* * * *
Daniel’s alarm went off at 0730 and it took several minutes for him to find the energy and coordination to slap the snooze button. His tongue was furry and his eyelids seemed to be glued shut. Oh-h-h-h-h. Today’s graduation. I have to get up.
Fourteen minutes later he was still telling himself that when his door chime rang. Ow! He slapped the door control by the lamp and whispered, “Come in!” into the intercom as he held his throbbing head.
James shuffled in, looking about like Daniel felt. “Hey, man, what are you still doing in bed? Graduation’s in sixteen minutes. Get a move on!”
“At the moment, I’m trying to get the symphony orchestra in my head to take five. Remind me to fire that damn kettle drum player.” Daniel chuckled at James’ bemused expression, then clutched his head in pain. “Ow! Never mind.”
“Hurry up. You’ve got five minutes for a hot shower and then we’ve gotta run.”
“Okay, okay.” Daniel staggered out of bed and into the bathroom.
James called after him, “I’ll make some synthcaf while you’re in there. You can drink it on the way.”
“Gah, no! I couldn’t eat or drink anything right now. I think a rabbit crapped on my tongue while I slept. Maybe after the ceremony.”
Minutes later he stumbled back into the bedroom and threw on the clothes James had laid out for him on the bed. There were two minutes left until the ceremony when they finally exited Daniel’s quarters and made a shambling run for the lift. When they arrived, three minutes late, everyone else was standing on their usual marks, waiting. Murtagh, looking as stern and sober as ever, tapped his wrist chrono as the two took their places, but said nothing.
How can he look so fresh after last night? Daniel wondered.
Without preamble, Murtagh began. “Ladies and gentlemen, today is graduation day for those who have successfully completed the orientation program. But before we can begin, there is one final order of business to attend to. As y’all know, one student has been undergoin’ remedial zero-gee trainin’ after-hours.” Everyone looked at Kim, who blushed furiously. “Cappelletti, front and center!” She did so and he handed her a pair of exercise slippers. “Please demonstrate for the class that you have mastered the skills necessary for emergency maneuvers. I want you to launch yourself at the ceiling, and then return—just like we did on Day One.”
Kim’s eyes went wide, yet she donned the sandals. “B-but Murtagh, couldn’t we do this in private?”
Holy Hannah. She looks terrified, Daniel observed.
“No buts, Cappelletti! In an emergency y’all won’t have the luxury of choosin’ whether or not to perform in front of an audience. Lives may depend on how well you execute. Now, JUMP!” He punched a control in his remote to cancel the gravity in the hangar.
Startled, Kim launched herself awkwardly. Seemingly still rattled, her flip was clumsy and her long ponytail slapped her in the face. Then she hit the ceiling too hard, bounced and drifted away. Another second and she would have been out of reach of the ceiling and ended up floundering in the air, unable to return to the floor, and failed the exercise. Instead, she unbent her knees and jammed her feet back barely in time to push off the ceiling with her toes. This time her face showed fierce determination as she executed a flawless flip and touched down with knees correctly bent to absorb the impact for a feather-light landing.
“Nice recovery, Cappelletti. Now take your place for graduation.”
The room erupted in applause and whistles as she got back in line, face glowing and eyes flashing. Those nearby patted her on the back as she passed.
Daniel gave her two thumbs up. “You nailed it, girl!”
Murtagh waited a moment for the hubbub to subside. “If you children are done makin’ a ruckus, maybe we can get on with the ceremony.” It took a moment for the echoes to die down in the huge chamber.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not one for speechifyin’, so I’ll keep this brief. Y’all have demonstrated the ability not only to handle yourselves in an emergency, but also to perform normal shipboard duties while on yore way to your final job postings. I offer you my congratulations and best wishes for what I expect will be long and distinguished careers. It has been an honor and a privilege to be your instructor these last three weeks. Good luck to you all. Class dismissed!” Murtagh caught Kim’s eye and winked. She blushed and smiled, revealing fetching dimples.
Daniel caught the exchange. You know, she’s kinda cute when she’s not scared to death.
