Shuttle to Mars

Part 2 of the Theia: the Lost Star series

Coffee mug in hand, Kahlberg exited his stateroom and crossed the hallway to the elevators. The doors opened and three off-duty engineers stepped out.

"Second Floor: Living Quarters." The synthetic female voice said from the elevator.

One of the men acknowledged him with a nod, "Captain."

"Gentlemen." Kahlberg returned the nod as they passed.

He stepped inside the elevator and pressed the button for the bridge. He adjusted his coat as the elevator drifted upwards. No doubt Courtland will have already informed Clark and Kinsington of the new mission, the man never could keep a secret.

"Captain on the bridge." Courtland announced. Everybody was on their feet by the time Kahlberg entered the large, crescent-shaped room. All eyes were focused on him as he addressed the crowd.

"Project Typhon has reached out to the EAP and requested the assistance of the Stardiver and her fine crew." He looked around the room as the senior members of the crew frowned and groaned.

"Typhon won't tell the us what they want unless its in person," Kahlberg continued, Helmsman Kinsington, please take us to Mars."

"Aye, Captain." The helmsman's hands flew over his controls and Stardiver's thrusters ignited for the first time in weeks. "Alright old girl, its time to get back to work."

Lieutennant Courtland tried to remain positive, as usual. "At least we've got another job, even if it is for Typhon."

"Yeah, just fantastic. This way, if Typhon blasts us out of the sky with some secret surface-to-orbit laser, we won't have to worry about jobs, fuel, or money." Lieutennant Holly Clarke said. She glared at Courtland. "Think of the money we'll save if we end up in a mass grave. If we're lucky, they might even build a new research facility on us!"

"Oh stop, Holly. You're so dramatic. They probably just want us to murder a couple thousand people. What's the worst the can happen?"

"I just said the worst that thing could happen." she said, unappreciative of his hyperbole. She turned away from him and began punching coordinates to Mars into her terminal. "Course is set."

"Course received, ma'am. Initiating." said Kinsington from his terminal. He waited until Stardiver finished turning towards Mars before initiating full thrust. "Alright, time to hurry up and wait, I suppose." he added with a smile.

Kinsington was right, so Kahlberg retired to his stateroom, hoping for at least a few uninterrupted hours of rest.

They had to travel .8 AU from Venus to Mars. In the old times, back when space travel was brand new, humanity decided the distance from the Earth to the Sun would be equal to one 'Astronomical Unit.' Since then, the AU had become the standard measurement for space travel, even with the advent of partial and full light speed options. He thought it seemed a bit self-important to use the measurement from Earth to the Sun and not something more relative. He doubted aliens - should humanity ever encounter them - would understand the significance of such a measurement.

--

"One hour to destination: Mars Orbit" Valkyrie chimed overhead. Kahlberg shifted in his chair on the bridge. He wondered what kind of deal Typhon would attempt to make with him, though the fact that it was EAP-sanctioned meant that it had to fall within certain guidelines or he could refuse the mission. He held on to that bit of reassurance, since he and most other EAP members new what Typhon was actually capable of if left unchecked.

An hour later, they were ready.

"Lieutennant Courtland, comms please."

"Go ahead, sir."

"This is Captain Kahlberg. Raines and Miss Campbell will accompany me to the Typhon facility to engage in negotiations," he said. "If we're not back in twelve hours, come get us." Kahlberg set the bridge display to the coordinates of the Project Typhon research center with a countdown clock above it and then went back down the elevator towards the shuttle bay. He didn't mean to sound so grim, but it was better to be prepared.

"Specialist Campbell and Ensign Raines, report to shuttle bay one for immediate deployment." Valkyrie's voice chimed throughout the ship.

As much as he disliked Typhon, Kahlberg wasn't convinced this was a trap. There was nothing they could gain from capturing him. Maybe before the Stardiver had been discharged from the EAP there would be value in ransoming him, but not anymore. He did not have to wait in the shuttle bay for long before he saw Campbell and Raines jogging towards him.

Vincent Raines was a large, rugged man. His beard was short and accented his strong jawline. His left arm was badly burned years ago; so much so that it had to be amputated and replaced with a prosthetic. Raines always said that the original synthflesh prosthetic "wasn't foolin' nobody," so he had the arm recast in a lightweight alloy. Raines threw smart salute as he got near. "Captain."

Aleah Campbell looked like a ghost. She had pale skin and long white hair tied back into a ponytail. As an ESPer, she had the gift of being able to read and influence the energies of subspace. The gemmed bronze tiara she wore helped focus her powers. Knowing ESPers were generally feared and misunderstood by people, Kahlberg always made an effort to be open-minded when dealing with her. She fell in line next to Raines and gave a nod, "Sir."

They were both outfitted for a planetside operation, each wore a light tacvest over a black flexweave shirt and pants. Raines had his sidearm in his hip. Aleah carried no firearm, but wore a bronze armlet on each arm above the elbow.

