by T I WADE
It wasn’t good. The scientists gave the crew the bad news that it would take some time to source new parts for the aircraft. There were many C-5s around the country and some were still flying, but there was little to no transport to go and find them.
Bob Mathews suggested that the Dead Chicken be finally retired from duty. Mars added that she should have a hangar built for her here at the airfield and make the hangar the new Astermine Museum.
Everyone agreed to that idea, and the Dead Chicken was officially retired from service with Bob Mathews promising her that he would find the parts to take her up just one more time in the future.
A bottle of beer, an American Budweiser, was thrown high by Bob Mathews and his pilots at her forward face. The glass shattered and fell to the apron and the crew all said several words of thanks. To say goodbye to the massive aircraft was especially hard for Bob and the two girls. She had never once let them down.
Their work was now done. If the C-5 was retired, they were out of a job, so they would be on the next flight to Australia. Mars promised them at least one complete Earth orbit on the return flight, and Lunar gave them each a couple of ingots of the valuable gold.
“We have just reached the official border of space,” Mars told the three excited pilots a week later. They had all squashed into SB-III’s cockpit, Beth and Monica squeezed into one rear jump seat and Bob in the other. Mars had Pluto Katherine as co-pilot, as Lunar reckoned that her sister needed a break from Gary. Lunar and Saturn were flying the two Aussies back to the island in atmospheric flight, but the orbit was a welcomed gift to the three C-5 pilots who had worked so hard to make Astermine a success.
Mars, Penelope Pitt, the Burgos sisters, and the two Richmond girls were to have a week off. Mars wanted to go fishing with Bob. They had now been back on Earth for six months and nobody had really stopped to rest. Saturn wanted to have her baby in Australia, ten weeks away. That was another reason Pluto Katherine was flying with Mars. Dr. Walls had stated that it was too dangerous for Saturn to head into space so late in a pregnancy.
Work was proceeding rapidly in Nevada. The new shuttle was only several months away from its maiden flight into space. The six hangars were producing everything needed to build a new spaceship, something Martin Brusk was also working on in Tel Aviv. With the Dead Chicken now retired, the dozens of spaceship walls Martin was producing in Israel could not be flown over to Nevada.
As the crew had learned from the scientists, a large spacecraft would need to be completely built in space, preferably in orbit around Earth or around the moon.
The moon was too far a distance, Earth seemed at peace, and there were no intentions by anybody to cause trouble with anybody else in space, yet.
China was still a mess. So was Russia, and all the subcontracted companies still there wanted to be transferred out of the country. Like the U.S., resources were hard to find in Russia.
The United States was at peace. The country’s media systems, although very much smaller than decades earlier, still broadcast up-to-date news around the country. There was one television station in Las Vegas and one national news service. Strangely enough, CBS had survived the catastrophes of twenty years of bad rule.
Joanne was often seen on television traveling around the country by several different methods to give campaign speeches. So was her father. He had been allowed the freedom to travel the country, and still there were only three major parties vying for votes come election time. Most of the small parties were more state-run and would feed off whoever won.
“Can I fly the ship in space?” asked Bob to Mars.
“It’s not like you fly it much in space. There are no ailerons, rudders, or even a joystick as you know it, Bob, only the side and rear thrusters,” instructed Mars. “The tiny joystick on the right arm of each seat purely moves the side thrusters, nothing else.”
Bob sat in the co-pilot seat and tried a few small maneuvers. So did Beth and Monica. The shield gave them much freedom to move the ship around space.
Within 30 minutes, it was back into the atmosphere for landing on the island. They arrived at the same time as Lunar, much to Pluto Katherine’s enthusiasm.
For two weeks, Saturn and Mars fished and relaxed aboard boat. For him, it was bliss. For Saturn, it wasn’t exactly what she expected, and she often lay down feeling ill. The pregnancy was getting closer to the end.
