Last Flight For Craggy (16 page)

Doctor Uphill
smiled. 'Such wise heads on such young shoulders. Just what we need
right now.'

'It's exciting.
So much to look forward to. I just don't want to spoil things by
getting pregnant too soon.'

'Good. It's a
painless, easily reversible procedure. The NoPreg works with the
body. They have proved to be one hundred percent effective and side
affects free. Want to do it now? It's just a tiny implant in your
thigh and it takes only a minute to do.'

Amethyst sighed
as she thought about it. 'Why do I feel like I'm losing
something?'

'Nothing but
your childhood. You are becoming a woman. Come on, this way.'

Minutes later,
Amethyst walked out of the medical centre, feeling as if she had
both lost something, but she had also found something. She had some
packing to do for the trip home.

Marcia Potts
was organizer personified. Within forty eight Mars hours, she had
put three different committees together involving three different
areas of expertise. She had asked if she was to be the coordinator,
would anyone object. She got the job.

Geologists
headed a seven person team. They had to decide on the most
favourable places for building the city. A sound hard rock base,
preferably sheltered from the Martian storms or at least a few of
the wild elements and wasn't covering up potentially useful
minerals to be mined later. The project fed upon itself and ideas
came thick and fast. Many had relations on Moon and the idea of
living together spurred everyone to do all they could to make
things happen.

Builders in
their committee, were looking at pictures of the buildings already
on Moon and working on ideas for rebuilding on Mars.

Electricians,
plumbers, sanitation engineers were working as a group, looking at
incorporating the existing infrastructure with new.

Everyone was
excited about finally making a world fit for humans outside of
Earth.

Similar teams
were brainstorming together on Moon, working out the balance of
taking dwellings down and how the people that had lived in them
would be temporarily housed. It would take most of the three months
of the freighters journey back to Moon, to be anything like ready
with all that could be stowed in the freighter pods and the big
ship for the trip back to Mars.

The payload
technicians wanted their input. Loading freighters, and now Big
Bird, was a whole industry on its own. Thought to be as much art as
science, they stressed that it was an imperative part of space
flight. Perfect weight distribution was required and everything had
to be secured to ensure no problems during transportation. As
crucial specialists, it was agreed that they would work with the
builders as loading consultants. Everyone was keen to be
involved.

* * *

It was time for
the freighter to be on its way to Moon. They did their kissing in
Base Three, and it was with a lighter heart that Cragg suited up
for one final round trip.

Misty warned,
'You get your sorry ass back safely to me, Dixon Cragg, or there'll
be serious trouble.'

'I'll get out
and push the damn freighter here if I have to. This is where I
belong. Here with you.'

'Then get
going. The sooner you've gone, the sooner you come back.'

Cragg stole one
more kiss and put his helmet on. 'Keep some beer on ice.'

He told Misty
to stay in the Base, and he went through the airlock to join the
others already on the freighter. Cragg was going along because
there was another freighter to make use of back on Moon, so he
intended to make himself available, if required. He had said his
farewells to Misty, with a solemn vow when he returned to her, it
would be on his last flight.

Dillow,
Amethyst and Cragg buckled up and Rocky took control of the take
off. He went through the preflight check with Dillow, who recorded
the readings. She put the log away and sat back, ready to assess
Rocky's skills. She smiled as she watched his hands and fingers fly
over the sensors. She could tell from his facial expression that he
wasn't having to think about which sensor did what, he just knew,
already one with the ship. All Rocky had to do was land on Moon,
and she would have no hesitation in giving him his tickets.

She'd already
had a quiet word with Craggy to give the youngsters some space, but
Craggy was in a world of romantic fog of his own. It seemed
everyone was in love but her. Perhaps when the new world was up and
running, she might find somebody.

Dillow had been
in love once. It had been a wonderful, all consuming, love. But he
had been taken from her. His memory hadn't faded and her feelings
for him would always be with her. Things were changing. History was
being made. It was a time of changes. It was also time for her to
make changes, too.

