The Mars Frontier Box Set, page 45
part #1 of Mars Frontier Series
"I there any way you can prevent us from crashing into the ground?" Redmayne asked sardonically.
"I'm doing my best." Georgia keyed in some random commands, before shouting, "Eureka!" She pressed a button on the keyboard and felt a series of thrusters firing. Within seconds, the tumbling slowed and then stopped. Mars was now sixty-eight miles below them and filled the view from the porthole. There was no time to congratulate herself as they were still traveling at three thousand miles an hour.
"Get strapped back in. I'm firing the retro rockets in five seconds," she warned. This time she made sure she was secured in her seat before firing the rockets. The pod instantly began to decelerate, forcing both Georgia and Redmayne deep into their seats. Georgia gasped as she struggled to breathe. She could only manage short shallow breaths, each one painful. Her main concern was whether the retro rockets had sufficient fuel as they continued to hurtle toward the ground.
Forty seconds later, the roar of the rocket motors died. Georgia checked the computer screen and saw they were now only eight miles high with a velocity of two hundred miles per hour. Time for the computer to deploy the parachutes. But something was wrong. There was no sensation of drag. In fact, they were in free fall again and plummeting toward the ground.
***
Molloy and Jackson were walking slowly back toward Lexington with the rest of the crew, scanning the night sky for some kind of sign. Twenty seconds earlier, they'd seen two brief flashes just above the distant horizon, the second brighter than the first, but still had no idea whether Georgia had been successful. "What do you think?" asked Jackson. The waiting was unbearable.
"We'll know in the next two minutes," replied Molloy. "If we don't see the particle beam in that time then it's a fairly safe bet that the Chinese vessel has been destroyed or at least damaged. It looks as if there was at least one explosion and probably two. That's a positive sign."
"But is Georgia safe?"
"That will take longer to discover. You'll need to check with Mancuso to see if there's been any communication. One step at a time. Let's pray your sister succeeded and we survive."
"I shouldn't have let her go. If she's died saving my life, then I'm never going to forgive myself. She's the only family I have."
"Jackson, from what I've seen and heard about Georgia there is no way she would have let you go in her place. She knows what she's doing and is the best person to make the plan work." Molloy paused to look at the other astronauts standing around him, staring up at the heavens. "Everyone here knows what's at stake and has confidence in Georgia."
Jackson stood in silence, counting down the seconds and waiting for a beam of light to suddenly appear from a point in the sky. As the two-minute mark approached, he held his breath in the hope that there would be no last-minute attack. One minute later and Mancuso's voice could be heard by everyone when he said, "All clear. It looks as if Commander Pyke succeeded."
A universal cheer could be heard across the comms channel as relief swept through everyone standing around Lexington in the darkness.
"What now?" asked Jackson, allowing a mixture of emotions to wash over him.
"Go back to Alpha and wait to hear from Georgia or Redmayne," replied Molloy. "I'm sure they'll be communicating their location anytime soon."
Jackson quickly located a speeder close by and headed for the distant lights of Alpha Base, still fearful of Georgia's fate.
***
"Override the firing mechanism for the parachute bolts!" screamed Redmayne.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" exclaimed Georgia, remaining calm as her brain calculated the options available to her in the few seconds available before their velocity would be too great for the parachutes to work. There was nothing of obvious help on the computer screen. There had to be another way. Looking around the sparse and cramped interior of the escape pod, she noticed a large red handle with large red Cyrillic writing next to the hatch. "Above your head! Pull that handle."
Redmayne reached up and pulled down on the handle as hard as he could. It moved about four inches before he could pull it no further. Nothing happened for maybe half a second and then the pod seemed to hit something as its descent was slowed. Georgia and Redmayne were forced hard into their seats with the force.
"That will be the drogue chute," Redmayne said, the relief obvious in his voice. In a few seconds it should pull out the main chutes. Sure enough, the pod lurched as the huge main parachutes flared and bellowed before beginning to slow the rate of descent.