As the class filed out of Hangar Fourteen, Daniel caught up with James. “I feel like we ought to be celebrating, but I don’t think my head could handle it. Whattaya say we catch forty winks and meet in the cafeteria at noon for lunch?”
James nodded. “Sounds good to me. Maybe we can have a nice, sedate celebration this evening. I checked the schedule and we don’t have to board the Ares Flyer until tomorrow afternoon.”
Daniel flashed a weary smile. “Good. I have a feeling I’ll need a good night’s sleep tonight. See you at noon.” He tossed a mock salute and the two took their separate routes back to their quarters, where each fell gratefully into bed.
* * * *
The next day, Daniel and James arrived at the departure gate for the Ares Flyer at the designated time, duffels in hand.
“Well, this is it, bucko.” Daniel nodded in the direction of the ship, visible in all its glory through the window in the waiting area. “Not much to look at, is she?”
James shrugged. “She’s built for transport, not for speed or aesthetics.”
“She’s not built for comfort either, from what I hear. The quarters are small, the food is plain and there’s not much in the form of entertainment.”
Again, James shrugged. “Big deal. We won’t be in our quarters much, and there’s the zero-gee gym for exercise. As for entertainment, there are always holos and books, and, of course, chess. Besides, we still have so much to learn that I doubt we’ll have much time for entertainment anyway.”
Daniel nodded and gestured at the airlock hatch. “After you.” He followed James into the Ares Flyer, softly singing, “Off we go, into the wild blue yonder….”
* * * *
The first night out, the passengers were invited to dine with the captain in the Commons, a combination mess hall and wardroom. It was just big enough to seat the crew of nine. The Ares Flyer, while massive, was a freighter and thus had a crew disproportionately small for its bulk. This night, passengers displaced most of the crew at the dinner table.
Once everyone was seated, Capt. Shrikesh Singh tapped his steel water mug for attention. Singh was a tall man in his mid-fifties, with deeply lined mahogany features and a shock of white hair that was surprisingly unkempt for a man of his station. It would not be correct to say that he wore a uniform, but his starched navy blue tunic gave him the same air of dignity. It also set him apart from the rest of the crew, who wore gray jumpsuits. Starward Shipping, the company to whom the ship was registered, was fairly lenient on matters of protocol, so long as a ship remained profitable.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Captain Singh. On behalf of my crew, I would like to officially welcome you aboard the Ares Flyer.” He beamed at the passengers in a fatherly manner; in fact, nearly all were younger than his own son.
“As I am sure most of you already know, we will be traveling together for 128 days; so we will have plenty of time to get to know one another. But before dinner is served, I think it would be helpful for everyone to introduce themselves by name and occupation, so we all know who is who. Bernard, why don’t you start?” He looked to the smallish man fidgeting in the seat to his right.
“Sure thing, Cap’n. Apologies for the ants in my pants. I think that SOB, Giles, put itching powder in my shorts again when I was in the shower. Don’t be surprised if he ends up in the infirmary this time. Anyway, I’m Bernie Jamison, the ship’s Cargomaster. Despite what you may have heard, I’m the one who really runs the ship, not the captain.”
He bestowed a wink on his audience before continuing amid smiles.
“As a cargo vessel, how profitable we are depends a lot on how well I do my job. Naturally, most of the cargo sent back and forth between Earth and Mars is done by space train, but that long, lazy, ballistic route only works for the stuff that we don’t mind taking as much as a year to arrive: refined ores, prefab structures that are too big to fit in a ship—such as the Martian ODF modules—spare parts that can’t be fabricated on Mars, and the like. But there’s a lot of time-critical stuff that needs to get there sooner, such as food, medical supplies and passengers. You know what they say about fish and guests—after a while they both start to stink!” He winked again as the passengers chuckled politely.
“We need to move that kind of cargo a lot quicker. That’s where the Ares Flyer comes in. I make sure we’ve loaded the right cargo, that we make the most efficient use of the cargo space, and that everything arrives in one piece at the other end.” He stopped expectantly, as if awaiting questions.
“Thank you, Bernard.” Capt. Singh looked to his left. “And now let’s hear from our distinguished passenger from the Republic of Europe.” He gestured for the elderly woman to begin.
