Song to the Siren: A Titan Story (Part Two of Three)

Part One at: https://www.abctales.com/story/marandina/song-siren-titan-story-part-one...

Song to the Siren: A Titan Story (Part Two of Three)

“No questions, sir. Just wanting to enjoy this down time before the serious stuff starts.” Jaden is ever the pragmatist. With a crew cut, chiselled chin and square jaw, he looks like he is straight out of the military. His piercing blue eyes invariably draw the attention of the opposite sex. His accent is deep Texas, all cowboy and Southern charm.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s eat and be merry in the time we have. Stand down, team.” I smile trying to sound as relaxed and reassuring as I can.

The hush is replaced by a hubbub of reaching for food, arms crossing the table in a melee of good humour. Jaden and Genevieve turn to each other, smile and engage in small talk while Jim, Ellie and Damien exchange glances, noting the breakaway, before reflecting on missing home and speculating as to what their respective partners and families will be doing at this moment. It’s an odd thought that the last time they were with their loved ones was nine, long years ago. There’s a latent concern that something untoward could have happened. They all know that they can’t think like that but they do anyway. I watch them, nodding to acknowledge the conversations and give the impression that I am involved. The reality is that there’s so many other things racing through my head that it’s difficult to stay focused on trivia for long.

I find myself staring at Damien, a muscular black man from Missouri. He doesn’t fit the usual nerdy image of a scientist yet he’s as sharp as a whip and, intellectually, he’s a giant. He will be a key player when we get to the surface as expectations are onerous. He looks back at me and grins as though he knows what I am thinking. We both nod almost imperceptibly but the gesture is there. He’s telling a story about his upbringing on a farm and the scrapes he used to get into before he started to excel in college. He has his audience rapt as he drifts into an anecdote about being at a creek on a sunny day when he was aged six. Wading in the water, tension builds as an encounter with a catfish unwinds. He makes it sound like a monster from a Greek myth. Maybe it was to a little boy.

I think about my family. That last day was a bruiser. As much as we all tried to accept commitment to this mission, when it came to the crunch, the thought of so many years apart was too much to deal with. There they all were, hugging me as we huddled, the three of us. It was tough to turn and walk away even with those last few waves. My son never looked younger and my wife seldom seemed more tired than when I saw them that one last time. Sure, we caught up on satellite link a few times before cryo-sleep was initiated but the distance apart is magnified by those screen chats.  

 ****

The briefing is due; the room taut with apprehension. A blue, virtual screen hovers at waist height near to a wall, awaiting a pending update. On time, the face of the mission commander – Jim Wallace - flickers into view. He has glasses and looks sage with his white, Captain Birdseye beard.

“Hello to the crew of Pioneer III. According to our tracking systems here at Houston, you are now approaching the orbital manoeuvre phase of the Titan mission. Congratulations on your work so far. Needless to say, we are all proud of you.” Behind him is a row of windows through which can be seen banks of monitors with numerous people looking intently at their screens.

“Give ‘em a wave and cheer then, team.” At that, there’s a loud hooray from Earth with many seated choosing to stand and wave their arms at the windows high up. Others stay seated and join the ovation.

“As you can see, you have an army of adoring fans back here.” Wallace turns and wafts his arm in the direction of the people below.

Those in the briefing room break out into spontaneous applause of their own, ecstatic at seeing colleagues from the home world once more.

“Before further ado, I have some personal messages from your loved ones for each of you. If you would care to accept the transmissions using your personal encryption codes, the messages will appear to you individually on your monitors. Each recording is approximately five minutes long. I would ask you to then produce your own updates to send back. Can I ask Commander Grey to attach a mission update to support the technical data and readings we have at Mission Control?” Wallace smiles as he finishes the sentence, a satisfied grin reassuring the team on board. Attention turns to accepting the personal updates. I do likewise, glued to my own screen to see what message I have. Jenny’s face appears. She looks older but then she is. Blonde, frizzy hair, blue eyes and an alluring smile, her pale blue dress make it appear as though she is about to go dancing.

