Chapter 29

MSDF Naha, April 6, 2163
Aft Bomb Bay

It was early, probably about 0400 UCT (Universal Coordinated Time) Alan put on his underwear, a one piece that was popular 250 years ago. As he dressed, Pandora sadly helped him with his environment suit. She kissed the skin that disappeared inside the environment suit. She didn’t ask him not to go; she knew why he had to go. “You will come back, won’t you?”

“Yes, just don’t shoot me down.”

“Did I tell you that I loved you?” asked Pandora.

“No. Remind me how it goes.”

She put her lips close to his ear and in a husky voice whispered, “One hundred twenty eight.”

Alan gently licked her earlobe and whispered, “Forty four.” They kissed long and deep until a marine knocked on Pandora’s door.

“Admiral, it’s go time.”

“Be right there,” said Alan and they kissed again, then Alan floated to the door with Pandora on his tail. They headed back to the bomb bay and put their helmets on. Pandora wore a skintight short term environment suit, and they kissed one more time before they put their helmets on.

Finally suited up, they entered the bomb bay cat walks and walked past the forward bomb bay that contained a rotary launcher with twelve long range air to ground drones. They entered the aft bomb bay and there were what looked like two large fuel pods. Both pods opened all along their length and they were filled with padding. “One twenty eight,” he said loudly.

“Forty four,” Pandora replied on the radio and they tapped their helmets together.

Two marines got in their pod and Alan joined them. The Marine up by the nose was armed with two machine pistols. The marine in the middle section had a belt fed shot gun. Alan got in the aft section and all he had was a large Eastern Bloc knife that he’s been carrying for years. It was the knife used to kill Lieutenant Commander Risto Pärn in Saturn’s orbit, the same type of knife they tortured him with on Venus Prime. The other pod was filled with three Marines, who carried the same weapons as Alan’s crew except the Marine in the aft compartment carried a nasty looking mini rifle. The six men connected their environment suits to the breeching pods with air and water hoses, then settled in to get as comfortable as possible and the pods were closed.

Without ceremony, they sealed the bomb bay and Pandora floated to the Bridge. She drifted over to the weapons operator’s section and looked over his shoulder. The status for both pods came up green and Pandora said, “Let them go.”

The weapons controller pressed a button and the doors of the aft bomb bay swung open and a pod dropped out, followed by the other pod. They looked like discarded fuel tanks, the normal flotsam and jetsam found around a planet. Then the Naha struggled for altitude and resumed her location at Lagrange Two.

MSDF Peake, April 6, 2163 Approaching Mars

Carl White, chief field engineer and co-designer of this mission, strapped in with Roy Bridges and Charlie Bassett. It was time.

Big Berserker 4 had been decelerating for weeks, fifty N-52 engines roaring as the moonlet neared Mars. The orbital speed it got off of Saturn practically threw Saturn CXLII toward Mars, they just had to break the gravitational hold on Saturn CXLII and it became Big Berserker 4, and their job was to slow it down. It was inevitable now, Mars was going to put on a few extra pounds in the form of 30 billion tons of frozen water. Chemical analysis showed that this was the good stuff. You could take a chunk of Saturn CXLII and melt it, then run it through a coffee filter to catch the dust that makes up most of the matter in space, and then drink the melted ice. It was the closest that Martians will ever come to drinking spring water in their lives. (Earthlings too, for that matter)

“How we looking Charlie?” asked Carl.

“We are dead on the money.”

Gene Cernan joined the group and strapped in. Gene has known Alan Scarlett the longest. He was the Admiral’s plane captain back when Alan was a lieutenant and they stuck together. Now he’s Alan’s technical representative on the mission team. “Aeronautical warnings?” asked Gene.

“We’ve been broadcasting an airspace advisory for three days now,” said Charlie Bassett. The last thing they want to do was hit a ship as they brought Big Berserker 4 home.

“Let’s do it,” said Gene as the event countdown clock closed in on 0:00.

“You’re good for throttle up,” said Roy.

Unaware of the threat that waited for them, mission controller Charlie Basset ran the fifty engines up to 200% thrust, decelerating Big Berserker 4 as Mars’ gravity reached out to the ice moon.

Lake Jezero MSDF Base, April 6, 2163 Martian Self Defense Force Command Post

Eris Carmine-Rodriguez looked at her hangar. It used to be her workshop, but it has been enlarged three times in the past month. It was filled with volunteers who somehow heard that a stealth bomber was inbound and if their fliers don’t stop it, the ship may aim its tungsten rods at Perseverance. “This may not be the smart place to be,” called Eris. “We have thirty billion tons of ice being delivered today.”