Avernus: Book One Page 2

  Snow covered roads slowed Taylor’s travel home. The extra twenty minutes it added onto the commute stretched on forever. The anticipation of bringing this up to Megan both excited and terrified him. Growing up in different states, he never truly grew attached to any one place. The same could not be said for Megan whose entire life was spent in Denver. Her closeness with her family and their inclusion of him was integral to their way of life. He pulled into the driveway, snapping out of the endless thought void brought on by the long drive.

  Upon entering the house Megan’s voice greeted him. “Hey Darling. I hope you don’t mind. I ate without you.”

  Crap, Taylor thought, there goes the whole telling her over dinner plan.

  Megan continued talking seemingly oblivious to her boyfriend entering the room. “I just ate leftovers. I think there might be some chicken in the fridge. Three minutes in the microwave oughta cover it.”

  Taylor placed his arms over her shoulders, brushing the hair away from her neck. He leaned in caressing her skin with his lips. Her body wavered under his kiss. She turned her head and pulled Taylor’s lips up to meet hers. “How was work, hun?” she said pulling the head set from her ears.

  Taylor took off his jacket and tossed it across the room. “It was pretty much just like every day. Class went smooth, one of the mice escaped, and I didn’t get any lab work done. Oh and Frank stopped by the school.”

  “Frank? Is Frank one of your old lab workers?” Her nonchalant tone revealed how long it had been since Frank had come to visit.

  “He’s my childhood friend. We lived on the same street as kids. I swear I told you about him.”

  “Doesn’t sound familiar.”

  “You know, the story of how I broke my arm as a kid when we were playing destruction derby with our bikes?”

  “Nope, not ringing any bells.”

  “The guy who went to work for NASA?”

  “Oh, Frank Bruner.”

  “Yeah, that one.” The nervousness returned once the purpose of talking to Frank returned to the forefront of his thoughts.

  “What brought him up from Florida?”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” He fidgeted suddenly unable to find a comfortable way in which to hold his hands. “He offered me the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to travel.”

  “Do you mean as an Astronaut? You would be going into space?” Her countenance changed as the idea hit her.

  “Yeah. Not just space but a chance to be one of the first men….” He hesitated, unable to believe what he was about to say. “On Mars.”

  Megan flew out of her seat, throwing her arms around him screaming with joy.

  “The only issue is we would have to move to Florida while I get trained.”

  “Well that doesn’t sound so bad.” She squeezed Taylor in her arms. Her reassuring voice calming his nerves. “So tell me about the mission. What do they want you to do?”

  “I was asked to study potential life on Mars. In order to do that NASA has decided to send us to set up a space station in orbit around the planet. Apparently we’ll be using that as a place to study the planet in real time from space and travel to and from the surface.”

  The conversation drifted on for hours. Before long, Taylor found himself laying in bed, Megan next to him. Taylor glanced out the window at the rising sun. Realizing they had talked all night. He felt as energized as a child awaiting Christmas morning unable to sleep. He turned on his side and stared at Megan. He was ready. Ring or no ring there was no better moment than this. The two of them connected, joined in agreement. “Megan.” He spoke up breaking the only silence that night had held. “I know I’m not prepared for this but, with us moving to Florida… and with us being together for four years….” He sat up in bed, placed her hand between his. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me?” He couldn’t believe how surprisingly calm he felt despite the slight hesitation.

  Taylor watched Megan’s big golden eyes fill up with tears. “Of course I will,” she squealed with excitement.

  Taylor saw a bright future ahead of him. Within a year he would be married and flying off to his place in the history books as a leader in the future of scientific advancement. And soon he would no longer be just a professor.

