Family Time
Auckland Island, Southern Pacific Ocean: 2063.
Standing with his back to the expanse of stormy ocean two hundred meters below, Scott Tracy wondered how it had all gone so wrong.
The twenty seven year old silently observed as men dressed in camouflage fatigues secured the orange rescue basket to a winch line. High above the windswept tussock grass and rata scrub, a large black military helicopter hovered, waiting to receive its cargo.
Unable to watch the swaying of the basket as it began its ascent, Scott turned to survey the small group huddled a few meters back from the cliff edge. Silver thermal blankets crackled in the gale force winds; bloody, used first aid supplies piled high as his brother, who had worked frantically to stem the flow of blood from the patient, leaned back against exposed basalt watching with an exhausted, heartsick gaze as the basket was gathered into the body of the aircraft.
A basket that contained one of the most precious people in Scott Tracy's life.
Scrubbing bloody hands over his face, Scott turned back to stare over the turbulent dark grey ocean. Hypnotised by the churning waves and the pungent smell of brine, his mind sought refuge in happier times, back over fourteen years ago to a large low-beamed log house on a cliff overlooking another windswept coastline, with rolling waves and the smell of salt strong in the air.
Ohlone House, Half Moon Bay Coastline, California: January 2049
"Come on Scotty, hurry up 'n pop corn 'm starving!"
"Gordon, how can you still be hungry? You just ate two plates of noodles."
"Not still, Mommy. Again!"
Scott peaked around the kitchen door into the big lounge room with its large leather couches, large fireplace and low wooden ceiling, his favourite room in the house. He could see his indignant blond five-year-old brother stand in front of the roaring fireplace, little fists on his hips and a scowl creasing his forehead.
"Oh, again is it, Gordie? Okay, that makes all the difference then." Scott could see his mom trying to hide her smile as she turned away from the fireplace.
"It does, Mommy. It means my tummy's empty and needs to be refulled again."
"I think you mean refuelled, Gordie." Scott entered the longue area, carrying bowls, glasses, spoons and napkins.
"No Scotty, I mean refulled. It's empty and needs to be refulled again."
"Like it ever gets a chance to be empty," Johnny muttered from the couch to Scott's left, eyes glued to the latest astronomy journal detailing the discovery of a new exo-planet. Sitting at the ten year old's feet, sketching complicated space rockets and realistic giant bears, Virge started to laugh in agreement before a hacking cough stopped him. Mom stooped down, feeling his forehead for a temperature as Scott watched his brother in concern.
"M'okay, Mom."
"Have you used your inhaler tonight, sweetheart?"
"Hmmm."
"Yeah he has Mom, just before dinner. Johnny and Allie did as well. I checked." Scott placed everything down on the coffee table in front of the fire.
Johnny rolled his eyes. "I really don't need it anymore. I haven't coughed in 12 hours. Allie's worse." Scott glanced down at a shock of blond hair and blue eyes peeking over the top of the small pile of blankets next to John.
"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Mom smiled at her youngest.
"Wanna ice cream, Mommy." Allie's attempt to be emphatic was interrupted by the same hacking cough. Scott moved towards the couch only to be beaten by his mother.
Scott watched their mom lean over and ruffle thick locks once the coughing stopped. Looking at his brother in sympathy, he offered a bribe guaranteed to succeed. "Okay, ice cream it is. Right after you take your antibiotics. Then you need to go to bed."
A rapidly shaking head greeted this announcement. "I'm waiting for Daddy to get home first. He'll read me about Mars Man."
"The True Life Adventures of Astronaut Jeff Tracy, First Man to Set Foot on Mars Surface," Johnny muttered, as Scott hid a grin and turned back towards the kitchen.
"Grab the antibiotics please, Scott. Really, John, that old edition of Time magazine thing?"
Scott grabbed antibiotics, four different packages of food, and a bottle of water from the top cupboard and placed them on a tray, smiling as he heard the chatter continue in the longue room.
"That's the one!" Johnny said in a light-hearted tone.
"That must be so torn and dog-eared by now."
" 'M Daddy's Star Boy," Allie proclaimed.
"Yes, you are, my little man."
"Stars are boring!" Gordie stated. "Fish 'n sharks rule."
Scott rolled his eyes and mentally counted down for the inevitable fight.
"Not borin'!" Scott could hear the pout in Allie's voice as he reached into the fridge to grab two bottles of topping.
"Are too. That's why Mommy and Daddy brought Sea Otter House."
"It's called Ohlone House, Gords, named after the Native Americans who originally -" Scott laughed loudly as John's history lecture was cut short by Gordie and Allie's continued bickering.
"When I'm big I'm gonna go faster under water than Daddy's space ship."
"Not!"
"Are too!"
