Mars Underneath The Sceptre of Eternity

Cosmo Fighters

"Get ready guys; we have to land within few hours." Captain Azora; the chief Cosmo-fighter of the Centurion space craft alerted her colleagues. Her colleagues took their positions in their respective sleeping capsules; the spacecraft would land on the Red Planet very soon.

As a Cosmo-Fighter, Azora had ten years of experience; though the Earth Council hardly encourages fighting against aliens, but today's mission was completely different. They were looking for two missing space scientists; two Geologists who disappeared mysteriously twenty years ago. However; their families have successfully convinced the Ministry, especially the newly elected Premier for sending a search mission for those two missing lovers.

A Few weeks ago, Azora got a mail from the Earth Council that she and five of her colleagues had to visit the Tharsis South settlement from Ceres Space station. Ceres was a small planet like asteroid situated in the asteroid belt and here Earth had a space station for sending quick relief to other outer planetary settlements on Mars and Galilean moons. Cosmo-Fighters were no real fighters. Since the Earth Council had decided not to invade alien settlements and only make colonies in deserted parts of the habitable or terra-formed planets; Cosmo-Fighters had lost the real importance of their jobs. They were recruited only for sending quick relief to the scientists in distress.

In these ten years, Azora had realised that life in space was no fun; they had to live on a restricted diet and follow many odd things. Though she had not had a good life in her home planet and she had nothing else to lose in the space, not even her name; but still she missed the Earth.

After checking all of her colleagues in their respective sleeping capsules; Azora switched on the 'hibernation mode'; her colleagues would sleep deeply during the landing and it would help in reducing oxygen consumption. She left the 'habitable compartment' of the space craft and got down to the floor below by a step-ladder, and walked towards the control room. Azora entered the control room and sat in the pilot's seat. She touched a green button and a screen appeared in the air; Space Commander Garry's chiselled face appeared on the screen. She looked at his dark brown eyes and declared "Centurion calling Earth; twelve hours to land; over."

Space Commander Garry replied; "Earth calling Centurion; switch on the automatic lander within twenty second."

"Nineteen, Eighteen.......Twelve..." countdown began. Azora pushed a ball gear type thing on the right side of her chair. Another screen appeared in the air; a mechanical female voice declared "Thank you; Automatic lander has started; please put the exact landing time and coordinates."

Azora touched the white keyboard placed on the controller's desk. She typed the word 'Tharsis South' as the destination point and its coordinates were automatically put into the place. It revealed that eleven hours, forty nine minutes were left in her hand to land. Another instruction came on the screen; "The Pilot was requested to communicate to the Tharsis South; before taking her position in the sleeping capsule."

"Earth calling Centurion;" Space Commander Garry said; "Communicate now; Over."

"Centurion calling Earth; trying to communicate; over." She replied. She looked through the second screen in which the red planet was showing visibly brighter and redder than ever before. She zoomed the image and it showed her a red dot indicating 'Tharsis South'; a settlement with three permanently stationed scientists and ten young trainees. She looked at the basic data of the settlement and tried to call the captain of the camp.

"Centurion calling Mars; Tharsis South reply back; over." She called.

"Mars calling Centurion; Mars calling Centurion, Captain Vézian Moore from Tharsis South. The landing site is clear; over." A man's voiced echoed.