The Many Worlds of Dean: Book 1 - Mars (3 page)

Bill looked down at his display while still
grumbling under his breath. After a moment of consideration and a
couple taps on the computer, Bill’s features took on a stormy look
of disgust. “Never mind!” he said angrily at the unspoken question
he saw in the Captain’s expression.

Dean saw Stacy try to stifle a giggle with
her hand. Bill’s face began to glow red and took on an expression
that suggested he could chew raw steel into rivets if asked to do
so. Cold, angry eyes flashed at Dean one more time before Bill
turned back to his display and attempted to present himself as if
he could care less about what had just transpired.

It’s going to be a very long trip
,
Dean thought to himself.

Docking maneuvers went off like clockwork,
thanks to Dean’s intervention with the calculations. Not a single
person congratulated him on catching the mistake. Unknown to Dean
however, Captain Rogers was filled with pride at the young man’s
attention to detail. The Captain was very much aware of how lucky
he was to have Dean among his crew; even if the others failed to
recognize that fact.

With docking completed, everyone had
unbuckled their restraints and was making their way to the hatch.
The rocket that had taken them into space was simply transportation
from Earth to Destiny. Destiny was the vessel which would take the
crew to Mars. Constructed in space, Destiny was the pinnacle of
human ingenuity.

Resembling a giant wheel, like that of a
stagecoach or horse drawn wagon, it measured over one hundred
meters in diameter. At the hub sat the engine and a detachable
landing module. The engine was designed to use ion propulsion;
basically a gas was superheated and ions released from the reaction
were thrust out the back. It was nowhere near as powerful as a
traditional rocket, but it had lots of staying power and would get
the crew to Mars in less than three months. The landing module sat
just in front of the engine and was designed to ferry three people
to the planet’s surface.

Four equally spaced spokes spread out from
the hub and connected to a large ring. This ring was called the
habitation module and it was currently spinning to create an
artificial gravity within. Fuel and other consumables took up the
majority of the space within the ring, with less than a quarter
reserved for the crew. Compared to earlier space vehicles however,
Destiny was downright spacious.

There were three laboratory spaces, an
exercise room, a kitchen/dining hall, a medical bay, and a large
communal space for recreation. Each crew member also had their own
small bedroom and even smaller bathroom to give a measure of
privacy when needed.

It was in this bastion of privacy that Dean
secluded himself as soon as he was aboard. He had no desire to
interact with a hostile crew any more than was necessary. He
planned to perform any task assigned to him as quickly as possible
and then return to his room where he could continue his studies on
his own. SpaceTek hadn’t realized it, but the intense education
they had forced upon him had only ignited his thirst for more
knowledge. The computer on the Destiny contained more information
than most first rate libraries, and Dean was determined to absorb
as much of it as he possibly could.

Once he had shut himself in his room, he
began going through his drawers and small closet to catalogue what
items he had at his disposal. The room contained only a small bed,
a combination dresser/desk with a computer terminal sat atop, and a
single chair in front of the desk. Two doors led either to the
hallway outside his room or to the cramped bathroom that held a
small sink, a toilet, an almost microscopic shower stall, and a
tiny closet holding the majority of his clothing. With the
exception of the dark blue mission jumpsuits, all of his clothes
were bright white. Every item of clothing, every toiletry, and all
of the other small odds and ends in the room had been carefully
assembled by a team of scientists on Earth. He had been allowed no
more than two pounds worth of personal effects.

He had only brought along a framed picture
of his family. However, just before he had boarded the rocket for
launch, his father had given him a pocket watch that had been
passed down from the time of his great grandfather. Seeing the
intense pride in his father’s face had been enough to convince him
the two years of misery had been worth it.

After viewing the only possessions he would
own for the next ten months, he decided to lie down and take a nap.
The experience of the launch had flooded his system with adrenaline
and now that it had worn off, he was feeling distinctly wore out.
They were not scheduled to depart Earth orbit for twelve hours and
he had no scheduled duties to perform until after that time. Even
though he had been certified to operate every system on Destiny,
SpaceTek hadn’t trusted him enough to assign him any duties other
than assisting his fellow crewmembers as needed.

