Last Flight For Craggy (15 page)

'What with? We
could probably build enough for another fifty, but not two
thousand.'

'Pity we can't
bring Moon nearer,' said Amethyst.

'You are
brilliant,' said Rocky.

'I am? I knew
that.'

Rocky said, 'We
need homes and more food here, right?'

'Yes,' said
Potts.

'All the homes
we need are already on Moon. We just need to get it all here. Not
all in one go, but we could do it over time.'

Dillow said,
'We could do that. Our new ship could carry heaps of stuff. The
buildings are in sections. They can be taken apart and rebuilt
here.'

'We also have
freighters to bring stuff,' said Amethyst.

'What about
food?' Potts asked.

'Moon grows
their own,' said Dillow. 'Hydroponics, mostly. No reason why we
can't bring complete hydroponic units over, still growing food on
the way.'

Potts liked the
idea. 'This idea has legs, I think. We'll get the details worked
out and I'll talk it over with Moon Commander Forbes. See? This is
what I'm talking about. You three are the future of the human race.
We have to do this. Well done, you two.'

Dillow said,
'Rocky. We still have a job to do. In the morning, you and I have
to supervise the return pods being attached to the freighter.'

'Okay. I'm
about ready for bed.' He looked at Amethyst.

'I'll see you
in the morning,' she replied, a no nonsense look in her eyes.

Rocky said,
'See you all in the morning.'

With Rocky
gone, the three chatted about the possibility of the big move from
Moon to Mars, then Potts excused himself.

'Fawn.'

'Amethyst?'

'Can I ask you
something, woman to woman?'

'Yes, he
does.'

'What?'

'Rocky. He
really likes you.'

'How
did...?'

'Woman to
woman. And I know you like Rocky.'

'How do you
know when you're in love?'

Dillow smiled.
'We need to talk. And I know the perfect place. Come with me.'

The observation
catwalk was empty and Amethyst was enthralled by the vista.

'Fizzing.
Olympus Mons is awesome.'

'See over
there? The mines, the water bores. The work goes on around the
clock.'

'Fantastic. I
hope we get the chance to live here. Imagine a proper city all out
there. Wouldn't that be amazing?'

'I think from
your ideas, it is more likely than ever.'

'Fawn.'

'Go on.'

'You think
Rocky really likes me?'

'I think it's a
bit deeper than liking you. He positively glows when he's near you.
Do you feel the same way about Rocky?'

'I think so. I
go all tingly when I'm with him.'

Dillow
chuckled. 'Always a symptom. Mind if I ask you a personal question,
woman to woman?'

'Go on.'

'Have you ever
had a relationship with a boy before?'

'You mean...no.
But I know Rocky wants me.'

'He's a stud.
Of course he does. But you mustn't ever feel pressured to do
anything you don't want to do or you don't feel ready for.'

'But what if
Rocky won't wait and finds another girlfriend?'

'Somehow, I
think that's unlikely. But if he puts pressure on you, then he
isn't the one for you. If he really cares for you, he'll wait. Now
another personal question. Have you had your NoPreg implant?'

Amethyst looked
embarrassed. 'No. Do you think I should?'

'That's a
choice you have to make yourself. But you never know when you feel
the time is right to take your relationship to another level. Maybe
a little forward planning wouldn't be a bad thing.'

Amethyst smiled
and hugged Dillow. 'You're right. I never had this sort of talk
before.'

Dillow grinned.
'Strangely, neither have I.'

'I never knew
my parents. It's...it's like having a real mother to talk to.'

'It is? Okay.
They have a medical centre here that can do the implant. You should
sleep on it. Alone.'

'I will.
Goodnight, Fawn.'

'Goodnight.'
Dillow watched the girl skip lightly down the steps. 'Why is it I
feel a hundred years old, all of a sudden?'

On the
freighter, Dillow and Ramshorn were getting the ship ready for the
pods.

'Happy with the
controls, Rocky?'

'Yes.'

'Good. I'll be
outside; making sure all pods are locked securely. Follow my
instructions over the radio.'

