Chapter 3

Mark reset the satellite phone, dialed a new number, and said quietly, "Hello? Kalea?"

"Hi Mark! How was the Annie show? How is your family?"

"The show was great! Mayoni loved it! She even got to meet the production manager afterwards, a guy named George, and then we wound up chatting with a few of the actors as we were heading out the door. We're driving back to Cider Junction now. Kara's driving. I'm in the front seat with her. Va'an is smiling and nodding a hello. Anuhea and Mayoni are curled against each other fast asleep, getting some rest before the hike back. Forgive me for not talking too loudly."

"Uh, Mark... You're not back at your parents' house yet?"

"No. Sorry. We lingered a bit in Parkersburg, and then hit more traffic than expected. We should be at the house in about an hour though..."

"Well... okay. You might want to just say a fast goodbye to your parents. Assuming an hour of driving and then a three-hour hike to Blue Spirit, you'll have less than a two-hour safety margin for the * window * "

"Oh, I know. We won't cut it too fine, I promise."

"So, did Lois get me all those quantum papers from Oxford Press?"

"Yep! I just finished talking with her. She downloaded the bulk of them to disk off the internet, and Fed Ex just dropped off the rest. Lois says she has it all packed. How are things on your end?"

"Right on target. We are now 17 hours and... ah, 46 minutes into the * window *. I estimate transfer is 80% complete by weight. The trickiest stuff is already through. We should be finished well before the 22-hour mark."

"Great! Great job, Kalea, as usual."

"Congratulations to us all Mark! This is the final transfer for the core of project Jumpstart. All critical components will now be on Aina. Our tribe owes your parents a life debt. The material costs of Jumpstart were huge, and your parents hosted our porter teams throughout the year."

"Tom and Ellen understand how noble the work is. They were very glad to be of service... Well, see you in a few hours."

"Okay. * Greetings * to * your * wives * and * daughters! * Aloha! * "

Kara smiled at Mark as he hung up the phone. "And to think I once worried that Kalea would keep flirting with you! She's such a good friend now..."

"Yeah... And a genius to boot. My trying to teach her calculus last year was an absolute joke. She did just wanted to... well, flirt is a very polite word for it. But she has such a playful personality, getting brushed off didn't bother her at all. She just shifted her desire to wanting friendship... And you're right, she's become a great friend..."

"Let's not test her friendship by being late. She's mission operations chief for the * windows *, and we both know how conscientious she is about safety..." Kara drove and said nothing for a moment, and then smiled. "Thanks for letting me drive both ways. I'm really enjoying this. All the power and speed! I am so not used to this! What a riot it would be to take this car through the spiral tunnel. Not that it would fit. We could drive from home to the Blue Spirit transfer station in twenty minutes, instead of it being a four-hour hike."

"Well, it's less than a two-hour trip with the mountain bikes. You don't really want gasoline engines running on Aina, do you?"

"What, and start destroying the beautiful air!? Certainly not! I was just fantasizing..." Kara burped and then slowly let out a deep breath.

"Tired honey?"

"It's been a very big day, and it's not over yet. But it's not that. My stomach is churning a bit, and I'm feeling just a bit flushed, just a hint of nausea. I never feel like this. I'm hoping maybe, just maybe, we might have a child on the way. But it's only been five days! Even the pregnancy kit won't be effective for a least another week, and morning sickness shouldn't start until two weeks after that. Anuhea says it's not that unusual for women on Aina to feel like this immediately after conceiving, but maybe I'm imagining things."

"Hope not!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"Want me to drive?"

"I'm still enjoying this, but it's not a bad idea. I'll try to take a nap. Yeah, let me pull over..."

Four hours later...

Lois called out to the hiker ahead of her, "Va'an! If Amy is getting too heavy, I'll be happy to backpack her."

" * Thank * you * for * your * kindness! * But I've been a pack animal all my life, and what could be a more delightful load than carrying your own child?"

"Okay!" Lois dropped back a step to walk with her brother Mark, who was at the end of the line. "So how are we doing on time?"

Mark glanced at his watch. "We're right at the 22-hour mark. We should be through Blue Spirit within an hour. Our observations over the last year show the path always stays open from 85080 to 86400 seconds. We'll have at least a 38-minute safety buffer."

"Was Kalea happy with that?"

"Well, I just spoke with her on the sat phone again. She chewed me out a bit. I guess I deserved it. But it's been so long since I saw mom and dad! And then Leon called! We're in fine shape with the time, we really are... So, how was your evening?"

"Wonderful! I loved playing with Amy. She's so adorable! Then she sacked out watching the nightly news with me. She was fascinated by the TV. Very interactive and inquisitive, and she's fearless about walking! I really had to keep an eye on her before she fell asleep on my stomach. Amy's a very advanced child for a 9-month old."

Mark looked puzzled. "Huh? Oh, Earth months... I did the calculation. Amy was born March 20th last year. She's 16-months in Aina time. We just had her first birthday celebration a few days ago. Wow! I haven't watched TV for so long, I think I've forgotten what it's like. What's happening in the great world?"

"Well, at the very beginning of the news, they announced it was Saturday, January 2, 2010."

"Oh, that's exciting! Was it all downhill from there?"