***Takeoff***
Your breathing is heavy, fogging up the glass of your helmet with every breath out. You had known throughout your years of training that you would be here one day, but now, here at the top of a rumbling rocket, your terrified. You look to your left at your commander who is going through the final checklist with NASA. He was a great man and a wise leader. Past him was your specialist. He couldn’t wait to get into space. Like you, it had been his dream since a child. This was the team going to Mars with you and you trust them with your life.
“Huston, we’re a go.” She heard her commander say over the coms.
“Roger that, Artemis. Commence take off in 5… 4… 3...”
You close your eyes tight, gripping the arms of the seat.
“2… 1…”
The engine ignite, the three of you feeling the full force of gravity on your bodies as you shoot up in the sky.
{link to: 'Flight', label: 'It was too late to back out now.'}
{link to: 'Landing', label: 'You couldn’t do this. You didn’t want this.'}
**Flight**
5 months you have already been up here. You had already completed over half of your 9-month voyage to the red planet. The days go slow, but you keep busy. You have daily tasks to complete, movies to watch, books to read, and most importantly each other. Though you are starting to see the boys as brothers that you occasionally wanted to strangle. Living in close quarters did that to you.
The trip had gone smoothly so far aside from a small failure with the coolant system. You had to go out on a space walk in order to fix it from the outside. It was scarier than any rocket launch and more beautiful than anything you would ever see on earth. You had even gotten a pat on the back from Houston for your quick fix which put a little pep in your step for a few days. Since then, things had been quiet. There is the occasional asteroid warning, however. And this current one is aiming to come a little close for comfort.
{link to: 'Arrival', label: 'You adjust course just to be safe.'}
{link to: 'Asteroid', label: 'You choose to continue straight.'}
**Arrival**
It was large, red, and stunning. The three of them were the first humans ever to feast their eyes on another planet. They gave each other congratulatory hugs before informing NASA that they had reached Mar’s orbit safely. Next came the fun part, telling the rest of the world.
They would be on national television, announcing to everyone that their journey was a success. Of course, they were celebrating on their own really. The 6 minute data delay made it nearly impossible to have a flued conversation with anyone back on earth. But that didn’t matter to them. As long as everyone who helped get them here knew that it was worth it, that’s all they could ask for.
You start yelling, feeling around for whatever switch would get you off the damn ship. Your crew members yell too, trying to get you to calm down. You don’t want to be on this rocket anymore. The odds of dying in space was high, and you are not going to be one of the casualties. Huston is on the other end trying to take control of the rockets systems, but you beat them to it. Pounding your fist into the eject button, you send the capsule carrying you and your team flying off the top of the rocket. The parachutes release and once again you are safely on the ground.The data was correct. The asteroid is coming right for the ships and there is no time to turn. The three of you brace yourselves as the giant space rock smashes right into the side of the ship, taking out an engine and causing several atmospheric breaches. But that’s not the worst part. The fuel tank has been punctured and with serval fires burning, the ship is going to explode. You and your crew record your final goodbyes to your families and then them out before giving yourselves to space.