This is a very 'Bird Heavy' chapter; it is also the one to introduce another link to the Dragon Riders (yay).

Chapter 30

Setting Out Part 3: Altered Destinations

The sea of faces before him did not fill Linton Adisa with much in the way of self confidence. They had the look of people who had desperately tried to believe in a bright future, only to have been disappointed again and again. After so many years living deep underground, Linton had pushed his memories of past meteorite destruction as far back as he could manage, but for the people in front of him it was still a regular part of life.

It looked like it was going to be an interesting evening for the refugees in the fleet, as well as for the two men from the Railgun Complex. The Wood Duck of Curiosity felt sure he was going to easily fill his weekly quota and the Southern Lapwing of Nervous Anticipation along with the Storm Petrel of Mild Surprise, also hoped to do well as the day progressed; the Magpie of Heart Stopping Shock hung around in the background looking on just in case he could butt in as well.

Professor Adisa started off by asking what everyone knew about the Mars Colony Project and the war with the EFA. Most were well informed and did know all about the recent past; a few even had firsthand experience of fighting in the war, but there was one man in particular named Jack Sumner who had been on the Aircraft Carrier USS Ernie Jackson when Linton and his crew had landed while being transferred to the complex fifteen years ago.

"A few weeks after you and your friends were evacuated on the transport planes, we returned to San Diego and our carrier was decommissioned" Jack told the assembled group. "We were all thanked for being a major part of the effort to save humanity and told there was no more to be done because the mission was completed. I tried to find out more, but no details were ever given. It seemed as if most of the officers were just as much in the dark as the rest of us."

"I know a lot of the details were kept secret for security reasons" Linton noted "I was the head of a major supply project for the Mars Base, but still knew very little about what was going on outside of my section."

""Exactly" Jack told the crowd "the carrier fleet would receive coded orders to go wherever we were ordered, but we would rarely know why."

"Has anyone ever come across a former member of the EFA?" Linton asked.

A small murmur ran through the crowd until Jack stepped on it with his next comment.

"If you were a one of them, would you ever admit it?"

The professor had to concede Jack Sumner could be right on the money.

"But I have to try and find out" Linton noted "I have to know if the conflict is over, or if the EFA will still rise up try to stop us."

"When are you going to tell us why we're all gathered here?" Reed Branson said impatiently.

"Sorry everyone; it's hard to break the old habits of secrecy" Linton admitted "I keep expecting an EFA attack even though years have passed and Mars Base is a reality."

Linton Adisa looked out at the desperate and innocent crowd and took a deep breath; he still did not feel comfortable about what he was about to reveal.

"Some of you may know there were three Railgun Launch Facilities around the world on the equator; one was in Kenya, one in South America and the third is not far from here. I lead a team of people who have been using the Railgun to send supplies and equipment to Mars for decades. To keep the base safely out of reach from the EFA, we were all living hidden underground for the last fifteen years."

Needless to say, all those present were amazed to hear about people living beneath the surface for so long.

"Before going into lockdown, we were awaiting the arrival of a shipload of equipment that would allow us to use the Railgun to evacuate more people from Earth; but I was informed the EFA had attacked and destroyed the ship in question, before it could reach us. A few days ago, Miss Calla Linwood took an unexpected trip down one of our Pressure Release Vents and became the first person on Earth to make contact with us since the day we shut ourselves off from the world. During her visit she informed me the ship was precisely where we had originally expected it to be and it appears to be intact; will still are unsure about why we were told it had been sunk."

"Wait... wait..." an excited voice called out from the back as an equally excited man tried to push his way forward. "Is it THE ship; the one with the big legs where April Haddock had her baby?"

"If you don't shut up DeGroot, I'll have you removed from this ship now" Captain Branson threatened.

Linton and Henry looked at each other with surprise written all over their faces. Who was this strange man named DeGroot and how did he know about April? They were both very curious but Linton decided to follow the lead of Reed Branson and let it go for now. Perhaps they could learn more later on.

"Um... err... where was I?" Linton tried to pull himself together "Yes, the ship; now we have what we need, it is still possible we could recommence the evacuation of Earth on a small scale. To do this we would need a lot of help with moving and constructing equipment and in exchange for help given, we can provide you with homes in the underground complex safe from most meteorite strikes."

"You want us to help you leave the planet while we stay behind?" someone a few rows back asked.

"It is true not everyone would be able to leave, but it would not be restricted to my people only. The main factor is age; the older you are, the less likely you'll get a seat off world. So as you could guess by looking at me, I'm not going" Linton smiled.

