Goodbye Blue Sky
By: Verin Mystal
Summary: America and Russia work together on a ground-breaking project in space.
Note: This was written for the LJ community's Secret Santa event for inner_wings (ProcrastinatingPalindrome here on ffnet) prompt. I tried to give this some real-world weight and possible issues that they run into. This is set in the 2030s, due to Nasa aiming its "Human flight to Mars" somewhere in that time period. Also, I decided to use the metric system for measurement (save for one instance), as that's what is used in science. But, regardless of "who gets there first", I only wish to be alive to witness the historical event of human's landing on Mars successfully.
To set foot on the soil of the asteroids, to lift by hand a rock from the Moon, to observe Mars from a distance of several tens of kilometers, to land on its satellite or even on its surface, what can be more fantastic? From the moment of using rocket devices a new great era will begin in astronomy: the epoch of the more intensive study of the firmament.
Konstantin E. Tsiolkovsky, Father of Russian Astronautics, 1896
Thirty-six million miles.
That is how far the planet Mars will be on the planned launch date, five years from today. He'd done the math over and over in his head; written the equations on memo pads, scrawled in the corners of his meeting minutes, scribbled on napkins during coffee break. He'd dreamed of the red, iron-oxide planet for decades. To drag his fingers through the scorched red regolith, feel its weight in his hand. To see with his own eyes the dry, desert landscape sprawled before him, the rocky geological features so familiar yet so different to his own southwestern deserts back home.
But that was months away.
Now, standing before him was the huge Aerojet AJ26 rocket engine, with the anti-matter shuttle vehicle attached to it. Designed to travel over long distances, the anti-matter rocket would bring the group of astronauts, cosmonauts, scientists, medical professionals, and other experts to the planet in only 180 days, less than half the amount previously projected decades ago with the older, chemical rockets used before.
"It is finally happening."
America's train of thought broken, he released the breath he held and exhaled. A large, multi-seated vehicle was taking the group to the clean room, where the personnel there would help them put on their suits, making sure they were clean and orderly; checking, double checking, triple checking every cuff, seal, button and gear in sight.
Twenty years.
Two decades since the day he'd called Russia, on whim, to ask the million dollar question. The years since filled with hardships and research, training and negotiating… and now they were all together on launch day.
Launch day.
"Yes." America could only say, utterly speechless at the sight of the beautiful piece of technological achievement standing before him, beyond the tiny glass window of the trundling vehicle. "It's finally happening."
Russia followed America's enchanted gaze, leaning across the isle to peer outside America's window. The two fell silent once more, ignoring the group discussions the others were having behind them, and continued staring at the rockets. Minutes passed, their destination inched closer, and Russia leaned across the distance between them, his lips a hair's breadth away from the shell of America's ear.
"Thank you for asking me."
America turned to face him, his ear brushing past Russia's mouth. A slow smile stretched across his face; he leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Thank you for saying yes."
Twenty Years Ago…
Virginia, 2013
Cool, humid Virginian air filled the clear night sky. The nearby forest stood still and silent, as if holding its breath. Crickets sung in the knee high meadow grass. America gazed through the low power lens of his Meade Saturn 60AZ-D reflecting telescope. Tony stood beside him, star chart and binoculars in hand.
"Seven point five degrees north of Acubens."
America pulled away from the main lens, switched to the smaller field of view lens to correct, and returned. Two seconds passed before a smile stretched across his sun-kissed face.
"There it is. Just outside of Cancer."His glasses clicked against the plastic as he pressed up against it, reaching over to tighten the telescope down to prevent it from moving. "Give me the high power lens."
Tony reached into the pocket of his hoodie, pulling out a longer lens and setting it inside America's outstretched palm. America pulled away, unscrewed the lens and put the stronger one in place, handing Tony the previous one before tightening it down and readjusting the focus.
"…There." America sighed; breathlessly excited and silent in awe all at once. "I can see Phobos, but not Deimos."
"Currently behind the planet."
"Look how red it is." America murmured, stooping over to peer into the lens, hands pressed to his knees to steady himself. "The polar ice… Planum Boreum is visible. And Valles Marineris! Four thousand kilometers long… two hundred kilometers across… if only I could see it with my own eyes instead of using machines." America pulled away and stretched, closing his eyes to imagine the magnificent sight of the largest canyon in the solar system. "It would make my grand canyon seem like tiny little scratch…only Ithica Chasma would come close…but it could still fit inside of it." Opening his eyes again, America turned to Tony. "Have you seen it?"
