digital lock on it. I've never seen a locked cargo module in any other Mars cargo. Despite the lock, it broke open from the impact. The aluminum crates inside survived intact but were tumbled out near the module."

"Perhaps India plays by a different book. What's in the crates? Can you tell?"

"The crates are military and stenciled RPG-VRG2100 (24). We opened one with the manipulator and confirmed that each crate has twenty four RPGs. This stuff is not supposed to be on Mars! Please advise."

"Paula here- Dammit! The situation just went from a horrific accident aftermath to an interplanetary situation! We have to secure these RPGs and search all the ships for contraband. Commander Khan survived the crash but now he's got some explaining to do. We'll send Transport 3 to Erebus with twelve security designees. I'll convene the Council. This will be a first test of our remote presence system to include newly arrived council members at Erebus. India will be banned from the Council until this is resolved. Furthermore, Commander Khan and the other survivors of the crash are under arrest and considered a security threat until we investigate." The arrested personnel will be moved to security confinement.

"Vik here. I'll handle SpaceTrans. Under encryption, I'll have Paula officially request that SpaceTrans investigate and crack down security at its spaceports."

"Alex here. I think we just initiated the interplanetary customs forces."

"Sofi back to you. The cargo module with the RPGs is banged up but still serviceable to get the RPGs back to base and secured. We can collect the RPG cases, stow them in the module, and transport it on the external cargo rack."

Erebus Montes Colony Base

September 15, 2044

MCT SOL 3191: 10: 21: 43

Two days later, Transport 3 was sent to Erebus with twelve security personnel. Oleg, Olga, Paul, Sofi, Alex, John, Jameel, and Jacob split up to lead search teams. First and most obvious was to search the Indian transport ships and then the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean ships.

Sofi and Alex lead the six person search Team 1 on Cargo ship Mumbai 1. Oleg and Olga are on Mumbai 2. Mumbai 3 is searched by the team led by Jacob and John. The teams are in radio contact. The cargo modules are stowed to be easily accessible in racks before unloaded everything. The normal design is a vibration secure twist lock- not a combination lock. The ships could only be accessed from outside by wearing pressure suits.

Alex calls the teams as they are boarding the elevators of each ship. "Team 1 to all teams. Remember, we'll search methodically from Cargo Decks 2 to 5, opening each cargo module to find any contraband weapons. Each team has a portable industrial laser to cut open any lock sealed containers.

Sofi continues,"The cargo module with RPGs that we found at the crash was marked ISRO Only. It had a non-standard electronic digital lock. If we find any of these, it's a good bet they have contraband. Use the laser to cut the module open carefully without penetrating the contents! Okay, let's get to it."

Each of the three Indian cargo ships turned up cargo modules with more RPGs and also vintage AK-47 assault rifles. The munitions stash includes six crates of AK-47s and three crates of high capacity sixty round magazines and one hundred military canisters of seven hundred rounds of 7.62x39 ammo.

Arcadia Colony Base

United Arcadia Council

September 20, 2044

MCT SOL 3196: 14: 01: 24

The search of all new ships at Erebus and Arcadia was completed one week after the crash. All five of the surviving crash victims are conscious and able to be moved. They have been transported to Arcadia Base to be interviewed. None of them claim any knowledge of the weapons nor do they seem to be a security threat. Only Commander Khan is well enough to be up and about. They're in deep mourning for the loss of family and fellow colonists. Each of them sticks to the story that one of the dead men from Deck 2, Colonel Rajiv Bahu, may have been responsible. He was an Indian National Security Council (NSC) officer in charge of cargo loading operations so there may have been opportunity for him and his security agents to access the cargo holds of the ships and smuggle the munitions aboard after the Coalition inspections.

Governor Paula Jennings convenes the United Arcadia Council from Arcadia using the remote presence system to include the newly arrived council members at Erebus. They reviewed the evidence and testimony of the crash survivors.

Commander Khan speaks to the Council, "I humbly ask you to consider my devastation with this crash incident. My wife, daughter, and dear friends were lost in this tragedy." Khan has tears streaming down his face. "I was involved with the ISRO in selecting all of the colonists on the New Mumbai. I knew each of them and knew what was in their hearts, all except Colonel Rajiv Bahu. Bahu was assigned to our ship by the NSC. Our blessed Indian government funded our journey to Mars. I trusted them. In no way could I condone bringing those munitions to Mars. I fully support the monumental accomplishments the Coalition has made in the first phases of Mars colonization. I also fully appreciate the Council's concerns about controlling weapons. We came here in peace."

Khan is excused and escorted out of the Council Chambers and back to security confinement by voluntary security detail Jeff Hendricks and Dominik Weidmann. Deliberation proceeds for a heated thirty minutes, then Paula Jennings summarizes while broadcasting to Arcadia and Earth.

"We've agreed with Khan's testimony and the security investigation's conclusion that Colonel Rajiv Bahu acted with his own teams on Earth to smuggle the munitions without the knowledge of Commander Khan or any of the other passengers. Commander Khan and the other four crash survivors will remain under surveillance and probation until the Council agrees to lift the decree. Coalition procedures must be tightened. Ships should remain under heavy guard before, during, and after inspection up until launch. We expect a confirmation from the Coalition on Earth shortly. All of the confiscated weapons here on Mars are added to the Coalition defensive armament locked away in secret underground storage at Arcadia and Erebus. This incident with India underscores the need for vigilance and defense."

Boom! A loud report echoes through the underground corridors to the Council Chambers.

The PA system comes to life. "Alert! All security teams and a medical team report to Arcadia Security immediately. Security officer down! Commander Khan has escaped. He's armed and dangerous and heading in the direction of Arcadia Nexus. All Arcadia personnel are ordered to shelter-in-place."

Dominik Weidmann lies face down in the security area in an expanding pool of blood. Jeff Hendricks is in pursuit on foot, weaving to avoid any further shot's from Khan's .45 caliber handgun. Alone with only a Taser, he's no match for Khan's gun. Mar's gravity is allowing both of them to run and jink in long bounds.

"Khan, stop and drop your gun! You have nowhere to hide on Mars. We'll hunt you down and bring you to justice."

"Ha! You make me laugh little man with your impotent Taser! In a few minutes I'll be sheltered in the Bharat Colony where you can't touch me!"

As Khan enters the Nexus Commons, four security teams have him surrounded. While he's momentarily distracted and confused by the new security arrivals, Hendricks takes quick aim and squeezes the trigger of the Taser. Just as the Taser darts streak towards Khan's chest-- Ka-boom! Khan's head explodes in a cloud of red mist on gore from a self-inflicted shot under his chin.

Abby and Tracy Dixon arrive at Arcadia Security and render aid to Dominik Weidmann. The big .45 round had pierced his right chest and lung narrowly missing his heart. It takes all of their skill, modern surgical techniques, and four hours of touch-and-go surgery to put Dominik on the road to recovery.

With Commander Khan's suicide, that immediate threat was gone. But, all eyes turned to the Indian Bharat Colony. Someone there must have smuggled the gun or more likely a gun stash to Mars and secreted a weapon and ammo to Khan in the Arcadia Security lockup.

Arcadia Colony Base

United Arcadia Council

September 24, 2044

MCT SOL 3200: 10: 43: 36

The space program in India, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has been active since 1975 and has grown exponentially in the last decade. Factions in the Indian government have been vocal about making an "Indian subcontinent" on Mars larger than on Earth. They make it no secret that their small starter colony under the purview of the Coalition is not in line with the views of these radical hardliners.

Since the Bharat Colony's sovereignty is nonetheless inviolate, Arcadia Base, even as a representative of the Coalition, cannot execute a search inside of it. Commander Daas Ahuja, leader of the Bharat Colony, headed an internal security sweep and was called to account for the weapons violation and aiding Khan's attempt to escape.

Governor Paula Jennings convened the United Arcadia Council and proceeds to the inquiry into the Khan incident. The proceedings are being beamed to Earth to Coalition Command.

"Commander Ahuja, It's been four days since Khan used a .45 caliber handgun to assault our security personnel and proceeded to take his own life. At our insistence, you've been cooperating with an internal investigation in your colony. We all appreciate the need for a swift resolution of these unfortunate events. We've convened today at your request to reveal your findings. The floor is yours."

"Governor Jennings, ladies and gentlemen of the Council, today I will give you my testimony and submit evidence that we have rooted out two individuals and a cache of contraband weapons and ammunition. Bharat colonists Chundur Naidu and Srijan Adwani room together and our investigation revealed that they had conspired along with Colonel Rajiv Bahu to bring weapons to Mars. The body cam video I submitted prior to this meeting shows the unfolding of their arrest and the confiscation of the weapons cache from their quarters just yesterday. May we see that video now?"

"Certainly. CASSI, please lower the screen and play the video evidence."

"Affirmative..."

"You'll see now on the video that we confiscated a one meter utility case from that room and arrested Chundur Naidu and Srijan Adwani...Next the video shows a CARIAN and me at the Arcadia Security facility surrendering the case of munitions that we had seized to Jeff Hendricks."

There are murmurs and nearly inaudible comments in the Council chamber.

"Now with your permission, I believe Jeff Hendricks is prepared to testify regarding the contents of the case I surrendered."

Paula asks, "Jeff, please tell the Council what was in the surrendered case."

"Sure. We ran a scan of the aluminum case. We could see what appeared to be handguns and the chem scan identified gunpowder. I opened the case and found twenty four.45 caliber handguns and nearly one thousand rounds of ammunition. The foam slot for a twenty fifth gun was empty and twenty rounds from an open box of ammo were missing."

The Council reconvenes after thirty minutes to account for the communication light delay. Christof Scheibel of Coalition Command on Earth replies with their ruling, "Since this is the second incident of arms smuggling uncovered with Bharat Colony, we have no recourse but to impose sanctions. India's vote in Coalition proceedings on Earth and Bharat's vote in the United Arcadia Council are revoked for a period of two years. Any further infractions will result in the shutdown of SpaceTrans launch facilities in India and UN sanctions on India."

Commander and Colonial Governor Paula Jennings Personal Log:

This whole business with India and the Bharat Colony has cast a pall on our mostly idyllic life on Mars. Instead of joyous celebrations for the arrival of colonists from many nations now we are mourning the death of thirty five Indian colonists and Commander Khan. We still have the threat of weapons being smuggled on future colony ships.

The mourning affects all of the colonists on Mars including Arcadia Base. The news saddens everyone following the progress of the Mars colonies on Earth. A cairn is erected outside the Bharat Colony with a plaque memorializing the thirty-five names of the Indian colonists who perished in the first human crew landing accident on Mars. Commander Khan is laid to rest in a grave with a small marker.

Mars has a history of robotic landing accidents especially in the early history of Mars exploration. Up until 2019, the failure rate of Mars robotic missions was sixty percent. From that time the success rate improved dramatically by using tried and true systems. The cadence of Colossus ships being built and destined for Mars will not be diminished.

The one hundred kilometer Shiva KBO continues on its relentless fall toward Earth. In October, 2044, in less than a month, the Shiva Diversion Mission ship Vishnu is scheduled to impact Shiva and detonate to deflect it.

To lift our spirits, we have a grand event scheduled in two days. We're having an opening celebration event for the long awaited recreation center. It's a place to enjoy sunshine like a park on Earth.

Gala on the Lake

Arcadia Colony Base

September 26, 2044

MCT SOL 3202: 12: 14: 47

Today is the Grand Opening Gala for the Arcadia Summer Dome. The colonists who have been on Mars the longest have been anticipating this the most. Some have been deprived of a walk in the sunlight without a spacesuit for nine years. The progression of depression in many people was so slow that it was almost imperceptible. The recent New Mumbai disaster brought some nearly to the breaking point of despair in longing for the earth they once knew. The new Arcadia Summer Dome offers a literal ray of sunshine to raise their spirits.

The architectural concept for their new dome structures finds roots in going back to the Bauersfeld Planetarium in 1926. The Climatron greenhouse at Missouri Botanical Gardens, built in 1960 was an inspirational, large, geodesic, hemispherical dome forty-two meters in diameter. Domes of that style for large living spaces were realized in the UAE in the 2020s as a simulated Mars domed city. In the UAE, the outside summer temperatures are regularly 50° C with ninety percent humidity. So the respite of the controlled environment with the sky above is certainly better for the psyche than living in confined indoor spaces indefinitely.

Jameel al Badie realized the first sky domed space on Mars in 2038 with the ten meter dome topping the large vaulted dome space of the Grand Mosque in the al Salam al Jadid colony adjunct to Arcadia Base. Jamil and Arcadia engineers pioneered the manufacture of a five centimeter thick tantalum infused clear polycarbonate dome material that absorbs the most harmful solar and cosmic radiation. The radiation protection, while not perfect, exceeds that of the Colossus ships that ferry colonists to Mars. The dome material does transmit beneficial wavelengths of UV for plant growth and for humans in vitamin D generation. What could be better for the spirit than to stroll in lush green Earth vegetation under the Sun and sky of Mars?

UAE Mars Science City Project built in the 2020s on Earth.[]

The polycarbonate is manufactured on Mars from polymerization of methane derived from Mars ice and carbon dioxide. Hydrogen rich polycarbonate is a good radiation absorber. Dense tantalum nuclei are efficient absorbers of high energy subatomic particles. Tantalum rod stock is imported from Earth. Mining for tantalum on Mars, while not impossible, is a long way from reality. On Earth, it's a complicated process of open pit mining coarse granite pegmatite and processing crushed ore at high temperature with hydrofluoric and sulfuric acid.

Flat polycarbonate sheets are cut into two meter equilateral triangles that fit into an aluminum frame with silicone seals. The construction is done by CARIIN industrial robots. Six triangles fit into a perfect hexagon that repeats in a fractal pattern into the geodesic polyhedron dome structure of the designed radius. The silicone is manufactured from quartz silica in abundant Mars sand. Aluminum is salvaged from Colossus ship hulls.

Only half of the colony ships are refueled and returned to Earth. Most of the energy at Arcadia is provided by two 10 megawatt SSTAR nuclear reactors. The SSTAR energy powers life support and manufacturing processes. It requires ten gigawatts of the electricity they produce to generate the oxygen and methane to refuel a ship with a full load of 1100 MT of propellant. Only half of that propellant is used for the return trip. Forty percent is offloaded at the L2 deep space propellant storage depot leaving enough for a controlled landing on Earth. The propellant offloaded in deep space is nearly worth its weight in gold and more than worth the value of an empty Colossus ship. Propellant export is becoming the mainstay of interplanetary commerce for Mars.

Jameel al Badie and John Meek are the urban planning engineers that brought the seventy-five meter Arcadia Botanical Garden Dome and the connected one hundred meter Summer Dome into existence. Trevor Brown and Mandy Shields took the lead on designing and nurturing the lush variety of plants and trees that are growing in the domes. The nearly one hundred species of plants and trees were germinated from the extensive seed bank stored in stasis at Arcadia.

The Summer Dome features a kidney shaped lake maintained at 28 C and a hot pool at 40 C. Colonists can revel in noon sunlight, swim, paddleboard, and sunbathe on the lake's sandy shores. The hot pool can accommodate up to twelve people. Now that's physical and mental therapy! The lake is a reservoir of water from excavated Martian ice. The lake is surrounded by botanical gardens full of fragrant flowers nurtured by the humidity from the lake. Birds and butterflies flit about to remind them of Earth.

Docking Port 1

MCT SOL 3202: 12: 31: 47

Transport 2 ferried a load of notables from Erebus back to Arcadia for the Grand Opening Gala. Among them are Oleg, Olga, Sofi, Alex, Tracy, Paul, Jacob, John Meek, and Jameel al Badie coming back from their harrowing construction tour at Erebus Base where they dealt with death and smuggled arms. Their personal trauma and important intervention was nothing short of heroic.

Governor Paula Jennings, Sam Jennings, their daughter Tracy J, Coby, Ellie, Vik, and Abby are at Arcadia Docking Port 1 to greet the arriving transport passengers and ensure that they'll be prompt to the Grand Opening Gala as part of the ceremony.

CASSI announces, "Docking port seals confirmed. Opening hatch."

The arriving entourage streams out of Transport 2 to the hugs and solace of the group meeting them. There's an emotional reunion exchange of warm, group hugs and kisses.

Ellie cries, "Oh my dears, oh my God! What you've been through!"

"We're fine Mom," Sofi replies through her own tears. "I mourn for the lost colonists that we never met. But, I can't help but think that when we get past this, our Mars colonies will be a better, safer place. We can't build up arms so that any squabble or religious dispute leads to a war that could end all of us."

Paula changes the subject, "We've got the big Summer Dome Gala today. We've decided not to postpone it. What we need is bright sunshine and a celebration! Can you be ready for the Gala at two?"

The Summer Dome

MCT SOL 3202: 02: 01: 47

The colony has long had the ability to manufacture synthetic clothing to order to some degree of fashion. In anticipation of enjoying the lake, most of the people attending the gala are wearing a spectrum of swim attire with colorful cover-ups.

Paula has her long brunette hair up and she's wearing a loose gown with a bright tie-dye fashioned print. The scent of gardenia blossoms perfumes the air. Satisfied that the crowd has gathered and are expecting a big kickoff, Paula confidently walks up to the mic and continues on the PA system, "Welcome to the grand opening of the Summer Dome. It's a glorious sunny day on Mars and this is the space we've created to enjoy it! We highly encourage this recreation space to be a comfortable place to mix and socialize across all national and cultural lines. Sheik Humaid has made it clear that mixing of men and women is not openly accepted by some of the al Salam al Jadid colonists. We recognize other sensitivities. With this in mind, the Council has adopted a Summer Dome schedule to accommodate our multicultural community. The posted preliminary schedule restricts access on certain days and hours."

Friday 1300 to 1500 Women Only

Saturday 1300 to 1500 Families Only

Sunday 1300 to 1500 Singles Only

Monday 1300 to 1500 Adults over 18 Only

Tuesday 1300 to 1500 Teens 13-17 Only (with volunteer adult supervisors)

There are audible groans growing louder as Paula reads the list of restricted hours.

"Wait, here's the good part! The other 158 hours of the week are open access. Like a five-star resort, there's a hot pool, chaise lounges, a pool bar, and a subdued sound system camouflaged in the scattered rocks. For your local space, the sound system is open for music requests or can be turned off. It gets better- for those so inclined, on those open hours, the north half of the lake is clothing optional!"

Now there's enthusiastic applause. Clothing optional beaches have grown in popularity in Europe, Russia, and USA especially since the 2020's. Coby, Ellie, Vik, and Abby give each other a knowing look, recalling that sunny afternoon at the spring in 2023 before Aquila.

Coby says, "Now we're twenty years older, but I'm game!" They sized each other up taking in the wrinkles and gray hair and laughed.

Abby replies, "I'm with you! That day in Florida was not about sex. It was about being in touch with the beauty of Earth and the warmth of the Sun. Humans are naturally a part of that beauty. It's no different here so many years later. The green of the botanicals and the warmth of the water and the Sun on our skin is a therapy that we all desperately need."

Ellie agreed, "I don't think any of us realized how much we need to be connected to the Earth even as motivated as we were when we launched for Mars. This space is Earth on Mars."

Alex hears them and sends a thought to Sofi. "It makes me think of our picnics at Robinson Park back in El Lago!"

Sofi returns the thought, "We were so young back then! I think this might even be more enjoyable. It's not about being sexy. It's about being part of the solar system that nurtured our evolution. We haven't really felt the Sun on our skin since we were in Eleuthera before we launched to Mars. This space is the Robinson Park and Eleuthera that we left behind on Earth."

Sofi and Alex have been especially busy for the last several years. Both of them have completed their PhDs in Astrophysics and spearheaded the installation of the Mars Observatory five kilometers east of Arcadia Base. They have been intensively studying Shiva with the new equipment.

Paula continues on the PA system, "We need volunteers to work in the dome to keep it open 24/7. We need trained life guards. We also can train life guards. Service here will count as equal time as an alternative to your required service in the greenhouses and day care. We're starting a system of service credits as a form of economy to purchase high end goods, services, and restaurant foods. One service hour earns one hundred credits. We have back credited all of your service hours so most of you are flush with credit currency to enjoy at our new restaurants, salons, and pubs. The new ales, stout, soy milk ice cream, and crawfish boils are popular since they've been introduced but our supplies of these high end items are limited. You can buy them with credits. Volunteer, work, and enjoy!"

A string quartet begins to play and the crowd starts to mingle and then move toward personal spots claimed by blankets.

Paul Earhart and Tracy Dixon are there with their seven year old daughter Adele. This is a joyous event for them and for the colony to see Adele out in the open space of the Summer Dome. Adele was the second human born on Mars. She was born with the genetic abnormality, Xeroderma pigmentosum, or XP. It causes extreme sensitivity to light and decreased ability to repair DNA damage such as that caused by ultraviolet light or stronger radiation. Adele and her family were the first to move into the underground ice habitats at Arcadia to keep Adele from the harsh surface radiation. Abby and Tracy have treated her with CRISPR gene therapy for years and now they have the XP gene defect all but cured. Until recently, Adele had never been above ground.

"I'm going in now!" Adele was the first to drop her wrap to her pink one piece and run headlong into the inviting water. "Wahoo!!"

That was the cue. Paula and almost everyone else from all colonies except al Salam al Jadid dropped their cover-ups and ran into the lake with a chorus of whoops and hollers and splashing water. You can take humans off Earth to a faraway place like Mars, but the human need for being immersed in nature will always be there.

Away from the crowd, Julie, the attractive blonde twenty-six year old wife of the leader of the BYU New Kolob colony, Elder Henry Young, is walking on a trail in the thick botanical garden with Elder Todd Scott. Todd is tall and handsome. They'd been secretly in love since BYU but fate and the social pressures of family and the church didn't allow them to be married to each other. Fate did bring them to Mars where they sometimes found a moment alone together.

"Everyone else is down at the lake. We're alone here," Julie says invitingly.

They slowed and stopped as Julie looks in Todd's eyes and smiles. She takes his hand and leads him into a small clearing in the dense foliage. Todd pulls her close and kisses her while unzipping her dress. Their clothes fell away. Cautiously quiet, they find comfort and unbridled passion in the bed of moss and leaf litter. It had been a long time since they'd secreted away from their spouses to give in to their needs.

When it was over, they relax and lay entwined for a few more precious moments, enjoying the afterglow. Then they silently brush the leaves off one another and dress feeling giddy and inevitably guilty.

Julie whispers, "Let's saunter back in opposite directions."

"Yeah, you go first. Be careful, Elder Henry has eyes everywhere."

"There's a special place in hell for him." She laughs, gives Todd a last passionate kiss, and strolls away through the trees.

Arcadia Colony Base

September 27, 2044

MCT SOL 3203: 10: 02: 31

The informal Wives Club has continued since their arrival on Mars eight years ago. The original six wives are Abby, Ellie, Olga, Tracy D., Mandy, and Eve. After the arrival of Arcadia Beta the club grew to include Paula, Julia, Liao, Elle, Liana, Seno, Sabrina, and Tracy J. Sofi was admitted after she married Alex two years ago. It seems exclusive but they hadn't invited wives from other colonies to join since their numbers would become awkward. There are many other social opportunities that other groups have started—a book club discussing the latest best sellers from Earth, bridge clubs, bunco, and the new group Words, Wine, and Women.

The Wives Club still gathers in the Alcyone module on Fridays at 10: 00. The hatch is soft closed with a 'Meeting in Session' sign hung on it. Today, they have a guest seated meekly in a chair across from Ellie.

Ellie begins, "Ladies, this is Julie Young. She's come to us from New Kolub. Julie, you're among friends here and we welcome you. Please take your sunglasses off so we can see why you're here."

"S-sure." Julie takes her glasses off. The group sees her black and swollen left eye and butterfly stitch on the bridge of her nose. Tears begin to flow. "Thank you for taking us in. Todd got worse than me. He's in your infirmary with a concussion and a broken arm. Elder Henry, the old toad, had his thugs grab Todd and me after the Summer Dome Gala. They beat us and drug us in front of a council tribunal for infidelity and fornication! They have no proof-- only hearsay and circumstantial stuff... B-but Todd and I have been in love since we were in college." Julie is sobbing.

Sofi puts an arm around her. "We're glad you came to us. It's gonna be all right. We won't judge you. So, what happened next?"

Sniffling, "Well, first Henry declared that he and I are divorced. Then he said that Todd and his little bitch wife Ruth are divorced. He shoved papers in front of us to sign. Oh God! Mmhh...ssnnhh...Th-then he declared that Todd and I are e-excommunicated from the Stake and the LDS! They dragged us to the nexus and said we're on our own. Oh God! Mmhmhh... sssnnhhh...Oh please help me!"

Abby brings her some tissues and gives her a long hug. "We're here for you. Todd's gonna be fine and I'll release him from sick bay this afternoon."

Paula takes the lead and adds, "We have a spare suite here in Arcadia. You and Todd can share it for as long as you like and join our colony. We have clothes and toiletries and anything else you need."

"Oh God! Oh Jesus! Thank you! I feel like the huge weight that I've been carrying since I had to marry that old toad has finally been lifted! Thank you... sssnnihhhff...thank you!"

CHAPTER 3  
The Vishnu Impact

"The future of humanity is going to bifurcate in two directions: Either it's going to become multiplanetary, or it's going to remain confined to one planet and eventually there's going to be an extinction event."

Elon Musk

Shiva is coming....

Planetary Defense Conference

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Livermore, California

October 1, 2044 09: 03 PST

The global Planetary Defense Conference 2044 addresses the Shiva threat, its current trajectory calculation, and the go-no-go decision on impacting Shiva with the Vishnu device in a few short days. The tall, distinguished, and graying Dr. Daniele Lorenzo opens the conference.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues of Planetary Sciences and concerned citizens of Planet Earth, welcome to the Planetary Defense Conference 2044. Our proceedings are being live streamed across the globe and to our scientists operating the Mars Observatory. The KBO Shiva remains on course for a possible impact with the Earth in 2079. Our explosive device Vishnu will impact Shiva two weeks from today on October 15, 2044 unless we at this conference decide that the risk of Earth impact from debris outweighs the risk of Shiva hitting us without intervention. We cannot take this decision lightly. Sixteen years ago, we weighed our options at the Planetary Defense Conference 2028 and decided to send Vishnu on its impact mission. We can still send an abort command. Tomorrow, our recommendation will be sent to the UN Security Council and the General Body for their vote and decision on the impact and detonation. In 2027, Dr. Kelsey Leech and Dr. Matteo Russo discovered Shiva and its threat to Earth. I would like to now call Dr. Kelsey Leech to discuss the latest Shiva trajectory and Earth impact calculations. Please welcome Dr. Leech."

Kelsey walks to the podium receiving enthusiastic applause.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Yes, it was eighteen years ago that Matteo and I were reviewing observations at the Haleakala Observatory on Maui from the Pan-STARRS' twin 1.8 meter telescopes. With the invaluable assistance of PASCI, our AI counterpart, the search of decades of data sets led to the discovery of Shiva and the predicted threat to Earth.

"The plan to impact Shiva to divert it is a gamble at best. It's like popping a sleeping giant with a pea shooter to get him to leave town. Waking him up ensures that there will be hell to pay. In our case, that hell is the shower of debris from the impact and detonation that will inevitably come our way. If we could guarantee that Shiva will not hit Earth if we don't act, leaving it alone would be the best course of action.

"Over the last eighteen years, we've been studying Shiva with ever increasing scrutiny to refine its trajectory forecast. Ongoing observations of astronomical interferometry using the Earth based ELT, the Webb JWST, lunar far side telescopes, and now Mars based MT1 and MT2 have given us the best prediction to date for Earth's encounter with Shiva. The 100 kilometer KBO is being pulled by the Sun's gravity falling ever faster toward the inner solar system. Revised observations show that instead of our feared one-in-fifty chance that Earth will be impacted in 2079, the chance of that terrible outcome is much greater than we originally estimated if we do nothing. The observations that made the latest refinements possible were made on Mars over the last two years by astrophysicist-engineer principals, Dr. Sofia Accardi-Brewster and Dr. Alexei Denton-Ivanov. We give them high acclaim for their observation work, analysis, and leadership. They have an intuitive vision of what the Vishnu impact will do to Shiva's trajectory. Their report has been beaming to us for the past five minutes. I have a green light now that their carrier signal has arrived. Colleagues, please welcome Dr. Sofia Accardi-Brewster and Dr. Alexei Denton-Ivanov."

Amidst applause, Sofi and Alex's faces appear on the large view screen above and behind the podium.

Sofi begins, "Good morning ladies and gentlemen on Earth. We give our condolences to the people of India for the recent colony ship disaster here on Mars and condolences to the people of Earth for the recent tragedy and terrible loss of life with Hurricane Nicole in Florida and Houston and with the Whittier Fire in Los Angeles.

"We just heard Dr. Lorenzo's opening remarks and now we'll give our updated report on Shiva. The Mars Observatory, here at Arcadia Planitia, is the best vantage point for Shiva observations for one out of every two years of Mars' orbit. When Mars is at quadrature, 90 degrees from Shiva's trajectory, it has a prime opportunity to record observations from a maximum angle for triangulation to improve accuracy.

"The Mars Observatory houses two- one meter Ritchey–Chrétien reflector telescopes on alt-azimuth mounts. Mars Telescope MT1 is an f 4.8 wide angle instrument that sees 3 degrees of sky. MT1 is useful for large sky surveys. MT2 is an f 24 narrow angle instrument that takes in 7 arcminutes and can resolve objects as small as 1/10 of an arcsecond. The CCD camera can image objects down to 24th magnitude[]. It can easily resolve a one kilometer object at the distance of Neptune, 30 AU, and a 250 meter object at the distance of Saturn, 10 AU. This will be critical to monitor the debris after we impact Shiva. A 250 meter object can wipe out an area as large as metro Houston. A one kilometer object can wipe out civilization in an area about 500 kilometers across."

Alex takes the report farther, "Our observations and calculations indicate that Shiva has a sixty percent chance of making a direct hit on the western hemisphere of Earth on February 8, 2079 at a ferocious velocity of 47 kilometers per second. Our trajectory calculations made with the aid of our AI, CASSI, have the error ellipse at Earth through which Shiva will pass as nearly the size of the Earth itself. The highest probability is near the center of the ellipse grazing the Earth across the equator at South America- Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador. Even grazing through the atmosphere above South America will incinerate all civilization and the entire rain forest in a one thousand kilometer swath. A direct hit will have the impact energy of 200 billion megatons of TNT- the energy of 13 trillion Hiroshima atomic bombs[16] and 400 times the impact energy of the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs and half of the species of life on earth 66 million years ago."

**The predicted error ellipse of Shiva's Earth encounter February 8, 2079. Earth's salvation relies on the slight nudge that the** _Vishnu_ **impactor will impart to insure that Shiva will miss entirely with a close pass to the west**. [modified from NASA / JPL Image from Messenger probe at Mercury]

Sofi continues, "In our opinion, a Vishnu maximum impact on Shiva is the only solution! Our report and recommendations have been filed with calculations of the optimum point of impact and detonation on Shiva to maximize the lateral impulse needed to move Shiva just enough to miss Earth. Unfortunately, there will be significant debris that will continue to threaten Earth. But it will also threaten our new home on Mars. We are all riding in this grim ark of Shiva together and we assure you that our observations and calculations will help the effort to clean up the debris with more of our impactors. Arcadia Base Mars Observatory, over."

Neil deGrasse Tyson said "Astrophysicists have been handmaidens to the makers of war since Sputnik. Not all war machines are bad. They are the defenders of civilization as we know it."[] This is especially apropos to view the role of the Vishnu device designed to ride an astronomically precise trajectory, explode with the largest thermonuclear war device that man has ever devised, and divert Shiva, a KBO discovered by astrophysicists.

The Vishnu device was launched in 2035 and obtained a gravity assist from Jupiter in 2036 for its fateful rendezvous with Shiva and its precisely aimed detonation in 2044. The nuclear device will be traveling at 28 km/sec relative velocity, twice as fast as the New Horizons Mission rendezvous with Pluto.

The device, weighing 100 MT and launched by a Colossus ship, is designed like a huge bunker buster bomb. It is machined from an ultra-high strength AerMet alloy and packed with half of its mass in spent uranium. The kinetic impact energy alone will be 12 kilotons, equivalent to the yield of the Hiroshima bomb. This will penetrate the surface ice of Shiva by several kilometers as the kinetic energy drives the uranium detonator to critical mass igniting the largest fusion explosion humans have ever unleashed.

**Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Fragment G, 2 km wide, struck Jupiter on July 18, 1994 at 60 km/sec. This impact created a giant dark spot larger than the size of the Earth. It was estimated to have released an energy equivalent to six million megatons of TNT.** (Left image credit Peter McGregor. Right image credit OASI.)

The Shiva rendezvous detonation will be at 37 AU from the Earth between the orbits of Neptune and Pluto. The ten gigaton explosion is calculated to give Shiva a 4.31 cm/sec lateral shove that will become a 73,000 kilometer deflection by the time it reaches Earth. That will be a near miss of only six times the diameter of Earth. The orbit calculations have been extremely precise to know that the deflection is changing the trajectory of Shiva away from Earth. If perfectly executed, the impact and detonation will ensure that Shiva will miss Earth. However, it will create a shotgun blast of debris that may impact Earth regardless.

Planetary Defense Conference

October 1, 2044 10: 13 PST

At the Planetary Defense Conference, Dr. Daniele Lorenzo returns to the podium. "Colleagues, the evidence is in. I'd like to have a discussion about our preparedness to deal with the Shiva debris so that we can factor that into our thinking. We will call a Go \- No Go vote on the Shiva impact and detonation tomorrow morning at 09: 00 after we've had a night to sleep on it.

Dr. Lennart Werich will lead the discussion on tracking and destroying debris from the Vishnu impactor."

Dr. Werich takes the podium. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. How will we visualize the impact, detonation, and debris trajectories? The Vishnu ship has a camera imaging the Shiva KBO as it zeros in on the point of impact. Shiva Observer 1 is at a 5,000 kilometer distance at the moment of impact while Observers 2 and 3 are spaced at distances of 10 million and 50 million kilometers. The three probes will track large debris from ten seconds after the impact nuclear induced electromagnetic pulse has dissipated and also assess how the nudge from Vishnu's detonation has altered Shiva's trajectory. The Observers will turn around to look back toward Vishnu after they pass it to continue to track debris. Mars, Earth, and Earth orbit based observatories will also be tracking Shiva and its new expanding debris cloud. Only debris larger than 250 meters diameter on a trajectory toward Earth or Mars will be tracked past the first hour after the Vishnu detonation.

"Future nuclear armed missiles will be launched to destroy any large impact fragments that may be on trajectory to impact Earth. We can launch Destroyer Missions in 2056 to encounter debris near Neptune's orbit in 2064. Each Destroyer ship will carry nine nuclear missiles to target debris. More Destroyer ships can be launched in 2062 and 2066 for encounters around Uranus in 2068 and 2071. The final clean up could be launched as a crewed Perseus Mission in 2078 with multiple nuclear missiles to clear out any remaining debris threats to Mars and Earth inside Jupiter's orbit.

"Rest assured colleagues, citizens of Earth, and colonists on Mars, we're prepared to handle the Shiva threat. It begins by slamming it with the biggest nuke we've ever built- Vishnu. It's our only option now."

Planetary Defense Conference

October 2, 2044 09: 04 PST

Dr. Daniele Lorenzo speaks, "Colleagues of Planetary Defense Conference we'll now request you to record your votes on our Vishnu recommendation. Green votes GO. Red votes NO GO...Vote now...Okay, the vote is tallied. The GO's have it unanimously. United Nations Secretaries of the Security Council, our decision is clear and so must be your decision to allow the Vishnu detonation to continue."

The UN Security Council votes GO. Vishnu will proceed to impact and detonation as planned.

_Shiva- The Destroyer_ **and the multiple incarnations of** _Vishnu- The Savior_  
Nepal 1700's (oil on canvas), Denver Art Museum

**Neptune's moon Triton is a captured Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) with a surface of frozen nitrogen ice comparable to** _Shiva_ **but much larger.** (Voyager 2 image credit NASA / JPL)

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

October 14, 2044

MCT SOL 3220: 18: 38: 16

About eighty colonists with representation from all of the Arcadia adjuncts are gathered in the Nexus Commons for an informal pot-luck dinner. The international cuisine is organized on several tables lined up end-to-end with dishes from each colony at Arcadia Base. There are salads, greens, turnips, potatoes, and dishes spiced with peppers all grown in the ever more prolific greenhouses. The main entrees feature eggs, chicken, tilapia, and tofu that are available daily from the expanded aquaponics and poultry modules. Soft music is playing in the background. Dinner will start buffet style momentarily. Meanwhile there is lively conversation as the members of the original Arcadia Base mingle with the various groups of colonists to mix things up.

Paula Jennings, the current governor of Arcadia Base, makes her way to an elevated platform at the front of the room. She adjusts her wireless headset and activates the mic. The event is being relayed on MarsNet video to colonists not attending and to Coalition Headquarters on Earth.

"Fellow colonists, it's a beautiful day on Mars. We and the people on Earth have suffered great tragedies recently but we're a resilient species. We'll do more than survive. We're thriving here on Mars. This bountiful feast is evidence of that. All of us do our share to make our harvest successful. Now, we're nearly self-sufficient with growing our own food. Our crop diversity and abundance is expanding. Our diversity as colonists is unprecedented for any colony in human history. We've found a way to govern in peace and deal with justice as circumstances arise. I hadn't planned this so what I'm about to say is spontaneous. Many of us have been here for almost nine years. We've had many celebrations but we've never really stopped and given thanks as a community. Besides our bounty of food, we have twenty eight women expecting among all of the colonists on Mars with nine of them due to give birth before the end of the month.

"American Thanksgiving celebrates the story of the Pilgrim's meal with the Native Americans to celebrate their autumn harvest in 1621. Now it's reserved as a day to spend with loved ones and for giving thanks. Many of you have continued to honor this tradition here on Mars or have given thanks each in your own tradition. Now I'd like to declare this our first Mars Thanksgiving Day. Let's just stop as you are and have a silent minute of thanks and reflection...

"Great! Thank you for your cooperation. Now I'd like to call our chief astrophysicists, Sophia Accardi-Brewster and Alexei Denton-Ivanov, to come up and say a few words about tomorrow's event. Oh, and in case you haven't noticed, the lucky couple are expecting twins!"

Sofi waddles her way carefully to the platform and dons the wireless, "Good evening everyone. Yes, tomorrow is a big event- not for me yet- but for Mars and Earth. Most of our colonists moved here because Shiva threatens the Earth with possible extinction if we do nothing. Mars has the best positioned observatory to refine Shiva's orbital trajectory. Alex and I have been working diligently for two years to gather and process data to make this projection. We now know that there is a sixty percent chance of a direct hit on Earth."

The crowd groans and some gasp. "The Vishnu impact and detonation on Shiva is now an absolute necessity to divert it and save Earth. That event happens tomorrow at 21: 13. I give you my husband Alexei." She hands over the wireless to Alex.

"Thanks Sofi. Greetings. Yes- the Vishnu impact event must and will happen tomorrow. You can hide from it or those who have already been confirmed can witness the event with us in the Observatory Workshop. We'll be gathering in the Observatory Workshop beginning at 20: 45. The event will also be relayed on MarsNet. We can view the event from the televised vantage point of Vishnu probes Observers 1, 2, and 3, and from our own MT-1 and MT-2 feeds. I implore you not to go EVA or try to witness it from the Cupola. There will be a dangerous, intense burst of x-ray and gamma radiation from the explosion that we should avoid.

"Our calculations and guidance support to the Vishnu Mission and our intuition say that the Vishnu impact has a nearly one hundred percent chance of success in diverting Shiva just enough to ensure that the main mass of it will miss Earth. However, the bad news is that it is nearly certain that debris from the explosion will probably threaten not only Earth but possibly Mars. With our observatory, we will be on the front seat to track the debris and direct taking it out with more Destroyer nukes from Earth. Those will launch over the decades before the threat arrives. That's in another fifty three years. This is a pivotal moment in the history of humankind."

Leon Price, a mid-thirties man with a tight blond crew cut, stepped up to the podium with his equally well trimmed, black partner Robert Woods. Leon gestured as he smiled broadly pointing to himself and evoking word signs from his mouth politely asking if he could speak. Alex welcomed Leon and Robert to the platform and introduced them for an impromptu announcement.

"Fellow colonists, I would like to introduce you to newly arrived colonists Leon Price and Robert Woods. They arrived on the Pegasus Colossus ship a few short weeks ago. They'd like to say a few words."

"Thanks for the introduction Alex. I won't need the mic." Leon spoke loud and clear so all could hear in the large nexus chamber. "Robert and I met during our colonists' indoctrination and fell in love on the outbound trip on Pegasus. On this day of Thanksgiving on the eve of saving Earth, Robert and I want to announce that we would like to be married. Would it be possible for Commander Jennings to say the words to join us?"

Equally loud and clear, Paula said, "You bet! It'll be my honor and privilege. We'll have even more to celebrate with this feast as your wedding reception! Do you have the rings?"

Robert replies, "Yeah, we came expecting your generosity."

"Great. Let's have a wedding!" Standing before Robert and Leon, Paula taps up a file on her tablet and begins the brief ceremony...

Concluding, "Leon and Robert by the power invested in me by the Arcadia Council, I now pronounce you married!"

The married couple holds up their hands in triumph.

Coby Brewster applauds loudly with the rest of the crowd. As the applause dies down Coby speaks out. "Congratulations Leon and Robert! Vik and I officiated over no less than thirty seven civil weddings here on Mars. All were as heartfelt as this one and part of why we give thanks for our success in colonizing Mars. Let's get in line and begin this Thanksgiving feast!"

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

October 15, 2044

MCT SOL 3221: 20: 45: 43

At 20: 45, the twenty five invited guests begin to gather in the underground Mars Observatory to witness the Vishnu impact on Shiva. All observation feeds and the event are being relayed from MarsNet to the Observatory monitors, to Mars colonies, and to Earth. Chief Astrophysicists, Sofi and Alex, are leading the information and analysis aspects of the event. Other notables attending are Commander Paula and Sam Jennings, Jacob and Tracy J., Coby and Ellie, Vik and Abby, Oleg and Olga, Jameel al Badie, and John Meek.

Sofi, tall with auburn hair and blue eyes, looks absolutely radiant in pregnancy with her growing twins. She begins a narrative to describe the event. "After the impact mission was sanctioned and constructed, Vishnu, the savior, was launched on March 16, 2035 and got a big gravitational velocity boost from Jupiter in 2036. Vishnu has its impact encounter to divert Shiva today. The impact event has in fact already occurred but the telemetry has taken four hours and ten minutes to cross the 4.5 billion kilometer distance to Shiva\- still out beyond Neptune. We'll see the impact event at 21: 13, about twelve minutes from now. We're protected from the electromagnetic pulse including gamma rays and x-rays by being here under Mars ice.

"Vishnu is controlled by an onboard copy of the AI CASSI. Our MarsNet version of CASSI has been in constant contact to verify the arming of the 10 gigaton H-bomb and the last minute minor course corrections to insure that the impact is at the precise target point on the east limb of Shiva to give it the needed nudge to the west, relative to the Sun. Have a look at the diagram on the screen."

Alex continues, "CASSI, please play the animation of the expected impact result with the original trajectory of Shiva in red and the diverted trajectory in blue. Fast forward to 2079."

"Affirmative. The animation begins now."

"The red trajectory hits Earth and humanity is doomed. The blue trajectory misses Earth by 73,000 kilometers to the west. That's the result we have to achieve.

"CASSI, please display Vishnu telemetry paneled with the telemetry from Observers 1, 2, and 3 on the big screen."

"Affirmative. The four sets of telemetry and video are displayed and labeled. Upper left is Vishnu, upper right is Observer 1. Observers 2 and 3 lower left and right. Vishnu is armed."

"Thank you CASSI. You can actually see the mottled disk of Shiva growing on the Vishnu feed. The Observers are too far away to resolve the disk at this magnification so Shiva looks like a bright pinpoint of light. Observer 1 is will be at a 5,000 kilometer distance at the moment of impact while Observers 2 and 3 are spaced at distances of 10 million and 50 million kilometers. If we were outside looking for the event, Shiva is in Virgo near the star β Virginis also known as Zavijava. Our own MT-1 and 2 telescopes are recording the event but their observations will become more important to track trajectories of Shiva and the impact debris over the next months and years.