Georgia could feel a slow swaying motion as the pod hung below the two enormous parachutes. It was a strange sensation that made her feel queasy. Looking through the porthole, all she could see was blackness. Wherever they were above Mars, it was still night and there was no visual way of seeing where they were or what the landscape below held for them. They could be above a mountain or a deep gorge and they would have no idea.
The data on the computer screen showed their rate of descent was continuing to slow but remained more than eighty miles per hour. If they hit the ground at that speed it would be the equivalent of a fly hitting a windshield.
"I don't suppose you were trained on the escape pod to know how we can slow our vertical velocity?" she asked Redmayne who now appeared to have recovered his composure.
"No, I was only shown the basics to fly between Derzost and the orbiting Andropov. There was no one to show me the in-flight safety procedures. I would imagine the landing is automated with the retro rockets firing at a specified height above the ground. That's just my guess though."
"So, we just wait and hope?" Georgia regretted not asking sooner, although the answer would not have altered the plan. "What about an emergency beacon? We need to inform Mancuso so he can mount a rescue mission."
"Again, it should be part of the automated system. Unless you can see anything on the computer screen."
"Ah, yes," she muttered as she pressed a button in the top left corner. "I know Jackson and some of the crew will be worried about us."
"They'll be concerned for your safety," corrected Redmayne, bitterly. "No one's going to be thinking about me."
Georgia could sense the escape pod spinning as well as swaying. She was not enjoying the experience and was convinced the movement was going to make her throw up any time soon. "What do you expect?" she said, trying to ignore her nausea. "Redmayne, you did a fantastic job saving Alpha and rescuing me. I am truly grateful for that. But I can never stop despising you for what you did."
"That's understandable. I hate myself most days so I can't expect forgiveness from you or anyone else. I didn't do this to make amends for my crimes. I know I have to face the consequences for those deaths and I'm ready to be held accountable. I've been living a lie for the last two years, fooling myself that I could escape justice."
Georgia looked at him in the dim interior light of the pod. Perhaps he's changed after all, but he can't alter what he's done, she thought. "I'll need to decide what to do with you. Lexington isn't due to return to Earth for another twenty months and I don't know what effect your presence will have on the rest of the crew. To be honest, I don't even know what jurisdiction you'd be tried under. We're breaking new ground here."
At that moment, and without warning, the retro rockets briefly fired for a fraction of a second, causing the escape pod to violently slow. Georgia had a moment to glance at the rate of descent and note that it was still too fast. Before she could brace herself, the pod careened into the ground at an angle and skidded across a rock outcrop. Badly winded by the crash landing, she heard the tortured screeching of metal as it was forcefully torn from the underside of the escape pod. The computer screen went immediately blank and the emergency light failed, leaving her in complete darkness, as the pod continued to bump and slide along the ground before coming to a halt.
Georgia found herself laid on her side but still strapped into her seat. She gasped, trying to recover her breathing as pain threatened to engulf her. Her right knee was still in agony but now her lower back felt bruised as well as both shoulders where the straps had cut into her. At least her spacesuit was in one piece, maintaining the integrity of her air supply.
"Redmayne, are you okay?" she called out into the darkness. There was no reply. After loosening her straps, she felt around in the dark for the flashlight she could remember seeing earlier. She found it and was relieved that it was working. Moving carefully because of her injuries she shone the light toward where Redmayne had been sitting. Instead of finding him in his seat, she was appalled to see that part of the pod had been ripped away in the crash, leaving an ugly hole, about five feet long.
Chapter 32
"How soon until we can mount a rescue mission," asked Jackson excitedly as he burst into Alpha’s control room.