"Are you telling us you can get some of us off the planet and safely to Mars?" Branson asked bluntly.

"I'm telling you I want to try; I think everyone knows we are all living on borrowed time but I'm not ready to give up and as I said, if you have to stay on Earth, our complex is a pretty safe place to be."

"So how do you decide who gets to go and who stays?" another voice from the crowd asked.

"I know this isn't the perfect answer but try and think about it this way; if all the people standing around you were to be saved but you were not, would you want to help them anyway or would you want to have nothing to do with the whole project?"

Linton's words set everyone thinking and mumbling but he went on speaking louder.

"I have always known I was staying behind to one day die on Earth, but I also know this doesn't give me the right to tell you what to do; so I'll repeat my offer. We could use all the help we can get unloading the ship and rebuilding the railgun, along with many other tasks. I can promise anyone who is willing to help us, a place to live in our underground complex safe from tsunami, atmospheric explosions and near misses. The only events we are not protected against are direct meteor hits and planetary destruction. I cannot yet promise anyone will get off the Earth, but it is my goal to do precisely that. If anyone does not wish to take up our offer, we are still willing to help you on your way north with supplies and any mechanical help we can provide."

"If you expect us to make such a life changing decision without having seen this underground shelter, you're crazy" another voice shouted.

"Crudely put but I have to agree with the sentiment" Reed Branson nodded. "I don't see any reason why anyone who wants to come and see what you're doing, shouldn't be allowed too."

"Sounds fair enough" Linton agreed "How would you like to proceed?"

Captain Branson stood up and addressed everyone directly.

I would like to suggest we take a team up to inspect this place while the fleet remains in these protected waters. If this Professor Adisa is speaking nothing but bilge water, we can proceed on our journey but if not, any who wish to see for themselves can come and have a look later. What say you Professor?"

"I believe we can accommodate you" Linton smiled.

"Good it's settled then; let's all get some sleep and the One and All will sail on the morning tide" Branson declared sounding very much like Errol Flynn.

"And what time would the morning tide be?" Henry Deming asked.

"According to the charts, about 3:15 a.m."

"You have got to be kidding" Henry gasped.

Even though she was still quite annoyed with him, April found it impossible not to be moved by the softness in Luis's eyes.

"Promise me you will take good care of yourself while I am gone" he whispered gently.

"I'll take good care of the babies with me if you take good care of the baby you're taking with you" she smiled.

"You know we don't like it when you call us your babies" Abigail huffed.

"You will have to get used to it Abi because deep down, you know she will never stop" Luis informed his eldest daughter of what she did not want to hear.

"Good luck out there Horse Face" Saffron declared "and watch out for those meteors when you get close to Earth."

"I will Butt Head" Abigail replied before leaning forward and whispering "you take good care of Mom and Junior too."

It was not normal for the rival sisters to ever be civil with each other but Abigail could tell by the look on Saffron's face, she would do her best.

"We will be back on Mars soon after you start showing" Luis promised as he contemplated his wife's still slender waist.

Abigail and Saffron both smiled as their mother and father kissed passionately one last time before they parted ways once more.

"And then you are retiring from space duty forever" April ordered.

"I'm not" Abigail declared as the Toucan of Defiance firmly gripping her left shoulder.

"Don't bet on it kid" April smirked.

As the clean room attendants finished checking the Astronauts pressure suits, April and Saffron made their way into a side room from where they could look out onto the surface of Mars. Not long afterwards, Luis and Abigail entered the surface transport through a flexible airlock corridor. Soon they were being driven out to the ship where Commander Neville Sage performed the final system checks. The Mars Orbit Rockets were quite different than those previously used on Earth due to the reduced gravity and thin atmosphere. Each one was single stage to orbit and carried enough fuel to launch, manoeuvre in orbit and return later to the surface of the planet.

"About time you two got here" Sage sneered as Luis and his daughter exited the airlock and climbed up to the flight deck.

"We left the base ahead of schedule sir" Abigail explained.

"Tell your brat to get in her seat and keep quiet Dias."

"You must remember to only answer the Commanders questions and not to question his statements" Luis addressed April before turning to Sage "And I will ask you to refer to our trainee only by her proper title of Flight Cadet please Commander."

Sage stopped working at the keyboard in front of him and sighed. He was painfully aware Olive Roux would be listening in on ship communications and would have much to say later if he did not control himself.

