by Keith Martin
Next came the chickens, just two scoops of crack corn flipped out onto the barn floor and they went to scratching up their breakfast while cleaning up the floor. She checked their water and then turned to the cat.
Or cats; five tabbies were spinning around her feet. They knew it was their time for food and loves. As they showed off Ashley gave a quick rubbing between the ears to each then topped off their kibble bowl delighted by this beautiful pride of killers.
Just box kittens that Ma and Shianne picked up at the feed store someone abandoned there. They were now fully grown and had the barn under control. They even swatted the slow chickens toward the coop when they cooped up for the night.
Ashley sat on a sack of grain to let the cats have her scent as each received a full body rub and good ear scratching. They acted as if they were the only ones worthy of her attentions; their sounds of pleasure filled the barn like motorboats on a lake. This was not going to be her day to just sit around, petting cats. Ashley’s mind kept returning to what lay ahead, thrilled with thoughts of finally seeing and holding Joshua and her Dad.
“Could it really be this easy?” She was blown away.
One of the cats followed her across the yard to the back porch. She looked back to see the rest of the pride waiting at the open barn door in a row to see if the one following to get more then its share of affection succeeded on coning its way into more. Would it be rewarded for its efforts? It was the one she’d had to pull out of the feed locker repeatedly as she scooped out feed, a real ham of a drama queen. She scooped it up in her arms and gave it a real good ear scratching then set it down so she could go inside.
The cat cried out its indignation at not receiving the proper attention her lordship felt she was entitled too while clawing at the back screen door. Ma ended that with a flick of a wet washcloth sending the cat flying across the yard looking for dryer prospects.
* * *
“What do you think of the pride Ashley?” Shianne asked as she took a seat at the breakfast nook.
“Five cats Shianne; Dad would never go for it!” Ashley replied.
“Well, it went kind of nuts around here for a while, I had to fight back.”
“I heard it was bad, even after the insect population returned to normal. I heard the rodents had a population explosion.”
“Let’s not talk of this, it was real bad in the cities. I’d rather forget!”
Ashley understood. They both fell silent thinking about what they witnessed as the virus did its best to wipe out mankind.
The smell of fresh coffee and the aroma of Ma’s cooking made Ashley’s stomach rumble so loud that Shianne heard it. Ashley asked. “How can I be hungry after the meal I had last night?”
After breakfast was polished off and Ma had them help with the cleanup, the sisters retired to MarCom and dialed Otto. They put him on speakerphone so no one would miss a word. “Hi you two.”
“Hi Dad. Why is it so loud there?” They could hear what sounded like a party going on.
“I’m in the chow hall with fifty miners. They tend to talk a little loud.” The chow hall grew louder in the background with each passing minute as the crews filed in.
“Did you tell Joshua yet?” Ashley asked.
“Nope, he’s on a mission to Mars, no point in getting him all excited about this. He’d just turn around and head back here.” She knew it was true; it’s what she would do.
“So tell me what you think Dad?” Ashley asked.
“OK, I’m not sure about this, but here goes. You said that you have tried everything you know of?”
“Right...” She agreed.
“Your team researched every method they came up with, everything on Earth has been tried twice?”
Ashley didn’t have to give this any thought at all. “Yes dad, for over three years now. Nothing seems to work.”
“Time for a new approach.” Otto advised her.
“Like what?” She was too excited to think clearly. She knew he was heading towards something, but she couldn’t think.
“Baby girl, it’s not from Earth, so the answer won’t be on Earth!”
She sat back and felt the blood drain from her brain. How could she have been so stupid? It was so obvious and it was right there in front of her the whole time. The team was just using what was on hand to cure the problem and not looking for the root of the infection. It was time to get the Astronomy Department at UCLA to map out where that rock came in from, by now there were enough women gathered there with the abilities to figure this out she was sure she would get the right answer the first time.
* * *
Joshua had a feeling that something was up, but he couldn’t guess what for the life of him. He had spoken to Con Man the morning of the mission. He didn’t look sick at all. Whatever it was, something was not right. But no matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it; like chasing butterfly’s in a light breeze. Just as he thought he was close, it would dance away.
‘Was it Samantha?’ He asked himself a thousand times. He knew something was up.
He had remembered her instantly once he got a good look. What man wouldn’t have remembered this stunning woman?
“You’re the Craft’s little girl?” He asked and she got mad.
She didn’t speak to him for hours. Being called Little Girl set her off to say the least. Slowly they began to fill the time with games and training. They shared all the duties of life onboard the ship, soon becoming fast friends.
When he’d seen her out of her space suit he was surprised, she was a full-grown woman now. A beautiful woman he did not know. In memory, she was just a young girl, not this fully filled out woman with a jump suit so tight it looked painted on. Her body shaped like an hourglass with curves where every woman wanted them. Her blond hair was braided and hung to the small of her back. Her big blue doe eyes had a flame of silver radiating out like an explosion. She was the most stunning creature he had ever seen.
