New Hope: Book 1
18

The flight in the moon vehicle, which was new to Ellie, turned out to be quite fun. Compared to the class of vehicles New Hope belonged to, the cabin was larger and more ergonomically designed - almost like an express train or a modern jet plane. The efficient nuclear drive made it possible to move at tremendous speeds considering the existing conditions, and it didn’t require taking large amounts of fuel on board. In traditional carrier rockets, fuel took a major share of the entire craft’s mass, which limited the passengers’ comfort and what they could take on board. Here, this problem had been solved and four passengers could fit relatively comfortably in the cabin. In older classes of spacecraft, only half this number of people could travel somewhat comfortably.

“Ellie, Lieutenant, Sergeant,” said Julius from the main pilot’s seat, touching several windows and buttons on the haptic desk, “we’re approaching our landing site. We’ll sit down here.” The captain pointed to a spot on the map displayed by the three-dimensional holoprojector - another modern comfort and technological breakthrough, which two of the passengers had come to know over the last few months.

“Why here?” Ellie asked with interest from the second chair in the first row by the control console, although she was not the second pilot on this mission. Despite her skills in piloting various crafts, the one she was currently in slightly exceeded her scope of competencies. I have to take a few piloting lessons as soon as we return to the complex. Looking at Julius, I reckon piloting this vehicle must be quite a treat, she thought.

“How does this location differ from the others? Isn’t it better to land right by our target?” asked lieutenant Lassiter.

“No, lieutenant,” said the pilot. “It’s pitch black in the crater, and the high walls limit radio communication. It’s better to land outside the crater, at its edges,” he explained. “Otherwise, if we encounter any problems, we won’t be able to call for help unless the right satellite is directly above us. I don’t think I have to explain the mechanics of orbital flights to you, sir?” asked Julius. He looked at the lieutenant, who looked back with interest. “Eh, alright then,” he began. “Satellites move around orbit at high speeds so, long story short, they don’t fall onto the surface of the body they’re circling. That’s the first cosmic velocity. The cosmic projectile must be given the right minimum velocity to move sufficiently quickly in a direction that is parallel to the surface of the body being circled so that it doesn’t fall onto it,” he said in the simplest way he could. “This means that when we’re inside the crater, for any satellite to make contact with us, it will have to fly directly over our heads - the line of sight,” he explained using terminology that would be more familiar to the lieutenant.

“Understood. Please continue,” said the lieutenant.

“All this means that the passing of such a satellite will be very short and won’t take place more frequently than once every half hour or so. Outside these time frames, we wouldn’t be able to contact anybody,” said the astronaut.

“And we don’t want to be cut off from the world whilst in an alien, radiation-flooded installation,” joked Ellie.

“What about the satellites that sit in the sky without moving?” asked the sergeant from the back seat. “Can’t we point the antenna toward this satellite and contact it? Wouldn’t that be easier? Like satellite TV on Earth?”

“That’s not possible, I’m afraid,” said Ellie, taking over, “The crater is so deep that we won’t be able to see any geostationary satellites. These installations always move above the planet’s or moon’s equator, flying at an angular velocity identical to the angular velocity of the spinning globe,” she said, “and the right equatorial orbit is under the edge of the crater, so no line of sight.”

“I understand now,” replied the lieutenant. “If we park the vehicle at the edge of the crater in a way that it’s visible from the alien installation, we’ll be able to contact a geostationary satellite, and call home from there if need be,” he said smiling, clearly satisfied by coming to this conclusion almost entirely on his own.

“Exactly,” said Julius with an equally broad smile on his face. “You’re smart! I’m serious. Orbital mechanics is not that easy. It’s bread and butter for us, but we’ve been training it for years. Ellie even did her doctorate in this field so she’s the one to turn to with any more serious questions,” Julius praised Ellie and winked at her.

“Right now, I’m glad that I’m not piloting this vehicle,” replied the lieutenant. “My job is much easier, for sure: aim, fire. That’s all the mechanics involved here,” he said to the delight of the sergeant.

He paused for a moment. “Of course, I have other skills, too, and I hope it won’t be necessary to pull the trigger on this mission. Right, Sergeant?” asked Lassiter.

“Yes, lieutenant, sir. Our role is to avoid conflict as much as possible and look for peaceful solutions,” recited the soldier, not too pleased that shooting was only allowed as a last resort. “Though sometimes it’s fun to chase off the enemy,” he joked but stopped as soon as he saw the cold look of the lieutenant. “Erm, yes,” he said.

After a bit spent in silence and focus, Julius said to them all:

“Alright, prepare for landing. We’re 30 miles from the landing zone. At our speed, we’ll be there in less than 2 minutes. Make sure your seat belts are fastened well and your seats are in the upright position. Shut your helmets and turn on internal air circulations. Course correct, no signs of loss of control,” said Julius, glancing at his colleague and smiling slightly.

Ellie executed the command; she shut her helmet and unscrewed the air valve. “Deja vu, Captain?”

The Moon’s surface was getting closer and the velocity indicator with respect to the landing zone was counting down to zero at a fast rate. Height was also decreasing, though it was much faster than in the case of the unfortunate landing of the old pod.

“Let’s hope not. My arm’s just stopped hurting me at night. I don’t think I could mentally survive another emergency landing,” he said. The vehicle finally stopped several meters above the surface and then started to lower slowly, preparing for landing.

“Landing in three... two... one...” They heard the sound of metal cutting through the ground and feel delicate vibrations. “We’re here!” said the captain to the rest of the crew, outright joyful. “Time is short. Even here on the edge of the crater, the radiation is starting to increase. I suggest we get to our mission’s objective right away.

“Of course, Captain,” replied agent Lassiter. “The suits we’re wearing have a reinforced anti-radiation cover which will give us 8 hours of protection before we start to cook like pets in a microwave,” he said.

“What a wonderful image,” said Ellie,

That’s why I referred to it,” said the lieutenant, “so nobody thinks about getting lost or exposed to radiation for longer than necessary.

The lieutenant pointed to the plastic tag attached to the wrist of the suit’s sleeves. “When the plate goes red, you need to stop whatever you’re doing and get back to the vehicle. If you stay out on the surface too long, it’ll go black, and then we’ve got a serious problem,” he explained.

“What does black mean?” asked Ellie, suspecting the answer.

’“Microwave,” winked the lieutenant, then he went on to pack the needed devices. “Let’s not test it on our own skins.”

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