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EPILOGUE

Mars grew visibly larger by the minute as they approached from its night side. Mostly shrouded in darkness, its eastern limb glowed in burnt ocher as the Sun climbed over the horizon. Morning mists of carbon dioxide filled the lower plains while the massive Olympus Mons rose above the planet’s thin atmosphere.

Marshall sat in the command pilot’s seat, Captain Poole in the second pilot’s seat beside him. Behind them, the Jiangs marveled at the passing planet from the cupola, furiously firing away with every camera they could fit up there. He hoped at least one picture would be of them with the red planet in the background; they deserved the indulgence.

The view from the dome would’ve been spectacular, but never in a million years did he think he’d get to see it from the pilot’s seat. That was a thrill few could understand.

“Look at that,” he said as more of Mars came into view. “I can’t believe how fast it goes by.”

“Life is like that,” Poole said. “I know you’re thinking about the planet, but still . . .”

“I think I know what you mean now, sir.” He stared at the spectacle outside. “My first look at this was through my dad’s telescope. It wasn’t long after you guys came back from the Moon.”

“Now that was a real shitshow,” Poole drawled. “Nothing to do with your dad, believe it or not. I just about bought the farm there.”

“A lot of us did,” Marshall said, his voice trailing off. Memories of riding out the flood with his mother came back with a shiver. He pushed the thought from his mind, as he’d learned to do over the years: put it in a box where it belonged, lock it away, don’t let it out. He focused on the planet outside. “I’ve wanted to go to Mars ever since. I can’t explain it, I just always felt pulled to go like some people feel about climbing mountains. It’s there and nobody knows much about it, so let’s go.” He sighed. “I just hope we get to come back.”

“You never know where the fickle hand of fate will land, son.” Poole smiled. “I got a message from your Aunt Penny.” She wasn’t technically his aunt, but Penny Stratton had been as close to his parents as Poole had been over the years. “She’s back at NASA, heading up their human spaceflight division. You knew that, right?”

“I didn’t. What did they do to convince her to quit flying missionaries around South America?”

“New deep-space project called Magellan, she said. Reusable and modular, based on this platform,” Poole said, patting the glare shield. “They want to experiment with variable-impulse plasma engines, supposedly it can do this very trip in three months.”

Marshall whistled. “That’s serious.” He eyed Poole. “Wait a minute . . . you’re going to do it, aren’t you?”

Poole patted the air where his leg used to be. “They’re not going to let me stay, I can tell you that. This here is an express ticket to medical retirement.” He laughed. “That’ll be like my third retirement. I thought you had to be pro ball player to do that, but whatever.”

“So the military won’t let you command a ship, but NASA will?”

“I’m the flavor of the month, I guess. She wants somebody who knows his way around a spacecraft and a nuke plant.”

Mars filled the windows now. Their flyby was already half over, yet this crowded out his attention. “I’m not sure what to say, sir. I hate to see you go.”

Behind him, he heard Garver clear his throat. Had the chief been eavesdropping? “You do understand they still draw astronauts from active military, sir?”

Marshall’s eyes darted between the two. This was more than just eavesdropping.

Poole placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’re coming with me.”

THE END


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Framed