Mancuso, along with Lexington's pilot, was busy checking the computer for a detailed topographical map of the area where the escape pod's emergency beacon had been detected. "It looks as though the escape pod came down about seven hundred and fifty miles west of here, in Kaiser Crater. I can fly Lexington sub-orbitally once we've loaded sufficient fuel for a return trip. I'm being told that will take another hour. I know that sounds like a long time, but I need to plot the course and find a suitable location to land. Remember, we've not surveyed that area of Mars in detail and I have to be sure we land on solid ground that will take the weight of the spaceship. I'm reluctant to land in the dark but I don't think we have the time to wait. The ultimate decision lies with Ground Control."
"I understand you're doing all that you can, Joe. Can I join you? I need to know that my sister is safe."
Mancuso had been expecting the question. "Yes, of course. There will be room for you alongside Doctor Betts, Lieutenant Molloy and Chief Engineer Qadir. If you want to keep busy in the meantime, find Vicky Morris back at Lexington. I've asked her to unload as much equipment and supplies to lighten the and make our trip easier. I'm sure she'll appreciate your assistance in moving the pallets clear of the launch area. I'll join you there in thirty minutes to prepare Lexington for launch."
Megan entered the control room as Jackson was leaving. "Has there been any radio communication, Joe?" she asked.
"Nothing yet," replied Mancuso. "They're out of range for their personal comms systems to work. If the escape pod has its own system, they've not used it."
"So we don't know if they survived."
"Georgia's alive," Mancuso replied defiantly. " Once we return her safely, we'll celebrate her success properly. Is your medical equipment ready? Just in case."
"It was already packed on Lexington in the event we had to leave. I've left Doctor Coleman to prepare the theater in case of surgery. We can't be too careful, and it makes him feel useful, which is apparently all he wants to be."
"Good thinking, Megan. Meet me at the airlock in twenty minutes." Mancuso returned to studying the map, scanning for any suitable landing spot.
***
Georgia crawled slowly through the hole in the side of the pod, careful not to snag her spacesuit on any of the jagged metal around the edge. Once safely through, she winced in pain as she stood up. Her knee felt as if someone was stabbing it with hot needles. Cautiously, she put more weight on her knee but knew she wouldn't be able to walk very far. Every other joint and muscle throbbed from the force of the landing, causing her to groan as she took a small step away from the escape pod and shone the light at it to see the extent of the damage.
She was surprised it had remained this intact. The force of the pod impacting the ground had been so severe she had expected the pod to have been destroyed. There were clear signs of metal being crumpled and badly dented by the crash, but the safety core had definitely done its job. Other than keep Redmayne safe!
She pointed the flashlight along the shallow gouge that the pod had created. Shards of metal glinted in the darkness as they reflected the light. Small rocks had been crushed or split as the pod had finished its final journey speeding across the Martian surface. There was no sign of Redmayne though. The eerie darkness enveloped everything that wasn't in the flashlight's beam, threatening to overwhelm her senses.
Dragging her right leg behind her, Georgia limped forward. Redmayne couldn't be far away. After about fifty yards, she spotted a large black object ahead of her. As she approached, she could see the object was the exterior section of the pod with one of Redmayne's legs sticking out from underneath. "Can you hear me," she called out expectantly, but there was only silence.
She grabbed an edge of the wreckage and pulled to see if she would be able to flip it over. It was immediately clear that it was too heavy for her to move on her own. She knelt down and peered underneath the twisted piece of metal to check on Redmayne's condition. Pointing her flashlight into the darkness she could see he was still strapped to his seat, laying face down with his helmet hanging several inches off the ground. She moved the light around, searching for any obvious sign of damage to his suit. There were no obvious telltale jets of vapor that would indicate a leak. But there was no way she could release his straps and remove him from the wreckage. She was going to have to wait for help to arrive and hope that her own suit didn't run out of power and air before then. Her heads-up display showed she was good for another three hours before there would there would be no power for her suit's heater. After that, it wouldn't take long for her to freeze to death.
