As I mentioned before, I've put on some weight over the years so I thought it would be a good idea to get some exercise. When I went to the gym though, I couldn't work out why almost everyone on a treadmill had put a water bottle in the Pringles holder.

Chapter 54

Mine?

"Hey Mom, come and look at this!" Saffron called out.

April Dias had been resting in the rear of the surface transport vehicle for the last twenty minutes. With so much work waiting for her back at Mars Base One, she thought it would be to her advantage to put all her current tasks aside for a while and sleep for as long as she could, but her youngest daughter was not making it easy.

"What is it Saffy?" she asked as she opened the door to the drivers cab.

There was no need to answer her question when the area around the Mars colony met her eyes. They were still fifteen minutes away from the base entrance, but they could see the signs of new construction all throughout the valley. There were translucent walled structures, interconnected regolith domes and even the start of a new surface transport tube.

"Whoa!" April exclaimed.

"I told you there was a lot happening back here now" Kwame Moloi smiled as he drove down the northwest ridge.

"Yeah but I never expected this" April gasped "The council has been fighting us on the subject of surface expansion longer than the fight against the second colony; now we're doing both."

"With most of the tunnelling equipment either at the new base already, or being dismantled for transport, I suppose the Citizens Council figured the construction crews needed something else to do instead" Kwame noted.

"I wonder what they'll think when I try to steal some of them for my base?" April smiled.

The rover was longer than the average bus and twice as wide, so Kwame brought it into the transfer dome with great care. When it was parked in place, the flexible walkway extended from the pressurised section of the surface building, connecting and sealing to the side of the rover. A green light flashed overhead signifying all was safe and a few seconds later the door opened revealing a small greeting party.

"Holly!" Saffron exclaimed as she almost leapt the entire length of the ramp.

April and Kwame followed in a more dignified manner to be greeted by Florian Klein.

"Good to see you again" April smiled widely.

"It's been very dull around here without you" Florian sighed "Sometimes I think you took all the interesting people with you and left all us boring ones behind."

"And I want a few dozen more too" April admitted.

"Well Olive is waiting for us in your rooms so you can bring it up with her when you're ready."

To April's surprise, Florian did not want to wait for her belongings to be unloaded, even though they were travelling light for a short stay. Instead he sent a few people into the rover with orders to prioritize April and Saffron's gear and bring it to their quarters at once. As they rode the internal transport deep inside the base, the two long time friends made small talk about the major problems and minor triumphs at the new colony, as well as April's future plans for the base. While this went on in the front of the vehicle, Saffron had to endure Holly going on and on about this boy she had met, who was the brother of a friend in the new learning group she was now in.

When they finally reached their destination April was even more surprised to find her old home looked exactly the same as when she had left it months ago.

"Hey I put all this gear into storage until it was shipped to our new home."

"Yes and it will go back into storage when you return to Base Two, but we wanted you to be comfortable while you are here" Olive Roux said as she rose from the couch.

"But I only intend to be here long enough to organise the next group to transfer bases" April pointed out.

"That's entirely up to you" Olive smiled weakly "but for now please sit down; we need to talk."

April suspiciously sat into her favourite chair while Saffron and Holly were motioned to the adjacent couch.

"Why does everyone look so down" Saffron smirked "did someone die or sumpthin'?"

She instantly regretted what she had said when Roux bit her lower lip and inhaled slowly.

"There's... there's been an accident... on... on the Mars Transfer Vehicle" Olive said softly.

The locking mechanism released with a clunk and the Star Runner moved slowly away from the MTV. Abigail looked out the side window of the flight deck to see what the ship now looked like with an External Payload Carrier attached to its nose, and was surprised to see something unexpected.

"What the heck is that weird wobbly thing in there?" she asked.

"It's the exploded remains of an inflatable life raft" Blue informed his sister "Calla used it to positively pressurise the EPC so we could get the hatch closed and locked."

"Clever" Abigail nodded "She really thinks outside the box."

The Star Runner moved slowly back along the length of the ship, but not because Blue was guiding it there, it was due to slow acceleration of the other ship.

"We're approaching the airlock" Blue noted "Sync up the port thrusters on my mark."

Blue watched the ship pass by thought the aft camera until the required docking ring came into view. As soon as he had given the word, Abigail connected the Star Runners thruster control to the MTV navigation computer so both ships would accelerate at the same rate, giving Blue a few minutes to bring them together.

"Make sure you don't crash again" Abigail chuckled.

"You're never gonna let me live that down are you?" Blue sighed.

"Maybe if you save my life a few more times, I cut you some slack."

"But if your life is at risk and I don't save you, then you won't hassle me anymore so problem solved" Blue noted with a smile.

"I'll be good" Abigail promised.

Everything went well as Blue brought the two ships together until Abigail noticed a minor problem with their alignment.

