Avernus: Book One Page 4

  Before either one knew it an hour had passed. “Come with me,” Sophie muttered staring her partner in the eyes. Instinct kicked in and she stood up and grabbed Diego’s hand. She led him down the hall, lost in the moment of pure ecstacy. The moment the door to her room opened she threw diego on the bed. The door hadn’t even managed to close, as the climbed atop him and leaned in for the most passionate kiss of her life.

  His hands, gripped her her hair and pulled back, forcing a small moan from her mouth. She let her lips grace his one more time before sitting up. His gaze was mesmerizing. Slowly, but deliberately, she gripped the top of her nighty and pulled it down, exposing her breasts to him. His breathes grew shallower. Between her legs, she could tell he was getting excited. This was all the encouragement she need.

  Sophie pressed her hips down into his, and rub against him in slow circles. Hands reached back, and rubbed against her exposed back. Passion grew, and before she knew it, they found themselves, intertwined in bed. His chest covered in scratches, and her hair a mess. They fell asleep briefly only to awaken to return to their escapades. Finally, exhaustion caused Sophie to pass out.

  Waking up to the sound of gentle snoring, Sophie dug the side of her face into the warm body under her. She opened her eyes to see Diego fast asleep. This was a moment she didn’t want to end. His breathing was rhythmic and soothing, his heartbeat faint but steady. Her eyes closed while she took in the moment. We should probably get up now she told herself but not truly believing it. This was where she wanted to stay. Despite her desire to remain in the moment, Sophie lifted herself up and began kissing Diego’s chest. His body shifted under her. Her lips moved along his muscular chest, working their way towards his neck and then on to his lips.

  “Morning,” Diego moaned with a raspy voice.

  “Oh good you’re awake.” Sophie planted another kiss on his lips. “We should probably get cleaned up and go eat before launch.” She climbed out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. The air was cold against her naked body. Stopping in the doorway to glance over her shoulder, she beckoned Diego, “Well are you coming?”

  The surface mission drew closer as the two struggled, in the cramped space provided by the shower walls, to clean the mementos left by their night of passion. Sophie’s mind began to feel the reality behind what was about to happen. This was to be the first human contact on an alien world. Surfaces never before seen through human eyes. Sand painted red by rust, reflecting light from the distant setting Sun. She lost focus. What was I supposed to be doing again, she asked herself attempting to get back on track. Crap that’s right, I haven’t eaten breakfast yet. With the water still running Sophie left Diego to fend for himself, but not before turning and giving him one more passionate kiss. A quick pat down with the towel, was all she needed to get her suit on. Her wet hair left behind beads of moisture glistening on the jumper. As quickly as she’d left the shower, Sophie was out the door to go grab food.

  The excitement was too much for Sophie to handle. A few bites was all she could muster. I’m not really hungry. She looked around the room. I’ll just grab some travel rations for later. The cabinet presented an array of freeze dried and dehydrated snacks. The jerky packs looked the most appetizing. With her pockets full, Sophie scooted off towards the launch bay to await the surface trip with the rest of the crew.

  The launch deck was bustling with activity, as the crew fumbled with their space suits. The wall was lined with lockers filled with multiple suits. Should something happen to one backups were available. Sophie opened the panel with her name on it and removed the neon green suit. The color had been decided as a way to spot each other against the stark red background. NASA’s emblem adorned the front left breast, leaving the rest of the suit to be covered in monitors, knobs, pouches, tool straps, an air supply, carbon scrubber, and a quick escape flap. Sitting on the bench she struggled to slide her feet into the boots. Once completed she was able to squirm the rest of her body in through the neck.

  Captain Summers stood, helmet in hand, near the entrance. “Everyone please begin boarding the lander. We’ll be running systems check and launching in just a few minutes.”

  Despite scanning every face Diego was nowhere to be found. “Aren’t we missing someone?” Sophie asked attempting to appear nonchalant.

  “He decided to stay back for the first trip to make sure everything runs smoothly from up here.”

