Perseverance pauses at the edge of a region marked by sandy ripples.
A Short Story by W. Steve Wilson
Following an early victory, Shimmery5 continues their efforts to combat the invaders.
Following their success in stopping the flittery flying beastlet, Shimmery5 had moved closer to the larger crawling beast through the subsurface brine, disentangled, and settled down to rest. The strain of the trip south from the Conclave and the initial assault on the flyer had exhausted the combine. But with summer approaching, the extended light periods refreshed them and recharged their reserves.
The members of Shimmery5 roused themselves after resting for thirty rotations. They stretched out tendrils, sought each other, and recombined. It was time to go after the crawling menace that had landed in their life zone over one hundred rotations ago.
A spark of anxiety raced through the combine, startling Shimmery First.
“They’re gone,” said Shimmery Third. “They’ve moved again. Just what I feared.”
Shimmery First sent a calming charge to the combine. “They can’t have gone far. The flying thing should still be where we found it. Fifth, send a tendril above the surface and find them.”
First felt the drain on the combine as Fifth extended a tendril and disturbed the thin atmosphere, kicking up a small dust cloud.
“The crawling thing has stopped at the edge of the ripple roughness. It seems to be waiting,” said Fifth.
“We can’t get to it there,” said Fourth. “We’d have to charge all summer to move through the narrow passages.”
“Where is the flittery flyer?” asked Third.
“It’s moved far away across the ripple roughness. I failed. My touch did nothing.”
Fifth retracted their tendril as a wave of sadness and regret moved through the combine. First returned a soothing calm to Fifth to relieve their guilt.
“That’s too far,” said Fourth. “We’ll never get there before it moves again.”
“There’s another way,” said Second.
Surprise rippled through the combine. Second never voiced an opinion. First was unsure why they had now. “What do you suggest?” First asked.
“We should divide—one group takes on the flying thing, the other, the crawling beast. Three of us could get through the ripple roughness. The other two can move fast enough to get across to the flittery flyer.”
Dread poured through the combine. Their entanglements weakened as the members coalesced into themselves. The last time they’d separated in a desperate search for brine, Shimmery8 had lost three members, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth. Those that remained became Shimmery5. First couldn’t stand for it to happen again.
“You know the danger,” said First. “We might not find each other again, or we could get trapped. We still don’t know what happened to our three missing members.”
“It’s a risk we must take if we want to stop the invaders. Let’s agree to meet back here after ten rotations,” said Second. A wave of assent flowed through the combine. “I’ll take Fifth with me and go after the flittery flyer. First, Third and Fourth can go after the crawler.”
First shed a small charge of surprise, at Second being so assertive, but the plan should work. Agreeing on where to meet would avoid the risk of getting lost. First sent a wave of agreement, and the combine separated into Shimmery2 and Shimmery3. Shimmery2 left immediately and headed towards where Fifth had spotted the flittery flyer. First led Shimmery3 through the subsurface brine towards the crawling beast.
First was still unsure of Second’s willingness to act and an inkling of doubt entered Shimmery3. They wondered why Second had been so eager to leave and take Fifth. Had the combine just made a mistake they would come to regret? Shimmery3 proceeded to the crawler, but foreboding now flowed through the combine.
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Tweet: @NASAJPL 11:54 AM · Jul 5, 2021
#MarsHelicopter pushes its Red Planet limits. The rotorcraft completed its 9th and most challenging flight yet, flying for 166.4 seconds at a speed of 5 m/s. Take a look at this shot of Ingenuity’s shadow captured with its navigation camera. http://go.nasa.gov/ingenuity
Pasadena, JPL STATUS UPDATES | July 02, 2021
“Perseverance is currently at the eastern edge of a scientifically interesting region called ‘Séítah,’ which is characterized by sandy ripples that could be very challenging terrain for wheeled vehicles like the rover. Ingenuity’s last two flights have been designed to keep up with the rover on this journey.
Rather than continuing to skip ahead of the rover, however, we will now attempt to do something that only an aerial vehicle at Mars could accomplish – take a shortcut straight across a portion of the Séítah region and land on a plain to the south. On the way, we plan to take color aerial images of the rocks and ripples that we pass over.”