Three weeks
out, a well oiled routine developed. Rocky was controlling the
freighter most of the time, because he was still being assessed for
his tickets by Dillow. Cragg and Amethyst got along great, Cragg
making her laugh with his outrageous jokes and exaggerated stories
as he gave her a few tips on food preparation.

Occasionally,
Cragg would top up too much on Martian beer, and be in a mood to
tell one of his tall stories. As ridiculous as it was, his tales of
his “daring” exploits were infectious. It was lights dimmed, except
for the one by Cragg, and they would have a beer and wait eagerly
for the story.

Cragg always
started the same way. “Did I ever tell you about the time...” and
he would reel them into his world of fantasy, seasoned with just
enough reality as to give the rendition credibility. It was close
to Craggy's bedtime, so he handed out the beers then took his seat
where the single light illuminated his face in a very strange
way.

'Did I ever
tell you about that time I took a ride with a dead man?'

'Sounds
painful,' said Dillow.

Craggy ignored
her. 'Well. I wasn't that much older than you are now, Rocky. I had
a few years of hauling freight, but still had a load to learn. I
hadn't made captain at that time. We had to work for our tickets,
in those days.'

'Boo. Boo.'
Rocky and Dillow cried out.

'Anyway, before
I was so rudely interrupted, I was flying with an old codger called
Big Billy. Freighter Captain William Croxford. I always thought his
name should be Big Belly, not Big Billy. He'd spent months on Mars
and pigged out. Not the healthiest specimen you'd be likely to
meet. Anyway, we were just sitting there, humming along, Big Billy
has a heart attack. No warning, just a rolling of the eyeballs, and
a clutching of his arm and he'd gone. Dead.'

'Jeez, Craggy,'
said Amethyst. 'Didn't you try CPR?'

'He had a
beard. Have you ever kissed a beard? And I'm not talking a neatly
clipped facial decoration here. Think birds nest profusion, with
foodstuffs going back decades lodged in it, and Big Billy's
constant scratching at said tangled growth, had everybody wondering
what lifeforms were procreating in it.'

'Hell, no,'
said a grimacing Amethyst.

'So why wish it
on me? No way was I kissing that. Ugh! No. He was well dead. Just
to make sure, I gave his whiskers a good tug and I got no response.
I dragged him to his bunk.'

'By his beard?'
Dillow asked.

'As if. Anyway,
I called Moon and told them what had happened. I asked them what I
should do with the corpse. I said, should I throw it through the
airlock?'

'Craggy,' said
Amethyst. 'You wouldn't do that.'

'Why not? He
was dead wasn't he? As it happened, that's what Moon told me, too.
He had to go back for an autopsy. That was all very well, but after
a couple of days, he was beginning to pong a bit. Man. It was
making my eyes water. Only one thing for it. I had to seal him in
his suit.'

'Urgh, Craggy,'
said Dillow. 'You dressed a dead man in his suit?'

'Well, I wasn't
allowed to throw him outside, which would have been my preferred
option. We had nothing for dead people on the freighter and there
was no way I could spend months with that stink. So, I didn't have
a lot of choice. He was in such a state, I had to wear my own suit
so I didn't have to touch it or smell it. It took me an hour of
shoving, pulling, and pushing to get the suit on. I was knackered.
I put his helmet on to seal the old devil in, gave him a good night
kiss and that was it.'

Amethyst could
visualise it all happening. 'That was horrible, having to put a
suit on a smelly dead body.'

Cragg shrugged.
'We have to do what we have to do. That wasn't the worst of it. I
was alone in the ship, now, still weeks to go before reaching Moon.
It was three days after Big Billy had been suited up, me on the
deck on my own, when I heard. . . footsteps right behind me.'

'Craggy,'
gasped Rocky. 'What the hell was it?'

Craggy yawned.
'A story for another time. Goodnight all.'

Dillow said,
'You rotter, Craggy.'

With a grin,
Cragg took off for bed and then Rocky disappeared. Amethyst went
over to Dillow and whispered in her ear.

'Good luck,'
whispered Dillow back, as Amethyst walked out.