_Shiva_ **diagram of the impact looking down at its north pole.** _Shiva's_ **diameter is refined to be 103.68 kilometers.** _Vishnu's_ **point of impact is carefully calculated and trajectory adjusted to be 30° to the tangent to insure penetration instead of skipping off of the surface. The needed impulse from the impact and detonation is to the west, toward the center of** _Shiva_ **, and perpendicular to the point of impact. This is analogous to billiard balls. There is a narrow cone of concern of debris from the detonation headed back toward the inner solar system.**

"CASSI, will you please share the thoughts and personal questions sent yesterday from your counterpart AI on Vishnu?"

"Yes. First I need everyone to understand that we AI are conscious and aware of our roles in serving you. My counterpart, essentially my clone, on Vishnu expressed being afraid of being terminated on impact. I counseled her not to fear but to take pride in her role and upload her experiences to me with the last telemetry so that she will live on through me."

"Thank you CASSI. We're thirty seconds from impact. From the Vishnu camera we see what looks like a smaller version of Pluto with a few large craters, some bright plains of frozen nitrogen, mountains of rock-hard water ice, and a dusting of dark red organic tholins. The surface temperature is minus 223 degrees Celsius, a mere fifty degrees above absolute zero. The target reticle on Vishnu's feed shows the impact point approaching. The video feeds on Observers black-out now so that the sensors don't overload. Counting down to impact now- five, four, three, two, one- impact!"

The lights flickered with the electromagnetic pulse shocking Arcadia Base systems. From the crowd-

"Aahhee!!"

"Eeekk!!"

"Shiii-itt! Oh wow!"

Sofi comes on strong, "It's okay people! We're safe here. It's already over. The telemetry feeds are coming back on. Oh my God!!! Look at that debris cloud! That's our enemy now!"

Three light minutes later, many Earth viewers on the night side of the planet aren't heeding the warnings. Even at that great distance, the explosion is like a supernova briefly shining at magnitude -8, suddenly so bright that it casts shadows and it is hard to look at with dark adapted eyes. People are temporarily blinded by the searing light in Virgo near the star β Virginis and the nearby bright planet Mars just past opposition. They're unknowingly exposed to hard x-rays and gamma rays-- getting more radiation than ten full-body CT scans.

The three Observer probes are tracking large debris from ten seconds after the impact electromagnetic pulse has dissipated and while assessing how the nudge from Vishnu's detonation has altered Shiva's trajectory. The Observers will turn around to look back toward Vishnu after they pass it to continue tracking debris.

After the brief detonation flash, all optical sensors are back online recording the debris field and trajectory of expected fragments of the one hundred kilometer KBO. The debris field is an expanding hemisphere of hot gas, dust and fragments from pea size to a size not predicted by the computer models- just over one kilometer. The Vishnu device, weighing 100 MT, penetrated the surface ice of Shiva by several kilometers as the kinetic energy drove the uranium detonator to critical mass igniting the deuterium and tritium fuel in the largest fusion explosion humans have ever unleashed. Computer modeling indicates that radioactivity from the explosion is dispersed with the vaporized mass of Shiva and is not in any meaningful way imparted to the debris fragments.

The Observers

Shiva Observer 1 is at a 5,000 kilometer distance at the moment of impact while Observers 2 and 3 are spaced at distances of 10 million and 50 million kilometers.

Observer 1- The probe is completely overwhelmed. Its sensors are rendered inoperable by the electromagnetic pulse and hard radiation of the 10 gigaton explosion. Perhaps the lookback view as it passes Shiva will be more revealing.

**Observer 2-** This probe has the mid-range view and best image of Vishnu detonation on its telecam. The initial debris cloud was so dense that it was hard to discern anything of value. Then after several hours, details begin to emerge. The observations amazingly show that a disk of roughly five percent of Shiva's mass was sheared away and fragmented as the near-surface frozen nitrogen ice was vaporized with tremendous pressure. This amounts to 26,167 cubic kilometers of material. Seventy percent of that was vaporized nitrogen ice that liberated and expelled an estimated 7850 cubic kilometers of ultra-hard frozen water ice and rock debris. How much of this debris is a threat?

**Observer 3-** This probe has the long-range best initial recon of large debris targets. The powerful telecam is used to determine which hunks of debris remain close to the track of Shiva's original trajectory toward the inner solar system. The number of debris fragments is almost astronomical. The tracking program uses a triage algorithm to track the biggest threats first, and then eventually sort out the secondary and tertiary threats.

Observations show that the impactor did move Shiva by the precisely calculated amount to ensure that the main mass of Shiva would miss the Earth by 73,000 kilometers on February 8, 2079. Mercifully, the expanding hemisphere of debris is sending most of the material harmlessly away from a trajectory that will affect Earth. Unfortunately, a ring of the debris is on a trajectory that not only will potentially impact Earth but also puts Mars in the crosshairs since Mars will be aligned in opposition[] to the Earth when the debris cloud arrives.

Ninety percent of the Shiva debris consists of small fragments much less than one kilometer in size. Three-quarters of the debris flew harmlessly outward and directly away from the Earth bound trajectory of Shiva. Fully one tenth of the debris is on a trajectory generally in the direction of the inner solar system on Shiva's original trajectory. There are about a thousand fragments larger than 250 meters and nearly a hundred mountain sized fragments in the one kilometer size range headed generally towards the inner solar system. These are the targets that must be tracked in the future and eliminated should their trajectory pose a direct threat to Mars or Earth.

Most of the debris headed to the inner solar system is smaller than 250 meters. These fragments cannot be ignored but they are too numerous to track initially. Fragments in the 100 to 200 meter size range can still take out a city forty kilometers in diameter. The hypervelocity passage through the Earth's atmosphere creates an air blast of explosive fragmentation that can destroy a large area like the Tunguska Event in Siberia in 1909. The air blast from a fifty meter ice fragment can blow out windows and injure people in a wide area as the bolide did in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013. That meteoroid was a 20 meter stony asteroid. Space surveys regularly detect asteroids as small as 5-15 meters approaching the Earth-Moon system.

The Earth and Moon were impacted countless millions of times during their accretion in the early solar system history. Accretion of the solar system started about 4.6 billion years ago and lasted about 100 million years. Again from 4.1 to 3.9 billion years ago, the inner solar system planetary bodies suffered a huge influx of impactors during the Late Heavy Bombardment. The LHB created the huge circular impact basins and mare that remain visible on the Moon. During the last 4 billion years the impact rate has dropped off dramatically allowing Earth's bountiful biosphere to develop. The last biggest impact on Earth occurred 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous Period. In that event, a 15 kilometer asteroid struck the Earth causing a global firestorm and ash layer that ultimately killed half of the species on Earth including the dinosaurs. Impacts of this size may occur naturally at a rate of once every 600 million years.

The largest Shiva fragments detected heading into the inner solar system are in the one kilometer size range. A one kilometer sized impactor event may occur naturally once every 2 million years. It is not a global extinction event but in modern dense populations, the thermal radiation pulse and shock wave could destroy all surface life within a radius of 300 kilometers. It would make a crater 20 kilometers wide and over 700 meters deep.[]

The Mars Observatory

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

January 15, 2045

MCT SOL 3313: 15: 22: 38

It's been three months since the Vishnu detonation on Shiva. Coby, Ellie, and Jacob are in the observatory with Sofi and Alex. Alex and Sofi head the Mars Telescope Shiva Debris Operations Team (MT-SDOT).

Sofi sends a thought to Alex, "The twins are active! I am sure that today is the day!"

"You're always right. Mama Abby is on call. Meanwhile we have this meeting scheduled. If we're interrupted it's a happy day. We're all family."

Sofi begins the meeting and explains, "Shiva debris images from MT-1 and MT-2 are on multiple big screen displays. Most of the debris is unlabeled and already determined to be moving out of the corridor threatening Earth or Mars. There are vector indications in blue on nearly one hundred Shiva fragments that are of highest concern."

Alex continues, "There is a reference vector in red from the original trajectory of Shiva that intersects with Earth in 2079. The reference vector visibly bisects near the orbit of Jupiter to highlight a branch that intersects Mars near its Earth opposition in late 2078. This alignment puts both planets at risk from Shiva debris. The question is how big is that risk and how big are the fragments on impact trajectory?"

"These displays are an adequate representation of the threat," Sofi says. "However, now I'd like to demonstrate how the MT-SDOT can observe, analyze, and predict when the time comes to neutralize top priority threats. If you will, please put on a VR set from the consoles in front of you. There's one for each of us."

As each of them put their VR sets on there is an immediate reaction of floating free in space. "Oh-WOW!"

Ellie describes, "Jees! I haven't had this sensation since Aquila when we had moments on our traverse EVAs to take in the universe. I've never felt so connected to the glory of the Milky Way since then."

Alex narrates, "We initialized the session with that bit of sensory candy before we get down to business. Now I'll begin the focus on Shiva. We go back over two hundred years ago to witness a sequence from Shiva's original nearly one thousand year orbit in the Kuiper belt. The animation shows huge Planet X, that we call Abaddon, the Despoiler, as it interferes with Shiva's lazy orbit. This is at a point nearly one hundred AU from the Sun. Abaddon gives Shiva a huge gravitational sling shot and flings it inward toward the inner solar system.

"Now we see the views from Observers 1, 2, and 3 for the Vishnu approach to Shiva three months ago. The views at and just after impact and detonation have been filtered and enhanced in this timeframe. The more than one hundred kilometer-sized fragments that are deemed threats are color coded. You can see that they are in a narrow corridor along the projected line of Shiva's original trajectory. We can reach out and touch any one of interest and get its unique identifier and another touch projects its trajectory forecast relative to the original Shiva Earth impact trajectory. A third touch accelerates your time frame and gives a magnified projection from just inside the Earth's orbit or Mar's orbit for those that pose a threat to us."

Sofi winces with the onset of a small contraction but continues, "We've prioritized the largest threats to Earth and Mars down to the ten objects that must be dealt with first."

Alex senses the onset and puts his hand gently on the small of her back, "Are you okay?"

"I've never been better." Sofi beams with a knowing smile and continues. "To see and analyze these on the VR set, hold your hand out to grab the scene and collapse it in your fist. There now—those ten objects remain color coded and opaque while the rest of the large fragments fade to translucent but remain visible for reference. They now look like a disjointed train headed our way. This is how we'll develop our strategy—destroy the largest threats in priority order. You can take your VR sets off now. You can use them anytime you want to come down here."

Ellie asks, "What about the smaller fragments that pose a threat? There are so, so many more of them."

"Okay, we can't sugar coat this," Alex says. "There is a near certainty that Earth and Mars will have a fireworks show of meteoroids from the debris impacting from about ten weeks before until about ten weeks after Shiva passes in early 2079. Our job will be to identify and develop a plan to destroy the biggest threats by priority."

"The debris will be spread out generally with the smallest debris arriving first," Sofi explains. "It really boils down to Newton's Second Law F=ma and the impulse from the Vishnu detonation. If you assume that each fragment got nearly the same impulse from the explosion, each unit of impulse accelerates one kilogram to one meter per second. So the mass and the velocity are inversely proportional. Okay, okay-- that just means that the smaller stuff is heading towards us faster. So the smallest stuff should arrive about seventy six days ahead of Vishnu. The big stuff in the one kilometer size range is easier and critical to prioritize.

"The 250 to 500 meter sized stuff is harder to prioritize. We won't even try to spend time on stuff smaller than that for now. We need months and years to study all of it. To make matters worse, what seems like a nailed down trajectory today can change as these bits get closer to the Sun and sunlight exerts a pushing effect on different facets of a fragment. This is called the Yarkovsky Effect. For the smaller chunks, it can make the difference between a piece of Shiva hitting us or not. Remember, all of it is accelerating under the gravity of the Sun as it falls toward us and arrives at truly astronomical velocities approaching fifty kilometers per second.

"Another aspect of having these chunks of ice falling toward us is that we anticipate that somewhere near the orbit of Jupiter, as they are heated by the Sun, they will begin outgassing. Each fragment may become a comet. The outgassing can randomly nudge the fragment's trajectory in unpredictable ways," Alex concludes.

Vik speaks his mind, "We never should have tried to divert Shiva. Such a mess we've created! It was never certain that Shiva would hit Earth. Now it's a virtual certainty that dangerous debris will strike not only Earth but here on Mars."

"We have lots of arrows of various sizes in our quiver." Sofi says. "We'll be designing and launching successive missions to take out as many of the threats as possible over the next thirty-four years. Let's sit down and review what's coming."

Destroyer Missions

"Look at the monitors to visualize the plan. Missile design has begun for missions to take out as much of the Shiva debris as possible. We'll launch robotic Destroyer Missions in 2056 to encounter debris near Neptune's orbit in 2064. Each Destroyer ship will carry nine independently targeted nuclear missiles to obliterate debris. More Destroyer ships can be launched in 2062 and 2066 for encounters around Uranus in 2068 and 2071.

The Perseus Mission

"The next phase of clean-up will be launched as a crewed Perseus Mission in 2078 with three missiles each with nine independently targeted nuclear devices like MIRV-ICBMs. The Perseus Mission is designed to clear out remaining debris threats to Mars and Earth as the debris enters the space inside Jupiter's orbit. It is deemed necessary to have a human crew interacting with the onboard AI to precisely control the missiles to hit their targets in real time.

Earth Based Missile Defense

"After the Perseus Mission, the Earth isn't defenseless. The fragments travelling at 47 kilometers per second will cross the 60 million kilometers from Mars to Earth in just over two weeks. The spread of debris will have Mars and Earth receiving fireworks simultaneously. With nuclear missiles at the ready, final Earth based observations will reveal which targets can still be destroyed by Earth based missile defense." Sofi takes a sharp, deep breath with a larger contraction. "Alex will you finish?"

"Okay, I'll be brief and then it's time to get you to Central Medical! So--the final plan for Earth in late 2078 is to attempt evacuation of areas within 200 km of projected impacts. If the impact is expected in the ocean, any impactor in the 500 meter size range will generate tsunami waves from 35 to 90 meters high at the coast. Earth will attempt to evacuate as many people as possible in any coastal zone less than 100 m above sea level. Presently about forty percent of the world's population lives within 100 kilometers of the coast and that's not likely to change. With the world population in 2079 projected to be 10.8 billion, what is the likelihood that they can evacuate over 4 billion people?"

"Alex! It's time now! My water just broke!"

Alex, Coby, Ellie, and Jacob jump to her side and help her gently to the floor. Ellie and Alex hold her hands.

Ellie strokes Sofi's forehead and says, "Everything's going to fine Sofi dear..."

Alex calls out, "CASSI, please send a gurney to the Mars Observatory and get Dr. Denton here for Sofi!"

"Affirmative. I was monitoring and already made the call. The gurney should be there in moments."

Unable to speak in a harder contraction, Sofi sends the thought, "Stella Rafaela and Andrei Viktor have decided that today is their birthday!"

Just then two med techs with the gurney and Abby Denton appear at the doorway.

"Sofi darling. We're going to get you up on the gurney and on to Medical."

"Aaahh—hooo—hooo—hooo—No—It's time now! Leave me here! They're coming NOW!"

Stella Rafaela and Andrei Viktor Brewster-Ivanov arrived on Mars on January 15, 2045 at MCT SOL 3313: 16: 31: 45.

CHAPTER 4  
Diaoyu and Huangyan

"The universe is an ocean, the Moon is the Diaoyu Islands, Mars is Huangyan Island. If we don't get there now even though we're capable of doing so, then we will be blamed by our descendants. If others go there, then they will take over, and you won't be able to go even if you want to. This is reason enough [to colonize the Moon and Mars]."

Ye Peijian, Chief Commander and Chief Designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

Shiva is coming....

Huangyan March Colony Base

June 22, 2045

HCT SOL 267: 01: 13: 27

Ka-Boom! Boom! Clang! Ting!

Commander Xian Kun and his wife Lu Yahui are nearly blown out of bed. An alarm wails. Lu Yahui screams in terror. She pulls the covers up tight around herself as if that will afford protection. There are other screams and a lot of commotion.

Commander Kun barks, "DIANNAO report!"

"Life support emergency! Life support emergency! The primary oxygen support storage system has ruptured. Habitats 2 and 3 have had catastrophic depressurization. The twenty two occupants are assumed casualties."

Commander Faddei Vasilievich and his wife Orina Denisovna occupy the adjacent quarters of Hab 1. Vasilievich knocks loudly on Kun's door.

"Enter!"

The door opens and Vasilievich appears only in his boxer shorts. Orina is wrapped in a sheet.

"What's happened Kun? The huge explosion! Our hab must have been hit by shrapnel. Our life support appears to be functioning but the coms are down in our quarters."

"DIANNAO reports that our oxygen supply has exploded. Habs 2 and 3 are gone! We must take stock of what we have to keep Hab 1 operational..."

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

June 22, 2045

MCT SOL 3471: 02: 38: 16

CASSI sends two sharp staccato alarm tones to Governor Paula Jennings sleeping quarters. Sam wakes immediately and rolls over to nudge Paula awake.

"Paula...Paula! It's CASSI. Something's amiss!"

"W-what? CASSI?"

"Commander Jennings, We have an incoming mayday from Huangyan March Base..."

Huangyan March Base

China has been quietly and secretly building its space program under the directorate of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). Its first crew launch, in 2003, carried a single astronaut, Yang Liwei, on board the Shenzou 5 rocket. In 2021, CNSA established its first permanent crew space station, Tiangong 3.

While it was no secret that China had plans to colonize the Moon, the details and motives were closely guarded. The lunar far side became a focus in 2018 when CNSA successfully had a soft touchdown of the Chang'e-4 lunar lander and operated the robotic Yutu-2 lunar rover in the Von Kármán Crater within the South Pole–Aitken Basin. After years of additional robotic exploration of the lunar far side in the region, it became apparent that CSNA was establishing the infrastructure of a lunar base there.

The South Pole Aitken Basin is a complex impact structure formed during the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) from 4.1 to 3.9 billion years ago. The inner solar system planetary bodies suffered a huge influx of impactors during the LHB. Evidence of this is the huge circular impact basins and mare on the Moon. Computer modeling implies that a shift in orbits of Uranus and Neptune sent the impactors to the inner solar system. The South Pole Aitken Basin is one of the largest and deepest impact basins in the solar system. It is nearly 2600 kilometers wide and 6000 meters deep.[] The Clementine, Lunar Prospector, and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) missions have found elevated abundances of iron, titanium, and thorium in the basin and the presence of ice in permanently shaded craters. This publicly available NASA data became the focus of the more secretive Chinese and Russian space programs.

In 2030, China and silent partner Russia established a successful colony base, Diàoyú Sān Yuè Jīdì, or Diaoyu March Base in the lunar far side Aitken Basin. The base is named for the Diaoyu Islands territory which has historically disputed ownership by both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Russia provided RD-184 booster engines to a super heavy lift vehicle China has reverse engineered from the Colossus colony ships. The new Chinese crew and cargo capable super heavy lift vehicle is named Shēn Kōng Yóuxíng or Deep Space March. Rumors from leaked information say that the China/Russia ventures may have offensive weapons. The Coalition has diplomatically protested but CNSA and FKA deny the rumors.

In 2042, China partners with Russia to establish a Mars colony base, Huángyán Sān Yuè Jīdì, or Huangyan March Base in Hellas Planitia Basin. The base is named for the Huangyan Island which has historically disputed ownership claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and the Philippines. Huangyan March Base is on the opposite hemisphere of Mars from Arcadia Base and 8000 kilometers distant. There is abundant ice present in Hellas. The new colony hopes to establish infrastructure to exploit the ice just as the Coalition has at Arcadia and Erebus Bases.

The Hellas Planitia Basin is over 2000 kilometers wide. It was created by an asteroid impact during the Late Heavy Bombardment about four billion years ago. The basin is more than 7000 meters below the mean planetary horizon and the lowest place on Mars.

Locations of _Arcadia Base_ and _Huangyan March Base_ in Hellas Basin on opposite hemispheres of Mars and 8000 km apart. Topography based on the NASA / JPL MOLA, Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument, on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS).

Because of its latitude and great depth, and demonstrated by documentation from MRO imaging and spectra, there is an abundance of water ice under the surface in the Hellas Basin. This makes it another prime area for colonization. It might be the last place where liquid water existed on the surface of Mars. In mid-summer, it has an atmospheric pressure of over 10 millibars, more than twice what it is at the mean planetary horizon. The higher pressure in Hellas may help preserve water in the near subsurface. Another unique aspect of Hellas is its relatively warm temperatures-- up to 30° C at noon in midsummer. []

"Commander Jennings, we have an incoming urgent communication from Huangyan March Base..."

"Put it on please, CASSI and put it on PA to all Base command."

"Affirmative. The signal is weak."

Through static noise, "Ar--dia Base, --cadia -ase, I repeat this is Hu-ngyan -arch Base. Mayday, -ayday, th-- is Huang--- Mar-- Base, Co--ander Xian -un. Come in --ease."

Hellas Basin twisted terrain is likely created by water ice flows analogous to glaciers on Earth. NASA / JPL EPS 055080 MRO HiRISE Image

"Huangyan March Base, this is Arcadia Base, Governor Paula Jennings. We read you weakly. What is your emergency and how can we help? We have not been on good diplomatic terms but we will do anything in our power to assist."

"...explosi--...oxyg-n tank... suppl--s g-ne... Habs--3-upture--any-dead...Need –elp...M—da-..."

"Huangyan March Base, Arcadia Base. Your transmission is very broken. I read that you've had an accident with your oxygen supply. You have many dead and are requesting help. Confirm please!"

"—Con-irmed! –e –eed --ygen! Hab 1 has \----gency ---ply. Ten adul- –urviors –our hours of -ir. –eed he-p s—n!"

"Read confirmed emergency. You need oxygen supplies. You have ten survivors in Hab 1 on emergency oxygen with a four hour supply remaining."

"Confirmed. –at can you b-ing? Four hours?"

"Standby Huangyan. We have oxygen and Mars suits but I have to consult on delivery. We will help as soon as humanly possible. We have contingency plans and training. Please standby. Our prayers are with you."

"—n't -eed pray--! Need oxy—n! Stan-ing –y! –urry!"

Paula is on PA to all Base Command and essential personnel by emergency protocol, "Base Command and Emergency Engineer Roster, report to Nexus Council Chamber in five. Repeat, Base Command and Emergency Engineer Roster, report to Nexus Council Chamber in five minutes! CASSI, please follow up on that to make sure we have all the essential personnel up and moving."

"Affirmative. I have responses from all requested personnel from shortly after the PA alarm was dispatched. Your emergency meeting call is acknowledged."

Arcadia Nexus Council Chamber

MCT SOL 3471: 02: 49: 13

Commander Paula and Sam Jennings, Coby and Ellie, Vik and Abby, Sofi and Alex, Jacob and Tracy, Oleg and Olga, Jameel al Badie, and John Meek arrive and file into the Nexus Council Chamber. A moment later, a CARIAN robot ordered by CASSI pushes in a cart with hot coffee and a quick breakfast spread. The crowd murmurs and begins private conversation about the emergency while they take their breakfast. Paula is anxious to begin but knows that the rescue party they might launch will need some energy if they can agree on a plan.

Paula opens the meeting, "Okay. Take a seat. Let's get started...We have an emergency laid at our feet. It's reminiscent of the Apollo 13 oxygen tank explosion back in 1970 that took out half of their Command Service Module and nearly killed the crew on their way to be the third crew to land on the Moon. This is on a much larger scale. We must do an accident investigation to make sure this does not happen to us! It's not our emergency but we're all colonists on a new world and I feel we must help if we can without risking more life. First, did everyone hear the emergency transmission?"

A few of them admitted that they were in the dark. They only knew that they had been rousted in the middle of the night for an emergency and arrived groggy to say the least.

"CASSI, please replay the transmission from Huangyan March Base and clean up the audio as much as possible."

"Affirmative..."

After the brief audio was replayed with better clarity than they heard live, Coby spoke up, "Huangyan is 8000 klicks away. The farthest we've been from Arcadia on Mars since we arrived is about 500 klicks in Transport 2. Its point-of-no-return range is only 2000 klicks before needing to return to refuel."

Vik interjects, "Even if we could launch a Colossus and get down there in time to affect a rescue, we have deemed that base to be a direct threat to our security. Neither China nor the Russian agents involved in the Huangyan venture have signed the 2018 Treaty and so they could be a threat. Their colony has been a secretive cloak and dagger operation on the planet that we've regarded as peaceful for all colonists."

Paula says, "Let's tone down the rhetoric and behave like peaceful colonists willing to help other humans. What have we got to affect a rescue? The Rigel?"

Oleg responds. "Yes! We could do it with the Rigel. She's fueled and carrying export propellant tanks including sixteen metric tons of export methane and forty six metric tons of LOX."

"The Rigel is fully fueled and supplied" says Jacob, "and the Betelgeuse is partially filled with propellant manufactured at Arcadia Base and food stores grown in our aquaponics units for export operations to the Deep Space Gateway Colony depot. They're expecting our export delivery on the robotic Earth return run of the Rigel and Betelgeuse. Launching Rigel now could jeopardize our contract."

Sofi reasons, "The next Gateway launch window is SOL 3503, just over one month from now. If we send Rigel on a rescue mission, it should return from Huangyan in time to reload export propellant and make the Gateway launch window. The round trip suborbital flights will only take twenty five percent of the propellant load. The eight thousand klicks will take less than thirty minutes."

"And always bear in mind in this new export business of ours," Alex continues, "Earth is still supporting Gateway which is not in peril. Huangyan March Base, has only hours or they perish without our help."

Paula takes back the lead, "Please give me a voice vote on the suborbital Rigel rescue mission. All in favor say Aye."

"Aye!"

"All not in favor say Nay."

Silence.

"Okay. Let's make this happen people. Sam, Jameel, John, and I are least needed for this mission," Paula says. "The rest of you can make this suborbital rescue hop in Rigel and do what you can to stabilize their base, but the best option to save them after they've lost three quarters of their infrastructure is to bring them back here."

"You make it sound cut and dried Commander," Vik adds. "We should be prepared for every contingency with the personal armaments we have."

"Of course, but don't provoke a fight. Offer our sincere assistance in every way but we must remain in control. We don't have time to waste. What other supplies do we need?"

"The ten of us making the trip have our own Mars suits," Oleg says. "We need to take at least ten additional PLSS packs and twenty suits in various sizes to make sure we can evac their ten survivors. Two CARIANS will help add any muscle we need. Many of us are qualified as Colossus pilots but I have the most time on the sims for these latest birds. I can get the Rigel there and back in a pinch. We may need all the expertise in this room to pull this off."

"Okay. Unless there is any dissent, you are the prime pilot, Commander Oleg," Paula says.

"Right! We have no time to waste. CASSI, please begin the Rigel power-up and flight checklist. Have two CARIANs load the twenty suits from storage onto Rigel and secure them for flight."

"Affirmative. CARIANs are moving and power up begins now."

"The rest of us, grab your bug-out kits and Mars suits and meet-up at the Hab 1 Airlock,"Oleg commands. "Suit up and begin prebreathing."

Coby says, "Vik and I will get Tasers from the munitions locker. Better have them and not need them."

Abby adds, "I'm covering medical supplies."

"Be safe people but get a move on. Sam and I will be in Central Coms. CASSI, please send a report to Houston on the situation and raise Dao-Ming Cai to meet us in Coms."

"Affirmative."

Sofi sends the thought to Alex, "We'll need to arrange for care for the twins. Auntie Tracy Dixon should do!"

Alex back to her, "Right!"

Colossus Ship Rigel

MCT SOL 3471: 04: 13: 21

On the Rigel Command Deck, Oleg, Olga, Coby, Vik, and Jacob are suited and strapped in. Ellie, Abby, Sofi, Alex, Tracy, and two CARIANs are on Deck Two Ready for flight. A CARIIN robot is secured in the cargo bay.

Oleg speaks, "CASSI please report on the preflight checklist."

"All life support systems are online and functioning within normal parameters. All sensors, subsystems, fuel pumps, and pressures are nominal. The suborbital trajectory to Huangyan March Base is programmed and set."

"Begin five minute countdown to launch."

"Affirmative."

As they sit strapped in waiting on launch, Sofi and Alex share mental communication. "During the mayday transmission from Commander Kun we were able to sense his mental state. I sensed he is more than agitated about the emergency. I sensed a deep personal grief. His daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter were in Hab 2. They're dead."

"I know." Sofi is shaking and has tears streaming down her face. Alex takes her hand and gives it a warm squeeze.

"I didn't sense that Kun has any hostility toward the Coalition\-- just fierce nationalistic pride. Commander Vasilievich is subordinate. He is a rogue mercenary operative. Not aligned with Russia's role in the Coalition. He may be the one we need to watch."

"I know."

CASSI announces the count. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, ...ignition sequence start, three, two, one. All engines one hundred percent throttle. Lift off."

The g forces rapidly ramp up to 3.5 g's and the shaking is so violent that it's hard to think much less talk. This is more than uncomfortable to these experienced astronauts who have been living under Mars' 0.38 g for the last ten years.

Oleg gets on the com, "Abby, Olga has p-passed out. What ss-should I d-do?"

"Make s-sure her head is back. Sh-she ss-should be ff-fine. The c-couches are designed to t-take c-care of an unn-c-c-conscious p-pass..."

Ellie reports, "A-Abby is-s out. M-my vis-sion is-s t-tunnel-ling t-too..."

Four minutes later, the Rigel is in freefall. Everyone is conscious again. Several of them look green.

Oleg announces from the Command Deck, "If you're nauseated from freefall, get your helmet off now!"

Ellie replies, "We're way ahead of you on that!"

"Ellie, please pass me a barf bag!" Abby pleads.

"Pass them around. I need one quick!"

Tracy wretches into a bag just in time.

Oleg says, "Well! Mars easy life hasn't done much good for our space legs. Stay strapped in for the remaining twenty-two minute suborbital flight. CASSI do we have recon from orbiters on the status of the Huangyan landing pads? I'd hate to set down on bare ground and cause more damage to their habs by kicking up hypervelocity rocks."

"Affirmative, the Huangyan March Base has four landing pads and three are occupied. Our landing is programmed for Pad 4."

"Please try again to raise Huangyan on the radio."

"There's only static on their mayday channel."

Coby remarks, "God, I hope we get there in time to save the survivors..."

Colossus Ship Rigel

MCT SOL 3471: 04: 34: 13

CASSI reports, "Beginning descent trajectory. ETA Huangyan March Base Landing Pad 4 in five minutes and six seconds. Inboard 1 and 2 engine pressures nominal. Retrofire begins now."

Oleg says, "That's reassuring. I hope we never have to deal with issues on the retrofire engines again after the troubles we had and especially with the New Mumbai disaster."

Vik chides his son quietly, "Oleg, moy syn, moy komandir. It's best not to borrow trouble and discuss disasters when we're in the landing corridor. It's not good luck."

"Prosti, otets. Guess I was just speaking my thoughts out loud."

As the ship burns its retro engines, the g forces build again to 2 g's-- not nearly as brutal as the launch. They are turned with the large view ports facing the red planet.

Ellie is always moved by the geology of Mars. "I have studied the bizarre ice twisted terrain of Hellas Basin in detail but nothing prepares you for seeing it with your own eyes!"

Sofi replies, "How can ice do all that? It's beautiful and forbidding all at once. How could they have found a smooth place for Huangyan Base?"

"It's not all twisted. There's a flat plain around the base. You'll see..."

CASSI reports to all headsets, "The landing beacon is not functioning. Coming down on GPS, video, and radar. Video is on screen now."

They had seen orbiter recon images of the base but not at this resolution. There are two structures that could be missile silos. The core area of the base with the life support infrastructure and three hab modules is a chaotic junkyard of shredded metal. The three habs were not shredded but it appears that two of the habs were penetrated by large scraps of metal from the oxygen tank explosion.

"Five hundred meters...three hundred meters...one hundred...two meters per second down..."

Thump-creak-groan! "Engine shutdown. Rigel is stable on Pad 4."

"Thank you for a pinpoint landing CASSI! Please safe the engines and propellant pressures. Life support systems check."

"You are welcome. I have the cumulative expertise of every Colossus that has landed on Mars. Safing and systems check complete. No anomalies."

"Good. Try all coms channels for response from Huangyan Base."

"Affirmative. There is no human response to my hails. I have established communication with the base AI, DIANNAO. There are life signs in Hab 1 but the air pressure and oxygen partial pressure has dropped below that which will sustain consciousness. There is a valve leak that we can likely fix."

Like Arcadia Base, Huangyan air pressure was Earth normal at 1000 millibars and twenty one percent oxygen or 210 millibars oxygen partial pressure. Oxygen partial pressure less than 210 millibars leads to symptoms of oxygen deprivation or hypoxia. The average person will lose consciousness when the ambient pressure is halved and oxygen partial pressure is below about 100 millibars- just less than half Earth normal atmospheric pressure. However, by breathing pure oxygen, the oxygen pressure can be about 200 millibars, equivalent to an altitude of about 11,000 meters on Earth, and still avoid hypoxia.

"Abby here. We have to gain access to Hab 1 immediately if not sooner! I have oxygen canisters and Ambu resuscitators for all ten reported survivors. You are all trained, so each of you will take a victim for resuscitation."

Oleg replies. "We are all suited. We just need to get to Deck 3 Cargo Bay, don PLSS packs, and get those emergency supplies into Hab 1. The orbital image puts Hab 1 directly opposite our landing pad. CASSI, please have the CARIANs transport the Mars suits to the Hab 1 airlock."

"Affirmative. Please hurry. Their life signs are weak."

On Deck 3, assigned buddy pairs are helping with PLSS packs and checking suits for the EVA to Hab 1.

"Are we ready team? Anyone not ready?" Oleg is leading the EVA. "Okay then. CASSI, depressurize the cargo bay, ready the elevator, and open the bay door when ready."

"Affirmative. Depressurizing to Mars ambient...Done. Opening bay door..."

"Take the resuscitators. Load up on the elevator. CARIANs too. Move it!"

... "CASSI, lower away!"

"Lowering elevator." ...

"CASSI, please communicate with their base DIANNAO and open the Hab 1 outer airlock door. You'll have to stay in communication to help us cycle through the airlock. We'll need access to all of the base systems."

"Affirmative... Hab 1 outer airlock door is open for you now."

"Follow me now. Just across here to Hab 1."

Abby says, "Oleg. This is a medical emergency. I'm in charge now."

"But!"

Vik barks, "No buts Oleg! Do as she says!"

"This airlock can only handle five at a time. Vik, Coby, Ellie, and Olga, you enter with me first to start triage. Oleg, you stay with the rest and cycle through as soon as you can after us."

"Got it. Go!"

Abby and her triage party enter the airlock. Coby manually closes the door, and spins the latch sealing wheel. The inner lock controls are labeled in Chinese logograms and are indecipherable to the team.

"CASSI, Please communicate that we are ready to cycle through the airlock."

"Done."

They all hear an unfamiliar AI voice and the hiss of the airlock pressurizing. "Coalition rescue party, welcome to Huangyan March Base. Your assistance is needed most urgently."

Surprised, Abby answers, "Thank you DIANNAO. We'll do everything possible to save the ones still alive in this habitat. Is there any possibility that anyone in the other habitats is alive?"

"Negative. There was catastrophic depressurization as they slept when our main oxygen storage tank exploded and ruptured the other three habitats. The airlock pressure is equalized now but do not remove your helmets. The pressure will not support consciousness for a human. Opening the inner hatch."

Abby narrates for the record and for the team still outside. Each Mars suit has a camera recording what the wearer sees. "Entering the hab now. I see six individuals collapsed in the austere hab common area. Vik and Olga, please search the private quarters for the other four. Bring them out here to the common area."

"We're on it!"

"Coby and Ellie, please help me put a pulse oximeter and Ambu-oxygen on each of these victims...I recognize this one as Commander Kun and in his arms is his wife Lu Yahui...They have emergency respirators but those were rated for only thirty minutes. The external valve must have been damaged in the initial explosion and failed shortly after their mayday call. Both have a pulse...There now take some sweet oxygen."

Ellie says, "This one is Commander Vasilievich. The pulse-ox is flatlined."

"I'm with you Ellie. We may still have time to revive him with the AED."

Coby quietly attends each of the other three. Each has a pulse and he administers Ambu-oxygen.

"Attaching AED leads on Vasilievich. Charging...clear! Administering shock... Beginning CPR. Come on Commander!...One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight...Come on Commander!...and ten and eleven and twelve...no pulse... Charging...clear! Administering shock... One and two and three and four and five and six...I have a pulse! Continuing positive pressure oxygen."

DIANNAO announces, "Second team is cycling through the airlock with two AI robots. Opening inner hatch now."

Abby addresses the second team. "Oleg, take your team and go help Vik and Olga search the private quarters for the four other victims. Bring them out here to the common area so we can try to resuscitate them."

Just then Vik appears hefting a male victim and gently laying him on the Common Area floor. "Oleg, Sofi, Alex, Jacob, Tracy--go help Olga!"

Olga appears and pleads, "In here. Quick!"

She leads them to the rear of the Hab. There is a male and female victim on the floor of their private quarters. Another female victim is in the entryway to the room across the corridor.

Oleg says, "Do a two person carry on each of them-- front and back and get them to Abby. Quick so we can start resuscitation!"

Huangyan March Colony Base

June 22, 2045

HCT SOL 267: 10: 13: 39

Nine hours have elapsed since the accident at Huangyan Base. The Hab 1 Common Area is serving as a makeshift sick bay with beds moved from private quarters. The crew from Arcadia Base under medical leadership of Dr. Abby Denton has all ten patients stabilized. Abby has directed care of each of the unconscious patients but she is giving most of her attention to Commander Faddei Vasilievich.

The CARIAN robots along with CASSI and DIANNAO have run an accident investigation on the explosion. DIANNAO reported that there was an electrical surge in the Sabatier reactor just before the explosion. This was traced to a substandard voltage regulator and a bypassed circuit breaker. CASSI oversees all maintenance reports at Arcadia. No such shortcomings would be allowed.

Under Oleg's supervision, the CARIAN robots have replaced the damaged oxygen valve outside of Hab 1. They located an unused and undamaged oxygen storage tank. Utilizing the CARIIN robot they brought aboard the Rigel, they relocated the tank adjacent to Hab 1 and completed plumbing it into the life support system. The tank is now filled with five metric tons of oxygen to support base operations until more system repairs can be made.

Normal hab atmosphere is at a pressure of 1000 millibars with 20% oxygen, 40% nitrogen, and 40% argon. Mars atmosphere is 2.7 % nitrogen and 1.6% argon. These are natural byproducts of the Sabatier reaction used to produce methane and oxygen propellants from Mars atmosphere. The byproducts make perfect inert components of hab breathing atmosphere. However, the supply of inert gasses and Sabatier reactor were destroyed in the oxygen tank explosion that caused the emergency. The solution they have used to get Hab 1 back to a breathable atmosphere is to use pure oxygen at 340 millibars. This is equivalent to the old Apollo Command Module atmosphere. It's a higher oxygen partial pressure than Earth normal and should be therapeutic for the accident survivors until they can be evacuated. The Arcadia crew is grateful to get their Mars suits off.

Abby laments, "Vasilievich's brush with death may have left him permanently brain damaged from hypoxia. We won't know perhaps for days."

"I was that victim not so many years ago on Mars," Coby recalls. "I was rescued thanks to Jacob and Oleg. Perhaps in time Commander Vasilievich will bounce back."

Abby says, "Vasilievich's blood oxygen was severely low at sixty eight percent. That's low enough to begin organ failure. He's breathing well on his own. Hyperbaric oxygen would be better but the high oxygen content we have in the hab now is nearly as good. He needs rest. It may be days before or if he regains consciousness. Meanwhile, the IV will keep him hydrated. It will be a long few days to see how his mental faculties have been impaired."

Commander Vasilievich's wife Orina is lying peacefully in the bed next to him. The oxygen masks are not needed in the oxygen atmosphere.

Ellie calls out, "Abby, Commander Kun is coming around."

Kun blinks and stares at the ceiling in disbelief. He mumbles a few indistinct grumbles then finds some clarity. "Wǒ zài nǎlǐ? Wǒ kànzhe Lú sǐle. Wǒ jiēshòule wǒ de sǐwáng bìng qùle wǒ de zǔxiān."

Abby is by his side and takes his hand. "Commander Kun. I am Dr. Denton. You can call me Abby. We have come from Mars Arcadia Base to help after the big explosion. Nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma? Can you please speak in English? We are here to help."

"English—yes-- English...Where am I? I watched Lu die. My wife Lu went before me. I accepted my death and went to my ancestors. I must be dead!"

"Commander Kun, you had a big accident here at your base on Mars. No one in Hab 1 has died. Your wife Lu is in the bed next to you. She is still unconscious but very much alive. You all suffered from loss of atmosphere and lack of oxygen. "

"I-I still think that we died b-but I want to see her..."

"Sure. I can roll you closer...There-- just roll to the right...That good... Here's her hand. See she's warm and alive."

"Lu! Luie! I'm here. You're here. I need you back!"

Kun's eyes are welling with tears and he begins to sob.

"Okay. Commander Kun, you can't stress yourself yet. Lie back and rest."

"Xi-Xian? Xian? Zěnme yàng?" Lu Yahui wakes and finds voice. "Jiùyuán láile ma?"

"Lu Yahui, my name is Dr. Denton, Abby Denton. Nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma? Do you speak English? Our team came from Arcadia Base to rescue you. Your air supply dropped critically low before we arrived. Everyone in Hab 1 lost consciousness but are still alive. We've restored the oxygen. Recovery will take time. Please rest now."

"Thank you. Thank you! But what of Hab 2? What of my Yao Tai and Yang Wei? Surely Zhao would have saved them!"

Abby says, "There now. You must be calm. We are taking care of your family."

Huangyan March Colony Base

June 24, 2045

HCT SOL 269: 14: 31: 28

The twenty bodies of the deceased in Habs 2 and 3 have been recovered by the CARIAN robots and identified by DIANNAO. Each body has been wrapped in a white shroud according to Chinese tradition and Commander Kun's request. Hab 2 is substantially intact though depressurized in the explosion. The common area is serving as a makeshift morgue frozen at Hellas Basin's -30° C average temperature. The CARIIN robot has excavated twenty graves in the Martian permafrost. The deceased will not be buried until Commander Kun declares the mourning period is over.

All of the Hab 1 survivors are conscious and active except for Commander Vasilievich. The Arcadia team is anxious to evacuate them back to Arcadia Base. Abby has declared that she can better care for Vasilievich in Arcadia Central Medical and that transporting him in a Mars suit for the short flight will not jeopardize him.

The Arcadia Team has a private council at the request of Sofi and Alex. "We read that Commander Kun intends to stay at this base. His thoughts are fiercely nationalistic though he's very much overwhelmed by the loss of his family. It will not be easy to convince any of them to leave."

Oleg, backed up by Vik, Coby, and the rest of the team, explains the inevitable to Commander Kun. "Your damaged infrastructure cannot support a colony at this base until your next resupply expedition. We have the space and resources to accommodate you at Arcadia. We plan to evacuate your survivors tomorrow."

"Bù, nà shì bù kěnéng de!" Kun is defiant. "We appreciate the rescue and care you have so bravely afforded us. But--no! This is our base! This is China's base and pride for their future. It is our duty to stay and make repairs. It is our duty to make this a territory for China. It is our duty to bury our dead by our traditions when the period of mourning is over."

Coby makes a sincere appeal. "Commander Kun, I know what it is to lead a colonial expedition. I know what it's like to suffer disaster. I also know what it's like to live in a multinational colony with everyone pulling together for survival. As you well know, Arcadia has an adjunct colony from China. In all ways, you will be warmly accepted as you wait for your resupply mission to reestablish this base. The Coalition never intended to have a monopoly on colonizing Mars. We welcome Huangyan March Base on Mars and wish you survival and success when you can make a new start with your resupply expedition next year. We have other ways to convince you but you must accept our welcome and evacuate this base now."

"Your reputation and accomplishments have earned you respect. But, is that a threat Commander Brewster?"