Kahlberg ushered the pair into the small craft and stepped inside. The shuttle's hatch sealed behind them with a hiss. The boarding lights turned off and the inside of the craft was dimly lit with track lights on the floor and ceiling. There were four seats on either side of the aisle and two more in the cockpit. With just the three of them and the pilot inside, the shuttle felt spacious. He sat down and buckled his safety harness.

Aleah buckled in next to him at the portside window and stared through the glass. Raines sprawled out on the seats across the aisle from her. "What's this about negotiating with Typhon?" he asked, "Who did they kidnap this time?"

Kahlberg nodded to Raines, acknowledging his question, "We're ready, take us down." he announced to the pilot.

"Understood sir, inputting coordinates now." said the pilot.

"Approach vector: Malisa Region. Estimated time of arrival: Two minutes." Valkyrie warned.

The shuttle jerked as the taxi rail moved it toward to launch doors.

Kahlberg turned back to Raines, "EAP-sanctioned." he lead with the good news and saw Raines' face light up. Everybody knew EAP jobs were the best. "Typhon wants us to run an errand. They wouldn't say more than that."

Aleah turned from the window with a quizzical look on her face, "Well, that's frustrating."

"Captain, we don't think this is a setup do we? All I got is this little peashooter." Raines patted the sidearm at his hip.

"I don't think so, Ensign, not this time. The feed they sent seemed ominous, even by Typhon standards." The answer seemed to satisfy them both for the moment.

"Thrusters: Online. Inertial dampeners: Online. Life support: Online. -" Valkyrie rambled off a list of systems diagnostics.

"'Life support: Online.' Raines said, mimicking the computerized female voice. "See, that's the big one."

"You say that every time." Aleah rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, you don't wanna . . ." Raines made a choking gesture, then went limp in his chair, letting out a dramatic gasp and closing his eyes. After a pause, he opened one eye and looked at her, "Ya know?"

"Pretty sure inertial dampeners are equally important unless you want the four of us to end up as a pile of bloody paste." She countered.

". . . All systems nominal. Initiating drop sequence."

Even though he had done thousands of drops, Kahlberg still found the experience exhilarating. The jolt of the shuttle being kicked out of the ship. The weightlessness of space. The burst of momentum when the shuttle's thrusters engaged. The contrast between open space and Mars' terraformed atmosphere.

Once the shuttle touched down at the Malisa region drop zone, the pilot redirected the craft to the Typhon facility.

"Coordinates received: Malisa Region, Project Typhon Research Office." Valkyrie said.

"Most of them will live and die here while never leaving the surface." Aleah spoke without looking from the window, there was pity in her voice.

Kahlberg followed her gaze out over the red wasteland. In the distance, a group of men shuffled in and out of a quarrying pit. Some were carrying power tools, others were directing excavation drones, all of them looked filthy and exhausted.

"They sold their rights to Typhon. Their grandparents took a leap to give their children a better life, and their 'big dream' barely lasted two generations." said Raines, sitting up. The Mars conflict was a sore topic for most EAP marines, but Raines was especially bitter.

Her stare broke from the window and she shifted to face Raines across the room. "What would you have them do? They were mice, scurrying around on the surface while hawks and snakes fought over them. Their dream was taken from them before it had a chance."

Kahlberg had no desire to get involved in their argument, but her comment still wounded him. Before he could speak, Raines was at it again.

"Maybe if their grandparents didn't get too big for their britches and try to screw over somebody like Typhon, they wouldn't be a bunch of dirt farmers today. Fast cycle, eh? The grandparents started as dirt farmers on Earth, the parents had it nice for a decade or two, and now the kids are dirt farmers again."

Aleah looked to boil over with rage for a split second, but spun to look out the window once more. Kahlberg saw them argue a hundred times before, it was almost a pre-op ritual at this point. Personally, he didn't fault the spacers, but he was annoyed that they got the EAP involved only to surrender a few years after. His wife would still be alive if the EAP hadn't assigned him to Mars. He would still have his daughter.

The rest of the trip was in silence, but the tension in the air lessened. Kahlberg knew Aleah couldn't hold onto any strong emotions for more than a couple minutes at a time because it was especially draining for her. He needed her to be ready for the worst, though he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Valkyrie broke the silence, "Malisa Region - Typhon Research Offices. Personnel prepare to disembark."

The pilot parked the shuttle at the end of a long stone walkway, sending up a cloud of red dust. As the landing ramp was lowered, several armed guards came into view. They stood unmoving even in the hot, gritty wind that blasted across the surface. Their reflective black helmets and long rust-colored jackets gave them a featureless, alien look.

Kahlberg, Raines, and Aleah walked down the landing ramp, where the Typhon security officers were waiting to escort them in.

"One thing you can always count on from Typhon is a warm welcome." Raines remarked.