Chapter 05: Last Stop

"Attention all personnel," Philip's voice announced loudly over the intercom, "Three hour watch rotation in five minutes. Second shift, report to your posts. I repeat, second shift report to your posts."

I groaned while pushing away from the silver birch tree I'd slept against. The trunk had left a sore spot down my spine, and I arched my back as I pushed my shoulder blades together. Stifling a yawn, I looked toward Sheila. My first officer was also in the process of waking up, rubbing her closed eyes gently with her fingertips. I got up and offered her a hand. When she opened her eyes to see me waiting, Sheila quickly took the offered hand and pulled herself into a standing position.

She smiled sleepily and walked out the door with me. At the end of the corridor, we were forced to part company, releasing hands and each going our own way.

I floated up the non-gravity tube, passing different levels to reach the floor where the central hologram room was located. Touching my boots down on the deck plating, I paused a second while my equilibrium adjusted to having weight again before marching swiftly to the door.

As long as I kept moving and stayed active, my mind and body would continue to function normally, but I knew my usual response to lack of sleep. The instant concentration of the mind was required without physical exertion, exhaustion would ambush me. I'd fallen asleep at computer terminals before, but I couldn't let it happen now, not when we were so close to success.

The round lock on the circular hatch sank inward when the built in sensors detected me. Rotating left, the lock disengaged before the door split down the middle, each half withdrawing into concealed compartments in the walls.

Long strides brought me to my work station in short order. I nodded to Philip, letting him know I had returned. Although he didn't respond, I knew he was aware of me. While his processors were being used to fly the ship, he had full access to the internal sensors, keeping simultaneous watch on the position and status of every last crew member.

I switched on my computer terminal and began a final checklist of everything needing to be done when we arrived at Mars station. I accessed the supply manifest. Even though I knew Philip would've already made sure everything was in readiness, I looked it over anyway. Part of my thoroughness came from my intent to make sure nothing slipped past me, but the rest of it came from wanting to keep busy. If boredom crept in, it'd be much harder to stay awake. I required mental exercise to stay conscious.

I barely held back another yawn, and a glance around the room let me discover those on shift were taking turns fighting off yawns of their own, most were failing. I didn't blame them for being so tired. I'd worked them hard, harder than any crew should ever be required to endure, but they'd held on.

The cost of their high performance was beginning to show. They looked haggard, their eyes heavy, and their movements were sluggish. Reports from the medical officer stated an increase in hostility, but it was to be expected. Lack of sleep made everyone irritable, and the high tension caused by the mission depending on them didn't make for a tranquil work environment.

Refocusing my attention on the manifest displayed in front of me, I looked over the items and visualized where each would be placed within the new colonies.

The original plan called for three initial bases around Jupiter. The first was to be established on Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter's sixty-seven moons. The biggest moon in the entire solar system, Ganymede was an obvious choice for a settlement. With a diameter of over three thousand miles, the moon measured greater than the planet Mercury. Made of mostly rock and ice, the orbiting moon possessed a thin atmosphere. With the right ecological enhancements, the Ganymede colony could be transformed in very short order into a functioning biosphere where humans could thrive.

The second colony to be constructed would be a challenge as it was positioned in Jupiter's atmosphere. Flying upon the winds, the base had to endure the fierce turbulence of the gas giant's constant storms while remaining light enough to stay airborne. Atmospheric turbines, once brought online, would channel a portion of the wind into special generators to provide power to the station's anti-gravity system. The remainder of the air power would flow through specialized conduits. Similar to an aircraft wing, the conduits used the air pressure to help lift the station and keep it in the sky.

Settled on the ground of Jupiter itself, the third colony would be partly subterranean. Half buried in the ice of the gas giant's frozen surface, the station would have a better anchor and be protected from storms. As new sections of the base came online, additional tunnels would be carved in the ice, making room for each needed expansion.

Space Administration had never started three colonies at once before, so this would be another first for the Endurance and its crew. I believed three stations were needed to establish a viable foothold beyond the asteroid belt. If we instituted only one, and something were to damage or destroy it, further colonization missions would have to start completely over. However, if a thriving base was functioning beyond the belt, all major necessities for new colonies could come from it with only minor additions of equipment and personnel needing to be sent by the smaller and more maneuverable transport shuttles or supply rockets.

Packed securely in heavily reinforced storage areas, the Endurance carried enough provisions to build the three Jupiter stations as well as two more at Saturn. Although getting past the asteroid belt was a great challenge no one had yet to conquer, it wasn't the last obstacle we would face before the mission was over.

***

The red sphere of Mars appeared on the central hologram as we cruised toward the planet. The station in high orbit looked similar to a jellyfish. A dome of white metal resided above a host of communication arrays and repair arms hanging down below. It lacked the facilities to service a ship the size of the Endurance, and it would've proven too costly to retrofit the station as we had done at the lunar outpost since our budget had been stretched beyond its limit.

Philip, still plugged into the control console below the hologram, turned the ship around to descend tail first. Firing the engines to negate almost all momentum, the incredibly low rate of speed he attained caused a lack of friction against Mars' atmosphere. No reentry heating or disturbance occurred as the ship glided slowly down to the surface.

