All Scott Powers ever wanted to do was to work on Mars. Born near the end of the shuttle era, he couldn't understand why NASA wasn't moving forward with the exploration of space. He joined the Navy and studied aerospace engineering, and while he was in college, water was discovered on Mars-liquid water! Almost immediately, the race for Mars was on, despite major political turmoil between the West and Russia and China, who both had expansionist visions. Upon graduating with high honors and receiving his commission, Powers was assigned to the new Space Shuttle Design and Construction program at Space Command in Florida. Now it's December 2043. Man has been on Mars for twenty years, and it's finally Scott Powers' turn. Admiral Charles Sherman from Space Command in Florida has selected Powers to replace retiring commander Brian Rice at Utopia. The one-thousand-plus men and women of mankind's first off-world mining and research base, along with all its problems and complications, will now be under his command. He thinks of his bride-to-be, Lucy Carter, who left him at the altar five years ago to accept a posting on Mars. Memories of her flood his mind as he boards the transport shuttle for the forty-three-day trip to the Red Planet. The authors are lifelong science fiction fans who grew up under the influence of the works of Ray Bradbury and Gene Roddenberry. They reside in northern New England. This book is the first of three twelve-chapter volumes documenting the life, adventures, and crisis of Powers and Carter as they cope with the daily stress and unexpected surprises they will encounter managing the Utopia mining colony.