Ground Control to Major Thomas - Ch2

[ 2 ] - Lexi

Once the Peridot was free of MT-996, Lexi turned the flyer towards Stratus Base and burned. After the Cap’s scolding for her inefficient intercept and ingress of this asteroid, she didn’t want to take any chances her egress might get the same scrutiny. For nearly eight hours she pored over the numbers again and again before being satisfied that this course would allow them to intercept Jupiter’s moon, Ganymede, in the least amount of time. Two weeks, three days, nineteen hours, five minutes… four minutes… three minutes. There was no other way to slice it. They’d be cutting their production window close. She considered an additional burn to make up some of that time, but they’d risk using too much reaction mass and find themselves below the recommended safety threshold. She’d done her best with what she had, a balance between time and Delta-V. A cautious approach, sure, but caution was the only approach she could take for now.

Course set. Burn complete. The Peridot was in freefall.

Lexi let out a yawn, unbuckled from her acceleration chair, and retired to the six-by-six-by-seven foot box she and Darnell shared halfway down the main corridor. She was exhausted, wagged out like a puppy who’d been begging for treats and needed some shut eye. As always, space was at a premium inside a flyer, but this little box had a door and some basic sound proofing, and that was what passed for privacy in deep space. Along one wall hung their personal belongings in soft bags, a null gravity treadmill was mounted on the relative floor of the space, and a computer workspace glowing opposite of their sleep sacks. To make the space feel homier, the bulkheads of one half of the cramped room were decorated in tricolor cowhide patterns, Darnell’s idea, the other half in muted geometric shapes shaded with sangria, charcoal, and cinnamon, hers. Like their personalities, these styles and aesthetics were different, and so this had been the compromise. Darnell had wanted a wrought iron Texas Star by the door. He got it. Lexi had wanted a mixed-media abstract by the early 21st century artist, Jolley. She got it. And while it all might have clashed stylistically, it worked in some weird way, a blending of two lives, a blending of two sets of experiences.

Opposites did tend to attract, so they said.

The lights were turned down, and Darnell was already asleep, snoring as he floated in place on the right bulkhead between wall duffels and wires, his body wrapped in the two-person sleep sack that hung from the wall, arms spread wide within. The video display was still on, its menu music playing on a loop.

She slid the privacy door shut, for what good it did, then turned off the screen and stared at him. He was a good man, a compassionate man, the kind of man she wanted to grow old with, maybe even more... He wasn’t really her type, no. She normally went for rakish boys who never wore their hat straight. The boys who talked a big game and broke every rule given them. The ones who were wild like an oxygen fire in null gravity, unbridled, unpredictable, and dangerous. Then she met this big, dark skinned man from San Angelo, of all places, with a heart as big as his belt buckle, half cowboy, half philosopher, all principle.

It was over.

Darnell had been the first of those to hear what had happened over Deimos on that fateful day and shown her any kindness in return. It was her fault, she knew it. Entirely her fault. An impulsive mistake that had cost the lives of her crew. And despite it all, he accepted her.

Why? Why had he accepted her?

Everyone makes mistakes, he’d told her many times. God looks into the heart.

Had he just been trying to be nice so he could get some? No. That didn’t feel right.

But that day… that fateful day… she could never get it out of her head. May 19th, 2092, Lexi was flying too close to the gravity lifters of Mars’s smaller moon. Up against a deadline much like the one she faced now, she’d decided to shave off a few minutes with a dangerous maneuver that took her through active shipping lanes. By the time she detected the load another flyer was towing by tether, it was too late. She zigged when she should have zagged. Her flyer explosively decompressed as it hit the load, giving her crew only an instant to realize the horror of their situation before they asphyxiated.

The UEI had wanted to end her career then and there, sending her to jail for what had become a lethal disregard for safety procedures. Negligence. Manslaughter. But in the end, once the dust had settled, it appeared that there was no legal precedent. Exploration of the deeper solar system was a new frontier, in both navigation and the courts. She got away on a technicality and was still flying.