  Sophie’s face quickly turned to disappointment. “Well if he stays I want to stay too,” she huffed. Her feelings no longer hidden behind the veil.

  Captain Summers turned her back to Sophie, “Everyone on the lander; No exceptions.”

  “Yes Captain.” Her head hung in dejection, Sophie took her seat and buckled up. Without a role in landing the shuttle, she resigned herself to sitting in silence, watching the others click away at the machines. Out of sheer boredom she picked up her helmet, fiddling with its smooth surface. This was the first time she ever really looked at it. The strange oblong shape of the dome with the protective carbon plating around the back. Intricate patterns helped strengthen it structure. Her interest in it waned quickly. Soon enough she found herself dozing off, the sound of clicking buttons fading away.

  Violent tremors tore through Sophie’s body, causing her to awake in a panic. Her hands dug into the arms of her seat, leaving them a ghostly white. For a moment she had forgot where she was. “What the fuck!” She attempted to scream but her words seemed nonexistent amidst the engine roars. It all began coming back to her. Through the front window, the outline of Mars filled her view. It’s surface cloaked in darkness. A sliver of red appeared on the horizon. As the ship continued its journey, the day side took over.

  “Hold on everyone, we’re about to enter Mars’s lower atmosphere,” Carl said. “Once we hit it the ship is going to drop rapidly.”

  Captain Somers jumped in, “That means we need to make sure our suits are working before we start falling.”

  Sophie checked her gauges from the arm of her suit. It had a setting to monitor not only the suit but external conditions as well. Everything seemed good. Like dropping from the top of a roller coaster, the ship began its downward descent. She grabbed her helmet and attempted to put it on. The locking mechanism refused to cooperate. A pair of hands reached around the front of the helmet, twisting it in place. The rumbling sound was gone, replaced by a hissing noise accompanied by a gentle breeze of cold air filling the suit. A chill ran down Sophie’s spine. She shuttered before turning on the speaker system. “Thanks for the assist.”

  “Anytime,” Nova’s voice came back.

  The surface was approaching quickly. The flat plain ground gave way to a pock marked landscape. Mountains and sand dunes took shape. Her sensor showed the temperature inside the ship was rising.

  “Hit the rockets now.” It was Diego’s soothing voice. The ship began to slow as it approached the landing pad, which had been sent down along with the rovers 4 hours prior. The engines threw up a cloud of dust hiding the metal platform. “Looks like you’re right on target. Just a few more meters.”

  Gears whirred and squealed. The hydraulics could be heard pounding away.

  “Landing gear down.” Joseph shouted trying to still yell over the roar of the engines. “No technical failures. The worst part is over.”

  Sophie was pissed. “For the love of God, stop yelling. We can hear you just fine. Well could, now I can’t hear anything.”

  “Sophie I need to be able to hear Joseph.” Captain Somers voice broke in. “If you need to turn off your communicator for now that’s fine. But if something happens one of us will tap your shoulder to let you know to tune back in. Deal?”

  “Yes mam.” Sophie went silent. She listened as the crew shouted back and forth in preparation for landing. How they managed to Make her feel so useless at the moment she wasn’t sure. You’ve got this. They are just doing their job. You’re sleep deprived so everything seems worse than it is. They’re not mad at you. She took a few
deep breaths and tried to enjoy the moment.

  The ship rocked back and forth until finally touching down onto the martian surface. The engine shut off. A huge sigh of relief came from the entire crew. “Nasa we’ve made contact.” Diego was now talking to both Nasa and the Phoenix Crew. “I repeat, the first humans have landed on mars. The new age of man has begun.”

  The entire crew began whooping and hollering, even Sophie found herself feeling swept up in the moment. All her frustration disappeared under the great feat they had accomplished. The pod door opened up onto the surface of the red beast. In the muted light Sophie glanced around expecting to see clouds covering the sky, to her amazement though not a single one was to be seen. She pulled the Camera and land surveyor unit from her pack to snap a few photos.

