Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1)

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  After a successful descent to Mars, NightHawk landed softly on the red planet's surface. A surge of energy shot through Jake. He and Skip were about to become the first human beings to take steps on the surface of Mars.

  He looked at Skip and smiled. "Okay, we both agreed that if we had to come to the surface, one of us would be the first to touch the ground. You got the quarter?"

  "Yep," said Skip, unzipping a pocket on his space suit and pulling out a quarter. "You call it."

  "Heads."

  Skip flipped the coin into the air, caught it, and flipped it over onto the back of his left hand. He looked at it and then looked up at Jake with disappointment. "I guess you win. It's heads."

  Jake smiled and said, "Hey, look at it this way, you'll always be remembered as the second person to set foot on Mars, behind the great Jake Palmer."

  Skip gave Jake a smirk. "Shut up."

  "Taylor, we're ready to leave NightHawk and set up a perimeter to triangulate our position," Jake reported.

  "Roger that," Taylor replied.

  Jake lowered the ramp, and he and Skip walked to it. The two men stopped before descending. They looked at the surface of Mars with awe. They were the first two men in human history to see the red planet with their own eyes and it was a breathtaking sight. A massive mountain range pierced the pale orange skyline directly in front of them. To their right was a canyon and to their left were miles and miles of a flat, red landscape. The wind was blowing ferociously, spitting red dust into the air. It looked like something out of a painting.

  Jake took a deep breath and said, "Well, here we go."

  The two men slowly walked down the ten-foot ramp; Jake in front and Skip step for step behind him. Just as Jake was about to set foot on the surface, the comlink within his ear crackled with static. He could make out Taylor's voice. Jake stopped before he set foot on the surface, holding his hand up to stop Skip. "Taylor, what's going on?"

  Taylor responded, but Jake couldn't make out what he was saying through the static. "Com ? ars ? cked ? to ? le ? g ? ack ? ic ?"

  Jake tried hard to make out what Taylor was saying, but there was too much interference. "Taylor, repeat! I say ? repeat!"

  No answer.

  "Taylor, come in! Come in, Taylor!"

  Again, no answer.

  Jake turned to face Skip and could see the worry in his eyes. "We've got to get back up there to see if Taylor's okay!"

  Skip turned and ran up the ramp, with Jake on his heels.

  A few seconds later, the two men buckled themselves into their seats. Jake closed the ramp and prepared for takeoff. He was nervous because NASA had never been able to simulate a takeoff from Mars. He just hoped that NightHawk would have enough thrust to pull away from the strong gravitational force of the planet. Jake grabbed the flight stick and hovered the ship a few feet off the ground. He looked at Skip and said, "Let's pray this works because if it doesn't, this might just be our burial site."

  Skip nodded and closed his eyes. Jake punched the launch button on the computer panel with his index finger. NightHawk shot up like a bullet. Jake could barely keep his eyes open. He wanted to black out. The G-forces were incredible. Never before had he felt such power, not even in all his training as a pilot and astronaut. For a moment, he thought that the G-forces were going to rip him right through his seat. His breastbone felt as if it was pressing against his spine.

  He continued to resist the urge to pass out. He couldn't turn his head to see if Skip was okay. He couldn't even talk. How fast were they going?

  Soon, NightHawk was back in orbit around Mars. Both men looked at one another. Skip spoke first. "What a rush!"

  Jake smiled and shook his head. "I've never felt anything like that before. I thought my body was going to be flattened from the G-forces."

  "Yeah, I know what you mean."

  Jake turned to scan space for any sign of Mars II. There was no sign of the shuttle. "Taylor, come in, over. ? Taylor, come in."

  Again, there was no answer.

  Skip pointed to his one o'clock. "Look!"

  Jake looked to where Skip pointed. About five hundred yards away was Skip's hypothesized wormhole. "Is that what I think it is?" he said.

  "I think so. It looks like the ripple we saw on the video when the probe we sent disappeared. Taylor must have gone through already. ? Oh no, it's starting to shrink!"

  Jake looked, and sure enough, the ripple was beginning to get smaller. "Hold on." Jake grabbed the flight stick and maneuvered the ship in the direction of the ripple. NightHawk darted toward the distortion as the heads of the two men within slammed back against their headrests.

  "Hurry, it's going to disappear, and there's no telling when it will open again!" Skip yelled.

  Jake pushed NightHawk to full speed. Its nose entered the ripple just as it closed.

  Jake looked around and watched as the stars elongated.