Cho must have been desperate for a recruit to hire her; it’s not like her court records were sealed. Had she been the only pilot available? Questions to ask on the next interview. Given how lackluster her performance had been as of late, that might be as soon as they hit Stratus Base at Ganymede. 

Without Darnell, she didn’t know where she would be. Depression and regret had hit hard. For several months after the incident, she’d drank herself into a hole, unable to leave Mars. A few old friends from her childhood had even helped connect her with some pharmaceutical goods that were quite a bit harder. She’d spent weeks alone, crying, losing herself in VEs, virtual environments, trying to convince herself none of it had ever happened. No matter how many drinks, no matter how many pills, the pain just didn’t go away.

She was lost. Worthless. A shambling apparition of grief and remorse.

She was so alone. Her family, no help. They weren’t there; not that any of them could relate anyway. Her parents had all but told her she was trash for making such a stupid mistake, though that wasn’t much different than childhood. She was stranded on Mars without work and a dwindling bank account with no idea what would come next. More than once, she had stood by the airlocks looking out the windows at the rusty expanse beyond, high out of her mind on chemicals with names too complicated to pronounce, and considered taking a step out onto the plains beneath Olympus Mons without a pressure suit. Death would be quick this way. She would pay for what she had done and no one else would get hurt.

Then a chance encounter at a Noodle Bar in Olympus Mons changed all that. A bit of swagger from a big man, kind words from an empathetic soul. She’d never once told someone her life over udon noodles, but she did that day. They often argued over how the conversation had started. He said it was over her Parallax T-Shirt, a band from Detroit they both loved which played a weird mix of country and synth-rock. She said it was when she got caught up on her own feet and spilled her hot lunch on his crotch. Both were good memories that ended up at a table by the window overlooking the Martian plains and talking for hours.

It didn’t hurt that he had a job lead.

She never wanted to be alone again. Not like that. She couldn’t do it.

Lexi stripped out of her jumpsuit and undergarments, stowing them in a soft bag attached to the wall. Her skin was bare in the flyer’s recycled air, goosebumps covering her arms and legs. Where the reflection of her flesh was caught in the mirror, she could see that her muscle tone was not what it once was. Four years ago, when she had gone up the well and started this crazy adventure, she had been athletic, well defined. She had once worked out five days a week, both cardio and strength training. Now? Null gravity was eating away at her one bite at a time.

How many more years could she do this before she was no longer strong enough to even bear Earth’s gravity?

Her naked toes against cold metal, she pushed off and floated over to their bed, unzipping the side of the bag and squeezing up beside her man. He responded to her arrival, letting out a soft moan, then turned and put his arms around her. Cuddling in null wasn’t the same as it was under gravity, but this was the next best thing. It had been a long time since she’d felt the weight of her cheek against his muscular chest. Space was what they knew, null gravity and the grind.  

“You get us on track?” he mumbled, nestling his face against her neck, the tip of his cold nose sending a chill down her spine.

“We’re good. I’ll live to get yelled at another day.” His bare skin was warm against hers. Comforting. She laid her head on his chest and caught a glimpse of his quirkier personal effects, a collection of Hot Wheels cars glued above their heads arrayed from high-performance sports cars to classics like Mustangs. Despite their rough day, this made her smile, warming her heart that the kid within him had come along for the ride.

“Bless your heart,” he said, shaking his head and clicking his teeth.

She let out a chuckle. “Don’t patronize me.”

“Look, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. Cap is one capricious lady.”

“Oh, trust me, I know.” She drew back and met his eyes. “And keep your voice down. These walls don’t stop that much.”

He sighed and nodded. “So, what comes next?”

“What do you mean?”

“After this haul is done and all,” he said. “I know we’ve been saving. More goes in the bank, right? After bills.”

“Yeah,” she said, slow to reply, collecting her thoughts. “I want to put more in. Just seems like we won’t ever get there. Cost of everything keep getting higher. Inflation is out of control. We have expenses to pay. And have you checked the prices on Mars recently? Even a small place is gonna be a struggle. Sure won’t be a retirement once that’s paid.”

