Last Flight For Craggy (9 page)

'Amazing,' said
Cragg. 'How does it land?'

'Rotatable
thrusters and retractable legs. The ship is a beauty. This is the
future of space travel.'

'But no
people,' said Dillow.

Forbes said,
'It can carry people. Up to three hundred passengers at a time if
it isn't fully loaded with goods. Just no pilot.'

'Captain Dillow
is concerned she's about to be made redundant,' said Cragg.

Forbes laughed.
'I'm not exactly keen on billion dollar ships being controlled by a
bunch of circuitry. If it wasn't the risk of picking up contagious
diseases, this baby would have a human in charge. I mean, look at
what you two dealt with. See a computer anywhere that could do any
of that?'

'Can we look
inside?' asked Dillow.

'Follow
me.'

They followed
Forbes to the front of the ship.

'This is the
pointy end,' said Cragg, confidently.

'Nothing lost
on you, Craggy,' said Forbes.

The airlock
hatch was open and a young woman was sitting in a cramped bucket
seat. Miles of multi coloured cables were pouring over the side of
the hatch, to a man and woman with sophisticated diagnostic
equipment.

'A seat?' said
Cragg.

'Only one. For
the computer technician, but also for manual override by a pilot
should the need arise,' explained Forbes. 'Stella. How is it
going?'

The technician
in the seat smiled at the commander. 'Good. We have three
independent systems, one kicking in if the other fails.'

'So
reassuring,' said Dillow.

'You're Fawn
Dillow,' said Stella. 'That was quite an adventure you just
had.'

'It was pretty
full on. You fly?'

'No. I've been
in a few ships, but not as captain of one.'

Forbes asked,
'Stella. Will we be ready for take off on the set launch date?'

'Hopefully.'

'Hopefully?'

'Hopefully.'

Cragg sensed
the friction and decided to defuse it. 'Commander Forbes. Maybe we
should let the young lady get on with her work.'

'Okay. I see a
ship coming in. That, if I'm not mistaken, is Commander Dillow. I
hope you get to spend some time with your father. Allow me to take
you to him.'

Space Security
Commander Lance “armour” Dillow had a black ship. Not a nice shiny
attractive black, but a dull, angular, single plasma drive thing,
bristling with laser canons, so it was no surprise when the space
legend himself appeared at the top of the ramp as the hatch opened.
A dozen officers in similarly uninspiring black suits and helmets
parted and marched down on either side of the giant.

In his helmet,
he stood a shade over seven foot tall. He saw his daughter waiting
for him at the bottom of the ramp. He seemed to pause as if
deciding whether or not to go down the ramp to her. The ramp shook
as he stomped down towards her.

'Commander
Forbes,' he said, tilting his black sun visor out of the way. He
had piercing, suspicious green eyes, that chilled anyone he
encountered. He glanced briefly at his daughter before giving his
undivided attention to Moon Commander Forbes. Forbes kicked
off.

'Good to have
you back, Commander Dillow. You know Captain Cragg?'

'Craggy. Not
brought beer back from Mars, I hope?'

'Me? As if. Oh,
by the way. Allow me to introduce Freighter Captain Fawn
Dillow.'

'Yeah? It looks
like everyone's either a captain or a commander these days.'

'Thanks,
Dad.'

The big man
grinned and a flash of pride showed in his green eyes. 'I'm winding
you up. I am extremely proud of you. Thanks for looking after Fawn
for me, Craggy.'

'She earned her
tickets. She's a natural.'

Forbes
interrupted the reunion. 'Lance. You have a report for me about
Earth?'

'For your ears
only.'

Forbes said,
'Off to my office, then. I'll drop you two off on the way.'

* * *

Forbes locked
his office door and told admin to hold all calls.

'Lance?'

'Not good.'

'I'd be
surprised if it was. I'm listening.'

'The solar
storm didn't help. We got info in bits and drabs. The West is up to
something.'

Forbes said,
'The West is always up to something. So is the East. Are you
talking about something new?'

'Some new
weapon. They're plotting to take over the East with it. They can't
even feed each other, they're ravished by drought, dropping like
flies with diseases, and what do they do? Spend their time making
new weapons and killing each other.'

