18
Departure
The Elysium’s engines flared alive as an orange-tinged bluish flame erupted from the bottom of the shuttle. A cloud of dust shot to the side. The flames steadied for two seconds, then grew in intensity, lifting the shuttle into the air. The flame extended even further until it was just touching the ground as the shuttle rose to the height of one hundred meters. The Elysium tilted toward the east and rose rapidly into the sky.
Will sat behind the controls of a ranger, watching the liftoff. Roger was in the bridge serving as mission control; as a geologist, Will was not trained to do that task. Three vehicles stood ready in case the shuttle developed trouble.
He watched it shrink until it was a bright spot against the pinkish sky. He turned to a picture on the ranger’s right screen; the Outpost’s long-range telescopic camera gave a magnificent close up, and two satellites in orbit were photographing the vehicle continuously as well. He pushed a button to watch one of them, but it was a very small image.
“Vehicles stand down,” announced Roger. The shuttle had now gotten so high that an accident would bring it down over a hundred kilometers away and at a speed that nothing would survive. Only a minute had passed. Will deactivated its systems—leaving the key in the ignition—and opened the hatch he was still docked to so that he could return to the Outpost.
He walked through Habitat 1 and the tunnel to the Geology Building, and from there to Renfrew. Everyone except Roger and Érico—who was also in the bridge—sat and watched the launch on the video screen hanging on the wall.
“You just missed MECO,” said Ethel. Marshall sat on her lap watching the launch, but he had no idea what it meant.
“Already?” Will glanced at his watch. But almost six minutes had passed. Main engine cutoff was scheduled to occur after 5 minutes, 50 seconds.
“You’re looking good, Elysium,” exclaimed Roger.
“We copy. Delta vee was nominal,” replied Pavel, who was captain. Jerry had already taken the Apollonaris to orbit the sol before and was closing on Embarcadero Station, which consisted of the ITVs Syrtis, Noachis, and Cimmerium, which had been flying around Mars for the last year and a half.
“So, we’ve got 90 minutes to the elliptical orbit insertion,” said Madhu.
“I feel a sense of loss,” exclaimed Rosa Stroger. She looked at Neal; he took her hand.
“The departure of a Columbus mission to Earth always is sad,” agreed Will. “Friends are leaving. More than that: the only way for us to go back to Earth is leaving as well, and the window won’t open again for twenty-six months.”
“It’s a bit frightening,” agreed Rosa. “Not that we want to leave. I love running the reactors, now I’m trained to work on shuttles as well, and Neal enjoys the geology.”
Madhu looked around the room. “There are now seventeen people on Mars; fifteen adults and two children. Five couples.”
“Or six, sort of,” replied Lisa, looking at Karol. He smiled back.
“So, is there a wedding in the air?” asked Madhu.
Lisa shrugged. “Who knows.”
“Watch out; the majority of single woman who have come to Mars have gotten married here,” commented Will.
“So; nine months before Columbus 4 arrives,” said Eve. “This used to be a time of rest.”
“It still will be,” replied Will. “There are short-term expeditions planned, but no long-term ones. Without any exobiologists, we won’t be doing much work with fossils. We’ve got to focus on our second building because the increase in Columbus 4 makes up for the loss of Paul and Monika. We’ll have thirty-three adults here next summer.”
“We’ll be pretty busy,” agreed Lal.
Will looked at the tiny image of the Elysium, taken from an orbital camera. “Shall we get started?” he suggested.
The others nodded. One by one they rose and headed to their work.