Red Dwarf Bundle

By Robert Stetson

This is the story of a Space Cadet named Clay Stone who completed his academy training and is assigned to Space Center as the first Starship Captain to embark on a stellar mission to a red dwarf star called Alpha Proxima 4.2 light years away.
The trip is a disaster and the trials and tribulations are many, but the mission is almost doomed near the end. 
subsequent missions in the ongoing series (To include Dark Star I and II) prove as adventurous and compelling as the first!
The story is packed full of humor, romance, action and adventure.  You’re going to love this one.
But, PLEASE, don’t tell anyone the ending.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Stetson
• Release date: Aug 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781501430596

Robert Stetson

I am a retired person living in Massachusetts. My background is extremely diverse. I have worked a Computer Systems Design Engineer, an Auxiliary Police Officer, and many other jobs. I have been a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer working for 3 different fortune 500 companies, served as a representative at ANSI, ECMA and other standards organizations.. I was/am a licensed Private Detective in two states, a Licensed Real Estate Broker and now write as my full time occupation in books on a variety of fact and fictional topics.

Book preview

Chapter 1 DEEP SPACE ACADEMY

My name is Clay Spear. I’m a twenty two year old Cadet struggling to complete my studies and graduate from the Deep Space Academy next month. You might think I’m a bit of a mama’s boy because of my childlike face and my mild demeanor.

It’s cost me plenty of grief because the Space Storm Instructors take one look at me and say I lack the command presence of a Star Ship Captain. They tell me that had I been aboard a sixteenth century British frigate, I would have been a powder monkey.

My light complexion and slight build have also been a detriment to my perceived manliness. It has actually made me tougher than most of the others. My skin is smooth and womanlike resulting in my almost never needing a shave. Over the last four years, the Academy has been my reluctant home away from home.

It’s a hard existence with seven inspections a day along with the severe discipline. No one bullies me anymore since the time I took Marcus Goliaths down in a fight. Marcus Goliaths is nicknamed Goliath and weighs in at twice my one hundred eighty pounds. Mark and I are the best of friends now.

Gordon Case is my assigned study partner. Gordy is a constant aggravation. He’s a bit of a clown. His tall string bean build is beyond lanky and is best described as goofy. His appearance only amplifies his behavior. He seldom studies and plays endless practical jokes. Perhaps the cruelest of these is when he named his oldest son Justin (Just-in Case?).

Unfortunately the rules of engagement and subsequent graduation stipulate that if your assigned team member fails to graduate, so do you. I often wonder if they put us together because they figured if either of us fails they would be rid of both of us. Otherwise there is no sense in having us both fail and taking two good men with us.

This whole dilemma is ironic because our family legacy is one hundred twenty six years of service to Omni-Fleet. No one at the Academy seems to know about my family history and no one seems to care. We were told upon our arrival, when they lined us all up along the entrance wall, that they don’t give a damn where we came from or who we think we were. Our butts belong to them now.

The room is relatively quiet considering there are three hundred Cadets here. The lighting is subdued and the stage is empty except for the he full wall-sized Fleet Flag that hangs in the background. All three hundred tables are neatly arranged with soft leather chairs and a console for taking the last of three exams.

Now the low murmurs went silent as the already quiet room lapses into an audible vacuum. My eyes pan over to the stage where a huge man is moving briskly to center stage.

His muscular frame is made all the more apparent by his tailored Starship Admiral’s uniform. My impression of the Admiralty is highly elevated. This man is clearly battle ready.

The room fills with a powerful voice as the Admiral speaks, I am Admiral Amery. You are here today to take the last of three exams.

His voice carries clearly into all corners of the room and yet I see no evidence of a microphone.

The Admiral continues, "This exam measures your knowledge of navigation and tactics. If either you or your study partner fails, you both fail.

"There is an element of leadership associated with your studies. You are your brother’s keeper. If you can’t influence your study partner’s success, then you fail as a leader. If you fail as a leader you will not wear the Starship Captain’s uniform.

We have raised the academic bar for this, the first graduating class from the Deep Space Academy, and only one third of you will graduate.

He turns and exits the stage, no good wishes and no parting pleasantries.

The exam begins. Monitors walk quietly among us watching for any sign of cheating or misbehavior. It is the most grueling five hours of my life.

