“We were hiding the firearms so nobody could
find them.” I told her,
“Why? Who did you think would be looking for
them?” she asked,
“No one—it was just a precaution. It’s never
a good idea to leave firearms lying about the place you know.” I answered,
“Might I suggest we move this conversation
off the street and into your living room?” Nick interjected. So we walked back
toward our place with the women following right on our heels.
Meanwhile, Mel continued, “I mean, why
didn’t you just leave them locked away on T-2?
It seems like they were safe enough there!”
“Yeah, Nick. Why didn’t we? What were you
thinking? Look at the trouble you’ve got us into!”
“Well, at least they’re safely stashed away
now.”
“Oh, yes indeed, and a third of the crew
knows where they are hidden,” I replied.
“They won’t tell anyone.”
“They’ll tell everyone—they’re women.
Gossiping is their favorite pastime, you idiot.”
In the heat of our discussion, we had
forgotten that they were right behind us, but we were quickly reminded of that
fact when we each got thumped in the back by our respective spouses.
“Another fine mess you’ve gotten me into,
Stanley!” I said in my best Oliver Hardy voice as we walked into the house.
Nick and I made drinks and took them into
the lounge area, handing the girls theirs as we sat down.
“So what is all this with the firearms,
where did you get them from?” Sammy asked.
I explained it to her.
“But I don’t understand—they handed them
over voluntarily, so why do you feel like you need to hide them?”
“No reason I suppose; it’s just a
precaution. Besides, firearms and pressurized aircraft are not a good
combination at any time. I thought it best to remove them from the starship.
You know what a stickler I am for OH and S protocols.”
“Now why didn’t you come up with that excuse
in the first place, Drew?”
“Why didn’t you, Nick?”
“Codswallop! You two really are the biggest
clowns I have ever met. Sammy and I were laughing so hard when we saw you two
trying to sneak across the lawn in front of these windows without being seen
that it slowed us up catching you. You would have attracted the attention of a
blind person.”
“Well at least a blind person couldn’t
recognize us,” I claimed in our defense.
“I wouldn’t be too sure of that! Who else
would it be but you two idiots?”
The conversation went on like that for a
while longer until Nick and I were finally able to change the subject to more
important issues.
“Sammy, we were amazed at the rate of growth
and health of all the plants, crops, and trees in the short time we have been
away. What is your secret?” I asked.
“I wish I had one. As Mel has discovered,
the Martian soil is high in all the essential nutrients and elements necessary
for healthy plant growth, but that doesn’t explain the extremely rapid growth
that we’re seeing here. It must have something to do with those three elements
that we can’t identify. If we could break down their composition, we could
duplicate them.”
“Uh oh, it sounds like the girls are going
to talk shop,” Nick said. “Shall we go to the kitchen and chat?”
“Yes, by all means, let’s do.”
“So far, so good—the combined crews seem to
work very well together,” Nick said as we entered the kitchen.
“I would definitely say so. It would have
taken our crew at least three weeks to accomplish what the combined crew did in
less than six days. I can see us racing forward in leaps and bounds from now
on,” I replied.
“In all seriousness, as you have spent
eighteen days with them on the return journey from Earth and therefore know
them far better than I do—do you feel any reservations about trusting them
totally?”
“No, I don’t. They are still very
traumatized by all that they have been through over the past months, but they
are good people. We can trust them totally. Also, let’s not forget that we
saved them from certain death. Presumably that would score us quite a few brownie
points with them. And then there’s the fact that we will all be working toward
the same goal: survival.”
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