The Shores of Titan

After the brief pass by icy Rhea, the crew of the Heimdall were ready for the next and possibly the most exciting encounter yet, cloudy Titan.  Astrogator Tori Varr had images of the mysterious moon pinned up all over any available space in her cabin, spending the long hours between activity poring over the data. Now it was time to put that information to good use, as the vast ship approached the enigmatic moon and the course she had plotted was put into action. She and Nascha had argued about the most promising landing site, as the surface was largely clouded and the only available maps were based on sensor data. Nascha had suggested that the best place would be near the shoreline of one of the titanic seas or mare, the largest being at the northern pole, Kraken Mare. The large sea had an island land mass at its northern end and although the liquid the sea contained would not be liquid water, the greatest possibility for finding signs of life might be in these areas. As it turned out, the deciding vote was cast by Skarvalds wife and mission Exobiologist, Inga Skarvald, a tall imposing woman who knew more about the moons climate and makeup than anyone else. Inga had quietly pointed out that the shorelines of Kraken Mare may be too soft to venture onto using the rovers or Molab, but the island itself had a more solid outline and should permit close observations of the ethane seas. The initial landing was to take place using the Gungnir, while the second shuttle Bifrost would rendezvous with one of the cargo rockets to transfer fuel and supplies to the Heimdall. The two secondary shuttles would perform mapping operations of Titan, while the cloud cover was at its thinnest, so that further excursions could be planned. The Heimdall had arrived during Titans seven year summer season, so the heavy clouds of hydrocarbons were slightly less dense and there was less chance of severe flash floods of methane during their stay on the surface.

Tom piloted the Gungnir into the upper reaches of the atmosphere as Nascha, Inga and Tori carefully watched the readouts on the sensor arrays. Tori made slight amendments to the trajectory as the shuttle hit the cloud layer, the thick atmosphere buffeting the ship as they slid through the gloom. Inga readied the atmospheric probes she had prepared, instrument capsules attached to gas filled balloons that would inflate and drift in the cloud layers sending back information to the Heimdall. Suddenly, the Gungnir dropped abruptly as it hit a layer of lighter air. "sorry." grunted Tom as he hunched over the controls, levelling out their descent. Just then, the viewport bloomed with yellowish light as the shuttle emerged from the lowering cloud above a landscape of low mountains and gleaming lakes. "wow, look at that.." whispered Tori, but the two other scientists were still restrained to their couches and unable to see directly through the main port. Tom grunted his appreciation and hauled back on the controls, bringing the Gungnir into a circling pattern over the proposed landing site. "landing in six minutes! Sing out !" This was Toms instruction to Nascha and Tori for confirmation of the landing sites suitability. Already they were checking the sensor readouts and Nascha quickly confirmed the practicality of a soft landing. The retros cut in and as the lowered gravity made it easier to handle the ship, the actual touchdown on the surface was delicate and smooth. Once more Nascha was the first to unseat herself and was heading for the cargo bay. Tom and Inga would follow on in the Molab, but Tori and Nascha were to be first to set foot on the surface.

Tori joined her companion at the airlock and stepped in. As she cycled the lock, Tor Skarvalds voice crackled in their ears across the intercom: "now remember," he rumbled "no sightseeing!" Nascha looked across at Tori and smiled. Then the lock cracked open and the bay was bathed in eerie, buttery light. Flakes of waxy snow fluttered in, turning into oily puddles immediately. They stepped out onto a rocky plain, the light from the sun washed away by the glow from Saturn, bathing everything in rich golden light, petering down through the clouds. Before them, the land tumbled away, scarred by craters and rilles, vast patches of ice spread across their view and just beyond sat a long gleaming expanse of liquid - ethane, colourless and torpid stretching away towards the horizon. The flakes drifting around them turned to sleet, heavy drops replacing the large flakes as the heat radiating from the ship warmed the frigid air around them. The drops streaked their suits with greyish fluid, particles contained in the fluid leaving trails on the heavy woven material. "look!" said Tori breathless " a rainbow.." and they both watched as a golden arc of light lifted silently from the far edge of the sea, its colours alien and ethereal in the strange light.