“You should get a family vehicle for the family, as Jonesy always said it,” suggested Bob one morning as they set the lines for a bit of trawling. “They are making some really fancy boats in Brisbane, to the south of us, Mars. I think it will be a great surprise for VIN when he returns. You too, young Saturn,” he added as she joined them, bringing breakfast and coffee. It was a flat calm day with hardly a swell and she was hungry for the first time in 24 hours.
“Me what?” she asked.
“I think you and Mars should get your fathers a fishing boat each as a surprise when they return, whenever that is. From what I’ve seen, there is enough gold to buy a boat or two.”
Mars mulled over the idea.
“Where do we purchase a boat, Bob?” Saturn asked.
“There is a new shipyard in Brisbane. I was going to head down there and see if I could get rid of the gold ingots Lunar gave me,” he replied. “We are about 30 hours from Brisbane and have enough time to look at boats before Lunar wants you guys back.”
“Alright, let’s go,” suggested Saturn, bored with fishing and really wanting to get back to shore. She had been fine until the last couple of weeks. Both Dr. Nancy and Dr. Walls in Nevada had checked her. Dr. Nancy reckoned that she was quite normal, but Saturn would have to take things easy until the birth.
“We are doing a few hours of fishing first,” answered Bob. “We have to catch dinner for a few days before we change course, but we can trawl in that general direction.” He shouted to Monica at the helm to change course and trawl towards Brisbane.
An hour later he looked worried, and Mars asked if something was troubling him. It took him a few seconds to answer.
“I’m a little worried that the girls might want their own boats when we get there. They also have enough gold to get something comfortable, and then I’ll have to find a new crew.”
“Not on your life, Bob Mathews,” stated Beth, coming up behind them with two glasses of orange juice. “There is no way Monica and I would leave you. We have been a team since day one and I would assume until death do us part, you old goat.” Bob smiled and the worry faded from his face.
Shortly afterwards, they caught two decent-size 40-pound-plus Dorado that were enough to feed them for the couple of days into Brisbane. Bob took over control and increased the speed for the coast, much to Saturn’s relief.
The final decision, after a day of looking at beautiful plans of new boats, was to order two of the latest 75-foot models, perfect for up to eight to live aboard and long-range fishing. Even Bob thought about trading in his current one for a new one.
Mars and Saturn wanted to buy them for VIN and Jonesy primarily, but the men still had nearly a decade of sleep to get through. Their orders would take two, maybe three years to build, and at least that would cut the time down so the boats wouldn’t be ancient models when they were handed over.
Over drinks that night, Mars told Bob that he needed to head back to the red planet, but would wait until he was a father. Saturn would not let him go without her, and Dr. Nancy had explained that the baby, if born on Earth, might also need a month or two to get strong enough to travel into orbit.
Thanks to the blue shields there were very little g-forces on the human body anymore during exit and reentry, but as all doctors thought, time to become strong was always a necessity.
So the new luxury fishing “islands” were ordered with a deposit for each of an ingot of the gold Lunar had given to all the astronauts. The ingot only paid for a tenth of each luxury fishing trawler, but with the 100 tons of gold safe on the American continent, and still a third to min
e, it was time to make sure everybody who was part of the team was looked after.
The new estimation was that The Pig’s Snout had approximately 220 tons of gold remaining when Mars Noble had opened the cavern door. Of that, 140 tons had been made into ingots. They still had several gold chests in other locations, including the planet Mars, and they hadn’t yet touched the treasure in the underground chamber back in Nevada. Since gold was so desperately needed around the world, it was the current currency of choice.
The Matts, it seemed to Lunar, all wanted to return to the Martian planet whenever anybody was heading that way. They did not feel as comfortable on Earth. It looked like Ruler Roo might have to leave his wife and lead his people back to Mars sometime in the future.
Very few of the Tall People wanted to return except, like Mars Noble, to visit now and again. They revisited Ryan’s initial dream to set up trading ships to head in each direction every “opposition”, or once every two years.
