is composed of a single habitat ring encircling a variety of supply pods and pressurized tanks.
A small command module is tucked beneath the forward navigation bulb.
The ship passes above the Baja Peninsula.
The habitat wheel begins to rotate slowly.
INSIDE HELLAS
YING
All systems five by five.
ROSEGARDEN
Artificial gravity at twenty percent
Earth normal.
BIX
Debarking Earth orbit in T minus one
minute.
OUTSIDE HELLAS
The Hellas passes above Africa.
INSIDE
ROSEGARDEN
Artificial gravity at thirty eight
percent Earth normal. Standard Mars
surface gravity achieved.
YING
This is it, people. Firing thrusters in
five, four, three...
OUTSIDE
The Hellas' thrusters fire.
It slowly leaves Earth orbit.
The habitat wheel becomes sluggish, jerky. Three quarter smooth rotation, one quarter strained rotation. The cycle repeats with regularity.
INSIDE
The strained rotation ECHOES throughout the ship.
Auditory agony. Earplugs are distributed.
ROSEGARDEN
I think we should shut it down,
Commander.
YING
I agree, Colonel. Disengaging rotary
couplings.
Ying flips switches. Pulls a lever. Nothing happens.
She repeats the procedure. Nothing.
YING (CONT’D)
System not responding. Contact Microcore
Earth Command.
ROSEGARDEN
(into transmitter)
MPV Hellas to Microcore Earth Command.
Please Respond.
MICROCORE EARTH COMMAND (V.O.)
Microcore Earth Command to MPV Hellas.
We've been monitoring the situation.
ROSEGARDEN
Rotary couplings will not disengage.
Please advise.
MICROCORE EARTH COMMAND (V.O.)
I'm sorry, Colonel, we don't have remote
access to that system. Do you believe the
crew is in imminent danger?
ROSEGARDEN
To be honest, I'm not sure.
MICROCORE EARTH COMMAND (V.O.)
Roger that. We'll work on establishing a
link with the rotary system from here. In
the meantime, try to make the best of the
situation. MEC out.
YING
You heard it people, we're just going to
have to deal with the noise and the
variable gravity until we can get this
resolved.
INT. NAVIGATION BULB - HELLAS SPACECRAFT
Mars is visible through a large window.
Jeremy and Bix are there alone.
Their conversation is timed between the