As I work through the exam there is a score in the upper right corner of the screen showing my raw score and my standing on the grading curve.

Some of the problems are more difficult than others and we are graded on both the accuracy and timeliness required to answer each individual problem.

One of the tips I learned in class was to ignore the grading scores and focus on the answers. Any time I spend looking at the scores will only add to the time to complete the immediate problem at hand.

This too is part of the test because it measures our ability to focus on a solution and ignore distractions. Looking at the raw score and my standing on the grade after completing the exam, I see that I am at ninety eight percentile.

Smiling just a bit, I wipe the bead of sweat from my nose. If Gordy has a passing score then we can graduate tomorrow. My heart is in my throat as I look over and see Gordy giving me the high sign. I return his gesture and we both sit back in our seats and smile.

Sadly, I look over and see Marcus Goliaths stand up and walk slowly from the room. I’m sure Mark knew all the answers, but the curve isn’t just based on the number of correct answers, but how quickly you respond and move on to the next. He is smart and he is strong, but he isn’t quick enough.

When the sun began to peek over the horizon this morning and the gentle breeze carried in the smell of the roses in the Academy garden, you could just feel that this would be a special day. It’s graduation day at the Deep Space Academy and I have never seen such a free for all. After all of the celebration and speeches have faded into the past, we get dressed for the graduation party. It’s the only time in my life when I will get to celebrate as a part of 98 drunken starship captains.

Gordy is just being Gordy as he locates a wireless mike and positions it carefully under Admiral Amery’s chair. I’m watching Gordy as he places a whoopee cushion under the Admiral’s seat pad and then put a strange powder in the Admiral’s glass of wine and stir it. In all the excitement I was the only one who saw this going on.

Can they recall your diploma based on behavior at the graduation party, I wonder?

The Admiral makes a grand entrance and struts up to his position at the commencement table like a proud bantam rooster.

Gordy is nudging me with his elbow and says, What an ass.

I’m remembering yesterday at the final exam when the Admiral finished his pompous speech and then walk out of the room rudely without pleasantries of any kind or even wishing us good luck. I smile quietly and nod in agreement.

The Admiral struts over to the commencement table and picks up his wine glass, then moves briskly to the podium where he announces, This is my proudest moment. There are those who say I can’t turn out a group of deep space captains. I guess we showed them, didn’t we?

Admiral Amery raises his glass, and in a booming voice, he says, Join me in a toast. To prove in spite of all the doubters, that I succeeded in launching the first group of Deep Space Captains.

We all raise our glasses and down our wine.

I nudge Gordy and mutter, What an ass. He never acknowledged us.

The Admiral speaks again and pontificates about the Academy and what a fine institution it is. His speech is becoming slurred and his eyes are beginning to bug out just a bit. He is saying something, but I can’t make out what he’s saying. Admiral Amery turns and makes something like a wobbly mincing return to his position at the commencement table and flops down in his chair. The room’s sound system explodes with the sound of the whoopee cushion as the Admiral’s rump hits the seat and then fizzles off at the end when it had depleted its air supply.

A resounding cheer goes up and we all have another glass of wine.

Admiral Amery sleeps for the duration of the party. Then the head of the faculty lifts him from his chair and takes him home.

Sergeant Grady, the Security Chief, is holding up the wireless mike and the limp whoopee cushion with a pained expression on his face. Then he spots Gordy and begins to move in Gordy’s direction.

I back away from Gordy and try to melt into the crowd, but security people are closing in from all directions.

I look over at Gordy and say, Good luck with your career, buddy.

Omni-Fleet doesn’t waste much time. Unlike most large Corporations, they seem to be nimble and lean. Most large companies are so cumbersome they can’t get out of their own way. They lumber along reacting far too slowly while the environment changes all around them until they become extinct and file chapter 11 in an effort to be reborn.

It was just last week when we graduated and I now have my orders in hand. We’re launching a mission to the Tri-Star cluster of Alpha Centaury A, B and C. Alpha Centaury C, a red dwarf star also known as Alpha Proxima. It is the nearest star to our sun, the sun is our own star and we have named it Sol. The distance one way to Alpha Proxima is four point two light years.

We’ve only scarcely begun to travel beyond the solar system and the whole concept is rather new. I’m looking forward to commanding my ship and completing our interstellar mission. This will be the first time we actually visited a star.