She spoke Universal with a strong, but understandable German accent. “Sank you, Capt. Singh. I am Brunhilde Langer, professor-emeritus of astrophysics at der University of Mannheim. I am journeying to Carl Sagan Observatory on Phobos to help set up der new imaging sensors you are carrying in your hold and to continue my studies of Jovian microwave telemetry firsthand.”
“Thank you, professor. Now, I understand that the rest of you have recently survived Murtagh’s three-week torture session.” That drew titters or grins from the six graduates. “Congratulations!” He looked at the young man seated next to Jamison. “Why don’t you start?”
The recipient of his gaze looked like he’d just been caught unprepared in class by his professor. “Uh….”
“It’s all right, son. It won’t be on the final exam.” The whole room burst into laughter, even Prof. Langer. “Just tell us your name and what you do.”
The young man blushed and said, “Larry Ohrman. I’m an environmental systems specialist from Minneapolis. I’ll be working at Amalgamated Minerals Base Camp 12 on Mars, monitoring and repairing the air processing equipment, hydroponics, and the like. I’ll also be training to be a medic.”
“There,” the captain said with a smile, “that didn’t hurt, did it?”
Ohrman smiled awkwardly in return and shook his head.
Capt. Singh looked around the cabin expectantly. “Now, who wants to go next?”
Daniel spoke up. “I’m Daniel Lim, from Kuala Lumpur. I’m an engineer and I’ll be stationed on ODF Barsoom.”
To his right, Kim followed. “I’m Kimberly Cappelletti; born and raised in the South Florida Metroplex. I’m an astronomer, heading for Sagan Observatory, where I’ll be stationed.”
Hey, how about that? Cappelletti has a first name! James, sitting across from Daniel, raised his hand halfway, before realizing how childish that looked.
Way to go, moron!
He quickly pulled his hand back, but the damage was done; now he was flustered. “I-I’m James McKie, an areologist. I’ll be working out of Mars Mining and Refining Site 23. Oh. Uh, and I’m from Winnipeg originally.”
Smooth, Jamie.
The final two introductions were quickly over and the captain signaled for dinner to be served by the cook/steward.
James hardly noticed what he was eating. He was too busy observing how Daniel was ignoring him. Or, to be more precise, how Daniel was directing most of his dinner conversation in Kim’s direction, and that she was reciprocating.
Did I miss something? When did those two get so chummy?
Now intrigued, he continued to watch Kim, wondering what Daniel saw in her. The longer he watched, the more he noticed how the highlights in her chestnut hair caught the light when she turned her head, how her dimples played hide-and-seek with her cheeks when she laughed, the way her ice-blue eyes sparkled in the artificial candlelight, the delightful waterfall of her laughter.
Why didn’t I notice any of this before? Guess I was too busy trying to keep out of Murtagh’s doghouse.
Looks like Daniel’s got himself a winner. He smiled to himself. Once again, he’s a step ahead of me. Or is he?
* * * *
Because this was a freighter, mealtimes tended to be brief affairs. The crew always had plenty of work to do. While the passengers ate their desserts, the captain once again signaled for their attention.
“I don’t wish to cut your meals short—please, keep eating—but Bernard and I have to get back on duty in a few minutes. Before we go, however, there is one more thing: As you all know, this is not a pleasure cruise for you newbies. You will be assigned duties aboard ship to keep you out of trouble.” He paused for the brief chuckles. “Nothing too rigorous, and in most cases your duties will tie in with your jobs, to give you some practical experience before you arrive. For example, Mr. Ohrman will help with the ship’s environmental systems. I’m afraid, Mr. McKie, we don’t have any geology needs on the ship.”
James smiled and shrugged.
“But I’m sure we can find something stimulating for you to do. Get with Mr. Jamison after dinner and decide on something. Bernard will pass out the duty schedules at breakfast tomorrow. Everyone please be back here at 0700.
“In addition, your employers all expect you to continue your studies in your off hours so you’re ready to contribute as soon as you arrive at your destination. Mars is still a frontier; as such there is no room for excess baggage.