"You are right of course Major; I apologise Flight Cadet for losing my temper. I do feel on edge right now but that is no excuse for my rudeness."

"Err yes sir; thank you sir" Abigail replied "and I apologise for speaking out of turn sir."

"You will learn Cadet and I'm sure you'll do just fine; even with an old dog like me who is so set in his ways" Sage felt quite satisfied he had just talked his way out of another chewing out.

Neville Sage was not a humble man in any sense and so the Whooping Crane of Prideful Disdain had made its home with him for most of his adult life. Little did Sage know but the Cranes presence was directly responsible for regular visits from The Pelican of Everything going Down the Toilet, who at this very minute was nesting at the back of the flight deck dressed in a bright orange pressure suit.

"This is the first time I've ever waved goodbye to Dad without Abi standing beside me" Saffron declared not wanting to admit she would miss her older sister terribly.

"I'm glad I don't have to leave you behind too" April smiled as she hugged her youngest child (youngest for the next eight and a half months anyway).

It seemed like the countdown would drag on forever but it still passed far too quickly for April's liking. At last all the rockets fired in perfect unison and the tall bell shaped craft lifted off of the planet and rapidly picked up speed.

"Come back safe" Saffron said through a tear.

"Come back now" April whispered to herself.

Abigail could not begin to describe the thrill of being launched in to space for the first time. The reason she couldn't was because of a feud between the Cormorant of Thrill Description and the Whooping Crane of Prideful Disdain who was sitting on Commander Sage; they both hated to be in the same room at the same time. In less than a minute the ship had left the thin Martian atmosphere and was rapidly making its way towards the Orbit Station.

During the evacuation of the Mars colonists from Earth so many years ago, they had travelled the interplanetary distance inside two huge rotating wheels. Each wheel was constructed from sixteen expandable habitats and formed a major part of the Mars Transfer Vehicle, providing the space needed for the colonists, a simulated gravity environment and all the supplies they would consume during their journey.

When the evacuation was complete, the MTV was reconfigured and the two largest wheels were removed leaving one small simulated gravity wheel for the crew's quarters on the interplanetary ship. Now repurposed as the Mars Orbit Station the twin wheels were maintained by a skeleton crew of two except during the changeover of MTV crews travelling between Mars and Earth.

"I hope you are taking careful note of your screens Flight Cadet" Sage noted.

"Yes sir; standing by" Abigail replied.

"Confirm correct line up for initial approach."

"Negative sir; I am showing a 0.72 degree misalignment on starboard yaw."

"And what is the acceptable safety margin Cadet?" Sage asked.

"1.5 degrees sir."

"So do accept the alignment as within tolerance?"

"Respectfully no sir; because we are still five kilometres from station and at our current trajectory, we will be exceed the safety margin in three point eight kilometres."

"She's good" the Commander admitted to Luis as he realigned the ship.

Fifteen minutes later, after a very smooth docking, the new MTV crew were welcomed on to the Mars Orbit Station. Luis could not help noticing the wide smile on Abigail's face as she unbuckled herself and experienced micro gravity for the first time.

"The Major and I are going to make contact with the MTV" Sage addressed the junior officer "Start getting our gear stowed near the opposite docking port and then report to me on the station command deck."

"Yes sir" Abigail nodded and turned to begin her task.

Several cargo ships had already brought supplies, fuel and equipment up to the station but every spare corner on Abigails transport was still packed to capacity and she estimated it would take her a good hour or more to move everything because she was still becoming accustomed to being weightless.

Down on the nearest planet, Abigail's mother and sister made their final preparations to leave the Mars Base for a few months while on a planet much further away, the brother Abigail did not know she still had, prepared to receive more visitors.

It appears the Goshawk of Upheaval had been very busy today.

Recapping something I said in a previous author note, it would be getting close to two years since I started writing this story but when I was a few chapters in, the film The Martian was released and there were a few similarities with bits of this story. I did a major rewrite so people wouldn't think I'd stolen ideas, then another film came out about a boy born on Mars coming to Earth; time for a second major rewrite and I hadn't posted the first chapter yet.

Roughly six months later I started publishing this while vowing not to watch any new movies about space (like Gravity for example) until it was all done and posted. Last night I broke that vow when Interstellar was on TV.

When I saw the dying Earth with people trying to survive as best they could and the secret underground base containing the only hope for humanities future run by an elderly professor (who at least was not Jamaican), my neighbors must have wondered what all the screaming was about.

Oh well... too late to start again... again.