  “Get one of me jumping.” Trent said leaping past her camera. Busy snapping photos she watched Captain Somers, Rocco, Zea, and Joseph working tirelessly to get the base camp set up.

  “Let’s take the rovers for a spin.” Taylor said breathlessly, running towards the two large vehicles. They sat 100 yards away soaking up sunlight keeping their batteries charged. They sat roughly four feet off the ground, propped up by eight large wheels that appeared to be mesh. Their green metallic bodies glistened in the low light. Both sides of the vehicles had a large door that hinged on a beam at the center of the roof. Large windows decorated the front and sides. She made her way towards the rover yelling, “I call driver,” yet by the time she arrived both driver and passenger seats had been taken.

  “You get next round,” Taylor said, his voice laced with enthusiasm.

  The next hour was spent driving around the nearby dunes and around the edge of the crater. Soft dirt gave way under the tires. It was slow going but still faster than walking.

  “Stop here.” Sophie tried opening the door to no avail. “I need to sample the soil.”

  “Need or want? Because if it’s want we’re not stopping.”

  “It’s need Joseph. Those are stromatolites. I’m sure of it. I’m telling you, there’s bacteria there. Just pull over.”

  “Too late now. I’ve got the throttle all the way down.”

  “Dude, seriously? This is part of my job you know. You’ll have the rest of the day to go play with your toy.”

  “We’ll circle back around.”

  Sophie couldn’t believe her ears. This jackass was taking over.

  Nova interrupted them, “Just stop for her Joseph. She’ll be quick. Won’t you Sophie?”

  “It’s going to take a while to get several samples.”

  Joseph continued pushing the vehicle full speed. “Come on, just do it later. It’s not like the dirt’s going anywhere. There’s nothing for me to do while I wait. No, screw that.”

  “Sophie can’t you just take a quick sample?” Nova’s voice switched to a soft motherly tone. “We’ll even mark it for you so we can come back.”

  “I’ll take whatever time I can get.” Sophie felt hopeful she’d soon be discovering what no one had studied before. Under her breath she muttered to herself, “so sick of these jackasses.” it really was the effects of sleep deprivation getting to her but she didn’t care right now.

  “A Jackass huh. Well in that case,” Joseph turned and started heading away from the crater.

  “Joseph turn back around.” Nova said with a gentle voice.

  “Not after she called me a bastard.”

  Nova’s tone switched from soft to stern and determined. “You two need to get it together. Joseph you’re going to turn around and stop at the edge of the crater. Sophie you’re going to apologize to Joseph and then take a quick sample and get back in. otherwise you two are going to be stuck in the office with me for two hours together.”

  “Fine,” Joseph grumbled as the vehicle abruptly turned back towards the crater. The com sat quiet as the approached the edge once again. “If she doesn’t say it I’m not stopping.”

  “I’m sorry.” Sophie moaned unable to hide her discontent. “You’re a great crew mate and I respect you and what you do. I promise to be quick. Now can we please stop.” On command the vehicle whined to a stop.

  She threw the door open and rushed outside. Should I go deep or shallow, she pondered reaching behind her for the soil sample tool or SST. without hesitation she went for a deep sample. The SST began boring into the soil throwing dust everywhere. The hole disappeared. All measurement of depth would have to be guess work on the budgeted time she had. If she stopped to let the dust settle like she should it would be close to an hour. Within minutes a four foot hole had been bored out. A quick jerk pulled out a long, solid core to be studied later. The sample slid into the metal canister and she screwed down the lid. Only after throwing the sample into the chest did a moment of realization hit her, I can grab a surface sample real quick. A small scoop made easy work of the sample. With the new sample in a separate metal canister she screwed the lid on, headed back to the rover, and jumped in.

  Twenty minutes lost. Real quick.” Joseph sounded pissed but at this point Sophie couldn’t care less. In her hands she held the sign of victory.