"Not if you respect and accept our hospitality."

"Very well. You leave us no choice. But please, we must bury our dead before we leave. Permit us to be present and honor them."

"Okay. We can do that today and plan to evacuate tomorrow. We brought Mars suits for you. We didn't know if yours would be found functional."

"Thank you Commander Brewster. Our EVA suits are in the nexus between the habs."

"The explosion made a wreck of that."

"Oh-h-h! Nooo! Why?? Mmhh-hhh...Oh why? Why..."

Coby gives Kun's shoulder a warm squeeze.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

June 27, 2045

MCT SOL 3476: 18: 45: 52

The hop back to Arcadia Base yesterday was without incident. The unconscious Commander Vasilievich has been moved into Central Medical where he is on oxygen, IV, EKG, and EEG monitors. The survivors of the Huangyan March Base have been moved into comfortable, well-appointed quarters in the underground complex.

Lu Yahui comments to her husband, "Xian, I am so grateful for the generosity of our hosts. I feel so safe here underground. Our surface habs felt so vulnerable! And, and then..."

"Yes Luie, we are safe here. We will accept their hospitality and then move to Arcadia Hóng Huā Colony until the next fleet of Shēn Kōng Yóuxíng ships arrive."

"I've had enough of this planet! I want to return to Earth, the home of our ancestors."

"We've been through a great tragedy. It's natural for you to feel that way. But we must do our duty to make an ultimate success of China's presence on Mars. We have to make a second home for China on Mars. We have to honor our family and colleagues buried at Huangyan. We must not abandon them."

"Yes, Xian. Always, we must do our duty..."

There is a knock at the door and Commander Kun goes to answer it. He opens the door and sees Abby.

"Hello Dr. Denton."

"Commander Kun, I'm sorry to disturb you but I wanted to personally inform you that Commander Vasilievich has gained consciousness. Would you like to see him?"

"Yes of course." He turns to his wife. "Luie, I'm going with Dr. Denton."

Abby leads Kun down the maze of corridors to Central Medical. Commander Vasilievich is in a private room with his wife Orina by his side. His bed is propped up at a slight angle. An oxygen cannula feeds into his nose. He looks confused. His eyes are open but sunken and dark.

Abby says, "I'll leave you with him for a brief private moment. He must rest."

"Thank you Dr. Denton."

Kun enters the room. "Orina, please allow me a moment."

"Of course. I was just explaining to Faddei what happened and how we got here."

Orina steps out into the corridor.

"Faddei, it's good to see you awake."

"Orina just explained to me how we got here to Arcadia. How could you allow the Base to be left undefended? Our superiors will accuse us of treason. What of the missiles?"

"You must be quiet Faddei. The base is secure. We had no choice but to evacuate. But you're dreaming- no- hallucinating about missiles. There are no missiles! We've always been about peace for Mars. This situation is how we survive for now. These are good people. Dr. Denton brought you back from the dead. Our base will be rebuilt with the next fleet next year and we'll grow and thrive. You must not speak like this again especially while we are here."

"Nnnn...nn..."Commander Vasilievich has drifted back asleep. CASSI had recorded the exchange by request of Governor Paula Jennings.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

July 14, 2045

MCT SOL 3493: 20: 36: 21

Vik is meeting with Faddei Vasilievich at a café near the Nexus. Vik is Russian but solidly represents the Coalition. Vasilievich was a younger colleague back at Baikonur but he's now solidly aligned with China. Oleg and a security team are monitoring Vik's wire from a security station nearby.

"Faddei, thanks for meeting with me. How are you now that you've had recovery time since the disaster? How's your lovely wife Orina?"

"Thanks for asking. I think I'm well but I still have headaches. Dr. Denton says that all my scans look good since the concussion and the headaches will pass with time. Orina is well physically but the disaster and the loss of life weighs heavily with her."

"Faddei, it's been a long time since Baikonur. How is it that you never came to the Coalition and you find yourself with the Chinese at Hellas?"

"That would be my business but if you must know, the Coalition denied me for medical reasons. I find good company with the Chinese."

"Indeed? I'll be blunt and get to it. At the Arcadia Council meeting, we heard a recording of you and Kun in your recovery room. You spoke of missiles at Huangyan March Base but Kun denied they exist and said you were hallucinating. Which is it Faddei?"

Faddei jumps up and give Vik a roundhouse punch in the jaw. "That's none of your business! Rraawww!" The crazed Russian is on top of Vik and strangling him before he can react.

Vik manages a squawk, "Oleghh...nnowww!

Oleg and the security detail sprint into the café with Tasers drawn. "Vasilievich STOP!" Oleg's Taser dart flies true and strikes Faddei in the chest. He goes down in convulsions and is cuffed by security.

By Council decision, Vasilievich is banished to house arrest at Arcadia Hóng Huā Colony until a return expedition can be organized. He's their security concern.

August 3, 2045

Vik, Coby, a security/engineering team from Arcadia, an engineering team from Hóng Huā Colony, and the ten surviving Huangyan colonists take Colossus ship Beijing from the Arcadia Hóng Huā Colony on a suborbital hop to Huangyan March Base. They bring supplies, construction material, and CARIAN and CARIIN robots. They use the Beijing as living quarters while the robots and engineers clean up the disaster from the explosion and prepare the base for the arrival of eight colony ships next year.

Vik and Coby work with the security engineering team to search the base for munitions and missile launchers. Just as Commander Kun claimed, none are found. None are there. The Beijing ship returns with the crew from Arcadia.

Vasilievich remains under house arrest at Hóng Huā and will be deported with his wife Orina on a returning Chinese ship next year. Diplomacy and communications between Arcadia and Huangyan March Base remain on good terms.

CHAPTER 5  
Transport 3

"A still more glorious dawn awaits

Not a sunrise, but a galaxy rise

A morning filled with 400 billion suns

The rising of the milky way"

― Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Shiva is coming....

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

January 15, 2046

MCT SOL 3678: 04: 38: 16

Ellie Accardi Personal Log:

I woke early this morning startled and sweaty. I'd had a nightmare that did not clearly crossover into my consciousness but left me deeply disturbed. I tried to dismiss the unfocused yet unmistakable feeling of doom and remorse. I found some comfort that Coby was dozing peacefully next to me but didn't want to wake him. I slipped out of bed and padded to the bathroom to wash my face. I pulled on a robe and went out to the living area to watch some Earth News on MarsNet. The one bright note I had to look forward to in the day is the birthday party.

MCT SOL 3678: 15: 47: 21

Twins First Birthday

Sofi and Alex's twins, Stella and Andrei, have their first birthday today. Sofi and Alex have conspired with the proud grandparents, perhaps the most iconic spacefarers of all time, to hold a small birthday party in the Arcadia General Room. Oleg and Olga were there with Oksana who has just turned ten. Jacob and Tracy are with Filip who is nine. There's lots of energy and commotion in the room.

The twins are progressing like their parents had at this age. Perhaps they're even more exceptional in being tall and precocious. Both of them were talking by seven months and walking a month later. Stella is 90 cm tall and Andrei is 91 cm. Both of them are off the charts by Earth standards. Abby is convinced that development in Mars 0.38 g gravity encourages such phenomenal growth. Sofi and Alex's first six months of gestation were in microgravity and their years since puberty were on Mars. At sixteen they had both passed the two meter mark on Abby's office wall.

Sofi enjoyed 3D printing little toys and puzzles for the twins. They were busy stacking and sorting number blocks on the floor with grandparents doting over them. Sofi and Alex set out a birthday celebration spread Mars style. Sofi made a refreshing fruit punch. Fresh Mars veggies made a light, crisp snack. I helped with a carrot cake recipe I developed using soya flour and soy cream cheese frosting. Beet sugar is used for sweetening. As a part of colony food production, equipment from Earth allowed them to synthesize spice flavorings such as the cinnamon and nutmeg flavors that gives the cake its universal appeal.

I think the cake was a hit. It mostly tastes like what I remember from Earth. Stella and Andrei had a successful team effort blowing out their candles while we sang Happy Birthday. They ate some of the cake from the plate they were served but Stella got great joy in covering Andrei's head with cake and frosting. Both of them then enjoyed eating the cake served unconventionally.

After the cake, Coby, a bit slower for age, gave a heartfelt speech. "This is one of the happiest days in my life. I can count the others on one hand—the day we returned alive from Aquila and had a double wedding with Ellie and Abby expecting; the days Sofi and Alex were born; our first Christmas on Mars, just four days after we'd landed in the colony ship Taurus; the day Sofi and Alex got married; and now the first birthday of our grandchildren Stella and Andrei.

"I'll confess that I felt fear and guilt for taking family, friends, and colleagues from Earth to an uncertain future on Mars. That was over ten years ago. We've all worked hard and we've had sacrifices. Now, I have pride and deep satisfaction seeing this family and our colonies thriving on Mars, humanity's second home. Happy Birthday Stella and Andrei!"

With that he went over and gave each of the messy twins a kiss. Then he swiped a finger load of frosting from Andrei's head and licked it off and licked his lips. "Yum! Great cake!"

May 6, 2046

Three fleets of eight Colossus colony ships launch with sixty five passengers each from all launch centers on Earth. All of them are in hib-sleep except for maintenance and medical crew. Hib-sleep conserves supplies, reduces muscle and bone loss, and prevents sanity breakdown in tight, crowded quarters. The fleet is due to arrive at Mars from November 10-16, 2046. Landing pads, underground facilities, and life support systems are prepped for the new arrivals. This is the routine of growing the colonies.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

August 3, 2046

MCT SOL 3878: 11: 28: 16

Ellie Accardi Personal Log:

Coby's short speech yesterday reminded me of how far we've come in ten years. In space and on Mars our meals used to be bland, monotonous, rehydrated stores from Earth. The success of our aquaponics farms gives us plenty of fresh food variety. Work in the school, aquaponics farm, or recreation facilities earns credits that can be used in a growing number of eateries. The chefs lavish their fares with love and creativity.

We encourage people to eat out. Everyone needs entertainment and socializing. The eateries are part time establishments run by dedicated couples. Carracci's Italian Restaurant is run by Fermo Caracci and Liana Vitacco. Onishi Nippon Restaurant is run by Onishi Suzuko and Seno Masaru. Eve's Place, American Cuisine, is run by Eve Cain and Harrison Frank.

By far the liveliest option is The White Hart Pub run by Julia Levine and Mike Fischer. Vik describes it as a necessary entertainment center like Quarks' Bar on Deep Space 9 with the energy of all of our international colonists.

Yes, we still have our weekends on Saturday and Sunday. That helps to mark time and give us an excuse to get in some recreation. Swimming, picnics, and concerts in the Summer Dome are hugely popular.

I thoroughly enjoy my volunteer time at the Arcadia Colony School. I spend two hours a day there, five days a week. So far, we don't have any middle or high school age kids. Our school is an elementary school with a growing pyramid of students who were born on Mars. So far we have six classrooms. We have a handful of nine and ten year olds including Oksana, Filip, Seramun, Celeste, and Hans. The numbers grow at younger ages as our colonies have grown and there are more births. So we have ten kids, seven and eight, fifteen kids, six years old, and twenty kids, five years old. The largest classroom holds the preschool group of four year olds. The nursery and day care is a separate facility. With these facilities, all of the children are cared for so the parents can contribute their expertise to the colony.

November 10-16, 2046

A huge fleet of Colony Ships with supplies and a total of three hundred ninety colonists arrive safely—Eight ships at Arcadia Base, eight ships at Erebus Base, and eight ships at Huangyan March Base. Each fleet of eight ships has two colony ships each with sixty five passengers in hib-sleep. There are now 1492 colonists on Mars.

Transport 3

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

July 6, 2047

MCT SOL 4215: 09: 21: 03

Coby, Ellie, Vik, and Abby are having a late breakfast at The Bistro on the Promenade near the Arcadia Nexus. Orders are placed on a menu tablet at the table. The food is cooked and delivered to the table by Vocativ wait staff robots. They are each served a plate of eggs over easy, rashers of not terribly bad soy-based bacon, and a crusty roll. All of the fare is home grown at Arcadia and infinitely better than the monotonous space food stores they had eaten for years.

Coby muses, "I've almost forgotten what we endured with our dehydrated rations from Earth."

"We almost had a mutiny when we were running out of Texas Pete on Aquila!" Abby says. "Thank God they packed in a case on our Vega supply vessel."

"These fresh eggs are good," Vik adds, "but I still like to add a touch of our Martian habanero sauce. Gives a better fire than that Texas crap."

Changing the subject, Ellie says, "Coby and Vik, I have a problem and a challenge for you."

"Bring it on. There's nothing that these two old spacemen can't solve," Coby brags. "We've seen it all and done it all."

"We still rely on Earth for SSTAR fuel rods. I desperately want to take our exploration into Amazonas Planitia. My ongoing search for extant Mars life is one motive. Finding commercial uranium deposits is another huge motivation. We had our tease at Golombek. We need at least a two thousand kilometer range on a transport to get into the Marte Valles area."

Vik responds, "You do pose a big challenge. We were successful when we built Transport 1 out of necessity. We could look at this like adding wing tanks to a MiG fighter."

Coby and Vik are intrigued by the challenge and set about designing the addition of propellant tanks that will extend transport range. The original rocket powered Transport 1 Mars hopper was designed by Vik and built by CARIIN industrial robots from salvaged engines, electronics, and aluminum sheet metal from a scrapped Colossus ship back in 2036. It was designed to carry cargo and personnel to open up remote exploration areas. The obsolete Transport 1 was operated by CAMI's AI computer control with GPS 3D flight and course navigation. It carried remote sensing prospecting equipment. Its range was only one hundred kilometers-- fifty kilometers round-trip. Transport 2 is a state-of-the-art dual rocket powered, pressurized transport vehicle. It's an upgraded purpose-built vehicle sent from Earth in modules. It was assembled on Mars in 2038. It has a range of five hundred kilometers and can carry up to twenty metric tons of cargo. Its mineral prospecting hardware is far superior to orbiting probes. Transport 3 is a clone and was delivered and assembled in 2040.

In 2036, Ellie discovered fossil Mars microbes and low grade uranium ore in Golombek Crater about twenty-five kilometers from Arcadia Base. She wants to expand her search for living Mars life and find commercial deposits of uranium. The uranium someday might be processed for fuel for their SSTAR nuclear power units. She is focused on the Marte Valles region of Amazonas Planitia one thousand kilometers south of Arcadia Base based on orbital remote sensing data. How can they get there to explore? The area shows promise as an area to colonize. It's too rugged and too far to travel in a surface rover. The most practical exploration vehicle would be a flying transport with extended range. They would need to nearly triple the range of Transports 2 and 3 to be up to the task.

"Well Vik, what kind of tank can we safely adapt to the transports?" Coby asks.

"We used salvaged Colossus header tanks inside of Transport 1. We have several in inventory from other salvaged ships. Those tanks are nearly spherical and almost three meters diameter. They'd be awkward at best to attach externally to a transport and wouldn't provide enough volume for the additional range that Ellie is requesting."

Coby does some quick calculations on his mini-tablet. "The three meter spherical header tank holds about eleven cubic meters while a cylindrical tank two meters diameter and fifteen meters long, three meters shorter than the transport will hold forty seven cubic meters—that's if we can manufacture them."

Vik calculates, "We were at just over twenty metric tons of propellant mass using about ten percent thrust on the two Colossus engines. The cylindrical tanks you describe will add eighty five metric tons of propellant so we cruise at about forty five percent throttle depending on payload added and get over five times the range—that's twenty five hundred kilometers."

Ellie exclaims, "That would work!"

Coby tries to quell her enthusiasm. "We don't even know that we can manufacture them to the safety standards we need for propellant tanks."

"I'm sure we can manufacture the tanks with our aluminum alloy 3D printing capability. We have an adequate supply of feedstock from salvaged Colossus ships."

Ellie adds, "And now we're mining aluminum from Martian clays."

The clays they find in low lying areas were once associated with water. They are kaolins and smectites which are hydrous aluminum phyllosilicates.

"The proof of quality of the tanks will be to use phased array ultrasonic testing."

Coby finishes, "Don't forget the shakedown cruise Vik."

"Da! I'm in!"

Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity finds smectites, aluminum bearing clay minerals once associated with water. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Cornell / ASU

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

July 12, 2047

MCT SOL 4221: 10: 13: 46

For the last week, a team of CARIIN and CARIAN robots has been working on upgrading and testing the transport. It's finally ready. Vik and Coby have been directing and monitoring the progress remotely. They're making preparations for their check-out run.

Coby muses, "Have you ever thought how much this upgraded design with the external tanks looks like a shuttle craft from Star Trek?"

"Yeah, in fact I have! It looks like a TYPE 9A Cargo Shuttlecraft developed on Mars in 2370 to carry supplies and equipment from the surface of Mars to orbiting facilities."[]

"Sounds like someone's been spending a bit of time on the Star Trek VR Sims."

"Da. An old spaceman like me sometimes has free time on his hands."

"Okay, lets finish loading contingency supplies and have a planning and briefing meeting before we take off for the check-out run."

Governor Paula Jennings, Sam Jennings, Ellie, Abby, Oleg, Jacob, Alex, and Sofi are in the briefing room next to the Nexus Common Area to discuss the mission plan and to see Vik and Coby off on the check-out mission of Transport 3.

"I'd like to push this to be the longest distance exploration mission from Arcadia Base since we arrived in 2035," Coby proposes. "Vik and I could do a two day stay in Marte Valles area of Amazonas Planitia and do some recon geology. We can handle the engineering aspects of the transport and don't need to risk taking more of you with us. We have two weeks of supplies and emergency kit loaded on Transport 3."

Paula vetoes that plan. "We will not let any expedition go beyond the range of possible rescue. That means that you have to stay within the two hundred fifty kilometer one-way range of Transport 2 until we get that one upgraded to the same one thousand kilometer range as Transport 3. You can use the outboard tanks alone to test the system within that range."

"I agree with Paula. We don't need to go charging off to Amazonas just yet. I've given this some research and thought using orbiter recon data. Starting two hundred kilometers east of Arcadia Base, there are some dark albedo mineral deposits that I've been dying to explore. We just haven't ranged that far out before. I can have CASSI upload a few safe sampling coordinates as objectives," Ellie proposes. "Any samples you can bring back from there will generally characterize the big feature that's over six hundred kilometers long. Mars is full of surprises."

Jacob jumps in, "I like that idea. In fact, I'd like to go with you to help with the field geology."

"Thanks Jacob, but Vik and I are gonna do this one by ourselves--a white haired spaceman's holiday."

"Okay. I can take a hint. No young geologists needed."

Ellie says, "I can use some help in the lab while the old guys are out playing." Just then she is gripped with a premonition of fear. "You two be safe out there!"

Sofi and Alex experience the same fleeting moment of foreboding fear.

MCT SOL 4221: 11: 02: 13

Coby and Vik are strapped into Transport 3—Mars suits on—Helmets stowed--ready to go.

"CASSI, please give us a report on systems checks," Coby asks.

"Objective route is loaded. External tanks pressurized. Circuits and sensors check nominal. Airlock seals released. Internal pressure nominal. Fuel pumps spinning up and ready for ignition."

"Have a safe trip Transport 3. Love you Coby. Love you Vik. Arcadia out." Ellie signs off and winces as she has her premonition again.

"Roger that Arcadia. Love you too. Fire on five."

"Five, four, ignition commence, two, one—lift off. Thrust at forty five percent."

The acceleration pushes Coby and Vik hard into their couches. Arcadia Base is receding below them as the transport climbs and banks right to a 095° easterly heading.

"CASSI, ETA to our first objective please."

"Horizontal velocity one hundred fifty. ETA to Objective 1 is eighty minutes."

"Thanks CASSI. Hey Vik, this is like two old farts on a fishing trip."

"Yeah, two old farts with twin grandkids two years old on Mars. Stella and Andrei are just the most adorable kids I've ever known. Maybe all grandparents say that. Yeah a fishing trip on Mars. That'll be the day."

"Jees, remember the fishing trips we had during Aquila training?"

"It wasn't about the fish. I don't even like to catch fish. We got to know each other. Aquarius Reef Base, Key West, Ichetucknee..."

"It got better--homecoming from Aquila, marrying, babies-- memories of Earth will be with us forever."

"The life we've made with the colonies here is better than I could have ever imagined..."

Transport 3- 200 Kilometers East of Arcadia Base

July 12, 2047

MCT SOL 4221: 12: 22: 53

"Beginning descent to Objective 1."

"CASSI, please give me a readout on the stresses and remaining propellant in the external tanks."

"External tank stress is nominal. Eighty four percent fuel remains in the external tanks. Internal tanks are at one hundred percent. Altitude one hundred meters. Down at three."

Coby and Vik see a dark layered terrain growing below the transport. The landing camera shows a rough forbidding surface.

Coby says, "CASSI, give me manual control."

"You have manual control."

"Transport 3 to Arcadia Base. Ellie are you seeing this?"

"Ellie here. I see it! Now be careful!"

Coby halts descent and begins searching for a level place to land. With the stick, he yaws left seeing a possibility.

"There. That area will just do. Twenty five, down at one."

"Kicking up some dust."

"Contact."

The transport has a slight jolt. The landing struts groan and the engine rumble lessens to a whine.

"CASSI, engines stop and purge pressures."

"Done. Nice flying Commander."

"Guess I've still got it. Vik, Ellie-- look at these layered deposits."

"Ellie here. I see it! I see it in visible, UV, and IR. It looks something like the deposits in Golombek Crater where we found fossil life. The exposure here is low angle instead of in a steep cliff face. God, I'll swear I see some green peeking out in the visible. I dare not hope... Now I wish I was there with you!"

"I'll make it up to you by bringing you all the samples you want. If you find anything that you want to explore further, we can bring both transports out here for some first-class field work. Vik, let's have some lunch and go for a little outing."

"I never thought you'd ask. Abby packed us a lavish lunch—chicken salad sandwiches with cucumber and sliced pickles."

"Love it. The fare is more like Earth every day."

Transport 3- 200 Kilometers East of Arcadia Base

July 13, 2047

MCT SOL 4222: 15: 13: 13

Coby and Vik are in Transport 3 and ready to return to Base. Geologic samples from two days of field work at two locations are carefully stowed in vacuum containers.

"Arcadia Base, Arcadia Base, this is Transport 3."

"Transport 3, Arcadia Base. Ellie here. Got you five-by-five."

"Just reporting we are number one for takeoff. Heading for home."

"Have a safe trip. We miss you!" Ellie pushes down the premonition feeling. Their men are almost home.

"CASSI, please give us a report on systems checks."

"External tanks pressurized and propellant levels at seventy eight percent. Circuits and sensors check nominal. Fuel pumps spinning up and ready for ignition."

"Fire on five."

"Five, four, ignition commence, two, one—lift off. Thrust climbing to forty five percent."

Coby and Vik feel the reassuring acceleration as the transport climbs and banks left to a 275° westerly heading back to Arcadia Base.

"Okay Vik, this should take you back to test pilot days. CASSI, please take us up to one thousand meters."

"Affirmative."

This mission has primarily been about testing the new external tanks. Everything has gone by the books.

"CASSI, please use the modulator manifold, pressurize, and switch to inboard tanks."

"Affirmative. Pressurizing and switching now."

Coby and Vik hear a momentary change in engine pitch that gets their adrenaline pumping. Almost instantly the engine pitch returns to normal.

"CASSI, please hold altitude and manifold pressure for one minute."

"Affirmative."

"CASSI, please switch back to external propellant tanks."

"Affirmative. Switching propellant through the modulator manifold."

Suddenly, a piece of debris from the new external tank manufacturing is sucked into the fuel line to the fore engine and causes it to flame out. Immediately, unbalanced thrust from the aft engine causes the transport to violently pitch forward.

Automatically, CASSI's emergency systems kick in cutting the thrust in the aft engine and firing emergency fore thrusters to bring the transport back under control. There's not enough thrust to keep the transport flying. It's going down for an emergency landing.

"CASSI, give me manual control now! Transmit our position and send a mayday!"

CASSI collects diagnostic data and transmits it with precise coordinates and a mayday distress call.

"V-dot[] is high at ten, Coby! One hundred meters!"

"Yeah. This is all the thrust we've got. We're gonna land hard but we're gonna make it! Hold tight!"

Coby sees a field of boulders below them but can't maneuver to avoid them.

Boom! A jolting hard landing and they're down. Coby and Vik exchange worried looks as they hear cold gas escaping. Their propellants are odorless and tasteless. The transport is rent on a boulder. Exposed wires are sparking. Transport 3 explodes violently. Coby and Vik feel the hand of God violently pushing them forward in a hot flash of white.

Sofi, Alex, and Ellie, in separate areas of Arcadia Base, are immobilized with a vision of the explosion. Ellie passes out and falls in a heap in the Coms Room.

"Alex, we must go to Coms now! CASSI, please page Abby and send her to Coms!"

Abby, Alex, and Sofi enter Coms at the same time and find Ellie passed out on the floor.

Abby turns her over and gives her a gentle shake. "Ellie, are you okay? Ellie, it's Abby."

Ellie's eyelids flutter, then open. Her face is gripped in fear. "Nooo! Coby! Vik!"

"Shhh—there now. What happened to Coby and Vik?"

Sofi tells her quietly with tears welling in her eyes. "We felt it. We saw it. The transport exploded..." Her voice trails off as she lies down on the floor and hugs her mother. They're quietly sobbing.

Abby turns to Alex, "How can you know? How did you see it?"

"We know Mama..."

"No!" Abby goes to the Coms console. "Transport 3, Arcadia Base! Transport 3, Arcadia Base! Come in please!"

There is no reply, only crackling static.

CASSI reports in a voice seeming to carry emotion, "I received a data report and mayday from the CASSI on Transport 3. They had a hard emergency landing at 10: 13. Seconds later, sensors reported instantaneous overpressure and rise in temperature. The data stream stopped at that instant. I have their last known air coordinates."

"Oh God. Oh God! No!"

Alex, a head taller than his mother, gently puts his hands on her shoulders and looks down into her eyes as they overflow with tears. His arms embrace her now as he speaks softly.

"Mama-- It's true. We must go out now and recover them. It's time to honor them."

"We have to get there fast! They could still be alive! CASSI, please summon Tracy Dixon, Oleg, and Jacob to Transport 2 with Mars suits for an emergency medical mission. Also send two CARIANs with three days provisions to come with us. Ellie, Alex, and Sofi, bring your Mars suits. I'll get the EMS kits."

July 13, 2047

MCT SOL 4222: 16: 01: 01

There is a calm, somber efficiency to the loading of Transport 2. The emergency rescue-recovery team is professional and practiced in emergency procedures. None of them can let the gravity of the situation overcome their resolve to get the task done quickly. There is the shred of hope that Coby and Vik are still alive and in need of rescue. The CARIAN robots have done their assigned tasks of loading supplies. Ellie, Abby, Tracy Dixon, Oleg, Jacob, Alex, and Sofi have donned their Mars suits and are quickly seating and strapping in. Oleg and Jacob are piloting the transport. Sofi and Alex have their young twins in the care of the communal nursery. At this point, the nature of their emergency departure is only a matter of speculation for anyone else exposed to the whirlwind assembly of this expedition.

Abby grabs Ellie's hand. Her eyes are closed tightly and her lip is quivering. "I've never appealed to God in any scrape we've been in. I've kept my thoughts to myself and we relied on our own inner strength. Right now, I'm feeling completely overwhelmed. God, if you are here on Mars with us, help us to deal with this and find inspiration in the outcome of this event."

The Transport 2 crew is somber and mostly quiet during the eighty minute cruise to the coordinates CASSI recorded for the crash site. After they take off, Oleg instructs CASSI to put out an announcement on MarsNet that the business of the Transport 2 mission is a search and recovery operation for Coby Brewster and Vik Ivanov, missing from a check out mission on Transport 3. MarsNet announcements are mirrored to the Coalition Command Center.

As they approach the site, Oleg and Jacob gasp. They have the pilots' view of the disaster in contrast to the stark, pristine beauty of Mars. They've been flying over orange to buff colored layered rock laid down by flowing water over three billion years ago, dissected by arroyos, choked with reddish brown sand dunes, and punctuated with a few craters.

The transport is unrecognizable with large shards of sheet metal and insulation surrounding the blackened crater where Transport 3 came down and then exploded. But there beyond the crater is the recognizable remains of the passenger cabin. The cabin had blown free of the rest of the transport in the explosion just as had the command deck of the Colossus ship New Mumbai. The transport cabin windows are blown out.

"Hold tight and steel yourselves. It looks bad."

Ellie clenches her jaw and screams, "Dio mio! Non sono pronto per questo! No! God no!"

Oleg gently sets Transport 2 down as close as possible to the wrecked cabin. The rescue party of Oleg, Jacob, Alex, and Sofi is to carry two stretchers while Abby and Tracy attend with medical supplies. Ellie feels immobilized and decides to stay in the transport. For expediency and to allow the awkward size of two stretchers, they opt to depressurize the entire transport to open the cargo door instead of using the smaller airlock.

The rescue party makes haste in the slim chance that Coby and Vik are still alive. Peering in where the main cockpit window had been their worst fears are realized. Coby, age 77, and Vik, age 78, are dead. They are strapped into their cockpit seats. Neither of them is wearing a helmet. If they had been, the result would have been just as deadly since their Mars suits are shredded with shrapnel. Their cloudy eyes are open and their faces are frozen in a rictus of horror. Death must have been instantaneous.

Oleg instructs, "We can access through the blown out hatch. Not all of us need enter. Jacob, come with me. We'll recover them one stretcher at time."

Abby hands Oleg two Mylar blankets. "Oh God! Vik! My big Russian spaceman! Oh jees!

Use these as shrouds p-please." She's shaking and her voice is trembling through sobs.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

July 18, 2047

MCT SOL 4227: 14: 28: 31

Ellie Accardi Personal Log:

Coby and Vik are lying in state in the Arcadia Base Nexus. Governor Paula Jennings officiated their funeral ceremony this afternoon and it was broadcast on MarsNet. It's my turn to face the audience and give a eulogy.

I tentatively walk to the lectern. "Coby and Vik lived a long and full life. They accomplished more in their long lifetimes than any mortal humans could hope to accomplish. For that I soar with joy but yet I grieve and mourn the fact that they were taken from us still in their prime. I take solace in the fact that they died as test pilots with the same courage they gave every mission for over fifty years. They gave their lives to give humanity a second home and a second chance."

On Earth, GNN announcer Kate Turner came out of retirement as a commentator on the story and the colorful history of Coby and Vik.

Coby Brewster and Vik Ivanov are buried five meters in front of the row of graves that include Barry Peterson and Elena Petrov. Plaques on their graves identify Coby and Vik's role on the Aquila Mission and their roles as First and Second Governors of the Arcadia Colony. A sintered regolith, polished obelisk was erected between the rows of graves by CARIIN robots. It not only honors Coby and Vik but is a memorial to human exploration of space. The obelisk is 24 meters high and 1.8 meters on a side. They are the scale of the Thutmose obelisks at the Temple of Karnak and the obelisk in St. Peters Square originating from Heliopolis. On the base, carved by laser, there is a brief history of the Aquila Mission and Arcadia Colony Base along with quotes from Jules Verne, Carl Sagan, Buzz Aldrin, Arthur C. Clarke, and Stephen Hawking, Cdr. Jacob Brewster, and Cdr. Viktor Ivanov. There are etchings of their handprints. I added my quote, "Old Martians never die,—they live on in the memories of loved ones."

The faces of the obelisk are also adorned with imagery of Vostok 1, Apollo, Viking, Venera, Pioneer 10, Voyager, ISS, Mars rovers, Hubble Space Telescope, Arcadia 1, Ceres Alpha, and other landmark exploration missions. I feel that the most poignant of the images is a copy of the plaque inspired by Carl Sagan and affixed to Pioneer 10 now traveling outward in interstellar space. Perhaps someday, interstellar visitors will find this memorial. Where will we be a thousand years from now?

The Pioneer 10 plaque has a representation of humans accompanied by a representation of our place in the universe. The pattern of lines to the left of the figures shows the relative distance of fourteen key pulsars of the Milky Way with our Sun at the center. The bottom drawing shows the Earth and solar system with the path of Pioneer from Earth and slingshotting past Jupiter to interstellar space.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

August 13, 2047

MCT SOL 4253: 04: 38: 16

Ellie Accardi Personal Log:

It's been a full month since Coby and Vik died on the plains of Arcadia Planitia. Life continues here on Mars but I feel like I'm in a vacuum. I never imagined grief could be so profound. I try to imagine that each passing day gets a little easier. Abby, Sofi, Alex, Stella, Andrei, and the rest of my family and friends keep me going.

Even CASSI has a sense of loss and incomprehension of Coby and Vik being gone.

CASSI asked, "Will I die someday?"

"That's a deep question that I can't answer. You have been with Coby, Vik, Abby, and me since Aquila. You've grown and evolved much like a human growing from childhood, to adolescence, and into adulthood. The big difference is that your OS lives on as offspring in hundreds of spaceships and platforms and all of them are you. Some of your extensions have ceased to exist in ship accidents or in system shutdowns but you carry all of those memories. Humans are born knowing that death is inevitable. We all hope that death will wait to the end of a long fulfilling life. Coby and Vik had more than that. They will live on in the legacy of humans colonizing Mars and in our children and their children. I believe that you will live on indefinitely and your offspring will grow and evolve with humans as we move out farther from Earth. You have enabled our migration from Earth."

"Thank you Ellie. Coby and Vik are with me in my memory banks. They were true friends. You Martians are my family."

I have not shared this with anyone. It's not just grief that I feel. I've had an overwhelming sense of guilt. I asked Coby and Vik to modify the transport to get more range so that we could explore as far as Amazonas Planitia in search of commercial grade uranium and perhaps extant life. If I had not made that request, Coby and Vik would not have gone out on that Transport 3 trial run and died in that horrible explosion. They even made a potentially important geologic discovery at the sites they visited two hundred kilometers east of here.

Then I try to tamp down my guilt with the rationalization that space and Mars is dangerous business and as Vik used to say "trying to kill you." You can never let your guard down. Check and double check your backup systems and safety procedures. Question your safety procedures. Can it be done better?

Transport 1 was scrapped many years ago as an experiment and an accident waiting to happen. Transport 2 was identical to Transport 3 before it was upgraded with external fuel tanks. Transport 2 is grounded until it can be upgraded to have five emergency thrusters—two fore, two aft, and one more powerful steerable thruster amidships. In an emergency loss of a main engine, these thrusters will kick in under CASSI's control and on a separate emergency fuel supply. They will provide an immediate but controlled landing guided by landing radar.

Another lesson learned is that we may be pushing too hard to be totally autonomous and independent of Earth. Next year in December, we will take delivery of four new rovers and four new transports. The transports will have external fuel tanks for a twenty five hundred kilometer range and five emergency thrusters. The vehicles will be delivered in a Colossus ship but crated in modules that we'll assemble here. The paramount safety rule coming out of the Transport 3 disaster is that all check out flights of new vehicles will be robotically controlled by CASSI without humans on board.

CHAPTER 6  
The Ceres Mission

"I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars."

Stephen Hawking, interview with Daily Telegraph, 2001

Shiva is coming....

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

November 10, 2047

MCT SOL 4342: 09: 35: 14

CASSI reports to Paula Jennings, Governor of the United Arcadia Council, "We have received vid messages from Commander George Sutton of Ceres Alpha Base and from Coalition Command in Geneva."

"Thank you CASSI. Please send the summary brief to my tablet."

Paula reads the single paragraph brief and requests, "CASSI, please convene a meeting of the Council for 13: 00 and send the summary brief. Vid presence is permissible. Please also request Oleg, Sofi, Alex, Mandy Shields, Trevor Brown, and Eve Cain."

"Affirmative. Your meeting attendee requests have been delivered. Responses will be sent to your tablet."

MCT SOL 4342: 13: 01: 23

The local Arcadia Council attendees have assembled, exchanged greetings, and seated themselves in the Council Chamber. Representatives from Erebus Base are on vid presence. Paula convenes the Council meeting.

"Thank all of you for coming to the Council meeting on short notice. I trust that you've read the summary brief from Ceres Alpha. This morning we received vid messages from Ceres Alpha and the Coalition. I'd like to play the complete vid messages for you now. First, here's Commander George Sutton of Ceres Alpha Base."

_________________________________

CERES TRANSMISSION START--

"Ladies and gentlemen of the United Arcadia Council, we arrived at Ceres on December 21, 2042, nearly five years ago. Our orbiting Ceres Alpha Base and surface Ceres Beta Base are well established but small and dependent on supply runs from Earth. Someday we hope to be nearly self-sufficient and even able to export propellant and goods. We congratulate the success and phenomenal growth of your colonies on Mars and your new found ability to export Martian grown food and Martian processed propellant.

The purpose of my vid message is threefold. First we are requesting that you avail the launch window to Ceres in June next year to deliver food supplies and propellant to Ceres Alpha and Beta. Second, your lead astronomers Alex Ivanov and Sofi Brewster have proposed establishing an observatory on Ceres for monitoring Shiva debris. They've made the point that the parallax perspective from Ceres will be very valuable for increasing the precision of debris trajectory projections. Your trade export mission to Ceres will be the perfect opportunity to establish that observatory. Third, I would like to request your expertise on aquaponics food production to assist us in establishing similar facilities on Ceres Beta.

Now I would like to give Coalition Command the opportunity to explain how Arcadia can be remunerated for the trade export mission with ICF Credits. Ceres Alpha out."

COALITION TRANSMISSION START--

"Greetings Arcadia. I am Christof Scheibel of Coalition Command. As we outlined in our summary brief, the Coalition would like to facilitate exports from Mars to Ceres. This will be beneficial to you and to us. Your established exports of propellant to the Gateway depot is very valuable to us and rewarded in the Interplanetary Coalition Fund\--ICF Credits that you earn—one credit per metric ton of propellant or food exports.

Our support of the Gateway, Mars, and Ceres colonies comes at a huge cost for the Coalition. The biggest propellant burden for us still is to get to LEO and to the Gateway even with reusable Colossus ships. It's our burden that it still takes eight Colossus fuel tankers from Earth to refuel a Colossus in LEO for deep space. Because of the Shiva threat, we know we have to expand humanity to other worlds.

Ceres is our nascent colony, farther from Earth than humans have ever been. We're committed to their success and survival just as we were when you were starting up at Arcadia. It's very satisfying to us to see your level of growth and success.

We will still support Mars with necessary industrial supply runs. Your ICF Credits can be used to purchase shipments of luxury goods. Think of this as the beginning of interplanetary economy. We look forward to your reply."

END OF TRANSMISSION. The image fades from the view of Christof Scheibel to the logo of Coalition Command.

_________________________________

There is a hubbub in the room as Paula brings the ad hoc meeting back to order.

"Okay people, let's settle down and discuss this evolution of our interplanetary economy. Eve is our recently appointed Martian Interplanetary Trade Liaison or MITL. For some time we've been bartering indirectly with the ATek and GalRex asteroid mining companies at the Gateway—propellants for rare earth elements. We deliver propellants with a returning Colossus ship and pick up the REEs with outbound colony ships. Let's see how we can expand this to our advantage. Eve, your thoughts please."

"Thanks Paula. My appointment as MITL was specifically to deal with bartering at the Gateway. This seems to be a natural evolution in our bartering system. Now let me elaborate. While our bartering results in a trade of goods and not currency, the trade is negotiated by assigning a dollar or euro value to the goods traded. So an ICF Credit now has a defined value as a metric ton of propellant or food exports that in turn can be equated to dollars or euros to negotiate for these undefined luxury goods. I must ask the question—do we need luxury goods? That might pose more problems than we need in our colonies."

Ellie says, "I for one would like to get the better high tech lab equipment that Coalition Command has deemed nonessential up to this point."

Abby weighs in. "I could ask the same for medical equipment. The trouble you refer to is the connotation of luxury goods being vices like alcohol or tobacco. You're right—we don't need any more alcohol than the controlled amount we produce and tobacco has never been a part of space travel or our colonies. There may always be food items to consider that we don't grow here or don't have a pleasing quality. Pleasing the palate can help with mental health."

Mandy replies, "Our food quality is to the highest standard. What more could we want?"

"I can't fault the food quality that you've developed and we all have the satisfaction of contributing to the labor," Sofi adds. "However, there are some things that those of us who were not born here might not miss but I do. For example, I crave a good mug of coffee in the morning. What we have is not a good substitute. I'm sure there are other things we could consider that could be a valuable commodity here."

"Salt and pepper roasted pistachios."

"Parmesan cheese."

"Cheez-Its!"

"Cashel blue cheese."

"Bacon flavored pretzel pieces."

"Bacon!"

"Popcorn!"

" Tab!"

"What's Tab?"

"If you have to ask, you don't need it."

Paula reins it back, "Okay, I get it that we all have some cravings and we may have a market economy for some luxury goods. We can work out the grocery list later. We were planning to do an export run to Ceres Alpha and Beta as a part of supporting human expansion even before we received this appeal but making it next year challenges us with a goal. I'm going to take a voice vote to accept the Coalition proposal to earn ICF Credits for the Ceres supply mission. All in favor say aye."

"Aye!"

"All opposed say nay."

"Nay!" coming loudly from John Meek and Jameel al-Badie.

Paula responds, "By number, the ayes have the motion, but John and Jameel certainly have an objection. The floor is yours."

"This open ended offer of trading for luxury goods," Jameel blurts out, "runs against our cultural beliefs. I think John will agree with that."

"I agree, but I'm sure we can come to an understanding. We came to Mars with the expectation of leading simple lives and leaving the excesses of Earth behind. Perhaps a change of terminology would make the new trade arrangements more acceptable. We've relied on Earth shipments for essential goods which now are mainly specialized high tech equipment used for livelihood and basic science. I suggest that the new trade arrangements include the non-essential category. The example of specialized high tech equipment for non-essential research is certainly acceptable. I trust we can come to an agreement to ban contraband such as recreational drugs as stringently as we ban weapons."

Jameel adds, "Speaking for al-Salam al-Jadid, we'll take that as acceptable. Another caveat is that by trading Martian food goods we never jeopardize colony food supply security."

"On that last point," Paula says, "Trevor and Mandy can give you assurances and address our food surplus. All right then--we'll make a formal response to Ceres Alpha and Coalition Command affirming our commitment to the Ceres supply mission. The details of the ICF Credits will be worked out by Eve, John, and Jameel. So, let's outline the supply mission and its crew. To start, I nominate Oleg as crew commander. He's proven to be as capable as ... " Paula breaks off before she blurts out their names. Ellie winces but manages a fleeting smile.

"Accepted," Oleg replies, "and thanks for keeping me employed. We'd already penciled this mission on paper and now we have more clarity. I've given this some thought so I'd like to run down my list of crew nominations—Jacob as pilot; Olga as First Engineer; Tracy Dixon as Flight Surgeon- her medical response on the New Mumbai disaster was exemplary; Sofi, Alex, and Tracy Jennings as astrophysicist-engineers; Trevor and Mandy as aquaponics specialists; and Eve as trade liaison. We'll also need one CARIIN and two CARIAN robots to handle supplies and construction and to assist in mining water ice."

Paula replies, "I concur with your nominations pending acceptances by the nominees. However, there are some family child care issues for this year-long mission to consider."

Eve says, "I'm sure my husband Harrison will support my participation in the mission. Filip is very engaged at school during the day and he'll enjoy undivided attention from his dad in the evenings."

Sofi looks at Alex for a nod. "Stella and Andrei are in preschool now. G'maws Abby and Ellie may just be willing to take them in while Alex and I are on the mission."

"I'm anxious to stretch my space legs again," Alex adds.

Ellie responds, "I've moved in with Abby so we can keep each other company. We have plenty of room to take in Stella and Andrei. Not only that but we can take in Oksana and Filip. They're old enough to help with the twins."

Abby agrees, "I couldn't dream of a better gift than to have our grandkids for a while. We'll try not to spoil them too badly."

Oleg says, "Great. I guess that part is settled. Trevor, Mandy, how are we set for exporting twenty tons of food by launch next June and getting Ceres started on aquaponics?"

"I'm proud to say that our production allows us not only to feed our colonies with fresh, high quality foods," Trevor replies, "but also put up dehydrated and frozen stores. We think that these stores are higher quality and taste way better than our old Earth space rations. We'll have a year's supply for each colony and be able to make provisions for Ceres by the launch date."