Forbes agreed.
'Earth makes no sense whatsoever to me, these days. As long as we
get that laser powered steelworks here, they can do what they damn
well want to, as far as I'm concerned.'

'Okay. If you
don't mind, I'd like to see Fawn. Or should that be Captain
Fawn.'

'You're as
pleased as punch with her. Get the hell out of here.'

'Mars.'

Freighter
Captain Dillow said, 'Dad. It isn't that far away. Well, actually
it is. But what choice do I have?'

'Not Earth,
that's for sure. The Moon?'

'Seriously?'

'Thirty or
forty years from now, Moon will be a little paradise.'

Fawn said,
'Mars already is. Have you been there?'

'Not for a few
years. Is that monkey man still there?'

'Foreman. The
GenMop man. No. Dad. Craggy said...'

'Craggy? What
you do has nothing to do with that old fossil.'

Fawn flared up.
'That old fossil took half a dozen space walks to get us and the
haul safely here. He's one of the best. And he was right. The
future is Mars and I intend to be a part of it.'

Lance agreed.
'Craggy's right. I Just hate to admit to myself what everyone
knows. The Earth is over and those who remain must carry on without
it the best we can.' He stared at his daughter. 'You look so much
like your mother.'

'I'll take your
word for that. I never met her.'

'She held you
for just a few minutes before she died. I was a mess. Overjoyed at
your birth and distraught holding your mother's hand as she slipped
away. But I remember the look on her face, in her eyes. She was in
such terrible pain, but she was smiling at you. She had to endure
that pain so you could be born. Then she kissed you, smiled at me
and she was gone.'

Fawn went to
her father's side. 'Dad.'

He stroked his
daughter's hair, 'And now I feel like I'm losing you, going off to
live on Mars.'

'Dad. You'll
never lose me. Besides. I intend to be hauling freight for two or
three years. I'll be catching up with you here, like we are
now.'

He smiled at
her. 'She would have been so proud of you, as am I.'

'Thanks,
Dad.'

It was full on,
on Moon. The new ship was still being prepared, the pods of
marsillium being loaded in anticipation of the technicians having
the computers ready for the launch date. At the same time, Cragg's
old ship was broken up for spare parts and Fawn Dillow was showing
Craggy her brand new freighter.

'Isn't she
gorgeous?'

The ship was a
thing of beauty. It brought it home to Craggy just how ancient his
old ship had been. The deck was light and airy and well thought
out.

Craggy hardly
recognised the controls. 'You know how all this works?'

'I had plenty
of simulation training so it's all familiar to me. I'm booked in
for a test flight in a day or so. Care to come with me?'

Cragg was
surprised at the invitation. 'Me?'

'I need a
copilot by law. Of course, I thought of you. Just round the Moon a
couple of times. I know I've had a few hours in the simulator but
there's nothing like the real thing.'

'I'd be
honoured to go with you. Thank you.'

Dillow said,
'If the test flight pans out, the ship gets to take the new
designed pods to Mars. I'll miss you, Craggy.'

'You'll be
fine.'

'I told Dad
about me wanting to live on Mars.'

'Was he cool
about it?'

Dillow
shrugged. 'He knows it's for the best.'

'That's not
what I asked.'

'I told him I'd
be hauling freight for a few years, so I'd still see him.'

'Make sure you
do.'

* * *

'Look,' said
Cragg. 'I know technically, I'm your designated copilot, just don't
actually expect me to be able to fly this gizmo, okay?'

Dillow
chuckled. 'Sit down and buckle up.'

'Yes,
captain.'

'Captain Fawn
Dillow, requesting flight clearance.'

'Clear to go,
captain.'

'Thanks,
Carlos.'

'Shouldn't you
fire up the thrusters?'

'Just did.
Quiet, yeah?'

'Shit. I
thought I'd gone deaf in my old age.'

The new ship
was as smooth as it was quiet. Craggy watched mesmerised as
Dillow's fingers flew over the consul. They were all touch-less
controls, responding to her gentle hand movements. Many of the
controls weren't even identified. Dillow just knew after minimum
training, what and where they were.