“My father had this dream and told me about trading ships between Mars and Earth many times,” Lunar told the astronauts once everyone was back on the island.
For the first time, Gary and Mark were allowed to join the meeting for the first cup of coffee in an astronaut briefing only. In the old days, it was the astronauts, Ryan, Captain Pete, and VIN attending these meetings, but now since only the youngsters were left, Lunar wanted the rules changed. Unfortunately they were still ejected until further notice by a majority vote from the astronauts, once the meeting got underway.
Many of the young flight crew were quite shocked that outsiders attended the first briefing with all the astronauts on Earth. They weren’t as close to the two men as the Richmond sisters were, and were not happy with the newbies being in attendance. A vote was taken swiftly.
The briefing had started with Mars angrily lecturing Lunar as Head of Security as to why the two men, both good friends of his, were at the meeting.
“I don’t agree with your reasons for allowing these two men to be in on the most inner meetings we have,” stated Mars, as the two Aussies looked on feeling bad.
“Neither do I,” added Saturn.
“I’m not for it either,” stated Penelope. “It is a total break in the protocol set up by your father, Lunar.”
“Unless they are family, real family,” suggested Jane Burgos, smiling wickedly at Lunar.
“I’m with that!” replied Pluto Katherine excitedly. “I was going to say something during this meeting.”
“And?” questioned Saturn in a straightforward manner. “Pluto Katherine, get your something out, girl, or I’m walking out of this meeting. Lunar, this is the first real time you and I haven’t seen eye to eye, and I’m sure many of us are not happy. Sorry, guys, but this is an “Astronauts Only” club.”
Lunar smiled at her best friend. “Saturn, you have your man, the only one available to us female astronauts for most of our lives, and you are married and pregnant. Don’t you think a few of us also want a family?”
Mars was still surprised that Saturn’s outburst hadn’t angered Lunar. They had had their disagreements over the last fifteen years, since they were six or seven, but their strong friendship had always kept them on the level. Saturn normally took orders from Lunar and never questioned them. So did Mars, and he couldn’t understand why Lunar still smiled.
“Ok, I have something to say, and I will keep it simple. Mark is going to marry me. I asked him, and he was rather shocked, but he had expected something. Pluto Katherine, say your news.”
“I’m getting married to Gary. We want to be together and that is that, Saturn Noble,” she announced.
“As Head of Security, I’m ordering that until they are members of our club and fully-fledged astronauts, even your future husbands will not be allowed to attend our briefings. Mark, Gary, do you know what marrying these two friends of mine entails?”
“Leaving the Aussie Air Force, mate. Resigning. I’m sending mine off today,” replied Gary.
“I imailed mine last night,” Mark added. “Lunar told me that I need to cut all ties with the Australian government, my job, my commitments to anybody in my country, and only then will I be a member of you guys. Apart from my parents, my younger brother and two older sisters, I haven’t got much other than my career, so it is an easy decision for me. That is my statement.”
“Mars, I’m in the same boat, mate,” stated Gary. “My father and my sister are the only ties I want to keep. My career, my choice of flying, my life is my decision, and I accept what I have to do. Look at it this way, Mars. I’m leaving an Air Force family for a Space Force family. Better ships, a more exciting life, a special wife-to-be, and you guys as friends. I can see the world. I can see the entire solar system for that matter, and I’m also happy to make the decision to join you.”
The group nodded and stated that they still had to leave until they were ready for membership. Once the two men had closed the door behind them, there was a rush of female astronauts to hug and congratulate the two Richmond girls.
Chapter 13
Move to Nevada
The double wedding was held on the island a month later. The family members of Gary Darwin and Mark Price were present. So was the Prime Minister, his family and a few VIPs, mostly Australian Air Force personnel.
Captain Pete was invited as Ship’s Captain to complete the matrimonial arrangements, and the best wedding dresses in Australia were flown in for the occasion.
