Constellations

We are finally here and some old friends are joining us

It has been six months since you left for Mars and you are making sure that everything is secure for the belly flop entry maneuver. You are helping Cassidy with some of the science equipment. There is a lot of excited but nervous chatter. It's mostly about the belly flop entry maneuver.

"That's all commander," She double-checks her list. You are glad that everyone is helping. Ten minutes later you are back in the cockpit. You are all running through various checklists. You are hoping for a smooth landing but your hopes are shattered. Roman's screen turns red.

"We have a problem with the circuits of the landing computer. I'm going to fix it," Roman gets up.

"You have two minutes," You respond. Hopefully, he can do it. Kelsey takes Roman's seat so he can make sure that the problem is fixed. You have your hand over the manual guidance button just in case.

"I found the issue but I'm going to need another two minutes to fix it," Roman remarks through the comms. You switch to manual guidance.

"You have a minute and thirty seconds," you respond. You get to work on making sure the rocket is on course.

"Sorry Lilly but you are going to have to risk injury to me," He responds. Dang, it. You can feel the Gs pile on as the spaceship starts the maneuver. You hope Roman will be ok. After five painful minutes, the Starship has landed.

"I'm going to make sure Roman is ok," You quickly unstrap yourself but it feels weird being in a place with gravity after spending six months in Zero-G. You carefully make your way down to the electronics bay. Thankfully Roman is awake however he is clutching his shoulder.

"I got the thing fixed but I think I dislocated my shoulder," He is cheerful despite his injury. A minute later you are joined by Ivan and Kelsey. Ivan passes some painkillers and something to bite down on.

"What's this for?" He is confused.

"Do you want to cry like a baby?" Ivan teases him.

"Hey, Kelsey how far are we away from the cargo ships?" You decide to get the details while Ivan is making sure that Roman will be ok.

"The nav charts only say a couple of meters from the landing site. So we should be fine," Kelsey gives the report. At least you won't have to worry about supplies for a while. You hear a moan from Roman which means Ivan has finished. A minute later you have made it to the airlock and you are getting the EMU pack organised. Again you are impressed at how far the space suits have come. Dane is helping you.

"You are all good to go, commander," Dane remarks.

"Thank you, Dane," You respond as he double-checks everything. You head through the first door. You hear the mechanisms click into place. After thirty seconds of waiting you get the thumbs up from Dane. You sigh as you get the outer hatch open. You are awestruck at the red expanse that is sprawling in front of you. You double-check your comms system.

"I'm heading down," You remark as you carefully navigate the ladder. Ten seconds later you hear the familiar sound of dirt beneath your boots.

"We are finally here," You utter the first words to be spoken on another planet. It is an emotional moment for you. It is a pity that Neil hadn't seen this moment before he passed. You are soon joined by most of the team.

"commander we should get to work," Cassidy remarks, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"Yes let's go and set up everything," You reply. It has been a couple of days since you landed on Mars and the building of the habitat is going well. Roman's injuries have healed nicely but you have left him on light duties just in case. At least you have multiple engineers on the mission.