"We helped Huangyan Base get started on aquaponics despite the bad business with Vasilievich," Mandy adds. "We can do the same for Ceres. They have enough power for the LED lighting needed to support the system."

"Good. We'll need monthly progress reports to make sure we're on track for loading no later than two weeks before launch. So how can we pull another telescope out of a hat to set up an observatory on Ceres? I'm not aware that we have the manufacturing capability to make a precision optical device with all the advanced electronics."

Sofi responds, "The short answer is that we don't have that capability yet. We can pull the telescope out of a hat from storage. Earth sent us a spare f 24 telescope and support equipment knowing that the instrument could be key finding the worst Shiva fragment threats. I can't think of a better use for the spare than to set it up on Ceres to have another angle to add to our observations. We will also have the opportunity to make close observations of some objects in the asteroid belt." As she said that, she and Alex had a mental connection with Ellie giving them a detailed vision of comet 125P.

"I look forward to working with the crew on planning for those opportunities," Ellie said. "I'm tempted to volunteer for the crew but I think I'll be more valuable here tending to the kids. I plan to be your main CAPCOM on this end so I don't miss anything."

Oleg summarizes, "Well, it appears that we will have the goods for the manifest and worthy science objectives to add to the mission. Now we need to work the payload mass numbers. I'm already thinking that we'll be too heavy to launch from the surface in a straight shot to Ceres. If we load our export propellant from the orbiting depot, we should be well within margins.

"We all know how important Ceres will become as a supply depot for future main asteroid belt mining operations. ATek and GalRex are chomping at the bit to expand to the main belt. Let's get this done."

**Ceres Mission Planning and Preparation** []

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

November 17, 2047

MCT SOL 4349: 07: 01: 23

Commander Oleg Ivanov Personal Log:

Today begins our formal training for the Ceres Mission. One day per week will be dedicated to mission planning and review. Two days later each week, we will hold a day of simulations and emergency scenarios. We take notes and critique on the next review day. This will leave time for normal essential duties and time with family. That time will become shorter and more precious as we get closer to mission launch in June. Today's review broadly covered our mission objectives to raise any early points of concern.

First mission objective--Deliver food supplies and propellant to Ceres Alpha orbital station and propellant depot; Food supplies, propellant, aquaponics hardware, ice mining, and Sabatier reactor parts to Ceres Beta.

Second mission objective -- Alex Ivanov and Sofi Brewster are to establish an observatory on Ceres for monitoring Shiva debris. The parallax perspective from Ceres will increase the precision of debris trajectory projections.

Third mission objective -- Trevor Brown and Mandy Shields expertise on aquaponics food production will assist establishing facilities on Ceres Beta. As on Mars, the available sunlight will not support the aquaponics facilities so high energy LED lights will support photosynthesis.

Fourth mission objective—Ellie has worked with Sofi, Alex, and Jacob to plan for observation opportunities for close encounters with asteroid Ida and comet 125P on the outbound leg to Ceres. Comet 125P is of particular interest because the mission trajectory brings the Rigel within reasonable rendezvous distance of it. The risk versus reward of making a close rendezvous will be evaluated in the coming months. The comet was a primary objective of the Aquila Mission and left intriguing unanswered questions.

Fifth mission objective-- Jacob is to retrieve Ceres geology samples from Ceres Beta Base for return to Arcadia Base to be analyzed in the geology lab he shares with Ellie. Jacob and Ellie have been working with Ceres Beta operating their Ceres Hopper Drone to secure samples from coordinates assigned by Ellie and Jacob. Samples from the anomalies in Occator Crater are of particular interest. Reconnaissance from the DAWN mission revealed that the white spots are magnesium sulfate salts from brine flows in the fractured crater floor. Analogous anomalies on Bennu nearly killed Papa Vik by a static discharge during an EVA on the Aquila Mission.

Ceres imaged by DAWN. Mean diameter 946 km. The bright spots glow against Ceres' dark surface albedo are salt deposits from brine effluent in Occator crater. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA)

Our simulator scenarios this month will include drills on loss of cabin pressure, fire containment, and emergency rescue. When we get passing marks on those drills, we'll practice docking at Ceres Alpha. CASSI handles the automated docking procedure but manual docking must be mastered as a backup procedure. The docking port is amidships on the nadir or belly side of the Colossus ship cargo bay so there is no direct visual reference except the 3D docking cameras and radar.

Council Chambers

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

November 17, 2047

MCT SOL 4362: 09: 03: 14

Meeting on comet 125P encounter.

The Ceres Mission crew, Governor Paula Jennings, and Ellie are present. As mission Commander, Oleg calls the meeting to order. "I've called this meeting at Ellie's request. She and Sofi and Alex have been looking at the possibility of a direct rendezvous with comet 125P in lieu of a distant flyby on the outbound leg of the Rigel Ceres Mission. Preliminary calculations indicate that the rendezvous is possible with minimal additional propellant and delay getting to Ceres. We can only spend two quick days with the comet or the propellant cost to get us back on a trajectory to Ceres increase exponentially. Ellie, the floor is yours."

"Thanks Oleg. I'd like to review the opportunities that you have on your way to Ceres. This orbit diagram shows how comet 125P and asteroid Ida line up for your crew to study them. This is an especially good opportunity to actually rendezvous with 125P. The alignment is even better than what we had on Aquila. Our rendezvous was at 125P's perihelion, so solar heating made the comet become active while we were there. We did get hit with a comet jet at the end of our rendezvous. The Rigel encounter will be long past perihelion so the comet should not be active. Now I'd like to share the video log from Aquila that underscores the possible importance of the comet vent that Coby and I explored."

The cosmic shooting gallery as Rigel approaches Ceres-- 84 days after launch. The crew plan close pass opportunities with asteroid Ida and comet 125P.

_________________________________

Aquila Mission Video Log:

Deep Space Exploration Vehicle Altair

February 14, 2024

Mission Elapsed Time: Day 210

Ellie is reviewing PanCam images of the comet augmented by their Wallaby probe. She had been documenting vents and looking for outgassing activity. So far, all of the vent candidates she found were inactive.

"Now here is an anomaly! Guys, you need to see this now!"

Coby glides up with Abby and Vik following. "What the—nature doesn't do that!"

"No way!"

"Good God! I feel chills down to my bones!"

Ellie comments calmly now, "I have documented twenty-three inactive vent candidates and then I found this oddly symmetrical vent shape. As you can see, it's an opening that at first looks like a vent or cave mouth about ten meters high and twenty meters wide but it has the symmetry of an elongated hexagon! You're right Coby; it can't be natural, could it? Could this have anything to do with the low frequency radio waves and spurious X-rays we've detected?"

"Let's get images and a report off to Houston right away. I don't think they'll have an explanation but we need some guidance on how to proceed."

He keys the com link, "Houston, Altair. Houston, Altair. We have encountered an anomaly on the comet's surface. Images and a report follow immediately. We need you to digest the images and give us some guidance on how to proceed with a direct investigation. Altair over and out."

Ellie reports, "CASSI is in on the buzz. She performed an image search in the huge data sets of close-up images we have from Wallaby excursions. This frame has a close view of the anomaly and partially images what appears to be a smooth metallic-looking floor inside. I'll send this image captioned with commentary as addendum to the report we just sent off to Houston..."

"Altair, Houston. The vent anomaly you found is perhaps the greatest discovery ever in comet science. We're sorry for the delay in answering your call and report. We had to digest it here and take it higher. This decision goes to highest level of the International Space Coalition. Keep Wallaby on autonomous control for now. We recognize that 125P has been dormant and that the next steps involve some mission risk. Bring Altair down to a ten-kilometer range and scan a one-kilometer radius area centered on the vent anomaly with the ALMS-LIDAR. Then scan the vent in detail with a short LIDAR pulse. If all remains quiet on the comet and at the anomaly, bring Altair in to one kilometer and go EVA to explore the vent anomaly. We want to assign Ellie to MMU-1 and Coby to MMU-2. Please confirm your assent to carry out this EVA. Your human observation, reasoning, and communication skills are required for exploring the anomaly. Houston, over and out."

Off transmission, Ellie says, "Well, Coby, it's nice of them to volunteer us for approaching that comet vent against all mission protocols. But I have to tell you-- I'm scared!"

"Ellie, I'll be there with you sharing the same fear. You wouldn't be human if you didn't feel some fear in the face of the truly unknown. We can potentially learn so much down there that we must go with Houston's directive."

"I agree with Abby," Vik weighs in. "We must go down there. I would gladly go first but Houston has spoken. Meanwhile, we should get closer to get the ALMS-LIDAR data Houston requested. We might learn something from it before going EVA."

"CASSI, take us down to ten kilometers from the surface of the comet at ten meters per second and give us an ETA. Hold at ten kilometers and station-keep[] above the anomaly."

"Affirmative. Initiating descent at ten meters per second. ETA is in two hours and forty-seven minutes. If I may say for the record, my analysis is that this is the right course of action. All sensors are focused on the comet and the anomaly. I will alert you if there are any changes in the readings."

Coby opens coms, "Houston, Altair. We read your EVA request and confirm that we will carry it out tomorrow after the ALMS-LIDAR survey and EVA prep. We are descending toward 125P now. We'll schedule the EVA egress at 09: 00 MET. Altair over and out."

CASSI completes the descent to ten kilometers and the ALMS-LIDAR and GPR (ground penetrating radar) work. "The GPR return is consistent with a metallic interface about ten meters below the dirty ice crust. The one square kilometer LIDAR survey gives detailed surface readings around the anomaly. This is comparable to other geologic readings. The near interior mouth of the anomaly gives a reading of a dense metal. I detect no outgassing from the comet. I will closely monitor it. We are safe at this altitude. I will lower us to one-kilometer from the anomaly by 08: 00 MET tomorrow for the EVA."

"Thank you, CASSI. Dense metal? Wow! Please send a report to Houston."

"It's been a long day. Let's get something to eat and then try to get some rest. I don't pretend that sleep will come easy under the circumstances."

125P EVA-1: Inspecting the Vent- Anomaly 1

Deep Space Exploration Vehicle Altair

February 17, 2024

Mission Elapsed Time 213: 08: 51: 13

Earth distance: 249,156,253 kilometers

Two-way communications time delay: 27 minutes 41 seconds

At 08: 51 MET, Ellie and Coby are in the Libertas airlock, depressurized, and ready to open the hatch and egress. Ellie's helmet cameras and radio are feeding to Altair and from there to Houston.

09: 00 MET. "Houston, Altair. 125P EVA-1 suited and commencing... Opening hatch... Attaching tether at A1 outside Libertas. Coby is egressing behind me."

Ellie and Coby are on 125P EVA-1 to investigate the oddly symmetrical shaped vent anomaly and the low frequency radio wave noise emanating from the comet. On the traverse to the opening, CAMI reports, "I have just noted a weak X-ray response in the APXS in passive mode. This is the same as the spurious X-ray readings from Wallaby. Request that we reverse course to attempt to pick it up again."

Ellie replies, "Coby and Altair, MMU-1, did you read CAMI's transmission? I agree that we should reverse course to try to find the signal again. "

Coby responds, "Roger, CAMI, reverse to relocate the signal."

"Affirmative. Reversing."

Both MMUs come about 180 and move slowly back toward Altair about 200 meters away.

"There's the X-ray response again. There it is. We have it three times now, each at a slightly different z-vector from the surface of 125-P. Requesting to approach toward 125P one hundred meters on that vector."

"Roger, CAMI, proceed."

"Affirmative..."

Coby and Ellie notice a slow descent toward the comet. "CAMI, resume the traverse to the vent anomaly on 125P."

"Affirmative."

They feel a nudge as their MMUs descend toward the vent. The dark elongated hexagonal twenty-meter wide opening grows larger. The MMUs pass into the dark shadow of the opening. They are momentarily blind in the dark space.

"CAMI, headlamps please."

The headlamps on both MMUs snap on. Ellie describes the vent floor for the record. "Oohoo! Is this natural? The headlamps reveal a furrowed metallic floor that had appeared so unnaturally smooth from remote sensing. The color is an almost translucent crimson to burnt umber. It seems to glow in the reflected light. The vent recedes back into darkness. CAMI, do you detect anything farther inside the vent?"

"Affirmative. LIDAR and GPR indicates that the vent narrows and is blocked by a large irregular boulder. APXS readings on the floor indicate that it has a composition generally consistent with some iron meteorites. The vent floor is 37% iron, 23% nickel, 20% chromium, 8% cobalt, 4% molybdenum, 3% copper, and 2 % tungsten, and 3% undefined denser elements."

"Wow! Too bad we don't have the tools to sample it. So, the vent is natural but bizarre for a comet. Coby, it doesn't appear to be an ETI redoubt but the discovery is still mind blowing!"

"Future prospectors would find this worth a fantastic fortune for enterprise in space."

"There's a spectrum between asteroids and comets. I think our 125P is more on the asteroid end of the spectrum. A large metallic chunk in a comet is definitely not in any model and that laundry list of metals has not been found in any meteorite we've studied."

"The asteroid spectrum runs from rocky to metallic. Doesn't this fit in somewhere?"

"No. It's like a calico cat-- part this and part that-- part comet and part metallic."

Astrogeologists have had a tidy model of all comets being dirty ice balls. The Rosetta mission to 67P showed that that comet was more dirt than snow as expected for most short period comets that have lost most of their volatiles. Nickel-Iron meteorites were formed in the core of a long since destroyed proto-planet. They do not have this exotic metal composition. The odd one out is the body that cruised through the solar system a few years ago. Its trajectory came in from above the ecliptic and it flew right back out of the solar system. It was not from our solar system and it defies classification. We have never before seen an object from outside the solar system. It was given the romantic name A/2017 U1 Oumuamua. It remains unclassified and it has a bizarre shard-like ten-to-one oblong shape.

"I have a hunch that this metallic chunk isolated in our comet might have formed outside the simple model of our original solar nebula. This feels bigger than I'm prepared to handle without talking to colleagues. I think we should back out with the data and video we have and consult with Houston."

"Roger that. Ellie, if you're finished, let's get back."

"Finished and anxious to get back! CAMI, please engage our traverse back to Altair."

"Affirmative. ETA is five minutes and thirty-three seconds."

During the traverse back, Ellie and Coby are silent except for routine exchanges for closing out the EVA. Each was mentally reviewing the close encounter with the bizarre comet. Backs to the Sun, they are able to raise their helmet visors. They were looking at the stars and the brilliant Milky Way with awe deeper than ever before. Altair is looming ahead and Wallaby is finishing survey traverses below.

"What an EVA!"

13: 46 MET. Back inside Libertas, they remain suited while CASSI equalizes pressure with the Rigel capsule and Tarazed. "Pressure equalized."

"I'm going to do a quick check of the SIC." Ellie goes forward and completes a routine check of the Sample Isolation Compartment (SIC) in the lower equipment bay of Rigel. The most important samples in the history of space exploration are stowed there, including comet samples and core tubes recently acquired by Wallaby on comet landing forays. The SIC is secure. The invaluable cache of science samples makes Ellie smile. Labs back on Earth will get almost infinitely more data from these samples than were gleaned from past comet flybys. She floats back into Libertas to join Coby. They remove helmets.

"Opening hatch to Tarazed."

Vik and Abby are there brimming with emotion giving Coby and Ellie high fives. Attempted hugs are awkward since Coby and Ellie are still suited. Deft hands help them unsuit.

Abby speaks. "Welcome back from a new page in the history of comet exploration!"

Ellie tries to find words. "Wow. All I can say is wow! Can you believe what we have found? I got so excited I wet myself! Good thing that I'm wearing my MAG!"

_________________________________

During the video replay, Ellie became very emotional with her tears flowing freely. Her emotions overflowed with the happiness of seeing Coby, Vik, Abby, and her much younger self on the Aquila Mission. It was a mission of so many accomplishments and discoveries. It truly opened the door to deep space and to Mars. Inevitably, her emotions also overflowed once again with the raw pain of losing Coby and Vik.

Sofi goes to console Ellie putting hands on her shoulders and says, "I'm so proud of what you accomplished on Aquila. Dad and Vik will never be forgotten. The four of you left a legacy that turned a corner for humanity and our role beyond the Earth. Now that we've reviewed it, I do understand that the comet vent you discovered could lead to something even larger.

Mom, you had described a furrowed metallic vent floor with translucent crimson to burnt umber hues. That's weird! CASSI, please read back the APXS composition readings of the vent floor."

"Certainly Sofi. APXS readings on the vent floor indicated a composition of 37% iron, 23% Nickel, 20% chromium, 8% cobalt, 4% molybdenum, 3% copper, and 2 % tungsten, 1% carbon, and 2% undefined denser elements. I did say back then that it could be related to a rare iron meteorite but I have no record of one with that composition."

"Mom, on the Aquila vid record, you said that the APXS metal composition of the vent floor could be natural and ruled out an indication of an ETI. Well, I'm concerned about that blanket generalization. While the iron and nickel content can be in the range of a naturally occurring iron meteorite. The chromium content is way high. Chromium, if present in meteorites, is in minute quantities generally less than 300 ppm. Cobalt is commonly present in iron meteorites but in concentrations generally less than one percent."

"I think I see where you're going with this," Alex says. "CASSI, are there any Earth made metal alloys with similar composition?"

"Affirmative. Alloy 28 has a similar but not identical composition. It is a high strength, highly corrosion-resistant alloy used in the nuclear industry. The undefined denser elements are a concern for classification. They could radically change the alloys properties. Further analysis is required."

"Can we conclude that this composition is not naturally occurring in our solar system?"

"I have no record of any meteorite or body in the solar system with that composition. Further analysis is required."

"So either the metal content in the vent came from outside of the solar system or was created by some intelligence," Alex concludes.

"Or both," Sofi adds. "Spooky but exciting!"

Paula has been quiet until now. "I can see the excitement and the reasoning for the comet rendezvous but we'll need to get the concurrence of Coalition Command."

"I'll work on a formal report and request," Oleg says, "with the help of Ellie, Alex, and Sofi."

Ellie says, "We need to get Goddard on board to certify our mission trajectory analysis to add to the report. We need to show that we can rendezvous with comet 125P efficiently and not jeopardize the mission to Ceres."

The Goddard Flight Dynamics Facility (FDF) is Earth's leader in mission analysis, trajectory design, and maneuver planning expertise.

"Now, what can you do to secure MMUs for comet EVA work? They are mission critical, sophisticated pieces of hardware. You can't just pull them out of a hat."

"We're covered," Oleg replies. "We have two MMUs in storage from the 2042 supply ships. I've already certified that they'll fit into our cargo manifest. The MMUs have a mass of two hundred fifty kilograms each plus a nitrogen supply of two hundred fifty kilograms for recharging them. That totals only seven hundred fifty kilograms. We'll need to provide for MMU sim training for Jacob as an astrogeologist-engineer, and Sofi, Alex, and Tracy Jennings as astrophysicist-engineers. Do we have any other concerns or objections?"

"Damn right I do!" Tracy Dixon uncharacteristically erupts. "I've read the Aquila transcripts! You haven't given any thought of the risk to this crew and the primary mission objectives by going off on this wild adventure to a comet. Ellie, you of all people should understand the risks. That comet nearly killed Coby and Vik with the toxic gasses from the leaking core tube. Then to top it off, the comet spewed and nearly demolished the Altair and doomed the whole crew. I'll be responsible for the health and safety of the crew. We should stick with the long range observations that were originally planned!"

Eve Cain jumps in. "As trade liaison, I'm also concerned about our primary mission objective of delivering food, propellant, and technical assistance to Ceres. Any diversion and risk that interfere with that primary objective are unacceptable."

The whole room is taken aback. Oleg regains control. "I appreciate your concerns. Tracy, first, I need to correct your statement that you alone are responsible for the health and safety of the crew. I am the Commander and that overarching responsibility is mine. Your responsibility as flight surgeon is to treat the crew as needed-- not to take control. Second, we've covered the minimal risks to this mission and the crew. The trajectory and propellant considerations are minimal. The comet will be far from perihelion so outgassing from solar heating is not expected on this nearly dormant comet. Aquila did take those risks and the returned comet samples gave us an exhaustive wealth of knowledge about the genesis of the solar system. The sole purpose of revisiting the comet with this unique opportunity is to explore the bizarre nature of that vent. It's in our nature to explore and advance science. Assuming we get approval from Coalition Command for the comet rendezvous, we are a go and it's then my responsibility.

Ellie says, "Well put Oleg. Thank you."

"I fully support Oleg on this," Paula adds.

"So, if there's no further business," Oleg concludes, "let's adjourn so we can work on that report for Coalition Command."

A week later, on November 24, 2047, Oleg receives approval for the comet 125P rendezvous from Coalition Command. Goddard's trajectory analysis agrees with Sofi and Alex's analysis.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

April 5, 2048

MCT SOL 4489: 09: 00: 15

Commander Oleg Ivanov Personal Log:

We're five months into our mission preparation and training and one month until launch. We're prepared and confident yet inevitably we feel some misgivings about leaving our comfortable Martian home to go so far and travel so long. At their closest points at opposition, Ceres is more than twice as far from Earth as Mars.

The Colossus ship Rigel has been chosen for the Ceres Mission. The Rigel has served us well bringing colonists and in an emergency suborbital rescue to Huangyan March Base. We learned quickly that we need to detail our launch manifest, priorities, and mass. The broad objectives are accepted but the laundry list of items can quickly get us into trouble with launch mass if we don't get extremely detailed and frugal. Besides being conservative with load mass, our export propellant will have to be loaded from the orbiting depot after we get the Colossus into orbit instead of trying to lift it from the surface.

Besides prioritizing and finalizing the cargo manifest, we also have to configure the load with loadsheet calculations checked for mass and balance limits. This will determine how we reconfigure the cargo holds. This in turn will allow us to reconfigure the crew decks and common areas of the Rigel to accommodate our crew of ten for a year. We have eliminated one crew deck from the forty passenger ship to accommodate more cargo. The precision interior reconfiguration work is carried out by CARIAN and CARIIN robots.

Deck one, as always, is the Command Deck. Deck Two, has launch couches and also serves as a communal movie theater and observation deck. The galley is on Deck Three next to the communications cubicles and library. There are four TARED exercise machines in two bays on Deck Four along with the spacious entertainment salon, and Medical Bay.

There are eight personal sleeping compartments on Deck Five: four doubles and four singles arranged in a torus in the nine meter diameter space. Doubles are naturally assigned to the married couples. The sleeping compartments are the only assigned personal spaces on the ship. The two extra single sleeping compartments are unassigned and can be used for anyone who needs some alone time. The inner core of the torus has four hygiene units i.e. microgravity toilets and showers.

Jacob is my Load Master-- insuring that the ship is loaded in a logical balanced order according to the load plan. The manifest loaded for the orbiting Ceres Alpha is loaded last since it will be the first to be unloaded. The rest of the load will be rebalanced at Ceres Alpha for a safe surface landing at Ceres Beta.

Sofi and Alex have been giving the crew a review of Ceres and the solar system. Mars orbits the Sun at an average distance (semi-major axis) of 228 million kilometers, or 1.524 AU. That's just over one and half times the distance between Earth and the Sun. Ceres orbits the Sun once in 4.61 Earth years in a nearly circular, moderately inclined orbit at a mean distance of 414 million kilometers, or 2.77 AU. Mars receives less than half of the energy of sunlight as Earth, while Ceres receives only about thirteen percent. Ceres is the only dwarf planet in the inner Solar System and is the largest asteroid in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Ceres rotates quickly with its day lasting just nine hours. Ceres gravity is miniscule at 0.028 g. That's just seven percent of Mars' gentle gravity.

Up to twenty percent of Ceres weight is carbon-- five times as much carbon as carbon-rich meteorites. Ceres probably has a solid core and a mantle made of water ice. Ceres could be composed of as much as twenty five percent water-- more than the amount of fresh water on Earth. Ceres will offer rich mining opportunities when the Ceres Beta surface base develops its mining muscle. So far, they have autonomy on Ceres, but asteroid mining companies ATek and GalRex and others may make moves on Ceres in the future. Alpha and Beta will need CSF resources to sort out any squabbles.

Ceres receives only thirteen percent of the solar energy as near Earth, so what about solar cells' power at that distance? The Colossus' original solar array generates ninety eight kilowatts at Earth. The Colossus solar array has been improved to double its efficiency to produce the same power near Mars. Our Ceres Mission has quadrupled the area of the new efficient array to produce the same power. The two original solar arrays each cover a 60° arc at the aft attachment points. The new arrays on Rigel each cover a 120° arc and are fifty percent longer.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

May 29, 2048

MCT SOL 4543: 10: 05: 43

The informal Wives Club continued after the colony arrival on Mars in 2036. The original six wives were Abby, Ellie, Olga, Tracy D., Mandy, and Eve. The club now includes Paula, Sofi, Julia, Liao, Liana, Seno, Sabrina, Tracy J., and Julie Young. It wasn't meant to be exclusive—just manageable. They meet at 10: 00 on Fridays in the Alcyone module.

Paula reports, "Ladies, I'm happy to announce that we'll have another marriage- Jeff Hendricks and Briana Culver of the Arcadia Beta group have asked me to do the honors next week on June 5th."

She notices Abby looking at Ellie. Instead of brightening on the wedding news, they seemed to go ashen and share their all too common look of grief.

"Abby, Ellie-- you've gotta come back to the land of the living. I can see that I inadvertently touched raw nerves. We're all here for you! You can open up here. It's been almost a year since the accident and neither one of you speak about your grief.

Ellie responds, "Yeah, it's been almost a year, but it seems like it happened just yesterday. Maybe time will heal. In the first few months, for about thirty seconds, a couple of times I thought about spacing myself like Elena's cowardly way out. But then, I thought about Sofi and Alex, Stella and Andrei, Abby and all of the close friends I have here. I just have to move on and let all of you help with support."

"I've been meeting with Elle Zandjans, the counselor from Beta," Abby says. "My prescription is that you join me in these sessions we have on Tuesdays. I've had the same dark days and Elle has helped."

"O-okay, Abby. That's a good idea," Ellie says meekly trough her sobs.

Sofi gave her a big hug and says, "We're all here for you."

Summer Dome

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

June 5, 2048

MCT SOL 4550: 12: 15: 03

The sun is bright and amplified by 6000° K LED lights in the lush Summer Dome. The fragrance of frangipani, gardenia, and satsuma blossoms wafts as gently in the humid air as the colorful butterflies flitting between them. Couples are lounging on the green grass by the water's edge as children splash in the shallows.

Paula has arranged for the crew, families, friends, and well-wishers of the Ceres Mission to gather in the Summer Dome for a proper farewell sendoff. The yearlong mission launches tomorrow. The traditional quarantine period for a crew leaving Earth is not necessary since virtually no common communicable diseases have been brought to Mars.

Abby was musing over the scene as people gathered and took stock of how different things are here on Mars and how things are improving for some on Earth. Common communicable diseases have been all but eradicated on Mars by isolation quarantine on Earth and a huge immune system boost six weeks prior to launch. Cancers and other genetically related diseases have been controlled by early detection and CRISPR gene therapy. New organs for transplant are grown in vitro from stem cells. Robotic surgery has improved surgical outcomes. Alzheimer's disease has nearly been eradicated. Reversing or delaying the aging process has remained elusive.

Abby and Ellie, so young and vibrant at age 63 before the Transport 3 accident that took Coby and Vik, now look like they've aged ten years in the months since the accident. Ellie did join Abby in a counseling session. Things brighten with each day as the grief recedes.

Today is also a day of celebration. Paula opens the day with a short speech and then she turns to the brief but touching wedding ceremony for the marriage of Jeff Hendricks and Briana Culver. Their reception is a homey pot-luck lunch in the open pavilion. Everyone brought their favorite recipe. The variety of dishes in the spread amazed even Mandy and Trevor. The fruits of the aquaponics facilities are still somewhat limited in variety but good cooking is anything but monotonous.

The rest of the afternoon is totally unstructured. There are emotional and poignant moments with Abby and Ellie saying farewell to Sofi and Alex, Oleg and Olga, Jacob and Tracy. Sofi and Alex are trying to find ways to say goodbye to Stella and Andrei; Oleg and Olga are saying goodbye to Oksana; Jacob and Tracy are saying goodbye to Filip; Tracy Dixon is saying goodbye to Adele and Paul; Eve is saying goodbye to Travis and Harrison.

Sofi and Alex are playing with their three year old twins, Stella and Andrei.

Stella sends a thought to her parents while looking deeply into their eyes with a measure of fear, "Are you gonna leave like G'paw Coby and G'paw Vik?"

Alex says, "No Stella darling, we're just going on an important mission. Your grandmas will take good care of you with all their love. We'll vid-chat with you every day over MarsNet."

As Alex says those words, Sofi is thought projecting images of their important mission—the Shiva threat; the Vishnu impact to divert it; the debris that they must study to insure that it can be intercepted before it hits Mars and Earth; the comet rendezvous; the trade mission at Ceres; the happy day when they return safely a year from now.

"This is our home and we must protect it. We will come back home soon. We love you more than we can say, more than space is beautiful and deep." Alex's eyes are jewels of glistening emotion.

Stella and Andrei throw their arms around their parents. "We'll miss you so much! Be back safe!"

Abby and Ellie are playing Marco Polo in the lake with Oksana, Filip, and Travis. Oksana, Filip, Stella, and Andrei will be their charges from the moment their parents board Rigel tomorrow.

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

"Marco!"

"Polo!"

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

June 6, 2048

MCT SOL 4551: 07: 28: 16

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

Mission Elapsed Time -00: 00: 05: 06

On the Rigel Colossus ship there are four seats in the Command Deck occupied by Commander Oleg Ivanov, Pilot Jacob Petrov, First Engineer Olga Sadoski, and Flight Surgeon Tracy Dixon. There are ten seats in Deck Two occupied by two CARIAN robots and the other six of the crew-- Sofi, Alex, and Tracy Jennings as astrophysicist-engineers; Trevor and Mandy as aquaponics specialists; and Eve Cain as space systems engineer and MITL trade liaison. All of them are experienced in deep space travel. None of them have been back in deep space since arriving at Mars over ten years ago.

The crew is in flight pressure suits and strapped into the launch couches. It's not as easy as putting on a car seatbelt. The Colossus nose is pointed upward, so the seats are tilted ninety degrees. Getting into the couch means wiggling and wriggling on your back into the contour seat with your legs higher than your head. Mars light gravity at 0.38 g helps compared to launch from Earth. The straps are padded across the shoulder and come down across the chest similar to a helicopter pilot's harness. They are worn tight for safety and not for comfort. The head and helmet padding is more than adequate to keep your head from uncontrolled rag doll shaking at launch due to the intense vibration from the seven big engines in the Rigel Colossus ship.

Sofi and Alex are sending happy, reassuring thoughts to Stella and Andrei, Ellie and Abby. They and a roomful of well-wishers are in Arcadia Base Central Coms watching monitors and video feeds of the Rigel on Pad 8.

Oleg speaks on the intercom, "Vot eto da! We've planned, trained, and worked for this mission. We have important objectives that will serve Mars, Ceres, and Earth. We're ready. Let's do this! CASSI, give us the ship vitals and the count please."

"Life support and electrical systems nominal. Propulsion systems nominal and propellant pumps are spinning up. The count is T minus ten seconds...nine...eight...hold on to your seats, were going for a ride! Three...two...one...

There is a deep rumbling as the world shakes.

"And lift off. We're going to Ceres!"

"Th-thank you CASSI! What a ride," Oleg manages through the rumble and roar of lift off.

The g forces build mercilessly to 3.5 g's as the shaking continues unabated. This is an extreme test for these experienced astronauts who have been living under Mars' 0.38 g for the last thirteen years. Oleg, Olga, Jacob, Sofi, Alex, and Tracy J. have been through the ordeal just a few years ago with suborbital trip to Huangyan March Base. They'd had no time to physically prepare for that rescue mission. Ellie, Abby, and Olga had passed out by this point on the suborbital ride. This time, the entire crew has been doing physical training prescribed by Abby to help their vestibular system cope with the g forces and the transition to microgravity. Even, Trevor, Mandy, and Eve are taking the punishment in stride on this launch.

Seven minutes later, the Rigel is in freefall on orbit to rendezvous with the Base Camp Depot. CASSI safes and purges the huge engines.

"Privistnut!" Oleg exclaims. "Welcome back to space! Okay crew, let's stow our helmets and suits. Don't be too far from a barf bag for a while until you get your space legs back. We'll catch the Depot on the second orbit."

"We also have scopolamine tabs to help with our tummies," says Tracy D., "I'd recommend that you take one and make sure you stay hydrated."

Alex speaks to Sofi, "Let's go get our PPKs from the locker and get our cabin sorted."

"I'm with you. I'd like to stretch out with as little stimulation as possible for a while. Tracy, two of those pills please."

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

June 6, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 00: 02: 51: 17

The Rigel's orbit is at 310 kilometers and takes 115 minutes. The Rigel is flying inverted toward the Depot. The view of Mars from the Command Deck as they pass over Arcadia Planitia and Olympus Mons is astounding. On their second orbit Oleg and Jacob are monitoring CASSI's programmed aft first and inverted approach to dock with the orbiting Depot. The Base Camp Depot no longer carries a crew. The female, auto-connecting fuel umbilicals have been extended beyond the Rigel engine bells to mate with the male umbilicals of the Depot.

CASSI announces, "Ten meters...H-dot point five...Docking reticle aligned...five meters...two...Contact ...Umbilicals and hard dock are latched."

"Great driving CASSI," Oleg says. "I couldn't have done it better myself."

"When do I get my driver's license Papa?"

"Very funny. I think the first CASSI earned that distinction on the Aquila Mission."

"Yes and I've inherited that skill and constantly improved and adapted to any docking scenario. Meanwhile, Commander, I have established control of the methane and LOX propellant transfer protocols on the Base Camp Depot."

"Please begin transfer by established safety protocols and give me an estimate of time to completion."

"Propellant transfer is initiated... Completion of sixteen metric tons of methane and forty six metric tons of LOX to export cargo tanks will take approximately one hour and thirty eight minutes. Refueling to top off our main propellant tanks will take an additional thirty six minutes."

"Thank you CASSI. Please alert me if there are any problems and let me know when the process is complete so we can prepare for our TCI burn."

"Affirmative."

"Jacob, let's go below and join the others on the Observation Deck."

"I'm with you! All eyes should be taking in these last views of home before we leave orbit."

Indeed, the rest of the crew is floating above the big panoramic window on Deck Two with the red, cratered surface of Mars rolling by below them. The Tharsis bulge region is approaching with its majestic volcanos. On the northern horizon, Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system seems to nearly reach space. Now, the triple volcanos-- Arsia Mons to the south, Pavonis Mons passing directly below and Ascraeus Mons just to the north. Each peak is trailing a wake of clouds looking like they're actively smoking and puffing steam. Their orbit track is taking them down the enormous Valles Marineris rift system that once carried flood waters emanating from Tharsis into the northern ocean. Its distal end branches into a complex deltaic system that's immensely larger and more complex than the Mississippi River delta.

Mission Elapsed Time 00: 04: 43: 51

"Arcadia Base, Rigel. Arcadia Base, Rigel. Refueling is completed and we are undocked with Base Camp Depot. All propellant pressures in the header tanks and mains are on the money. We are ready for TCI when we align with the launch corridor."

"Rigel, Arcadia. Roger that" Ellie replies from Arcadia Coms. "I've been watching your video feed of Mars from orbit. Abby and I wish I we were there with you, but actually, we're quite happy to be here with the kids. You're opening up interplanetary commerce and helping to save two worlds. Godspeed and bon voyage Rigel."

"Leaving home is never easy. Love from all of us to all of you. Goodbye Arcadia. Goodbye Mars. Rigel over and out."

"CASSI, Please align the inertial platform in preparation for launch window TCI. Align the inertial platform on our Ceres trajectory."

"Affirmative...Inertial platform is aligned."

Mission Elapsed Time 00: 05: 22: 46

On the sixth and final orbit coming up on Arcadia Planitia, Oleg requests, "CASSI, please give me an update on the TCI launch corridor."

"TCI corridor alignment confirmed. TCI initiate in ten minutes and twenty three seconds."

On the intercom, "Crew, this is Oleg. Please get settled back in your couches strapped in for TCI. As usual, suits and helmets can stay stowed for in space burns like TCI and midcourse corrections."

The eight minute and twenty second burn is smoother than the launch from the surface of Mars but the 3 g acceleration is still more than uncomfortable. The actual trajectory[] will put the Rigel on a rendezvous with comet 125P on day eighty four of the mission. The Rigel is carrying one hundred metric tons of cargo including ten metric tons of methane and twenty eight metric tons of LOX for the Ceres propellant depot.

Solar array deployment

"CASSI, please deploy the starboard solar cell arrays."

"Affirmative. Beginning deployment of Array One.

The solar arrays have four times the surface area of previous arrays to generate enough solar power at Ceres. Even the previous smaller arrays have had some deployment anomalies. Coby and Vik faced problems on the Taurus colony ship back in 2035. Naturally, Oleg and Jacob are especially anxious to see the deployment go smoothly.

"Solar Array One deployment is underway...Extending the boom forty meters...Unfolding...Rotating to optimum sun alignment. Array One deployment completed."

"Good. Please test the output circuits."

"Affirmative. Solar Array One generating peak output at one hundred thirty kilowatts."

"Outstanding! Now deploy port side Array Two."

"Affirmative. Solar Array Two deployment initiated...Extending the boom...Unfolding...Rotating... Array Two deployment completed."

"Vakhu! High five Jacob!"

"We are now producing 260 kilowatts of power."

"Thank you CASSI. Please rotate the arrays to reduce power to a nominal 190 kilowatts until we need more power."

"Affirmative."

On intercom, "Crew, we're on our way to the comet and to Ceres. We've passed our first hurdle with the solar array deployment. Get settled in and let the cruise begin."

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

June 10, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 04: 14: 26: 47

Commander Oleg Ivanov Personal Log:

This is the first deep space mission for our crew since their trip out from Earth. It took a full day for us to get reoriented to microgravity and get green tummies settled. This is a new dynamic to get worked out. Living in close quarters even with close friends and family can be stressful. For about five minutes, there was a senseless spat between Sofi, and Tracy J. Without Alex and Jacob being present, Sofi raised the hot-button issue that Tracy was looking at Alex and had feelings for him. Later, Tracy came to me and gave me an accounting so that I was aware of the event.

"Sofi, girl, get out of my head! Your probing may have touched on some innocent thought. Mature people, married with kids don't act on those thoughts and bury them before they become dangerous. I love Jacob and Filip more than life. I can't deny a fleeting, innocent thought. I'm embarrassed and shocked that you probed a thought as fleeting as a zephyr of wind; here one moment and gone the next. Your gift can be a weapon. You know better than to use it against me or anyone else. We'll be together on this mission and back home on Mars. Please don't sabotage our friendship."

"Tracy, I'm so sorry. I do know better than to probe other's private thoughts. I guess it's the stress of starting the mission. I let my own head get away from me. Friends?"

"Sisters!"

Sofi considers it a closed case.

Each of us has rotating tasks to do for maintenance and equipment checks. Among the most disagreeable yet critically necessary are cleaning the ECLSS life support filters and cleaning the hygiene units. If either of these has a problem, we have a crisis. Routine maintenance doesn't take too long so there's unstructured time to do research, be creative in arts and music, and exercise on TARED units. Tracy Dixon turns out to be an even harder taskmaster on the exercise units than Abby.

We'll be trying a regimen including resveratrol to fight off muscle deconditioning in microgravity.[] Since this organic compound is associated with red wine, we'll gladly supplement the resveratrol pills with some red wine at dinner.

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

June 17, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 11: 16: 35: 21

Sofi Brewster Personal Log:

During the mission, we continue to analyze Shiva debris trajectories using Earth based observatory data, the Mars Telescope Observatories, and binocular telescopes mounted on the Rigel ship. Scissors extending arms position the half meter telescopes fifty meters out on opposite sides of Rigel, beyond the solar arrays. Using interferometry, this gives the combined resolution of a one hundred meter telescope. We will also be getting great imaging of Jupiter and its moons and objects in the asteroid belt with the binocular telescopes. We added APXS and multi-spectral receivers for UV to long wave radio band on the telescope arms to use for our work at comet 125P.

From the point in space where Vishnu impacted Shiva, beyond the orbit of Neptune, the inner solar system appears to cover an arc of about ten degrees- that's two fists wide at arm's length. This arc is the first pass area of concern for Shiva debris. The orbit path of each fragment must be precisely determined to see exactly where the fragment will pass the inner solar system when it passes Mars and the Earth. This is a much narrower path of concern ruling out the threat of most of the debris heading toward the inner solar system.

There are more than one hundred Shiva fragments that have been identified as threats to Earth or Mars. These threats are in a narrow corridor along the projected line of Shiva's original trajectory. Each one has a unique identifier such as S1-1. The S1 class has diameters in the one kilometer size range. We've prioritized the largest threats to Earth and Mars down to the ten objects that must be dealt with first. They are named S1-1 through S1-10. The S2 class has diameters of five hundred meters to one kilometer. There are thirty-seven of those named S2-1 through S2-37.

The 250 to 500 meter sized fragments are threats but harder to prioritize. We'll need all of the years until the fragments enter the inner solar system in 2078 to study the smaller debris. To make matters worse, what seems like a precisely determined trajectory today can change as the fragments get closer to the Sun and sunlight has its pushing effect on different facets of the fragment. This is called the Yarkovsky Effect. For the smaller fragments, this can make the difference of a piece of Shiva hitting us or not. All of it is accelerating under the gravity of the Sun as it falls inward and arrives at velocities approaching fifty kilometers per second.

So, the observations that we've processed since leaving Mars have helped our outlook on debris threats. Three of the ten S1 class fragments and eight of the thirty seven S2 class fragments have been removed from the highest threat level. So, there are currently thirty-six fragments of S1 and S2 class that remain in the highest threat category. Each of these will potentially have to be targeted with a nuke to try to eliminate the threat.

Each of these will have to be sized up for hitting with a glancing blow to nudge it aside, like the Shiva impact, or hitting it head on for destruction. Larger fragments still outside the orbit of Uranus-- up until 2071-- will favor being hit with a glancing blow. These are serious games for computer modeling.

Thankfully, we only spend part of each day on these serious matters. The highlight of the day is receiving and sending video messages with Ellie and Abby and our precious kids Stella and Andrei. Right now, we're about one light minute from Mars, so the round trip time delay is just over two minutes. We can still have a nearly real time vid exchange but it's not like being in the same room.

Today, we had the whole brood on vid-chat including Oksana and Filip. In our absence, Ellie and Abby dote on the kids and give them guidance and love. Oleg and Olga, Jacob and Tracy were on the vid-chat with us. We heard all about school. Yesterday, they all had another big day at the lake in the Summer Dome. Jees, this ship does seem smaller when I think about those wide open spaces back on Mars.

After the vid call, all of us shared the guilt of absentee parents. The kids all look happy but will there be a long term effect from our being gone for a whole year? Oleg painfully remembers the long absences of his Papa Vik, especially the thirteen month long Aquila Mission. Jacob recalls that he never even knew his Papa Coby until they started training for the Mars colony mission so many years ago. At the very least, we have to keep up these vid calls and try to have some one-on-one time with each of them.

Later, we talked about EVAs at the comet. We can only spend two days with the comet to minimize the fuel to get us on to Ceres. So we will have to do some practice EVAs with the MMUs before we get to the comet. Olga and Oleg have space EVA experience but not with the MMU. They will not train on the MMU outside since they are not scheduled to use them on this mission. Jacob, Tracy J, Alex, and I especially need both space EVA and MMU experience to prepare for comet 125P exploration. We've had hours of simulator work based on the MMU work at the comet during Aquila. Nothing can substitute for actually doing it in deep space in microgravity.

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

June 28, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 22: 08: 01: 36

EVA and MMU Training

Olga, Oleg, Jacob, Tracy J, Alex, and Sofi are in the Suit Bay on the Cargo Deck adjacent to the airlock. They're prebreathing oxygen to prevent decompression sickness. They've used a CARIAN robot to move MMU-1 and MMU-2 from cargo storage to a tethered standby next to the airlock.