Removing his standard issue, white sneakers,
he laid down on his bed and stretched the kinks from his body. At
that moment, it hit him. He was going to Mars. After everything
they had put him through and after all the times he thought he
wouldn’t be able to accomplish the next herculean task they placed
before him, he was here. He was going to be one of the first human
beings to set foot on another planet!

His train of thought was rudely interrupted
by a loud alarm that suddenly blared out of the speakers set into
the ceiling of his room.

“Fire in the medical bay. Fire in the
medical bay,” an automated voice announced over the sound of the
alarm.

Jumping from his bed and running out the
door, without even grabbing his shoes, Dean couldn’t help but
wonder how things could go bad this soon into the mission. Maybe he
wasn’t going to Mars after all.

Dean didn’t run to the medical bay. His
assigned post during this type of emergency was lab two. He had
been drilled relentlessly on all emergency procedures and the
actions he was expected to take in each. If the fire had been in
lab two, or in lab one next door, he would have been expected to
assess the situation and do one of four things; put the fire out
with one of the many extinguishers available throughout the ship,
initiate the fire suppression nozzles installed in each room, call
for more help, or order an evacuation by means of the two available
escape pods. He sincerely hoped he would never have to do the last
of those. The escape pods would keep the crew alive for several
weeks, but they would be uncomfortable and if an evacuation
occurred far from Earth, it was unlikely SpaceTek would be able to
retrieve the pods before everyone aboard died. Since the current
fire was elsewhere, he was expected to man his post until further
orders were issued.

Dean waited patiently for several minutes,
all the while fearing the mission was about to come to an abrupt
end. Finally, the alarm shut off and an announcement was made over
the intercom. “Dean, please report to the common room.”

Exiting lab two, he turned left and moved
down a long hallway. At his back, at the far end of the hallway,
sat the exercise room; beyond which was only an escape pod and
storage space for water, fuel, and other consumables. Labs one and
two were to his left and lab three, the largest, was to his right.
As he continued down the hallway, he passed the Captain’s quarters
and the Captain’s private office and then three more bedrooms,
including his own, and a food storage area. He went through a
doorway at the end of the hall and entered the kitchen and dining
area. Passing quickly through the small space, he went through
another doorway and entered the common room.

The other members of the crew were all there
waiting for him. Seated around the table in the center of the room
were Captain Rogers, Bill the engineer, Sarah the team physician,
and Stacy the geoscientist. Captain Rogers was the eldest of the
crew at sixty years old. He had snowy white hair and large, bushy
eyebrows. Dean had been astonished that the Captain, at such an
advanced age, was in remarkably great shape. Sarah was the next
oldest at fifty-three. The stately woman had light brown hair with
just a slight hint of gray showing at the roots. She was a medical
doctor that served as the crew’s physician and also held a degree
in exobiology. Bill was in his late thirties and held a master’s
degree in engineering. He looked like a boxer that had spent too
much time in the ring. He was short and muscular with heavy brows
hanging above a nose that had obviously been broken many times over
the years. Sara, the youngest besides Dean, held degrees in geology
and geophysics. Dean had always felt slightly uncomfortable around
her since he thought she was very attractive.

The Captain insisted everyone be called by
their first name to foster familiarity and promote camaraderie.
Everyone agreed, but refused to call Captain Rogers anything other
than Captain. It did seem to bother Bill when Dean addressed him by
his first name; which was why Dean took great pleasure in doing
so.

“Come in and have a seat Dean,” the Captain
said.

Dean walked past a ping pong table and over
to the table used for gaming and conferences. As he sat in the
unoccupied chair, he was immensely curious as to what was going on.
He could see into the medical bay through the doorway on the far
side of the common room and he saw no sign of fire.

Captain Rogers’ next comment only served to
confuse him. “Congratulations Dean, you are the only surviving
crewmember.”