  NOVA

  TEAM ASSESSMENT:

  The crew of the Phoenix VII Mission appear to have bonded immensely since the induction of the trip. While Captain Somers remains the leader of the mission overall, individuals have stepped up to take control of individual sub projects. After a month on Mars surface progress is being made. Diego made it down to the surface leaving the ship in the hands of NASA. His hesitancy to join was concerning and appeared to be cause for alarm but was quickly remedied upon seeing Sophie. Some tensions remain between Sophie and Joseph prior to the incident mentioned earlier. The rest of the crew remain in good standing. I have pushed for extended Bonding time via movie and game breaks. Also each crew member is required to meet with me monthly. Joseph appears the most reluctant to meet resulting in short meetings. No cause for worry. Zea has opened up to me revealing a talkative side I haven’t seen till now. Everyone else’s meetings remain routine. (see individual notes)

  Psychological effects from being isolated to small quarters are offset by surface excursions for testing, and data collection. No long term effects appear to have been caused by time spent in stasis.

  “Nova, were heading out in five.” Carl’s voice broke her train of thought.

  “I’ll be there in just a minute.” Nova shut her tablet down. Is it really that late already? The women’s bunk room seemed even more stark than any room aboard the Phoenix VII. Four beds lined the walls. Underneath each cot laid a bag of clothes, some overflowing with clothes that seemed to dwarf the space inside the bag, some opened with folded laundry neatly set inside. Nova’s was of the latter type. She found a clean space equated to a clear mind. From out in the common room the familiar hiss of the airlock sounded. The crews heading out. Guess I need to get out there. Wandering through the habitat, an uneasiness swept over Nova. it happened every time the place sat empty. An eerie silence surrounded her. No clanking metal, or engines from the ship. Not a single bird chirping, nor leaves rustling. The absolute quiet was unnerving. Her heartbeat echoed out. In that moment the air scrubber kicked on, a welcome noise to be sure.

  Nova shuffled off to the airlock to find her exo suit waiting. A few minutes of squirming and the body portion was on. She fastened the helmet and watched the glass fog up. The air system made fast work of it. She entered the airlock and wandered out to the surface of Mars once again.

  She stepped onto the same soft red dirt, and her feet sunk in just like every other time before. The faint red sky above her no longer had the same luster it had when she first looked upon it. In the distance, mountains toward over the landscape, but now were just another piece of dirt along the horizon. When she arrived it was like being a child exploring the stories of a book. Everything was new and exciting. That had all passed on, leaving her feeling like it was no major ordeal to be standing on another planet. “I need to come up with a way for us all to regain our awe of
the situation.”

  “What was that?” Carl asked.

  “Oh sorry I was talking to myself.”

  A few short steps and she was at the bright green rover with its doors opened skyward, awaiting the crew. The massive windows allowed her to easily peer at all of the flashing control inside. It’s massive mesh wheels designed to mold around rocks always made it a struggle for her to climb into the vehicle with her short stature but even that had just become a regular part of her day. “Where’s everyone else?”

  Carl sat in the driver’s seat awaiting her presence. “A few went on ahead and the rest are testing samples in the lab.”

  “Probably shouldn’t keep them waiting then.” Nova leapt into the open rover with ease, and closed the door. “What are we waiting for?”

  Nothing,” he said kicking the vehicle into gear. “This one’s gonna be a long one. We’re heading into the crater.” The gear let out a grinding noise as Carl attempted to shift.

  Nova removed her helmet and took a deep breath. “Don’t need this for a while then. Ah, recycled air. Come on Carl join me. No sense in trying to drive for an hour with that on.” He slowed the vehicle down and removed his helmet revealing his caked down blonde hair peeking out from the head sock.

  “Okay let’s go.” The vehicle resumed gliding along the sand. “You know I can’t believe God created something this amazing and we’re only just getting to enjoy it.”

  “Well hopefully we’re the first of many. It’s a big planet with lots to tell. Think we’ll find any life out there?”

  “I don’t think life exists outside of Earth. God created life specifically for Earth.”