Banks of controls surrounded the viewports in every direction. Monitors displayed critical information, lighting the module in ghostly incandescence. Dials, knobs, buttons, and switches were grouped together by the dozens and covered every remaining wall and ceiling space. The whole thing looked impossibly complicated, but Dean marveled to himself that he knew what every single control was for and how each should be operated.
Dean could see the other four crewmembers strapped into seats arrayed equidistant about the space. Two men and two women made up the core of the crew, while Dean had been added later through the contest. Everyone appeared quiet and contemplative as the last few minutes prior to launch were counting down. There was an aura of nervousness in the air that made Dean acutely aware of the fluttering he felt in his stomach.
The sound was incredible. Dean’s heart had almost stopped as the countdown reached zero and the engine roared to life. The seat he was laying on kicked him in the back, hard. He vaguely heard mission control announce that they had achieved liftoff, but somehow the words didn’t register. Pressed into his seat, he was certain something had gone wrong. He couldn’t lift his head, everything was vibrating wildly, and the sound was so intense he was sure the rocket had exploded and the explosion just hadn’t reached him yet.
Fear began to expand within his consciousness. The certainty of his impending death left him sweaty and unable to draw a breath. Time seemed to slow and the relentless thunder began to fade. It took a few moments for his shocked mind to realize that everything was fine. The rocket hadn’t exploded. The wild shaking and deafening roar were exactly what he had been told to expect. Dean marveled at how the stark fear had brought about clarity to his senses. Feeling the sledge hammer in his chest slow to something resembling a normal heartbeat, he looked to one side and then the other, taking in the expressions of his fellow crewmembers. They looked exactly like he felt. All of them had been to space before, but still they looked nervous and pale; except for Captain Rogers, he was grinning wildly.
After what seemed an eternity, the oppressive force pushing him further and further into his seat, Dean’s stomach tried to do a somersault inside of him as the first stage booster cut out and the incredible weight on his chest disappeared. Momentarily weightless, he struggled to adapt to the confusing signals he was receiving from his inner ear. Just as he was certain he had determined which way was up, stage two ignited and he was slammed into his seat once more. Minutes later, although he would have sworn it had been longer, the end of stage two and the beginning of stage three went much the same.
Several more minutes passed as Dean questioned the sanity of what had seemed like a dream come true only a short time earlier. Finally, stage three cut out and he was left feeling disoriented and exhausted. Before his mind had caught up to the fact that he was weightless again, Captain Rogers was calling out for reports.
“Stacy, how’s our trajectory look?”
“Uhh,” Stacy attempted to reply. “We’re on course Captain,” she finally managed in a strangled voice.
“Systems Bill?”
“All systems show green,” Bill said with a little more vigor than Stacy had managed. “All stage separations were successful and we are optimum for docking.”
“Any word from control?” the Captain asked while looking directly at Sarah.
“Mission control reports we’re five by five,” Sarah answered.
“Outstanding,” Captain Rogers said with a smile. “You still with us Dean?”
“Good to go sir,” Dean replied. He had been able to gather his wits about him while the others were responding to the Captain’s inquiries and spoke with more confidence than he actually felt. The smirk on Captain Rogers’ face told Dean he wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Alright everyone, let’s lock seats up and prepare for docking.”
Dean pushed the control which would bring his seat into an upright position and sighed in relief as it did just that. He was in space. It was almost too much to believe. He had been aware of what SpaceTek was doing to him and had thought he would never get the opportunity to see the stars as he saw them now through the front viewport. Only his stubbornness and the persistence of his instructors had convinced him not to quit once he figured out that SpaceTek had no intention of letting him go to Mars. Now, he was immensely glad he had listened to his instructors as they assured him they would make sure he got his chance. The view was amazing and he took great pride in the fact that he had earned the right to see it.
As he stared mesmerized out the viewports, he watched stars wheel in a clockwise arc until the beautiful, blue globe of Earth cycled into view. Some people go their entire lives without seeing anything as breathtaking as what he saw now. As the world below took up more of the viewports, he could make out Japan and the eastern coast of Asia. He stared hard in an attempt to discover if he really could see the great wall from space. An abundance of clouds left his visual search inconclusive. Disappointed, he brought his awareness back into the crew module he was currently occupying.
He knew it would take almost an hour before they reached and docked with Destiny. In the meantime, as he had no assigned duties at this stage of the process, he sat back and watched as the other crewmen began entering commands into their computer interfaces. Even as the crew went about their various duties, he double checked various readouts from the onboard diagnostics to ensure nothing was overlooked and refigured any calculations that were being entered.
He was double checking their work as a courtesy, even though they wouldn’t take it that way. Pleasant enough face to face, it was painfully obvious to Dean that the crew felt he was just a kid and had no business being a part of this mission. Since SpaceTek had felt he would not be going regardless of his performance in training, he had not been given the opportunity to train alongside his fellow crewmembers more than a couple times. This had left him as the outsider, an unknown the others could not count on. Now they simply regarded him as a nuisance, an unneeded tool they were forced to work with but didn’t much care for.
