Starship Tipton
By
James Doyle
Chapter Seven
Ron Stoppable roamed the halls of the Tipton, feeling as he were on top of all worlds. The ship's complement had initially been thrilled for him, especially since most of them had attended the wedding. After about a month, however, it started to get old.
"Stoppable!" shouted Barkin, seeming to come out of nowhere as he often did.
"Good morning, Mr. Barkin," said Ron, undeterred from his sunny disposition.
"Wipe that sleazy grin off your face, Stoppable, or I'll wipe it off for you!" ordered Barkin.
Ron's smiled turned to a frown. "Yes, sir. Just a little happier than usual today."
"And why it that, Stoppable?" inquired Barkin.
Ron sighed. "My wife finally stopped throwing up. Funny thing is, it didn't even slow her down. Other than going to the John to look for Ralph, she's been walking on sunshine, just like me."
Barkin scratched his chin. "I'm a decent field medic, but we really would be better off with the services of a flight surgeon. I don't know much about motion sickness except it shouldn't last that long."
The Tipton had switched over to deceleration mode just after the wedding. The sudden loss of gravity, combined with the gyrations of the ship, had caused an epidemic of motion sickness throughout the ship.
"Morning, Mr. Moseby," said Ron as Moseby walked by on his morning rounds.
"Mr. Stoppable," said Moseby. "How's the wife feeling?"
"Much better, thanks."
"Oh, thank heavens!" exclaimed Moseby, greatly relieved.
"Hey hey, don't go celebrating my victories."
"I apologize," said Moseby. "It just served to remind me that although it's been smooth sailing so far, I'm always one mechanical failure, one power outage, or one flu epidemic away from total pandemonium."
"Don't sweat it, Mr. Moseby," assured Ron. "We've got your back."
Moseby smiled. "Yes, and I continue to be grateful for your help."
"Four weeks late!" exclaimed Ron as he returned to his suite. "How could you be four weeks late and not tell me?"
"Because this can't possibly be happening to me!" replied Kim. "This is the worst possible time."
"Well, Kim, I probably don't have to tell you these things happen whether you're ready for them or not. Take Rockwaller, for example." Ron referred to Bonnie Rockwaller, Kim's high school cheerleading rival. She didn't tell anyone, including the child's father, SeƱor Senior, Jr., that she was three months gone when high school ended. Junior only started asking questions after she started showing. He of course married her, and by all reports, they were having a perfectly miserable life together.
"Way wrong answer, Ron!" shouted Kim. Ron reckoned that if Kim had been Shego, he'd be an overcooked leftover right about now.
Ron hung his head. "You're right. I'm sorry. Maybe one of these days, I'll learn not to put my foot in my mouth." Ron put his arms around his wife's neck. "I know you're feeling overwhelmed right now. I know we're under a lot of stress, and we were hoping for a better time. But Kim, you and I both have always wanted to start a family. We're starting much sooner than we thought we would, and that's going to require some major adjustments. But you're wrong about one thing, Kim: This isn't the worst possible time. We're surrounded by good friends who will do anything to make sure we're taken care of."
Ron placed a hand on his wife's belly. She gave him a funny look.
"What?" said Ron.
Kim giggled, pointing at her groin. "The baby's down here. It won't be in my abdominal cavity for at least another month."
Ron shrugged. "Hey, I waited until senior year to take health class and got a D, remember?"
Ron escorted his wife over to the couch and sat down with her.
"Besides, according to my calculations, our kid will be the first child born on Mars."
Kim smiled. "I have to admit, that's pretty cool."
Maddie sat on the roof of the Tipton. Arwin had managed to safely punch a few additional holes, allowing for things like easier access and stargazing. London normally spent a few minutes outside everyday to gather her thoughts. Maddie often joined her. This time, she decided to remain for a spell when London went inside.
Zack Martin came up beside Maddie and put his arm around here. Though they wouldn't be able to cuddle very well in EVA suits, they would at least be able to communicate without using their radios.
"Any particular reason you wanted to meet me out here?" asked Zack.
"It's only place I've ever been where it can truly be just you and me," replied Maddie.
"You sound awfully serious," observed Zack.
"Zack, these last few weeks have been awesome. I've really gotten to see how beautiful you are on the inside...not that you're hard on the eyes at all on the outside."
"Good save," commented Zack.
"Zack, I really want this relationship to go the distance, but if that's going to happen, I need to be up front with you about something."
"What is it? You know you can talk to me about anything."
Maddie sighed. "I've decided to stay on Mars."
"May I ask why?"
"My life never really had any direction back on earth. And now, here I am, making history. It's awesome. I love it. I want to keep doing it."
"So let me see if I have this straight: You want to be with me, but in order for us to stay together, I have to commit to living on Mars with you?"
Maddie nodded. "That's about the size of it. Have you thought at all about what you're going to do?"
Zack shook his head. "For most of this trip, I assumed I'd be going back to earth. Once Mr. Moseby made the announcement, I honestly didn't know which way to turn. I think Cody might want to stay, as well. It's all of his nerdiest dreams come true."
"And your mom?"
"I'm not sure, but I think if we both want to stay on Mars, she'll stay with us."
"You don't have to decide right now, you know."
"Yeah," said Zack. "I need to some time to think about it."