The autopilot was flying the shuttle for them and it left all their hours free to get to know each other. They talked for hours on end of everything, school, training, family, friends, hopes, and dreams. They shared it all.
Never was a word about love or relationships; just two people getting to know each other.
The third night out, with a chessboard between them, they stayed up all night and did battle; the conversation never let up. Samantha loved this time. She loved hearing his voice, and she learned that he was truly a deep person.
After thirty-six hours of no sleep the evening ended early. Samantha couldn’t keep her eyes open and she fell to sleep at the chessboard. Joshua just sat watching her fall out. He had wondered how long she was going to make it after the big dinner she made them. It was only seven twenty-five pm; she was out for the night.
He just sat watching listening to her breathing, wondering what she would feel like in his arms.
Realizing he also needed sleep he stood and walked around the table to put her to bed. He scooped her into his arms and she snuggled up next to him wrapping her arms around his neck letting out a soft moan as she relaxed in his arms.
This was unexpected, she felt right in his arms, like she belonged to him. It felt so right that he just stood there drinking these feelings in and letting go of his emotions.
He leaned down to kiss her forehead, as his lips touched her he snapped out of the trance.
What was he doing? He was her Commander. She was young, but all women. She was his to train to pilot the shuttles. Not to take advantage of.
Gently he laid her down in her bunk and she held on tighter. It was as if she didn’t want to let him go. She was pulling him to her in her sleep. As he pulled her arms from around his neck he lovingly brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. A soft sigh escaped her full pouting lips as he covered her with the blanket. Again he touched her face and said “Goodnight Blue Angel.”
He got in his bunk and turned so he could watch her sleep. It hit him then�
� all at once. He was falling in love with this woman…head over heels in love with her. Would she return his love? Could he catch this woman before someone stole her away? He knew that he would tell her just how he felt. He loved her and he wanted her. A house, kids, and a wife, all of it. He was beat and thinking silly thoughts, he was confused.
Exhaustion caught up and deep sleep took him away. His dreams were of this beautiful young woman he had fallen for.
* * *
The base on Mars was a lot like the base on the Moon, the buildings were much stronger than those on the moon, due to the storms that swept across the planet, but the general construction was the same. Just six personnel manned the base. They called the base 3-M, a condensing of Manned Mission on Mars.
There were three men, and three women on the planet. Base Commander Monica Wolf, a ten-year veteran of missions to the red planet. She was the expert on Mars.
Larry Larson, engineering, and a contractor there to take care of heavy equipment around the base.
Starla Sweden was the base computer geek.
Penney Williams did the cooking.
Nick McMichaels, and Tom Peterson were the tool pushers on base.
It was a small crew and everyone on the crew was way over qualified for their jobs. They were a tight team that could pull off any missions that came up no matter what happened.
Receiving regular deliveries of supplies from the Moon was the only way they could survive there.
Every two months Jackal would come by orbiting the shuttle forty-five miles overhead of the base. There was no landing on Mars. All supplies were sent down like falling stars. A little push in the right direction and the supply containers would drop out of the sky landing close enough for Larry to retrieve with the loader.
Joshua called this game, Bombing Run. He and Larry placed gentleman’s bets on the closest hit to the base. He had got one just five hundred yards out, once. He also put one twenty miles out too. This game was no exact science.
The cost of a bad delivery was always the same. On Joshua’s second mission to supply the base, the game was created.
“Joshua… that one missed. Over.” Larry was out on a small mound south of the base watching the pods dropping in on their parachutes. “You’re going to have to do better, or I will spend all my time drunk, over.”
This time he watched as the pod dropped into a half -mile deep ravine that was five miles from the base.
“Missed? Over.” Joshua asked.
“You owe me big time Bud, what was in that? Over.”
“Chow and oxygen why so interested? Over.”
“I like smooth rum, aged in oak for twenty years. You put me down for that right now Mr. I Can’t Hit The Side Of A Barn. Over.”
Joshua was at the Tracking Station and he could see for himself what had just happened. “That’s a copy Larry. Wish I could come down with my shovel and help you out. Over.”
Larry dug eight hours a day for two weeks making a road into the ravine to fetch the wayward pod. Two months worth of food was saved; nothing was ever said of it. It was just part of life on Mars. Joshua had saved him weeks of work landing the rest of the pods just a drive and quick pickup away.
On his next run to supply the base he included a case of aged rum to pay his debit for the miss. Six hours after the container hit the planet surface Jackal got a call from Larry. “Jackal are you online? Over.”
“Copy that Larry, what can I do for you? Over.”
With a thickened tongue Larry shot back. “Now you’re a good lad Jackal and you pay your debits in full. But sending me so much could get me in trouble with the Big Cheese down here. I was expecting a bottle. Over.”
“You are on Mars my friend. It is not like you can just go out to the corner store and get a supply. I got your back. All the way from S.M.B.” Joshua assured him.