I switched over to an external sensor, getting a good look at the Mars colony. I'd seen it when first built, but significant progress had been made since those days. Towers of black steel rose up from the rust colored soil, piercing the sky. Teal lighting illuminated the covered streets and walkways where an abundance of activity went on unabated. The lights on the buildings were a vibrant neon green and cast a tint upon the surrounding landscape. Transport ships came and went, jetting away on the blue flames of their thrusters. Of all the colonies I'd seen, I thought Mars to be the most stunningly beautiful.

The city was truly magnificent to behold, a marvel of technology and design. It stood as a testament to the hard work and dedication of countless thousands. No flags decorated the exterior of the structures as national borders had been eliminated back on Earth ages ago. Space Administration had made certain everyone going on missions for them was loyal to the whole of humanity. Political viewpoints and objectives had divided humanity in years past, and they wanted to be absolutely sure such things wouldn't poison the new beginnings springing up across the solar system. After a few years, nations became obsolete and were remembered only in the historical texts.

Philip landed the Endurance in a combination of billowing smoke from the numerous engines and dust kicked up by the thrusters pushing against the ground. The cloud momentarily blinded my visual scanners, and I was forced to wait a moment for the cloud to clear away. A deep thump sounded, and the Endurance quivered slightly as it settled upon the Martian soil outside the city. Concealed support braces extended from the hull to keep the round vessel from rolling away.

On my display screen, I watched as the massive forms of service robots rolled into position. Carrying the flexible pipes of fuel transfer lines, the colossal robots connected them to the input valves when Philip remotely lifted the protective covers.

"Refueling has commenced," Philip reported. "One hour estimated until completion."

"Thank you, Philip," I replied. I desperately wanted to offer the crew shore leave at the Mars facilities, but time was still an issue. Our perishable supplies needed to be established in a new ecosystem as they could only be supported so long aboard ship. I turned on the intercom. "Attention, crew of the Endurance. We have arrived at Mars. Unfortunately, time constraints require our departure immediately upon refueling. I truly wish it could be otherwise."

I paused momentarily, hating myself for having to ask my people for more after they'd already done so much and worked so very hard.

"The asteroid belt lies ahead," I continued, trying not to sound as uneasy as I felt. Had I been given full resources, the Endurance would have easily passed through the barrier of space rocks, but with our constrained budget, we had to make do with much less. Several systems that were to have additional backups were limited to only one or two. There was no doubt in my mind we'd make it through, but I had my reservations about our effectiveness afterwards. "I know I've pushed hard to get us here so quickly, and you've all risen to the challenge. Stay strong; we are mere steps from victory."

***

Engines ignited, spewing out jets of fire and lifting the Endurance away from the Martian surface. Leaving a trail of smoke behind us, our vessel ascended into the upper atmosphere. Below, the gleaming lights of the colony slowly faded as the distance became too great. Switching my display to an exterior sensor view, I watched the indicators of how far we'd traveled from the planet increase as the digits for our distance to the asteroid belt vanished by an equal proportion.

I didn't know if it was the actual distance, or my strained nerves, but the voyage felt like an eternity. I silently prayed for the protection of my ship and crew.

"Asteroid belt in range," Philip reported calmly. His computerized systems never felt anxiety or worry, and as my stomach quivered nervously, I wished I could be more like him.

Turning a dial on the main holographic terminal, I activated the large hologram in the center of the room. Exactly like the simulations we'd run hundreds of times before, a transparent blue image of the Endurance appeared and hovered over the console. Asteroids were represented in red. As I adjusted the controls to show the asteroid belt in better detail, the size of the Endurance shrank to maintain the proper scale while keeping the ship visible.

The tremendous number of red stones appearing on the hologram made my palms begin to sweat, and I wiped them nervously on the legs of my uniform. It looked like a minefield. Thousands upon thousands of the massive rocks floated in our path. A considerable number of them were mobile, crashing into other asteroids and pushing them into different trajectories.

"Philip," I said, forcing my voice to remain calm and project confidence to the human crew members around me. "Take us through."

"Aye, Captain," Philip replied. Keeping his hand plugged into the console, the synth piloted the ship with his robotic mind, staring unblinking straight ahead.

As the Endurance sped toward the asteroid field with extreme velocity, the miniature stones on the hologram started to race in the direction of the ship. By activating and shutting down various engines across the hull, Philip guided the Endurance through the field. It was incredible the amount of maneuverability he could attain from a ship of this size. He spun and dove, climbed, and swerved, avoiding a great deal of incoming projectiles.

A slight tremor reverberated through the deck plates as one of the rocks glanced off the upper hull. The sheer number of asteroids made it impossible for Philip to miss them all, but he did a fantastic job dodging the majority of them. His reaction times were so fast and precise, I doubted any human could've done as well as Philip did.

Secondary impacts began to shake the ship as we passed through a section of greater density. An alarm indicator began flashing on the board, but before I could investigate, Philip did the unthinkable. A massive asteroid, a quarter of our size, collided with another and came towards us, and Philip turned the Endurance into a direct line with it.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. No time remained to conduct a manual override.

"Brace for impact!" I shouted into the intercom before holding tight against my seat's padded restraints.

A violent collision the like of which I had never experienced hurled everyone against their safety harnesses. Computer controls shorted out in explosions of white hot sparks. The lighting system failed, plunging the room into total darkness except for the hologram and the occasional burst from an overloading computer. The continuous shaking was so bad, I thought for sure the Endurance was coming apart at the seams. I have never felt closer to death than I did at this moment.