by Keith Martin
“Is he really as good as they say?” She whispered.
“He is the best that has ever been.” He whispered back just so she could hear him. “And he is a good man too, a family man. Quite a catch!” He winked as he educated her a little.
She almost missed his last comment he said it so softly. “Have fun Sam. Do it right and he won’t kill you. Let him hunt. He may take a minute to leave the nest, don’t worry he’s been resting a long time and worked to the bone all at once. But with the help I’ve given you he should see some kind of flashing he likes.”
“Jackal…. She is a good pilot. Let her fly this thing, she will surprise you!” Berry informed him with authority double checking the power and Life Support connections. He had checked her simulator work and she was doing it all flawlessly for many hundreds of missions now. He knew Samantha was the right woman for this mission.
“Yes Mother, I’ll give her the full tour.” Joshua assured him.
Berry stepped over to the hatch and stopped to bless them. “Keep the wheels down and the wind at your backs.” Then he was gone.
* * *
Joshua was all work once the hatch was sealed he got the shuttle ready for the crossing to Mars. He got to work on the preflight checklist right away. “Fuel?” He called out to Samantha.
“Check.”
“Computer?”
“Check.”
“Radar?”
“Check.”
“Ignition Systems?”
“Check.”
“Communications?”
“Check.”
“Fire control?”
“Check.”
“Environmental control?”
“Check.”
Then he had to throw in his little joke to see if she was on top of her game. “Hen weighs?”
“Hen weighs… What’s a hen weigh?” She asked confused.
A broad grin filled his face and he replied. “Oh, about three pounds.”
If looks could kill, he would have been dead in his seat.
“Check.” She responded dryly.
He figured it was time to see just how good a pilot she really was. “OK Sam, let’s take her to Mars, she’s all yours.” He gave her control of the ship. His quick scan of her records informed him that she was A-1 in Simulators on G-Class Shuttles. It looked like it was the only simulator she practiced with. It was obvious she wanted this duty, so he was going to train her to do it.
“Thanks Commander.” She said as she took control and got to work with a trained ease. “Mission control, this is G-1, we are ready for tow to end of runway, over.”
“Copy that G-1, Towing will commence in time minus four minutes and counting. You are go on runway Alpha, over.”
“Copy that Mission control, Alpha in four, over.”
They were on their way to Mars and it would be a long flight together. Little did Joshua know that she had set this all up with the help of so few. Most helping her were just finding out themselves of her true mission. She had planed this flight for years and now she was exactly where she wanted to be. Scared to death, she was silently praying that it would all work as she had dreamed it would. Her body was on autopilot working to take a G-Class Shuttle to Mars. No concentration really, just naturally doing the job she trained to do and did the best at. Her mind on her plans of conquest, the goal was within her reach.
Ashley and the team of scientists and doctors were frustrated and tired. They had worked for more than three years to find a cure without a break. Putting in sixteen-hour days and more and they had learned very little. She realized it was time to get some much-needed rest. The lab would go on working without her for a few days.
She called home letting Shianne know she was on her way there for two weeks and would arrive in the morning.
Fall at the ranch was the best time of the year as far as she was concerned. She would go home, get some rest and get a new perspective on this problem.
She was looking forward to the ripening crops and time to relax away from the lab.
She knew she was burned out from the stress she was working through and she needed to recharge her batteries.
She was cleaning up in her office when Karen, An old friend and one of her professors from her college days, knocked at the door. “Karen, how are you?”
Professor Karen Jacques was at the top of the Bio-Tec field for thirty years; a tall woman at six foot two inches, and a hundred and eighty pounds. She was still in great shape for her age. Pushing, or just past sixty Ashley figured, she had never asked. In all the years they had worked together Karen had never celebrated her birthday. Graying, and showing her age just a bit, and she was still sharp as a tack. “Do you have a few seconds I could steal before you take off?”
“For you? Don’t be silly. What’s up?” Ashley responded with a smile and a quick hug.
“I think you will see things more clearly once you’re away from here. Hopefully you will find us a new approach to look into all of this. As you start to clear that mind of yours of all the clutter I want you to look at this from a new perspective. I’m not saying not to relax and have fun. Just think of this from time to time and give us a heads up if anything comes to you.”
“I think I will be thinking of this until men and women walk hand in hand on Mother Earth once again!” Ashley assured her.
“You have fun now, I will cover things here so don’t worry. If anything comes up I will call you right away. You are to have fun and just forget us here for a few minutes Ashley. We really do know how to run this place without you, you trained us all well!”
“I know you will Karen, I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve failed.” In her career nothing had stumped her like this virus.
“Nonsense, remember, every test failed is one step closer to the right answer.” Karen scolded her. “I know there’s a light bulb around here somewhere!” She added to make her point.
. “Clear your thoughts and clear your mind with the simple life on the ranch. Ride that horse of yours. Spend time finding you again. You’re going to find the answers. Now go, that’s an order.”
Ashley gave in and they embraced. “Thanks for all of your love and support. It’s helped me through this.”