***
On Lexington's flight deck, Mancuso was systematically going through the pre-launch checklist with the ship's pilot, Major Stoddard, when he received the message from General Stockton he'd been waiting for. "We've reviewed your proposed flight profile and confirm that you are approved to proceed," said Stockton. "We understand that there is risk associated with the search and rescue mission, but it would be remiss of all of us if we didn't allow permission for you to save Commander Pyke. Not for the first time, she has put her own safety ahead of everyone else's. However, if you determine that a landing would endanger the Lexington, I trust that you will exercise sound judgment.
"I wanted to also let you know that interim feedback from our contacts in China is that Taipei was totally destroyed, with the death of General Zhang and two of his officers. This news has yet to be formally verified but our own satellites have been unable to detect Taipei in its expected orbit. So, I am confident that Alpha Base and its crew are now safe from any potential attacks.
"Give my congratulations to Georgia when you find her. As for Redmayne, put him in custody while we decide what to do with him. I have my own views on how he should be dealt with but, unfortunately, I don't have the authority. Have a safe and productive trip, Joe. Stockton out."
Mancuso smiled at the confidence being shown in him by the general. Now the pressure was on to find Georgia. He turned to Stoddard and said, "you heard the general. Let's get this show on the road."
***
Georgia was resting on the ground, conserving as much energy as possible. The flashlight was close by her side but switched off, leaving her in complete darkness. Her eyes had become accustomed to the lack of light and could make out indistinct shapes in the surrounding terrain which she guessed were either boulders or the rim of a small crater. Overhead, she could clearly see the Milky Way and the constellation of Orion. The unmistakable brightness of Betelgeuse and Rigel glimmered in the inky blackness, separated by the three stars of Orion's Belt.
In the silence and the darkness, Georgia was at one with the Universe. Although the base was hundreds of miles away and Redmayne was unconscious or dead, she had never felt less alone in her life. If this is my time to die then I couldn't have chosen a better view, she thought as she stared in awe at the stars. Despite the pain throughout her body, she had fallen into a light sleep several times, only to wake herself up when her head nodded forward.
"Where am I?" Redmayne's voice was weak and raspy.
"So, you are alive! I was starting to think the worst. You're lying under a fragment of the escape pod that was ripped off when we crash landed."
"That explains the darkness. How long ago was that?"
Georgia switched on the flashlight to check her chronometer. "About ninety minutes ago. You've not missed much since then. How are you feeling?"
"In agony! I think my legs are broken and I've cracked several ribs. Any idea when help is going to arrive?"
"There's been no contact with Alpha Base so far. I have no clue where we are. Because of our velocity at the time we ejected from Kiev we could be up to one thousand miles from the base. Joe Mancuso will be using Lexington to save us, but he would require some time to prepare the ship. Of course, if we failed then they could be dead and there's no one to rescue us anyway."
"Glad to hear you're so positive," coughed Redmayne. "Did you not think to get me down from here? These straps are digging into my shoulders and waist."
Georgia lowered herself to be able to look at Redmayne, shining the flashlight at him. "Your body weight prevented me from releasing you buckle. And my body is pretty banged up from the crash too. Thanks for asking!"
Redmayne grunted as he tried unsuccessfully to unclasp the buckle holding him in place. "It looks like I'll be staying here a while longer," he said, admitting defeat.
He coughed again and Georgia could see spots of blood on the inside of his helmet. "Try to relax and save your energy. I'm sure the rescue party will be here soon. All they have to do is follow the emergency beacon. I'm sure they'll be here soon."
Redmayne had also seen his blood though. "I don't think they'll be in time to save me," he said quietly, before making a strange gurgling sound.
"Don't talk like that. We still have hope. Doctor Betts will be part of the rescue team and she will be able to treat you. Just hold on."
There was no reply from Redmayne and his eyes were closed. She reached underneath the wreckage, shook him hard and was rewarded with his eyes flickering open.
"Stay with me, Tom. It's not your time to die. Concentrate on my voice and stay awake."
