Chapter 32

The bridge was crowded. Everyone that could come up with an excuse, and some that couldn’t, were standing around. I was in the command chair. April stood to my left, and Agnes stood to my right. There had been some discussion that she be seated in the command chair. Until I pointed out that the bridge was my command, and I should be the person sitting in that chair. I did suggest that another chair be brought in for Agnes. But she laughed and informed everyone that she wasn’t so old or decrepit that she couldn’t stand for a minute or two. Still, I had a chair standing by in my ready room just in case. I had charged her unofficial guards to keep an eye on her and get that chair the second it seemed she was tiring.

I glanced around the room. Everyone was looking at me. The anticipation was thick. “Communications open a channel to Mars station departure control.”

“Aye Sir, channel open.”

“Independent vessel Seward’s Folly to Mars station control requesting permission for launch and outbound vector.”

There was no delay. This whole theater was set up the day before. “Mars station departure control to Seward’s Folly permission granted. Vector Bravo One approved. Fair winds and full sails Seward’s Folly.”

I had a bit of a thrill when that came in. And my reply. “Copy Mars Departure, vector Bravo One. See you in a couple of years. Seward’s Folly out.”

For the younger bridge crew, this was their first launch. One of them spoke up, “Sir, may I ask a stupid question?”

I knew what was coming and was happy the question had been asked. “Go ahead, Lieutenant, stupid answers are my specialty.”

“Well, Sir, I was wondering why we had to ask Mars station for permission to depart? We’ve been underway for a month now.”

This was a teachable moment for my bridge crew and the spectators. “Lieutenant, there are a couple of answers to that. First and foremost is politeness. Sneaking off in the middle of the night is considered bad form. Secondly, it’s a tradition that goes back years to when a ship had to pay all their bills and taxes before leaving. And the best reason is to let others know that we are moving. The vector we were given now belongs to us. Or at least that part in front of us. Anybody that gets in our way and gets run over, it’s their tough luck. A ship this big can’t start or stop very quickly. We’ll keep this heading and speed for a day or two until we are out of the Mars flight pattern. Then we’ll alter course and pour the coal to the engines, so to speak. That’s when we’ll truly be on our way.”

Now that the historical event had passed, folks started drifting away and returning to their own business. The last to leave was Agnes. She patted me on the shoulder. “Good job, Henry. Now the fun starts.”

I watched as she left the bridge. It seemed that she was moving a little slower. I also noticed that Mary, her ex-secretary and now a member of the Mother’s Council, was hovering close by. Also, her guards were not far away, either. It seemed that the mutiny attempt had caused a lot of changes.

Once the bridge was clear, I turned it over to April. “I’m heading to flight ops now. Try not to hit Phobos.”

April slapped my shoulder. “As if I have ever run over a moon before.”

When I got to flight operations, it was crowded but quiet. Tom was seated on his perch. Besides the monitors, he also had a large picture window that looked out onto the flight deck. At the moment, though, his attention was on one specific monitor. It was a clear long-range video shot of a surveillance satellite. I could see some of the old scout ships on the ready line.

“Any changes?”

Tom glanced up. “Nope, it’s tracking us, but I think that’s an automatic, programmed function. The comms are clear, nothing to worry about.”

“How about the rest of the area?”

“We’ve had scouts working our route, and it seems clear. Whoever our friends are, they know what we’re doing. We’ve made no secrets of that. But other than some regular local area flights, we haven’t seen any more snoopers.”

“How about the other end? Anything I need to worry about?”

“No Sir. I’ve got a caretaking team in place. Everything is ready to go.”

“Very good, ETA?”

“72 hours Sir. Given our current speed and acceleration.”

“Ok Tom, let me know if anything changes. I’ll see you in 72 hours.”

“Aye aye, Sir.”

The next three days were nerve-wracking for me. Just about everything hung on this harebrained scheme working out.”

On that morning, I joined Tom in his lair. It looked like he hadn’t moved in those three days. Without looking up, he said good morning, Captain. Ready for some fun?”

“Sure, Commander, how about you? Any doubts or concerns?”

“No Sir, as far as I’m concerned, we’re ready.” he motioned down to the flight deck. Crews were swarming over the ships on the ready line. I could see more ships on the monitors in line and waiting for their turn. “It’s up to those guys now. If all goes to plan, we’ll be finished in 3 hours.”

“What about snoopers?”

“We did a sweep about 6 hours ago. There was nothing out there. And the communications folks report that nothing is transmitting. I have a high confidence that we are alone. But even if we aren’t, there isn’t anything close enough to catch us once we get started. And given out route nothing in the way or close enough to get into the way.”

I glanced at the countdown clock on the main display. 15 minutes. “Very well, Commander at your command you are a go.”

“Thank you, Sir.” he turned to Sergeant Jones, “Top first alert pilots man their ships.”

“Aye Sir.” Jones picked up a handset and spoke into it. I could dimly hear an alarm klaxon start sounding on the flight deck.