Dean tilted his head to the side and asked,
“Excuse me?”

The Captain’s eyes sparkled with amusement
as he explained, “That was a fire drill. The parameters of the
drill were that a fire broke out in the med bay and an oxygen tank
exploded causing multiple hull breaches. The air was evacuated from
the med bay, the common room, and Sarah’s quarters on the other
side of the med bay. Sarah and I were both killed from asphyxiation
since our assigned posts were in the affected areas. Stacy and Bill
died when the computer malfunctioned and allowed them to open the
door between the kitchen and the common room.”

“But I thought Stacy’s post was lab
three?”

“It is. And even though Bill’s post is the
kitchen, he knows better than to open any doors. Curiosity got the
better of the two of them. They both decided they should try to
help and got themselves killed in the process.”

Dean was stunned by the revelation. He had
performed emergency drills at least twice per day for the last
eight months. He couldn’t fathom the idea of doing anything other
than manning his assigned post. Surely the rest of the crew had
performed numerous drills as well.

Looking up Dean caught the look of disgust
on Bill’s face. He wasn’t sure if the look was directed at him or
if Bill was unhappy with his own performance.

Captain Rogers continued to address the
crew. “This was the first of many drills. While Dean seems to
understand the necessity of following procedure, the rest of us are
obviously in need of refresher training.” Looking directly at Bill
and Stacy, he continued, “You two know you were supposed to man
your posts until further orders or until the computer had notified
you that Sarah and I were deceased. I really hate to start this
mission on a sour note, but we all need to remember how dangerous
this mission is and devote ourselves to following procedure. The
safety of this crew is my primary responsibility and I intend to
fulfill that responsibility. Now, I suggest we all get some rest.
We will begin system checks in seven hours to prepare for engine
start.”

Rising, Dean turned to make his way back to
his room. He stumbled to his left as Bill abruptly bumped his right
shoulder as he brushed past him. Apparently, the look of disgust
had been meant for Dean after all.

Dean was back in his room and contemplating
whether he should take a shower or just try to get some sleep. His
internal debate was interrupted by a knock on his door. “Come in,”
he called out.

“Hi Dean,” Captain Rogers said as he opened
the door, entered, and shut the door behind him. “You got a
moment?”

“Sure,” Dean replied.

Walking over to the small desk next to the
foot of the bed, the Captain took a seat in the padded chair beside
it. “I wanted to apologize for putting you in an awkward position
out there. I know the crew hasn’t had a chance to get to know you
yet, and using you as an example of what they should be doing isn’t
going to ingratiate you to them any quicker.”

From his spot on the bed, Dean rubbed the
back of his neck and replied, “That’s okay sir. It’s nice to know
that I serve some purpose on this mission; even if they hate me for
it.”

Frowning, Captain Rogers said, “First off,
I’ve told you, cut the ‘sir’ crap. You can call me Captain or Greg.
Second, regardless of what happened during training or what
SpaceTek may have preferred, you would not be here if I didn’t
think you had something to contribute to the mission.”

“But what could I contribute? I don’t have a
specialized degree like you or the others. I’ve never been to space
before. And aside from serving as a lab assistant to the others,
and pretty much playing janitor, I have no assigned duties to
perform during the trip.”

“That should leave you with plenty of spare
time,” he said. “And what exactly do you plan to do with all that
extra time?”

“I was going to continue my studies with the
information available in the database.”

Smiling with genuine warmth, the Captain
said, “Exactly what I assumed you would do. Look Dean, during your
training you passed advanced courses in physics, electrical and
mechanical engineering, geology, and geophysics. I’m sure you’re
not aware of it, but the first aid training you received was
actually the standard course of instruction for a paramedic. The
point is, while you are not specialized like the others, you’ve
been given enough training to fill in for anyone on this crew if
they become unable to fulfill their duties. You are also a backup
system to catch any mistakes the rest of us may make. You have
already proven that one by saving us all from crashing due to a
math error.”