Star of Fire 火星 Mars Space People

The Williams submersible

Pavonis Mons

The two rovers slowly advanced through the boring expanse of sand and boulders on the longest excursion ever attempted from Yellowstone. John Harrison of the Planetary Institute in Tucson had advised them to go to a gorge on the northern edge of the volcano but they had chosen an alternate route.

The first rover contained the Peregrine crew; the members of the second rover were Anatoly, Sergei, Tania, Janice and Mi. Only well-planned stretches of road had been cleared of rock by their primitive plow. Three of the rover wheels failed. The fourth wheel broke when its aluminum rim fractured along a spoke and a thirty-centimeter length of its circumference. Exploring the rock-strewn planitiae of Mars was costly in terms of wheels and time.

There is no Easter Bunny

Jerry hiked from the Tarn via the Ladder Trail over Dorr Mountain before buying a bottle of lemonade at the gift shop on the summit of Mount Cadillac. Jerry’s t-shirt, bought by his brother, John’s oldest boy, proclaimed that he was a “Wimpy Scumbag Liberal.” John explained that there wasn’t enough room on the t-shirt for Atheist or Godless. An exhausted Pennsylvanian woman on the trail told Jerry that there certainly were a lot of rocks on the trail. A helicopter flew low around Acadia, irritating the hikers. Blueberries were plentiful in spite of the large number of young hikers. Cathy, a Ridge Runner from Colorado, hiked by offering bottles of water to the climbers on the trail during the hot, humid day. Jerry observed the Gazelle helicopter again flying too low sightseeing around Champlain Mountain, Dorr Mountain and Frenchman’s Bay. Professional pilots fly helicopters of this class but the Bozo piloting the Gazelle obviously didn’t need his ticket to earn a living. Kathy called in his tail (boom) number. There had already been a lot of complaints and the park personnel were trying to identify the chopper as the aircraft flew down the glacial water-created gorge between Cadillac and Dorr Mountains. Jerry returned to his truck by reversing his morning route.
Jerry got a coffee at the gift shop at Jordan House, drinking it on the second floor patio overlooking Jordan Pond. As Jerry returned to the summit of Cadillac Mountain by truck it was mobbed with tourists and summer people waiting for the sunset. Jerry looked for and once again didn’t see the green flash from the sun as it sunk below the mountains in the west. Some of the tourists would hang around to watch the early-rising full moon. Jerry talked with a naval aviator who piloted A4s and later Harrier VTOL jets. His young son talked about his time in Germany while his friend described himself as a boat driver. Jerry knew that he didn’t mean PTs or 27-foot Catalinas. The trio was from Georgia.
The mob shifted their positions to the eastern side of the summit after the sun set to watch the early rising full moon. An elderly woman opined to Jerry that the moon was beautiful but that the money spent in space would be better off spent on the Earth. The moon was streaked with clouds. Jerry tried to observe the stellar constellations in spite of the full moon and the light from Bar Harbor, cars and flashlights. A light breeze kept the mosquitoes and black flies at bay as the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia became identifiable.

Amnesty

Aggie and Anatoly were the prime suspects for the Penterglas disappearance. Aggie’s executive order for amnesty to obtain the return of the Requinto rover, rubber-stamped by the council, would, therefore, always be suspect. The Texas homicide defense, he needed killing, didn’t work as well with Texans if the victim was Texan (Penterglas was born in Ohio) and the perps could be foreigners. The appearance of the rover on the Van Horn grade at least confirmed that Melvin hadn’t eloped with a Martian maiden or a mermaid from the caverns. The rover was undamaged [the window had been replaced] and showed no signs of foul play. Tim accepted the rover with thanksgiving – his crew needed the vehicle not Penterglas. A copy of the Robin flight crew’s official report was the primary response to Requinto’s demand for an investigation. Basically, everybody was accounted for so there were no suspects. Scandals involving Requinto in Libya diverted Requinto’s attention and focus on the tar pits and the Penterglas case grew cold. The Requinto employees on Mars had to sue to obtain portions of their salaries. Eventually, Aggie awarded the Martian assets of Requinto to Tim and Lieutenant Tim in compliance with their contracts. The new owners negotiated Requinto’s obligation to the former employees of Requinto on Mars, even though it wasn’t legally their problem. Tims, Inc. felt responsible for the crews and their predicament; there weren’t that many salaried jobs on Mars.

Marriage Councilor

Reggie walked into Norm’s Tavern with Aggie after a trip to the relay station. They could see that Sonja was sitting with Wu and two of the girls. Aggie told Reggie that she’d get the drinks. She returned with three drinks on a tray and dragged Sonja over to Reggie’s table. Reggie’s face froze as Sonja and Aggie sat down. Sonja and Reggie ignored each other as Aggie gave them their synthetic drinks.
“Chablis for the lady and a bourbon and branch water for you,” said Aggie.
Reggie glared at Aggie.
“Well, don’t give me the it’s none of your business look because it is,” she responded.
“Look. Penterglas bought Heidi a drink one night. I thought that I saw Penterglas put something in Heidi’s drink so I took her home when she became ill. Penterglas insisted that he should bring her to the habitat.”
“He must have put something in your drink that night,” she said glancing at Sonja. “There is no other explanation.”
Aggie looked Reggie in the eyes. “I’m sure that Heidi and Sonja had no intention of having a fling with Penterglas and I’m tired of you two sulking around here when you should be together.”
“Where are you two going to find someone else to love after you’ve been married to each other? No, don’t tell me, tell each other.” Aggie grabbed her drink and left the table.
Aggie heard Reggie ask, “How have you been?” as she slowly walked away from the table.