"And here's Scott with the popcorn kernels to pop for Gordon." Mom interrupted the incipient argument, drawing her youngest two's attention towards Scott, carrying the tray into the lounge and placing it on the coffee table.
"Well, I suppose you can have popcorn if you really want it Gordie, but I'm gonna have something else," Scott teased.
"What? What are you having, Scotty?"
"Not popcorn, Gordie."
Gordie raced after Scott as he walked back into the kitchen and pulled a large carton of ice cream from the freezer. "What? What are you having, Scotty? What?"
"Well, Allie is having ice cream, and you're having popcorn, and Virge will have ice cream and caramel topping, and Johnny'll have ice cream and chocolate topping-"
"And chocolate sprinkles," came from the lounge.
"Chocolate sprinkles coming right up." Detouring to the cupboard again, Scott grabbed the shaker of sprinkles.
"But what are you having, Scotty?"
"Not popcorn," Scott laughed as he heard the front door open and a chorus of greetings echo from the lounge.
"Hey Dad."
"Hi Daddy."
"Daddy, I'm gonna have ice cream."
"How was the drive, darling?"
"Hello, boys. Ice cream? You are very lucky, Allie. It was fine, sweetheart, although there's already a bit of drizzle so I'm glad I didn't leave the office any later. The roads will be slippery tomorrow morning if it holds."
"Daddy!" Gordie raced out from the kitchen ahead of Scott. "Scotty's not having popcorn for dessert, but he won't tell me what he's having."
Scott walked back out in the lounge again to see his parents kissing in the soppy way adults in love did. Yuck. Oblivious to this, Gordie was jumping on the smaller couch trying to get their father's attention.
"Is that so, my little fish," Dad reached down to ruffle Gordie's hair before glancing up at his eldest son. "I bet I know what Scott's having."
"What, Daddy, what?"
"What he's always had whenever we've gone camping, or stayed here," Dad snorted as he walked over to Scott who was busily scooping ice cream into three bowls, and clapped him on the shoulder. "S'mores."
"Oh, S'mores. I'll have S'mores too, Scotty." Johnny paused, looking up at his eldest brother. "And ice cream with chocolate topping and sprinkles obviously."
"Johnny, it's one or the other, not both," Mom called as she and Dad disappeared into the kitchen to get his dinner, and no doubt kiss some more.
"S'mores, please Scotty." Scott grinned at his brother; he knew Johnny would have figured out he'd end up with both this way.
"I'll stick with ice cream please, Scotty," Virge grimaced.
"Throat still sore, Virge?"
"Yeah, sort of."
"Okay, have your antibiotics first and then here's an extra scoop for the sore throat."
"Thanks, Scotty."
"And what do you want, Gordie?" After giving a bowl of plain ice cream to his youngest brother, Scott turned to the sandy-headed boy.
Gordie stood undecided, biting his bottom lip as he looked between the ice cream his brothers were already eating, the ingredients for the S'mores, and the popcorn kernels. Grinning, Scott opened the marshmallow packet, dumping them into a bowl before reaching for the chocolate pieces.
"S'mores. I wanna have S'mores too."
"Good choice, short stuff."
Half an hour later, Scott lazed contentedly on the big couch nearest to the fire, flicking through the latest brochures and magazines on supersonic fighters. He was happy that they'd all been pulled out of school for a few weeks to join their dad on the West Coast. The house was still a new and exciting place for the brothers in comparison to their ranch house in Kansas, the beach and rocks down below that were exposed at low tide holding all sorts of interesting options for exploring and play.
Virge's hacking cough started again. Scott waved his parents off and offered him a glass of water and his inhaler, and waited for the cough to subside. While Scott recovered from the flu fairly quickly, his younger brothers had taken much longer. Virge and Allie especially had had a hard time shaking the cough. It worried Scott that they were taking so long to get better, even though his friends often told him he was being uncool and a mother hen.
Virge sprawled back across the floor and drowsily started drawing again, although it was now planes flying through clouds. Johnny moved down onto the floor next to him, engrossed in a book now. Scott smiled as he watched Johnny place a supporting hand on Virge's shoulders. Across the room, he could see his two youngest brothers were curled up asleep in one of the large armchairs with a blanket thrown over them. Mom and Dad sat together on the third large couch, holding hands and talking in low voices.
"Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"
"The boys have been cooped up here since we arrived from Kansas, so I was hoping to take them out to San Francisco if you can take the rental car instead of the estate wagon."
"Are they all well enough to be out in the cold weather? They've all been so sick, and so have you. I'd hate for any of them to have a relapse and miss even more school than they already have."
"Relax, darling, it's so mild here with the sea air. If we were back in Kansas we'd be freezing. The boys are definitely much better than they were even a few days ago. Anyway, you know they're doing fine in their studies, so the time away from school hasn't been an issue." Scott heard the sound of a soft kiss. "This was a great idea of yours to bring us out here between the business tender presentations and the conference. How did it go today?"
