The UA, B City Ground Command Center.
The staff was in a mess.
Just ten minutes ago, they urgently interrupted the live broadcast of the "Mars landing plan". The UA soldiers who maintained order outside the launch center put up a barrier at the door of the command center, blocked the reporters who were waiting for news, and sealed off the entire command center.
"… This is Ares! We need support! God … them, those bugs! They're crashing into our flying ship! "
"Hell, aren't they not going to actively attack people?"
"We may have landed on their nest … 11% hull damage, damn it!"
Messages came intermittently from Ares, which was tens of millions of kilometers away.
Bolden, who stood in the command center, stared at the screen in bewilderment.
He couldn't believe that all this would happen so suddenly.
Scientists from the Advanced Projects Agency of the Department of Defense, biology professors from Harvard University, and researchers from SpaceX's Mars Colonization Program Project Team were also stunned … including Martin Karplus, who was rejected by Celestial Trade in Coro City, and Michael Levitt, who came on behalf of MIT.
Almost all of the renowned experts in the biology field in the United States were standing here.
They once patted their chests and vowed to NASA consultants that this Martian creature's digestive function for mammals had deteriorated along with the extinction of the Martian surface creatures in more than three billion years of evolution, so it was impossible for it to attack humans for no reason.
The reason why Devil Worms attacked Celestial Trade's Mars colony was purely because Celestial Trade first made hostile actions … In short, those Xin people asked for it.
However, now, Devil Worms used Sean's death to slap everyone in the face.
Not only did it eat people.
In front of everyone, it used the cruelest way to eat its prey …
"God." Secretary of Defense Carter, who walked into the lounge next to the command center with a group of senior officials, gulped. "Today will be the darkest day in the history of UA aerospace."
"Celestial Trade warned us about the danger of those Martian species … Damn it! Who said these things are gentle little cuties, and nothing will happen if we don't touch them! "NASA Director Bolden slammed his fist on the table in the lounge.
These eight astronauts were NASA's treasures. The money NASA spent on them was no less than the cost of Ares itself.
Training an astronaut was much more expensive than training a fighter pilot. Not only did they have to master more complex spacecraft operation knowledge, but they also had to master a lot of natural science knowledge to deal with all kinds of unexpected situations.
"What should we do now?" The White House adviser looked at Bolden. "How should I explain this to the president in two hours?"
"… Take the initiative to clarify to the media?" Secretary of Defense Carter gritted his teeth and said, "No … If they find out that our astronaut died because of an error in judgment, we will be drowned in the media."
"There are still seven people alive … We have to find a way to save them," Bolden said with an ugly expression.
"How?" Carter was amused by Bolden's words, but he couldn't laugh. He grinned bitterly and said, "Do you think that's Iraq? Or Afghanistan? The people surrounding us are terrorists? If that's the case, I'll send a SEAL team to bring our citizens home. "
"I can only ask Celestial Trade for help."
As soon as this sentence came out, the entire lounge suddenly fell into silence.
The deputy director who said this immediately closed his mouth, peeked at his colleagues, and stopped talking.
"First stall the media, then discuss with Celestial Trade. If we can let them take our astronauts to their colony …" The more Bolden spoke, the more he felt he couldn't go on.
Before the launch of the rocket, Celestial Trade warned them of the dangers of the Martian species. However, they not only ignored it, but also thought that Celestial Trade deliberately released a smokescreen to obstruct their "Mars landing plan" with a group of insects that would not actively attack mammals.
But now …
They paid the price for their stupidity.
"We can only find a way to solve it through diplomatic channels," Carter said with an ugly expression.
Kick the ball to the Secretary of State … Anyway, this matter didn't have much to do with him. The Advanced Projects Agency of the Department of Defense participated in the design of the Victorious VI rocket engine, but it did not participate in the entire launch project.
The reason why he stood here was just to show his face at this historical moment.
Unfortunately, he showed his face, but he also made a fool of himself …
"In short, calm the media first. I will go and talk to them. Just say that Mars has encountered solar wind, and the communication between the ground command center and Ares has failed. We need to wait for some time before we can receive news from them," the White House adviser said.
"Then I'll talk to the NASA staff. This matter is confidential in advance," Bolden glanced at several senior officials and said.
"I'll explain to the people at SpaceX," the deputy director of NASA said.
As long as Celestial Trade could be persuaded, the safety of the seven astronauts should not be a problem.
As for how to negotiate with Celestial Trade, it was up to the Secretary of State.
However, at this moment, the door of the lounge was suddenly pushed open, and a man in a NASA staff uniform ran in in a panic.
"What's the matter? Lipman. " Bolden frowned at him and said with dissatisfaction, "What's the matter? Don't you know to knock?"
Not only was the conversation suddenly interrupted, but they were also discussing state secrets.
"Not good!" Lipman gasped for air as he held the door frame and looked at Bolden bitterly. "The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and CBS … Several media outlets outside the launch center are demanding an immediate explanation for this incident!"
"Explain?" Carter frowned. "Explain what? Aren't they staying outside obediently? "
Lipman glanced at the big shots in the lounge, and his eyes widened in surprise. "You don't know?"
"Know what?" The Capitol Advisor suddenly felt something was wrong. He immediately rushed to Lipman's side and grabbed his shoulder. "What happened outside! Tell me! "
[You really don't know?]
Lipman smiled bitterly, took out an iPhone 10 from his pocket, and stuffed it into the Capitol Advisor's arms.
"See for yourself."
The Capitol Advisor quickly took the phone, and Carter, Bolden, and others standing behind him also quickly came forward.
On the screen was a tweet.
To be precise, it was a news article reposted by a well-known blogger, with the blogger's comments on the news … but these were not the key points.
At the moment they saw the news headline.
Everyone's face turned the color of pig liver.
The headline of the news …
[Shocking! The UA manned rocket landed on Mars and encountered them …]
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