Darnell raised an eyebrow at her. “Could go back down the gravity well. We might can find some room on the ranch.”

“No.” She shook her head, and felt her muscles ache with phantom pain. “Things are bad enough back home, what with the coastal flooding and wildfires. You see the camps outside Chicago? People just standing around looking for work, or food, or anything to give them a scrap of hope. Looks like a damn war zone out there. And what’s more, shit didn’t grow this fall in the Midwest. Besides, I believe in what we’re doing out here. Humanity has to find a way to live outside of Earth. That takes infrastructure. That takes people just living their lives. So here we are. Good, bad, ugly.”

“I agree, I agree. That, and well, you know I got legal reasons I can’t go back myself,” he said, sounding disappointed. “Which is why I’ve been thinking.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious. “Yeah? About what?”

“Look, we’ve been together now for about a year, and well, I don’t see myself going anywheres else when we settle in. I was thinkin’, maybe we make some plans beyond just getting a place of our own. Mars ain’t bad, just not sure it’s where we should settle.”

She cocked her head to the side and took a deep breath. What in the hell was he on about, and why did her hands sweat when she thought about anything lasting more than a year? Hell, was thirty too young to settle in? “What kind of plans you got in mind?”

“Maybe it’s time to have a family,” he ventured.

Lexi’s stomach dropped like a flyer plummeting to the surface of a rocky world, her heart thundering in her chest. What in the hell kind of man asks for this? Scratch that, she knew what kind. And scratch thirty being too young to start, maybe it was too old.

 “I’m sorry.” She blinked. “What did you say? I think I might have just had a stroke.”

“Family,” he said, exhaling. “It’s all that matters to me. Wouldn’t be here without it. When the UEI saw my test scores, and my physical, they pursued me hard. Gramps encouraged me to go for it, be more than just a rancher, and so I aim to make the family proud. I want to add to it as well. Once we find our way out of doing these short hop intercepts, why not have a baby? One’s a good place to start.”

“Hang on, hang on. A good place to start?” She stared him in the eyes. “You been drinking, beau? Bump your head on that airlock too many times?”

He willingly wanted to have a big family. This wasn’t the case in the Carver house. Lexi and her sisters happened by pure accident, and as a result were dragged along to every party their lush parents ever attended. It was cool when she hit her teenage years, sure, but when she was a kid, all she wanted was a bit of love and a regular meal that didn’t come from a drive thru.

“No, ma’am,” he said with that Texas drawl. “No whiskey for me tonight. And don’t worry about my head, it’s the damn shins you gotta keep an eye on. Babe, you know I have a big family, nine brothers and eleven sisters on the ranch. I want the same experience, got a responsibility.”

“Responsibility to who?”

“To my family. To our country. To the feelings I have for you. I think you’d make a great mom.”

Her face flushed with heat. This was too much. There was so much to consider. The money? The responsibility? Did she even deserve it?

Mistakes… Mistakes… Mistakes…

Was she even a good example?

Those eyes of his pierced her soul, patient and searching.

“I, eh, like the idea, mostly,” she replied after some time, attempting to break the tension. “Maybe I am a little scared, a little excited. You know how I am about marriage.”

“Don’t have to worry about that,” he said, his tone softening. “Marriage—it’s just a word. We can be life partners, or whatever it is you like to call it. Don’t have to be my wife. Don’t have to take my name.”

“Your name is fine,” she said, chuckling. Why was she burning up? Sweating? “A family…”

“A family.”

This was no simple discussion. Whatever her response would be, it would have everlasting implications for their relationship. If she said no, he’d be heartbroken. If she said yes, there were her own fears to address. Who could blame him for asking? Who could blame him for wanting this so unequivocally? She couldn’t. She might not feel ready, but who was?

“I think I’d like that,” she said after a moment. “A family.”

His eyes glittered in the dim light of their room, lips splitting into an ever-widening grin. “Which is why I think we need to consider something other than Mars. It’s still a bit wild out there, know what I mean?”

“If not Mars, then where?”