Well after midnight, Drakken lie awake. Shego awoke to find him still in that state.
"Good grief, Drew!" mumbled the only member of the human race allowed to call him that. "Have you managed to get any sleep at all?"
"Not a wink," replied Drakken. "Shego, do you want to go back to earth?"
Shego turned over, rolled her eyes, and stared at the ceiling. "Crap, I dunno. I could go either way, honestly. Why, do you want to go back to earth?"
Drakken pondered for a moment. "No. I don't."
"Why not?"
Drakken turned to face his bride-to-be. "Shego, you should see the way they look at me at work. And they think I don't hear them murmuring behind my back, but I do."
"Who cares," said Shego. "So they don't like you? Big deal, at least they treat you with respect most of the time."
"Because someone they never met in some building in New York they've never been to told them to. Shego, I was never one of them. Not even before I became a villain."
Shego sighed, and sat up in bed. "You know, Drew, I can really relate to that."
Shego thought back to her days as a superhero with Team Go. Even in those days, she was never quite sure of who she really was. Was she a superhero who defended Go City from the forces of evil, or was she the rebellious juvenile delinquent product of a Catholic school education gone bad? She honestly didn't know. Then her opportunity had come in the form of a supervillain, just starting out. She knew enough about villainy to help him get started. Though this relationship, Shego had found that the world of villainy was full of misfits, just like her.
So here she stood, having come full circle. She was back to being somewhere in the gray area between heroism and villainy, once again looking for where she belonged. Having come to terms with her feelings for Drakken, it helped somehow that he had somewhere to go and wanted to take her with him.
"Mars would be a great place to start over," noted Shego.
"Precisely!" exclaimed Drakken. "It's just like London said: Everyone deserves a second chance. Everyone. All of humanity. You and I together can be the architects of that second chance."
Shego pondered for a moment. "It sounds a lot like world domination, except it actually helps people, and doesn't subjugate anyone's will."
"Yes!" cried Drakken. "It's exactly what we've been looking for all these years!"
Shego smiled. "You sold me, Drew. Let's do this!"
The next day, London went looking for Drakken, and found him working on the water reclamation system.
"Don't tell me the plumbing's busted again!" cried London.
Drakken laughed. "No, nothing quite so dramatic. Just a little routine maintenance, keeping the system running at top efficiency."
"What's this I hear about you and Shego staying on Mars?" asked London.
"That's the general idea," said Drakken from under the pipes.
"And what brought you to this decision?"
Drakken emerged from the pipes. "I remembered what you'd told me about everyone deserving a second chance. If I can help things get off to a good start on Mars, it could be a second chance for all of humanity."
"That's great. I'm really happy for you."
Drakken could sense the sorrow in her voice.
"London, is something wrong?" he asked.
"Well, see, the thing is...I'm not sure I want to go back to earth, either."
Drakken's face went blank with surprise. "I must admit, I least expected this from you, of all people."
London scowled. "Why? Because I'm rich?"
Drakken gulped. "Well...yes. I mean, I always thought of you as someone who thoroughly enjoyed her glamorous jet-set lifestyle."
London sighed. "I used to. But Dr. D., I'm not as stupid as people think I am. I know my father has committed considerable financial resources to this mission. Whatever's left after that will probably be paid out in settlements to angry guests and their families. Whatever cash I have with me out here isn't worth the pulp it's printed on. Let's face it, I'm not rich anymore. And you know what? I'm really okay with it. Whatever we've become out here, I'm really happy to be a part of it. I don't know if there's a place for me back on earth anymore. Especially with you and Shego and Maddie staying behind, and Carey and the twins thinking about it."
Drakken felt compelled to hug London, something he'd done very little of thus far in his life.
"I don't want you to stay just because of me. I'm an ugly blue old man still trying to find his place in the universe."
London began to cry. "You may be old, and you may be blue, but you're not ugly, and you're my friend!"
"And I'll always be your friend. As your friend, I want you to do whatever you think is right for you."
Moseby generated a communique for delivery as soon as the Tipton reestablished contact with earth.
To: possible at middleton dot space dot gov
From: moseby at boston dot tiptonhotels dot com
Date: February 27, 2009
Subject: Revised Mars Colonist List
Dear Dr. Possible:
The following members of my crew have elected to remain on Mars as residents of the permanent colony:
Madeleine Fitzpatrick
Drew Lipsky (alias: "Dr. Drakken.")
Shana Gomez (alias: "Shego.")
London Tipton
Carey Martin
Zack Martin
Cody Martin
Stephen Barkin
Others are taking it under advisement. I will keep you apprised of their decisions. I would be happy to forward any personnel records so that you might decide how their gifts and abilities would be best used in the new colony.
Your Servant,
Marion Moseby, Esq.
Kim and Ron examined the list, still in awe that so many people have already volunteered.
"Ron," said Kim. "You don't wanna stay on Mars, do you?"
"As if," said Ron with a dismissive wave of the hand. "I'll have you know I plan on having the grandmother of all Bueno Nacho feasts when I get home!"
Kim laughed. "That's my man," she said as she planted a kiss on his forehead.
End of Chapter Seven.
A/N: Hey, I'm as surprised as you are that it's gone on this long. Stay tuned!
