Dead on Mars

Chapter 138: Sol Two Hundred and Seventy-Four, Your Relatives Cover All of Africa

“Eagle lander dock completed. Power and air supply connected. Control acquired.”

Tomcat raised its paws, having succeeded in moving the Eagle.

“It’s done, Miss Mai Dong. Tang Yue, take note. The lander is now docked outside the Hope experiment module. The hatch can now be opened.”

“Roger that, Mr. Cat.”

Mai Dong gently nudged the wall as her body floated away from the Crystal. She held the hatch as she changed directions to move upwards. Being in zero gravity for so long, the girl had learned how to move in a most energy-conserving manner. She was like a soft mackerel that swam through the passageway, agilely dodging the complicated control panel and electric cables.

“Let’s hope the lander is reliable. I hope Cryptic Yang’s girlfriend’s brother’s mentor’s eldest nephew’s seventh maternal granduncle didn’t lie to him.” Tang Yue pressed his arms on the table as he monitored the closed-circuit cameras in the space station. “Logically speaking, a relative this close shouldn’t bullshit another relative.”

“You call such relatives close?” Tomcat asked.

“Of course.” Tang Yue replied. “The similarity of their DNA exceeds 99%.”

“The similarity between your DNA and a Ugandan gorilla’s exceeds 99% as well,” Tomcat said. “So are they your maternal granduncle? Or are you their material granduncle? Tang Yue, your relatives really cover all of Africa.”

Mai Dong was wearing an IVA suit as she opened the hatch and entered the Eagle lander’s command module.

The command module was cramped and dark. All the seats were folded and the control panel’s indicators and screens were switched off. The windows were also closed.

After the resupply mission, Mai Dong and company ignored the lander, having imagined that its historic mission was done and that it was time to retire with accolades. No one expected this veteran to be called to the front lines again to turn the tide of battle.

Mai Dong looked up to survey the area and think for a few seconds. She then found the various system controls and reached out to turn on the power supply one by one.

As a soft hum sounded, the long-silent Eagle reawakened. Red, green, and orange-yellow lights lit up as the screen showed the familiar greeting:

“Welcome to the Eagle Lander.”

Mai Dong gently swiped her hand across the console deck which was covered with a dazzling array of buttons and complicated English acronyms. In fact, the manual controls had never been used to date, but every Eagle spacecraft had such a complicated console deck. Mai Dong lifted the Commander’s seat, buckled the seatbelt, and strapped herself to the seat.

The anti-glare filters slowly activated as the sunlight shone in diagonally. Gradually, the scene before Mai Dong’s eyes brightened.

Estimating the temperature to have risen significantly, Mai Dong raised her IVA suit’s visor and called out to Kunlun Station.

“Mr. Cat, Tang Yue, I’m currently in the Eagle lander’s command module. The craft is powered and everything is in working order.”

While docked to the United Space Station, power to the Eagle’s batteries and computers was provided by the space station.

“OK. We see it.”

Tang Yue and Tomcat were inside Kunlun Station observing the situation. The Eagle lander’s power and control system had already successfully interfaced with the space station, making it another module of the United Space Station.

The man and cat in Kunlun Station took everything seriously. The crappy computer aboard the Eagle lander had criminal records. It had bugged out twice and had nearly messed up their resupply mission.

“The Eagle’s computer has an automatic landing control program. All the requirements needed for a safe entry have been written into code by the engineers on Earth. Back when you guys sat in it, there was no need for you to touch the control stick, right?” Tomcat asked.

“No.” Tang Yue and Mai Dong answered in unison.

The scientific team’s Commander was Old Wang. He was in absolute command and was equivalent to a plane’s pilot. Once the plane took off, the pilot had the power to make any decision. Old Wang disallowed anyone from fiddling with the Eagle lander’s control panel; hence, the landing was done by the computer. Everyone else just watched from the sidelines. Clearly, the designers of the lander believed that computers were more reliable than the human brain in highly-dangerous maneuvers, akin to the style of the Airbus.

Therefore, the Eagle’s controls only needed a Commander and a dog.

The Commander’s mission was to feed the dog while in flight.

And the dog’s mission was to bite him whenever the Commander attempted to touch the control panel.

“There was a problem with the docking last time because the lander’s computer made an error in determining its speed. I need to see what caused the malfunction.”

“Is it a very serious problem?” Mai Dong asked.

“It might or might not be.” Tomcat typed noisily on the keyboard. “If it’s just damage to the rendezvous sensor, we can ignore it. If it’s a bug with the computer itself… it will take some time to squash it.”

“How long will it take?” Tang Yue asked.

“It’s been squashed.”

Tomcat shrugged its shoulders.

“Very clearly, it was a result of the rendezvous sensor. We encountered a sandstorm during the launch, and the sand piled up on the laser mirror, causing the sensor to make an error in the speed judgment,” Tomcat explained. “It’s a very minor malfunction, completely trivial. However, with it lacking propellant, it becomes a very lethal problem.”

“It won’t affect the landing, right?”

“Not at all,” Tomcat replied. “The Eagle lander’s computer and landing control system is fully operational. Miss Mai Dong, begin your preparations. Plan your time and we will be heading out in the next nearest window to check on the spacecraft’s heat-resistant tiles.”

…

Mai Dong found some time to take a shower and change her clothes.

The space station had a folding shower unit. It was made from opaque and waterproof polymers. It was inconspicuous when folded, but would appear like a two-meter-tall cylinder when unfolded. It allowed an adult to stand inside, but to ensure one’s footing, one had to wear foot restraints on the floor of the shower.

In zero gravity, normal showers were impossible. The shower in the space station could only emulate the effects. It blasted water from above before sucking it up from below. It used pressure to steer the motion of the floating water blobs while also recycling all the waste-water.

Mai Dong had not showered in a very long time. It was rather troublesome showering in the space station. To prevent herself from suffocating due to the water droplets, she needed to wear goggles and a breathing mask, making her appear like a seriously ill person in an ICU.

But how could these stop a lady from her wish to shower?

“Have you showered?”

Tang Yue sat on the chair as he watched Mai Dong dry her wet hair with a towel.

“Yeah. That’s right… It feels so good after a shower.” Mai Dong nodded as she pulled up her work attire’s collar. “I’ve changed. Can’t you tell?”

“Is today some festive day?” Tang Yue turned his head to ask Tomcat.

“International Cat Appreciation Day, Cat Food Shopping Festival, and Cat Owners International Forum,” Tomcat replied. “Do those count?”

“No.”

To Tang Yue, showering was an extravagance. The water recycling efficiency in Kunlun Station was incomparable to the United Space Station. Showering expended plenty of water, so unless it was some festive occasion, Tang Yue wouldn’t take a shower. The last time Tang Yue showered was on Labor Day on 1st May.

The next time he showered was likely during the Mid-Autumn Festival in October.

He wasn’t going to shower for Children’s Day on 1st June, since he no longer celebrated it.