Up above the world so high

Prologue

“The Great Leap”_ Expedition to Mars

Day 0

I remember when I was five, my dad and I would walk by the Mitushi lake every year as we visited our hometown for the Christmas holidays. He would hold my hand tightly in his as I would point towards the brightest star in the sky and say, “ One day I will fly to that star, daddy.”

“And what will you do up there, beetle?” He would ask, amused.

“I will wave at you. And then you can wave back.” 

“And what else will you do?” 

“I will build my house and travel in my spaceship.”

“But what if you get a little lonely there?”

“Then I will make a home for all of us. For mommy and you and Grandpa and then we can all live there.” 

And he would smile at me, and continue walking as I would run beside him to keep up with his long strides.

Chapter 1

Sandra

I locked my door and got into my snipper. With a muffled groan, it came to life. The snipper was a small electric car, the size of an antique foxy. Since the Sun had approached the Earth, closing the distance to approximately 110 million km, scientists had declared it dangerous to be exposed to the direct Sun rays. We still had means for utilizing the Sun rays  for agriculture and powerplants, but for the most part, life had been limited to underground tunnels and basements. No more soaking the Sun on the beaches.

 I parked in front of the glass doors of the colossal NASA building. Today was the day, when life would change forever. For me, and if all went well, for everybody on Earth.

I am Sandra Luke, a twenty nine year old space scientist. For the past twenty five years, scientists from all over the world have been working at NASA for the Great Leap, the expedition to colonize Mars in our final attempts to decelerate, if not discontinue, the eradication of human race from the solar system. But all our efforts seem futile at this point. There have been a total of 25 expeditions over the past 15 years, but all of the 105 spacemen disappeared mysteriously, leading to the only probable conclusion: there were no survivors. 

Everything  started out perfectly, the astronauts got successful in inhabiting Mars, building the first human colony in outer space. The initial reports were all positive; yes the weather was harsh, with the temperatures dropping to minus Celsius at night, and the dry winds characteristic of Martian climate blowing during the day. But they had been trained to shield themselves from it, they were the strongest, most unassailable men from 13 different countries. But one by one, the radios went silent. And the satellites showed the sorry image of a deserted Martian colony, silent like a graveyard.

“Sandra!” Harry exclaimed upon seeing me. “You’re here already, I thought you were supposed to come at 10?”

“ Harry I wanted to talk to you before I- I volunteered.”

                                                                                              * * * * * * * * * * * *

Harry was conducting the Great Leap this year. He was not only the sharpest brain on the team, but also my best friend, almost like a brother. I had known him for over ten years now. Harry was a safe space, always had been, and I could tell him anything and everything. So I understood now why he was mad at me for keeping this all to myself.

“You’re not going Sandra, I’m the leader of this expedition, and I have given you my decision.”

“You know it won’t be up to you if I get the vote of confidence, Harry, and we both know I’m the best member on your team,” I smiled meekly in an attempt to alleviate the tension.

“But why would you choose this, Sandra! It is self destruction.” Harry was so upset, and I hated seeing him this way. I stood up and wrapped my arms around his strong waist. He pulled me against his chest tightly, protectively.

“I have to go Harry, someone has to go. And what have I got to lose? These lives, these precious lives cannot be lost just like that. I want to protect them.  And is that not what we all are fighting for? Protecting lives?”

Harry wrapped his arms even more tightly around me.

“We’ll do this together Harry. We’re always a team. You and I, we’re the indestructibles remember?” Harry chuckled at the name he’d given us when we both had managed to escape the wave of food poisoning that had affected almost the entire staff at Yeiben, the spaceport where we had both started our careers.

Harry pulled away finally, holding my hand gently in his enormous hands.

“Are you sure of this Sandra?” He asked, even though he knew I was, probably hoping that I would change my mind. Hope, the most hopeless thing in the world.

“I-,” 

“Good morning Harry.” Adrian interrupted whatever I was going to say. And I was glad for the interruption, because honestly, I had nothing to say to make it better for Harry.

“Good morning Adrian. Are the others here?” Harry asked as Adrian and I acknowledged each other with a nod.

“Yes, they’re all here.” Adrian’s voice rang with authority. He was indeed the best choice for the mission commander.

“Then tell them to gather in the conference room. We’ll begin in ten minutes.”

With one last painful glance at me, Harry was out of the room. I knew this was the last strand of vulnerability I had seen from him for the day. This is why I loved Harry, he was strong, like daddy, like me.