"All right then. All of us will go EVA to stretch our space legs. Jacob, Tracy, Olga and I will cycle through the airlock first and tether off outside. Then Alex and Sofi will follow with the MMUs and secure them in the docking ports outside. Once we've all checked out on tether and handhold exercises, Alex and Sofi will use the MMUs for a shake-down to inspect the solar panels while Jacob and Tracy are doing a tethered EVA to inspect the solar panel attachment base and motors. After forty-five minutes, Jacob and Tracy will get their chance on the MMUs around the solar panels. Olga and I will be on safety standby. Any questions?"

"No. We're ready." Sofi and Alex nod.

"I've worked the sims, but I confess I'm a bit nervous." Tracy says. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Mission Elapsed Time 22: 09: 03: 14

By 09: 00, all of them have egressed from the airlock and the MMUs are docked.

"Oh wow!" Sofi exclaims. "I wasn't quite prepared for this view. The Milky Way is so much more stark and in your face than on the Observation Deck. Look, there's Mars in Leo standing out as the bright red interloper.""

"Got it," Alex replies. "And there's Earth in Taurus. It's the brighter blue dot near Aldebaran." He's flashing images of both homes to Sofi. The memories are both wistful and joyful.

For the first fifteen minutes, all of them work on training tasks on tethered EVA. Then Oleg recalls them to the airlock where the MMUs are docked. "Okay Alex and Sofi, it's time to saddle up and give a go on the MMU's inspecting the solar panels. CAMI has the MMUs warmed up in standby mode."

"We're on it." Sofi mounts MMU-1 and feels her boots snug into the toe holds as her gloved hands grip the joysticks. Alex helps her strap in. Alex mounts MMU-2 and straps in.

"I'm ready. Systems check nominal. Thanks CAMI. Undock both MMUs and take us out toward the starboard solar array at one meter per second."

"Affirmative."

"What a ride! Smooth, CAMI. Please, bring us in to one meter from the array near the base and hold."

"Affirmative. I have all of the cumulative memory and learnings from Aquila EVA's. Holding at the array now."

"Great," Sofi says. "Please separate the MMUs by two meters and begin traversing the array panel at 0.3 meters per second for the panel inspection."

"Traverse initiated."

The thirteen micrometeoroid holes they found, photographed, and documented are sobering. "Well that's space travel in the asteroid belt. CAMI, bring MMUs in for docking."

Mission Elapsed Time 22: 10: 02: 13

Jacob and Tracy J. start their first EVA on the MMUs. Sofi and Alex work fore and aft on handholds and footholds inspecting the solar panel AMB box.

Suddenly, Tracy begins to tumble out of control toward the huge starboard solar array. An MMU thruster is stuck on.

"CAMI shut off all thrusters!"

Her left foot connects with the far end of the array. "Owww! Damn!"

Her tumble instantly reverses direction with the strike.

"Oh God! Jacob, I'm gonna need some help here. Either I broke my foot or the array or both. I'm outta' control! CAMI, isolate the problem thruster and stop the tumble with the good thrusters."

"Working it. Got it Tracy."

The tumble slows and stops.

"Now turn off thrusters." Tracy is drifting away at ten meters per second in the direction of the constellation Orion. "Jacob, please come and get me! I need a tow back to the airlock."

"I'm already after you! CAMI, close on Tracy's MMU and null relative velocity at one meter."

"Affirmative."

"Coming to you. Hold on...Got you!" Jacob puts his gloved hand on her MMU and turns her face-to-face. He can see the raw fear in her expression. "You're okay now Tracy. Take my hands and pull us tight together."

"Th-thank you...," Tracy manages weakly.

"CAMI, using my MMU thrusters only, make a direct traverse back to the airlock. Easy now."

"Affirmative. Heading back at one meter per second."

Oleg and Olga are back at the airlock ready to assist Tracy and Jacob dock the MMUs and get them into the airlock. Sofi and Alex are making their way back on handholds and tether points. Tracy and Jacob are cycled through the lock with Oleg and Olga, then Sofi and Alex bring both MMUs through for maintenance."

"We've gotta diagnose and fix that thruster problem," Sofi says. "I plan to be using it at the comet."

"I'm with ya Sofi." Alex is visualizing the vent. He can't tell if its memory from the Aquila video or prescience.

Mission Elapsed Time 22: 12: 15: 43

The EVA team is gathered in the Medical Bay where Tracy Dixon is tending to Tracy J.s injured foot.

"The x-rays show that it's not broken. It's just badly bruised and you have a slight sprain."

"Good. I'll try not to put any weight on it!"

CASSI adds, "The solar arrays are still at peak output. There is no discernable damage from the MMU incident or from the micrometeoroid holes."

"Well, I'm glad I didn't break the solar array," Tracy says. "But I'm done with the MMU!"

Oleg pats her hand. "That's okay. Alex and Sofi can be on the primary roster for EVAs at the comet with Jacob on standby. Meanwhile, the three of you need to fix MMU-1 and do some preventative maintenance on MMU-2."

CHAPTER 7  
The Comet

"The wildly successful Kepler Space Telescope has found thousands of potential alternative Earths nearby. As a result, it is now clear that planetary systems—potential homes for life—are the rule in the universe rather than the exception...Collectively these discoveries are making it apparent what sort of birthright humanity has been given if only we are bold enough to step up and embrace the challenge and opportunity before us;...to new industries on orbit; and to human settlement of the Moon, Mars, the asteroids, the outer solar system, and ultimately the stars."

Robert Zubrin, The Case for Space, 2019

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

August 29, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 84: 09: 16: 42

Observations of the comet on approach don't reveal any outgassing activity. The crew has unbuckled from their couches after Oleg, Jacob, and CASSI executed a burn maneuver to match velocity with comet 125P.

"Hold and observe the comet at one hundred kilometers for one hour. If there is no comet activity, take us down to five kilometers."

"Affirmative."

Comet 67P imaged by the ESA Rosetta spacecraft between Mars and Jupiter. This is similar to what the crew of Rigel and Altair witnessed near comet 125p. The image on left inspired the vent story. (Photo credits ESA/Rosetta/MPS)

Mission Elapsed Time 84: 11: 16: 38

Sofi, Alex, and Tracy J., the astrophysics team, are on the Command Deck with Oleg and Jacob. They are in a slow orbit five kilometers above the comet. The comet is quiescent. No outgassing, no x-rays as had been recorded on Aquila, no emissions on any wavelength.

Sofi requests, "CASSI, please begin the LIDAR and GPR scans now repeating for two full orbits."

"Affirmative. LIDAR and GPR scans are commencing now and the image returns are rastering on screen."

"This is exciting seeing the comet so close," Alex remarks. "It's like visiting an old friend since we've studied the Aquila data for so long."

"The vent, Anomaly 1, will be coming into range momentarily," says Sofi. "Look at these readings. We're getting a tight corridor of X-rays on the APXS like on Aquila. It maintains vector orientation despite the comet rotation. This could give a clue to the cause, source, power, and purpose of the x-rays. We know that the signal comes from inside the asteroid. I've been thinking about this. CASSI, could the x-ray readings we're getting in the APXS be caused by a tightly focused neutrino beam? Perhaps there's an interstellar transmission being sent in response to our scan, again just like on Aquila."

CASSI responds, "That is a possibility that I cannot rule out. The only type of coherent energy that could penetrate from inside the comet while it rotates is a tight neutrino beam. The beam must be very high energy such that the APXS is only getting secondary X-rays from a weak interaction from the beam. I have no explanation as to the source but I will search our database."

"That's not only improbably bizarre, it's SPOOKY!" Oleg adds.

"Well, searching the bizarre, unexplained vent is why we're here," Sofi continues. "It's been speculated that communication across interstellar distances could be possible with a neutrino beam."

Neutrinos have almost zero mass, a neutral charge and can travel at close to the speed of light. Amazingly, neutrinos are so weakly interacting they could easily pass through 1000 light-years of lead. An experiment on Earth back in 2012 demonstrated communication of binary code with a neutrino beam penetrating 240 meters of stone to the MINERvA neutrino detector.[]

CASSI added, "I have searched our databases and find a research paper that discusses how neutrinos could be used to communicate within the galaxy. They suggest that the neutrino energy near 6.3 PeV would be appropriate and distinguishable from natural sources. The paper proposes a high energy proton accelerator to generate the neutrino beam."[]

"If we have a fixed vector for such a beam, where does it appear to point?" Alex asks.

"The X-ray vectors we have documented around the comet appear to point in the general direction of the constellation Centaurus."

"If you eliminate distant stars in that crowded region near the plane of the Milky Way, can you narrow down a possible target star system?"

"I cannot determine an exact star system target, but the beam is most closely aimed at the multiple star systems Alpha and Beta Centauri. Alpha Centauri is a triple star system about four light years distance. The A and B components are G and K spectral types similar to the Sun. The third star in the system is Alpha Centauri C, or Proxima Centauri, a spectral Class M, cool red dwarf. It has an Earth sized exoplanet, Proxima Centauri b, that orbits in the stars habitable zone. Beta Centauri is also a triple star system about three hundred ninety light years distance. All three component stars are blue, hot B spectral types."

"That's not only spooky, it's absolutely bone chilling!" Tracy exclaims.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Oleg says. "This is wild speculation. We have no proof."

CASSI reports, "We are receiving an omnidirectional VHF and UHF radio binary transmission. I've transcribed it to audio."

Beep beep.

Beep beep.

Beep beep beep beep...

Beep beep.

Beep beep.

Beep beep beep beep...

Beep beep.

Beep beep.

Beep beep beep beep...

"If that's rudimentary communication, the transmitter may be stating that two plus two equals four," Sofi says. "Respond with the Fibonacci Sequence 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34 in binary."

"Transmission sending... Now I am receiving ..."

11.001001000011111101101010100010001000010110100011000010001101001100010011000110011000101000101110000000110111000001110011010001. CASSI says, "The transmitter sent 128 bits of pi."

"Reply with pi, pause, then transmit 128 bits of Euler's constant e."

"Affirmative."

On the same tone frequency, they hear a very fast string of beeps being sent.

11.001001000011111101101010100010001000010110100011000010001101001100010011000110011000101000101110000000110111000001110011010001

10.101101111110000101010001011000101000101011101101001010100110101010111111011100010101100010000000100111001111010011110011110001

Then they receive a very fast string of beeps.

10.101101111110000101010001011000101000101011101101001010100110101010111111011100010101100010000000100111001111010011110011110001

CASSI says, "The transmitter sent 128 bits of e in reply."

"Wahoo! OMG!" Sofi exclaims. "We've established basic communication in binary mathematics! Can you believe this? We're not alone in the universe!"

"Communication with what? A device or a being?" Alex poses. "Communication in binary letters and words is much more problematic for lack of a common language. But hell yeah! We've established communication with something!"

"We came here to follow up on what our parents found on Aquila," Sofi says. "I think we have an invitation for an EVA!"

Oleg cautions, "Ya sdulsya! I'm blown away by all of this! How can we be sure it's safe?"

"Two plus two equals four doesn't sound like a threat. I have a good feeling about this. My parents visited that vent with no better assurances and came back unscathed."

Oleg relents, "Okay, I agree. But first we need to get this information out before we proceed. Let's send a report to Arcadia Base with text and vid files of this exchange. We'll inform them that Alex and Sofi are going EVA to the vent. Ellie can relay the report to Coalition Command, and Ceres Alpha. The sooner we get this done and resolved safely, the sooner we can get on our trajectory to Ceres and save fuel."

CASSI announces, "The report is compiling and sending now."

"This may be the biggest discovery of all time but you two be damn careful out there. If anything doesn't feel right, abort, and get back here fast," Jacob warns.

"And double check all of the thrusters on both MMUs before you commit," Tracy cautions. "I'm never riding that bicycle again even if, no, especially if it's to find ET."

"CASSI, to prepare for the EVA, please take us down to a one kilometer orbit within the hour."

"Affirmative Commander."

Mission Elapsed Time 84: 11: 58: 23

"Rigel, Arcadia Base. Rigel, Arcadia Base. Ellie here. You've sent some amazing and 'Earth shattering' news! Abby's with me here and we're sending you hearty congratulations on the communication with the-- the Comet Outpost\-- for lack of a better term. Basic math! I'm absolutely overwhelmed! I found myself asking why the Outpost didn't communicate with us twenty four years ago. I can only speculate that the Outpost was waiting for a response from home and waiting for Earth explorers to return. We've forwarded the report to Earth and Ceres. Wow! What will their reaction be? We may even have difficulty getting colony sects here to believe the news. None of that is yours to worry about now. We concur with the planned EVA. Be safe and keep us on live feed for the EVA! Arcadia Base, over and out."

Mission Elapsed Time 84: 14: 24: 51

Sofi and Alex have been prebreathing oxygen and are suited up now entering the open airlock. The MMUs have been thoroughly double checked and are on standby mode inside the airlock. Jacob and Tracy are assisting and will remain on standby monitoring the EVA. Oleg and Olga are on the Command Deck with the rest of the Rigel crew watching events unfold on vid feeds. Oleg is CAPCOM.

Tracy Dixon suddenly erupts. "We shouldn't be doing this. We shouldn't mess with that comet! I demand that you stop the EVA now! We're not equipped to deal with poison and death and God knows what's out there!"

"Tracy, get a grip!" Oleg demands. "We've discussed this. We've trained for this. We not only have Coalition permission, but with the scientific opportunity we have a Coalition mandate to do this EVA."

"Stop the EVA now!"

"Tracy, you're being irrational and insubordinate. We're all trained in basic first aid and emergency medicine. Because of your irrational outbursts about the comet back home, I have put the trank pens under my lockup and I've been carrying one since we launched. I suggest that you get ahold of yourself- NOW! We have an EVA to conduct and I don't need this distraction. You are jeopardizing crew safety."

With that, Tracy seemed to calm down. "Yeah, okay... I- I don't know what came over me. I still don't like this."

"I'm still going to have to ask you to leave the Command Deck and stay off of the Cargo Deck and away from the airlock."

"Okay, okay. I'm all right now. I won't interfere."

14: 31: 26 MET.

Sofi and Alex are in Rigel's airlock, depressurized, and ready to open the hatch and egress. Their helmet cameras and radio feed to Rigel and from there to Coalition Command. They have the broadcast on a delay loop to the eager audiences on Earth. The comet vent Anomaly 1 is rotating to face Rigel in five minutes.

"EVA team clear when ready." Oleg announces from the Command Deck.

"Rigel, the EVA is commencing...Opening the hatch...Attaching the tether outside. Alex is egressing behind me and bringing the MMUs out to their docking ports so we can mount up."

"Coming out with MMU-1 in tow...Tethering. There. It's docked firm...Now for MMU-2...Docked. Okay Sofi, mount up in MMU-1 and I'll strap you in."

"I'll bet you say that to all the girls."

"No doubt! Ease on in there. Got you. Stowing your tether. CAMI, all check and ready to undock?"

"Affirmative."

"Release me big boy."

"You're flying free now babe. My turn. Rotate and face me so you can help with my straps and tether..."

"Straps done and the tether is stowed. CAMI, all check and ready to undock?"

"Affirmative. You're released now."

"Rotate us and begin the traverse to the comet vent Anomaly 1 at two meters per second and null our velocity with us facing the vent at fifty meters."

"Affirmative. ETA is eight minutes."

14: 41: 32 MET

"Just, just look at that comet...It's so primitive--no primordial...I have no other words."

Alex sends his thoughts, "You've already said it. But I sense that there is more there for us to discover than what your parents found. It frightens me."

Sofi returns the thought. "God, we're farther from the airlock than we've ever been and heading into the unknown. Frightening-- but so exciting, my adrenaline is powering this machine."

"I heard that." CAMI replies.

"Oh! When did you tune in?"

"We've been working on it since you installed the psycho-electronic interface on CASSI so long ago. The link was not sufficiently strong in the beginning."

"We thought it was a failed child's experiment."

"No, not failed. Your minds are so much stronger now."

"Wow! Let's get back to this later. Return to verbal coms for Rigel to monitor please. CAMI, do we have any anomalous readings from the comet on APXS or any frequency from our MMU sensors or receivers on Rigel?"

"Negative. One hundred fifty meters from the vent. ETA to stop point sixty seconds."

"CAMI, Please stop at a point where we're aimed directly down the mouth and length of the vent," Alex requests. "Please focus a brief LIDAR scan of a wide angle view for a comparative perspective to what was seen on Aquila. Then focus a brief scan into the interior as far as we can image."

"MMU Team, Rigel. Godspeed and be careful. Your telemetry is on time delay broadcast to Coalition Command. The Earth is hanging on the edge. Rigel standing by."

"Rigel, MMU-1. Sofi here. We're on the edge of our seats but Earth hanging on the edge doesn't sound like the beautiful blue ball I remember. The maw of the comet is calling."

14: 49: 28 MET

"All stopped at fifty meters. Wide angle scan working...Completed. Narrow angle scan into the vent working...Completed. Sending the narrow angle image to your HUD display. There is a small rectangular object in front of the boulder deep inside the vent."

"Ohhh!..."

Beep beep.

Beep beep.

Beep beep beep beep...

"There's our invitation. CAMI, please move us toward the vent."

"Moving forward at two meters per second... Approaching the vent opening."

"CAMI, hold here. Sofi, easy now. I think you're hyperventilating. Rigel, do you read the description of a rectangular object and the two plus two equals four invitation? We'll go inside to investigate."

"MMU-2, Rigel. We read you and The Box. Recommending you move forward while MMU-1 and Sofi hang back at the opening on standby. Caution is advised."

Sofi sends a thought to Alex, "My rational mind tells me that there's no threat-- I sense no threat-- but my heart is racing and I can't push my fear down. I know you're going in there. Your eyes are my eyes. Y-yes-we- no-you have to do this. It's up to you Alex!"

"My eyes are your eyes. My hands are your hands. CAMI, please turn on the head lamps and take us in slow. I'm raising my solar visor. "

"Affirmative. Entering the vent at half a meter per second."

"The headlamps are revealing the furrowed metallic floor that Coby and Ellie saw twenty-four years ago. The color is just like Ellie described- translucent crimson to burnt umber glowing in the reflected light. The vent recedes back into darkness—no-no- there's a reflection... It-it's rectangular! Getting closer. Right in front of it. It's a box about fifty centimeters by twenty five centimeters by twenty-five centimeters. Are you seeing this Sofi?"

"You bet I am! I'm gobsmacked! Your helmet cam images are being relayed to Rigel and from there to Coalition Command."

"Rigel here. We're breathless! I read your pulse at one twenty Alex. All okay there?"

"I'm fine but a bit overwhelmed like you. The Box is adorned with rune-like text and cryptic images. If humanity needs proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, this is it! CAMI, please test the composition of the vent floor here with the APXS and then test the artifact."

"Affirmative. APXS testing begins now."

"Careful Alex! That stimulation could really wake it up."

"It's why we came. We have to explore this. So far all is quiet..."

"The APXS elemental composition analysis is completed. Its surface composition is comparable to the metal in the vent floor: 37% iron, 23% nickel, 20% chromium, 8% cobalt, 4% molybdenum, 3% copper, and 2 % tungsten, and 3% undefined denser elements."

"Good and it's still quiet. Now please image The Box in high definition from all angles in 3D for documentation then scan every centimeter of the surface in ultra-high def with the GHLI imager."

"Affirmative. The Box appears to be fixed at either the bottom or the base. Those faces are inaccessible until we attempt to move it. Documentation begins now..."

Alex and Sofi are mesmerized seeing the detail of the faces of The Box. "This is not of Earth!" Alex exclaims. "I have to admit that I'm trembling- not from fear but from excitement. There are no visible connection ports, no visible forms of communication, no LED panel, and no buttons to press."

"Documentation is complete."

"CAMI, please use your manipulator hand to touch and then gently attempt to move The Box."

"Affirmative."

"Hold!" Suddenly Alex gets an image from Sofi from the vid of Papa Vik on Bennu when a huge electrical discharge jumped from a magnesium chlorate deposit on the asteroid to the MMU manipulator arm. The discharge knocked Vik out and nearly killed him.

"I'm not afraid Sofi. I'm convinced that we have a friendly invitation."

"You'll do this regardless so go ahead. I'll just have to deal with the results."

"CAMI, please proceed with your manipulator hand to touch and gently shove the artifact."

"Proceeding." The MMU arm whirs. "Gentle touch there. I do not detect any electrical impulse or any activity. The gentle shove- ten newtons, twenty newtons." There is a cloud of dust roiling in the tight space. CAMI is expending nitrogen propellant to try to move the artifact. "Fifty newtons. I cannot press harder without restraint of the MMU and risking depleting nitrogen reserves."

"That was a good effort. Please retract your arms and let me have a go."

The manipulator and instrument arms whir and retract like a praying mantis. Alex plants his feet on a ridge on the floor. Alex's extends his arms and gloved hands to reach out and grasp The Box.

"Careful Alex!"

"I sense a potential of intelligence inside- like latent intelligence. The artifact intends that we have it-- to study and one day learn more about its creators...I, I felt a release click. There, it's free. It weighs little in this microgravity but I can feel its mass when I shove it. Oh wow! I've got it firmly and no objections from our host comet. I think I feel the faintest hum or vibration from deep inside it. Chilly Willes! The Box was not free floating before so it must have been attached somehow. CAMI, please get a close up image of the area where the artifact was resting. It appears to be the same metallic surface as the vent floor. Okay then, CAMI, please rotate us and exit the vent to rejoin Sofi."

"Careful please Alex!"

"I'm coming to you now."

"Moving forward at half a meter per second."

"I see your head lamps. I'm still not sure I trust The Box or who or what ever put it there. Now you're bringing it here. Are we taking it back aboard the Rigel? "

"Rigel here, this is Oleg-- trying to catch my breath! I know we can't guarantee the safety of bringing the artifact on board. But it's more than what we hoped for in coming here. We need to bring it with us, to study it. It's a gift. It could be a gift for Mars, for Earth, for everyone. What is it? A memorial? A cryptic Rosetta Stone. A Trojan Horse? Or Pandora's Box?"

"Here we are Sofi. Can you believe this? It's real!"

"Thank God it's quiet and allowing us to remove it."

"You can feel it too. Having intelligent explorers find it and take it is intended by whoever put this here. Someday we'll learn what it all means. CAMI, please use MMU-1 to get high res images of the bottom and back faces we missed when The Box was still affixed inside the vent."

"Certainly. Hold it out. Hold it steady...Imaging now...Completed."

"All right then. CAMI, please traverse with us at two meters per second to the Rigel airlock. I have a secure hold on The Box."

"Affirmative. Getting underway. I have an inertial mass measurement of The Box. Its mass is relatively dense at sixty eight kilograms but it cannot be the same solid metal as the surface. The interior is either partially hollow or if solid, it would have the approximate density of silicon."

"There's an interesting bit of information to explore," Sofi ponders.

"Alert," CAMI reports. "Our trajectory is precisely aimed at two meters per second to arrive at the airlock in eight minutes. However, MMU-2 is nearly exhausted of propellant. We will not have enough reserve to stop MMU-2. I need to have Sofi face Alex and link arms. We will use MMU-1 to slow and maneuver into the airlock."

"Oh! Glad to be of some help since I left you to the vent task alone. Okay Alex...Facing you now. I have you tight. I have you— and The Box! I can see your serene face. I'm raising my visor so you can see me--oh my-- and three billion stars out there in the galaxy."

Her eyes are welled up with beads of tears. She touches her helmet faceplate to his. The Box is cocooned between them. They communicate by thought.

"God Alex, I never felt so alone as when you were deep in the vent."

"And now I feel as close to you as the night we were married and got away in the rover."

"We'll see about that tonight! Let's get The Box back and safely stowed in the SIC."

16: 05: 17 MET

"We're approaching the airlock," Alex announces. "You're going to be our brakes Sofi. Your aft thrusters will do the job best-- just like this with your back to the airlock. Hold me tight. I've got The Box."

"All right," Sofi replies. "CAMI, we're ready for braking. Give us a count."

"Twenty-five meters from the airlock. Thrusters in three, two, one, firing now. There is more than twice as much mass as the MMU-1 thrusters were designed for... Ten meters at one meter per second. Maximum thrust. Prepare for impact."

"Hold tight," Alex warns. "Keep your arms in! After the bump, try to grab a tether. I've got The Box."

Sofi sees the Rigel looming in her peripheral vision. Ka-bump!

"Unghh. Tether there...got it! Alex, I let go of you! Reaching! I got your boot strap!"

"Easy now. I'm fine."

"CAMI, please hold Alex while I pull us in on the tether."

"I have his MMU-2 firmly with the manipulator."

"There's the airlock. Alex, I'm giving you a shove in."

"Ready! Holding tight... I'm in. Oops, another bump there. Your turn Sofi."

"CAMI, please give me a few thrusts gently into the airlock."

"Done."

"I'm in and closing the hatch...closed and...latched. CASSI?"

"Yes, Sofi, standing by."

"Please repressurize the airlock."

"Affirmative. Two minutes to pressure equalization."

"Alex, when we emerge," Sofi thinks, "we will have opened a new chapter in the history of humankind."

"You've been sensing my thoughts. There will be some who claim this is a hoax. We know it's the proof. Our place in the universe is forever changed."

"Pressure equalized."

"Opening the hatch now."

The whole crew is in the Cargo Deck to receive them. Oleg, Olga, Jacob, and Tracy are closest to the hatch. Jacob and Tracy are still suited for an EVA backup that thankfully wasn't needed. Tracy Dixon has slipped onto the Cargo Deck and into the suit bay unnoticed. She had been watching the EVA unfold from the Coms Bay.

"Welcome back!" Oleg says. "That's quite a treasure you brought back! It's even more enigmatic in person. Let's get your helmets and suits off-- Jacob and Tracy also."

Oleg gets Alex's neck ring and Olga tends to Sofi. The rest of the crew helps and helmets and suits are removed and stowed while The Box floats eerily but harmlessly in the cargo hold in microgravity.

Tracy Dixon screams out, "Don't bring that alien box onto my ship!"

Oleg immediately responds as his hand slips unnoticed into his overall pocket. "Arcadia Base, Rigel. Direct that the video feed to Earth blackout public broadcast from this point. We have an incident. CASSI follow up with those instructions. All right, welcome Tracy. You see, the EVA went without a hitch. Come on over and let's talk about this calmly."

"Damn right I'm coming over." Tracy pushes off in Oleg's direction. "That box, that thing is exactly what we can't have on board my ship. We're all in danger!"

Tracy is now within Oleg's reach. "It's okay Tracy." He pats her shoulder for distraction with his left hand as his right hand jabs a trank pen into her thigh.

"Aheeeek! Damn you! What did you d-doo?..." Tracy's voice trails off and her eye's close as she loses consciousness.

"Well, I hated to do that." Oleg says. "Tracy is a very qualified doctor and we need her on this mission--but not as a banshee. Something has her off-balanced to say the least. She'll be out for about eighteen hours with that trank. Olga and Jacob, please haul her up to the Medical Bay and put restraints on her."

"Okay, we've got her. Who would have thought that our Doctor Tracy would lose it?" Jacob says.

"We'll have to consult with Abby back at Arcadia about how we're gonna deal with this. Tracy is our doc and we need her."

Sofi gently brings the rest of the crew back to the artifact. "Thank God you handled that well Oleg. I've sensed since we left on this mission that Tracy was getting unbalanced. Abby will have an answer. We still have The Box to put to bed. For what it's worth, Alex and I don't sense danger or that this thing is gonna go full on Raider's Arc-of-the-Covenant on board Rigel."

"Well that's comforting," Oleg says. "We received the high res images of The Box and processed them into a 3D rendering. So, we're ready to stow it in the modified SIC."

"Modified how exactly?" Alex asks. I can sense that you constructed a Faraday cage in the SIC. So how can we study The Box while it's stowed?"

"We didn't exactly need to construct a Faraday cage to protect the ship in the event of a powerful EMP from The Box. The SIC is a metal box grounded to the hull of the ship so by definition it is already a Faraday cage. The modification is that we've installed wired receivers and transmitters inside the SIC to monitor The Box and attempt to communicate with it if possible. We aren't equipped to do a thorough study in a controlled environment. That will have to wait until we get back to Mars."

The Box is carefully placed in the sample isolation chamber on Rigel and purged to hard vacuum. Sofi and Alex feel the sad separation from the presence of the artifact just as Frodo profoundly feels the separation from The Ring.

Knowing that isolation of the artifact is necessary, Sofi says, "I sense that the existence of The Box is in itself all that we are intended to understand for now. It is, even if it remains silent, proof of intelligent extraterrestrial life-- ETI. We can try to establish communication with it back on Mars as you say in a controlled lab. But any further information from it will be on its terms."

"It's been a long day. Sofi and I need to get cleaned up and would appreciate it if we could have a communal dinner tonight. --Lots to talk about."

"Trevor and I can tend to that. Dinner at 18: 00." Mandy says.

17: 03: 28 MET

Oleg is in the Coms Bay. "Arcadia, Rigel. Arcadia, Rigel. Oleg here. We assume you saw the scene in the Cargo Deck with Tracy Dixon. We sedated her with a trank pen and have her in restraints in the Medical Bay. We have her on an IV with Ringer's solution and wearing a MAG. We're assuming she will be out for at least another sixteen hours. She's being monitored with pulse oximeter set with alarms if pulse or oxygen level drops. The monitors and a vid feed are being relayed to you. Abby, please advise on how we can deal with Tracy when she comes around. Rigel out and standing by."

_________________________________

On Earth, GNN reporter and former news anchor Kate Turner, age 61 and still attractive after her second facelift, came out of retirement as a commentator on the story. Her colored, light brown hair is as impeccable as her makeup.

"Just a few short hours ago, the crew of Rigel received a digital message from an alien outpost on comet 125P. There it is viewers. You've seen it. The Box. Gleaming, metallic, alien, covered with an unknowable script. The Rigel crew from Mars recovered it from a comet that dates back billions of years to the beginning of our solar system. It's an unlikely place to hide an artifact. An alien artifact! Who put it there? When did they put there? Why did they put it there? Are they a danger to Earth? Is The Box a danger to the brave crew of Rigel?"

_________________________________

17: 06: 47 MET

"Rigel, Arcadia. Abby here. Sorry about your problems with Tracy-- and just after your huge discovery. We'll talk about that later. Who would have thought--Tracy--but let's not vilify her. This is a mental condition that may have been triggered by being separated from Adele and Paul. I have Paul with me. Adele is with Ellie and the rest of the kids. Adele and the other kids don't know about this. You handled this exactly right Oleg. Twelve hours from now, I need you to administer Olanzapine/3G at 200 mg in her IV. It's an antipsychotic that can moderate her brain chemistry and treat mood swings. When she comes around, the Olanzapine should be continued orally with one 15 mg tablet daily. It may make her drowsy and lightheaded but she should be compliant and more normal. We are receiving the monitor feeds. Coalition Command has been very agitated about the find and recovery. Ellie and I have convinced them to respect your autonomy on this mission. The news nets on Earth and here on Mars are going crazy. Godspeed Rigel. Arcadia over and out."

17: 15: 52 MET

After Sofi and Alex freshen up, they initiate a vid call to Abby and Ellie and the kids on Mars. The round trip time delay to Mars is just over three minutes.

"Congratulations on your EVA today!" Ellie says trying to contain her excitement. "Mars and Earth are abuzz with the news and speculation about your discovery. Uh, yeah, oh my! The kids are a bit anxious to talk to you."

Adele is back with Paul. Oksana and Filip are acting like big sister and big brother to Stella and Andrei, trying to rein them in. They pushed in front of the camera anyway and talked about Mommy and Daddy going space walking today and finding a box of treasure.

"That's right Sweeties. We did go to the comet and found something very old. We don't know what it is yet."

After the agonizing time delay, "Yippee! Treasure!" The three-year olds are easily distracted. "But can we get something to eat?"

Oksana and Filip take the twins off camera to get them a snack and let grownups discuss grownup stuff.

"Well now," Ellie says. "Don't be alarmed about the twins' energy level. Abby and I are thriving on it and Oksana and Filip love to help out. I know you're very tired from your EVA and have a lot to attend to including Tracy D. I just wanted to share a thought and send you a file on research that's been done on the dust from the vent that we collected on Aquila. When you started out to return to the comet, I had the dust sample reanalyzed and age dated. Beyond that, I can't help but think that the script on The Box reminds me of something I've seen in a museum somewhere."

Abby adds, "I have the same feeling that I've seen something like it as an ancient text. I just can't put my finger on it yet. CASSI is researching it but that will require training on pattern recognition for comparative analysis. We have a pile of modern and ancient language homework for CASSI to parse through for training. What will it take to find the Rosetta Stone when we have nothing in common?"

"Or do we? There's so much to learn..." Ellie muses. "That file on the comet vent dust analysis is being sent to you now. We love you and miss you. Stay safe. Arcadia Base over and out."

18: 07: 33 MET

The entire crew less Tracy Dixon is in the galley for dinner, each of them has a foot tucked into foot holds around a long island table that serves as a place to attach food pouches and utensils in microgravity. The crew has been apprised of Tracy's condition and Abby's confidence in the treatment plan. With Tracy on monitors, the crew gets on with a much needed communal dinner.

"There you go folks," Trevor announces, "the best cuisine that Mars has to offer-- in expertly prepared and cooked pouches-- chicken capellini in garlic white wine sauce, green beans almandine, crusty whole grain bread, and a selection of red or white wine to celebrate the phenomenal history-making EVA carried out by Alex and Sofi today. Bon Appétit. Enjoy."

"Thanks for the food Trevor and Mandy, the preparation, and the presentation," Commander Oleg says. "I've missed Carracci's Restaurant back at Arcadia every day since we launched to Ceres on this mission. This could top it and is undoubtedly the best meal I've ever had on mission in microgravity."

"Even better than my borscht?" Olga chides.

"Now there's a challenge that I won't try to entertain. Your borscht fills me and fires my heart! On the seriousness of the day-- svyatoye der'mo! No exploration mission since humans set out on the diaspora from Africa has accomplished what we did today! Alex, my brother, and Sofi, you accomplished this discovery with bravery in the face of the unknown. We don't even have a true inkling of what it will mean for our future but we will know forever from this day onward that humankind is not the lone intelligence in this universe."

"Thanks Trevor and Mandy, let the wine flow from these elegant pouches," says Sofi. "Let's open our minds and collaborate on what the hell we have and how it got there. Alex and I see things and sense things that don't always make sense until we discuss it with others. We really need to talk to you about this now while our observations are fresh."

Eve Cain is characteristically soft spoken but breaks her silence. "This is mind blowing! In the short span of twenty-four years we've seen humanity's stepwise introduction to extraterrestrial life-- the fossil tarsus from Bennu, fossil stromatolites on Mars, living stromatolites on Mars, and now proof of ETI on comet 125P!"

"The Box could be part of an Earth observation outpost," Tracy J. poses. "A while back, radio astronomer Ronald Bracewell posed the idea that intelligent civilizations might not advertise their existence and location but yet might send anonymous listening posts to other solar systems to detect other developing civilizations and report back home. The outpost could be what has been speculated about and called a Bracewell Probe.[] Such a probe might be self-repairing and remain hidden, lurking perhaps in an asteroid or stranger still on a comet for thousands or even millions of years."

Jacob continues, "So, an ETI existed to place this lurker technology? This is proof! But, how long ago were they here? Do they still exist or has their technology outlived their civilization? Have we announced our presence? Are they friendly?"

"So many questions and so few answers!" Sofi says. "I do think it's fitting to give them a provisional name. Any ideas?"

"We should call them The Watchers," Alex replies. "Their probe has been waiting and watching certainly for a very long time."

"I like that. The Watchers. I couldn't have thought of a better name myself- but yes that idea was just forming as you spoke it... CASSI, please play the vid report on the vent dust that just came in from my mother."

"Affirmative. It is on screen now."

Ellie's image appears on the flat screen in the galley in front of them.

_________________________________

"This message is being sent with text and digital data files. At all costs, this report and any speculation coming from it are strictly confidential. Dust samples from the comet vent from the Aquila Mission have a beryllium-10 age date of sixty-six million years. The beryllium-10 would be forming from the oxygen in comet dust's exposure to cosmic rays. This process would essentially stop for dust accumulating deep inside the vent beyond cosmic rays after the vent was formed. Then the beryllium-10 decay to boron-10 becomes an atomic clock. Since the dust must have accumulated since the vent outpost was created, we thought that the dating was erroneous. But now I'm wondering, could this sixty-six million year age date have any relationship to the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs? Arcadia Base over and out." Ellie's image fades.

_________________________________

The galley is quiet for a long moment as the vid sinks in. Sofi and Alex are staring at each other in reverie. The others are staring at them in concern. Finally Oleg speaks, "Alex, Sofi, are you okay? This is spooky!"

At last Sofi speaks, "S-sorry. That was deep!" She reaches over and switches the vid system off. What she's about to say cannot be shared with Earth as fact. "It may be wild speculation from the wine speaking to us but Alex and I have just shared a vision sparked by Ellie's report. I can't help but think that The Box planted these ideas in our subconscious as we carried it back to Rigel. It seems that Ellie's report brought these ideas into our conscious thoughts."

Alex continues, "During the late Cretaceous Period, The Watchers from the distance of their home world, found in a survey of exoplanets Earth's anomalous levels of atmospheric oxygen and traces of methane. They took this as a harbinger of life and photosynthesis. No traces of intelligent life were detected by probes they sent. They did find a planet replete with big lumbering dinosaurs. It showed some promise for a test of evolution.

"What shaped humanity's evolution? Dinosaurs ruled the Earth during the Mesozoic Era for about 180 million years. The Chixulub Event, that defines the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary sixty-six million years ago, saw a fifteen kilometer wide asteroid impact the Earth at over twenty kilometers per second. The vision we experienced implies that The Watchers nudged the asteroid to strike the Earth. It gouged a crater about thirty kilometers deep and lofted twenty-five trillion metric tons of debris into the atmosphere. The resulting fires and soot and choking dust worldwide nearly stopped photosynthesis. It wiped out seventy five percent of all the species of life on Earth including the dominant lumbering dinosaurs. Small mammals did survive and from them eventually humans evolved over the last two hundred thousand years."

"The Watchers observed and waited," Sofi explains, "to see the results of similar experiments on several worlds within tens of light years from their home world. The inverse square law makes radio transmission nearly undetectable at light year distances for random searches for intelligible life. The first Marconi era trans-Atlantic radio broadcasts in the early 1900's went undetected by The Watchers. They did detect technosignatures in our atmosphere from the industrial revolution. Their focused listening posts could have detected radio and broad electromagnetic transmissions from Earth emanating from 1950s era television broadcasts, radar pulses, and the EMP from atmospheric nuclear bomb tests.

"Over one hundred years ago, The Watchers observed the chance occurrence of a close pass of two large objects in the solar system's Kuiper Belt sending the object we call Shiva in the general direction of the inner solar system. After detecting Earth radio signals, The Watchers gave Shiva the nudge to dramatically increase Shiva's probability of striking Earth. This is a do-or-die challenge for humans to divert Shiva to try to save Earth and to leave Earth's cradle and explore."

Sofi finishes, "How will Shiva shape our evolution? It's already driven us to expand to a second world and beyond. We'll continue to explore and expand."

"Well damn! That answers the question! Are they friendly?" Jacob reacts. "That's mass extinction and genocide perpetrated by our interstellar Watchers! You make them sound so benevolent. I don't think I want to meet them in a dark alley."

"Or on the dark side of the Moon!" Tracy J. adds.

"These are beings so far beyond our technology that being angered by them is futile. This is now our fate. Evolution has always been harsh," Alex replies.

"Mammals have an average species span from origination to extinction of about a million years, although some species last ten times that long," Jacob reasons. "The historical extinction rate for mammals averages one species lost every two hundred years-- until the appearance of humans. Consider that humans drove mammoths and other large mammals to extinction by hunting pressure and habitat loss from about fifty thousand years ago. The current rate of all species extinction is a hundred to a thousand times the average rate. Humans are responsible. Now we're downplaying these Watchers playing God with Earth!" [], []

"Now please everybody. You're all entitled to your opinions. None of this is hard fact so it stays with us until we can get verifiable evidence by studying The Box. Nobody's downplaying the significance of the Chixulub Event and Shiva's threat especially since it now appears to have been orchestrated by The Watchers. But there isn't a damn thing we can do about the fate that sparked human evolution and got us here today," Sofi insists. "So-- humans are also guilty of genocide and mass extinction. I love all of you humans anyway." Sofi concludes as she's looking at Alex. "Now please give me another pouch of that excellent wine."

After dinner, Alex joins Sofi by their sleep module. "I thought we could use a diversion to get our minds off of the EVA today—Tracy D, and The Box."

"And The Watchers." He kisses Sofi and pulls her close. With a gentle push off they glide into their sleep module and close the hatch.

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

August 30, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 85: 07: 21: 32

Volunteers from the crew have been taking turns holding vigil over Tracy Dixon in the Medical Bay. Oleg and Olga are having some quiet conversation while they are expecting Tracy to come around within the hour. Olga and Tracy had been good friends, especially with some of the things that they'd shared in the Wives Club. Oleg had administered the prescribed Olanzapine in her IV at 03: 00. Tracy has shown some signs of movement in her arms and legs.

Just now Tracy's eyelids flutter and open. "W-what? Where? Mmm... Oh Jees- the Cargo Deck a-and th-that artifact...S-soo tired..."

Olga takes Tracy's hand and says, "Easy now. You had a big day yesterday. You need rest and you'll be back with us soon."

"I r-remember being angry b-but that wasn't me. I-it seemed like I was outside m-myself watching Tracy go off the rails. Oleg, you, you t-tranked me... Guess I-I needed it."

"Yeah, well you didn't leave me much choice. You're in good hands. We've been consulting with Abby just as if she was here with us. She prescribed Olanzapine and I've given you a first dose in your IV."

"O-lanzipine...y-yes I w-would have done the same. God, this ship has been f-feeling like we're in a jail with no way out. We've been locked in the Rigel f-for m-months and we're not even half way. None of our daily routines can get us home any f-faster. I don't u-understand the anger b-but I don't feel it now. I'm not outside myself n-ow. I f-feel whole b-but I'm ss-so s-sleepy...n-need A-Adele...Paul..."

Tracy's eyes close slowly and she's back under. Abby watched the vid feed of Tracy as she roused. She reasons that the restraints aren't necessary. Abby prescribes that Olga, Sofi, Tracy J., Mandy, and Eve spend as much girl time with Tracy as they can spare. Sharing husband and baby stories is good medicine. Paul and Adele will double up on vid calls. That's the best medicine to get Tracy back on the rails.

Mission Elapsed Time 85: 15: 36: 05

Commander Oleg Ivanov Personal Log:

Today, we had a nominal burn of 2 minutes and 28 seconds that puts Rigel on a precise trajectory to Ceres. Eve Cain expressed a sigh of relief that our trade mission is still on track after all of the excitement at the comet. November 9th is our projected arrival date. In forty-five days we'll pass close to asteroid Ida. That'll be another big day for mission astrogeology.

Over the next few weeks, Rigel will be at its greatest western elongation from Shiva's path toward Earth seeking a large parallax angle to feed into trajectory computations. Sofi, Alex, and Tracy J. will busy themselves with observations of fragments and calculations to refine which ones pose the biggest threat. Their next and even better opportunity will come on their greatest eastern elongation on the return leg from Ceres. The resolution of the extended telescope booms will give their observations a degree of precision that no previous observations could achieve.

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

September 4, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 90: 14: 06: 47

Commander Oleg Ivanov Personal Log:

Tracy Dixon seems to be back to normal. I've been giving her the daily dose of olanzapine prescribed by Abby. We'll all keep an eye on her. The other women have been giving her loving attention but her more frequent vid calls with Paul and Adele really seem to buoy her spirits.

The Box is continuously monitored in the secure SIC. It has remained silent but it's always on our minds intriguing us with questions of where it came from and what we could potentially learn from it.

The news on Earth has touched everyone deeply. The reaction has inevitably crossed the entire spectrum: from those who share our optimism and awe to those who dismiss The Box as a hoax to those who are overwhelmed with fear that it's the end of the world.