  ZEA

  Today, training for the Phoenix VII mission would officially commence. Zea’s night had been long and sleepless, instead filled with Internet surfing and early morning reruns of TV shows from the 20’s. The oldies always intrigued her more than modern programing. She reveled in their campiness and originality. Being born at the end of the decade she had missed it completely. It helped pass the time. Pure adrenaline born from excitement flowed through her veins turning two hours of sleep into eight. Nothing could maintain her interest at this point. Early is better than on time she thought to herself heading out to her car. In her excitement she dropped her keys. A penny sat heads up next to her keys. “Looks like it’s my lucky day,” she said, picking up the penny along with her keys.

  Warm air blew in through the open car windows carrying along the scent of the ocean, A reminder that the training was more than just a dream. Zea loved this smell. Being from Montana she rarely got the experience of coastal life, until now. Her brown locks whipped around in a frenzy but rather than tie it up she allowed it to move freely. Thoughts of a world with no people crept through her mind watching the endless empty road ahead. Images of a barren city easily imagined. The clouds glowed ruby and golden orange above the rising sun. this drive was the only time her new home state ever felt at rest. It was a drive she would take daily from now on. Zea decided to capture the moment. Pulling up to the first security gate she stopped short and reached for her phone to record this moment. She spoke to the camera “Beginning of a long adventure,” aiming the device towards the NASA Building ahead of her. The phone awaited her order to share it with the world, a moment that would become a part of history upon her return to Earth. The message sent into cyberspace, Zea jumped in her car and continued past the raised security arm.

  A reserved parking spot sat right in front of the building she would spend most of her time in. Security ran heavy along the exterior of the building. Being a curious soul, Zea drove around the facility. Her wide eyes took in every detail of the large buildings. She drove along reaching the entrance that led to the infamous launch pad of Cape Canaveral. The gate was locked up but she knew her time was coming. Looking at her clock she realized the time for the meeting was almost upon her. She turned around and returned to the main facility.

  Once inside Zea was led down a long hallway lined with images of the past. The entire history of the space program sprawled across the walls. The further she traveled the more progress was made toward the ultimate goal of mastering the universe. Buzz Aldrin, And Neil Armstrong stood on the surface of the moon. Sally Ride, the first female American astronaut. Scott Kelly aboard the ISS in orbit. Phoenix II and the first humans to travel beyond the Moon’s orbit and return. For the first time she felt truly humbled to be counted amongst her heroes.

  Zea reached a conference room sitting at the end of the hall. Frank addressed her directly. “Morning Zea, have some breakfast and take a seat. We’re just waiting on a few more people.”

  Two people stood next to the breakfast bar dressed in uniform discussing what could only be some previous military encounter. Attempting not to interrupt their apparent bonding time, Zea crept past them towards the breakfast burritos, but the two left their discussion on hold to greet her. The Woman stretched out an open hand. “Captain Addison Somers, I’ll be the Captain of this mission.”

  Zea met the hand with hesitation. Looking away she uttered softly, “I’m Zea Charbonneau.”

  “Lovely name. And this man next to me is General Rocco Blanche. We’ve known each other for what, seven years now?”

  “Sounds about right,” Rocco replied. He stood tall and confident like a puppet being held up on strings. A short tight military cut gave him that tough battle
ready look. “Glad to have you on the team Zea.”

  “Thank you both” she said her voice quaking.

  “It’s alright to be nervous. Do you like cats?” Captain Somers Pulled a wallet out of her pants. She opened it, revealing a picture of a black and white cat sitting on top of an orange cat. The lower one’s mouth agape in panic and legs blurry from moving during the shot. The top one staring at the ceiling. “These are my baby’s Astro and Sam.”

  Zea found herself unable to contain the laughter. A small snort squeezed out triggering a chain reaction of laughter. Feeling out of control she quickly reigned it in and caught her breath. “They’re adorable,” she said over belated breaths.

  “Thanks I love them dearly. I’m sitting along the back table if you want to sit next to me. And feel free to call me Addison. No need for formalities.”

  “Ok.” Zea finished grabbing breakfast and headed to the table. She looked around the room getting a feel for the people she would be with for the next several years, when Addison came and sat down next to her.