Once we arrive there we will launch a stellar planetite. A planetite is a satellite, but satellites by definition orbit planets. A planetite orbits a star, just as a planet would.

My wife Alice and I never did get along that well, which is why I signed up for the twelve year trip to that red dwarf, Alpha Proxima. We discussed the option of either divorce or separation. In light of our son Kevin’s welfare we decided on the separation.

Kevin is our ten year old son. He will be twenty two when I return. Alice will be receiving my paychecks while I’m gone. Kevin will have a financially secure home until he grows up because I’m having my weekly paychecks sent to her.

When it’s time to head out to the base for departure I hug my son for the last time. He doesn’t understand the situation, but I understand all too well. I’m going to miss him desperately and I’m hoping Alice and I can make a new start when I return. To have Alice wait twelve years for my return is a lot to ask. With our marriage in the state it’s in, I kiss her for what I know will be the last time.

My dad was a space pilot and was gone most of the time. Being the child of a space pilot can be a lonely life without your mom or dad. We don’t have any women pilots with children. I guess women are less willing to make that big of a sacrifice. My dad was only gone for a year or two at a time. Star Pilots are gone for several years because of the distances they traverse.

My Father is a commercial pilot for the Near Space Group that runs the gamut between the inner planets. Dad’s insignia is a silver rendering of the solar system worn as a badge on his chest.

As a member of Deep Space Fleet, my badge will be a gold starburst. It represents a star gone nova. There is a lot to live up to in my family and I want my father to be proud of me.

A man named Albert Einstein theorized that time is relative and a ship leaving the Earth at the speed of light would return a year later and find that hundreds of years had passed while they were gone.

The theory was later proven when the atomic clocks aboard the GPS satellites and atomic clocks aboard space probes had to be corrected periodically to keep them in synch with the atomic clocks on Earth.

The time difference caused by our relative velocity is not linear. We will only travel at zero % to 90% the speed of light with our ion drive. On board the starship we are gone only a total of eleven months. Meanwhile, twelve years will have passed on Earth. At 24 years of age I will be able to sit down and have a beer with my 22 year old son.

Arriving at the space port is a tedious affair because of the layers of security here. When you arrive at the gate, the guard has to verify that you have business here even though you are assigned to the base. You can’t just decide to enter the base in your off hours.

By the time I get to the launch area it is afternoon. The people here have been working for three days. The shuttle is loaded, fueled and ready to go. I get to meet my co-pilot for the first time and it’s... Damn!

Gordon Case is standing there big as life with his usual stupid grin.

What are you doing here? I ask.

Gordon says, "They figured out somehow that I was the one who put the whoopy cushion, microphone and the mickey in Old Iron Pants’ drink.

I got downgraded to co-pilot and now I’m on probation for the duration of our trip. I guess that makes you my keeper, Brother.

I sank down in my seat and put my head in my hands. Can’t help thinking this is going to be the trip from hell.

I go back to my office and call in to the General Assignments Division. They tell me that Admiral Amery assigned him to me because Gordon was my assigned team member at the Academy and we would either make it as a team, or not.

I hang up the phone and sit down for a moment. What do I do now? I thought I was rid of him, and now we’re going to Alpha Proxima as a team.

I rise slowly from my chair and walk out to the prelaunch area where I notice that Gordon is having a coffee rather than performing his preflight inspections.

I look sternly at Gordon and say, You had better not pull any of your crazy stunts while we’re out there. You almost had me drummed out of the academy with that stunt you pulled on the Admiral. If they had managed to get you fired before the graduation ceremony I would never have gotten my wings.

Chapter 2 ALPHA PROXIMA

We gather our belongings and assemble at the docking station for our trip up to the starship that will be our home for the next ten months. Isn’t it strange that we can get to Alpha Proxima in five months, but it takes six months to get to Mars? That’s because you can’t go that short of a distance at that near light velocity and then stop in time to avoid overshooting it. A five minute trip to Mars just isn’t practical.

My starship is in near orbit above the Earth. It has two years of provisions stocked along with a full crew already on board.

Even though the trip will seem to take only eleven months a rescue mission will take time to get to us in the event we have a loss of propulsion out there. The additional thirteen months of provisions will keep us alive until help arrives. The trip will actually be five months, but we will be spending a month in orbit around Alpha Proxima.