That was the last time he dropped one so far from base he had to pay for the pickup. To date, Larry would need to buy out the bar when he returned to S.M.B. to satisfy his debt to Joshua.
Every other drop he still included a supply of rum for the base. Once the Moon was producing it’s own Moonshine he included a jug in the supply drop. Their friendship grew stronger with each trip to deliver supplies. Joshua liked sending down his little surprises to make unloading the supplies more of a treasure hunt for the 3-M crew. There was always a gift box just for the women of 3-M that would be filled by the women of S.M.B. All manors of trinket and scent and hand made cloths went up to make life on Mars a bit more comfortable.
The base had just less than one hundred thousand square feet of space and a large team of explorers who would do the new comprehensive study of Mars would occupy this. The powers that be wanted every rock analyzed to verify life was non-existent on the red planet. Once it was fully manned five hundred personnel would call the base home.
After a storm had come close to destroying the base once. Larry had buried most of it under a thick layer of rock just to make sure they were safe and then he erected a burm twice as tall as base structures that surrounded the place like a fortress. He felt they now were safe from anything Mars could throw at them.
From orbit the base now just looked like another hill. Starla was bored; she placed a Com-Link call to the ship to see if Con Man was flying as Commander. She didn’t believe Jackal would let anyone make this run but him. “G-1 this is M-3. Come in. Over.”… She waited for a few seconds and tried again….”G-1 this is M-3. Come In. Over.”. She waited again and then tried again. “G-1 this …”
* * *
Samantha could hear something at the edge of her sleeping mind. It was so far away. Calling to her, pulling her toward… “M-3. Come in. Over” …her eyes opened and she remembered where she was.
“Geee Ooneee. Thiess isssss Mmmmm threeeeeeee. Cccooommmeeeee iiinnn. Oovveeerrr.” “What???... Where are you guys?” She couldn’t help herself she was having fun with this. “Con man. Kiss Kiss…”
Samantha bolted out of her bed, and flew to the communication station.
“Where are you Jackal? Jackal…”
Her butt hit the left seat and she picked up her headset. “M-3 this is G-1. We are receiving you. Over.” She kept her voice strong, she didn’t think anything was wrong. She knew the mission on Mars was older than Joshua’s years of flying.
Starla was surprised to hear a woman’s voice. “G-1 you are not Jackal, or Con Man? I’m Starla, over.”
“Glad to meet you Starla. You have Samantha up here. Call sign is Blue Angel, over.”
“A lady pilot, what will they think of next? Over” She teased Samantha.
“A dishwasher, over” Samantha shot back.
‘I’m going to like this girl.’ Starla decided, she could tell she had spirit, which was something most women didn’t have in her opinion. “Hi Samantha, I was looking for a good game of chess around here. I’m the master on the board and they have no game here. Jackal has a great game, but I hear tell he took this mission off? Over.”
“No, he is still sleeping though Starla, white king’s pawn to king four, over.” Samantha opened the battle; she enjoyed a good game of chess herself.
“So we have a player, hope you’re ready to fight for it, have you played Joshua? Kings pawn to king four, over.” Starla call answered the challenge.
Samantha started too smile, she felt like she was going to lose it trying not to laugh, she wanted to stay quiet so he could sleep. “No, I haven’t played Joshua yet… But I did best him on the chessboard.” She let her feelings be known in a subtle way. “King’s bishop to queen’s knight four, over.”
Starla lost it completely, she was sure this girl was one of the good ones. “Are you going to give him a choice? Over…”
“If I gave him a choice, he would never find out what I’ve got to give him. The man works all the time, over.”
It was two hours of girl talk and two more wins under her belt before Samantha told Starla of her plan to let Joshua marry her. Starla loved it telling
her to stick with it and not to let him get away. “Joshua being an actual good man and all of that.” She said. “I’d do it if I could get off this rock. So you better hook him now.”
Over three battles they became friends.
“Joshua just moved. I have to go now, over.” She bolted into action as soon as she witnessed him move.
“Good luck girl, over and out.”
Samantha turned just as she heard Joshua say. “Coffee, coffee, my Command for coffee.” He rose from his slumber with obvious effort.
She grabbed a large mug, light cream and a tease of sugar. “Here you go Commander.”
“You’re an angel.” He thanked her as he accepted it from her. This was service he could get used to.
She went to the galley to start their breakfast, it was her turn to cook; she and Joshua shared all the living chores.
After a second cup Joshua joined her at the table. His mind was racing for the words to say. Did he just make sure they were never together on a mission again or declare his love for her and chance being a fool?
She placed a plate of scrambled eggs, toast and home fries in front of him and then took a seat across from him and sat quietly waiting. She could plainly see he was deep in thought. She wanted so badly to just leap into his arms and kiss him passionately, to finally tell him how she felt.
With their breakfast finished he still had only said a few words, small talk. She was waiting for him to say what was really on his mind.
“What did you do to breakfast? That was great.” He said fishing for the words.
