The Final Frontier

Allison's heart was fluttering. It was only seconds before they would announce the astronaut who would make the final voyage into space.

She still couldn't believe the International Space Organization (ISO) was abandoning space travel. However, she understood their reasoning. With millions of people starving because of the lack of food, space travel was considered a frivolous expense. It was the right call in some ways but the wrong one in others.

Allison, like many others, felt that people needed hope as much as they needed food for their bellies. It was the lack of both that was resulting in thousands of deaths every day. But it seemed that providing one or the other was all that was feasible.

She really didn't expect her name to be called. There were astronauts with far more experience than her standing on the dias. Plus, space was the one frontier that women had failed to conquer. No woman had ever piloted a space mission solo.

"The astronaut chosen for our final space mission is Colonel Allison McKenzie." The words rang in Allison's brain but didn't connect right away. When they did finally sink in, she felt her knees buckling beneath her.

"Congratulations colonel." "Way to go, Allison." "You're a lucky lady, Dr. McKenzie." Everyone around her was expressing well wishes.

"You deserved it, colonel." The words came from the president of ISO. "There's no one better versed about the planet Mars than you."

That much was true. What Allison lacked in flight experience, she more than made up for in knowledge. She had become fascinated with the red planet as a child. She knew almost everything there was to know about Mars. Now she was going there.

Months passed as Allison prepared for the mission. She worked with other pilots to upgrade her skills while also finishing designs for the equipment that was going with her. Before she knew, M-Day was upon her.

As she kissed her parents and her husband goodbye, no thought of never seeing them again came to mind. She was confident in her skills. She was ready to go and to make her nation and the world proud.

As the countdown began, Allison thought back to the very first space mission. She wondered how it would have felt to experience it first hand. After all, it pioneered a new era for planet Earth.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven. . ." As she neared the blast-off, Allison wondered if she'd find anything new about Mars. The data from other missions had been contradictory. She wanted to set the record straight once and for all.

"Three, two, one - - blast off!" As the engines roared around her, Allison smiled. This was it. Her dream come true.

The days passed slowly, despite all the work Allison was expected to do in flight. She'd read over 50 novels on her Kindle and conquered just about every game on it as well. But tomorrow was the day. Tomorrow she would finally land on Mars.

Double and triple checking each piece of equipment, Allison tried to catch a few winks of sleep. However, it eluded her altogether.

She starred out the window at the planet that had fascinated her all her life. It was beautiful in an unconventional way. She couldn't wait to explore it.

For the first time, she wished ISO had sent a companion with her. However, the rocket was barely large enough for her, the two robots she needed for survey purposes and the rest of the equipment. ISO felt the extra expense would have caused even more riots throughout the world.

Allison knew that in some circle her name would go down in infamy for agreeing to take on the mission. She was hated nearly as much as she was beloved. Several attempts had been made on her live before the mission became a reality. It was weird that some people thought killing the astronaut would scrub the mission. It never occurred to them, that ISO would have just chosen another.

After entering the orbit, Allison had little time to think of anything else. Her mind was occupied with the landing. When she at last touched down on the surface of the red planet, her heart jumped in her chest. She felt like a schoolgirl who'd just been asked to the prom.

She had to wait nearly 15 hours before she could risk going outside the rocket. Fist, she sent out the robots to gather samples to confirm the planet's atmosphere. But everything came back as expected. Finally, Allison McKenzie donned her specially made suit and opened the hatch.

Stepping onto the planet's surface was even more thrilling than she'd imagined but she busied herself with work to avoid letting her excitement cause her to make a mistake. Setting up the equipment took several hours. She wouldn't be able to explore Mars until the following day.

However, that evening Allison slept like a baby. Her dreams were of home and family. She couldn't wait to start one with her husband of three years. She'd promised Derrick that would be their only mission once she finally returned to Earth.

When Allison and her robots finally made their way deep into Mars, she was exhilarated. Programming the robots to take the samples she wanted, she hopped on her space scooter and headed toward the mountain range that many believed responsible for the appearance of a face on the planet.

Scientists had fought for decades over that face. Some believed it proved that there was once life on Mars. Others felt it was just an anomaly of rocks and the planet surface. Finally, Allison would get to see for herself.

As she neared the range, one thing struck her as odd. It didn't look like any mountain range she'd ever seen before. It looked well planned. There was a symmetry about it that could lead to some thinking it was man-made; or in this case Martian-made.

Allison got as close as she dared on the bike before deciding to continue on foot. Plugging in her recorder, she began describing what she saw around her.

"There's something odd about the range," she noted. As you near it on foot it appears to be a fortress of some kind."

An audible gasp escaped from her lips as Allison spied something she never expected to find. Right in front of her, within a few feet was a gateway with what looked like a door.

Hurrying forward, she reached out to touch it. "You won't believe what I just found," she recorded. "There is a door. This isn't a range at all. It appears to conceal what might be a city."

Through the fine mist of red dust she searched for a door handle, but there was none to be found. Not knowing what else to do, she reached up her hand and knocked on the stony surface.

Almost immediately the door began to swing open. "The door is opening and I'm going inside," Allison noted. It would be among the last words anyone would ever hear her speak.

As Allison stepped through the doorway, the mist began to clear. She could feel a presence directly in front of her, though she could not see it.

"Welcome," a deep voice said as Allison dropped to her knees in total shock. "Mars is not what I expected," she whispered slowly. It's heav. . ." The recorder snapped off. Allison's very last words would never be heard.