During that five month period, we can communicate with Earth via Quantum Entangled Communication, or QEC for short. The communication is possible while orbiting Alpha Proxima because the time intervals will be the same on Earth as they are on board our ship. While our trip out is five months, Earth will have five and a half years of waiting for our arrival message.

We scramble aboard the shuttle that is to take us up to the Interstellar Starship Nova in the usual manner with the crew all lined up at attention and saluting me.

There are no windows aboard the shuttle or the starship to reduce the radiation effects of traveling in space.

The ascent is a punishing ordeal as the ship vibrates violently. We are pressed deep into our cushioned seats. The ship itself is monitored and controlled by our thought links. Each station is tuned to the operator’s brain waves. Our arms and hands are useless at this acceleration rate. We are pinned to the seat.

After a time, the stars become visible in the view screens as we feel our bodies release from the grip of acceleration. We can move our arms and hands now. The first thing we do is release our bonds so we can move freely about the bridge and crew cabins.

It amazes me that they can launch a full size shuttle and have it become a part of the starship living quarters into orbit even though ninety percent of the weight is the propulsion system and additional crew living, working and recreational areas already in orbit around the Earth.

Once attached to the second half of the starship in orbit, the Captain on the bridge routine is repeated.

I salute back and say, At ease. This is going to be the first outward mission to a nearby star. The vessel proved itself in trials over the last three years and is of sound design. I want to welcome each of you and say thanks for serving with me.

I introduce First Officer Gordon Case to the crew and announce, There will be a launch party tonight at twenty three hundred hours in the main lounge. Attendance is not mandatory, but I’m hoping to see you there.

We all separate and go to our quarters. As Captain, I have a suite, Gordon has a semi-suite, but the rest of the crew has a narrow berth with a bunk and a storage space for their personal belongings.

We all meet in the dining hall for dinner. From my vantage point standing behind the Captain’s table, about to sit down, I can see the crew is in good spirits.

Gordon, drunk and in his usual giddy manner, walks right up to me and says, Captain, don’t you think we need to liven up this party?

I pause in my tracks and turn to face him saying, Don’t even think about pulling any of your idiotic pranks!

Gordon laughs and winks, raising his glass momentarily and downs the contents.

I have a feeling of dread coming over me.

I just can’t help but notice the food is excellent considering it’s all quick frozen. The five-star executive chef does a good job when it comes to cooking up some pretty tasty meals, partly due to the Star Academy Cooking Institute. Good food is the best compensation Omni-Fleet could come up with. The only thing that wasn’t frozen is the salad, I think. Out here among the stars there is little else to enjoy other than a fine meal and some booze once in a while.

Gordy and I are just wrapping up our duties as we fly by Neptune and on out through the Kuiper Belt. We turn and face each other, wave our hand at the door to offer the navigator the opportunity to exit ahead of us and we proceed to the ship’s lounge for the evening launch party.

The lights in the lounge are dimmed and the music is loud, but not loud enough to stifle conversation. The members of the crew are mixing it up and getting to know one another.

I look around for Gordy, but he’s not in the lounge area at the moment. Gordy is a party animal, he would be here if he is at all alive.

A sinking feeling comes over me and I brace myself for another Gordon Case Prank. I know this guy. He’s up to something.

Screams erupt and people scatter.

One woman screams, A rat!

Just then I see two scurrying gerbils racing through the lounge in a panic. I had to do a double take as they are wearing the bright red and blue Omni-Fleet uniforms.

Before I realized it my mouth opened and I screamed, Gordon! What the hell?

Across the room I can see Gordon, drink raised and giving me a wink.

I bristle up and point to the exit saying, In my office, NOW!

We enter my office and close the door and I turn to look at him. I am not amused. He begins to grasp the gravity of the situation. He starts to look a bit humble, but I’ve had it with this clown’s insanity.

What the hell were you thinking? I ask.

Gordon looks a bit lost for words and says, It was just a little harmless fun. They look cute in the Omni-Fleet Pilot and Copilot Officer’s uniforms, don’t you think?

There are a thousand miles of ductwork running throughout the ship. The stores are in one of the chambers and the galley is close to the lounge. I say, Just how do you propose we recover these gerbils?

Gordon shuffles his feet and says, We can get Mandy and Herman back, don’t worry.