Dillow went
down the ramp of the airlock and up the steps to the cradle
catwalk. 'Rosy?'

'Ready and
waiting.'

'One at a time.
You know the routine. Rocky. Pod one's going on now. Rosy. Grab pod
one.'

Rosy lowered
the grabbers over pod one.

'In place,'
said Dillow. 'Take her up.' The pod was lifted smoothly off the
cradle and Dillow helped guide it in place, watching the pod slide
perfectly down the newly designed couplings. 'Okay. Rocky. Lock pod
one.'

'Pod one
locked.'

It took an hour
to repeat the procedure with the other nine pods. 'Thanks Rosy.
Good job.'

'You're
welcome.'

Dillow returned
to the freighter. 'That went perfectly. We'll be ready for take off
in a day or so, so time to relax.'

'Great.
Dillow...'

'Yes, she
does.'

'What?'

'Amethyst. She
likes you.'

Rocky was
surprised. 'You knew what I was going to ask you?'

'Call it
woman's intuition. But the answer remains the same. Amethyst likes
you.'

'Yeah? Really
likes me?'

'What's not to
like? How do you really feel about her?'

Rocky's eyes
glazed over. 'I see her, I can't breathe. Her eyes, her hair. The
smell of her. Her smile, her...'

'That's all I
needed to know. Rocky. Amethyst hasn't had a relationship before.
You need to be a man about it. Treat her with respect. Never
pressure her into anything. Just love her the way I know you do and
you won't go far wrong.'

'Thanks,
Dillow.'

'No worries.
Now go spend some quality time with your girlfriend.'

'Craggy. You
know I don't mess about with anyone else, don't you?'

Cragg wrapped
the sheets around them, holding Misty tight. 'And you're the only
girl for me.'

'You mean
that?'

'Of
course.'

'You really
mean that?'

'Misty. I've
done with playing space cowboy. Do you know what keeps me going on
those long lonely rides?'

'Beer?'

Cragg laughed.
'Yeah, that helps. But when I'm racing through the cosmos, letting
the computers do the boring bits, I'll be on my bunk, thinking of
you.'

'You are such a
fibber, Dixon Cragg.'

'True. But not
on this occasion. You and I have known each other a very long time.
You amaze me by knowing me inside and out and still want to be with
me.'

'You know what
scares me more than anything?'

Cragg sighed
and nodded. 'Probably the same thing that scares me. Growing old
alone.'

'That's not the
same thing as love.'

Cragg said,
'I'm as close to being in love with you as I ever was when I was
with Maria, my wife. How can we let ourselves fall in love if we
can't be together? That wouldn't be fair to either of us.'

'Can't you come
and live on Mars with me?'

Cragg kissed
her. 'I wish I could. Pottsy already told me I'm too old. They want
young blood. Not old farts like me. The only thing I have to look
forward to is having a bit of a class to teach spotty teens on
Moon. I get depressed just thinking about it, knowing you are all
the way out here.'

'That just
isn't fair. All you've done over the years. And you're in good
physical condition. I can testify for that.'

'You aren't
doing too bad yourself for an old bird.'

Misty slapped
his chest. 'Plenty of life in me yet. And that's my point. I want a
man in my life again. Not one who spends his time millions of miles
away.'

'But it isn't
up to me. I'd love to bunk in with you permanently. Maybe I can
have another word with Pottsy. See if I can change his mind.'

Misty kissed
him. 'Okay. But not just yet. I want you all to myself while I have
you. Now come here and make an old bird very happy.'

'And Rocky and
Amethyst came up with that idea?' Forbes said. For once, the vidcam
was working well, with the usual time lag.

'They did,'
said Potts. 'I've had a couple of meetings with our engineers. It
will take up to two years to relocate everything and everyone, but
it can be done.'

'I think so,
too. Who will do your coordinating?'

'Marcia. She's
already sorting out several committees. It's what she does
best.'

'I'll have a
team put together to liaise with Marcia. Pottsy. Finally, this is
what we've been working towards. The war drums are beating the
final military tattoo on Earth. All we can do is let them finish
the job. Pottsy. Do you think we can learn from their mistakes and
do it right?'

