The Attempt (The Martian Manifesto Book 1) Read Free Page B

everyone should have a spacesuit for contingencies,” Sam stated, not believing she was having this conversation.
    Brother Jacobs stared at Sam with his grey eyes wide as he said, “The cosmic intelligence will see to us. We are ‘The Called.’ We shall endure. Do not worry, Pilot Tuttle.”
    Sam realized her mouth had begun to hang open, and she closed it. She looked back at the person who had asked the question. “Well, there’s your answer. Just follow any directions the Commander and I give, and for God’s sake, don’t any of you unbuckle your seat belts or crane your necks gawking at the scenery when we’re in orbit.”
    “God will have nothing to do with it, Pilot Tuttle,” said Brother Jacobs. “Now go to your flight station. We are ready to leave.”
    Sam couldn’t believe this guy had just dismissed her. Sure, he was funding this flight, but Sam couldn’t believe the gall of the man! She reached behind her back and slid the door to the flight deck open. She turned, walked through the door, slid the door shut, and plopped into the right-hand seat.
    Roy turned to look at his second in command. Sam was leaning on her hand, which was covering her forehead, and her eyes were closed. “Hey, Partner, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Our guests got you spooked?”
    “You’re not going to believe this one. Only three of our passengers have spacesuits and have gone through any sort of training. The rest have no idea about what going into space will be like! Did anyone tell you this when we picked up this assignment at the last minute?”
    “You’re joking, right?” Roy said. “You know, this is no time to be pulling my leg.”
    “Well, we should be pulling out of this mission, if you ask me. How are we going to survive with these people for six months?”
    Roy thought this over for a minute in silence. Then he turned to Sam. “You want to give up your one chance to get to Mars? NASA can only send four people every two years, and that’s if they’re lucky and their funding isn’t pulled. And if the guys up there at Burroughs Base have an accident, who knows when flights might resume. We’ll both be old and grey before we have any chance beyond this one.” Roy put his hand on his partner’s shoulder. “Look, I know this sucks, but it’s MARS! I’d give my left nut, hell my right one too, to go. And I know you’d feel the same way if you were likewise equipped.”
    Sam looked up with a sigh. “Yeah, you’re right; let’s get the checklist started. But, you know, however this works out, this is going to make one heck of a story for the historians.”
    # # #
    Roy turned on the cabin speaker. The flight up to 50,000 feet had gone off smoothly. The ponderous jet overhead had hauled the Pegasus up without a hitch, and they were now flying at close to Mach 1, the speed of sound.
    “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Commander Olstein. We have reached our initial cruising altitude. You will now feel the ship drop as we are released by the mother ship. Please do not be alarmed. You will then feel a big push as our scramjets kick in. On your overhead monitor you can follow our progress. When it shows that we’ve reached Mach 4, or four times the speed of sound, you will feel a tremendous jolt. That is our hyperjets taking over.  You are the first ever passengers to fly using hyperjet technology, and that is because we need the extra boost it provides in order to have enough fuel to escape Earth orbit. The hyperjets will take us to about half the speed needed to reach orbit, and will then detach and robotically fly back to Spaceport America. After it detaches, we will continue to orbit via rocket propulsion. Please be ready for the drop, and God speed.”
    “Um, Roy, you probably shouldn’t have said ‘God speed.’ They already chastised me once for invoking the Almighty.”
    “Samantha, there are no atheists in foxholes and rocket ships,” Roy responded. He then switched his communications radio