Jupiter's Reef Read Free

odd at first that they weren’t sending instructions to Diver , but she realized that they probably knew the ship’s com was powered down. She heard Tharsis say they were tracking the ship’s locator beacon and mentioned it to Alex.
    Alex smiled. “Thanks for the ray of hope.”
    Mary watched the landscape loom before them, but she guessed they were still at least five kilometers up because she could count very few craters. Below that altitude all the craters became visible, and unless some man-made structure could be seen it was nearly impossible to get a sense of scale.
    “I’m guessing we’re still about five clicks up,” she said.
    “Four point six,” said Alex. “Not bad.”
    He was forcing himself to be as positive as possible, but time was running out and by his reckoning they were only a minute from touchdown.
    “Computer,” he said. “Speed up power cell initialization!”
    There was no response; only the whine of stabilization thrusters.
    “Dingers,” said Alex.
    The edge of the polar snow field passed quickly below them. Ancient criss-cross dunes of carbon dioxide and water ice were all they could see. Alex groaned in frustration. There was nothing he could do but keep the ship’s nose up as he watched the ground get closer.
    “Strap in tight, my love,” said Alex.
    A tall white dune was first to try and grab the tiny ship but Diver exploded through it and the ship bounced away from the ground.
    A loud roar burst from under the ship, and Alex felt his stomach churn as if they were falling. Before them, a spray of white crystals filled the air.
    Alex braced for the inevitable impact and looked at Mary. She was looking at him and smiling.
    “I love you too,” she said.
    But the impact didn’t come immediately. He looked back at the screen and saw that they were still climbing, and the roar behind them continued along with the feeling of weightlessness.
    Then he noticed that every light on the dash panel was lit.
    “FULL POWER RESTORED,” said the computer.
    Alex and Mary were dumfounded. The ship had bounced off a huge dune as the power came back. The roar Alex heard was Diver ’s main drive engines coming to life, and the sense of falling was caused by their Null-Gee field.
    The ship continued to rise away from the snow field as Alex, in disbelief, examined the controls. “Computer,” he shouted. “Damage report!”
    “FORWARD SKID PLATE HAS MISALIGNED TWO DEGREES.”.
    “Can we use it to land safely?”
    “UNKNOWN,” said the emotionless voice.
    Alex and Mary’s jaws hung open in wonder. “Computer ...” said Alex. “Any other problems I should know about?”
    “POWER CELL 14 IS AT 90% AND SHOULD BE REPLACED OR REPAIRED ... COURSE CORRECTION REQUIRED ... COURSE UNKNOWN.”.”
    Alex was glad to see the inky sky of Mars through the cockpit windows again. He unstrapped his harness and reached out to Mary. She took his hand eagerly. “Where should we go?” he asked.
    “If we’re damaged ... I guess Earth will have to wait,” she said.
    Alex asked the computer to locate and set a course for the nearest base. And in a few seconds the computer announced its choice.
    “ISIDIS SPACEPORT,” it said. “ESTIMATED ARRIVAL ... SEVEN MINUTES AT FULL POWER.”
    “Make it so,” ordered Alex, winking at Mary.
    “Well, aren’t we getting cocky, Jean Luc?” she said, grinning back at him.
    Alex laughed. “I used to watch those old shows over and over, back on Io. But that was before I met you.”
    “We’d better radio Tharsis to tell them we’re okay,” said Mary.
    “I thought you already did that,” replied Alex. “But ... okay. They should hear it from me.”
    After contacting the base and calling off the rescue ships, Alex announced they would be seeking emergency landing assistance at Isidis.
    Recalling that it was a need for repairs that brought them to Mars, Alex laughed. “I’m really getting the mechanic’s tour of Mars,” he said.
    Diver continued to streak through