New Hope: Book 1

5:45 a.m. came surprisingly quickly. When Ellie opened her eyes after a relaxing sleep, Julius had already been gone from the crew section. He must have gone to the cockpit earlier, before she got up, probably wanting to cross off as many items from the checklist as possible, leaving them more time for their final preparations before commencing the riskiest maneuver during New Hope’s entire voyage – the landing.

After some morning grooming, a proper breakfast from a ready-made food ration consisting of a piece of cooked chicken breast and potatoes heated up in the craft’s microwave, and a bag of orange juice to drink, Ellie was ready. Dressed in the coveralls of the united mission, she went to the front of the spacecraft – to the cockpit, which also functioned as a lander.

Indeed, Julius Cousteau was already waiting for her, working hard and entering procedures and coordinates into the onboard computer.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” said the ship’s captain. “I see you took my advice to heart. For a moment there, I wondered if you’d show up at all,” he winked at Ellie. “I hope you’re rested and ready for the next part of today’s adventure?” he asked still smiling.

“Good morning, Captain,” Ellie replied. “I haven’t slept so well in a long time. I had no idea how tired I actually was yesterday. And that was only the beginning of our mission!” said Ellie. “The fatigue and stress drained all of my energy. I fell asleep as soon as I laid my head on the pillow,” she recalled smiling. “Of course, I’m all set!”

“Excellent!” replied Julius, sitting in his chair, safety belts on. “I’ve already completed some of the preflight procedures. Since people my age tend to get up at the crack of dawn,” he winked again at Ellie, “with the roosters, one can say that today, to continue with my farm analogies, I also decided to catch the bull by the horns and deal with the lion’s share of the work on my own,” said Julius. “Of course, if it makes you feel better, you can check it all again. However, I’m sure that everything is in order,” he said raising his brows meaningfully.

“No need. I trust you,” Ellie replied. “Besides, the onboard computer wouldn’t let the engine launch if any of the procedures planned in the Earth’s orbit were omitted.” Ellie smiled and sat down in her chair, fastening her safety belts. “Second pilot in position,” she said.

“Confirmed,” said Julius. “Let’s complete the procedures before leaving the orbit. Having devoted the next several minutes to analyze the onboard procedures and controls, there were only a few more items left on the checklist before starting the maneuver.

“Fuel and oxygen in the lander?”

“Nominal. Tanks fully loaded and sealed.”

“Main controls of the rocket engine and thrusters?”

“All in the green.”

“Status of the lander and orbiter couplers?”

“Holding 100%, green. The system says they should uncouple properly before leaving the orbit,” reported Ellie.

“Confirming all procedures have been completed before starting the maneuver. No contraindications for commencing landing operations. No recommendations for returning to Earth at this stage,” confirmed the captain. “All the signs point to that today, in 5 minutes precisely, we will begin the most difficult stage of our mission. Then we’ll only be left with making our way to the surface and taking one giant leap for mankind. Again,” said Julius with a smile, paraphrasing Neil Armstrong on his historic first walk on the surface of Earth’s natural satellite.

“Ready to make history as the first woman on the Moon?” asked the captain.

“I’ve never been more ready!” said Ellie.

“60 seconds to commence the landing maneuver,” said Julius. “Separation of the lander from the orbiter module in five... four... three... two... separation,” Captain Cousteau reported.

“Confirming, separation successful,” replied the second pilot. “We are moving away from the orbiter. Current distance: 6 feet and growing. Nine feet. Twelve. We have achieved a safe distance to use the thrusters to begin changing the orbit,” confirmed Ellie.

“Confirming the use of thrusters for safely distancing from the orbiter and assisting the flight trajectory change,” said the captain. “Commencing the maneuver in three... two... one...” Having said this, the captain made a few corrections to the joystick controlling the ship’s thrusters. Following the captain’s hand movements, the lander, which was now a couple dozen feet from the orbiter, started to change its flight trajectory slightly, inclining more towards the Moon, while directing the exhaust of the main engine the opposite way and paving the expected course for the ship.