“Hi Dillon. Long-time no see. I hear the mission is going to plan and everyone is well.” She seems tired, her voice a mellow English accent. We met on a hiking holiday in the UK and, whilst she’s originally a Londoner, she has lost much of her colloquial heritage since moving to Florida with me nineteen years ago.

My instinct is to start chatting but I can’t as it’s a one way message. I can see Damien in my peripheral vision gesticulating with his hands. His update seems to be a passionate one and he’s not restrained by the inability to communicate both ways.

The image zooms to the left and a teenage boy is in shot. I want to say “hello James” but I keep it as inner monologue. He has wavy brown hair and a lean face with wisps of stubble. He looks just like me.

“Hi Dad. We all miss you lots. Mom said to update you re my education. Well, I’m doing OK. My major will be aeronautics. I wanna be an astronaut.” My heart feels like bursting. I hadn’t given it much thought but the notion of my son following in my footsteps means a lot.

The camera pans back to Jenny.

“I have something to tell you whilst we are on.” I ponder what this news can be. Nine years apart could throw up a multitude of scenarios.

A little girl appears and slides under Jenny’s arm as mum looks adoringly at the top of her head. She has ringlets in her fair hair and a coy look on her face.

“Meet Judy. Your daughter.”

For a few seconds, time stops. Despite the epoch-changing nature of the mission, those four words have overwritten everything else. I have a daughter.

In my head I imagine speaking to her. “Well, hello Judy. So very pleased to meet you.”

Judy rocks gently from side to side, cradling her arms. She looks so innocent. “This little one came along not long after you left for Titan. Your daughter will be waiting for you. We all will. They tell me that you will be recording a message for us so I look forward to seeing it. Everyone here is rooting for you all. You must be so close. Love you. We all love you.”

At that, all three of them squeeze their heads together and wave. I wipe moisture from my eyes. I seem to have teared up. Breathing in deeply, regaining composure is called for as the update for Mission Control is required now. I stare at the console and state “record”.

****

The crew are in position ready for the orbital manoeuvre. On the bridge, the viewing windows have been opened. In front of us is the majestic image of Saturn. It’s a vision of striated, moving yellowish-brown layers on the planet itself surrounded by iconic rings made from billions of pieces of ice and rock. The surface is mainly hydrogen with some helium; huge storms trail across the atmosphere. The Hexagonal Storm at the North Pole remains unexplained. Our trajectory is on course for one of its 145 known moons and the largest one at that. The dark, lifeless vacuum of space is now filled with activity with the gas giant looming large over our ship.

The navigation system plots our path. There’s a myriad of computations to validate accounting for Saturn’s gravitational pull, the trajectory required to arrive in orbit and any other variables that might be thrown up. Out here, debris from the Ort Cloud can’t be underestimated. Whilst we are beyond the Asteroid Belt that sits between Mars and Jupiter, rogue pieces of rock, asteroids and comets are all potential threats. The team are focused on their instruments whilst looking up from time to time to take in the views on the main screen. Everyone knows exactly what’s expected and what they are doing. 

The plan is to go into orbit around Titan. A lander will then be launched to go to the surface of the moon with two of the crew on board. With duty rotations lasting two months at a time, our challenge is to siphon the methane gas as a fuel supply both for the lander and, over the next twelve months, the ship so that a return to Earth can be undertaken. During our tours of duty, we must establish a scientific outpost, investigate whether the moon can be established as a viable place for settlers to live and to explore the possibility of more complex alien life in the oceans. The simpler forms of microbe had been discovered in a lake previously by Dragonfly.

The crew are braced for the final push.

Part three at: https://www.abctales.com/story/marandina/song-siren-titan-story-part-thr...

Image free to use at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titan_(moon)#/media/File:Specular_Spectacular_(PIA18432).jpg