Columbus Two
Three shuttles land with eight new personnel. One shuttle went to Phobos first. Will and Ethel meet Madhu for the first time. Roger is anxious to get outside and explore; Sebastian is anxious to follow the mission plan closely. Will asks Érico about Phobos. Madhu, Monika, and Armando ask Shinji to show them the horticultural, exobiological, and medical facilities they will be running. At the banquet, Will rings the Outpost’s bell and begins the transition of command to Sebastian Langlais.
Date: April 16, 2023
Habitat 3, a greenhouse, two solar power units, and a few other things are set up in three weeks. Ethel talks to Paul, who gives her control over the metal and plastic making facilities so he can concentrate on the Prospectors. But Shinji feels unneeded. Will clashes with Roger over exploration priorities; Will wants to go up-canyon but Roger wants to head north to the ancient sea bottom and the north polar terrains. Shinji and Will confront Sebastian over the issue of their getting respect because of seniority. Sebastian agrees that Shinji should be a co-equal exobiologist to Monika, but Will loses his argument about exploration priorities
Date: mid April through early May, 2023
The automated cargo vehicles aerobrake into orbit and two shuttles flew up to pick up the cargo. They set up the rest of the Outpost. Then they met to plan their first expedition. Will agreed to the northern route, but argued for some new techniques that would speed up exploration. Everyone agreed to try them, one by one. Sebastian asked the men what they would do but told Ethel what she would do, which irritated her.
Date: mid to late May, 2023
The first expedition sets out to the northeast toward Chryse. They explore a crater. Roger is collecting samples Madhu can use in her art work; the rest of them agree to do the same. Roger and Érico clash over politics. They talk about the development of the moon versus Mars. Érico cautiously talks about his background. Carmen is obviously sweet on him and is surprised when he says he could stay three cycles. Roger wants to go home, but admits that staying keeps the family together.
Date: early June, 2023
Will and Roger fly home after five weeks of exploring. Will will stay six weeks (it ends up being eight, however). Roger and Madhu have moved to a new apartment on the upper level of Hab 2. Will and Ethel discuss Sebastian’s fastidiousness and his drive to concentrate everything on exploration. Will takes an extra toothpaste tube and that evening Sebastian complains. Over supper they all discuss the launch of the Swift Shuttle, which takes eight tonnes to orbit at a time for $1,000 per kilo. Tourism to LEO will boom; it is projected to start on the moon in a few years.
Date: early to mid July, 2023
Sebastian and Roger fly north to the expedition. Will and Ethel look at the sunwing hanger’s construction and decide to propose a duricrete geology facility that could be pressurized. When Sebastian finds out, he grudgingly approves it, if they get their regular work done. Madhu, Armando, and Carmen agree to help to get the building finished in seven weeks, before Sebastian returns.
Date: mid July, 2023
When Sebastian and Roger return, the shell of the building is complete. Sebastian gets a tour and docks Will and Ethel two weeks vacation for building a pressurizable building rather than a quick and simple outdoor building. He orders them to the expedition on Monsol. Sunsol morning, Will, Ethel, Armando, Roger, Madhu, and Carmen all go outside to work on their day off to finish the building. Seeing their determination and defiance of his approach, Sebastian comes out to help as well and relents.
Date: early Sept., 2023
Will and Ethel arrive at the expedition, which includes Paul, Monika, Érico, and Carmen. Paul and Monika stay at Castle Rock to run the driller while the other four push the route northward. Érico and Carmen clearly are in love and both are seriously thinking about staying. So are Roger and Madhu. The four of them talk about generating a stronger media presence and Sebastian agrees to it. The expedition will continue until conjunction (in three and a half months).
Date: early Sept., 2023 (Sept. 6 at one point)
The expedition encounters its first buried ice at 64 degrees north. Lassen tries to get Will and Ethel to return to Earth with Columbus 2, partly because Will’s so good on television. They politely refuse. The ESA and Sebastian get involved as well. Robert Clarke, head of the Mars Exploration Society, calls and asks Will to consider replacing him. Will recommends that Heather Kimball be asked instead, and she accepts. The expedition reaches 73 north and cliffs of permanent ice. They plan to head east to Borealis Chasma, then back to the Outpost.
Date: Oct. 15-Nov. 18, 2023
The expedition returns to the
Outpost from the north polar terrains. Sebastian calls a conference the next
day to plan the next year or so. They agree to explore southward until dust
storm season begins, then explore westward toward Noctis Labyrinthus. If the
storm gets bad, they’ll make short trips from the Outpost only. Paul, Monika,
Érico, Carmen, Roger, and Madhu all agree they want to stay; only Sebastian,
Armando, and Shinji plan to leave.
Date: late Nov. 2023
During conjunction, the crew stays close to the Outpost, exploring Little Colorado Canyon; building and maintaining a water storage facility; assembling airlocks for the Geology Building. Sebastian announces that the French have decided to send three, the US four, the other Europeans 2, and that a third Ihab is being added Columbus 3 to fly as many as 14 to Mars.
Date: late Dec. 2023-early Jan. 2024
Will and five others prepare to depart from the Outpost. In a month or so, they reach the mouth of Nirgal Vallis and explored up the valley, then continued toward Argyre. A sudden failure of a seal at 5 a.m. depressurizes van 1; they scramble and get out in time. The expedition decides to continue south.
Date: early-mid Feb. 2024
Will returns from the Argyre expedition, stays a month, then joins the Marineris expedition. It returns to the Outpost four weeks before blastoff and five weeks before TEI. Ethel’s feeling funny. She checks with Shinji and finds she is pregnant; she’s been taking four year old birth control pills. She and Will decide to keep the baby and videomail their parents, then tell Sebastian.
Date: early July, 2024
14. Test Uploaded May 26, 2004
They tell NASA, then the rest of the Outpost. Will can’t sleep and goes to a greenhouse to pray. Ethel awakes depressed and goes to Sebastian, whom she insists helping in order to bring normalcy to her life. Ethel sees Carmen crying and finds out that Érico wants to back out of the wedding. Will goes and talks to him about it. After the failure of a shuttle test, three days later, Érico agrees to the wedding.
Date: early-mid July, 2024
15. Wedding Uploaded May 26, 2004
Érico and Carmen get married.
Date: about August 8, 2024