  “Let me introduce the others to you. Sitting at the table on your left you have Joseph Cullen, he’s one of the geniuses who helped design the Phoenix VII.”

  Joseph looked up at Zea, “Nice to meet you.” His gaze returned to his phone.

  Addison continued on, “And sitting at the table on the right you’ve got Trent Blaum.”

  “Math Wizard Blaum thank you very much,” Trent chuckled.

  “And I’m Hugh Jass,” the man next to him quipped.

  “Shut up Taylor,” the girl with straight jet black hair interrupted. “Just ignore these two. They’re harmless really. His name is Taylor Mantin, and I’m Sophie. I’m a planetary geologist. Come sit next to me.” She pushed Taylor forcing him to move over.

  “I appreciate it but would it be alright if I stayed here?”

  “Sure.” Sophie went back to chatting with the two guys.

  Zea began poking at her breakfast in front of her while she flipped through the packets on the table. As she was glimpsing over the mission safety detail, in walked the lady responsible for her psych eval, Nova Lenus. Her dark skin and fit build were unmistakable.

  Nova waved at the group. “Hi everyone. Good to see you all again.” Despite being the shortest crew member she carried herself with such grace and confidence. Under her left arm she bore a stack of files. she gestured at the seat next to Zea. “Mind if I sit here?”

  “All yours.” Zea slid her plate back in front of her to make room for Nova’s papers.

  Frank’s voice interrupted their conversation. “Ah perfect Nova’s here. and it looks like our last two folks just arrived. Come on in Diego, Carl. Everyone this is Diego Ramone our IT guy and Programmer for this mission. And this gentleman is Carl Weiss an Atmospheric Scientist. Have a seat so we can get started.” upon everyone settling down he continued. “Welcome to NASA. As was mentioned in the packets I gave you, in 2024 NASA discovered what we believed to be a chance of life on Mars. This information has been kept secret along with the mission we are preparing to send you on.”

  Zea’s attention drifted in and out as she listened to Frank drone on. She couldn’t take him seriously. His shirt was half tucked into his baggy oversized khakis pants, with a mustard stain on the front. The little hair he had on his head stuck up everywhere.

  “Finally finished building a specialized space station that you will be setting into orbit around Mars. Think of it as a working research station and port for travel down to the surface.”

  Zea began doodling on the pages around her in an attempt to kill the boredom. She already new all of this. Between the first meeting, debriefings, and forms she had to sign this was the seventh time this info had been relayed to her.

  “You’ll be traveling aboard the Phoenix VII, a detachable ship that will be used to carry the Mars Orbital Station and return you guys to earth. During the flight out and back you will each have a personal stasis pod to make the journey easier.”

  The meeting seemed to never end. Zea took notes while still keeping an eye on the clock. Eventually the hand reached 5 p.m. and the day was over. But she found that the slowness with which the day passed didn’t apply to the rest of the training. Days flew by. She grew closer and closer with the crew.

  Underwater simulations became her favorite days. It felt like being in space with less danger. Zea adjusted quickly to the different ways to work with tools and move inside the space suit. These days were followed by emergency simulations. They seemed to have thought of everything from running low on food to half the ship being torn asunder by space debris.

  As if without notice, the day of the shuttle launch had finally arrived. The crew prepared themselves in their rooms on base. Zea walked through her morning preparations, Florence and the Machine playing in the background. She danced around the room to the fluid beat of the music. Each time the chorus came on she would stop to sing along. A knock came at the door.

  Addison stood outside, “Ready to go?”

  Zea looked out the door to see the rest of the crew waiting by the van. “Sorry I got a bit distracted.” She turned off the speakers and grabbed her phone. As she walked out the door a man walked in and grabbed her bags. “Okay let’s go.” She headed over to join everyone else. “Oh shit, I forgot my ring on the sink.” Zea ran back into her room. She searched high and low with no luck. The bedding flew threw the air as she shook it around hoping it would drop out. She ran into the bathroom and scoured the cabinet. Still no luck. Panic overwhelmed her. The only thought she could hold onto was that she had lost her mother’s ring. It was the only thing she took after her mother passed away. She retracted all of her steps getting more and more angry at herself, yet she couldn’t remember the last time the ring had been on her finger.