"There's a lag in the thruster control" she said "It must be taking the two systems a split second to talk to each other so we're not quite lined up correctly. Hold position and I'll reset the alignment point forward a little."

"How long will it take you?" Blue asked.

"Five or six minutes" Abigail answered.

"Too long; the thrusters will run dry before you're done" Blue noted "Don't worry, I got this."

"Wha... what are you doing?" Abigail asked in fear when Blue twisted the yaw of the Star Runner forty five degrees to the left.

"Using the nose thrusters to gain a little speed" he replied.

"But you can't come in at an angle of... what is it here? FORTY FIVE DEGREES; ARE YOU CRAZY?"

"Panic ye not; oh noble astronaut" Blue smiled.

If she bothered to look over at her brother, Abigail would have seen the intense concentration in his eyes and the tongue pushing against the inside of his left cheek.

"Oh this is Not going to end well" Abigail declared as she braced herself for the collision.

As the rear of the Star Runner drew closer to the slowly accelerating docking ring, Blue gave the nose thruster a one second burst to bring his ship in closer but because of its slight angle, the Star Runner also picked up a little sideways velocity bringing their docking ring forward of the one on the MTV. Then with only a gap of two fingers width, he twisted the yaw right and brought the ships together straight and smooth, just like a door closing.

"How the hell did you learn to do that?" Abigail asked as the clamps locked in place.

"It's like a game we'd play on the simulator" Calla interjected from the back of the ship "While one person tries to dock, the other one keeps moving the target ship. You have to get pretty inventive sometimes."

"You people are crazy" Abigail stated hyperventilating a little.

"Probably some truth there" Blue admitted as he floated out of his seat.

While Abigail used the Star Runners systems to pressurise the airlock, Blue went back to check once more on his sleeping father only to find Calla fitting her gloves to her suit.

"Err... Abigail is the one going inside the MTV" He noted.

"Yes" Calla smiled "Yes she is."

Blue considered what his next words should be as Calla locked off the first glove and started on the second.

"Fair enough" he resigned himself "I'll give you a hand with your helmet."

"Thanks" Calla said.

"I won't be needing my life support pack of course" Blue called forward to Abigail "So I'll swap it out for yours."

"Thanks" she replied and floated back "How's Dad doing?"

"Still no change" Calla reported as she adjusted the air flow control on her chest "His breathing seems to be long and deep."

"Good; I'll be glad when we can get him back in the MTV simulated gravity ring."

"Do you think it'll help?" Blue asked.

"Wouldn't have a clue" Abigail admitted "but I feel better trying something, than doing nothing... within reason of course."

Abigail floated over to Blue and turned so he could get at the unit on her back. As she waited for the fresh life support pack to be fitted, she noticed Calla nearby all suited up.

"Err... um, I'll be going into the MTV" Abigail said.

"Yes" Calla agreed "Yes you will."

"But..."

"I wouldn't bother if I were you" Blue said quietly.

He knew from experience it was best to let Calla do whatever she wished and from the look on his face Abigail soon got the idea too.

"Fair enough" Abigail resigned himself "Give me a hand with my helmet, would you please."

A few minutes later Blue was wishing the girls good luck as he closed the Star Runner hatch once more. Calla watched as Abigail pressed buttons on the inner key pad and soon the air around them began to thin, till it was gone completely in less than a minute.

"Whoa this feels weird" Calla noted "It's like the arms of my suit have decided they don't like bending anymore."

"Yeah it is different when the pressure outside the suit is non-existent" Abigail agreed.

With the airlock depressurised, Abigail opened the hatch leading to the MTV and floated inside for the first time in over three days. The dull glow of the emergency lighting projected weird looking shadows on almost every surface giving Calla the impression of a strange, man made haunted forest.

"Any chance you could get the lights back on?" she asked Abigail.

"We'll get straight onto it as soon as we get the ship back into a stable orbit" the experienced young astronaut replied.

"Lead on Mc Duff" Calla acknowledged.

Even though she had seen the size of the ship from the outside, Calla was still in awe of the number of sections they had to pass through to reach their destination. At first there were some units full of sealed storage and ships systems, but following on was the central hub with two tubes running off at ninety degree angles to the rest of the ship.

"Do these tunnels go to the big wheel in the centre of the ship?" Calla asked.

"That's right" Abigail began "And when we get it going again..."

"The spin will give us a simulated gravity and we'll be able to stand up like normal" Calla interrupted, showing off what she had learned in training.

Abigail continued aft with a very smug Calla close behind. The next few sections they passed through were simple passageways with docking rings on all sides. When questioned about them, Abigail explained this was where the supply capsules sent into orbit from the Railgun were connected for the long journey back to Mars and Calla soon realised why Blue was so interested in this old but impressive ship.

