Earth Mars Love (The Marsikons)

Chapter 2

Marcus was one push of the button away from changing his life and the life of the Marsikons forever. His finger was hovering over said button and he swallowed hard, hoping that he and his friends would come back home alive. In order to save Mars, they needed to go to Earth to get supplies for their latest invention. He replayed in his mind their plan and the shiver run down his body under the spacesuit. In theory, the plan was simple. Reach the Earth, find the woman, and ask for help contacting the President of the USA. But now he was facing the reality: one tiny movement and they could end as dust in the vast expanse of the galaxy.

Marcus, with two best friends, Kosmas and Darius, were in the cockpit of the sleek and shiny space ship. Through the panoramic window he saw the highest mountain in the known universe, Olympus and nothing resembled the landing pad. It was cloaked, and no one could tell, that inside of the mountain was hidden the Marsikon' base with the most advanced technique and equipment in the known world. Their ship was also cloaked, so no one should see them flying away. Not Earthling, and not their enemies, the Martians.

Marcus reverted his gaze to the monitors and tightened his hand on the yoke, feeling his palm grew clammy under a glove. Everything was working as it should. The wind was acceptable for their mission. It was a beautiful day, with no storms. Two moons, Phobos and Deimos, were clearly visible. They stood vigil, like two sentries who saw off their rescue party.

This trip to Earth was the first one after several thousands of years. The three of them had been preparing for it for years now, and no one knew how it would go. The newest fuel, which they'd developed, wasn't tested yet in open space. Everything was very speculative. He'd heard once that earthlings had a genre of fiction called "speculative." Well for him, this wasn't fiction. This was life and death.

Yes, they'd run tests in labs, but still, it was fifty-fifty. Either they would reach the Earth or die trying. But without this trip and supplies, which they would get on the Earth, Mars was doomed.

They were wearing full gear, complete with transparent helmets. But still, Marcus could feel the tension coming from the other two. Darius was always quick to spill a joke in any situation, and had a laid-back attitude, while Kos remained quiet and unshakable. Feeling tension from both of them was a bit unnerving. He would give up everything to hear some of Darius's dark jokes right now. Maybe for the last time in his life.

Marcus gripped the yoke harder and slowly relaxed his fingers. His other hand was still hovering over the red button. Pushing it will change all their lives, for better or worse.

Willing himself to relax, he exhaled and said, "Okay, brothers, we were waiting for this trip for all of our lives..."

"Cut the shit," Darius interrupted him in a clipped voice, "Let's just do this. Push the button already."

Kosmas grunted his affirmation.

Marcus chuckled without humor under his breath and pushed the button.

The only vestiges of the fuel they managed to make for this mission reached the powerful engines, and unimaginable power shoved them through the vast expanse of outer space.

Just as he pushed it, all sounds ceased to exist. His ears popped with eerie silence and his body was pressed in the seat like it wanted to swallow him whole. They've trained a lot for this flight, tested themselves on specially built machines to get used to the overloads, but what he felt right then, was indescribable. Maybe an egg felt like that when it was falling on the frying pan but a million times faster. It was like his insides and outsides were smashed all around the ship. His brain turned to mush, his face almost peeled from the scalp.