Published:
January 17, 2025
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“We're all clear, Commander. The bubble is secure.”
Commander Grant Penner nodded and began the arduous process of removing his space suit.
“Remember, Kelly,” Penner said as he slid his helmet free, “the TV people want you to call me Dad during the broadcast.”
“Understood, Commander,” Kelly responded automatically. “I mean, Dad. Sorry.”
“Don't be. This whole thing is ridiculous. We should be concerning ourselves with science right now, not public relations. We're scientists, after all. Well… most of us.”
“Ouch, Grant,” said the third member of the group through a mischievous smile. “My feelings!”
With obvious effort, Penner kept his next words behind his clenched teeth. Including a baseball player on this mission as a publicity stunt had tested the limits of his tolerance. Then, when his genius IQ, top-of-her-class, astrophysicist daughter announced that she and the ace pitcher were sparking halfway to Mars… his tolerance was exceeded.
“Kurt Craig, galactic explorer,” said the younger man, facing his reflection in the visor of his own helmet. “That's got a ring to it, right!?”
Penner found the comment supremely annoying, and hearing his daughter giggle in response only made it worse. She was a NASA astronaut, a world-renowned scientist. She should not be susceptible to the shallow charms of a meathead like Kurt Craig.
“Speaking of rings,” Kurt said, retrieving his World Series ring from a pocket and slipping it back onto his finger. “I hate that I can’t wear this when the suit’s on. Otherwise, I never take it off.”
I hate that you have it here at all, Grant thought. The gaudy gold trinket had no place on a mission where every ounce of weight was accounted for.
As the three finished readying themselves for the first-ever live broadcast from the red planet, the wind outside the bubble grew from strong to scary. The landing craft they’d used to descend from the main ship teetered under the assault fifty meters away, its many antennae arrays blurred by the airborne sand.
“Alright, everything’s set,” Kelly said as she stepped away from the tripod-mounted camera. “Ready with that big speech, Commander — Dad?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do it.”
“Wait, wait,” shouted Kurt just as Kelly was reaching for the broadcast button. Then he retrieved not one — not two — but three pieces of bubble gum from his pocket and began chewing them all like an over-caffeinated cow with its cud. “What, Grant? It’s part of my look. Gotta keep up appearances when you’re a public figure — for the fans.”
Perhaps to keep her father from responding, Kelly hit the button and said, “We’re live.”
Grant looked back to the camera, cleared his throat, and said… nothing. A dread cold settled over him as he racked his brain for the speech he’d been practicing for months — and came up empty. He’d blanked.
“Helloooooo, Earth!” shouted Kurt as he jumped in front of the camera. “You know who this is. It’s the flamethrower, the righty rifler, the MVP. It’s me, Kurt Craig. And I’m coming to you live from the surface of Mars!”
He paused a beat then, imagining the roar of the crowds, Grant was sure. He chewed his gum a few times, flashed his hyena smile, and then continued.
“I’m joined here today by Commander Grant Penner and his brilliant, beautiful daughter Captain Kelly Penner. As you can see and probably hear, we’ve arrived on the red planet on a blustery day. But don’t you worry, this little bubble is a lot sturdier than it looks. It could sit here and get sand blasted like this for the next—”
Kurt’s next words stuck in his throat as he winced at a sharp snapping sound, followed almost immediately by a much louder bang. The bubble’s three inhabitants gasped in unison, their stricken faces all turned to the broken piece of antennae array impaled through the wall of their plastic sanctuary.
Just audible over the howling wind came a tiny whistle of escaping air. The metal rod vibrated spastically under the gale’s assault. And then it popped free.
Instantly, the whistle became a howl as the pressurized bubble blew its precious air out into the thin Martian atmosphere.
Grant reacted instantly, lunging for his discarded suit. The roll of adhesive tape in its pocket was meant for accidental suit tears, but it might be able to seal the hole in the bubble — at least temporarily. If only he could reach it in time!
But even as his fingers fumbled with the tape, Grant’s vision started to blur. He could hear himself sucking in panicky breaths, his body desperate for oxygen that wasn’t there.
“Kelly!” he whispered, catching sight of his already-unconscious daughter.
Then a veil of black fell over his eyes.
* * *
As Grant’s awareness slowly returned, his eyes fixed on a blinking red light. At first, he mistook it for a piece of hospital equipment. Had he been in an accident?
Then it all came back in a rush: the camera, the bubble, Mars! Kelly!
Just beyond the camera, Grant saw that the hole in the bubble had been sealed with a gob of some sort of putty. It was pink, almost the color of cotton candy or… gum?
Then following the view of the camera — and the whole world — he spotted ace baseball pitcher Kurt Craig knelt down before his daughter. The air seemed to thin again at the sight of the massive gold ring sliding onto her finger.

Copyright 2024 - SFS Publishing LLC
The Bubble
Romance on the red planet
Randall Andrews

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