Aerospace I : The Lunar Cycle

Aerospace I - Lunar Eyes

Aerospace I : The Lunar Cycle

Lunar Eyes

Gordon Best

Chapter 1 : Eyes

I woke up with the dream fresh in my mind. It was so real. A great wheelship orbiting above me. I, standing on a cold icy planet. It hummed and sparkled as it passed slowly over. The starry sky behind... Then another ship identical slipped in close to the first. It was like owl eyes looking down at me. I could have reached up and touched them.

I woke Joseph in the dark. Told him about it. He said, "Maybe a sign, we should retire the Ravenchild."

My name is Kess Crowchild. I was born on the prairies in Canada, brought up in a Hab on North Wall of Plato Crater. At 14, I became the apprentice to Frida Thorsdottir, then she adopted me. She is a great team leader, prospector, TBM tunneling genius.

We were on a rest layover in Ruby Canyon, Mars. It is a mining community, that had adopted us and we them. Seven thousand people in three ceramic domes. A narrow canyon where there are many valuable minerals and gems. The biggest gem is the Sphere. The Planeteers left it for us.

We got up when the lights turned on and rushed over to the showers. We always showered together. We shared the flat with 20 others. It was the way we had always lived. It is good to have your friends around.

Madu and Ketill had their rooms, Ashley and Gord theirs, Blossom and Moses theirs, Bara and several other close members of the crew. Some wheelship crew members were in Green Valley and I hoped they would join us when the time came to leave.

We sat over an unrushed breakfast. I told everyone to relax with the chores and put their heads together. I told them about my dream. Most of them said the same as Joseph.

Was it time? Did we need more space? Our next move out to Jupiter was stopped by my own inability to see through the problem, of getting past the Asteroid Belt. I asked them to stick around, as it was time to deal with this problem. My dear wheelship. It was worth more to me than all the other ships. They were getting old as well. It had been nineteen years since a new ship had been built from the Moon.

Ravenchild supports a crew of a thousand, with family. It is cramped I know, but it is a healthy place to live. It was obvious, that my wheelship would not survive a trip into the asteroid belt. It needed a total overhaul and much redesigning of the interior.

This group started making suggestions.

1. We need something much larger, like the Zoraida. It carries 5,000.
2. We need to use the ballast area more wisely. Everything there should be items that will be useful on the journey.
3. A huge grain storage area. We can grow grain, but the store should start out full.
4. Make the population more like a town in the country. People, diverse and working in all the professions and trades.
5. Have better emergency measures. Need to be responsive to large damage situations.
6. Have parts onboard so we can replace or repair anything.
7. Need spare reactors to replace malfunctions, spare fuel.
8. More ponds, fish, ducks, fowl, bees.
9. A better athletic program.
10. Encourage people to have more children.
11. A limited number of different interchangeable parts for easy replacement.

Frida and Gohan live on the Moon. I have not seen them in years. The last time we sat down together was in a little town in Iceland. They had promised then, to join us on our journey, once I was ready with the plan.

I mentioned the dream to Frida (on the phone) and waited the ten minutes for the reply. She raised me from twelve years and taught me how to lead a team.

I said, "If we are to go out to Jupiter and Saturn, I want the Ravenchild with me. It still has a role to play. I will go up into lunar orbit and personally tear it down to the bone, if I have to."