Voyage To The Forbidden Maroon

• Michael Zeng, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2021

Journey to the Forbidden Maroon by Michael Zeng

My sweaty fingers pinch the last red wire into the forest of red and green coils as I solder the last silver drop of hot liquid onto the end. I shut the metal lid against the white frame and stood back admiring my masterpiece. It stands above me in my surroundings of a mess of scattered blueprints, equipment, screws and all sorts of other gadgets. The MC Quad Commissioner rocket glimmers before my eyes and its tall slender body stands in front of me. The slim rocket capsule engine nozzles balance on the pavement as its sleek nose faces towards the ceiling. Outside clouds of dust and smoke filled the air as piles of debris crowd everywhere. It is the year 2099, and things were about to get worse. I planned to deliver the last sign of transportation, a rocket, to flee the forever finite planet, Earth.

Finally, after hours of adjusting, my biggest dream had just become reality. All that effort and time was greatly put to use and failure had been moulded to success after several prototypes and designs. It was up to the last chunk to resolve, the fuel supply. I had already done the calculations and the total amount of fuel that was required was 452,784.631 litres of fuel. I wheeled the gigantic module to the nearest gas station and began pouring large amounts of petrol into the cylinder until it reached the top brim.

After a few hours of uneasy back twisting and muscle pains, I finally set the rocket onto the launching platform. My family, friends and relatives all entered the cockpit and settled into the strapped cushioned seats. We were nearly prepared to leave our once completely inhabited planet, for a better future, and a way to change mankind forever. As I pulled the lever joystick from the mission control compartment, the thrust of the engine boomed with energy and a blast of air propelled against the ground, lifting up the MC Quad Commissioner into the air. Earth was quickly fading away, smaller and smaller. We had left our planet, and outside was already pitch black. As I looked back, a tear fell down my cheek and floated in the air. I was now on the journey to the forbidden red planet, Mars.