REACH FOR MARS: ANOTHER PAGE OR TWO:

We were six days into our journey, and I was sitting at my desk in the captain’s quarters studying an intriguing, informative, riveting, and exciting book on successful propagation of seeds, when my concentration was disturbed by a loud beeping emanating from the bridge.

“What the bloody hell is that?” I exclaimed calmly as I jumped up and raced onto the bridge.

My eyes darted from one monitor to the next as I tried to work out what was wrong, but all the readings were in the green. Then I spotted a flashing green symbol on one of the monitors to the left of the main control panels; I didn’t know what the symbol meant. I put on the headphones in the hope that they might help me to discern what the hell was going on, and they barked in my ears as the beeping stopped.

“Hey, Drew, are you out there? It’s Nick calling. How’s your summer holiday going? Over”

“Hi, Nick, everything is fine so far. We are well on our way to Earth now. Over.”

I looked at the monitor that had been flashing while I waited for Nick’s reply and noted that it wasn’t flashing anymore. I assumed it had been telling me of an incoming radio call and made a mental note to remember that flashing symbol.

“How are you getting on with Dick? Is he still alive? Over.”

“Actually, I haven’t seen much of him or Courtney since we launched. This is a big ship, so we could go for days, even weeks, without seeing them if we wanted to…and we want to. They have obviously found a room filled with computers and other electronic toys to keep them amused. How are things back on Mars? Over.”

Dick and Courtney raced onto the bridge while I was awaiting Nick’s reply. Dick asked,

“What’s going on? What was that beeping all about?”

“It’s OK; it was an incoming radio call from Nick. I am still talking to him.”

“Nice and peaceful without you lot here, and my rum isn’t disappearing as quickly. Well, I guess I better let you get back to your piloting thing or whatever the hell you were doing. I will talk to you again soon. Take care. Over and out.”

“Roger that. I will call you on our return journey. Drew out.”

I then turned to the geek pair,

“Sorry, it took me a while to work out what the hell was going on until I stumbled on the answer quite by accident,” I explained.

“Brilliant! Well done!”

Dick said in his annoyingly sarcastic tone, as he and Courtney turned and left the bridge.

As the door slid shut behind them, I looked at Mel and asked quietly,

“So where exactly did you hide my pistol?”

She laughed and hooked my arm in hers.

“Let’s go eat; I’m hungry.”

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

As we flew onward, we adapted to shipboard life once again (sorry, Nick—spaceshipboard life once again). It was a totally different ship, of course, but onboard life was basically the same. Mel and I spent a lot of our time studying the textbooks about animal husbandry and gardening that we had brought with us for the journey, relearning the stuff we needed to know for when we got back. When we weren’t doing that, we worked out in the gym to keep ourselves in condition. I regularly visited the bridge, but unlike on the Albatross, I didn’t tarry there for terribly long when I did, as it wasn’t really required.

I was sure that the ship knew where it was going better than I did, so I just checked the monitors for flight status and systems conditions. This was made extremely difficult by the fact that I didn’t understand the Martian language. I did, however, figure out that if all the readouts on the monitors were showing in green and nothing on the monitors was flashing in red, we were in good shape.

We did not see much of Dick or Courtney in the weeks that followed; they apparently found a computer or two to play with. This was hardly surprising on a ship this large, as there were computers that monitored all the flight systems spread throughout the ship, all of which I was sure could access the libraries of all Martian knowledge and history. I doubt that the fact that neither of them could speak Martian would have deterred them at all. They were, after all, fluent in computer geek speak, which I’m sure eventually overcomes and breaks down all language barriers relating to computers. Anyway, they were otherwise happily engaged, so as I said, we didn’t see much of them, which made us happy. Thus our happy band of astronauts blazed through space toward our home planet Earth, or at least near it.

HERE'S ANOTHER BIT FROM 'REACH FOR MARS' :

however, history now. We must bear in mind that Mars is our home planet now and the Earth that we once knew has passed into the not-so-distant past. We once lived there, but we no longer do,” I said.

“I guess that’s true, but it is still going to be an extremely upsetting and harrowing ordeal.”

“Of course it will be, but we’ll get through it and then head for home. Our home: Mars. We’re building a new life there—a new future. Not only for ourselves, but for our children and our children’s children…”

“All right, cut the rhetorical codswallop…I get the idea!”

“Sorry, I was getting a bit carried away there. But the basic fact is that we live on a new planet now and our future lies there. We are just picking up a few passengers and taking them home, is what I meant.”

“I know, and you’re right. We are just there to pick up passengers and return home, and as quickly as possible.”

“You put it far more succinctly and eloquently than I did, as usual. But that is what I meant.”

“Then let’s get it done and get the hell out of there.”

“We will, my sweet, as soon as we get there!”

“I think I might fill in a few of those hours by snoring for as long as I can.”

I looked at all the monitors and the forward radar and found nothing to worry about as far as I could tell, so I said,

“I think I can join you for a while, honey.”

She took my hand.

“Well, come on then.”

I know! Romantic as hell.