“We are ready to launch the main engine for 60 seconds to reduce our flight speed, thus leaving the lunar orbit,” confirmed the second pilot. “We’ll also be ready in a moment to turn the craft 180 degrees to direct the engine towards the Moon’s surface,” noted Ellie.

“Confirming and commencing the maneuver,” replied Julius. “Prepare yourself for a few additional Gs. You’re going to start missing microgravity in a second,” the captain grinned. “Turning the main engine on,” he announced, “and increasing thrust.” Captain Cousteau then made a few hand gestures over his control panel. The ship vibrated in turn. The rocket engine thundered behind both the pilots’ backs, and gravity started acting in the passengers’ chests and insides. Strong gravity! thought Ellie as she started having difficulty catching her breath.

“We’re on the right trajectory. Relative velocity to the Moon’s surface – 25,435 miles per hour and falling. 20,200 mph. 15 thousand.” Having said this, Ellie saw out of the corner of her eye that the flight trajectory indicator started blinking red.

“Captain, the computer is signaling a problem with our course,” said the second pilot. “We’re coming off our original direction towards Aldrin’s crater in the Sea of Tranquility,” Ellie noted, her voice raised and increasing in concern.

“Taking over manual control,” said the captain.

“Relative velocity 7,799 mph and still falling,” said Ellie. The speed was falling at the right pace but their divergence from the course was increasing. For some reason, the spaceship was not moving as it should, as if something was pulling it in a different direction than the one chosen by the smart scientists on Earth.

“At this rate, we’ll shoot over our crater and land several hundred miles away from the planned location,” said the captain. “I’m trying to manually correct the trajectory but the ship isn’t reacting to my commands!” Julius exclaimed with disbelief and concern. “I can’t safely steer the ship to our LZ,” he said looking at his flight companion. “Terminating the landing maneuver. Returning to orbit, now!” said the captain, telling the computer to turn the ship around with the engine facing the Moon’s surface and increase the thrust to the maximum to make up for the reduced speed and return to a stable orbit. “Maybe when we park back above the surface, we’ll be able to determine what went wrong,” said the captain with a long face. “I’m sorry, Ellie, you won’t be the first woman on the Moon today,” said Julius in disappointment, still conducting various operations on the control desk with his hands.

After a few moments, Ellie noticed:

“Captain, we’re still losing speed and we’re on the wrong course. Despite making a 180-degree turn, the lander did not fire the engine with the appropriate amount of thrust and we’re still approaching the surface too quickly!” Ellie said deeply concerned.

“I don’t understand what’s happening! The computer seems to have stopped taking my commands, the thrusters aren’t reacting, and the main engine is oscillating between maximum power to none at all. I don’t have any control of the ship! We’re going down hard!” yelled the captain, trying to fight his control stick and main engine throttle. “I don’t get it,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Distance from the Moon’s surface: 15,000 feet and falling. Speed 1200 mph,” yelled Ellie in horror. “We’re going to crash!”

“4000 feet. 3000 feet. 2000 feet. The speed’s still too high to even think about a safe landing,” said the captain.

“1200 feet… 900. 700,” he looked at Ellie. “I’m really sorry, Ellie. “So sorry. I must have made some mistake! Forgive me!” Julius yelled, aware that those were some of the last words his flight companion and the employees in the control center at Cape Canaveral would hear. Perhaps some of the last words billions of people in front of their TVs would hear, too.

“300 feet, 200 feet, 100 feet,” Ellie counted down with dying hope. “That’s it!” the second pilot managed to yell before the lander was thrown sideways sharply with a force stronger than she could have imagined. First, there was a loud bang, then the sound of steel being torn apart and the swish of escaping air. The world was spinning. The safety belts first tightened with unspeakable force, squeezing the air of out Ellie’s and Cousteau’s lungs, and then, just as quickly as they tightened, the belts gave way entirely. Ellie’s straps were torn apart, and the second pilot was thrown through the cabin spinning, slamming into one of the bulkheads with incredible force. Ellie’s last thought was that she would never see her planet again. Then came only darkness.