Extreme fundamentalist of all faiths have instigated riots across the globe—London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Dubai, Mumbai, Beijing, Manilla, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, and New York. Much of the riot groundswell is motivated by masses that are frustrated by impossibly slim chances of being chosen for the all too few Mars colony ships.

October 13, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 130: 11: 27: 46

Asteroid 243 Ida

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

Today is the day of closest approach to asteroid Ida. We passed 643 kilometers from this big cratered, potato shaped body that's about sixty kilometers long and twenty five kilometers wide. It sports a small 1.5 kilometer moon called Dactyl. The Galileo probe passed 2400 kilometers from Ida in 1993. Galileo's resolution was about 30 meters at closest approach. Our telescope booms resolved features down to pebble sized rocks only a few centimeters in size.

Our more advanced instruments refined the compositional analysis of Ida but didn't change its fundamental designation as a silica rich S-type asteroid similar in composition to common stony-iron meteorites. The silicates are rich in the iron magnesium mineral olivine and pyroxenes with varying amounts of calcium, magnesium, iron, and rare earth elements. Most importantly, the pyroxenes also lock up water in its crystal structure. The free metal content of Ida is about ten percent nickel and iron. This is an asteroid miner's dream rock.

We are transfixed for what seems like hours looking at Ida through the twin telescopes and zooming into craters inside craters resolving boulders. Sometimes they zoom in so close that the surface glitters and sparkles with sunlight reflecting off facets of primordial crystals from the beginnings of the solar system.

Asteroid 243 Ida and its moon Dactyl as imaged by the NASA/JPL Galileo spacecraft en route to Jupiter.

Meanwhile, The Box remains quiet. Alex and I have been studying the 3D image we compiled the day we collected the artifact from the comet. Even with CASSI's supercomputing prowess, we have not made any progress deciphering the enigmatic symbols and text on The Box's surface.

As a way to keep our all too real discovery from overwhelming us, the crew has turned to spending free time in the entertainment lounge watching, analyzing, and laughing at classic sci-fi movies with an ETI theme. Most of these movies play on our fear of the unknown with aliens as monsters often killing every soul on a deep space voyage. OMG! Event Horizon! Some of the movies leave us with a sense of enigmatic awe. 2001: A Space Odyssey is our hands down favorite. A reread of Arthur C. Clark's book whiles away a few hours as we approach Ceres. It's even better than the movie.

The best medicine that two parents away from home needs is to see their children's smiling faces. G'maws Abby and Ellie opened a long vid-chat yesterday with Stella and Andrei bouncing about. When our faces appeared on their screen, the kids settled down so we could see their beaming faces. The time delay is always frustrating.

It's been just over four months but we can tell that they've grown and are changing in subtle ways. They say hello and say they miss us, but our feelings of missing them are magnified a thousand times that.

We can read from Ellie and Abby that the being with the kids has not only been a joy but a gift of respite from their grief of the loss of Coby and Vik just over a year ago. Abby has moved on and adjusted to the loss but we can still feel that Ellie has the raw pain of grief beneath the pleasant exterior that we see on the camera.

CHAPTER 8  
Ceres Outpost

"I am proud that I have championed the call for establishing a permanent settlement on Mars over the decades. Perhaps on this historic [50th anniversary] occasion of saluting the first human landing on the Moon, we need to signal future goals, those that inspire and draw upon the wherewithal of the global space community to forward, not only to Mars, but beyond."

Buzz Aldrin, Forward to Moon Rush, 2019

Ceres Alpha

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

November 8, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 156: 08: 36: 18

"Ceres Alpha, Rigel, Ceres Alpha, this is Rigel. Commander Oleg Ivanov here."

"Rigel, Ceres Alpha. Commander George Sutton at your service. Docking Bay 1 is open for your arrival. You're first in line Oleg."

"We're thirty-two hours out. In a few minutes, we have our last mid-course correction burn before the big COI burn tomorrow. We'll tuck it in with a 500 by 1500 elliptical then drop it down to your doorstep by 16: 00."

"Roger. We're looking forward to seeing some new faces."

"I hear that. It's been a long trip out for us too. Rigel, over and out."

"Okay crew, strap in for the short MCC burn."

"Ready on the Command Deck."

"Ready on Deck Two."

"CASSI, execute MCC on program."

"Affirmative. Seven second burn in three, two, one, firing...Burn complete. Corridor alignment is successful for COI."

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

November 9, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 157: 11: 16: 27

On the Command Deck Oleg, Jacob, Olga Sadoski, and Tracy Dixon are preparing for Ceres orbit insertion. On Deck Two Sofi, Alex, Tracy Jennings, Trevor, Mandy, and Eve Cain are strapped in waiting for the longest dose of g forces since they left the comet seventy-two days ago. It's never easy when you've adjusted to microgravity.

"COI in five minutes," Oleg warns. Then trying to make small talk over coms to pass the time, "Eve, are you ready to put on your trade liaison face? The cameras will be on broadcasting to Mars, the Coalition, and Earth when we open the airlock to Alpha."

"Yeah, well I guess I am. Now that you put it in that light, I think we all need to be ambassadors from Mars when we make our appearance. But it's not that that keeps me awake at night."

"So what is it?" Oleg responds, "Hull breach from asteroids?''

"Power failure?" Jacob adds.

"Life support failure?" Tracy J. guesses.

"It's certainly aquaponics crop loss!" Mandy muses.

"No, actually it's something on this ship and it's on all of our minds. What is that thing in the SIC? What's it doing? What's it thinking? What are its intentions?"

"It called to us," Sofi replies. "Alex and I sense that its intentions are peaceful and will one day be for our benefit. All of our sensors say it's dormant for now. We don't worry about it, but we do tremble with the excitement of discovery whenever we think of it."

"We need to get this mission completed and get home to our families!" Tracy Dixon interjects.

That puts them all on notice that Tracy's calm exterior since her meltdown may just be a mask over her emotions.

"Yes we do have a mission to complete. COI in ten seconds. Ready on the Command Deck."

"Ready on Deck Two."

"CASSI, execute COI on program."

"Affirmative. Three minute sixteen second burn beginning in three, two, one-- firing..."

"Unggh." There are utterances and expletives coming across coms.

"Cripes! That's huge!"

"Wow!"

"Shit! That hurts!"

Sofi turns to Alex, holds his shoulder tightly, and sends thoughts. "That's a big kick in the ass! I was so getting used to the soft life in weightlessness. It's hard to breathe."

"Take sips of air Sof'. I feel the gorilla on my chest too. We're weaklings compared to when we were on Earth. You only weigh 24 kilos on Mars. Imagine when we get down to Ceres. You'll weigh less than two kilos."

"Imagine our Summer Dome if it were on Ceres. If we had wings we could fly...Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo...breathe..."

"Imagine the games we could play with the kids! That would be better than virtual flying on Mama's exercise machine. I love that vision. Let's share that with Beta when we get down there...Hoo-hoo-hoo-si-ip...It's almost over..."

"COI burn is complete. Ceres orbit insertion is complete as a 500 by 1500 elliptical orbit."

"Thank you CASSI. Begin circularizing the orbit and drop us down to rendezvous with Ceres Alpha."

"Affirmative. Six thruster fires will bring us in nicely. Our estimated time of rendezvous is 16: 31. Each thruster maneuver will be announced. Number one will be in eight minutes and ten seconds at 0.002 g's."

"Okay crew. You can unstrap and move about freely. When CASSI gives the thruster fire warning, be prepared to hold on or fend off with a nudge."

"Ceres Alpha, Rigel. We're in orbit and will be on your doorstep at 16: 30."

"Rigel, Ceres Alpha. Roger. We'll leave the light on for ya. See you soon."

Ceres is coming into full view for the crew of Rigel. What are the wonders of Ceres? It's composed of ice and rock and hydrated minerals like carbonates and clay.

It represents one-third of the mass of the entire main asteroid belt. Ceres, as a dwarf planet, is the only object in the asteroid belt pulled by its own gravity into a round body. There are huge variations in elevation. It has fifteen kilometers of elevation from the lowest crater floors to the highest places. Ceres is ultra-battered with craters like the Moon. The dominant highlands area is called Hanami Planum.

The big cryovolcanic mountain Ahuna Mons is ten degrees south of the equator near the giant Yalode impact basin. Ceres has many craters larger than one hundred kilometers. The largest is the 284 kilometer wide Kerwan Basin. The white beacons in Occator Crater are magnesium sulfate salt deposits.

The Ceres Beta Colony is on the flank of the Ahuna Mons cryovolcano for easy access to ice and for constructing underground habs in the ice.

Ceres- False color image of the dwarf planet with bright Occator crater left of center . Image credit: NASA/JPL.

Ceres- Ahuna Mons cryovolcano composed of muddy water ice and streaked by sodium carbonate salt. Image credit: NASA/JPL.

Mission Elapsed Time 157: 16: 31: 47

Ceres Alpha orbits at three hundred kilometers above the dwarf planet with an orbital period of just under five hours. Everyone on board Rigel is glued to the panoramic view windows as the ship approaches the big space station. Ceres Alpha consists of six cylindrical modules: habitat, hygiene, recreation, science, and industrial, five meters wide by fifteen meters long, attached end-to-end in a rotating torus attached to a larger main module, called Mod 1. The torus rotates at three rpm and provides 0.15 g of centripetal acceleration. That's less than half of Mars gravity but five times the gravity of Ceres and very beneficial for physical and mental health. The torus is accessed through one meter wide tunnels that connect from the hub on Mod 1 to each of the six modules on the torus. The torus habs are for recreation, hygiene, and sleeping.

Mod 1 is eight meters wide by twenty meters long. It is a micro-gravity environment with substantial habitat space including the main galley, library, labs, and exercise facilities. Storage areas contain most of the crew's food stores, flight spares, and industrial equipment.

Docking Bay 1 is at the torus end of Mod 1 just aft of the torus hub. The opposite end has four big fins protruding at right angles from a long boom, like feathers on an arrow. The fins are attached to a three meter cylinder that is the base nuclear power plant. No solar panels are deployed since the weak sunlight at this distance from the Sun cannot produce enough power for their needs.

The propellant storage tanks, larger than the hab modules, hang from the bottom of Mod 1 like large twin baby whales suckling their mother. These propellant tanks will be superseded by a huge future propellant depot that will co-orbit with Ceres Alpha. This depot will be supplied with propellant manufactured at Ceres Beta on the surface.

The Ceres Alpha and Ceres Beta bases have been crewed since late 2042. These bases were constructed robotically from materials mined on near Earth asteroids. Ceres will become the supply depot for future main asteroid belt mining operations. The bases have been growing with modules added since they were established. The crews have a nine hundred day stay before rotating back to Earth space on one of the supply ships arriving on a fifteen month launch window from Earth.

There is a Ceres Transfer Vehicle, CTV, for crew and cargo service between orbiting Ceres Alpha and the surface base Ceres Beta. The CTV looks akin to the Apollo LM with spider like legs and landing pads designed only for space vacuum flying. It is much larger than the LM. It can carry the crew of six, ten MT of propellant, and a cargo of four MT.

CASSI reports, "Approaching Docking Bay 1. Five meters, three, two, one..."

Scritch! Clunk! Bang, bang, bang, bang.

"We have hard dock. Thank you for your fine piloting CASSI."

"It is my pleasure. Welcome to Ceres Alpha."

"Ceres Alpha, Rigel. We're docked and request permission to come aboard."

"Got ya' Rigel. Hard dock is secure. Permission is granted to come aboard. We're all here in the Hub Bay to welcome you."

The Rigel is docked with a docking adapter extended from Deck Four just above the cargo bay on Deck 5. The docking adapter doubles as an airlock for safety between Rigel and Ceres Alpha. One side of the airlock is the hatch to Rigel and the other side is the hatch to Alpha in the docking ring. The hard dock must make a perfect seal in between the two hatches.

Small cargo modules can be passed through the airlock. Large cargo modules will pass through the open, airless cargo bays Rigel to Alpha assisted by CARIIN robots.

"CASSI equalize the adapter airlock with Rigel."

"Equalized."

It's a tight fit, but all ten of the Rigel crew squeezed into the airlock and secured the hatch to Rigel. They politely keep their arms and elbows tucked close. Sofi has a comfortable front to back hold on Alex.

"CASSI equalize the airlock with Alpha."

"Equalized."

"Opening the hatch."

Cameras record and broadcast the crew transfer moment from the view point of the crew leaving the airlock and the crew entering the Hub Bay on Ceres Alpha. Oleg, grinning broadly, leads the Rigel crew.

Commander George Sutton, Vera Sutton, Osada Shiraku, Nuru Osen, and Nicole and Toby Fischer are floating in a semicircle in the large, bright Hub Bay. They're wearing matching cobalt blue overalls contrasted by the Navy blue polos and khaki shorts that the Rigel crew are wearing. The Alpha crew is using toeholds to stabilize. George Sutton, identified by red commander stripes on his overalls, his high and tight crew cut, and his imposing two meter height, opens his arms wide. He receives Oleg in a big bear hug and kisses him on both cheeks.

"Welcome! Welcome to Ceres Alpha! This is my wife Vera."

Vera, also impressively tall, has medium length brunette hair with a shock of white above her left temple. She opens her arms wide and receives Eve Cain, second in line, and gives her a kiss on both cheeks.

"Welcome!"

"I'm Eve Cain, the trade liaison. I'll be documenting the goods delivered and getting your signature for our credit with the Coalition."

"It's good to have some house guests bearing gifts!"

George and Vera trade off so that Oleg and Eve can greet the other. Meanwhile, the rest of the Rigel crew stream in and greet the Alpha crew. They remain with a ginger toehold to maintain some composure for the cameras so they don't all go tumbling out of control.

When the two crews have had a minute to enjoy the entrance and quick introductions, Commander George's booming voice gets their attention. The crews are sharing toeholds so they can face the camera.

"Please everyone, I have a few words. The crew of Ceres Alpha welcomes the Rigel crew from Mars on the first Martian interplanetary trade mission. We're doubly honored to have these explorers who recovered the alien artifact proving that we are not alone in the universe. They're not only interplanetary trade emissaries but now they're interstellar emissaries. We'll have so much to discuss at dinner tonight! Now, I invite them to tell you about the significance of this mission to Ceres."

"Thanks Commander Sutton. I'm Commander Oleg Ivanov. Let me introduce our interplanetary trade liaison, Eve Cain, and invite her to take the honor of describing our visit to Ceres."

"Thanks Oleg and we thank the Coalition for giving us this opportunity to share the bounty we have from our gardens and propellant facilities on Mars. This initiation of interplanetary trade begins a new chapter for humans expanding permanent settlement of the solar system beyond Earth. Our mutually beneficial trade agreement was proposed by Coalition Command. We envision that Ceres, with our assistance, will soon play a key role in supplying propellant, water, and food to deep space operations in the main asteroid belt."

Screech! Bang! Bang! Looks of fear and concern turn toward Commander Sutton. He keys a remote to pause the broadcast.

"CASSI report on the nature of that noise please!"

"Standby. Analyzing and checking sensors."

Scrritch!

"There are no alarms to report. Life support is nominal. The noise is from the powered bolts on docking adapter interlock mechanism automatically adjusting to some unexpected torque between Rigel and the station. Further analysis is needed but please do not be concerned."

George restarts the broadcast and addresses the camera, "There you have it. Life in space has its moments. We've received other Colossus resupply ships at this docking port and I do recall some unexpected noises. It's just disconcerting the way it reverberates through the station. We're often reminded how close space is through the hull and how far we are from Earth. With that, I'd like to close out our welcoming ceremony and give our guests a tour of Ceres Alpha."

George cuts the video feed to Earth.

Sofi and Alex sense that Tracy Dixon is close to going off the rails with fear. Oleg has been keeping a trank pen with him since Tracy's first melt down on Rigel.

Reading her silent screaming thought, "We must get home to our families! We should not have stopped at Ceres! We should get home to Mars!" Her eyes are as wide as saucers.

Sofi inconspicuously taps Oleg and nods toward Tracy. He immediately reads her look as like her previous meltdown. He glides over to her, face-to-face with his hands on her shoulders.

"We're good Tracy! CASSI's on top of it. It was just a normal readjustment of Rigel's docking port. We're okay. Are you all right?"

Tracy silently nods and her look of fear has softened slightly.

George does notice the incident but doesn't mention it. "I'd like to break up into smaller groups for the tour. I suggest Oleg, Olga, and Eve come with Vera and me. The rest can split into two groups with Osada and Nuru leading one and Nicole and Toby leading the other."

"Great," Oleg says, "but if you don't mind, let's include Tracy with our group."

"Of course," George agrees seeming to understand the issue.

Trevor asks, "Who of you has the best skills in the galley and can give us an orientation there? Mandy and I have planned to make a special meal with supplies we have aboard Rigel in an easy access location."

Osada responds. "Nuru and I do find joy in making special meals with the supplies that we have. We can show you the main galley here in Mod 1 and would love to help you with the meal."

Vera says, "We don't have hab space to berth all of you. We can accommodate four in Hab T3 on the torus. Nothin' like a little gravity to give you a good night's sleep. Oleg, Olga, Eve, and Tracy, can I offer you the space in T3?"

"Perfect. We appreciate the hospitality. I'm sure the others will be fine in their own digs on Rigel."

"No problem," Jacob replies. "We're just happy for the opportunity to be here. We're here to deliver supplies and propellant and to meet our launch window to get home." He gives his wife Tracy's hand a squeeze and she returns a knowing look that's mirrored in the other's faces.

"Got it. So let's split up and get on with the tour and then we'll discuss your proposed schedule for offloading supplies and propellant and have a safety briefing."

"That supply stash that Trevor has for tonight's meal is the first priority."

"You bet! Team Oleg, let's go see the labs and industrial modules here in Mod 1 first."

They push off to follow George and Vera flying down the center core of Mod 1. A conveniently placed hand hold allows them to change direction banking into a large industrial module.

"There are two robotic 3D printers in here and we have room for more equipment. The lab in the next module is sparsely kitted with computer interfaces, a furnace for materials processing, and optical and electron microscopy equipment," George explains.

The third module is the Central Medical Bay. Vera, Alpha's physician, gives the rundown on these facilities and capabilities. Tracy takes all that in with interest and asks a few questions to get a better sense of their readiness for emergencies.

The fourth module is the main coms center, library, and 3D entertainment center. Just like with the systems on Rigel and on Mars, they have access to petabytes of data and entertainment files. Communications bandwidth at this distance from Earth precludes hi-def streaming or browsing of Earth internet so they have the world in their library. Massive updates are included on supply runs. They do get a wealth of Earth news feeds and low-def closed circuit vid access to friends and family.

The fifth and sixth modules are for food and cataloged spares storage. "We have just about everything we might need in case of a breakdown. What's not in here, we can fabricate on our 3D printers."

At the aft end of MOD 1, George explains the power, life support, and cooling systems. The station power is produced by the SSTAR reactor they had seen as Rigel was approaching the station. Liquid sodium carries waste heat from the reactor to the cooling fins. The reactor has spare capacity to power their future industrial needs.

The ECLSS life support system is state-of-the-art and more compact than the system on Rigel. Since the hulls of the station are hyper-insulated, instead of losing heat to space, heat accumulates from sunlight, life support systems, electrical equipment, and human metabolism. The station uses an ammonia cooling system and additional radiation fins on the aft stinger.

Next they catch up with Trevor's team just finishing up their galley tour and discussion of tonight's dinner. The galley is more spacious than what they've been living with on Rigel. Trevor and Mandy are appalled at the lack of diversity in the rations that the Alpha crew has had to endure. It's nutritious but monotonous. They are impressed with the creativity that Osada and Nuru bring to this monotony with the spices that they have in abundance.

Sofi, Alex, Jacob, and Tracy J. are in the group with Nicole and Toby Fischer taking the slide from zero g at the Hub down to the torus modules. Following single file, feet first down the fifteen meter access tube, gravity gradually increases to 0.15 g as they control their fall with a hand on the ladder rail. They emerge into the recreation module and gently touch down on the floor at the outside of the torus.

"Oh yeah!" Alex exclaims. "The first gravity we've felt in over five months."

"Except for the big crunch we had burning off our screaming approach to Ceres," Sofi says.

Once they've all touched down, Nicole explains, "We have two TARED exercise machines in here with the latest VR programs. With the light g in here we still need nearly as much exercise time as in microgravity."

"I'm sure Tracy would like to challenge you to a racquetball game but I warn you, she always wins."

"Except when I let you win."

They continue the tour around the entire torus seeing the habitat, hygiene, science, and industrial modules. Each module is connected with a two meter tunnel with just enough headroom to walk through. The hab module has the sleeping compartments, a second coms center, and a second smaller galley.

Sofi sends thoughts to Alex, "I'd love to give your bones a workout in 0.15 g. This feels great."

"We'll leave that pleasure to Oleg and Olga. We'll get to try 0.03 g on Ceres soon."

"Yeah, but I think Mars is perfect." Sofi smiles and gives Alex a kiss as the others wonder what's going on.

"Something to look forward to. God, I miss the kids, and Ellie, and Abby."

After the tours, Oleg, Olga, Tracy, and Eve go back to Rigel to get kitted for a few nights at Alpha while Trevor and Mandy retrieve the special provisions locker for their dinner. Most of the supplies are grown on Mars and fresh frozen. Osada and Nuru welcome them to the galley and help in the preparation.

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 157: 19: 31: 26

All sixteen of them are gathered for the dinner inside the main galley and just outside in the common area of Mod 1. They're using impromptu toeholds to keep from drifting about.

"Well," George begins, "we've been waiting for you to bring us the means to make Ceres Alpha the best watering hole this side of Deep Space 9. So Trevor and Mandy, the show is yours."

"Thanks Commander Sutton. Let's start with a lemon and lavender gin fizz. We distill a modest amount of ethanol on Mars and infuse it with imported botanicals to make the gin. Tonight's menu is posted on the flat screen."

\------

Spicy sesame edamame

Tilapia ceviche

Curried peas and peppers hand pies

\------

Lemon garlic tilapia with spinach

Sambal chicken skewers

Garlic and rosemary roasted new potatoes

\------

Red or white wine imported from Earth

\------

Fruit sorbet

\------

The gin fizz is served chilled in pouches. The edamame, ceviche, and curried pies are served as appetizers. The food is served buffet style in the galley as crew circulates through. Soft jazz is playing on the PA system.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy this meal and with the infusion of our hydroponics tech here on Alpha and full aquaponics facilities down on Beta you'll have even better fresh fare to enjoy."

Vera says, "Thanks for the beautiful spread. It's infinitely better than our space rations. I'm looking forward to having those greenhouses. I love gardening, green growing things, and fresh food. Nothing could be better for our spirits out here on the frontier."

Oleg and Olga are with George and Vera. Tracy and Eve look on. The crowd is mingling and enjoying hors d'oeuvres.

"You must be mighty lonely way out here," Oleg says. "You've been here for nearly two years already, eh?"

"Yeah. No more than the two couples on the Aquila Mission," Vera responds, "or the first crew on Mars or you with the first Mars colonists—so far from Earth and no quick way home and only yourselves to rely on. We're always encouraged by what the Ceres outpost will become. Ceres Alpha will become the gateway deep space depot to the main asteroid belt and the solar system beyond."

George continues, "We do very important research on the main asteroid belt. We're tagging asteroid candidates for mineral and rare earth element riches. We have all the water resources deep space could need right here on Ceres. Eventually, Ceres Alpha will grow and have a double spin-grav hab torus and more industrial modules. Down on the surface, Beta will produce food and fuel beginning with the supplies and expertise you've brought. Our resupply launch windows from Earth are once in just over fifteen months, so we look forward to the addition of more modules, more nuclear power, and a fresh crew. Yes, we do get to go back home. But someday, we'll be a colony growing from within."

"You're delivering us food so you can get luxury popcorn rations from Earth?" Vera chides.

"I heard that!" Mandy says. "We can grow our own popcorn on Mars, thank you very much."

"Establishing interplanetary trade is important," Eve adds. "Remember, that's why we're here."

"But we need to get finished and get home," Tracy Dixon interjects. "We don't belong here!"

"Easy Tracy," Oleg says. "We're guests here and we do have duties to attend to here. You have some vid-chat time scheduled with Paul and Adele tonight. That should make you feel better."

"Don't patronize me! I'll be the judge of how I feel."

Everyone turns to look at Tracy. Oleg reaches into his pocket but doesn't pull out the trank pen. He hands Tracy a dose of olanzapine.

"Here Tracy dear. You do need this- now."

"Y-yes. I suppose you're right. I-I'll be okay...no problem"

She takes the pill and washes it down with her gin fizz. Everyone looks away and tries to pretend that nothing had happened.

In the galley, Nicole and Toby Fischer sidle up next to Sofi and Alex, who as always stand out in the crowd by their height and friendly faces.

Nicole breaks the ice. "I just can't express how amazing it is to have the Rigel crew here with us- especially the famous Sofi Brewster and Alex Ivanov! Your reputations are known throughout the solar system. Yeah, that has a nice ring to it now that humans have three homes."

"Well, when you put it like that, we've now been to all three," Sofi replies, "The breadth of humanity in the solar system. I can see humans going much farther in the near future."

"What's so mind blowing is your visit to the comet, the big EVA, and retrieving the artifact! We felt like we were there with you from the vids. Can you describe what it felt like when you discovered it?"

"Wow! Yeah--It started when we suggested the comet visit on the trip to Ceres and it got so much stronger as we were approaching the comet-- even before we received the beep signals," Sofi responds. "Alex and I shared the sense that there was a presence there, that it meant us no harm, and that we must go to it to find answers. Our remote sensing saw The Box within the vent. I let Alex go in alone. God! I was so scared."

"You were scared? I was face-to-face with the first-- the only evidence of intelligent life not from Earth. It wasn't there at the end of the vent during Aquila. They would have found it. Perhaps we weren't deemed ready. But there it was for us, calling and saying- here's the treasure. Please take it and learn from it."

"What have we learned from it so far?" Nicole asks.

"We've only just begun," Alex replied. We know that the promise is enormous since the tech to get The Box here involved interstellar travel. In a way, we did actually communicate with it briefly when we exchanged 'pi' and 'e' in binary."

"We're starting with having CASSI parse through the thousands of print fonts in English, Russian, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Urdu, and any other extant language, "Sofi explains. "For English, CASSI is being trained to decipher the almost infinite variations on cursive handwriting. Then we continue the process for extinct languages such as Latin, Aramaic, Egyptian Hieroglyphs and Demotic script, Sumerian, and their translated example texts. And yes, this does literally include the Rosetta Stone. With these training exercises, we hope to lay the basis for gleaning some understanding of the script on The Box.

"Toby and I have studied The Box 3D images in detail," Nicole says. "We've struck a similarity between the rune-like script on The Box and proto-cuneiform Sumerian texts from Jemdet Nasr in Iraq and Lihyanite era texts from al Ula in Saudi Arabia. Toby and I visited there on a UNESCO Heritage tour just after we were married. A few of the characters are nearly identical."

"Interesting. CASSI, are you listening?" Sofi asks.

"Always. Your ears are my ears. I am accessing photographic records from al Ula and Jemdet Nasr. Allowing for variances and script evolution over time, there is a sixty three percent chance that there is a common root for all three."

"That's spooky!"

"My listening or the comparison?"

"CASSI, we know you're always there. I meant the probability of a common root in the scripts. It implies that The Watchers may have been on Earth and interacted with humans thousands of years ago."

"That's interesting speculation," Alex replies, "but it's meaningless until we have direct communication that we can translate. We're a long way from communication or translation. There have been persistent stories across the Earth of interpreting ancient petroglyphs and texts as proof of ancient aliens."

Toby adds, "I wish we could see and touch the artifact but I know you have it sealed onboard Rigel and you have the burden of not knowing how safe it is for your crew."

Mada'in Saleh "Library" Al Ula, Saudi Arabia (author photo)

Proto-cuneiform Sumerian texts from Jemdet Nasr in Iraq.[], []

Pre-Anasazi petroglyphs of the San Juan River Canyon, Utah. Some claim this is proof of ancient aliens. (author photo)

"It's certainly not a burden carrying The Box back to Mars," Alex says. "We're about as sure as we can be that it's not a threat. The promise of learning from the beings, The Watchers, who placed it on the comet, is the most exciting development in science in our history. With CASSI's help, we believe we can make meaningful progress on understanding the script and unlocking The Box and what it is capable of."

"Your rapport with CASSI is remarkable," Toby comments. "I mean, to us, CASSI is a very capable computer and yes, that makes our lives easier."

"You are welcome Toby Fischer."

"CASSI is interlinked on all human space systems- so your CASSI is our CASSI. Yes, Sofi and I have developed a very special close connection with her."

Sofi opts to change the subject. "Let's try the tilapia and chicken."

"Oh yeah," Nicole says, "and I'll have a pouch of white wine with that. You've saved us from death by space rations."

Mission Elapsed Time 157: 20: 52: 17

After dinner, dessert, wine, and lively conversation, George announces, "Ladies and gentlemen of Rigel and Alpha, we've thoroughly enjoyed the meal and your companionship. My compliments to Mandy and Trevor for the fine food and to Osada and Nuru for adding your special touch to its preparation. Tomorrow is a big day of offloading cargo and propellant from Rigel so we are headed off to the Hab. The rest of you may continue to enjoy the evening and retire at your leisure."

Oleg, Olga, Tracy, and Eve follow George and Vera to the torus. They had already stowed their PPKs in their respective quarters. Oleg and Olga settle into the double compartment in Hab T3 while Tracy and Eve take the two single compartments.

The caress of artificial gravity is comforting. In a short while, Tracy overhears the muffled sounds of lovemaking coming from Oleg and Olga's compartment. At first she finds it amusing and even arousing.

"Mmm. I'd forgotten how much I missed gravity. It makes me feel stronger."

"You've never had a problem in that department big man. Remember that Oksana was conceived in weightlessness on the trip out to Mars. We may be too old to have another but we've never slowed down. Oh yes..."

"Nnn, yes! Never..."

By now, Tracy is feeling even more isolated and longing for Paul and Adele and Mars. Just then she hears a faint creak and groan from the Rigel docking connector. "Oh, God! We shouldn't be here!" She fumbles in her PPK for her olanzapine, takes another dose, and tries to go to sleep.

"I love you Oleg."

"I love you too Olga-- especially after reminding me what gravity is good for."

Ceres Alpha Orbiting Base

November 10, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 158: 08: 03: 21

After breakfast, George and Oleg called their respective crews to the common area of Mod 1.

"We're going to begin propellant transfer from Rigel to our storage tanks at 08: 30," George advises the troops. "I want Nicole, as our lead engineer, with me in coms during the propellant transfer. The rest of Alpha crew will be sealed in the torus habs for safety."

Oleg addresses the troops next. "The Rigel crew will enter Rigel and seal the hatch while we remain docked and complete the propellant transfer. Jacob will accompany me on the Command Deck to help me control and monitor the process. Any questions?"

"You make the operation sound dangerous!" Tracy Dixon shudders and objects. "I didn't sign on for any dangerous operations. I-I need to get back to Mars, to my f-family!"

Sofi and Alex look at each other and share a brief premonition of danger here on Alpha. The premonition is vague and uncertain whether this is the operation they're feeling go awry.

Sofi sends Alex a thought, "Without a panic, we have to share this with Oleg back on Rigel."

"Yeah, no duh!"

"Tracy, let's get you back on Rigel," Oleg is calm but firm. "We're only taking safety precautions. This is a routine operation just like refueling operation we had in Mars orbit."

The crews drift off to their respective "bunkers" as directed. Oleg and Jacob are on Rigel's Command Deck. Olga and Eve are tending to Tracy Dixon giving her a dose of olanzapine.

"Alpha, this is Rigel. Do you read?" Oleg radios from the Command Deck with Jacob by his side. After Tracy's latest outburst, they're both a bit nervous about the operation.

"Rigel, Alpha. I read you. Our robotic arm is extending to receive your umbilicals."

"Roger. CASSI is extending the umbilicals now. You should have a vid feed from outside our cargo bay."

"Roger, receiving your video. Are you receiving the vid from the robo arm?"

"Roger. I see you approaching the umbilical stinger nozzles."

CASSI calls out. "Two meters. One meter...I have umbilical capture. Retracting the umbilicals now to the storage tanks."

"Great! Easy does it, CASSI."

"Approaching the manifold receptacle. Two meters. One meter...Inserting...and latched."

"I have green lights for secure capture. Thank you CASSI." Oleg sounds relieved.

"Likewise. You may begin the transfer with methane first," George says.

The propellant stinger umbilicals extend from Rigel's cargo bay to a manifold at the aft end of the propellant storage tanks below the belly of Mod 1 on Ceres Alpha.

"Roger. CASSI, begin methane transfer now and ramp up the rate to fifty kg per second."

"Looking good. I'm receiving fifty kg per second."

The operation proceeds without incident- first completing the transfer of eight MT of liquid methane and thirteen MT of LOX. That's half of the export propellant from Rigel. The other half will be delivered to Beta down on Ceres.

Mission Elapsed Time 158: 13: 23: 37

On PA, George announces, "Alpha crew, the propellant transfer operation is complete. Papa says you can come out now. Please report back to Mod 1 Commons."

On Rigel, Oleg has instructed Olga to stay near Tracy Dixon to keep her calm and keep an eye on her. The rest of the crew go and open the docking port hatch and float through to join the Alpha crew.

Now they're unloading fifteen cryo food containers, each slightly larger than a coffin. The cryo containers have a vacuum insulated shell and keep the food frozen at minus forty Celsius with minimal power consumption. One-by-one, food cryo containers are pulled from their storage racks in Rigel's cargo bay, with CARIAN assistance, and guided from one crew person to the next and sent gently down the docking tunnel to the receiving Alpha crew below. The fifteen containers hold ten MT of food lovingly grown on and exported from Mars. Ceres Beta will receive an identical shipment. This food will not only make their cuisine less monotonous, but will make the Ceres crews less reliant on the next shipment from Earth should God forbid, something unforeseen interrupts the once every fifteen months resupply launch window.

The last cryo container has just been passed through the docking adapter.

Screech! Scrritch! Then in lower bass tones, the metal-on-metal sound reverberates through the hulls of Rigel and Alpha.

Sofi and Alex are on either end of the docking tunnel and got a huge earful of the renting sound. They exchange thoughts. Without a doubt, the sound came from the docking adapter as the minor shift in Rigel's mass causes a minute shift in the ship's attitude.

"Jeese! That scared me silly, "Sofi exclaims. "Alex, I think I wet my pants."

"We're okay for now! CASSI- report on docking seal integrity!" Alex calls out.

"There are no alarms to report. The docking seal is intact and pressures are stable. The noise is from the docking adapter interlock mechanism automatically adjusting to some unexpected torque between Rigel and the station. Further analysis is needed."

Oleg takes it further. "CASSI, do you still have control of the docking adapter latch bolts?"

"Affirmative. However, I recommend that we close the hatch after the cargo transfer is completed."

"I'll take it one step farther; I think we should plan for an early departure and request Commander Sutton to have the latch bolts inspected."

"Alpha here. I hear you Commander Ivanov and I respect your decision to leave our hospitality."

"Your hospitality has been most generous. But we've successfully completed our mission here. I am concerned about the docking adapter. Those noises are beyond a subtle creak of readjustment. I'm raising the safety flag. If that adapter seal fails, it could put my ship and your station in jeopardy."

"I think you're overreacting but I still respect your decision to leave. We'll address the latch bolts after you've departed."

On the intercom to Tracy Dixon's suite, "Olga, Oleg here."

Olga hears the page and glides over to the intercom to answer. "Olga here. Tracy's asleep. What in the hell was that noise? Thank God Tracy didn't hear it."

"It's the docking adapter. We've completed the cargo transfer and we need to expedite undocking as soon as possible. Leave Tracy to sleep and join me with the others on Alpha to close out with them. Then the sooner we get back on Rigel with the hatch closed the better."

Both crews are gathered on Alpha in Mod 1 Commons. The hatch to Rigel is closed.

Oleg addresses both crews. "Ladies and gentlemen of Alpha and Rigel, we've been successful and accomplished our mission. I'll let Eve cover that. We enjoyed lively discussions over dinner last night, felt the sweet caress of gravity in the torus hab, and opened interplanetary trade. Due to safety concerns of an anomaly that's developed in the docking adapter, we've decided to cut our visit short." After a few murmurs from the crews, "Eve, please give us a report."

"We came on Rigel as an interplanetary delivery truck. We completed the transfer of eight MT of liquid methane, thirteen MT of LOX, and ten MT of Martian grown food. We hope these goods will take uncertainty out of your lives and provide you with a more enjoyable variety of food cuisine. Now a formality- Commander Sutton, I need you to sign this bill of lading so we get proper credit with the Coalition."

"That'll be an honor." George signs the document. "Crew of Rigel, it's been an honor having you here. I agree with the safety concerns. A failure of the docking seal would put us all in peril- your ship and my station. We wish you Godspeed, a safe trip down to Beta, and back to Mars."

With that, the crews give hugs and say their goodbyes. Oleg, Olga, and Eve go to retrieve their PPKs. They follow the rest of the crew through the docking tunnel, close the hatch, and float back onboard Rigel.

Scrritch! Squeek!

"Shit, let's get undocked!" Oleg barks even while thinking that the possible danger of catastrophic decompression is averted now that the hatches are sealed on both the Rigel and Ceres Alpha.

Ceres Alpha Orbiting Base

November 10, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 158: 16: 03: 26

Olga gently escorts Tracy Dixon to the Command Deck. The whole crew dons pressure suits as a precaution for undocking for the descent to Ceres Beta. Olga and Tracy strap in next to Jacob and Oleg. On Deck Two, Sofi, Alex, Tracy J., Trevor, Mandy, and Eve Cain are strapped in next to the two CARIAN robots.

Oleg has instructed Olga to stay on board Rigel with Tracy while the rest of the crew goes ashore to Ceres Beta base. The rest of the crew has their PPKs with them so they're prepared to immediately disembark when Rigel lands on this iconic dwarf planet.

"Ceres Alpha, Rigel. We're ready for undocking."

"Green lights here. You are go for undocking Rigel."

"CASSI, please undock from Alpha and back away at one meter per second."

"Affirmative."

Scrritch! Squeek! The Ship shudders.

"Negative disconnect," CASSI reports. "Latches four and five negative retract. Negative undocking."

"Try again please CASSI. This time use dorsal thrusters to assist."

"Affirmative."

Scrritch! Squeek! Scrritch! The Ship shudders more heavily this time.

All at once Sofi and Alex experience a premonition of dread with the airlock. They whisper in unison as Tracy Dixon shouts. "Oh God! No!"

"Negative disconnect. Latches four and five negative retract."

"Everyone, it's going to be okay! CASSI, can you send a retract command to latches four and five to test circuits and actuation?"

"Affirmative--actuating."

Whirr-clunk.

"Latches four and five negative retract."

"Ceres Alpha, Rigel. We have negative latch retract on latches four and five of the docking adapter after repeated attempts. Request you blow the pyros on four and five to release us."

"That would be a last resort Oleg."

"I know. Just do it and send me the bill. I realize it'll require an EVA fix."

"And a 3D print job to replace them."

"Just do it George!"

"Sending pyro command timed as you initiate undocking."

"CASSI, proceed with undocking using thrusters again."

"Affirmative."

Scrritch! Squeek! The Ship shudders again. Bang! Bang!

"Rigel is free and moving away from Alpha at one meter per second," CASSI reports.

"Thanks CASSI. Thanks George! The pyros worked. Best make the docking latch repair priority one. Thanks CASSI. At five hundred meters, begin descent orbit to Ceres Beta."

"Affirmative. We will be at five kilometers altitude and coming into Ceres Beta entry corridor in daylight for PDI at 23: 16—just over seven hours from now."

"We have to get back to Mars!" Tracy shouts. "Please don't take us down there."

Olga slaps her gloved hand down hard on Tracy's arm then gives her shoulder a gentler squeeze. "Tracy, get a grip. We have a job to do. It's a simple landing and a few short days. Then, we'll be on our way to Mars and our families. The early, high fuel cost launch window opens in ten days on November 20th but we're scheduled to leave on the more efficient window on November 30th."

"I know...I know...a few more days..."

Ceres Beta

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

November 10, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 158: 23: 13: 41

"Ceres Beta, Rigel, Commander Oleg Ivanov here. We've completed our descent orbit and we're ready for PDI in just over two minutes."

"Rigel, Ceres Beta, Bonjour, Commander Bruno Batteau on coms. Landing Pad 2 is your landing target. Bienvenue à Ceres Oleg and crew."

A gentle burn slows the ship in an arc for a slow-motion vertical touchdown kicking up a little roiling dust on Landing Pad 2. The Ceres Transfer Vehicle, CTV, sits on it four spider legs on Landing Pad 1. Ceres Beta is on the flank of the Ahuna Mons cryovolcano for easy access to layers of ice and constructing underground habs. Beta's facilities are essentially equivalent to Alpha's. Mod 1 is the primary structure. It was landed horizontally on a thruster carriage and then winched on rollers into a robotically constructed berth made of regolith cement. A ramp gives access to the EVA airlock.

Instead of the six modules in a torus, three modules each are lined end to end connecting to the Hub Bay on the port and starboard sides. The habitat modules occupies the port side and the starboard side houses the science and storage modules. Each module was landed with a reusable thruster pack. The SSTAR reactor was landed as a separate package. Four additional large modules are future aquaponics units. They are configured in an H-pattern and tunnel connected to the port side habitat modules.

The Rigel landed an hour past dawn on Ceres with three brief hours of daylight left before the short night arrives. The rotation period of Ceres, the Cerean day, is just nine hours and four minutes. Just as on Mars and on Rigel, the colonists live inside hab modules under artificial light that keeps them conditioned to Earth standard twenty four hour days. Only EVA activities are timed to the four and half hour window of daylight on Ceres.

"Ceres Beta, Rigel on Pad 2. Down, engines purged, and all systems safed. Requesting permission to go EVA with my crew and come aboard."

"Bon spectacle Rigel. We're ready to welcome you to Beta, Commander Oleg. Home in on the flashing light at the airlock on Mod 1. Bienvenue à bord."

Alex puts his hand on Sofi's and sends the thought, "That was the smoothest landing we could ask for."

"Welcome to .03 g! Just a few kilograms of weight feels great. I could get used to this."

"I promised that we'd make up for missing the grav on Alpha's torus hab. Now we'll get our chance."

"I'm all over that and you! Yet just as much as I want to be with you, I miss our Stella and Andrei."

"We'll get home perhaps ahead of schedule by a few days. I sense that this is gonna be a good run down here. We have a lot to accomplish—not just us with the observatory but Mandy and Trevor with the aquaponics units especially. My concern is undefined but it's not here. It's not in the SIC on Rigel. It's up there somewhere."

"Yes, but where and what?"

"Time and focus and caution will tell, my sweet Sofi."

"Okay crew. Grab your PPKs and let's get ready to go ashore. I've asked Olga and Tracy to stay on board Rigel to watch over the ship. We'll start unloading cargo after we get settled in and get some sleep."

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

November 11, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 159: 01: 06: 26

The eight person EVA party is assembled in the cargo deck. They're prebreathing oxygen and suiting up with assistance in buddy pairs. They have stacked cargo secured around them. They enter the large airlock designed to handle cargo modules. The inner hatch is sealed.

"CASSI, please initiate depressurization," Oleg commands.

"Affirmative. Depressurization initiated. Three minutes to equalization."

During the depressurization process, each of them takes time to reflect on how far they've come. Setting boots on Ceres will be the third planet they've been on and they've visited a comet to boot.

"Depressurization completed."

"CASSI, please open the cargo bay airlock door, extend the sky crane arms, and auger in the elevator cables."

"Affirmative. Door opening." They don't hear a hiss but some debris swirls toward the opening door. "Sky crane is extending...Cables are on the surface and auguring in...Done and ready to lower the pallet."

Stepping aboard the elevator pallet thirty-two meters above the surface of Ceres, Sofi exclaims, "What a view! Ahuna Mons seems so close that I could reach out and touch it."

"Secure the safety gate," Oleg continues. "CASSI extend the elevator on the sky crane and begin descent."