He fished out his hand terminal, cleared his voice, then began to read, taking on the tone of a narrator on television:  

“Located just two miles from the Sea of Tranquility near Luna base, the Gardens of the Moon is a planned community designed with you in mind. Over a thousand units have been added in phases two and three, connecting fifty additional acres of open green space beneath habitat domes.

“Take a walk on our endless garden trails through canopies of dense foliage from the deciduous forests of Earth, over foot bridges and burbling streams. The garden is populated by wild birds of many species, such as cardinals and blue jays, as well as non-biting insects to close the ecological cycle and complete the nature experience. While taking a stroll in the afternoons, you’ll forget you’re on the moon as your mind is transported to the temperate lands of the Southeastern United States.

“Enjoy the view from your state-of-the-art home overlooking the swaying trees of humanity’s first self-sustaining garden planted outside of Earth. Make use of the community’s amenities with top-rated schools, restaurants, and music venues, as well as a public mall and private space port.

“Spots are limited to Void-Striders only, be sure to get on the wait list today. Prices start at 2.2 million Pan American Exchange Notes for three-bedroom apartment homes with proper credit and income validation. Financing available through Rocket City First National.

“Contact your agent today.”

Their quarters fell silent. This boy had gone stark raving mad.

“The Gardens of the Moon?” Lexi hissed. “You are kidding me, right?”

“Not at all, ma’am. Best schools. Safest community. Good place for kids.” He stared off into nothing as if imagining himself being there, strolling through its parks, eating at its restaurants, walking their kids to school. “Besides, the view ain’t bad.”

The choice was so easy, if you were only reading the advertisement. The Gardens of the Moon was the premier place to live. But at the same time, never in her life had she imagined being wealthy enough to live in a place like that. But the thought of it… It was compelling.

“Hold up,” she said, raising her hands, reeling back from this beautiful vision. “Let’s be realistic for two seconds. At the rate we’re earning we’ll never save enough. Olympus District on Mars, mid two hundreds, maybe, but The Gardens? 2.2 Million PAEN and up. What Void-Strider can afford that?”

His smile drooped.

She pulled a hand terminal from a pocket on the outside of the sleep sack and opened her banking app. Why did the practical part of her brain always have to squash these moments? “We have fifty-nine thousand PAEN. For us to be where we need to be, it’ll take another four hundred jobs easy. Shit, we’ll be elderly by then. Not to mention, sickly. Our time up here is ticking.”

“Come now,” he said. “Stella’s crew hit a thick platinum deposit two months back worth enough almost all of them were able to retire. Kaching. Kaching. Same can happen to us. I just have to find the right spot to crack. I got a plan for next time.”

“Ever the optimist.”

He gazed off into nothing, thinking. “I keep tryin’ to tell myself there was no way to know that what I saw on 996 was real, but my instincts say we might could have already paid for our future.”

“Can’t live in the past,” she said, then felt sick for it. How often do we give people advice we won’t take ourselves? “We are rock haulers, necessary but expendable. Chances of us hitting a mother lode like that just aren’t good. Not just about the gold, but platinum, rare isotopes.”

He raised his chin in enthusiastic defiance. “It’s not outside the realm of possibility, though.”

“I know. I know. It’s just.” She let out a long breath. Damn if her stomach wasn’t doing flips. “Not that likely.”

“We shall see. Good people are rewarded for doing the right thing. God still watchin’ over us, even out here.”

Lexi kissed Darnell on the lips and gave him a smile. While she didn’t share his beliefs, she respected him for it and would never mock them. “I’d like to believe that. I really would.”

“Besides, Miss Carver, the divine plan is with me.” He began to run his fingers up and down her naked spine. Kisses were placed on her neck just below the ear soliciting a set of electric vibrations in her head. “I already found my own mother lode. Got a good woman right here at my side. I do believe she needs some good things in life.”

She reached between his legs and licked her lips. “Oh, you’re right about that. I need good things, baby. I really, really do.”

A family…

Yeah. Maybe she could do that. But it all seemed so far out of reach.

The real question was: Did she deserve it?