Captain Rogers was different. He had taken an active part in Dean’s training and was well aware of what the young man was capable of. As such, any time one of the other crewmembers said something derogatory about Dean, the Captain would angrily remind them that Dean was a part of the crew, and if they didn’t like it, they could be replaced. This of course only made them keep their thoughts to themselves and served to further alienate them from Dean.
Because of this, when Dean noticed that Bill had moved a decimal to the wrong place, he had quietly entered a correction into his own control station. Bill was inputting the necessary calculations to control the retro burn they would need to do as they approached Destiny and had input an error which would result in a fatal crash as they failed to slow enough for docking. He tried to prevent anyone from seeing him put in a correction; unfortunately, Bill noticed what had been done.
Looking at Dean with fire sparking in his eyes, he asked, “Who said you could mess with my equations?”
“I was just trying to help,” Dean answered plaintively. “You accidentally put in a wrong number.”
“I don’t care what you were trying to do. I don’t need some snot nosed kid thinking he knows more –“
“Maybe you should check to see if his correction is actually correct before you start yelling,” the Captain interrupted.
Bill looked down at his display while still grumbling under his breath. After a moment of consideration and a couple taps on the computer, Bill’s features took on a stormy look of disgust. “Never mind!” he said angrily at the unspoken question he saw in the Captain’s expression.
Dean saw Stacy try to stifle a giggle with her hand. Bill’s face began to glow red and took on an expression that suggested he could chew raw steel into rivets if asked to do so. Cold, angry eyes flashed at Dean one more time before Bill turned back to his display and attempted to present himself as if he could care less about what had just transpired.
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It’s going to be a very long trip, Dean thought to himself.
Chapter 5
Docking maneuvers went off like clockwork, thanks to Dean’s intervention with the calculations. Not a single person congratulated him on catching the mistake. Unknown to Dean however, Captain Rogers was filled with pride at the young man’s attention to detail. The Captain was very much aware of how lucky he was to have Dean among his crew; even if the others failed to recognize that fact.
With docking completed, everyone had unbuckled their restraints and was making their way to the hatch. The rocket that had taken them into space was simply transportation from Earth to Destiny. Destiny was the vessel which would take the crew to Mars. Constructed in space, Destiny was the pinnacle of human ingenuity.
Resembling a giant wheel, like that of a stagecoach or horse drawn wagon, it measured over one hundred meters in diameter. At the hub sat the engine and a detachable landing module. The engine was designed to use ion propulsion; basically a gas was superheated and ions released from the reaction were thrust out the back. It was nowhere near as powerful as a traditional rocket, but it had lots of staying power and would get the crew to Mars in less than three months. The landing module sat just in front of the engine and was designed to ferry three people to the planet’s surface.
Four equally spaced spokes spread out from the hub and connected to a large ring. This ring was called the habitation module and it was currently spinning to create an artificial gravity within. Fuel and other consumables took up the majority of the space within the ring, with less than a quarter reserved for the crew. Compared to earlier space vehicles however, Destiny was downright spacious.
There were three laboratory spaces, an exercise room, a kitchen/dining hall, a medical bay, and a large communal space for recreation. Each crew member also had their own small bedroom and even smaller bathroom to give a measure of privacy when needed.
It was in this bastion of privacy that Dean secluded himself as soon as he was aboard. He had no desire to interact with a hostile crew any more than was necessary. He planned to perform any task assigned to him as quickly as possible and then return to his room where he could continue his studies on his own. SpaceTek hadn’t realized it, but the intense education they had forced upon him had only ignited his thirst for more knowledge. The computer on the Destiny contained more information than most first rate libraries, and Dean was determined to absorb as much of it as he possibly could.
Once he had shut himself in his room, he began going through his drawers and small closet to catalogue what items he had at his disposal. The room contained only a small bed, a combination dresser/desk with a computer terminal sat atop, and a single chair in front of the desk. Two doors led either to the hallway outside his room or to the cramped bathroom that held a small sink, a toilet, an almost microscopic shower stall, and a tiny closet holding the majority of his clothing. With the exception of the dark blue mission jumpsuits, all of his clothes were bright white. Every item of clothing, every toiletry, and all of the other small odds and ends in the room had been carefully assembled by a team of scientists on Earth. He had been allowed no more than two pounds worth of personal effects.
He had only brought along a framed picture of his family. However, just before he had boarded the rocket for launch, his father had given him a pocket watch that had been passed down from the time of his great grandfather. Seeing the intense pride in his father’s face had been enough to convince him the two years of misery had been worth it.
After viewing the only possessions he would own for the next ten months, he decided to lie down and take a nap. The experience of the launch had flooded his system with adrenaline and now that it had worn off, he was feeling distinctly wore out. They were not scheduled to depart Earth orbit for twelve hours and he had no scheduled duties to perform until after that time. Even though he had been certified to operate every system on Destiny, SpaceTek hadn’t trusted him enough to assign him any duties other than assisting his fellow crewmembers as needed.
Removing his standard issue, white sneakers, he laid down on his bed and stretched the kinks from his body. At that moment, it hit him. He was going to Mars. After everything they had put him through and after all the times he thought he wouldn’t be able to accomplish the next herculean task they placed before him, he was here. He was going to be one of the first human beings to set foot on another planet!