"Yes." Tony stated simply and plainly, sparing nothing for America's feelings on the matter."It's fucking weak to other canyons I've seen across the galaxy."
"Well excuse me." America rolled his eyes. "Not everyone has faster-than-light travel, thank you very much."
America returned to the high powered lens of the telescope. Silence stretched as he stared at the planet, a reddish dot in his field of view, Phobos a mere speck of light at its side. The sight, although weak compared to the detailed photographs taken by the various orbiters sent to the planet over the past several decades, still stirred a well of emotion deep within his chest; a boiling mixture of excitement, respect, and an awe inspiring giddyness that filled him to the brim and threatened to spill over.
"I want to go there."
"Fuck." Tony snorted. "This again."
"I mean it!" America pulled away. "I want to go there."
"You ask the president that every fucking year." Tony stared at him flatly. "And it's always the same answer. 'That's a great idea, but we can't afford it.'"
"I haven't asked yet." He frowned at the alien. "Maybe it'll be different!"
"You think they're going to change their mind after saying the same thing for the past fifty years?" Tony grated his teeth together. "Fucking shit."
America glared at him, but remained silent, mulling over Tony's statement. "They agreed to the space station idea."
"Only after you told them about cooperating with the commie."*
"You mean Russia?"
"Whatever. He's as annoying as the fucking limey."
"You like Lithuania just fine, though." America rolled his eyes and returned his gaze back to the sky. "But it worked…didn't it?" Realization slowly dawned. "…Didn't… it?" He repeated again, mouth dropping open.
Tony narrowed his eyes at him.
"Fuck no, not again-"
"Where's my cell phone?" America dug through his pockets, pulling out his blackberry and pulling up the massive list of contacts. "It has to work. It has to!"
Russia is one of the only other nations that love's space as much as I do. He'll agree to it, he will!
"The world economy is shit right now." Tony complained. "He'll never agree to it. The old farts-"
"You mean congress?" America shot him a dirty look before returning to the contact list and plugging Russia's human name in. "I'm going to call him. What's the time difference again?"
Tony heaved a pointed, exasperated sigh. "…Eight hours."
"That's what- ten o'clock his time?" America found his number and jabbed his finger at the send button. The dial tone picked up, ringing. "Come on…come on pick up!"
The dial tone ended, and Russia's automatic voice mail kicked in. Ending the call with a firm jab, he immediately redialed and waited. Voice mail came up again. America hung up and redialed again, and again, and again until –finally – a gruff voice came through the speaker.
"Да."
America bit his tongue, forcing the complaint he had back down his throat. "Good morning to you too, Russia."
A pause; Russia sighed into the phone. "What do you want, Америка."
America opened his mouth…and then snapped it shut. How exactly was he going to say this?
"Ah-…I wanted to ask you about something."
He decided to cut past all the small talk and get right to asking him.
"...Да?" Guarded suspicion filled his voice. "Continue."
America bit his bottom lip, mulling over his question for the next three seconds before blurting it out.
"I want to go to Mar's with you."
"…What?" Russia asked, confusion filling his voice. "Mars?"
"I want to create a joint human space exploration team with you." America explained, matter-of-fact. "And I want to send them to Mars."
A long silence stretched on. Crickets chirped in the field surrounding America. A jet liner roared overhead, distantly.
"…Russia? You still there?"
Nervous tension filled his belly.
"Ah-…Да." Russia made a small, confused noise into the phone. "…you want to send humans to Mars."
"With you." America insisted. "It would be a joint operation."
"With me?"
"Yes." America pushed, excitement filling him. "Just think about it. We would plan the entire thing out between the RKA and NASA. Present it to our bosses and work out the financial stuff. Then once that's worked out, we can handpick the people we want to bring; then it's only a matter of training and getting all the stuff built and-"
"-You…have been thinking about this a lot." Surprise filled Russia's voice. "You really wish to do this? …Together?"
"I wouldn't ask anyone else." America boldly stated. "You're the only one who understands."
"I...yes." Russia agreed, his voice growing soft. "The others don't understand the…ah-…fascination. We have."
"So will you do it?" Hope filled America. "Will you go to Mars with me?"