The wedding was small. Ruler Roo, Joanne, Joe, and Mary Collins arrived on a jet from Toronto. Martin Brusk and family attended from Israel. There were only 23 non-crew guests on the important day.
The afternoon of the wedding was beautiful. Bob Mathews was honored to give Pluto Katherine away in Ryan’s place, and Martin gave away Lunar. The Richmond girls were married in the sun with the three clean Astermine shuttles arranged in a triangle on the apron around the ceremony itself. The simple ceremony was followed by the usual Australian barbeque overseen by Beth and Monica.
Lunar became Lunar Price, but still wanted to use her father’s name, and Pluto Katherine became a Darwin. With no security above them in space at all, the two Richmond daughters were happily betrothed.
It was three months later when the idea was formed to move back to Nevada, even before Joanne won the elections in November, now only five weeks away.
The time had come to move back to the airfield where the whole odyssey had begun over three decades earlier. Only Saturn, Mars, Dr. Nancy and Dr. Walls were staying on the island longer than the rest. Saturn’s baby’s birth was less than a month away, and as Dr. Nancy suggested, she was grounded, as the baby’s arrival didn’t need to be while flying.
The island’s equipment was packed up to be sent over to Nevada. There wasn’t much left apart from the crew themselves, personal belongings, and the odd new Australian here and there. The base had four new Aussie pilots sent in by the Prime Minister. This time, the third group of visitors were female Air Force pilots.
Unfortunately, the Australian Air Force had already lost two good men to Astermine, and the visiting VIPs had noticed during the Richmond wedding the amount of healthy-looking female astronauts interested in their male pilots.
Two more of their best pilots were already reluctant to leave the island; one was smitten with Penelope Pitt, and the other with Shelly Saunders. These pilot resignations couldn’t be stopped by the authorities, and another two young men begged to join the ranks at the island’s space command. Hence the reason the next group of visiting pilots was female.
This time getting married wasn’t so necessary to join the crew; the group was about to leave for the U.S.A. and the two astronauts could get married when they wanted. The second round of smitten newbies would be employed by Lunar once both Gary and Mark had recommended their security levels and flying abilities.
While waiting for the U.S. elections, the two new men, plus the already married Aussies, were put to work in the gold cave, as everyone called it. After a go
od rest, it was time to finish the job and get The Pig’s Snout cleared. As a growing team, the fifteen astronauts and four pilots cleared the third and final shelves of gold in two weeks of hot, hard work.
Bob Mathews and an experienced Johnny Walls worked the earthmovers. Mars worked with the group while his wife Saturn took it easy back on the island with Dr. Nancy.
Dr. Walls loved The Pig’s Snout. To him it was the fresh air, the peacefulness and the ambiance of the never-ending desert around him. One day he asked Lunar, since they were going to leave the cavern, whether it was possible for him to become the custodian of the historic site. Lunar stated that she would discuss the future plans of the old Matt base with Ruler Roo when they next met.
Dr. Walls already had grand ideas for the cavern. All the poor doctor needed was a bit of telepathy to open and close the doors, and Mars reckoned that he was sure Roo would want to have one of the Matts to do that for the aging man.
The smelter was worked hard, the gold made into ingots, and one day the gold extraction came to an actual end.
A party was held that night around the last chest, one of the larger Commander chests that had not been smelted. This one chest was to be kept as a remembrance of 10,000 years of gold-collecting by the Matts and would remain at The Pig’s Snout.
With the hard work done, and after a few days of rest, it was time to open the larger cavern roof. The Matt craft stuck inside the cavern for the last 10,000 years or so needed to be let out and flown. Bob and Johnny worked the two Caterpillars for a whole week, increasing the size of their hole until the cavern roof could be opened.
The entire crater had new layers of sand, and only the area around the tents hadn’t had sand placed here. The idea was to get much of the sand that accumulated over the last several thousand years out of the actual crater, dropped down the sides of the crater, and the large lift helicopter was ordered to complete the removal of the sand on their next visit.