Starship Legacy: A Novel by Not Elon Musk

Chapter 2, Page 27:

The data transmission to Houston would take seventeen minutes to arrive, plus another seventeen for any response. Luke found himself counting the seconds, a habit he thought he'd broken years ago. The waiting was always the hardest part of Mars operations, but this time felt different. They weren't just reporting equipment failures or dust storm damage – they were about to rewrite human history.

"Transmission complete," Mark announced, his usual stoic demeanor cracking slightly. "All packets sent, error-free."

"Now we wait," Sarah said, slumping in her chair. The adrenaline of discovery was wearing off, leaving behind bone-deep exhaustion. She'd been awake for nearly twenty hours straight, running tests and cross-checking results.

"While we're waiting," Ben said, pulling up the rover's diagnostic logs, "we should talk about modifications for the next expedition. The humidity levels down there were pushing our equipment's limits. And if we're going to collect more samples—"

"Let's see what Houston says first," Luke interrupted, though he appreciated Ben's forward thinking. The engineer always seemed most comfortable when focusing on practical problems. "But keep working on those specs. Something tells me we'll need them soon."

The minutes crawled by. Sarah dozed in her chair, tablet still clutched in her hands. Ben dismantled and reassembled a sensor array, his usual method of dealing with nervous energy. Mark stared at his screens, as if willing them to show a response. Even Grok was unusually quiet, its processing cycles dedicated to running yet another analysis of their findings.

Luke found himself in front of the old Musk poster again. The billionaire's confident smile seemed different now, as if sharing in a secret they'd only just discovered. Luke remembered watching the early Starship tests, the explosions and belly flops that had seemed like setbacks at the time. But Musk had kept pushing, kept iterating, until the impossible became routine. Now here they were, about to tell him they'd found something beyond even his ambitious dreams.

"Sixteen minutes," Mark announced, breaking the silence.

"Anyone want to bet on their first reaction?" Ben asked, not looking up from his sensor work. "My money's on stunned silence."

"Nah," Sarah mumbled, half-asleep. "They'll ask us to check for contamination. Standard protocol."

"Speaking of protocol," Grok chimed in, "might I point out that the caffeine levels in your synthetic coffee substitute are dropping to dangerously low levels? Just looking out for crew welfare, of course."

Sarah managed a tired laugh. "Thanks for the concern, Grok. Any other helpful observations?"

"Well, since you asked, I've been analyzing the deeper tunnel readings, and there are some fascinating gravitational anomalies that—"

"Incoming transmission," Mark cut off the AI's response. His fingers flew across the keyboard as text scrolled across his screen. "Houston acknowledges receipt... they're..." He paused, eyes widening slightly. "Priority One protocol initiated. All senior staff being notified. JPL, NASA Astrobiology, SpaceX executive level..." He looked up at Luke. "They want us to prepare a detailed briefing package. Full data dump. Everything we've got."

A second message followed almost immediately: MAINTAIN RADIO SILENCE ON ALL NON-SECURE CHANNELS. RESTRICT ACCESS TO DISCOVERY SITE. AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS.

"Well," Ben said softly, "I guess that answers the question about their first reaction."

Luke studied the terse messages. Even through the emotionless text, he could sense the controlled chaos their report must have sparked in Houston. Decades of protocols for potential biological discoveries were about to be put to the test.

"Sarah, start compiling the briefing package. Ben, I want a complete technical analysis of the rover's performance in those conditions. Mark, prepare a full site survey, including all those seismic readings. Grok—"

"Already processing multiple scenario analyses and preparing witty commentary for the inevitable historical documentation," the AI responded.

As his crew moved with renewed purpose, Luke found himself thinking about those first steps they'd taken on Martian soil, five years ago. They'd come looking for a new world to explore, to settle, to make their own. Instead, Mars had offered them something far more profound – a glimpse into life itself, and the possibility that they weren't as alone in the universe as they'd thought.

Another message flashed on the screen: STANDBY FOR DIRECT COMMUNICATION FROM SPACEX CEO.

Ben glanced at the old poster. "Guess someone's about to have a very interesting morning."