Russia sighed into the phone as another long stretch of silence came. America stared at the tiny dot of light in the sky, a reddish-white hue hovering just outside of Cancer. To see that planet with his own eyes, the iron red horizon stretched out before him, the regolith beneath his feet, the massive canyons, Olympus Mons standing before him in all her glory, the endless plains and deep craters all around him.
Tony smacked his arm, snapping him out of his dream-like daze. Russia spoke through the phone, his voice coming through the speaker.
"W-what?" America shook his head, shaking off the dream. "Sorry, say that again?"
Russia made an annoyed noise, something America heard a lot over the past century, and waited in silence. Russia's voice came back.
"Yes America. I will go with you to Mars."
Two Years Later…
Capitol Building - Washington D.C., April 2015
America sat in a tiny meeting room, just down the hall from the senate floor. Clutched in his hands was the plans for the Mar's mission he'd spent two years working on with Russia, with help from their respective space agencies. Having proposed the plans and bill to the committee assigned to him, the last three months were spent going through the mission page by page, hammering out every detail, every number, every date and time, and slowly creating the massive bill to be passed. Having stayed up into the early hours of the morning, putting the final details into the bill and getting only a few hours of sleep, America was finishing off his fourth cup of coffee when his phone beeped at him, signaling a text message. Extracting it from his pocket, he clicked the center button to display the message.
Ivan – 7:02 am
Approved, but pending your response. Announcement should come through official channels soon.
"Yes!"
America slammed a triumphant fist into the table. With this information, he could use it to push the senate into passing the bill. Hitting the reply button, he texted back, explaining he only had a few minutes before he went to the floor to present it. Nervous tension filled him at that thought; it'd been more than half a century since he actually presented a bill to congress… the last one being the bill that created NASA. He gathered the papers up once more, shuffling them on the table, making sure the edges were even, and stood.
A timid knock came at the door.
"Yes?" America called, his fingers tightening on the packet he held. "Come in."
The door opened, and a young female intern stepped in, looking fresh out of college. "It's time."
America swallowed, nodded and followed her out of the room. A small hallway appeared before him, various people of all ages filling it, some holding quiet discussions, others rushing by, walking at a fast pace. A young man nearly exploded out of a nearby door and ran down the hallway to him, carrying correspondence. Gasping for air, he shoved the paper at America, who took it and smiled.
"Aren't you going to read it?" The man panted, confusion filling him. "You'll want to read it-"
"Already know what it says." America responded cryptically. "But thanks for grabbing this."
The young man blinked at him, and watched America continue down the hall until he came to a set of double doors. The young woman turned to him, smiling. America sucked in a deep, calming breath and released it in a sigh.
"It'll be okay. They all know who you are so you can-"
"I can't be 'myself'…" America grinned at her. "I need to be serious, so they can see how important this is to me… and to everyone at NASA and the RKA."
A moment passed, and the young woman stepped forward. "I…hope it gets passed." She smiled reassuringly. "I remember my mom and dad telling about the Moon landing…how they watched it on TV. I always hoped that I would be alive when we went to Mars…if we went to Mars."
"Oh…don't worry." America returned the smile. "You will."
With that, he turned back to the door, sucked in another deep breath, and crossed the threshold, entering the massive room that stood beyond, the senate waiting for him.
Outskirts of Moscow – May 2015
Russia pulled away from the lens of his own telescope and rubbed at his eyes. The window of his room was thrown open, the curtains pulled aside, revealing the open grassy fields behind his home;before the window stood his telescope. Several sheets of lined paper stood stacked on the nearby end table at his bedside, filled with various notes and mathematical equations. Another stack of paper stood beside it, the detailed plans for the future mission.
One month had passed since he received the last text from America, who was still gathering votes for the bill he presented.
It is taking too long. Russia frowned, reaching the glass bottle of vodka, pouring the liquid into a shot glass. It won't pass… I should not have been hopeful.
Raising the glass to his lips, he poured the liquid down his throat, reveling in the slow burn that trailed all the way down. Breathing in a calming sigh, he poured another glass, put the cork back into the bottle tip and set it back on the table. Downing the next shot, he set the glass beside the bottle and returned to the telescope, pressing his right eye back to the lens. The reddish spot of light entered his field of view. Two tiny dots off to one side. It was so tantalizing, the lure of Mars. The burn of exploring and experimenting on its surface burned in his chest.