I gag and fight to catch my breath.

You brought a male and female rodent aboard my starship and turned them loose in the lounge next to the food stores? I whined.

I gagged and sank back saying, By the time we get half way to our destination, there will be thousands of the damn things eating our stores and messing up our ductwork. By the time we arrive at our destination there will be millions of them and all of our food will be gone.

Gordon just sits there.

I hadn’t thought about that, he says.

I call home to talk to my son.

My wife gets on the phone and tells me, We are no longer married.

She had our marriage terminated based on my planned absence being over 5 years.

I am visibly shaken and respond with, I’m a starship commander. It’s my job to be out of town for a few years.

Every thirty six weeks she gets a check for a week’s pay. Did I mention that she is upset? If I wanted a divorce I couldn’t have picked a better way. Mrs. Spear now has to go to work and raise enough money to pay the bills. Our situation is not unlike those of airline pilots back around the end of the twentieth century. Most of them were on government food stamp programs because they had families and were making round $15K a year.

Once a day we get to call home on the communications link. Once a day for us, but the Earth has had fifteen days pass between calls due to the difference in the length of a minute. For every minute that passes for us, the Earth ages seven hundred and twenty minutes. The voice connection is buffered and delivered at a speed appropriate for the listener at either end.

The government is quick to catch on and they milk the situation by prorating the Social Security of every person on board the starship and their reporting age is also prorated. Each person traveling near light speed on a space mission is only paid for the hours they spend, as time is perceived, on board the starship while in transit.

The age of starship travelers is prorated so their record shows their biological age, not their chronological age which limits their benefits, such as retirement and social services.

The social and economic implications of star travel with regard to the government and elder service providers are resolved in this way. There is no consideration for the loss of the traveler’s relationships or the loss of the travelers deteriorating property.

As for the loss of adaptation to the day to day operations, such as technology and the changes in the law, there is no sympathy for the traveler.

After learning about my benefits I am in no mood to deal with Gordon.

Gordon is placed under arrest and confined to his quarters. A guard is posted to make sure he stays there and the quarters are purged of anything that can be used to start a fire or signal anyone, such as a phone.

I get on the phone link to headquarters and advise them that I have made an executive decision to turn around and abort the mission. With the rodents breeding in the ductwork and eating our food, we won’t live to get to our destination, let alone return. Gordon is put on report and we head back to Earth.

The Admiral back on Earth supports my decision and confines Gordon Case to his quarters under arrest. He is no longer an Omni-Fleet Officer.

Upon our arrival back on Earth, Gordon Case is taken into custody and faces life imprisonment or execution for treason aboard a starship.

I am arrested and put on report for failing as a leader to control the actions of a member of my crew.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether a military court martial is easier to defend than a civilian court action. Let them slug it out. The toughest court to beat is a corporate disciplinary court.

Because it cost the Omni Space Corporation billions of dollars in lost funds, Gordon Case will face the corporation. As a result of being remiss in my duties as Starship Captain, my case is remanded to the military tribunal.

I ask the adjutant General, What’s going to become of Gordon Case?

Looking sternly at his desktop, he says, The judge trying the case is Admiral Amory, better known as Old Iron Pants. Most command level personnel get nicknames based on their past injuries or exploits. Not Old Iron Pants. He got his name because he’s known as a hard ass".

I grimace and ask, Any chance the Admiral knows who spiked his drink and put the whoopee cushion and a microphone on his chair?

The Adjutant General smiled.

I never saw him smile before.

He says, Son, there isn’t a soul in the Omni Space organization that doesn’t know who made an ass of the Admiral in front of the entire company. Your buddy ex-Starship Captain Case’s goose is southern fried and he hasn’t even hit the skillet yet.

Try as I might, I can’t hide my pained expression.

I ask, Do we know who has been assigned to act as his defense attorney yet?

The Adjutant flopped back in his seat and gave me a look that made my blood run cold.

Everyone was talking about you defending him. He is your friend. That didn’t work out because with you up on charges, you can’t act in an official corporate roll until your case is concluded, he said

I breathed a sigh of relief.

I’m feeling a bit sick and say, For the first time since the charges were filed against me, I’m grateful to be accused. The thought of waging a war of wits against Admiral Amory and the prosecution is frightening. In this case the judge and the prosecution are on the same side.