Karen picked up one of Ashley’s bags and took her by the arm. Karen was escorting this brilliant woman to the door.
Getting out of the building took them half an hour. She was hugged from her office door to the exit leading to the launch pad. For the base personnel she was more than a Commander; she was a leading member of their family.
The real surprise came when she opened the door and stepped out into the warm sunlight. A gunship waited to fly her out to the ranch and Free was piloting it. “First Class seating for you Ashley.” Free greeted her offering the Co-pilots seat to her. “Now let’s get in the air so we can see this world in the daylight.” A crew of four combat ready women sat strapped in and ready for anything that came up as they crossed the country. A door gunner was on each side of the gunship wide eyed and ready for an amazing ride with Free at the controls.
It took ten hours to reach the ranch by Gunship. She was happy to see the U.S. from the air. The Earth had rebounded nicely. Wildlife was everywhere. She could see wild horses, deer, elk, fox, bison, and moose filling the landscape. Then it dawned on her that women don’t hunt like men did. They gather. She laughed at the thought of it, watching little farm after little farm in full fall splendor slip past below them. Everywhere there were women working the land, raising the livestock and crops that it would take to keep the country alive. Many stopped and waved to them as they flashed past at 250mph.
She had no idea there was already so much work going on all across the country. To witness it gave her a new sense of hope for the human race.
Free flew her over the ranch so she could get a good look at all that Shianne had done in the past two and a half years. She was not surprised to see all that had been completed. But she was amazed at how it had changed.
There were new fenced pastures, more stock, two new ponds, and a fresh coat of barn red paint covering the barn and outbuildings. There was a lawn on the roof of the main house and crew quarters with flowers growing up through it all. She laughed at her sisters landscaping designs; she knew their father would love it. On the roof of the main house the bright red flowers spelled out. ‘The Chisholm Ranch’ in a sweeping cascade of color and blazing font of life.
Free set it down at the end of the driveway so she wouldn’t spook the livestock. Ashley knew Shianne would show up shortly with Old Gray. After unloading her baggage Free wished her luck. “Duty call’s or I’d stay and play. God knows I could use the time off. But you gave me an order, and that order will be my focus from now on Commander. Your labs will be safe and the personnel you have entrusted me with will come to no harm on my watch. You have my word of honor on it and I will leave a light on for you.”
They embraced and Ashley invited Free to vacation any time and that included the labs crews and personnel. “Dad would kill me on the spot if the ranch wasn’t open to all. If my brother Joshua ever got an eye on you, you would have to take advance combat training to keep him at bay. There are horses for you here. They are fun to ride across the fields and through the forests… not as fun as a gunship with your eyes on fire… but an amazing ride.”
Shianne burst from the trees leaping onto Ashley scaring her good before the dust cleared. “How did you know I was coming by chopper and would land here?”
“Well, Karen called to see if you’d arrived about two hours ago. She told me about your surprise transportation...” Turning to Free she added... “And thank you for delivering her home to me Free.” Then returned to Ashley as if shed never stopped at all. “...and I knew you wouldn’t scare the livestock. So I sat by the old tree by the creek and took a nap. And boo, here you are!”
“By the way…” Shianne started and they both finished as one. “I love you more.” They gave each other a big hug then picked up Ashley’s things. “Free you are invited to stay the night so you can start for the labs fresh in the morning and I’m ORDERING YOU TO STAY.” She demanded and started to giggle feeling silly giving orders for the first time in her life and to a true friend at that.
“I can’t leave the gunship in the middle of the street ladies...?” She started to protest as she started to follow the sisters up the driveway.
All stopped in their tracks as they watched Ma get into Old Gray to drive down to pick them up. “Have you shown her how to drive that beast?” Ashley asked with a little concern in her voice.
“No! I drive her wherever she goes.” Shianne felt a little fear herself. She knew how powerful the truck was, she had a hand at rebuilding it as a gift to her father and a bit of a joke played on Dad. And she knew Ma was not ready for what it would do once she got it started.
Her father started it for the first time after the ultra secret rebuilding while he was away for a scant 5 days on business and gave it the same throttle he was used to using... Ol Gray sprayed gravel leaping to life. Otto shut it down and popped the hood as he locked up the brakes to get it back under control. A smiling Shianne and a group of future engineers emerged from the barn all grinning. What he found under the hood was no longer a stock 427 Rat block. Shianne’s friends had added 380 horses and 2 forward gears. One just for pulling and rock crawling. One to fly down the road.
Ma was too far away to hear a shouted warning. She just mounted up and turned the key, the truck started with a lope as she hit the gas to the lurch of the starter. The truck was in second gear sitting there and the ignition found fuel, air, and compression and sparked. The Old Gray responded like a scalded cat. Rock and dust spit out from under the massive 48x34 inch field tires powered by six hundred plus horses under the hood. Shianne was using the truck around the place and she had the hubs locked in. All 4 tires rolled fast and true delivering the power to the ground. The truck screamed down the driveway, one window on the barn was destroyed in the hail of rocks. Every bird in the yard dove for cover and the cats all vanished in every direction.