Love Child

Aggie couldn’t handle Bucky’s depression and drinking. Her consultations with Sonja and Reggie were unproductive. She decided to get pregnant and hoped that the baby would be a boy. Two months later Sonja confirmed that she was pregnant. Three months later she named the boy Harlan after Bucky’s grandfather. Bucky’s mood improved after Harlan’s birth, which occurred while Bucky was exploring the Perseus karstic region east of Valles Marineris with Kelly and the remaining Peregrine Falcon crew. The returns from the ground radar indicated that massive caves and liquid water existed throughout the area. Bucky thought that Kelly would dig a tunnel to the caves with her bare hands, her interest was so strong. Kelly brought him out of his funk.

Chapter 47. The green, green grass of Home

Aggi was tired; she wanted to go home. I need to go to the beach.
Bucky was getting more distant every day. He didn’t want to return to Earth and Robin wished to stay on Mars with her father. Aggie would be commander of the MAV and began simulator training using the capability built into the MAV with the Brill crew for the Martian orbital rendezvous part of the flight home. It’s good to be in the pilot’s seat again.
Bucky’s mental state finally required Sonja to talk to Reggie about doing something.
Sonja said, “I think he should be in a mental institute. He’s a danger to himself and Aggie.”
Reggie responded, “He’s not the first astronaut or pilot that was strung out. NASA hasn’t handled depression and mental illness well and I’m not throwing him to the dogs.”
Sonja replied, “I’m recommending that Aggie be selected to return to Earth. Bucky should be returning home in chains.”
Regie finished the conversation saying, “Us pilots take care of our own.”
Bucky ws put in charge of all of the long-range exploration and the new exobiology team. The team’s indulgence in alcoholic beverages was ignored by Reggie who felt obligated to be a designated driver with Bucky. Reggie limited the amount of vodka and home brew that was carried in the rover.

MAVerick, 2014

The MAV ascent module was hoisted onto a rocky ledge after being separated from the Blue Jay. Physical separation would prevent damage to the habitable areas of the Blue Jay during the launch of the MAV. The fuel tanks of the MAV were filled with only enough fuel to allow firing and testing of the engines and other systems. The systems of the MAV, now called the Maverick, were tested and retested. The Maverick and the Brill nuclear tug, circling above in orbit, could accommodate as many as five people and the cargo returning to the Earth. Who would want to leave or if there were more than five, how would those allowed to leave be selected? The MAV would remain in orbit after transferring its passengers to the Brill in the hope that the MAV might be salvageable in the future or be useful for practicing docking maneuvers. The MAV would function as a remote sensor for a few weeks until it was shut down to conserve fuel.

Launch of the Maverick

The MAV accelerated rapidly. An alert light came announcing a yellow caution light on the overhead caution and alert panel. The yellow over temperature caution light was for the left auxiliary engine; then the red alarm with its audio alarm, Red Alert, came on. Aggie reduced the thrust on the auxiliary engines as the left nozzle exploded. Aggie shut down the left engine and its fuel pump, followed by a reduction in the thrust on the right auxiliary engine. The main engine nozzle adjusted the direction of its thrust to compensate for the Maverick’s yaw. They weren’t going anywhere today, thought Aggie. That settles the argument on whether the rocket engine repairs were adequate. The Maverick was heavy with fuel.
Aggie elected to shut down the right auxiliary engine and the Brill pilots agreed. The Maverick slowed down and started to descend. Aggie stabilized the porpoising of the Maverick and descended to ten kilometers above the ground. They would burn off the majority of their fuel before attempting a landing. There was no landing gear – the Maverick would land on its hold-down supports and engines. Joe was communicating with the ground about their intention to land in the prairie area, beyond the outcroppings.
Aggie reduced the thrust from the main engine, deploying the chutes as their descent speed built up. Flaring with the engine, she chopped the engine as the contact light came on. Aggie jettisoned the chute before the Maverick settled into the sand. The Maverick crunched into Mars and fell on its side with a hop caused by a surge from the left auxiliary engine. Aggie cut loose with a catcall. What a rush!
The Grasshopper transported Kelly and two European astronauts to the surface. Two of the Brill crew who wanted to log footsteps on Mars in their logbooks were carried to Yellowstone.The Maverick crew and their cargo were transferred to the Grasshopper after a few days of rest for the crew to recover from the aborted flight. The Grasshopper transported the Brill crew and Aggie to the Brill and returned to Yellowstone Caverns.
Bucky and Robin didn’t return to Earth in 2016 as Bucky had promised. Bucky started to suffer from depression and put in for a divorce from Aggie. The Maverick was put in mothballs and preserved in Beaver Caverns. It was rediscovered four generations of Martians later and a museum was build to display it.

Home, the late great Planet Earth

Bucky was a casualty of Mars exploration but his photograph wasn’t put on Rolfo’s Mars wall. The remaining Lawrence family returned to Earth in 2018 using the Sparrow ERV vehicle. They found a downsized Earth when they returned. Boeing was cut back to 20% of its personnel level in 2010. The Caspian Oil War reduced the Kazakhstan launch site to an enclave, besieged by combatants and civilians alike. India’s war with China and Pakistan deteriorated into artillery and sniper duels in the Himalayan Mountains. A Greek Cypriot assassinated the Turkish president of the European Union while he was addressing the World Trade Organization.
The official leadership of Mars fell on Tim’s shoulders after the Aggie’s departure. His wife Liang assumed the duties of administration. General Zhou, Dr. Heng and a large number of Zhou’s support people were stranded in Hawaii after the Honolulu PlanetFest during the Xinjiang insurrection by Uighur separists. The Hunan avian flu pandemic isolated China but not the pandemic. Only three members of Zhou’s party returned to China. Dr. Heng mothered two girls with General Zhou.

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