The Adjutant rose from his chair and on the way out of the room he said, We drew straws and I was chosen. Doesn’t matter whether I win or lose this case, I’ll be lucky to have a career left.

Up on charges for not controlling my crew, the court date draws closer and closer, and now it’s here. My trial has come soon enough for me because I just want it over with.

As I enter the court, every eye in the room is on me. The person acting as my defense is none other than Admiral Amery. The judge in this case is, oddly enough, The Adjutant General.

I am completely blown away by the intermixing and mingling of command rolls here at the corporate headquarters. They square off against each other as bitter enemies and then after the battle is over, they all go out for spaghetti dinner together.

To me, the battle isn’t personal, so the finding, after all is said and done, is that with Gordon Case having gone mad as a hatter, to quote the judge, I was not held responsible.

As for poor Gordy, well, that’s a different story. Insanity is not a defense in the corporation. As one man puts it, You have to be insane to become a Star Ship Captain anyway.

When my trial is over they tell me.

Admiral Amery called me to his office and says, Captain Spear. I regret to inform you that your team mate ex-Starship Captain Case was executed for treason this morning at sunup. Have you anything to say or ask?

I lower my head and answer, Yes sir.

His eyebrows rose up just a little bit; he looks me right in the eye and says, Fire away.

Mustering all my courage, I ask him, Given your position in the corporation, you could have assigned anyone else to defend me, why you?

He leans forward, lowering his voice, and says, We never had this conversation, do you understand?

I say, Yes sir! We never had this conversation, sir!

The Admiral seems to soften as he continues, Your father is a friend of mine, but that’s not the reason I chose to defend you.

Unaware that he knew my father, I continue to listen.

The Admiral goes on, You were saddled with that maniac Gordon Case. We never expected the two of you to make it. Gordon Case because he’s a maniac, and you because if Gordon Case failed the Academy, you would have been failed as well, just because he was your team mate.

Surprised by his in depth knowledge of my situation, I leaned in a little closed for the rest.

The Admiral lights a cigar and continues, Between putting Goliath in his place and managing to reign in Gordon Case, I saw a first rate Starship Captain in you, son. That’s why you’re heading up the Alpha Proxima program. You’ve got spunk, kid.

As I turned to leave he said one more thing.

The Admiral said, Besides, I don’t lose a case, ever, and when I win, I win big.

Chapter 3 THE RELAUNCH

After four weeks, the ship is still not ready to launch. I’m beginning to lose my patience. Entering the maintenance building and looking in the directory for the Chief of Maintenance Services, I board the elevator and storm into his office on the eleventh floor.

Bypassing his flustered secretary, I enter his office unannounced and ask, Why has it has taken the Space Dock a month to get Starship Nova ready for the relaunch?

He looks back at me in dismay and says, The gerbils are gone and the food supplies have all been replaced to ensure that there is no contamination issue. Unless you want the smell of a dead gerbil coming from the heat ducts, you’ll let us do our job.

I continue to question with, How much longer is it going to take?

Looks like another week and you can begin boarding your people, then another three days after you’re all aboard to double check the oxygen levels and system functions with people on board. If the systems aren’t balanced it would be a nasty trip. You will never make it without proper levels of air and water recycling.

The news is somewhat reassuring. They’re taking every precaution to ensure that we arrive at our destination and return safely. The lives and safety of my crew are of paramount importance to me as well. When I arrive back at my office I’m greeted by a memo from the Admiral. He has assigned Mandy Amery as my First Mate. As I hold the memo in my hand, a smile breaks out on my face and I’m very pleased to know that she and I will be spending the next twelve months together.

Since the divorce with Alice, I haven’t thought of starting a relationship with anyone else. Why put any woman through the ordeal of a twelve year separation?

Life is fascinating.

No matter how much money you make, that’s how much money you need to get by, or more.

No matter how much free time you have, tasks start to fill the void and you’re still busy all the time.

No matter how many problems are solved, there are still new things to be concerned or aggravated about even though the severity of the problem is less, or even negligible by past standards.

The end result is that people can’t save money, are always busy and have problems that plague them.

Now I get to be with Mandy for twelve months in an atmosphere where she can’t really get involved with anyone else. Her presence excites me. She is, in fact, the most exciting woman I have ever known. The journey has a whole new meaning now.

