whip simulator.”
“I’m pilot, so I get to run the capsule rockets and you can run the tether,” said Chastity.
“We’re going to cross-train,” said Rod. “At the end of the training, the testers will decide who is best at running what.”
“Say, I just got back from a long trip to Mars. When do I get my vacation?”
“It’ll have to wait. We leave in just four months.”
“What’s the hurry?”
“Launch window,” said Rod. “We want to leave when the Earth’s orbital velocity vector is pointing at Saturn—or at least where Saturn will be when we arrive one year later. That way we can take advantage of Earth’s thirty-kilometers-a-second orbital speed.”
“I see,” said Chastity, understanding instantly. “If we miss that window then we have to wait a whole year to the next one.”
“It’s a pretty wide window. Shouldn’t be any problem finding you a two-week vacation somewhere in there. The people that are going to get shortchanged are the two coming in from Mars. It’s going to be especially tough on Dan Horning. He’s got a wife and family on Earth that haven’t seen him in almost a year.”
“... and we’re going to be gone another two-and-a-half years. I wonder how she’s taking it?”
“I’m sure glad I’m not married,” said Rod with relief, as he started to slow down the Jet-Do with the front jets.
“I’d like to be,” said Chastity, giving him a squeeze from behind. “But I’d never consider giving up my job, and it wouldn’t be fair to my husband to be away all the time. Kids, of course, were something I had to give up thoughts of long ago. Those radiation resistance drugs they give us can repair tissue damage and keep cancers from spreading, but they can’t repair the DNA damage in eggs.”
“I’ve got a donation saved in a sperm bank,” said Rod. “Good thing too ... I must have logged over five thousand rems by now.”
“Any takers yet?” teased Chastity.
“Almost,” said Rod. “About five years ago.”
“Prettier than me?”
“Impossible!” exclaimed Rod. “Besides, she wanted me to settle down to the Luna run so I would be home more often. That job’s no better than being a bus driver.” He paused. “So, when do you want to take your vacation? I need to schedule the simulator facility.”
“It’s more important that we cross-train,” Chastity replied. “I’ll just skip it.”
“Don’t you want to visit your folks?” asked Rod. “We won’t be back on Earth again until three years from now.”
“I don’t have any ‘folks’ to visit,” replied Chastity. “My dad still refuses to allow me to visit him and Mom. He kicked me out of the house when he caught me on a bench in the cemetery doing some heavy petting with a neighborhood boy—I had a bad case of ‘minister’s daughter’ syndrome. I went to live with my Aunt Martha, but she died ten years ago.”
“Oh…” said Rod. “Then, I guess we can start tomorrow.”
~ * ~
Two months later, the two crewmembers who had been based on Mars—Sandra Green and Daniel Horning—finally arrived at Earth. They would have one month of leave on Earth, and then spend the last month living together in the crew capsule under simulated trip conditions, to make sure the members of the crew were compatible. Since they were all professional scientists, and four of them had been living in the close quarters of space habitats recently, no problems were anticipated, but if there was a serious incompatibility problem, it was important that they find out before they were committed to thirty months of living together.
After taking their vacation, Dan and Sandra met again on the shuttle that took them from Canaveral Spaceport up to the Boeing-Mitsubishi Assembly Station.
Doc had hardly seen Sandra on Mars, what with him being at the main base at the foot of Mount Olympus, while Sandra spent
“I’m pilot, so I get to run the capsule rockets and you can run the tether,” said Chastity.
“We’re going to cross-train,” said Rod. “At the end of the training, the testers will decide who is best at running what.”
“Say, I just got back from a long trip to Mars. When do I get my vacation?”
“It’ll have to wait. We leave in just four months.”
“What’s the hurry?”
“Launch window,” said Rod. “We want to leave when the Earth’s orbital velocity vector is pointing at Saturn—or at least where Saturn will be when we arrive one year later. That way we can take advantage of Earth’s thirty-kilometers-a-second orbital speed.”
“I see,” said Chastity, understanding instantly. “If we miss that window then we have to wait a whole year to the next one.”
“It’s a pretty wide window. Shouldn’t be any problem finding you a two-week vacation somewhere in there. The people that are going to get shortchanged are the two coming in from Mars. It’s going to be especially tough on Dan Horning. He’s got a wife and family on Earth that haven’t seen him in almost a year.”
“... and we’re going to be gone another two-and-a-half years. I wonder how she’s taking it?”
“I’m sure glad I’m not married,” said Rod with relief, as he started to slow down the Jet-Do with the front jets.
“I’d like to be,” said Chastity, giving him a squeeze from behind. “But I’d never consider giving up my job, and it wouldn’t be fair to my husband to be away all the time. Kids, of course, were something I had to give up thoughts of long ago. Those radiation resistance drugs they give us can repair tissue damage and keep cancers from spreading, but they can’t repair the DNA damage in eggs.”
“I’ve got a donation saved in a sperm bank,” said Rod. “Good thing too ... I must have logged over five thousand rems by now.”
“Any takers yet?” teased Chastity.
“Almost,” said Rod. “About five years ago.”
“Prettier than me?”
“Impossible!” exclaimed Rod. “Besides, she wanted me to settle down to the Luna run so I would be home more often. That job’s no better than being a bus driver.” He paused. “So, when do you want to take your vacation? I need to schedule the simulator facility.”
“It’s more important that we cross-train,” Chastity replied. “I’ll just skip it.”
“Don’t you want to visit your folks?” asked Rod. “We won’t be back on Earth again until three years from now.”
“I don’t have any ‘folks’ to visit,” replied Chastity. “My dad still refuses to allow me to visit him and Mom. He kicked me out of the house when he caught me on a bench in the cemetery doing some heavy petting with a neighborhood boy—I had a bad case of ‘minister’s daughter’ syndrome. I went to live with my Aunt Martha, but she died ten years ago.”
“Oh…” said Rod. “Then, I guess we can start tomorrow.”
~ * ~
Two months later, the two crewmembers who had been based on Mars—Sandra Green and Daniel Horning—finally arrived at Earth. They would have one month of leave on Earth, and then spend the last month living together in the crew capsule under simulated trip conditions, to make sure the members of the crew were compatible. Since they were all professional scientists, and four of them had been living in the close quarters of space habitats recently, no problems were anticipated, but if there was a serious incompatibility problem, it was important that they find out before they were committed to thirty months of living together.
After taking their vacation, Dan and Sandra met again on the shuttle that took them from Canaveral Spaceport up to the Boeing-Mitsubishi Assembly Station.
Doc had hardly seen Sandra on Mars, what with him being at the main base at the foot of Mount Olympus, while Sandra spent
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