Transit Station
12 Days of Fiction 2019, Day 8
“Is everything ready, Colonel?”
“Yes, the transfer shuttle to the surface is ready. And don’t call me Colonel, I retired.”
“Aw, Dad, we all know you like it.”
“Yes we do.”
Down below, Mars shines red as usual. But the surface already shows patches of blue and green. The oxygen-producing bacteria are doing their job, and the atmosphere is just two years from being ready. The two main cities, One and Two, however, still have domes.
“Can you imagine,” the Colonel says, “when all of this was a project?”
Solidarity spins lazily above the planet, creating a virtual gravity closer to that of Mars than Earth’s, in order to help colonists better adapt to their new habitat. Two people and a dog enter the shuttle, carrying a couple of boxes. The ship back door closes and locks in place.
“Not really, Dad,” his daughter Shauna says. “That was a long time ago.” Her son cooed, and Rover barked. “Ha, back then space suits for mothers and babies, or even for dogs, were unthinkable.”
“Hm. Rover is going to like it down there. They say they’ve already got fully grown trees.”
“We have trees up here in Solidarity, Dad. Down there it’s easier.”
“I know.”
“Colonel?”
“Yes, Ibrahim?”
“The platform is clear. We need your go-ahead, sir.”
“Ibrahim, son, you all calling me Colonel is enough. Can the sir or I’ll resign, OK?”
“Yes, si… yes!”
“Nile, Chang here. You can go.”
“Chang, Nile. Acknowledged.”
The station arm disengages, and the ship fires its rockets for a second, just enough to let it drift away from the platform. As soon as it abandons the station, it starts manoeuvering. To the people aboard Solidarity, it looks as if the planet and the shuttle counter-spin. To many it is dizzying.
Shuttle Nile continues down until it is but a dot, cut against the dark patch of land below. The dome of Two sparkles for a second as a sunbeam glints off its surface.
“It is beautiful,” Shauna says.
“Yes it is,” Ibrahim answers.
“I’m going inside,” the Colonel adds. “Stay as long as you want, you two. Come, Rover.”
Rover woofs.
This is my entry for Day 8 of my 12 Days of Fiction 2019.