Mandy is a small blond lady standing five feet two. She has a cute smile that make the dimples stand out. Her eyes are a deep blue with a figure that would make any man stop and get a second look.

I am in meetings with the senior staff for three hours a day discussing issues around the trip and the ultimate placing of the stellar planetite.

The distance from the star is a function of finding the Goldilocks zone. Once this is established, the planetite will be in orbit favoring the outermost reaches of the zone, so that over the next few centuries, the orbital decay will take it slowly through the zone to the innermost edge.

The purpose of the Planetite is to transmit a signal with a marker pulse. The distance between the marker pulses will indicate the movement of the star toward or away from our position. It will be an indicator of the rate of expansion or contraction of the universe.

Working with Mandy is maddening. I can’t let on how I feel about her. It would be unprofessional in this time and place. Once aboard the ship and on our way, during the off hours, I can intimate my feelings and watch for a response.

The world is becoming a maddening place. I actually can’t wait to get away for a while.

When I stop for gas and pay the attendant, he says, Thank you for your purchase. Let me share some of the lowest rates on wireless communication with Relizon.

I say, No. I’m not interested.

On the way out of the place, I buy a sandwich and the cashier says, Have you considered shopping at the Tire Pit?

I say, No. I’m not interested.

As I get seated in my car and open the sandwich wrapper, the inside of the wrapper says, Buy your burgers at the Burger Bun.

I put my key in the ignition and turn it and the auto alarm system says, You deserve a break today, so get up and get away, to Daddies Egg Emporium where the breakfast is best and the prices are less.

Being late for work, I push the speed limit a bit too hard and there is a motorcycle cop pulling me over. As I slow to a stop on the shoulder of the road, the Officer appears at the window and asks for my license and registration.

When he returns from checking my paperwork with the department records, he hands me my ticket and says, Joe’s all night diner has a special this week on pork sandwiches. Get your pork at Joe’s.

Looking at the ticket I can see he cited me for speeding and the ticket has a big logo and a notice at the top saying, Willies Road-side Roundup is the right place to play a round of golf.

As I enter my home and punch in the alarm code, the alarm belts out a tune, Have it your way, have it your way, at the Mobile Tree Shop and all night Lodge.

I flop down in my easy chair, but I don’t turn on the TV anymore because it’s becoming difficult to make sense of some of the ten minute shows on the air. The twenty minutes of commercials drone on and on with the commercials repeating over every five minutes.

The phone rings.

I answer it with, I’m not interested!

A voice on the other end says, Clay, are you alright?

I say, Oh, Hi, Jeff. What can I do for you?

Jeff says, The departure has been moved up to Friday. We will have to ask you to board the ship tomorrow morning.

I say, Thanks Jeff. I’ll be there and ready to board. See you then. The phone speaks with a soft woman’s voice and says, Please, stay on the line for an important message.

I slam the phone down and ignore the ring-back.

I’m going out of my mind. You can’t even flush the toilet any more without hearing a sane-flush jungle.

The next morning I show up bright and early at 0200 hours to sign in through the main gate and make my way to the ship by 0800 hours.

The loading and boarding process are well under way as we get settled in our quarters. The crew doesn’t need much time to do that because their area is small.

It takes me about four hours to unpack and get all of my personal belongings put away.

Mandy is setting up her living quarters and although it’s about half the size of mine, it takes her longer to get her stuff squared away. Women seem to have so many little do-dads and bottles of this and that.

It’s around 1700 hours and we’re tired and hungry. I want to bide my time and wait until we’re under way to make my move. I suppress the urge to invite Mandy to my quarters for a private dinner. It’s also important to have the crew see us seated for dinner at the Captain’s Table.

Our actual launch date doesn’t begin for two more days. All around the outside of the sealed ship, the launch crew has been monitoring machines to determine any loss in oxygen levels along with the balance in water levels. The air scrubbers and water recovery systems are working well. They are being taxed well below their maximum capacity levels. We are a cinch to launch on time.

Both Mandy and I have a lot of down time. When the journey begins, we will both be very busy for at least a month.

The sight of Mandy is making me crazy and I have to know if she even has an ounce of interest in me.

Mandy is sitting in the lounge and enjoying a glass of wine. The screens on the wall are all blank because