He used to
think he had a symbiotic relationship with his old ship, but this
was the melding of machine and human. Dillow was one with her ship.
He sat back to enjoy the test ride. Dillow activated the heat
shield five times, and it opened and retracted perfectly, ensuring
entry through the Martian atmosphere would be trouble free.

When they
landed and Dillow shut down, Craggy said, 'That was great.'

Dillow hugged
him and kissed his cheek. 'Want me to bring you beer back from
Mars?'

'You damn well
better do.'

'Are you
absolutely damn sure, Stella?'

'Commander
Forbes. We have given the computer systems a one hundred hour
workout. And that was after ironing out bugs.'

'Right. I'll
have her winched up the launching slope. We launch on time. Noon
tomorrow.'

At noon the
next day, Stella was there at the slope, along with half the Moon
Base personnel, a kilometre back behind the safety barriers. The
seconds were counted down. With five to go, the plasma engines
fired up. They built up power and on zero, the locks let go. It
flew down the slope, then up the other side, to go free like some
dove of peace. As the crowd cheered and the ship became a white
blip out in space, Forbes wished it was a huge beautiful bird of
peace. The Earth sure needed one.

'So far so
good, Stella.'

'A long way to
go yet, Commander. '

'Yeah. Oh.
Dillow. Are you ready for your lift off tomorrow?'

Fawn Dillow
said, 'Yes. Sir. Can't wait to get going.'

'The pods
should be all lined up ready by now. The new designed couplings
should prevent a re-occurrence of your last problems.'

'I still need a
copilot.'

Forbes said,
'We've a rookie for you. He's just finished basic training.'

'Is he any
good?'

'If he isn't,
you can make him good.'

'I'll do what I
can, Sir.'

Earth, inside
Westmont City, the West.

Chief
scientific advisor, Marlon Pinkard said, 'The marsillium is on its
way from Moon, Sir.'

The man who
spoke was thin; gaunt looking. The man he spoke to, was also thin.
In a world of famine and drought, it didn't pay to be a leader and
look fat. The starving wouldn't appreciate it.

'It's all a bit
too late, Pinkard.' said West President Fargo Wells.

'Sir. We had no
idea of the way we could use marsillium until recently.'

Wells shook his
head and sighed. 'I meant too late by decades. It's all over,
Pinkard. We both know it.'

'Sir...'

'I'm tired.
Like the planet. Tired and dying. The streets outside are full of
dead people. Nobody bothers to clean them up anymore.'

Pinkard was
well aware of how bad things were outside the sanctuary of the city
protected by the extinct volcano. There was little he could do
about it. 'So the marsillium? Do we use it?'

Wells buried
his head in his hands. He was sick. Sick of waking up each day;
president of death and disease. 'Yes. Why the hell not.'

* * *

The computer
controlled ship hummed like a bird. It had a seat to fit a human,
but it needed no human sitting in it. It was a two and a half day
flight to Earth. It could have done it in half the time, but Forbes
had insisted in using half power. “Nice and easy does it for this
first time. I'd rather it get there and back in one piece than
break any speed records,” he'd said.

It started on
its slow orbit around the Earth, out of sight from Moon. Inside,
the computer controls turned on and off, the soulless pilot not
“feeling” the journey; the empty seat a travesty of a vital
component missing from the whole.

It was a one
off, to some an abomination, a billion dollar bird taking a payload
to a dying planet. It circled like a bird of prey, hungry, looking
for something to kill and consume. One more circumnavigation and it
would strike.

'Of course it's
safe,' said Angus.

Fawn Dillow
stared at the hirsute Angus, buried in a bush of red hair filling
up much of his helmet, and then back at the cradle. Most of it had
been rebuilt. The wrecked tug, grabber and pod had been completely
removed. Nothing went to waste on Moon, and every part of the tug
and grabber had been stripped to be reused and recycled.

The four pods
to take to Mars were already on the cradle. She could see the new
connecting arrangement to link the pods in the train. It looked
well designed and solidly built; impossible for a wayward stone to
become trapped and cause havoc. A young man in a spotless suit,
helmet so shiny it hurt the eyes, nervously walked up to them. When
he saluted, Dillow almost burst out laughing.