Ma let off the gas and let the truck idle down regaining control and moving towards the girls…. slowly. She stalled it to a stop with the brakes. Her face was white as a ghost. “I will never do that again. Otto is nuts to have built such a thing!”
Ashley gave Ma a hug as Shianne loaded her bag in the bed of the truck. Ashley asked Ma to scoot over so that she could drive. “Where are we going Ashmo?” She looked to Free as she climbed into the bed of the truck and stood holding onto the roll bar handles at the front of the truck bed. “Who is this stunning woman warrior?”
“Just a little drive to watch the sun set….” Then Ashley made the truck act like a wild mustang. She knew the trucks power and how to use it. “.. And that’s is our friend Free. Lets call her a sister in crime.” She was punching it up steep rises working her way to the top of the rise that over looks the ranches thousands of acres and the surrounding miles to the horizon.
“You just drive slow young lady.” Ma scolded her playfully just loving being in the same cab with the girls. Not since they were small and she took them in the Ford for ice cream while Otto picked up supplies had the three sat so close together.
Ashley knew where she was going. Dad used to drive them to the top of the mountain for sunsets when they were just kids. It had been years since any of them had been up there. A ten-minute drive had them slowly four wheeling up through the steep grass and rock fields then cresting the top. There was some grass, few apple trees they planted long ago were in fruit but not quite ready yet, and a view that was spectacular. The whole valley laid out before them in its entire splendor with the ranch in all its glory laid out before them. “And Dad didn’t make this truck do this Ma. Shianne did!” Ashley ratted her sister out bringing Ma into this story as they rose to the top of the hill overlooking the valley.
Ma had a great time riding up the mountain and was taken aback by the view as Ashley came to a stop and set the breaks turning off the motor. Ashley stepped from the truck and took a little walk out onto the side of the slope rolling off to a steep cut. It was where she needed to sit down to have herself a good cry. She needed this time to clean out all the stresses and fears she had kept locked deep within her heart these past three years. She needed time to heal.
Free had a blast riding Ol Gray up the hill. The feel of the power responding instantly to Ashley’s touch as she crested rise after rise made for a bit of a thrill ride. Just where Free felt most at home. She stood her ground watching as Ashley got out to go have herself a good cry. She understood she needed this time to heal a little from the past 3 years of fighting.
Though Free understood that the sisters had never been baptized in combat, she recognized both as great leaders and would back their play any day. She would also bet if confronted by deadly force these sisters would not hesitate a single second at all to defend themselves or others around them.
A system came in from the west. The clouds slowly blocked out the sun and the cool air of night fell hours earlier today. Ashley was having a real good cry, her mind looking out at a ranch her father had built from the ground up and now she could not think of a way to bring him home.
It was the drive and the location Ashley needed not the view. Shianne and Ma just sat quietly in the truck letting Ashley have her time. They knew she was finding her way home out there. Shianne was finishing with the story of building Ol Gray for her father. Ma loved hearing every detail and asked questions to be sure she could truly be a part of the mischief of that moment in Chisholm history.
Free just stood watching her back, ever on guard over Ashley... or anyone in her charge. The view was breathtaking, the air filled with ranch smells. A bull bellowed out his goodbye to the day as the clouds moved in the distance. She could hear Shianne and Ma as the story was shared. She knew this was one of those moments in her life that she would never forget.
Driving back Ashley was still tearing up. Quietly she sai
d. “I miss Daddy so much!”
“So do I Ashley…. Joshua too!” Shianne agreed taking her hand across Ma’s lap. Ma added her hand to the pile. Their bond of love grew stronger, all survivors of this virus; longing for better times.
“We will never get to hold them again. I must figure this out, or we will never be a whole family.” Ashley was spent. “I’ll never figure out how to bring the men back to Earth Shianne... I know it... I feel it. At least I wont find the answer on this planet.” Her mind was just racing along at Mach 5+. She knew the truth but she didn’t see it before her eyes. It was all mixed up with formulas and figures and conversations and test after test after more testing. She was spent, burned out. She had to get her head back in the game. That’s why she came home.
“Rest now and call him in the morning. The clock in MarCom is set to Moon time.” Shianne suggested. She could see Ashley’s desperation and could feel the empty feeling she was being swept with. She was doing everything that could be done on Earth to cure the virus from the atmosphere and gaining nothing to show for it.
“I will … Where’s Joshua?”
“On his way to Mars, with a green trainee.”
“Space Command is still having him train raw recruits?”
“Only one at a time. He just finishes them off. Pete got his Commanders wings!”
“Good for him.” Ashley said pulling up to the ranch house.
Ma thanked her for showing her such a personal place saying, “Dinner will be in one hour. Get cleaned up.”
“Yes Ma.” They said in unison starting to laugh. It was easy to see they were sisters.
Free took this moment to help them all relax a bit. “An hour...... Horses, saddles... guide me now, we ride.” Ashley told her how much she loved riding. Now was her time to love it again.
Like a light switched on, Ashley smiled and leaped from Ol Gray. “I hope you can keep up Free?” and she bolted for the bard.
* * *