There was a
longer than time lag pause. 'That's where you and I come in. While
the relocation is happening, we can try to make sure we can live
together in peace. For one thing, no weapons of any kind. We have
no need for them.'

'I agree. Okay,
Pottsy. We both now have a whole heavier workload. Time to get
busy.'

'Looking
forward to it. Keep in touch.'

'What's all
this about?' asked Cragg.

'No idea,' said
Misty. 'Must be important to have the work stopped so we can get
together for a meeting.'

The only place
large enough to hold the entire population of the planet was Base
Three. The path was full of people waiting for Commander Potts to
address the meeting. He wasted no time in calling everyone to
order.

'Okay. To keep
you all in the loop, there have been developments. Positive ones.
Everyone on Moon will be brought here to live. I know we have
planned to do this over the next ten or twenty years, but with
the...unfortunate events on Earth, it is time we brought this
forward. A rough estimation from start to completion is about two
years. All the building material now on Moon will be brought here
and rebuilt. As for food, we will be bringing Moon's hydroponics
here, to help feed all of us. This means we will be sending less
from here to Moon, and receiving much more from there to here. That
means a temporary reduction in mining activities, so some of the
people employed in those sections will be employed in the rebuild.
I think we are entering an exciting phase in human history.
Finally, we can make this planet what it was always intended to be.
The new home to our race. Please embrace it and do all you can to
make this planet all it can be. Right. We all have work to do, so
please carry on. Thank you.'

Misty grabbed
Cragg's arm. 'You know what this means, don't you?'

Cragg grinned
and kissed Misty's cheek. 'We live happy ever after?'

'We can but
try.'

Amethyst
Bouquet hoped nobody had seen her slip away to the medical centre.
She wasn't even positive she wanted to go through with it. The
medical centre ran round the clock because the Base worked round
the clock. Outside in Mars' harsh environment, hazards were
everywhere and medical response had to be measured in seconds, not
minutes. A woman doctor and a male nurse were in attendance.

'Can we help
you?' asked the nurse.

'I'm not hurt
or anything,' said Amethyst.

'Feeling ill?'
asked the doctor. 'You look a picture of health to me.'

'I am.' She
looked at the male nurse and had no intention of saying anything
with him in the room and the doctor could see she was nervous.

'Noel. Don't we
get a few goodies as a snack by now,' the doctor said.

'On my way,'
said the nurse, taking a hint.

'Take a seat.
I'm Dr Jill Uphill. Everyone calls me Dr Jill. Do we have you on
our records?'

'I'm from Moon.
My first trip over here.'

'Enjoying
it?'

'I so want to
live here. With everyone coming here, I'll have all my friends with
me.'

'Nice. What's
your name?'

'Hmm? Amethyst
Bouquet.'

'Date of
birth?'

'Ninth of May,
twenty seventy eight.'

'You're
seventeen?'

'Eighteen.
Almost. In another six months.'

Dr Jill smiled.
'Seventeen it is. Okay. What can I do for you, Amethyst?'

'The thing is,
I met a boy.'

'Ah! Have you
and he been having...'

'No. I've never
had...but I love him. We are going back to Moon. That's over three
months together in a small ship. I want to know I'm safe.'

'You are
seventeen. Past the age of consent. I think you are making a mature
decision. Do you know about the NoPreg implant?'

'We covered
that in biology.'

'So this is
just a precaution.'

'Yes. I mean if
me and Rocky got together, we'd want a baby. But now is not a good
time.'

The doctor
agreed. 'This place will be a nightmare of activity for years. They
say at least two years. Not the best of time for babies, and the
fact that you are still very young means you have a lot of living
to do before you settle down.'

'That's what I
was thinking. I want a baby when I can look after it properly and
give us all a good home. Happy. Full of love. Rocky and me never
had that. We were both orphaned.'

'Is Rocky your
young man?'

'Yes. We have
so much in common. We understand each other, what we've lost. More
important, we know what we've found.'