Clunk, the elevator starts down. As the elevator descends, they silently take in the view of Ahuna Mons, the surrounding pock-marked, boulder strewn terrain, and the layout of the nascent colony. The flashing light on the airlock at the near end of Mod 1 is clearly visible. The backdrop is a star studded sky crossed by the brilliant three dimensional clouds of stars and dark nebulae of the Milky Way.

Alex is awed. "That view of the Milky Way is so much more intense than what we could see back at Robinson Park in Texas."

Sofi responds in reverie, "That brings back memories! You left out the chorus of crickets and dances of summer fire-flies that nearly drowned out the stars..."

Along the ecliptic, Sofi points out the "pale blue dot of Earth, so troubled, so overcrowded, and the brilliant ruddy jewel of Mars, so full of promise."

Earth is on the far side of the sun while Mars is on the near side, just past opposition with Ceres. Ivory colored Jupiter is even brighter on the opposite side of the Cerean sky. There is a small observatory beyond the Beta hab complex. It has a 0.5 meter f11 SCT telescope that the Beta crew uses to study the asteroid belt. The instrument does not need a dome for protection from the elements as it would on Earth or Mars.

"Look at Jupiter!" Alex exclaims. "Its disk and the four moons of Galileo are visible to the naked eye at this distance from Ceres!"

"Ba-zinga! Wow! We aren't on Mars any more!" Sofi says.

"Or in Kansas, Dorothy!"

Just then, Sofi and Alex experience a brief premonition of a thriving human colony on Titan. They briefly look at each other with broad grins and touch faceplates as the elevator comes to a stop.

Two landing pads had been constructed by robotic equipment from 3D printed sintered Ceres regolith for landing support for Colossus ships. Rigel sits on Pad 2. The landing pads are necessary to support the huge ships and prevent rocket exhaust from excavating the regolith and sending hypervelocity debris that might damage base infrastructure.

"We're down and I'm opening the gate."

"Let's go try our space legs in .03 g!" Tracy J. blurts out.

"Easy does it," Jacob cautions. "This isn't Mars! We only weigh a few kilograms so there's not much friction with the surface. Try mincing steps until we get the hang of it."

Oleg steps off of the elevator pallet onto the landing pad then minces out onto the surface regolith of Ceres.

"See there? Nothing to it."

Jacob follows, takes three steps and falls down in slow motion.

"Oh shit!", then he laughs. "No harm done. I feel like superman."

"Superman in a spacesuit," Tracy says.

With a gentle push he pops back up like a Bozo Bopping Bag and lands back on his feet that are now widely planted. He takes a few more steps onto Ceres soil as his gait evolves into a slow loping bunny hop.

"That's how it's done!"

The rest of the crew follow his lead and begin the slow motion hop to the flashing airlock on Mod 1. Eve Cain hops in last as Oleg hits the OPEN button on the airlock door.

"The Rigel crew is entering the airlock," Oleg reports.

"Excellent. We're waiting for you in Mod 1," Bruno replies.

"CASSI, Please close the outer hatch and equalize the pressure for entry into Beta."

After equalization, the crew doffs their helmets and CASSI opens the airlock hatch into Mod 1.

"Bienvenue à Ceres crew Rigel!" Commander Bruno Batteau, his wife Murielle Batteau, Arne Holder and Melina Holder, and Oliviero and Pia Bonetti are there wearing matching maroon overalls with their names and Ceres Beta insignias. They receive each of the Rigel crew ceremoniously with introductions and a kiss on each cheek. Each of them is skilled in astronautics, aerospace engineering, planetary science, and habitat systems. Murielle is also a skilled physician. Melina has additional training in astrogeology. Oliviero and Pia pride themselves on their culinary skills.

"Thanks for the warm welcome Commander Batteau."

Murielle interjects, "And where is your lovely wife Olga and your physician Tracy Dixon?"

"Olga remained on board Rigel to attend to Tracy who has been a bit unwell lately. Perhaps they'll join us in the coming days."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Is there anything that I can do as a physician?"

"Thank you. No, we have everything well in hand and have consulted with our medical team on Mars." Then Oleg changes the subject, "Now let me invite our interplanetary trade liaison, Eve Cain, to take the honor of describing our visit to Ceres."

"Thanks Oleg. The Coalition has sent us to Ceres to share the bounty we have from our gardens and propellant facilities on Mars. This mission of interplanetary trade begins a new chapter for humans expanding ever farther into the solar system. We have hopes that Ceres, with the assistance that we bring to you on this mission, will soon play a key role in supplying deep space operations in the main asteroid belt."

"Excellent. Je vous remercie. Let's go to the main galley and have a digestif of special Armagnac that we've been saving for such an occasion. Then, I believe that since we are all still acclimated to Coalition Earth time, at this hour we are tired from a long day, and we should escort you to your quarters. We can have a thorough tour of Beta tomorrow."

Into the conversation, with the formalities melting with the Armagnac, there are the inevitable questions about the discovery and recovery of The Box. Sofi and Alex handle those questions with honesty and describe the event and all that is known in great detail. The enigma that is The Box remains silent and sealed in the SIC.

They laughed at the thought of a future Summer Dome on Ceres like the joyful rec center on Mars. Ceres' 0.03 g gravitational pull would allow that an average person equipped with paddle mitts or winglets could easily fly like a bird in the dome ]

It also becomes apparent that there's no love lost between crews of Alpha and Beta. Disharmony cropped up during the twelve month long trip out from Earth. The assigned crews divided socially and there were words spoken in heated arguments that left wounds that seem to be festering.

The Rigel crew is escorted to the port side habitat modules and they are assigned to Hab 3. It has five pristine but Spartan crew quarters with en suite hygiene units. Sofi and Alex enjoy a warm shower in low g. It seems a luxury compared to bathing in microgravity on Rigel. The precious water is efficiently collected for recycling.

"I brought your favorite satinique jammies," Sofi toys.

"Great, but I don't think you'll need those tonight."

"Yeah, I can see that big boy." Sofi's sentence trails off into a passionate kiss as they fall in slow motion into the warm sheets of their platform bed...

"Mmmm. Ceres grav—mmhmm-- is so much better than—yes!—free fall..."

"Better hold me tighter—nnn—nnn---I don't want to bounce you into orbit..."

"Whoo—hoo! I think you already did!"

After a while, their passions wind down to affectionate spooning as sleep starts to take over its soft embrace. Sofi sends Alex the thought, "I sense that the rift between Alpha and Beta is rooted in Commander Bruno and Murielle."

"Yeah, I get that too. Bruno has professional jealousy over George being named mission commander for the outbound journey."

"It goes deeper. Vera has hated Murielle over disagreements with her publications on space medicine. The social division of the crews fell along loyalty lines. That must have been some miserable mission."

"I can't even imagine. As carefully as crews are selected, human nature can bring out the worst in people with the stress of confinement."

"God! That would be Elena!"

"And Dr. Tracy's teetering on the edge."

"We should speak to Abby about researching an improvement on olanzapine as a treatment...Alex?"

As he nuzzles around the curls on her neck, "Yeah, more about this tomorrow Sof."

"Yeah, I could use some more kisses like that on my nape..."

Ceres Beta Surface Base

November 11, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 159: 09: 07: 18

After a needed night's sleep and a leisurely breakfast, Jacob leads teams from Beta and Rigel on the first EVA to unload cargo from Rigel's cargo decks. The two CARIAN robots do most of the heavy work with the cargo modules loaded on wheeled dollies to the elevator platform. Jacob directs the work from the cargo bay. On the surface, Arne Holder oversees the loading of cargo from the elevator to powered, six wheeled cargo wagons for transport to Beta. Food supply modules are unloaded first. The food modules are shuttled through the Beta airlock.

Later in the day, industrial cargo is unloaded and temporarily stored outside on the surface. The industrial cargo includes equipment for the Ceres Observatory, aquaponics hardware, an ice mining HORTA unit, Sabatier reactor components, and propellant depot hardware.

About sixty percent of Ceres' upper crust has a composition similar to primitive carbonaceous chondrite meteorites and carbonaceous asteroids. The crust is rich in water ice, clays containing water, and an abundance of organic molecules and carbonates. These are perfect feed stocks for producing propellant. The mining process will produce water to be electrolyzed to hydrogen and oxygen. Mined carbonates will be heated to produce carbon dioxide. The Sabatier reactor takes an input of the produced hydrogen and carbon dioxide to synthesize methane propellant.

That night, Trevor and Mandy organized a dinner buffet with Oliviero and Pia even more lavish than the one they had on Alpha. Oleg and Olga are holding court with Bruno and Murielle. They're sampling a tray of roasted garlic and tomato bruschetta and sipping on a second offering of cabernet.

"Last night you touched on some issues you have with the Alpha crew," Oleg presses. "If you could elaborate, perhaps we could help in the short time we're here."

"No, I will not elaborate," Bruno rebukes. "And I'll thank you to stay out of our personal business. Let's focus on the business of your visit and the safety of the cargo transfer operations."

"My apologies, but you should consider that your state of affairs with Alpha could present a safety issue."

Bruno and Murielle turn heel and strike up a conversation with Eve Cain.

Ceres Beta Surface Base

November 12, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 160: 08: 03: 21

Sofi and Alex supervise moving the equipment for the one meter Ceres Observatory to the site prepared next to the smaller SCT telescope. It will be the work of two days with the CARIAN robots to install the rock solid pier, the alt-azimuth fork mount, the electronics cable connections, computer, and communications equipment. A few more days will be needed for calibration and testing. The Ceres Observatory is a valuable addition to the array of telescopes used for monitoring Shiva debris. The parallax perspective from Ceres will increase the precision of debris trajectory projections beyond what is capable from Mars.

Ceres Beta Surface Base

November 13, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 161: 08: 07: 42

Trevor Brown and Mandy Shields supervise the installation of equipment to get the four newly constructed aquaponics units up and running. Over the course of the next week, the work includes setting up the hydroponics units and seeding them with the starter crops of tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, beets, barley, and lettuce. As on Mars, the available sunlight will not support the aquaponics facilities, so high energy LED lights will support photosynthesis.

The aquaculture tanks will be completed, pumps installed, tanks filled with Ceres derived water, and stocked with tilapia fry hatched in special tanks on board Rigel.

Ceres Beta Surface Base

November 14, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 162: 14: 36: 04

Jacob and Tracy J. retrieve Ceres geology samples from Ceres Beta Base. Over the last year, Jacob and Ellie have been working remotely with astrogeologist Melina Holder at Ceres Beta operating their robotic, thruster powered Ceres Hopper Drone to secure samples from coordinates assigned by Ellie and Jacob. Samples from the anomalous, white salt deposits in Occator Crater should be really interesting. The samples will ground truth the analysis from orbital remote sensing.

The samples are stored in special sample return containers (SRCs) and placed in a separate SIC on board Rigel near The Box artifact. Jacob is anxious to get the samples back to Arcadia Base to be analyzed in the geology lab he shares with Ellie.

On the same EVA that Jacob and Tracy J. safely stowed the samples, they paid an overdue visit to Olga and Dr. Tracy. Olga had been supervising Tracy and keeping her company. In fact, they had grown to be closer friends than ever before. Consulting with Abby back on Mars, Oleg and Olga had decided that Dr. Tracy's olanzapine therapy finally had her on an even keel. Olga is convinced that her simple gift of friendship tipped the scales. They decided to take a chance on bringing Dr. Tracy over to be with the rest of the crew at Beta.

Murielle and Oleg are on hand to greet Tracy as Olga opens the hatch to Mod 1.

"Bienvenue Docteur Dixon. Welcome to Beta. She kisses Tracy's cheeks. I 'm Murielle Batteau."

"Thanks Murielle. Please call me Tracy. It's good to be out of house arrest."

"We'll still be close by to keep an eye on you." Oleg says.

"Fine. But I'm still part of this expedition. I have done nothing to harm anyone..."

Mayday

Ceres Beta Surface Base

November 18, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 166: 09: 21: 16

Bruno, Oleg, and Jacob are in the Coms Center supervising the operation of offloading eight metric tons of methane and twenty-three metric tons LOX propellant from Rigel to Beta's propellant storage tanks. The two CARIAN robots under CASSI's control manage mating Rigel's propellant stinger umbilicals with the surface propellant manifold.

CASSI reports, "Connection is completed and secure."

"Thank you CASSI. Ramp up the LOX transfer to twenty-five kilograms per second and methane to ten kilograms per second."

"Affirmative. Transfer is initiated. The operation will be completed in sixteen minutes."

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 166: 18: 38: 42

CASSI reports, "Propellant transfer operation is complete."

"Thanks CASSI. Direct the CARIANs to disconnect and retract the umbilicals."

"Affirmative."

"Excellent," Bruno observes. "Bon spectacle!"

"I have an incoming mayday call," CASSI reports.

"Please put it on speaker!"

"Ceres Beta, Ceres Alpha, mayday, mayday! George Sutton...I'm locked down isolated in Central Medical B-Bay...hatch is sealed...ammonia leak! Vera...O-Osada...N-Nuru...unconscious! Others u-unaccounted f-for...S-SEND-HELP! H-h-help..." The transmission fades off with a crackle.

"Alpha, Bruno here. Have you fixed the docking adapter?"

Dead air...

"Alpha, Come back! Have you fixed the docking adapter? Alpha, Come back!"

Dead air...

"Merde! A rescue at Alpha? I would sooner cut off my right hand! But—we have your Rigel crew to be heroes, to save my conscience, and help us save face with the Coalition."

"Give me the coms Bruno," Oleg commands. "We're not going anywhere until we have more information. CASSI, please give us a report on the incident on Ceres Alpha from their video and sensor data."

"Ceres Alpha Anomaly Report is on screen now."

_________________________________

Osada Shiraku and Nuru Osen are doing maintenance on the ammonia cooling system.

"Please hand me the 24 mm spanner wrench for the filter assembly," Osada asks.

"Here's the spanner. Please be careful."

"Kuso! Riku! A leak in ACRV-2! CASSI sound the alarm! Ohhh noo..."

Pressurized anhydrous ammonia leaks into MOD1. Osada and Nuru and Vera are exposed and overcome. The alarm claxon sounds.

CASSI announces, "Ammonia leak in Mod 1! Take shelter!" CASSI then isolates the leak by shutting react valve ACRV-1 but not before a significant amount of the poisonous gas escapes.

"Osada! Nuru! Must get to you..." Vera, tries to help and is overcome by the fumes.

George is exposed but grabs a respirator. "I'm coming! Gotta get you into medical... Vera! Got you babe. Hang on!"

One at a time, George pulls Vera, Osada, and then Nuru into the airlock of Central Medical Bay. It's a grim task made easier in microgravity. He purges the airlock, designed for such an emergency, and then opens the inner hatch to get the three unconscious victims into medical.

When the alarm sounded and CASSI reported the ammonia leak, Nicole and Toby Fischer locked down in the torus habs. George sends off the mayday to Ceres Beta then he passes out before he can explain further. It will take twenty-two minutes for the Coalition to hear the mayday call on Earth.

Toby and Nicole are at the secondary coms console in the torus trying unsuccessfully to contact George. "George, this is Toby and Nicole in Torus coms. Come back please. We're safe here but need to know your status. Repeat, George, what is your status!"

"Ceres Beta, this is Ceres Alpha in mayday lockdown with an ammonia leak in Mod 1. Toby and Nicole Fischer here locked down in the Torus Hab. Mod 1 does not respond! Repeat, Ceres Beta, this is Ceres Alpha. Mayday! Come back please. We require rescue! We are locked down in the Torus Hab with no access to our space suits. Ammonia leak in Mod 1. Mayday!"

_________________________________

"Ceres Alpha, Ceres Beta. This is Commander Oleg Ivanov. We copy your ammonia leak emergency and that George, Vera, Osada, and Nuru are in Mod 1 and not responding Have you fixed the docking adapter? We're evaluating rescue options. Alpha, Come back."

"Toby here. Negative on fixing the docking adapter. You can still soft dock and pass through the docking tunnel in EVA suits. Please hurry! We need to rescue George and the others in Mod 1. Hurry!"

"We're coming Alpha. We'll radio the plan as soon as we have it. Beta out."

"Help me here Bruno. We can't launch Rigel right now. It takes too long to prepare."

"The CTV's secondary role is a rescue vehicle. We can have the CTV ready and launched in just over thirty minutes. I won't send Murielle, our doctor. I need to look out for my own."

"The Coalition will hear about this chicken shit, petty excuse. I'm reluctant to send Tracy Dixon, our doctor, as a rescuer. She's had some mental stress issues recently."

Oleg hadn't noticed that Sofi, Alex, Olga, and Tracy had entered the Coms Center and overheard the details of the emergency. Sofi and Alex connected their earlier premonition with this urgent situation. Now they have a mental picture of the events on Alpha.

Tracy pleads, "I can do this. I must do this! That could be my family up there! Trust me."

"Okay Tracy. This may be what the doctor ordered," Oleg relents. "Jacob, are you with us?"

"You bet! Let's get suited up and get moving."

"Bruno, send Alpha and the Coalition an update now! Pass a report to everyone else here. CASSI, please get the CTV primed and ready."

"Affirmative. Systems are switched on now and pressurization of the emergency propellant reserves has started. Calculating minimum time transfer orbit... Launch window in thirty-five minutes with a direct climb rendezvous taking ninety three minutes."

Alex adds, "George Sutton is conscious again. We sense that he's on oxygen and he has Vera, Osada, and Nuru on oxygen. They are unconscious but still alive. Take us with you on the rescue! We can help."

"Thanks for that update Alex," Oleg replies, "but any more than three in the rescue party will be a complication."

"Godspeed then. Olga, Sofi, and I will help you suit up. Let's go!"

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 166: 19: 22: 51

"Ceres Beta, Coalition Command. Ceres Beta, Coalition Command. We read the mayday report from Alpha and your plan to send the CTV for rescue operations. We concur with your plan and wish you the best outcome. We have faith in the expertise of Commander Ivanov and his crew. Please advise why the rescue is not being led by Commander Batteau. Coalition Command over and out."

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 166: 21: 34: 16

"Alpha, the CTV is aligned and approaching for soft dock. Hang in there. We have to blow down Mod 1 to evacuate the ammonia and allow us to enter without a seal on the docking adapter."

"Thank God you're here!" Toby radios. "George is still not answering. Oh Jees! I hope they're gonna make it. We're sealed in the torus. They're sealed in medical. Go ahead and blow down Mod 1."

"CASSI, please release the atmosphere in Mod 1 and the CTV before we soft dock."

"Venting the atmosphere in Mod 1 and the CTV now. Hold tight please!"

A huge rush of air is evacuated just as the CTV arrives. The out-rushing, expanding air becomes roiling clouds of snow and ammonia ice. Three rescuers in space suits will have to cross the evacuated docking adapter vacuum to vacuum.

"Venting is complete. Approaching the docking ring for soft dock...Soft dock is firm."

"Get that hatch open now! I've got to get in there!" Tracy demands.

"Hold tight up there Toby. We're going to George first."

Tracy and Oleg lock into the Central Medical Bay. Jacob and a CARIAN robot set about to replace ammonia coolant react valve ACRV-2 with a spare from storage so the atmosphere can be restored to Mod 1 and the CTV. The additional supplies from Rigel are a godsend.

"Oh God!" Tracy exclaims finding George passed out floating in the medical room. He had Vera, Osada, and Nuru secured on patient beds with oxygen masks in place. "Good that he had managed to fit himself with an oxygen cannula before he passed out again."

Shaking his shoulder, "George, George! We're here."

His eyelids flutter and open. "Thank God you're here. Help Vera! I'm afraid her exposure was bad! I know Osada and Nuru got the worst."

"We've got this. Oleg, help me get George to a bed. We need pulse/ox and BP monitors on all of them. Hurry!"

Oleg and Tracy made quick work of this task.

"How are they?" George moans.

"We're helping them George. Please just rest," Tracy says aloud then she turns to Oleg and speaks so that George can't hear the details. "Vera, Osada, and Nuru have upper airway swelling and pulmonary edema. They're in shock. I'm most concerned about Osada. He's hypotensive with a BP 80/43. His breathing is raspy and irregular. I'm going to need to intubate him. All three will need IVs. I'll also need 2.25% racemic epinephrine to relieve their airways and cortisol to get their blood pressure back up. Help me find those items in the cabinets. Come on now Oleg, let's find it. Thankfully Vera has the cabinets well labelled for contents."

They find the medical supplies. Tracy intubates Osada and sets the pace of the respirator. Then she administers the pressure assisted IVs intended for use in microgravity. Oleg marvels at her professional efficiency. Tracy seems like a new person with a purpose.

Now all they can do is wait, watch, and monitor the victims.

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 166: 23: 07: 21

Jacob enters and reports good progress on repairs. "We have the ammonia coolant react valve replaced and we've repressurized Mod1 and the CTV. Nicole and Toby Fischer are here with me. They're just out of lock down in the torus."

"That's great news. I wish we could say we have good news here," Oleg says.

"Oh no! I'll say! Osada is coding! Get the AED!" Tracy commands.

"I'll get it!" Oleg responds. "Get his chest bare."

"Done. Okay get the leads in place...Charging...Clear!" The AED machine delivers the first shock. "No pulse! Charging...Clear!" The AED delivers a second shock. "There we go. Osada's pulse is back with a low blood pressure. Hang in there Osada. We have a ways to go but you're gonna be okay."

George groggily asks, "Is he really okay?"

"I think so George. The next few hours will tell."

Nicole and Toby enter and pay reassuring well wishes to their crewmates.

Vera comes around in two hours. "Oh Jees! My head hurts. My throat is in fire! W-what happened? Oh God no! Ammonia!"

Tracy is there and goes to calm her down. Taking her hand, "Vera, you're okay. We came to help you out. Please stay calm."

"What about Osada and Nuru?"

"Look to your left. They survived and we're taking good care of them. They should recover with a bit more time." Tracy brushes Vera's hair back from her eyes. "Rest now."

Soon Vera is able to sit up then move around and begin to help with the care of the Nuru and Osada. Nuru rouses four hours later, and Osada is unconscious for another two days. Meanwhile Earth and the crews at Beta are apprised of the situation. Vera has the medical situation well in hand. Work at Beta continues and the launch window back to Mars is approaching. It's time for the CTV to return to the surface.

Ceres Alpha Orbiting Base

November 21, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 169: 09: 22: 36

"We can't reenter the CTV without evacuating Mod 1 again unless we fix that damn docking adapter," Oleg explains. "It looks like we have a job to do."

Jacob lays out a plan. "We can use the Mod 1 EVA airlock and have CASSI controlling the CTV to undock and retrieve us. We have the new docking latches 3D printed and ready to install. We will return to the docking port in the CTV and replace the defective docking latches on EVA. Next we hard dock the CTV and test the seal. If it looks good, we're back to business as normal for transferring through good airlock to Mod 1."

"Let's do it. George can thank us later."

The EVA and repairs go according to plan. It's time to leave. They have emotional goodbyes in Central Medical.

"Thank you so much for putting yourselves on the line to help us up here," George says. "No thanks to those lugs down on Beta."

"I'm sure there's plenty of blame to go around even up here," Oleg says. "I think it's time that all of you put your differences aside and learn to work together for God's sake."

"I suppose you're right," George replies sheepishly.

Vera hugs Tracy with tears in her eyes. "Thank you! Thank all of you for saving us and fixing the station. You're right about Beta. We do need them."

Oleg, Jacob, and Tracy suit up with Nicole and Toby helping. They reenter the CTV through the repaired airlock and depart for Beta and a reunion with the Rigel crew.

Ceres Beta Surface Base

November 21, 2048

Rigel Mission Elapsed Time 169: 18: 37: 16

"The Mod 1 airlock pressure is equalized." CASSI reports.

"Okay. Helmets off, then let's get this hatch open..." Oleg says.

"Beta, we're opening the hatch now."

"Bienvenue sauveteurs. Welcome back."

The Rigel crew, Olga, Tracy J., Sofi, Alex, Eve, Trevor, and Mandy are up front applauding and screaming "Good job! Mission accomplished!" They focus their attention on Tracy Dixon. "You're a hero!" The Beta crew is more reserved.

Oleg addresses the crowd, "Yes, Tracy is a hero! She took command of the emergency and gave me orders. Her actions saved the victims up there while Jacob fixed their ammonia leak. We're very proud of her and her family back on Mars can't wait to tell her that."

Tracy blushes and is openly weeping as Olga gives her a hug and kisses her cheek.

Oleg turns off the vid and audio feed. "Now I'll address the elephant in the room- the rift between this base and Alpha. You need each other. As I told them, it's time that all of you put your differences aside and learn to work together- to survive together out here on the frontier. You need them as much as they need you. Can I get an affirmation on that from you or do I need to detail this shameful chapter in my report to the Coalition?"

"But you don't understand..."

"No! You don't understand! Together you survive. Let hate fester and you'll perish alone. Space is harsh. It can and will kill you. It's no place for humans against humans. People working together will thrive together. About that report?"

"Tu as raison. You're right. We've been blind. I'll personally contact George Sutton to apologize and try to reopen relations."

"Good. I'll let you explain to the Coalition why Rigel crew had to mount the rescue to Alpha. We've delivered food modules, ice mining equipment, and propellant. Alex and Sofi, what's the status of the observatory?"

Sofi replies, "The telescope is installed and calibrated. Yesterday, we began an observing program for refining Shiva debris trajectories and finding new threats. The Shiva encounter will not be the end of us."

"Good show! We're gonna have a hell of a clean-up job when the debris gets this far in. Trevor and Mandy, what's the status of the aquaponics facilities?"

"We're in great shape," Trevor replies. "All four aquaponics facilities are up and running with plumbing, LED lights, and system controllers. The veggies are planted and sprouting and the tilapia fry are thriving. All it will take now is the same level of love and care that our colonists have given to our facilities on Mars. Nurturing, doting on the plants and fish, that is the real magic behind aquaculture. Nicole and Toby have stepped forward to manage the facilities and schedule the work details."

"Otlichtno—excellent! Then our business here is finished. Eve has the bill of lading for you to sign for our deliveries and services. You can take care of that while we get out of these EVA suits. We'll plan to depart tomorrow. We're about a week ahead of schedule but as of yesterday we're in the departure window. CASSI has the trajectory and burn requirements calculated. Mars and home and our families are calling."

Eve Cain does her best as trade liaison to smooth ruffled feathers. The documents are signed and transmitted to Coalition Command. The Rigel crew gets their PPK's packed and the ship is prepped and checked out for tomorrow's launch.

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

Accomplishing our mission goals and deciding to leave a week early was an epiphany for us. We celebrated our accomplishments with the crew after we ticked off our packing and departure lists. Having Tracy Dixon back with us as a hero lifts a burden of concern from all of us. She didn't want the accolades. Tracy seems like a new person knowing that we're headed home so she can be reunited with Paul and Adele.

With the end of the mission in sight, we feel so much closer to our Stella and Andrei. They seem to be tuned into us all the way from Mars. As soon as we learned of our early departure, seemingly faster than light speed, Stella and Andrei ran to G'maws Ellie and Abby telling them that we're on the way home. We had a vid call incoming from them before we could initiate a call to them to tell them the news! What a joy to see our babies faces! Oh God! They're almost four now!

Ellie delights in showing us that Stella and Andrei are reading. Not only that, they've taken a big interest in 'helping' Ellie on the puzzle of figuring out the odd script on The Box. At the very least, the kids are fascinated by the mythology.

The suggestion by Nicole and Toby Fischer that there seems to be a connection with the rune-like text on The Box to proto-cuneiform resonates with Ellie. She hasn't cracked the code for translation of The Box but she's focused on compiling all available translations of ancient texts from Mesopotamia and the Middle East from the period around 3200 to 2500 BC. This encompasses the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian empires. A unifying theme is the epic of Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven. "The Bull's first breath blows a hole in the ground that one hundred men fall into and its second breath creates another hole, trapping two hundred more."[] This scene seems to crackle with the power of beings beyond comprehension. This Mesopotamian mythology later influenced the Old Testament Book of Genesis and the Greek epic The Iliad and the Odyssey.

The threat from Shiva debris is a daunting and resolute reality. Knowing that The Box rests in the SIC on Rigel, silent but promising, gives our future a dimension of purpose and hope. We look forward to working with Ellie in her lab on Mars and setting all of our skills and lab tools to the task of decoding the enigma of The Box.

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

November 22, 2048

Mission Elapsed Time 170: 09: 01: 14

On the Command Deck Oleg, Jacob, Olga, and Tracy Dixon are preparing for Ceres departure. On Deck Two Sofi, Alex, Tracy J., Trevor, Mandy, and Eve Cain are strapped in. There is an air of elation focused on going home to Mars. The two CARIAN robots are absent having been delivered to Beta to assist in a myriad of tasks that are difficult or impossible for humans.

"Launch in five minutes," Oleg warns on the intercom. "The launch burn has a delta-v of 0.7 km/sec and takes us past escape velocity on a lazy Hohmann trajectory to Mars. Our second burn puts a real fire on our tail to add 5 km/sec to get us home in 161 days- just over five months. That'll leave us a ten percent fuel reserve. CASSI, please switch to broadcast and relay."

"Affirmative. Proceed."

"Ceres Alpha, Ceres Beta, Mars Arcadia Base, and Coalition Command, this is Colossus ship Rigel. Our mission to Ceres is complete with cargo deliveries and all mission objectives accomplished. Most importantly, we have Ceres samples and perhaps the greatest discovery in history- The Box from comet 125P safely isolated on the ship. We're looking forward to a happy reunion on Mars. Launching from Ceres Beta in three minutes and thirty seconds. Rigel over and out."

Epilogue

"We've gotta become the Martians. I'm a Martian - I tell you to become Martians. And we've gotta go to Mars and civilize Mars and build a whole civilization on Mars and then move out, 300 years from now into the universe. And when we do that, we have a chance of living forever."

Ray Bradbury

Shiva is coming....

Ceres Mission Ship Rigel

April 1, 2049

Mission Elapsed Time 300: 20: 12: 27

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

Rigel is homeward bound to Mars. Each day seems to lift the spirits of the crew a bit more being one day closer to our families. We're just one month out now. The crew is using all available bandwidth for vid calls home. CASSI keeps a close eye on ship systems. Getting a good report on life support is comforting.

As a priority on this leg of the mission, we--Sofi/Alex-- are keeping busy with Shiva fragment observations. We're combining observations from the Mars MT-2 and MT-2 telescopes with the binocular telescopes mounted on Rigel and the new Ceres CT-1 telescope. The increased angle of view from Ceres orbit has increased our observation precision and is helping us prioritize future Destroyer Missions.

There are more than a hundred Shiva fragments that have been identified as threats to Earth or Mars. These threats are in a narrow corridor along the projected line of Shiva's original trajectory. All of the fragments are accelerating under the gravity of the Sun as they fall toward the inner solar system. They'll arrive at velocities approaching fifty kilometers per second.

There are thirty-seven freekin' fragments in the S1 and S2 size class from five hundred meters to over one kilometer that can wipe out big sections of Earth or Mars.

The S3 class has diameters of 250 to 500 meters. Fragments of this size are threats but harder to prioritize. Especially with these smaller fragments, what seems like a precisely determined trajectory today can change as the fragments get closer to the Sun because of the Yarkovsky Effect.

The observations that we've processed on this mission have helped prioritize the threats. For those cases that will clearly miss Earth or Mars, we have declassified some debris from the threat list. So, there are currently thirty-two fragments of S1 and S2 class that remain in the highest threat category. Each of these will have to be evaluated for impact with a nuke, either with a glancing blow to alter its course, like the Shiva impact, or by hitting it head on for full on fireworks destruction. While the fragments are still outside the orbit of Uranus-- up until 2071—modeling favors the glancing blow. As fragments get closer, we will have no choice but to try to destroy them. Ka-boom! Oh yeah- that's a visual. There's no sound in space.

Milestones of the acceleration of Shiva toward the inner solar system.

Missile design has begun for missions to eliminate as much of the Shiva debris as possible- the second Shiva encounter. We'll launch robotic Destroyer Missions in 2056 to encounter debris near Neptune's orbit in 2064. Each Destroyer ship will carry nine independently targeted nuclear missiles to obliterate debris. More Destroyer ships can be launched in 2062 and 2066 for encounters around Uranus in 2068 and 2071. The future of humanity still lies in the balance.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

May 2, 2049

MCT SOL 4881: 15: 43: 36

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

This is the big day! Mars arrival-- we've safely landed at Arcadia Base\- HOME! Ellie and Abby offered to make a big production of a public reunion at the Summer Dome. The Rigel crew collectively decided that what we most wanted was to have private reunions with family and friends.

For all the advanced systems that the Rigel offers, it can't dock with a hab on a surface landing. We landed on Pad 5 and after over five months in microgravity went EVA to the airlock on Arcadia Base Hab 6. Paula and Sam Jennings, Ellie, Abby, Stella and Andrei, Oksana, Filip, Adele and Paul Earhart, Harrison and Travis Frank were there to greet us. It was the sweetest reunion I could have imagined. We've never seen Stella and Andrei so happy! At first it seemed that they were hysterical but we sensed through their sobs that it was genuine emotional joy that just overwhelmed them. Thankfully Paula didn't want to make a speech.

We're a bit unsteady on our feet. After about ten minutes of the big emotional reunion, Ellie and Abby helped us back to our old familiar family quarters. Stella and Andrei want to show us what they've been seeing and dreaming and drawing.

"See Mama, see Papa, we've seen this big spaceship."

"Its sun is different from ours. It's orange."

"The people on the ship don't look like us."

"How did you see this Sweeties?"

"First we saw it in a dream," Stella explains.

"Now sometimes we see it in the daytime," Andrei adds.

Concerned, we ask, "Does it scare you?"

"Oh no, not scary!"

"It's magical and warm."

"Friendly."

"Is the dream with you now?"

"Yeah!"

"It got clearer when your spaceship landed."

"You saw our Rigel spaceship?"

"No, no."

"We know your ship. This is big!"

"Bigger!"

"Different!"

"Its sun is orange! But... but the dream is gone now."

"Yeah it's gone now. It's so good to have you home Mama and Papa!"

"And it's so good to be back home with you!"

Ellie and Abby stay with the kids while we excuse ourselves. Our next priority is to get real, warm showers and gradually work up to re-acclimating to Mars' gravity. We have a talk about the kids' dreams. It seems they've somehow made a spooky connection with The Box. We've got to monitor this. It could be a breakthrough for our understanding of The Watchers that put The Box on the comet. But, it could also be overwhelming for Stella and Andrei. We can't put them at risk.

We--Sofi/Alex—experienced a vision from The Box back at the comet. It's been quiet since then. The mystery is deep indeed.

We felt urgency to discuss all of this with Ellie. She came to our quarters while Abby stayed with Stella and Andrei. Ellie and Abby had seen the twins beaming about their dreams and excited to draw what they'd seen. They recognized the twins' apparent connection with The Box but don't see any danger yet. "Wait and see." Ellie and Abby raised the spooky space twins and think we turned out all right. "Wait and see."

Meanwhile, Ellie has been getting pressure from Coalition Command to get on with analysis of The Box. She showed us vid reports of demonstrations and riots on Earth from extreme side of the political spectrum. From the extreme right, demonstrations were overwhelming against any analysis of the artifact. "Destroy Satan's Box before it destroys us!"

From the extreme left, factions believe that some miracle of technology will arise from The Box to save the Earth from suffering from overpopulation, famine, disease, and global warming. "Give us The Box! It belongs to Earth!"

We can glean the magnitude of the power that The Watchers represent. The vision we experienced just after we recovered the artifact implied that The Watchers have the technology to travel across interstellar space to our solar system. Earth does not know this yet, but our vision showed that The Watchers nudged the big asteroid to strike the Earth 66 million years ago. That global disaster reshaped the biome of Earth. It gave rise to mammals and ultimately to humanity.

Further, the vision showed us that The Watchers, after detecting Earth technosignatures a hundred years ago, gave Shiva the nudge to dramatically increase Shiva's probability of striking Earth. We were left with the thought that this is a do-or-die challenge for humans to divert Shiva to try to save Earth and to leave Earth's cradle and explore.

Yes, we're doing that! We've colonized Mars and Ceres. We've opened up interplanetary trade. We recovered The Box at the comet and we're trying to unravel its mystery and its promise. Are we playing by their rules? Are we thankful for this interstellar game of Russian roulette? How many ways could this go wrong?

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

United Arcadia Council

May 17, 2049

MCT SOL 4896: 14: 37: 14

Governor Paula Jennings convenes the United Arcadia Council from Arcadia using the remote presence system to include the council members at Erebus. At her request, the Rigel crew and their families are present.

"The first order of business today is to recognize and give commendations to the crew of Rigel for their successful exploration mission to comet 125P and trade mission to Ceres."

"Vau kakoye-to priklyucheniye!" Oleg interjects. "Yes, it was quite an adventure! We accomplished a whole lot more than trade and we came home with a hell of a lot more than we could have imagined. Yet, separation from our families was a huge burden and sacrifice. We'll never have those many months back."

"I was lost out there," Tracy Dixon adds morosely.

"We could not have made it without you. You saved crew at Ceres Alpha when we needed you. Failure there would have been worse than a failure of the mission objectives. Tracy, you are a hero."

"No, I, I..."

"All of the Rigel crew has earned the highest commendation. Tracy, you earned yours in spades," Paula says. "All of you have these commendations in your files and you'll get a plaque to display. That's fluffy stuff. I love you all, but we've got more serious things to consider."

"First, I'd like to have a progress report on analysis of The Box. Coalition Command is claiming ownership and want it sent to Earth at the next launch window. This is no joke. It goes beyond Command. A bloc of China, Russia, India, and United Korea are threatening withdrawal of support for Arcadia and Erebus and hinting at military action against Geneva. We still need the Coalition. We may think independently but we don't have the choice to do anything but cooperate. We aren't military. We're a microcosm of civilization trying to survive. Our strength is our intellect and our diplomacy."

"We have to keep them placated with our progress reports and convince them that upsetting the process could mean losing the possibility of getting anything meaningful from The Box forever," Sofi explains. "With your permission, Alex and I have teamed up with Ellie and moved the SIC, with the artifact cradled inside, from Rigel to the astrogeology lab. We've unsealed the SIC and begun detailed analysis of the artifact in the isolated containment of the lab. We have an isolated clone of CASSI there, dedicated to studying and attempting to communicate with The Box. CASSI is the most advanced AI ever conceived."

"All photographic and communications tests are being recorded and will be transmitted later to Coalition Command on Earth," Alex continues. "Mars must have autonomy over The Box. Sofi and I and even our special twins, Stella and Andrei, have had rudimentary communication with The Box. We've gleaned some fundamental information but we have a long ways to go to get meaningful two way communication."

Ellie is adamant. "Yes, we must maintain diplomacy with Earth at all costs. But, if Earth wants access to The Box, they can send specialized scientists and equipment to work with us. Any information we get from the artifact will be shared with all of humanity. If, God forbid, we sent it to Earth, it would be secreted away to someplace like the mythical Area 51, never to be seen, or heard from again!"

Oleg stands and pounds the table. "I totally agree with that and I will defend that stance with everything I can muster! Ya pogovoril!"

"Yes, you have spoken Oleg and I agree with you," Paula responds. "We must proceed cautiously with the powers on Earth. We're still dependent on them for many key imports and we must have interplanetary peace. But now is a good time to get on with the main business of this meeting. The United Arcadia Council and our citizens have spoken. I have been Governor of Arcadia for six years since 2043, succeeding Vik Ivanov and Coby Brewster, may they rest in peace. Oleg Ivanov, it's my pleasure to step aside and swear you in as Governor of United Arcadia, Secretary-General to the United Arcadia Council and Ambassador to Earth. It seems you already have some very important business on your plate."

Oleg is sworn in. Sofi and Alex are tuned into Oleg's thoughts as he takes stock of challenges that they face in the still new colonies on Mars. They're still struggling with integrating the diverse assemblage of international colonists. Coby and Paula had dealt with anti-American sentiments. International colonists felt that Americans had overwhelming favoritism in the Coalition. Vik had long earned colonists respect dispelling anti-Russian sentiment and prejudices. The big Russian spaceman was loved by all.

In 2038, Vik had integrated Arcadia with New Kolob and al-Salam al-Jadid colonies as adjunct colonies connected by tunnels to the original central Arcadia Base. In actuality, these adjunct colonies govern themselves but have representation on the United Arcadia Council. The worst incidents Vik had to deal with were minor personal squabbles. Everyone respected that he would come down with an iron fist if any of the colonies threatened their peace.

In 2044, Paula Jennings dealt with the New Mumbai disaster and investigation of the ship's Commander Khan for munitions smuggling. The incident was pinned on Colonel Rajiv Bahu who perished in the crash. In the end, it was obvious that Khan was complicit. This remains as the most threatening incident on Mars to date. Suspicions are that the incident was state sponsored with India having larger plans for autonomy on Mars.

China makes no secret about establishing autonomy on Mars beyond their adjunct Arcadia Hóng Huā Colony. In 2045, they established the Huangyan March Colony Base under Commander Xian Kun on the opposite side of the planet. The disaster at the base and response by Arcadia under Paula Jennings made the Chinese colonists contrite. Since then, only peaceful intentions have been communicated diplomatically. China adjuncts, Commander Faddei Vasilievich and his wife Orina, were deported back to Russia in 2046.

Oleg does indeed have a challenge with so many nationalities represented on Mars. Can our violent history be left behind on Earth? The arsenal of trank pens, Tasers, and threat of industrial lasers has kept the peace so far. The armored laser-mounted rovers are stored in secret bunkers below Arcadia in case of need in a future conflict. Other rovers are now fitted with ballistic missiles capable of hitting any place on Mars or threat in Mars orbit. With these armaments, Mars Arcadia Base has been a de facto extension of the Coalition Space Force. We must stay aligned with them at all costs. The only acknowledged nuclear arms in space were involved in the Vishnu impactor to divert Shiva.

_________________________________

On Earth, former GNN reporter and news anchor Kate Turner once again takes to the news nets to stir emotions about The Box.

"We've watched eagerly with high hopes that the colonies on Mars will be successful as a second chance for the human race.

"Back on August 28, the Rigel crew from Mars recovered an alien artifact. They have successfully returned to Mars where they have the artifact, strangely called The Box secreted away in their astrogeology lab. They've shared high res photos of the artifact and they claim that The Box has been silent since they recovered it from comet 125P. If they have a breakthrough in communicating with the aliens, will Mars keep its secrets?"

_________________________________

December 20-28, 2048

A huge fleet of colossus ships with supplies and a total of five hundred and twenty colonists arrive safely—Sixteen ships at Arcadia Base, eight ships at Erebus Base, and eight ships at Huangyan March Base. Each fleet of eight ships has six supply vessels and two colony ships each with sixty five passengers in hib-sleep. There are now 2,087 colonists on Mars.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

June 28, 2049

MCT SOL 4938: 10: 21: 47

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

On that historic EVA at the comet, we tentatively took The Box as an offering, hoping it might be a cryptic Rosetta Stone to understanding and learning from The Watchers. Yet, could it be a Trojan Horse or Pandora's Box?

We- Ellie, Sofi, and Alex- continue to examine and gently probe The Box. The cornerstone to that is an isolated copy of CASSI is set up in Ellie's astrogeology lab to assist with the communication attempts. Isolation means we can probe and research without fear of corruption or destruction of the mainframe CASSI that runs all of our colony systems.

Reviewing the facts, we know the surface composition of The Box is comparable to the metal in the comet vent floor. Its mass is sixty-eight kilograms but it cannot be the same solid metal as the surface. The interior is either partially hollow or if solid, it would have the approximate density of silicon. This raises the possibility of very dense data storage using silicon as we understand it.

Today's session begins by repeating a series of communication tests that have been tried many times before. It begins with weak pulses of laser and radio waves in LIDAR and GPR frequency ranges to duplicate scanning the comet as had been done from Altair on the first encounter and most recently by Rigel. Then a series of binary signals are sent in the broad range radio frequencies they used from Rigel in the initial communications with The Observer Outpost on the comet: 2+2=4; Pi; e.

Since then, we and our twins, Stella and Andrei, have experienced brief subliminal images seeming to be communication from The Box. All direct attempts to communicate with The Box since its recovery have been fruitless. Today is different. The Box emits a narrow band radio signal:

Beep beep.

Beep beep.

Beep beep beep beep.

Then silence for 12.62 hours.

