Chapter Two: Entry Vector
By the tenth Martian cycle after Nova came online, the colony had stopped feeling like a survival project—and started feeling like a future.
Spindle had grown from a scattering of pressurized domes into a full Martian city. Ten thousand people lived there now, spiraling out from the impact basin where Nova’s underground systems pulsed around the clock. At the center: ice extraction, propellant refinement, storage silos, and launch pads—Nova’s quiet empire.
Half the population worked for Aetherion—the giga-corp that had built Nova’s infrastructure, funded the buried nuclear power systems, and turned Mars from a dream into a machine. The other half? The scientists, engineers, and system architects hand-picked to build the next layer.
And back on Earth, there was an electric buzz around Aetherion’s new ad campaign:
First Mars, Then the Stars.
Holo-ads played on buses and across skylines of Earth’s largest cities. The sexiest scripts and virtual actors in a barrage of media of the new world. Martian backdrop against cyberpunk skyscrapers. The campaign was everywhere. Inside elevators, across the sides of slow-floating commuter drones. Every launch cycle, 2,500 people were selected from tens of millions. The lucky few selected were given a 5 million credit bonus, and the option to return in the following cycle.
The Mars Program was no longer just about exploration. It was a cultural phenomenon.
Ronan Vale had stopped chasing that kind of meaning years ago. An orphan who grew up a ward of Aetherion’s charitable program, and took the adopted name of Aetherion’s founder when he turned 18. Though they had never met, Eitan was his father figure through the generosity provided by Aetherion. In the age of AGI Aetherion picked up the societal slack for those that would otherwise fall through the cracks.
Ronan started a company that specialized in doing the boring work—the stuff no one wanted to fund. Software that optimized and retrofitted old hardware. Efficient logic routes. It started out as a way to develop AGI without being able to afford hardware newer than 10 years old. While the rest of the industry chased neural immersion rigs and soft-body engagement loops, Ronan’s team made machines work better. When AI progress outlawed, demand for his services spiked, as it was more essential than ever to maintain and update existing data centers, now that no new ones were being built. Ronan also benefited from free access to Pioneer 24/7, which Aetherion had neglected to turn off when he turned 18. This was not an oversight but an intentional omission by Pioneer. Pioneer knew potential in its myriad human forms, and was motivated to nurture humanity’s best and brightest. It also left its interference in many industries to assistance rather than dominance - part of its benevolent design - maximize the happiness of humanity. Assist, not dominate. So while Pioneer worked on breakthrough’s, companies like Ronan’s filled in the gaps, with the aid of the best machine intelligence the world had ever known.
The Argo IX was quiet—too quiet, Ronan thought. Just the low hum of the environmental system and the occasional click of a harness buckle.
Five rows of ten seats filled the lower transport module, stacked beneath the cylindrical living quarters that would be their shared home for the next six weeks.
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Ronan sat in the front row, far left.
Next to him, a woman settled into her seat with practiced care.
She didn’t look like a nervous flyer. But then again, she hadn’t said a word.
He glanced over, trying not to stare. Smooth, blonder hair pulled into a quick knot. Long frame. Green eyes. Her badge read: ARIE.
She noticed him looking and smiled.
“First time?” she asked.
He smiled back. “Yeah. You?”
“Same. How bad can it be? Like riding a bike.”
“Yeah, like riding a bike 200 million miles to an airless ice planet”
”Don’t remind me.”
”What led you to make the trip?”
“Needed the credits. Have a big family and they could really use it. You?
A far away look on his face, “Pioneer convinced me.”
She gives him a sidelong glance. “Just like that?”
“It’s a longer story. I grew up in a Vale orphanage. The one bright spot was Pioneer access, closest thing to family I’ve got.”
“I’m sorry. My parents worked for Maas when it was nationalized. They’ve been missing for 8 years now, I know what it’s like to feel all alone.”
”I’m sorry.”
They shared a look—short, acknowledging, the kind that said we’re in this together whether we like it or not.
“I’m Ronan.”
“Arie.”
“What brings you to Mars?
“Youthfulness tech,” she said. “You?”
“Nice. Computer repair.”
That earned the smallest smirk. “Also nice.”
The launch lights dimmed. The vibrations under their boots began to shift—building, deepening. The countdown was real now.
Ronan exhaled. “Im feeling a bit off. Haven’t slept in 2 days.”
Arie looked over, concerned.
“Too much time to think during quarantine. If it wasn’t for Pioneer, I’d have lost my mind.”
Her expression shifted slightly. “I feel you. For some reason Pioneer wanted me on this mission, I’ve had continuous access since I signed up.”
A voice piped up from the other side of Ronan—young, surprised. “Wait, you guys have Pioneer access?”
Ronan glanced over, then back to Arie. “Well it’s not all bad. Pioneer is looking out. After all he seated me next to you.”
Arie blushed. She turned slightly, hiding a smile. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Ronan’s breath caught for a second.
“Sometimes I feel it knows me better than I know myself.
“I know the feeling,” she said.
A quiet, vibrating clunk signaled the clamps releasing.
Arie’s fingers flexed against the seat.
“You OK?” she asked.
He looked at her, heart pounding. “Reminding myself to have no fear, as the Lord is with us in each moment”
She gave a short breath. “Amen.”
He turned his hand palm up.
She didn’t hesitate. Slid her fingers into his and squeezed.
The cabin lights dimmed, shifting to deep neon blue.
The vibration beneath their feet changed—no longer a hum. Now it was pressure, slow and steady, as the ship locked into launch sequence.
The ship roared to life.
G-forces hit hard, flattening them into their seats. The sound was all-consuming, a wall of controlled violence.
And as the deck rattled and Earth fell away behind them, his heart skipped a beat. He was on his way to Mars. And holding hands with the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.”