A fantasy, science fiction romance.
"Frank, I made it into the final ten."
"Wow, congratulations. That's really impressive."
"I really didn't think I'd make it this far. It's hard to believe I'm this close to being selected."
While it was a great honour to be considered for a mission to Mars, it was also scary. I wanted to be selected as the mission geologist. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a pioneer. My name is Violet Trent.
My husband has been incredibly supportive of my quest to study the geology of Mars. He has put up with the crazy hours I've spent studying, and training for a possible position on the mission team. All the candidates have been in training for the rigours of space flight and the long journey to the red planet.
There is a part of this mission that Frank and I talked about earlier in the selection process. From the look on Frank's face, he is all too aware of the implications. This will be a one-way trip.
The plan is to have a team of six on this mission. Three men and three women. Each member will be a specialist. They will choose a physician, geologist, biologist, chemist, botanist and mechanical engineer. All team members will have to have more than one field of expertise. Now that we are down to the final ten it will really come down to choosing people with complementary skills.
The most troubling personal issue is the fact that if I am chosen for the mission I will be leaving my husband behind. I would have to say goodbye forever because we will be the first settlers on Mars. Frank is painfully aware of this possibility. He and I are very much in love but to be a part of this mission will be to become a part of history. He has accepted the possibility and we agreed that if I was chosen to go he would divorce me so I could fulfill my mission. You see, as first pioneers we will be expected to procreate.
Some thought artificial insemination would be ideal but there was an objection from the psych team. They said that the act of coitus between male and female crew would bond us. Well, they're the experts.
It was a week later that I received a phone call from the mission chief. I had been selected to join the team.
------
The training for the mission was tough. Knowing that I would be paired with a male crew member was a bit creepy. I couldn't help but wonder who I might get paired with. There were five men among the finalists. There was only one that I was truly attracted to, Spenser Christian. Spenser had a sense of humour, something lacking among this group. He was a physician and biologist. He was also very handsome and young. We seemed to have some good chemistry between us.
The pairing of couples is to be done on a scientific basis, genetics are of primary concern. This strikes me as counterintuitive when pairing partners for a long-term mission I thought compatibility would be of equal importance but I am just a geologist.
Of course, all this seems strange because I am still married to Frank. This is so hard on both of us. At least I have something to look forward to, whereas he simply loses his wife. History will remember me as a pioneer, he will be forgotten.
Spenser and I have been paired up for certain training tasks and it is obvious that we are working well together. I can't help thinking about what it would be like to be mated to him. We have been told that reproduction is crucial to this mission, to populate Mars with children born on the planet. I can't help thinking about having Spenser's children. Right now it feels like I'm planning to cheat on Frank but Spenser is likely going to be my future mate.
The launch that seemed so far in the future was quickly approaching. The mission director said that the pairings would not be announced until twenty-four hours after lift-off. They reasoned that it would avoid needless stress on the crew and the people left behind. Did I want Frank to know that I'd soon be knocking boots with Dr. Spenser Christian? I could see the logic but I think the mystery causes nearly as much angst.
Interestingly, Frank and I decided against divorce. We loved each other and we wanted our marriage to last a lifetime, even if we could never be together. Even though he might, and I would definitely take a lover.
The night before the launch Frank and I had a lovely evening out with dinner, dancing and then home for romancing. We fucked fast and furious that first time, the second was far more loving and the third was pure bliss. God, I would miss the love that Frank gave me.
Pre-launch the next day we were all together in the kiss and cry room, crew and spouses and significant others. We were all in tears as we said goodbye forever.
We were herded out of the room and suited up. Moments later we were locked into our ship and we were blasted off the face of the earth, never to return.
------
T +24 hours Mission control advised us that our pairings had been determined and I was to be paired with Dr. Dick Lawson, chemist. Spenser Christian was paired with Dr. Dorothy Platt botanist and physicist. The other couple was Dr. Paul Soles and Dr. Marcia Kent.
Pardon my French but 'What the fuck!'
Dick Lawson was a grossly overweight oaf, he was easily ten years my senior. He was insufferably boring and full of himself. He was the least physically fit, but he was a brilliant mechanical engineer and computer systems savant.
Spenser couldn't have been very happy with Dorothy either. I figured her for a lesbian with her very butch attitude and looks.
Obviously the pairings were not chosen on the basis of chemistry but solely on genetics.
This was going to be a long, six month flight. The official line NASA gives the public is that a return to earth vehicle is being worked on. The pioneers will eventually be able to return to earth. The reality is that NASA is still doing the science on such a vehicle and it will be a long time before it will be in service. When we ask why there is such a rush to get boots on Mars we never get an answer.
Dick and I have our own closet sized quarters. Since procreation is part of our mission we have one bed for both of us. Dick is a very big man so I am left with very little bed to sleep on. I can't express how strange it felt going to sleep with a man other than Frank beside me.
I was relieved that Dick seemed to have no inclination to do anything but sleep, snore and fart. I was afraid he would want to have sex right away. I couldn't imagine sex with this heavy man, but a mission is a mission.
Each day we had various tasks to accomplish so the time passed quickly. It was a week or two into the flight that I began to have stomach issues.
Spenser was surprised that I was getting space sickness since I had never shown any signs during training. He took samples to test and I rested on my bed.
"Violet, you may not believe this but you're pregnant."
"What? You're kidding!"
"Have you and Dick...?
"No, Frank will freak out. He'll never get to see his child."
"Don't get too worked up about it. Frank will understand. He will have the honour of being the father of the first human born on another planet."
"Spenser, I really thought that you and I were going to be paired. We get along so well. I don't understand why I got Dick."
"I was looking forward to being with you too. I really enjoy being with you. I can't imagine life with my new partner. She's tried to instigate sexual relations already but I've managed to put her off. I know we'll have to sometime."
"I know, I feel the same way. When will we be able to have personal calls home?"
"Mission Control wants us to keep away from that. It will likely be a couple of months."