Blue meanwhile was keeping vigil over his father while talking to his friends back on Earth.

"Anything interesting to report?" Sid asked.

"Ah... well first off you can let Mrs. Linwood know Calla is fine and enjoying herself very much" Blue noted.

"Mrs. Linwood has gone to get some sleep..."

"Oh good" Blue sighed with relief "I wasn't looking forward to telling her Calla had gone off with my sister to explore the MTV in a total vacuum."

"...but Mr. Linwood is sitting here with me while she is gone."

"Oh crap!" Blue mumbled to himself.

"Is Calla in danger?" Maynard's voice came over the communicator.

"Danger? Definitely not sir" Blue tried to explain "I just thought you wife would not be happy to learn I wasn't keeping an eye on her right now, but my sister Abigail is with her and she knows that ship like the back of her hand sir."

"Relax kid I'm not going to rip you head off" Maynard replied.

"Sarah wanted me to ask you if you've decided on a landing site yet" Sid informed Blue.

"I'll be looking into where we should land once the..."

"Abby... Abby..." a weak voice caught Blues attention.

"Sorry Sid but I gotta go!" Blue said and stopped his transmission "Abigail isn't here Dad, but she's fine."

"Abby..." Luis mumbled and blacked out again.

Thinking fast, Blue hurried to one of the supply packs and grabbed a water pouch. As soon as he had reached his father again, Blue slipped off the oxygen mask and gently placed the straw in Luis's mouth, before carefully squeezing a few drops from the bag. It was barely enough to wet his tongue, but it did the trick as the groggy man slowly began to drink.

"Where is she" Luis whispered as he gradually opened his eyes "and where am I?"

"You're in the Star Runner; you're safe now."

"H-Henry... is it you?"

"Yes Dad... it's me" Blue replied even though he was not used to answering to his real name.

Luis smiled as he slowly lifted his hand to touch his sons face for the first time.

"I wish your mother was here to see you" he sighed.

Blue found himself at a complete loss for words. So many years of not knowing, then the surprise of talking to his father for the first time, followed by the despair of discovering his fatal position. Many days of desperate preparation for launch and now to finally be with Luis at last; it was almost more than he could take.

"I want to see her too, but you'll do for now" Blue shrugged with a smile.

Luis smiled back as he took a deep breath before taking a quick look around himself.

"Where did you say we were?"

"We call it the Star Runner Dad; it's an old Dream Chaser shuttle."

"And your sister is... where?"

"We've managed to dock with the MTV and she's gone to shut off the main drive before we leave orbit."

"WHAT? NO! oww..." Luis had been trying to ignore his throbbing head but his sudden panic brought the pain on with a vengeance.

"Relax Dad, the ship's empty; Sage can't hurt her" Blue comforted him.

"Are you sure? How do you know?"

"Your ship had been drained of atmosphere and one of the Soyuz capsules is missing. Abigail linked our computer to yours and discovered the order to vent the air came from Mars by coded signal. We think someone tried to execute Sage because he tried to kill you, but we're not sure."

"Can you get in contact with Abigail please?" Luis asked.

"No problem" Blue smiled as he helped his father to the comms station.

"Star Runner to MTV; do you read me Abby?" Blue called.

"Greetings brother" Abigail replied "Are you looking for an update on our progress?"

"I just wanted to hear you voice to be sure you were okay" Luis spoke in to the microphone.

"DAD YOU'RE AWAKE!" she squealed "You would not believe how happy I am just to hear your voice... but I'm STILL MAD AT YOU!"

"Your mother is exactly the same" Luis said to Blue.

"What made you think it was okay for you to give me your air supply?" Abigail said accusingly.

"It's what fathers do" Luis explained "I had to give you the best chance I could."

"But Blue and Calla reached us in time you idiot" she huffed.

"Who's Calla?" Luis asked Blue.

"My co-pilot" he answered.

"One of the people from the Railgun I suppose" Luis assumed.

"Not... exactly" Blue admitted and left his father guessing.

"We've managed to cut the fuel to the engines" Abigail said while trying to keep calm "It shouldn't take long before the ship is pressurised again."

"Engines; was Mars trying to bring the MTV back remotely?" Luis realised.

"Yes; I doubt they knew we were able to rescue you, or that you're still alive" Blue hypothesised.

"April and Saffy must think we're dead" Luis sighed "they must be feeling... I hate to think about it."

"Maybe we could try and make contact" Blue offered "but I'm not sure if we could get through to them. Is there anyone we can reach who can be trusted?"

Luis considered what his son had said; the only person he really didn't trust was Sage, but Roux must have known about Henry being alive so if the Premier of the Mars Council was part of a conspiracy, how many others were involved?

"I think I know someone we can rely on" he nodded.

Some friends are like the ocean waves as they come and go, but a true friend stays with you... like an octopus stuck on your face.