His phone beeped twice, vibrating once in his pocket. Pulling back with a sigh, he dug his phone from his pocket and flipped it open. America's human name burned on the screen.
Alfred – 11:12pm
Passed. See you at the joint conference and signing.
Russia stared at the screen in disbelief for a long moment before clicking his phone shut and returning his gaze to the sky, where the reddish-white dot hung in the sky. The corners of his mouth curled upward in a relieved smile.
"Доскорого…"
See you soon…
Extra Notes:
1. Mars = Here's some basics on the planet. [Wiki] "Mars has approximately half the radius of Earth. It is less dense than Earth, having about 15% of Earth's volume and 11% of the mass. Its surface area is only slightly less than the total area of Earth's dry land. Based on orbital observations and the examination of the Martian meteorite collection, the surface of Mars appears to be composed primarily of basalt. Some evidence suggests that a portion of the Martian surface is more silica-rich than typical basalt, and may be similar to andesitic rocks on Earth; however, these observations may also be explained by silica glass. Much of the surface is deeply covered by finely grained iron(III) oxide dust. (…)The planet is named after the Romangod of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance.[13] Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the volcanoes, valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth. The rotational period and seasonal cycles of Mars are likewise similar to those of Earth. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain within the Solar System, and of VallesMarineris, the largest canyon. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature."
2. Aerojet AJ26 = Quoted from an article at NASA's website (02/24/2010), "The AJ26 testing is part of NASA's new direction for space exploration. Under NASA's proposed fiscal year 2011 budget, NASA will work closer with commercial interests to develop space travel capabilities. The Aerojet AJ26 is a prime example of that new direction and of the immediate future of Stennis, which completed engine testing for remaining space shuttle flights last July. The AJ26 is the first new engine in years to be tested at Stennis and representative of the commercial work the facility now is pursuing. The center also provides RS-68 rocket engine testing for Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne."
3. Anti-Matter Rocket(s) = Quoted from an article at NASA's website (04/14/2006), "Most self-respecting starships in science fiction stories use antimatter as fuel for a good reason – it's the most potent fuel known. While tons of chemical fuel are needed to propel a human mission to Mars, just tens of milligrams of antimatter will do (a milligram is about one-thousandth the weight of a piece of the original M&M candy)." Definitely an interesting article, if you find this stuff fascinating like me XD Also of note, Russia is currently researching a nuclear rocket engine that could potentially travel over long distances, such as the one theorized in the NASA article above.
4. Planum Boreum= The name for the Northern Polar Ice Cap on Mars.
5. Valles Marineris= The name for the massive canyon on Mars. [Wiki] "At more than 4,000 km long, 200 km wide and up to 7 km deep,[1][2] the VallesMarineris rift system is larger than any of Earth's largest canyons, and is the largest known canyon in the solar system."
6. Ithica Chasma = [Wiki] "…is a valley on Saturn's moon Tethys, named after the island of Ithaca, in Greece.[1] It is 100 km wide, 3 to 5 km deep and 2,000 km long, running approximately three-quarters of the way around Tethys' circumference."
7. Russia & America Space Station Agreement = [Wiki] "In June 1992 American president George H. W. Bush and Russian president Boris Yeltsin agreed to cooperate on space exploration. The resulting Agreement between the United States of America and the Russian Federation Concerning Cooperation in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space for Peaceful Purposes called for a short, joint space programme, with one American astronaut deployed to the Russian space station Mir and two Russian cosmonauts deployed to a Space Shuttle.[16]In September 1993, American Vice-President Al Gore, Jr., and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin announced plans for a new space station, which eventually became the International Space Station.[40] They also agreed, in preparation for this new project, that the United States would be heavily involved in the Mir programme as part of an agreement that later included Space Shuttle orbiters docking with Mir."
8. Olympus Mons = [Wiki] "…is a volcanic mountain on the planet Mars. It is a little under three times as tall as Mount Everest and is the tallest known volcano in the Solar System. (…) A shield volcano, similar in morphology to the large volcanoes making up the Hawaiian Islands. The edifice is about 600 km (373 miles) wide[4] and stands nearly 22 km (14 mi) above the surrounding plains[5] (a little over twice the height of Mauna Kea as measured from its base on the ocean floor)."