  Addison walked into the door. “You alright?”

  “No I can’t find my mom’s ring.”

  “What did it look like?”

  “It’s silver with a ruby on it. My and my mother’s birthstone.” She continued to look under every piece of furniture. “I hope it’s not still at my house.”

  “This one,” Addison said holding up the ring.

  “Oh my God! Thank you.” She wrapped her arms around her, tears filling her eyes.

  “Let’s get going,” Addison said patting Zea’s back. Zea followed addison over and they loaded into the van.

  The ride was loud. Excitement flowed through the van. The atmosphere was electric. It felt like a trip to Disneyland as a child. They could see the shuttle sitting on the launch pad and the crowd on the far side of the lake watching the countdown clock. She had never seen so many people gathered in one place, not even outside a sporting event. The brilliant sun reflected off the calm lake. It’s glass like surface free from any imperfections. Seagulls calling overhead landing amongst the crowd in hopes of dropped food.

  The van pulled up to the launch building, letting the soon to be astronauts out. The crew headed inside with Zea following closely behind. Once inside the waiting room each crew member put on their space suits. Their cumbersome nature made walking difficult and unseemly. Moving around required shifting several extra pounds. Once everyone was suited up Frank came in to give one final pep talk.

  “Today you are preparing to venture further than any human before you. Every move you make will be watched with wide eyes by children and adults alike. Stay focused on your goal and remember your mission. You are a family first and foremost. Take care of each other. Don’t forget you could very well be the first humans to see life outside our planet. You are the future. You are our journey forward. Good luck.”

  Zea walked out and headed through the maze leading to a metal bridge connecting to the shuttle. The craft was the size of a bus with two large engines attached to each wing. The wings loomed large over the platform at four times the size of the ship’s length. The Gen Space’s logo had been plastered all across the body. It had become common knowledge that NASA no longer built the crafts but
looked to private corporations to produce them.

  Zea headed to her seat inside the ship and buckled up. The G force simulator had made her throw up the first five times but she quickly found her self adjusting. She hoped that the actual launch wouldn’t get to her. She closed her eyes.

  Franks voice came over the speaker phone, “Launch in t-minus ten minutes. Phoenix VII crew please check in.”

  Zea pressed her button, eyes still shut tight.

  “Everyone’s set. Check systems and make sure all programs are running for self launch.”

  “Systems check out,” Joseph’s voice said.

  The ship began to shake. A loud roaring filled the cockpit deafening Zea. She could barely make out Frank’s voice.

  “Ignition. Launch in ten…nine…eight…seven…six..”

  Zea felt the seat shaking her entire body. Her vice grip hold onto the seat managed to gain strength.

  “Three…two…one…lift off.”

  The seat absorbed Zea’s body as gravity attempted to hold her down to Earth. Her head felt like a brick unable to move. As the speed rose her vision began to blur. The left side of the ship began to jerk violently.

  Addison shouted out, “NASA we have a problem. The left engine is coming loose.”

  “Hang on tight, it should hold up.” Frank reassured the crew.

  A creaking sound echoed throughout the room. Bolts whined under the stress. A loud cracking sound hits Zea’s ears. The entire ship jerked to the left.

  Rocco screamed over the roar of the remaining engines, “Our leftmost engine just detached early, everyone hold on tight. Ground control, we have a problem.”

  “It’ll be okay. They other three engines should have enough power to get you out of the atmosphere. Actually the fourth engine should be attaching right about…” A series of pops signaled the engine release. “And there we go. Should be smooth sailing from here.”

  The engine noise died away. Zea breathed a sigh of relief but had forgotten that the second set of engines would be kicking in. This time it was as if a bomb had gone off within the cockpit. The ship belted forward.