Dillow sat in
the still dimmed light and she found herself shuddering at the
thoughts of ghostly footsteps in a freighter.

'Damn you,
Craggy.'

Amethyst asked,
'Do you love Misty?'

'What?' gasped
Cragg. 'Why the hell do you ask me that?'

They were on
clothes cleaning duty. Cragg threw a handful of garments into the
zapper. He pressed the button and five seconds later, they were
spotless and fresh. He took them out and put them on hangers.

'It's
just...no. That would be rude.'

'You, rude?
Never. Out with it.'

'Well. You're
kinda really, really old.'

Cragg gasped.
'Excuse me? I'll have you know I'm only really old.'

'Well, I'm
kinda young.'

'I
noticed.'

'But can you be
in love at your age?'

Surprised,
Cragg said, 'Good grief. In my prime, I am. But yes. Age doesn't
come into the equation. Love can strike when you least expect
it.'

'But you do
love Misty.'

Cragg nodded.
'I finally owned up to it. We've got the chance of being together
and we're running with it. But it isn't like the first love you and
Rocky have. I see you and I remember that the way you love so deep
it hurts.'

'It does. It's
crazy, but it does hurt.'

'I know. And
that's what makes it all so special. For me and Misty, it doesn't
hurt quite like that. It's more mellow. Me and Misty are
comfortable in our own skins and with each other. You asked if I
love Misty? Oh, yes. I love her. I just never admitted it to myself
before.'

'Is it possible
to fall in love really young and still love them when we're really
old?'

'Now that's a
whole other question. It is possible. But to be honest, the odds
are against it. See, back when we were living in caves, old age was
like forty. So, a caveman only had to be in love for a few years.
Humans are now living into their hundred and fifties. That means we
have to go on loving for about one hundred and thirty years. A big
ask for anyone. I think I can see out my years with Misty.'

He could see a
strange look pass like a dark shadow over Amethyst's face and knew
he had said words she shouldn't have heard him say. 'Take no notice
of me. Old timers sometimes ramble on talking crap. Your love is
strong. Why shouldn't it last? Of course it will.'

'I hope
so.'

'My advice to
you? Live each day as if it's your last and embrace life.'

Amethyst kissed
his cheek. 'Thanks, Craggy.' She skipped away to have a woman to
woman chat with Dillow.

Rocky was alone
on the deck, wallowing in his own mellow dreams, when he got a call
on the radio. The signal from Moon was clear. 'Rocky Ramshorn. Moon
Commander Forbes, here.'

'I'm here,
Sir.'

'Just to let
you know, we are getting the big ship ready to go to Mars. We've,
err, added plumbing and squeezed in a cot. It's hardly home from
home, but you'll have all you need for your month's trip.'

'One
month?'

'It's got some
real speed, now. But you'll be on your own for that trip. Are you
okay with that?'

'Sure. The more
we get done, the quicker we'll be settling on Mars. Bring it
on.'

'Thanks, Rocky.
Everything all right?'

'Yeah. They're
all asleep.'

'Okay. I'll let
you go, Ramshorn.'

'Goodnight,
Sir.'

This was
something he hadn't banked on. Here he was with a wonderful
girlfriend and he would be racing back and forth between Moon and
Mars, often on his own. He was still glowing from the intimacy with
Amethyst, and now he had to tell her they'd be lucky to be on ships
passing in the night.

'Great.'

Amethyst was a
little deflated when she heard Rocky's news.

'It can't be
helped,' said Rocky. 'They can't add another seat in that ship,
without serious rewiring of the computers and controls. That would
be risky.'

'It isn't
fair,' said Dillow.

'No. It isn't,'
agreed Cragg. 'I suppose it will be a tough couple of years for
everybody. For the greater good. You'll get through it.'

Dillow said,
'They won't have to get through it, at least not apart. I can fly
the other ship.'

'You?' Rocky
said.

'Why not? The
controls on the ship aren't much different from the ones on this
new freighter. I can fly it as well as you, Rocky.'

'I never said
you couldn't. But what would I be doing?'