The new chapters have been sent to the Moderators for posting.
This week's final chapters open with midterms and Spring Break. The Semester ends in late May, and Will, Mare, and Nick work for Ski at the space port for a week or so. With eight days off following that, Will convinces Mare to visit some of the free attractions in Denver. The rock miners also go with them.
At the start of the Fall Semester, Will is worried about how Mare will react to the Explosives Engineering class. He is surprised that she is so interested in it. There is a practical exercise part way through the class. Mare and the rock miners handle most of the dangerous work for the exercise.
November and Thanksgiving find them back at the space port as do Christmas and New Year.
The spring Semester has a trip to an underground mine in the Leadville mining district. They are down in the mine when there is an earthquake, trapping them. Mare immediately assumes control. They eventually make their way back to the surface when there is another collapse in the mine.
Professor Berritt, their old Geology Professor, refuses to go anywhere with Mare again, as there hadn't been an earthquake on the Pendery Fault in 39 million years until that day.
On the trip back to school, Mare has a problem because of a mine collapse she had been in on Telchines. Will takes care of her then and all of that night.
They graduate after the final short Summer Semester. It takes four weeks for them to reach Telchines. Mare has concerns because of the low levels available of the ship's exercise equipment.
Will visits Telchines with Mare, but quickly discover that it was a poor decision. Mare stays with him until he returns to the space station. It isn't until he is boarding his ship to Vespa II, that Will realizes that he will never see Mare again.
Arriving on Vespa II, Will realizes that those there have not changed, but that he has, thanks to Marianne. He vows to not accept what those in his family may choose for him, but to find a mate he can love, one who is strong and caring.
Writing these final two chapters was a challenge. While I was familiar with Military Explosives, having been in the Engineers and having taught Military Explosives, those used by civilians are considerably different. This required considerable research. The mine part of the final chapter also required a lot of research, as I have no experience with underground mining.
The final part of the story seemed to write itself, but I liked the way it ended. I hope you have enjoyed Marianne, and will consider looking at some of my other stories. I have several new stories in progress, but none of them are ready to appear at this time.
Keep Well,
uncle jim