JUST A LITTLE MORE FROM THE PAGES OF 'REACH FOR MARS' :

“Enchantingly charming, aren’t I?”

“The jury is still out on that, but I don’t like your chances. So I can go with you?”

“Sure, why not? Go pack your bag and a picnic lunch. I’ll clear it with Nick tomorrow.”

“You can clear it with him tonight. I’ve invited them over for drinks. They should be here any minute.”

She jumped up and left to go pack her bag…and, perhaps, a picnic lunch. I went into the kitchen and grabbed my dinner, which I was just finishing when there was a knock at the front door. I went and opened it to let Nick and Sammy in with a welcoming,

“Nick, so it’s you again. I swear the property prices in this street have plummeted since you moved in. Hi, Sammy, how are you?”

“Fine thanks, Drew. Where’s Mel?”

“She’s upstairs, go on up.”

Nick followed me into the lounge area and sat in one of the armchairs as he handed me a bottle of rum. I went to get glasses as he asked,

“So, how was Mel when you got in? Not happy?”

“No, she wasn’t, but she’s OK now,” I answered.

“How did you manage to keep your hide untanned and alive?”

“I said she could go with me.”

“Oh, that’s crafty and clever. I’ve taught you well, Grasshopper! Thanks for that by the way; it reduces the odds significantly,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“Now I’m only going to be outnumbered two to one. This city is big, but it isn’t big enough to hide from three nagging women,” he said in a whisper with his eyes fixed on the staircase. “Now if only Dick would take Courtney with him, Sammy and I would have the city to ourselves.”

“Now hang on just a cotton-picking minute! That means I’ll be carting most of the crew around in space with me and then the space station crew as well on the way back. And God knows how many women they have in their crew.”

“Yeah, my heart is bleeding for you. Has Dick worked out the updated flight plan yet?”

“Not yet. He was doing that when I dropped into the control center on my way home.”

“I would have thought he’d be doing that on the starship.”

“So did I, but he reckons the main computers are far more powerful and faster. He may be onto something there; the main computers should have the performance stats of the starships and use that data when calculating the flight times there and back.”

“How is he going to load the final plan onto the right starship’s nav computer?”

“He’s going to tell the main computer to download it onto all the starships’ nav computers.”