His train of thought was rudely interrupted by a loud alarm that suddenly blared out of the speakers set into the ceiling of his room.
“Fire in the medical bay. Fire in the medical bay,” an automated voice announced over the sound of the alarm.
Jumping from his bed and running out the door, without even grabbing his shoes, Dean couldn’t help but wonder how things could go bad this soon into the mission. Maybe he wasn’t going to Mars after all.
Chapter 6
Dean didn’t run to the medical bay. His assigned post during this type of emergency was lab two. He had been drilled relentlessly on all emergency procedures and the actions he was expected to take in each. If the fire had been in lab two, or in lab one next door, he would have been expected to assess the situation and do one of four things; put the fire out with one of the many extinguishers available throughout the ship, initiate the fire suppression nozzles installed in each room, call for more help, or order an evacuation by means of the two available escape pods. He sincerely hoped he would never have to do the last of those. The escape pods would keep the crew alive for several weeks, but they would be uncomfortable and if an evacuation occurred far from Earth, it was unlikely SpaceTek would be able to retrieve the pods before everyone aboard died. Since the current fire was elsewhere, he was expected to man his post until further orders were issued.
Dean waited patiently for several minutes, all the while fearing the mission was about to come to an abrupt end. Finally, the alarm shut off and an announcement was made over the intercom. “Dean, please report to the common room.”
Exiting lab two, he turned left and moved down a long hallway. At his back, at the far end of the hallway, sat the exercise room; beyond which was only an escape pod and storage space for water, fuel, and other consumables. Labs one and two were to his left and lab three, the largest, was to his right. As he continued down the hallway, he passed the Captain’s quarters and the Captain’s private office and then three more bedrooms, including his own, and a food storage area. He went through a doorway at the end of the hall and entered the kitchen and dining area. Passing quickly through the small space, he went through another doorway and entered the common room.
The other members of the crew were all there waiting for him. Seated around the table in the center of the room were Captain Rogers, Bill the engineer, Sarah the team physician, and Stacy the geoscientist. Captain Rogers was the eldest of the crew at sixty years old. He had snowy white hair and large, bushy eyebrows. Dean had been astonished that the Captain, at such an advanced age, was in remarkably great shape. Sarah was the next oldest at fifty-three. The stately woman had light brown hair with just a slight hint of gray showing at the roots. She was a medical doctor that served as the crew’s physician and also held a degree in exobiology. Bill was in his late thirties and held a master’s degree in engineering. He looked like a boxer that had spent too much time in the ring. He was short and muscular with heavy brows hanging above a nose that had obviously been broken many times over the years. Sara, the youngest besides Dean, held degrees in geology and geophysics. Dean had always felt slightly uncomfortable around her since he thought she was very attractive.
The Captain insisted everyone be called by their first name to foster familiarity and promote camaraderie. Everyone agreed, but refused to call Captain Rogers anything other than Captain. It did seem to bother Bill when Dean addressed him by his first name; which was why Dean took great pleasure in doing so.
“Come in and have a seat Dean,” the Captain said.
Dean walked p
ast a ping pong table and over to the table used for gaming and conferences. As he sat in the unoccupied chair, he was immensely curious as to what was going on. He could see into the medical bay through the doorway on the far side of the common room and he saw no sign of fire.
Captain Rogers’ next comment only served to confuse him. “Congratulations Dean, you are the only surviving crewmember.”
Dean tilted his head to the side and asked, “Excuse me?”
The Captain’s eyes sparkled with amusement as he explained, “That was a fire drill. The parameters of the drill were that a fire broke out in the med bay and an oxygen tank exploded causing multiple hull breaches. The air was evacuated from the med bay, the common room, and Sarah’s quarters on the other side of the med bay. Sarah and I were both killed from asphyxiation since our assigned posts were in the affected areas. Stacy and Bill died when the computer malfunctioned and allowed them to open the door between the kitchen and the common room.”
“But I thought Stacy’s post was lab three?”
“It is. And even though Bill’s post is the kitchen, he knows better than to open any doors. Curiosity got the better of the two of them. They both decided they should try to help and got themselves killed in the process.”
Dean was stunned by the revelation. He had performed emergency drills at least twice per day for the last eight months. He couldn’t fathom the idea of doing anything other than manning his assigned post. Surely the rest of the crew had performed numerous drills as well.
Looking up Dean caught the look of disgust on Bill’s face. He wasn’t sure if the look was directed at him or if Bill was unhappy with his own performance.
Captain Rogers continued to address the crew. “This was the first of many drills. While Dean seems to understand the necessity of following procedure, the rest of us are obviously in need of refresher training.” Looking directly at Bill and Stacy, he continued, “You two know you were supposed to man your posts until further orders or until the computer had notified you that Sarah and I were deceased. I really hate to start this mission on a sour note, but we all need to remember how dangerous this mission is and devote ourselves to following procedure. The safety of this crew is my primary responsibility and I intend to fulfill that responsibility. Now, I suggest we all get some rest. We will begin system checks in seven hours to prepare for engine start.”