“Once again, welcome aboard the Ares Flyer, and I hope this will be a rewarding trip for you all. Good night.” With that, Singh and Jamison departed, leaving the passengers in sole possession of the Commons.
James quickly pulled Daniel aside after dinner broke up. “What gives with you and Kim?”
Daniel shrugged. “Nothing much. We bumped into each other a few times after class and got to talking, that’s all.”
“Really. You two seemed a lot closer than that during dinner. Are you holding out on me?”
“Well, we had dinner a couple of times last week.”
“Aha! The two nights you begged off on dinner with me because you had to ‘study.’” Caught ya!
“It’s nothing serious.” Daniel squirmed in place, much to James’ amusement.
Very interesting. “So far.”
Daniel shrugged again, with a smile. “Who knows? It’s a long way to Mars.”
“If it’s really nothing serious, you won’t mind if I make a play for her myself, right?”
Daniel’s smile clicked off like James had flipped a switch. “Back off, buddy,” he said with a growl.
James’ face lit up. “Gotcha!”
“Yeah, I guess you did,” Daniel said with a rueful grin.
“Don’t worry. I’m not one to steal another guy’s girl, even if she doesn’t know it yet. Besides, she’s not really my type. I prefer blondes.”
Daniel smiled. “Fair enough. You have to admit, though, she is kinda cute when she’s not barfing up her breakfast.”
* * * *
The first two weeks passed swiftly. James was kept so busy he rarely saw the other passengers, except during mealtimes. Even then, some of them worked different shifts and didn’t eat at the same times. Somehow, though, Daniel and Kim managed to eat all their meals together.
Because there was no close analog on the ship to his specialty, James became the jack-of-all-trades (and master of none), helping out wherever anyone else was shorthanded. One day he might take a turn at piloting, and the next he was helping Jamison rearrange inventory in Cargo Hold Five.
For the most part, once a ship departed Earth orbit, piloting didn’t take any great skill until the ship neared its destination. Even a rookie like James could handle it. Piloting was primarily a matter of monitoring the course to make sure the ship didn’t dri
ft, something the Ares Flyer had an annoying tendency to do when left to her own devices.
Daniel was assigned to the ship’s engineer, Curtis Mayfield. When he wasn’t in Engineering monitoring the ship’s systems, Daniel spent his duty hours tuning and repairing whatever was out of whack, or programming the fabricator or the nanocompositor in the ship’s automated machine shop to make any small spare parts they might need.
Kim, on the other hand, worked on the bridge under the supervision of Janet Sverige, the Communication and Sensor Officer, or CSO, scanning for meteoroids and other space junk. It wasn’t precisely astronomy, but it used many of the same skills. This was one of the more vital ship’s functions. Unlike the newer tesserene-powered ships with their space-warping starflight drives and energy shields, old torch-drive tubs like the Ares Flyer had only their reinforced hull plating to hold back the universe.
Unfortunately, the plating was only effective against slow-moving objects. One fist-sized rock moving at a significant percentage of the speed of light could punch right through and destroy or cripple the Flyer if it hit in the wrong place. This is why diligence at the sensor position was so important. Automated systems were sometimes fooled; for example, it took a trained eye to distinguish between one large rock and multiple small ones traveling in formation. The difference determined the tactic used. A daring pilot could slip between two or three meteoroids spaced far enough apart. On the other hand, one huge boulder, or a swarm of dozens, had to be maneuvered around, and that entailed its own hazards.
Seventeen days out, James was at the helm with Kim beside him at the CSO position and Sverige looking over Kim’s shoulder. The bridge was comfortable enough for two, but with all the overhead instrument consoles it was quite cramped for three.
Kim was demonstrating for Sverige a new technique for fine-tuning the gain on the sensor array for more precise imaging.
“It was recently developed by Prof. Langer and I just learned about it myself a few weeks ago. It should improve your imaging resolution by a good ten to fifteen percent. I’m not surprised you hadn’t heard about it. You would have been between Mars and Earth at the time it was announced.”
The Imperative Chronicles, Books One and Two: The Mars Imperative & The Tesserene Imperative Page 6