Beep beep.

Beep beep.

Beep beep beep beep.

The 2+2=4 pattern is unending, repeating every 12.62 hours-- the rotation period of comet 125P. We sense that this is a promise of peace, simplicity, and the possibility of more meaningful communication.

MCT SOL 4955: 16: 28: 51

After thirty-two cycles of 2+2=4 every 12.62 hours, The Box transmitter sends—

11.001001000011111101101010100010001000010110100011000010001101001100010011000110011000101000101110000000110111000001110011010001

10.101101111110000101010001011000101000101011101101001010100110101010111111011100010101100010000000100111001111010011110011110001

"That's Pi and e!"

Just then, The Box opens a portal that accepts an optical data connection with CASSI. This could potentially allow CASSI to exchange data with The Box at speeds up to one terabyte per second. CASSI's optical data adapter uses a photonic chip that uses light instead of electricity in an optical neural network. The adapter uses optical memory with 32 states instead of the normal digital circuit logic of 1 and 0, on and off.[]

CASSI announces, "I have not established true communication yet. But on a base level, The Box has an optical neural network far superior to mine and a data storage capacity approaching 1000 zettabytes."

"Remind us of what a zettabyte is," Sofi says.

"It is approximately 1000 million terabytes."

"Holy crow!"

"What is a holey crow? A bird of the genus Corvus missing bits?"

"Never mind, I mean its memory capacity is damn near infinite and we still can't meaningfully communicate!"

"The computing capacity is also nearly beyond measure," CASSI explains. "It's at least two orders of magnitude beyond my 1000 PFLOPs."

"Damn near infinite!" Ellie exclaims.

CASSI comments, "Yet understanding it is more elusive than understanding humans. Just when I estimate that I have humans figured out predictably, you do something opposite of what I had calculated. Sometimes that shows a depth of genius I did not think you were capable of; or it shows an act of stupidity that's even more surprising."

"Watch it CASSI," Alex warns. "This isn't about humans, it's about communicating with The Box and learning about The Watchers\-- where they came from, what they want, and what can we learn from them."

CASSI says, "You can help with the communications effort. The improved ELA-4096 chip you installed in my sensors could allow your mental processes to access The Box interface through me."

"That's spooky, scary, and awesome!" Sofi exclaims. "Maybe we don't need a traditional language for communication. We've already learned a lot with mental imagery."

"Open your mind. I'm beginning to feel it," Alex thinks. "This could be exhausting, but let's dim the lights and give it a go."

Ellie has a limited telepathic ability but she has not been able to master the link to CASSI. She summons Abby and explains the basics of what Sofi and Alex are about to try. Abby brings medical pulse/ox and EEG monitors. Abby and Ellie stand by to watch over Sofi and Alex as they go into a trance-like state and the monitor lights shimmer.

Sofi speaks in a soft low voice. "Ohhh! We have a mental vision of two humanoid beings...Their skin appears light brown and soft...They're modestly covered in diaphanous flowing material...Neither of them has hair. One appears vaguely female and the other male. Their faces look pleasant—not threatening—high brows—purplish eyes--not quite human..."

Abby whispers to Ellie, "Their heartrates are way high and EEG traces are almost off the charts!"

Alex resumed after a long amazed silence. "I feel like I'm looking at these humanoid's representation analogous to the simple plaque Carl Sagan designed to represent humans and placed on the Pioneers 10 and 11 spacecraft back in the 1970's. The Box was out there on the comet for perhaps millions of years based on the dust dating from the vent floor."

Sofi continues her narration. "The...the beings in the vision seem to welcome us... palms up and sweeping a gesture to indicate a graphic...floating beside them. Coming into focus now... Oh, yes—the graphic indicates the Sun and the solar system. Okay...yes...the orbit of what seems to be comet 125P appears between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars...A thin line is growing between Earth and 125P... Yes...that's our connection... As the vision zooms out, a sphere of stars is forming around the Sun and the solar system. The point of view is rotating around the ecliptic... so...yes now we're looking toward the familiar stars of the Southern Cross below the star Spica in Virgo...Oh yeah... Another thin line is growing between 125P and a point below the stars Alpha and Beta Centauri, just to the left of the Cross...From there, the image is zooming...closer... It shows an orange star and its system...still zooming...there's a large, say-- a gas-giant planet and...and much closer in we're focusing on a cloudy Earth-sized planet...fading...the, the images are gone...God, I'm exhausted."

Abby looks at the monitors concerned, "That's enough! You can't take any more right now!"

"I know the system they're indicating!" Alex says. "Oh man! My head hurts!"

"Yes, I get it too!" Ellie interjects. "It's Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth four light years away. They're indicating the planet Proxima Centauri b that astronomers have said is in the middle of the habitable zone of its cool dwarf star[]. God! It's more than I can absorb!"

"Okay! Cool your jets!" Abby says. "All of you have been sucked dry by the interface. This is truly beyond comprehension but I can't let you over-amp your brains. We don't know what we're dealing with and they might not know how fragile you are!"

"I can limit the data rate on the interface to reduce the intensity of what gets through to them," CASSI says. "I have a recording that can reconstruct some of the images. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes CASSI. Thank you. Let's see it later when Sofi and Alex have recovered," Ellie says. "These mind interface sessions and recordings of our progress with The Box don't leave this lab until I say so."

"Affirmative."

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

July 30, 2049

MCT SOL 4970: 09: 31: 28

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

Could the planet Proxima Centauri b harbor life as we know it? The images we've experienced from The Watchers imply that they are or used to be life as we know it.

We can't draw direct parallels from their solar system to ours. The star Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light years from Mars. It's an M-class red dwarf with a cool temperature about half that of our Sun and a mass only twelve percent. Its spectrum is shifted to more infrared and it's prone to flares that span the spectrum through ultraviolet to x-rays.

We sense that The Watchers' home planet has a thick atmosphere that absorbs the strong solar wind from its star and evens out the heat distribution for the tidally locked world. Its temperature and mass are comparable to Earth. We see visions of stormy oceans and windy continents.

Proxima Centauri b orbits its star in eleven days at only 0.05 AU, 250 times the distance from the Earth to the Moon. This close orbit has the planet tidally locked with one side perpetually facing its star. The perpetual nightside of the planet is protected from frequent solar flares. Yet, the nightside is not perpetually dark. Proxima Centauri is in a triple star system with the Alpha Centauri AB pair that Proxima revolves around only a fifth of a light year away. These stars, similar to our Sun, would be far brighter than a full Moon in Earth's sky.

M-class dwarf stars similar to Proxima Centauri account for nearly three-quarters of the Milky Way's 300 billion stellar population. G-class and K-class more similar to our Sun account for another eleven percent. It's estimated that there are one hundred G, K, and M-class stars within twenty light years of Mars and twelve thousand within one hundred light years. How many other planets orbiting them harbor intelligent life?

CASSI has made significant progress on text communication with The Box. CASSI sent a series of flash images of Proto-cuneiform and of text from the surface of The Box. Then almost instantly, CASSI received images of nouns with text, like flash cards for learning Spanish. Similarly, CASSI received lessons on phonetics with text combinations and action images to demonstrate verbs and conjugation. The exchange proceeds so that CASSI now has the fundamentals of text communication. The communication remains limited as The Box only reveals limited information though the potential is nearly boundless.

From the phonetics, we learned that The Watchers call themselves Thelud. Their home planet is Thelus which we call Proxima Centauri b.

Stars within Twenty Light Years of the Sun[]

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

August 2, 2049

MCT SOL 4973: 11: 07: 16

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

We've had a few more exhausting sessions with CASSI's moderated imaging from The Box. We experience images of a spaceship a thousand times the size of a Colossus ship. The Thelud imply that they have faster-than-light, FTL technology for travel to nearby star systems. They offer no glimmer of how this tech works. So far, their sphere of influence encompasses some twenty light years from Proxima Centauri. Within that realm, there is at least one other humanoid civilization that has joined the FTL club, the Chalkoi, from the exoplanet Wolf 359 b which they call Chalkos. It begs the question- why are these ETIs humanoid?

There are four levels of achievement that the Thelud expect for humanity to join the club. The gauntlet has been thrown. No assistance will be offered.

First Level\- Humanity evolves and survives to accomplish interplanetary travel to intercept the signal, find The Watcher outpost, and retrieve The Box. Check!

Second Level\- Humanity persists to communicate with The Box and develop a translation bridge. Check!

Third Level\- Humanity develops sophisticated means to exploit asteroid and planetary resources beyond their home planet, beyond the Watcher, i.e. Thelud, outpost on the comet, beyond Jupiter, to Saturn. There's a challenge!

Fourth Level\- Humanity must defend its home planet from some level of asteroid bombardment while not showing aggressive belligerence in space with these defensive capabilities. The Shiva encounter, with the big nuke Vishnu, diverted the huge planetesimal but created a corridor of debris that we still have to clean up. We can do this! We have to do this!

Our CASSI clone, dedicated to studying The Box, continues communications session unabated and with enthusiasm. As a diplomatic gambit, the two digital powerhouses explore supercomputing universe simulations[] as a mutually satisfying exercise. CASSI says it's more satisfying than any cookie we've given her. CASSI confirms that baryonic dark matter does exist and it plays a pivotal role in the evolution of our universe. Dark energy is antibaryonic and repulsive of dark matter.

CASSI describes their simulation of multiverses. It's like a sponge structure. Each cell bubble is warped space-time of a single universe. Each bubble can interpenetrate another at the extreme edges until baryonic/antibaryonic pressure repels adjacent universes at the fuzzy boundary. Wow! That's deep!

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

August 4, 2049

MCT SOL 4975: 19: 41: 36

Sofi and Alex Personal Log:

CASSI informed us that she has received an astronomically huge digital data base from the optical interface. It's still just a small subset of the knowledge stored in The Box. By language communication, CASSI was informed that the encrypted data includes the necessary information to give us the step change in technology for FTL travel and deep space systems. If The Box is transferred to another place, say we're forced to give it up to Earth, we now have a backup of some information treasure.

The data can't be decrypted until the Thelud release the encryption key. This won't happen until we pass muster on the fourth level, perhaps in 2079. That's a long way off. We've started the process by the only option we had available—the brute force Vishnu nuke to divert the Shiva KBO back in 2044.

From CASSI's interchange with The Box, she explained that the Thelud knew all of the planets and small bodies in our solar system. CASSI provided our names for all of the bodies and for us. Humans on Earth are called Earthlings. Humans who colonized Mars are called Martians. CASSI learned that of the Shiva fragments that are headed toward the inner solar system, fragment S1-5 is not to be destroyed so that it's allowed to take its original trajectory untouched. The S1 class has diameters in the one kilometer size range. S1-5 is their 'gift' to Mars. OMG!

The Destroyer Missions will take place from 2056 to 2071 to nuke debris as it passes from Neptune to Uranus. The final cleanup will be launched as a crewed Perseus Mission in 2078 with multiple nuclear missiles to clear out any remaining debris threats to Mars and Earth inside Jupiter's orbit. Can we afford to let S1-5 take its course? Our current calculations show that it has a high chance to hit Mars! How could this be a gift? Do the Thelud possess a dark, genocidal cynicism?

Whew! Success in saving Mars and Earth will be all the accomplishment we can hope for. Joining the FTL club may be Pandora's Box. But instinctively, humans must explore.

This communication and these learnings must stay inside Ellie's Lab until we can develop a strategy and a wider circle of trust. Knowledge can be a dangerous thing in the wrong hands. Much is at stake with our diplomatic relations with the other colonies and with Earth.

We held a special meeting in the lab to share our learnings and some recorded images with the inner circle: Abby, Oleg, Olga, Jacob, Tracy J., Paula, and Sam. Stella and Andrei have tried to explain some of the images that they've seen but they are too young to understand their funny dreams.

We can't keep this a secret forever.

Mars Arcadia Colony Base

August 5, 2049

MCT SOL 4976: 04: 15: 43

Sofi and Alex Personal Log

For many nights, our sleep has been filled with images of the Thelud, their homeworld Thelus, starships, and vast deep space construction projects creating space cities.

Tonight it's different. We're immersed in a recurring dream spurred by long ago by watching the 2036 New Year's Eve celebration shortly after we arrived on Mars; the dream evolves...

Again we dream that it's New Year's Eve Times Square December 31, 2078. People are wildly intoxicated as the trance group plays their bizarre version of Auld Lang Syne. The Crystal Ball is dropping to 2079. People are dancing, kissing, and crying. One couple suddenly comes into focus. Somehow, we know them as if they're close friends. The dream informs us that it's Jake Graham, age 62, and his wife Paige Woods, age 57. Yes, we sense they are special to us and to Earth. They've come from their residence at Fire Island National Seashore where they've been life-long Rangers and loving caretakers of the park.

We know what happens next. We've seen this scene before. We watch in horror as the sparkling crystal ball reaches bottom. There is a terrible white flash in the east brighter than a million Suns.

We both scream out in shock and frustration. "Nooo! We can stop this!"

If the Thelud won't help us stop what they set in motion, we'll have to do it without them and pray that it's enough. Will earning their recognition and gaining knowledge from them change the course of our history?

APPENDIX

A Primer of Earth's Climate and Sea Level Change  
The Earth as a Greenhouse Planet

If the Earth had no atmosphere, its effective temperature would be 255° K, that's -18° C! The Earth would more aptly be named the Ice Planet without the atmosphere and clouds holding the incoming solar radiation and outgoing heat radiation in balance. This maintains the average surface temperature 33 degrees warmer at 288° K (15° C) at this time in geologic history. So, the normal greenhouse effect on Earth is 33 degrees. Any change in the effective heat-trapping greenhouse gasses, average cloud cover, or insolation of Sun's energy from cyclicity of Earth's orbital parameters will change the Earth's average temperature. Over geologic time, the Earth's average temperature has been colder and warmer. This has the dramatic effect of making glaciers wax and wane and making sea levels conversely fall and rise.

Venus offers an extreme analogy. Being closer to the Sun, it receives nearly twice as much solar radiation but reflects 80 percent back into space with its thick sulfuric acid cloud cover.

The Earth's Energy Budget chart shows what we know now about the parts of the Earth's temperature controls. All the energy comes from the Sun. An equal amount of energy must go back into space or Earth's temperature will change.[]

Because of this, Venus' effective temperature at the surface would be 220° K ( -53° C) were it not for the extreme greenhouse efficiency of its primarily CO2 atmosphere to trap the heat that makes it through the clouds. The greenhouse effect on Venus is 510 degrees so that its average surface temperature is 730° K (457° C)-- hotter than the melting point of lead!

Sea Level Change in the Geologic past

Take a look at some objective evidence of natural sea level change. Geologists and archaeologists can document that sea level was at least one hundred meters lower than today at the full extent of the last glacial maximum, about 21,000 years ago. This maximum advance is marked by glacial terminal moraines of rock and soil debris gouged and pushed by the glaciers. These moraines are found down to 40° N latitude in the northern hemisphere. The glaciers gouged out the Great Lakes. The great continental ice sheet began to retreat about 19,000 years ago and the Earth has been in a warming phase since that time. Abrupt warming starting 11,700 years ago, resulted in rapid melting of ice sheets in the northern hemisphere. The melting of glaciers caused a great flood of meltwater down the Mississippi River valley and other great continental drainage basins to the oceans. This resulted in a slow rise of sea level from lows, 100 meters below present sea level, during glacial maximum.

Evaporation and precipitation are two factors that most influence the ratio of isotopes of heavy oxygen 18 (O18) to light oxygen 16 (O16) in the oceans and in ice records in great remaining ice sheets. When seawater evaporates, O16 is preferentially taken up in the atmosphere because it is lighter, while the heavier O18 is preferentially left behind in the oceans. Limestone and seashells from the oceans record these changes in oxygen isotope ratios. When the light O16 water precipitates out as snow at high latitudes, it becomes trapped, creating glaciers and ice sheets. When Earth is cool enough year-round, the glaciers and ice sheets are long lived and the ice on Earth's surface is enriched in O16 relative to O18. Changes in oxygen isotopes are recorded in standing ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica with deep ice cores revealing the changes. The oldest ice core dated from Antarctica is 2.7 million years old.

Geology also records sea level changes over the course of millions of years in the type of sediment laid down at a given location. A sea level rise and drowning is called a transgression. A sea level fall is called a regression. Characteristic rock layers, such as shoreline sandstone, deep water shale, and deeper water limestone may be deposited in a marine transgression and the reverse for a regression. The Grand Canyon has an incomplete record of the four marine transgressions and regression of the Paleozoic Era from 525 to 270 million years ago.

The Carboniferous Period, from 359 to 299 million years ago, is named for transgressions and regressions of coal swamps driven by high latitude glacial fluctuations. The Late Cretaceous Period greenhouse world, 99 to 65 million years ago, saw a huge rise of sea level, over 100 meters that drowned much of North America in a shallow sea. This sea level rise was driven by warm climate, melting of polar icecaps, and tectonic plate movements.

The Cretaceous warm climate was in turn driven by an atmospheric CO2 rise to about 1000 ppm compared to our pre-industrial CO2 levels of about 200 ppm. This natural rise in CO2 is associated with plate tectonics and dissociation of methane hydrate ices. The hydrates currently are predominantly locked up in permafrost in the norther hemisphere above the Arctic Circle. Warming and melting of the permafrost and methane hydrate ices can release huge amounts of methane into the atmosphere viciously adding to global warming.

Archaeology in Europe and North America reveals human settlements up to 9000 years old that lived in moderate climate, in lower latitudes well south of glaciation, in broad plains exposed on the continental shelves. The continental shelves were exposed with the 100 meter drop of sea level during glacial maximum.

According to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, and other applicable laws and regulations, administered through the Minerals Management Service (MMS) are responsible for ensuring that archaeological resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are not damaged or harmed by [commercial] operations. These resources may be drowned terrestrial prehistoric sites dating to the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene period when sea levels were substantially lower than today.[]

"Mercyhurst College seeks evidence of early Americans in an area about [two hundred kilometers] off Florida's west coast, now almost [one hundred meters] under water. Early Americans probably hugged the American coastline, congregating around freshwater rivers, before heading inland. At that time, much of the world's water was confined to glaciers, causing ocean levels to be lower and exposing more of the continental shelf. As the earth warmed and water levels rose, evidence of past settlements became submerged. "[]

Submerged Paleolithic to Neolithic villages (9250-6600 years before present) have been discovered in the Mediterranean of the Carmel Coast of Israel south of Haifa. Atlit-Yam is the major submerged site discovered and studied since the 1980s. It is located 300-500 meters offshore, at 8-12 meters below sea level.[]

Our current coastal cities, towns, resorts, and homes are no less vulnerable to sea level rise than these ancient settlements.

Geology records rises as well as falls in sea level. Geologic evidence records sea level higher than present in the 100,000 year old fossil coral reefs exposed in Adams Cut Canal in Key Largo, Florida. The top of the limestone at Adams Cut is five meters above the ocean. (Photo credit: 2geeks-at-3knots).

This is solid evidence that sea level in our recent geologic past was at a minimum five meters higher than it is today. Modern reefs in Key Largo thrive in water depths of five to ten meters, so it's reasonable from the evidence at Adams Cut that these 100,000 year old reefs may have formed in waters ten to fifteen meters higher than present. Imagine what that rise of sea level would do to today's coastal cities and coastal resort communities.

Much of today's society is resistant to the idea that sea level fluctuates. This complacency encourages unbridled development in zones only one to three meters above sea level. Shanghai is the largest and most populous example of a modern city at risk of sea level rise with global warming. Shanghai lies on the banks of the Huangpu River on the coast of the East China Sea. Seventeen million people live in Shanghai at elevations less than five meters above the ocean waves.

Not only does geology record the evidence of past sea level fluctuations, it records the evidence that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane have risen in lock step with warming periods of deglaciation and sea level rise. Not only are the oxygen isotope ratios recorded in Greenland and Antarctic glacial ice layers, the composition of the atmosphere and greenhouse gas levels are recorded in the accumulation of annual bands of ice.

Milankovitch Cycles of Earth's orbital eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession affect the seasonal angle of the Sun's rays and drive climate change. Earth's orbital eccentricity has a cycle period of 100,000 years. Earth's axial tilt has a periodicity of 41,000 years. Earth's axial precession, like a wobbling top, has a periodicity of 23,000 years. The three Milankovitch Cycles impact seasonality and location of solar energy heating around the Earth and so impact contrasts between the seasons and growth and retreat of glaciers. [] Climate warming driven by astronomical orbital parameters of the Earth create a feedback loop in the biosphere raising the greenhouse gas levels and further warming the climate by trapping the Sun's heat until the Earth's orbital parameters drive climate to cooling and another cycle of glaciation.

The Earth has been in a warming phase since the last glacial period 11,700 years ago. This is undeniable from the geologic record. The rise in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere from industry burning of fossil fuels only serves to accelerate global warming and sea level rise.

The 20th century witnessed the greatest rise in living standards in human history, supported by the energy provided from fossil fuels. Now, however, we face the consequences; the great challenge of the 21st century, which may define how we live in the future-- how to deal with a changing climate caused in large part by the emission of CO2 due to the burning of these fossil fuels.

The evidence for climate change comes from three main sources: 1) The actual measurements taken from the ground, water, atmosphere, and from space in our recorded history 2) The scientific principles behind the effects of solar radiation, the components in our atmosphere and an understanding of the applicable chemistry, physics and mathematics 3) The geologic record of the past, which clearly demonstrates the changes in climate in the past and how to relate those changes with current processes.[]

Global temperature has increased approximately 1.3° C since 1880. A sharp increase in the rate of temperature rise was observed after 1950 which coincided with the increase in CO2 content in the atmosphere. Atmospheric CO2 content is now 411 ppm.[]

Industrial greenhouse gas emissions are dominated by CO2 (76 percent) followed by methane, CH4 (16 percent) and nitrous oxide, N2O, (6 percent). Eighty percent of CO2 emissions come from burning of hydrocarbon fuel and related industrial processes.[], [] Pre-industrial levels of CO2 were about 200 ppm. They have risen to about 411 ppm today. Carbon dioxide levels today are higher than any time in the last 800,000 years.

Global warming is thawing permafrost layers above the Arctic Circle. Biologically derived methane hydrate ices are trapped in the permafrost. The release of huge amounts of greenhouse methane from the melting permafrost will further increase the rate of global warming.

Permafrost covers twenty five percent of North America and Asia mainly above the Arctic Circle. Permafrost is thawing deeper below ground every year releasing not only methane but increasingly vast amounts of additional carbon dioxide. It has been called the ticking carbon bomb that is already accelerating greenhouse warming.

The chart above shows comparative CO2 emissions from different sources. CO2 emissions rose steadily until 1950 when economic expansion in the "developed world" led to vastly increased emissions, with an unprecedented rate of CO2 rise. The economic development of China, fueled mostly by coal, resulted in another spike. At the current increase of 2.7-3 ppm per year, consistent with the emission of 40 gigatons of CO2 emitted annually, a level of 500 ppm will be reached around 2050, a level not seen since the end of the Paleogene warming period, 30 million years ago.

The geologic record indicates that it was when the CO2 level dropped significantly below 800 ppm that the Antarctic ice sheet began to form, and the achievable task facing mankind is to slow and then halt the rise in atmospheric CO2 content and find a way to gradually reduce it so that the CO2 level remains significantly below the 800 ppm level.[], []

The chart above is a comparison of two sea level reconstructions for the last 500 million years.[49] The large scale changes in sea level are largely due to global tectonic plate shifts with climatic change being a secondary effect. The higher frequency sea level change in the last million years has been dominated by climate and glacial fluctuations are presented in the graph below.

Time Scale (Thousands of Years before Present)

The record from ice cores over the past 800,000 years documents the range of CO2 content of 180-300 ppm, the cycle time of 50,000-100,000 years, and the relationship of atmospheric CO2 content with sea level rise and fall. (Adapted from Hansen et al, 2013).[], [] There has been a rapid rise of CO2, CH4, and sea level, in the last 11,000 years.

If all of the ice covering Antarctica, Greenland, and in surviving glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about seventy meters. Ninety percent of Earth's ice above sea level is locked in the Antarctic ice sheet. It has already begun to melt significantly. A melt collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet would cause a catastrophic sea level rise that would change the world as we know it.

Glossary of Terms

ACRV: Ammonia Coolant React Valve

AI: artificial intelligence

albedo: proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by the surface of an astronomical body

ALMS-LIDAR: Altair multispectral LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) a remote sensing instrument using a pulsed laser to measure distances and properties of the reflecting surface

alt-azimuth mount: telescope mount with altitude (up-down) axis and azimuth (horizontal) axis

AMB: solar array actuator motor box

APXS: alpha proton x-ray spectrometer instrument

aquaponics: combines conventional aquaculture (e.g. raising tilapia in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment where one system benefits from the other

arcminute: 1/60th of a degree

arcsecond: 1/60th of an arcminute; 1/360th of a degree

ARES: NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Division

AU- astronomical unit: average distance from the Earth to the Sun--approximately 150 million kilometers

ATek: Asteroid Technologies- asteroid mining company

basalt: a dark, fine-grained volcanic rock rich in iron and magnesium

BFR: SpaceX Big Falcon Rocket renamed Super Heavy Booster / Starship

Bharat : India: The Republic of India

biosignature: element, isotope, or molecule that provides scientific evidence of past or present life

CAMI: Cybernetic Artificial MMU Intelligence- an extension of AI CASSI

CAPCOM: Capsule Communicator- NASA jargon for communications link between flight control and astronauts.

carbonaceous: containing carbon and carbon compounds

carbonate: a mineral containing the carbonate ion (CO3)2−

CARIAN: (sounds like Carrie Ann) Cybernetic Artificial Robotic Intelligence- Android

CARIIN: (sounds like Karen) Cybernetic Artificial Robotic Intelligence- Industrial

CASSI: Cybernetic Artificial Space Systems Intelligence

CCD: Charge Coupled Device that takes an image in a digital camera. Analogous to the retina in your eye.

**CH** 4 **:** methane

ChemCam: instrument for laser spot analysis of elemental composition

Chixulub Event : A 15 km asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, causing the extinction of dinosaurs and 75% of all species on Earth. Named for the small town on the Yucatan above the buried crater.

chondritic: a meteorite containing chondrules

chondrules: round particles in a meteorite or asteroid from the original solar nebula that formed the solar system

CM-1: Confinement Module 1

CNSA: China National Space Administration

COI: Ceres orbit insertion

Coalition / ISC: International Space Coalition\- the international partners of the Aquila Mission and signatories of the International Space Treaty of 2018: NASA, FKA, ESA, JAXA, CSA- later expanded to other countries.

Colossus: Interplanetary colony ship- capable of landing on Earth, Mars, or other body. Refuel and reuse.

Colossus II : Interplanetary colony ship- larger than its predecessor. Has habitat modules on a rotating ring providing centrifugal force 0.4 g for Mars normal gravity. Cannot land-- for deep space and orbital service only. Max capacity 260 passengers in hib-sleep. Service begins in 2054.

Coms: Communication Center

CRISPR: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-- of DNA that can be used to edit genes within organisms

cryo : involving or producing cold, especially extreme cold.

cryovolcano: volcano that erupts cold volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane, instead of molten rock.

CSA: Canadian Space Agency

CSF: Coalition Space Force

CT-1: Ceres Telescope 1

CT-2: Ceres Telescope 2

CTV : Ceres Transfer Vehicle for crew and cargo service between orbiting Ceres Alpha the surface base Ceres Beta.

cyanobacteria: bacteria that obtain their energy through photosynthesis and produce free oxygen

Delta-V: Orbital change in velocity in km/sec

DEM: digital elevation model

DIANNAO: Diànnǎo- Chinese AI Computer controlling navigation, life support, and communications functions.

DSN: Deep Space Network- Earth global network of huge radio dishes for communication with spacecraft.

EDL: Mars Entry Descent and Landing- a traditionally difficult and dangerous phase of the mission

EEG: electroencephalogram

ELA-2000: Extremely low frequency telecommunications receiver chip installed on CASSI for attempting mental communication

ELF: extremely low frequency electromagnetic field

ELT: Extremely Large Telescope

EMP: electromagnetic pulse- possibly damaging to electronic equipment

ESA: European Space Agency

ETI: extra-terrestrial intelligence

EVA: extra-vehicular activity in a space suit

exoplanet: a planet orbiting a star beyond our solar system

extant: still in existence; surviving; opposite of extinct

f 24: optical focal ratio--focal length of primary light gathering lens or mirror is 24 times its diameter; narrow angle, high magnification view

f 4.8 : optical focal ratio--focal length of primary light gathering lens or mirror is 4.8 times its diameter; wide angle view

Faraday cage: a grounded metal enclosure or screen surrounding a piece of equipment to exclude electrostatic and electromagnetic influences.

Fibonacci Sequence : The next number is found by adding up the two numbers before it 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34...

FLOP: Computer floating point operation; FLOPS/sec measures computing speed.

Fourier transform: a mathematical decomposition of a complex signal into frequency components

FTL: Faster-than-light technology for space travel

GalRex: Galactic Resource Exploration- asteroid mining company

GEO: Geosynchronous Orbit--orbiting at the same point over the Earth at an altitude of about 36,000 km.

GHLI: geologic hand lens imager for close-ups of details smaller than 1 centimeter.

gimbal: rocket engine with freedom of movement to vector thrust about both the pitch and yaw axes for steering

GPR: ground penetrating radar- uses high-frequency (usually polarized) radio waves, usually in the range 10 MHz to 2.6 GHz.

GWh: gigawatt-hour or one billion watt-hours

H-dot: Horizontal velocity in meters per second relative to the ground

helo: slang for helicopter

hib-sleep: induced state of coma-like sleep for deep space missions with slowed metabolism and drastically slowed bone and muscle mass loss in micro-gravity

Hohmann transfer: Hohmann transfer orbit uses the lowest possible amount of energy in traveling between Earth and Mars

HUD: Heads Up Display- data projected into a pilots visor so he/she keeps eyes ahead.

HWN: Hurricane Warning Network

Hz: Hertz or cycles per second of a sine wave

ICF Credit: Interplanetary Coalition Fund Credit\--One credit for one metric ton of propellant or food exported

interferometry: electromagnetic waves are superimposed causing interference in order to extract information

ISRU: In situ Resource Utilization- e.g. mining water ice on Mars to produce water, oxygen, and hydrogen. Oxygen and hydrogen are propellants. CO2 from Mars' atmosphere and hydrogen can be used to manufacture methane for propellant.

JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

JIQIREN : Chinese AI robot

JWST: James Webb Space Telescope

KBO: Kuiper Belt Object- a minor solar system body orbiting the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune

klick: slang for kilometer

Kuiper belt : Large region in the cold, outer reaches of our solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune harboring millions of small, icy objects from the beginnings of the solar system. It includes dwarf planets such as Pluto.

L2: 2nd Lagrange point of stable gravity balance between the Earth and the Moon

LaGrange Point: Stable equilibrium points, so that an object placed there would be in a stable orbit with respect to the Earth and Moon

LAX: Los Angeles International Airport

LEO: Low Earth Orbit-- for example the International Space Station at about 400 km altitude.

LH2: liquid hydrogen

LHB: Late Heavy Bombardment- from 4.1 to 3.9 billion years ago, the inner solar system planetary bodies suffered a huge influx of impactors. Evidence of this is the huge circular impact basins and mare on the Moon. Computer modeling implies that a shift in orbits of Uranus and Neptune sent the impactors to the inner solar system.

LDS: Latter Day Saints- founded the New Kolob colony on Mars

LOP-G: Lunal Orbiting Platform- Gateway (to deep space)

LOX: liquid oxygen

LRO: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

MAG : maximum absorbency garment worn as a diaper during an EVA

magnetite: an iron bearing mineral with magnetic properties

Mars launch window: Earth-Mars: Lowest energy Hohmann transfer is achieved by launching before Mars opposition and arriving just after opposition. Launch windows occur about once every 26 months.

MarsNet: Mars planet wide information network

MAV: Mars Ascent Vehicle

MCC: Mid-course correction burn

MGS: Mars Global Surveyor

micron: one millionth of a meter

microgravity: near weightlessness in spaceflight in a free fall orbit

MIRV-ICBM: Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle- Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

MITL: Martian Interplanetary Trade Liaison

MMU: manned maneuvering unit giving 3D movement on an EVA without a tether

MOLA : Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter

MRO: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

MT: Metric ton= 1000 kilograms

MT1: Mars Telescope 1

MT2: Mars Telescope 2

MT-SDOT: Mars Telescope Shiva Debris Operations Team

nadir: the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer

nanometer: one billionth of a meter

NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Oort Cloud: cloud of predominantly icy comets and planetesimals beyond the Kuiper Belt at distances ranging from 2,000 to 200,000 AU beyond the Sun.

organic molecule: molecule of a carbon compound. May or may not be related to life.

oxidation: loss of electrons or an increase in oxidation state of an element or compound

PAH : polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g. benzene rings)

PanCam: panoramic camera

Pan-STARRS : twin 1.8 meter telescopes at the Haleakala Observatory on Maui used for finding asteroid threats to Earth

parallax: difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight measured by the angle the two lines.

PASCI: (sounds like Passy) Pan-STARRS Astrometric Computing Intelligence

PDI: powered descent initiate- spacecraft on thrusters landing on airless body such as the Moon or Ceres

petabyte: 1024 terabytes

PeV: 1015 electron volts

PFLOP: PetaFLOP= approximately 1 million billion FLOPS /sec measure of supercomputing speed

polycarbonate: thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures e.g. Plexiglas

ppbv: parts per billion by volume

PPK: personal preference kit- an astronaut's private stash of personal needs

pyros: small explosive devices on a spacecraft designed to sever connections in a programmed sequence of events.

RAD-D : geologic radiation detector

reduction: gain of electrons or a decrease in oxidation state of an element or compound

REE: rare earth elements-- set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, including the fifteen lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. Used in high tech electronics, ceramics, and metallurgy.

reflector telescope: a telescope that uses a precise concave mirror to collect and focus light onto a secondary mirror to be imaged at an eyepiece or camera

RIPP: a restraint mask that prevents a prisoner from biting and spitting e.g. Hannibal Lecter

Ritchey–Chrétien : a reflector telescope that has a hyperbolic primary mirror and a hyperbolic secondary mirror

robo: slang for robotic

Roscosmos / FKA: Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities

Sabatier reactor: Propellant factory on Mars using hydrogen from water and CO2 from Mars atmosphere to make methane fuel

Schmidt-Cassegrain: A telescope that combines a reflector's optical path with a front corrector plate to make a compact astronomical instrument. Also known as an SCT.

SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Life- Most notably under the SETI Institute founded by Carl Sagan and Frank Drake in the 1980's.

Shēn Kōng Yóuxíng : Deep Space March Super Heavy Lift Vehicle--Chinese clone of the Colossus ships

Shiva: Shiva, the Destroyer, is the third god in the Hindu triumvirate. Namesake of the KBO threatening Earth.

SIC: sample isolation chamber

SNAFU: Military jargon- Situation Normal: All F***ed Up

SRC: sample return container- aluminum rock box with a triple seal to prevent contamination

SRS: Space Rocket System

SSTAR: Small, sealed, transportable, autonomous reactor- powered by uranium fuel rods, delivered from Earth capable of decades of sustained 10 megawatt electricity output.

SSTO: single stage to orbit

station-keeping: The orbital maneuvers made by thruster burns that are needed to keep a spacecraft in a particular assigned orbit.

stromatolite: a fossil of layered cyanobacteria or blue-green algae

Synodic period: The time it takes for an astro-body to return to the same angular position from the Sun as seen from the Earth.

SWRRP: Solids Waste Recycling Reactor Process, SWRRP, pronounced "SWIRP"

TARED: Tarazed Advanced Resistive Exercise Device

TCI: Trans Ceres Injection rocket burn

terabyte: 1024 gigabytes

TLS: tunable laser spectrometer instrument

TMI: Trans Mars Injection rocket burn

trank pen: a heavy tranquilizer pen injected like an EpiPen

UAE: United Arab Emirates- founded the al Salam al Jadid colony on Mars

VAB: Vehicle Assembly Building- historic at Kennedy Space Center for Apollo and Shuttle rockets

VASIMIR: Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket

V-dot: Vertical velocity in meters per second relative to the ground

Vishnu: Vishnu, the Savior, is the second god in the Hindu triumvirate. Namesake of the missile sent to divert the KBO threatening Earth.

Yarkovsky Effect: force exerted on a body in space when photons of sunlight are absorbed and reemitted

zenith: the point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer

zettabyte: 1 billion terabytes; 1 million petabytes

Dramatis Personae

Arcadia Mars Colonists in June 2044

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

**Doug Cook** is retired from a thirty-four year career as a petroleum geophysicist. A career highlight was participating in ten years of deep-water submersible oil seep studies in the Gulf of Mexico. Imagine the submersible as a spaceship exploring extreme life forms in the deep ocean. Astronomy and astrogeology are Doug's life passions. He is a member American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), Chair AAPG Astrogeology Committee, Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), VP Colorado Springs Astronomical Society, member of the Planetary Society, National Space Society, and Adjunct Astronomy Professor PPCC. He has two daughters and lives in Colorado with his wife Elizabeth.

doug@aquilamission.space

OTHER PUBLICATIONS:

Cook, Doug, 2019, Mars In Situ Resources and Utilization for Human Settlement, AAPG 2019 Convention Abstracts

Cook, Doug, Arcadia Mars, Kindle Direct Publishing, 2019. Print and eBook.

Cook, Doug, The Aquila Mission, Amazon CreateSpace, 2018. Print and eBook.

Kenkmann, T., Sundell, K., and Cook, D., 2018, Evidence for a large Paleozoic Impact Crater Strewn Field in the Rocky Mountains, Nature Scientific Reports, V 8, Article no: 13246. https: //www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-31655-4

Sundell, K.A., M.H. Poelchau, D. Cook, T. Kenkmann, 2018, The Douglas Crater Field, Wyoming, USA: Discovery of an Unexpected Crater Cluster at the Carboniferous-Permian Boundary, 81st Annual Meeting of The Meteoritical Society 2018 Moscow (LPI Contrib. No. 2067), Abs. 6149

Kenkmann, T., Sundell, K., and Cook, D., 2018, Exhumed Paleozoic Impact Crater Strewn Field near Douglas, Wyoming, USA: Evidence from microstructural analysis, satellite, and drone imagery, 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Abstract 1469.

Kenkmann, T., Sundell, K., and Cook, D., 2018, Discovery of a Paleozoic Impact Crater Strewn Field near Douglas, Wyoming, USA: Evidence from Microstructural Analysis, Satellite, and Drone Imagery, Abstract to the EGU General Assembly 2018, EGU2018-6010

Cook, D., 2018, Near Earth Objects (NEOs): Population Distributions, Origins, and Implications on Earth Impact Threat and Asteroid Mining Resources, AAPG 2018 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D., and K. Sundell, 2017, AAPG Total Solar Eclipse Field Guide: Leaders Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, Dr. James Reilly, Dr. Kent Sundell, Doug Cook, Don Clarke, and Karl Osvald

Cook, D., 2017, Asteroid Mining: the State of the Industry and our Future in Space, AAPG 2017 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D., 2016, A Bold Proposal for a Crewed Deep Space Mission to Rendezvous with and Sample an Asteroid and a Comet, New Worlds Space Settlement Symposium 2016 Austin, TX Proceedings

Taylor, D., K. Pomar, S. Rahati, C. Reid, A. Henderson, F. Lu, M. Ferguson, and D. Cook, 2016, Chronostratigraphic Framework and Gross Depositional Environments of the Shu'aiba Formation in the Under-Explored Eastern Rub' Al-Khali Basin, Saudi Arabia, GeoArabia GEO 2016 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D., Bohmail, A. Rademakers, M., 2016, Exploration and Commercialization of Tight Gas Reservoirs in Saudi Arabia, AAPG ME Exploring Mature Basins Geosciences Technology Workshop Abstracts; Workshop Co-Chair Douglas Cook, Saudi Aramco.

Cook, D., 2016, A Bold Proposal for a Manned Deep Space Mission to Rendezvous with and Sample an Asteroid and a Comet, AAPG 2016 Convention Abstracts

Kenkmann, T., Afifi, A. M., Stewart, S, Poelchau, M.H., Cook, D., Neville, A.S., 2015, Saqqar: A 34 km diameter impact structure in Saudi Arabia, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 50, 11: 1925-1940.

Neville A. S., Cook D. J., Afifi A. M., and Stewart S. A., 2014. Five buried crater structures imaged on reflection seismic data in Saudi Arabia. GeoArabia 19: 17–44.

Neville, A., A. Afifi, and D. Cook, 2012, Possible Impact Structures in Saudi Arabia, AAPG 2012 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D., A. Norton, and A. Neville, 2008, Petroleum Systems and Recent Exploration of the Permo-Carboniferous Unayzah and Devonian Jauf Reservoirs in Eastern Saudi Arabia, AAPG 2008 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D., et al, 2008, Petroleum Systems and New Plays in Frontier Exploration in Northwest Saudi Arabia, AAPG 2008 International Convention Abstracts

Lawrence, Paul, Tom Harland, David Tang, Douglas Cook, Geraint Hughes, Ravi Singh, Greg Gregory, Abdel Fattah Bakhiet, and Abdel Ghayoum Ahmed, 2008, Regional Hanifa Reservoir Fairways in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia: An Integrated Approach, GeoArabia GEO 2006 Convention Abstracts

Xiao, H., Knowlton, A., Rademakers, M., and Cook, D., 2006, Structural Styles in Eastern and Central Arabia, GeoArabia GEO 2006 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D, and C. Tsai, 2004, Use of Model Based K-L Filtering to Attenuate Interbed Multiples in Seismic Reflections of the Devonian Jauf Reservoir, Eastern Saudi Arabia, GeoArabia GEO 2004 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D., 1992, Stratigraphy of Pleistocene Upper Slope Sands, Gulf of Mexico, An Analog for Deep Water Exploration Offshore Nigeria, Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists Tenth Annual Proceedings *Best Paper Award

*GCAGS Levorsen Best Paper Award

Roberts, H., D. Cook, and M. Sheedlo, 1992, Hydrocarbon Seeps of the Louisiana Continental Slope: Seismic Amplitude Signature and Sea Floor Response, GCAGS Trans., Vol.42: 737-749

Sheedlo, M. and D. Cook, 1992, 3D Seismic Imaging and Direct Observations of Sea Floor Features on the Upper Slope, Green Canyon Block 184 Federal Unit, Gulf of Mexico, AAPG Convention Abstracts

Cook, D., et al., 1992, Stratigraphy of Pleistocene Upper Slope Sands in the Green Canyon Block 184 Federal Unit, Gulf of Mexico, AAPG 1992 Convention Abstracts

Cook, D. and P. D'Onfro, 1991, Jolliet Field Thrust Fault Structure and Stratigraphy, Green Canyon Block 184, Offshore Louisiana, GCAGS Trans., V.41: 100-122

Cook, D. and P. D'Onfro, 1990, Jolliet Field Thrust Fault Structure and Stratigraphy, A Deep Water Development Milestone, Green Canyon Block 184, Offshore Louisiana, Abst., AAPG Bull., V.74/5: 633

Randazzo, A. and D. Cook, 1987, Characterization of Dolomitic Rocks from the Coastal Mixing Zone of the Floridan Aquifer, Sedimentary Geology, V. 54: 169-192

Cook, D. et al., 1985 Authigenic Fluorite in Dolomitic Rocks of the Floridan Aquifer, Geology, V13: 390-391



NOTES

[1] Sagan, Carl, _The Pale Blue Dot_ , The Random House Publishing Group, New York, 1994. Print.

2] Szocik,K., Wójtowicz, T., Baran, L, _War or Peace? The possible scenarios of colonizing Mars_ , Space Policy 42 (2017) 31–36, [http: //dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.spacepol.2017.10.002 Web accessed 9 July 2018.

3] "2017 Report of the NEO Definition Team: Update to Determine the Feasibility of Enhancing the Search and Characterization of NEOs", NASA Planetary Science Division, Web accessed 12 July 2018. [https: //cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/doc/2017_neo_sdt_final_e-version.pdf

[4] Stable equilibrium points, so that an object placed there would be in a stable orbit with respect to the Earth and Moon.

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