"Oh, you know, it's a NASA presentation. Lots of back slapping and comparing who's been on the most missions, flown the latest prototype, gotten out of the hairiest situation- the usual 'I'm a steely-eyed missile man' stuff."
"Or woman."
"Yep, or 'steely-eyed missile woman'."
"So are any of your mission buddies here for the conference?"
"No, unfortunately. The Cornerstone team are all retired. And of the Asteria crew, Vicki is prepping for the Ares Seven launch next week." A pause. "Johan's husband will be here next week for the memorial though."
Scott glanced up as his mom kissed the top of his dad's head gently. He vaguely remembered the jovial Canadian with his bristly moustache visiting the ranch not long after Virge was born.
"I'm so glad you could make it to see him one last time."
His dad sighed. "Me too."
"You know, all of us have improved just being here, especially as we can see you every night."
"Pity I'm due back in New York next week once the conference is finished."
In the small silence that followed, Scott noticed the blue oil pastel had fallen out of Virge's hand and that the seven year old was asleep like his younger brothers. Johnny's head drooped; his eyes at half-mast as he struggled to keep reading his book.
"I know you need to be there for the European Scientific Union Council after the G25 summit there, but -"
"It's changed from when you went there as a child-"
"It's more than one bad experience, Jeff. The crime might be under control now, but the crowds, the pollution, the politics – it's just everything about it."
"It's not that bad a place, Luce. There are lots of exciting things the boys could see and do. Art galleries, science museums, FAO Schwarz-"
"No wide open spaces for them to play in. Stuck in cars and traffic jams to get anywhere because the subway is so unreliable. We've discussed this previously, Jeff."
"I know, I know." Scott heard his dad soothe. He wondered what had happened to his mom in New York as a child that had turned her off it. He personally thought New York sounded boring, all high-rise buildings and no old planes in the back barn to tinker with, but it would be fun to see it just once.
"It's not like bringing them up in Kansas," his dad sighed. "There are ups and downs to Tracy Corp doing so well, Luce. We both know that. The upside is being able to fly you and the boys out to join me whenever we want."
"The downside is the amount of time you need to spend away from us. I caught Alan chattering to the blank vid-com screen today about the adventures he was going to have with you when you returned."
"That's a major downside." A pause again. "But if TC gets the new international shuttle contract for the US Government, well that will place us on a growth trajectory to double the size of Tresser Engineering within eighteen months."
"It's that big?"
"Fifty shuttles in the first two years with a total of five hundred over the life of the contract. It's a ten-year contract with possible extension to fifteen and another three hundred shuttles depending on performance, which makes it bigger than the NASA astrobiology and computing contracts combined."
Scott heard his mom sigh in turn.
"So tomorrow's presentation is the satellite tender, right?"
"Yeah. Today was the computing contract presentation, tomorrow's the satellite one."
"Do you think we can win it?"
"The top brass at NASA Ames Research Centre are eager to hear our final presentation tomorrow. Not only was I one of them, but also TC is the only company doing any major research and development these days. I think they see a lot of opportunities for joint research projects."
"You mean you're a celebrated ex-astronaut turned business mogul who's taken the corporate world by storm in just ten years. Not to mention all those people who still want to hear you speak, Mr First Man on Mars. Your youngest wanted to read about Mars Man tonight and hear all about his brave daddy." Mom paused. "Double the size of Tresser Engineering you think?"
"Yep, double the size of the leading competition. That's big Luce, that means I can take a lot more time off and spend it with you and the boys in Kansas."
"That would be wonderful."
Without looking up, Scott knew that the sudden silence meant more kissing. He hoped he was never that mushy when he grew up. Yeah, girls were sort of becoming interesting, but they couldn't beat a FA 42 Condor, the current USAF stealth fighter jet.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the journal finally slip out of Johnny's hand, as a head full of silky hair drooped onto the ten year old's chest.
"So anyway unless you need the wagon, I thought I'd take the boys to the Aquarium at Pier 39 and then Exploratorium Extreme."
Scott's ears picked up. The Aquarium would be okay and Gordie would love it, but Scott had been hanging out to see Exploratorium Extreme since it opened at Christmas time.
"Won't you need tickets for the Exploratorium? It's only been open for a few weeks. I've heard it's impossible to get in to."
"I have one word for you Jefferson Tracy. Breanna."
"So that's why I pay your executive assistant so much money," Jeff snorted.
"Actually she's your executive assistant who just happens to really like the boys and I," Mom said smugly.
"Between Breanna and Dave, I don't know who dotes on you six more. I'm surrounded by traitors," Jeff laughed.
"Oh, I think you win the doting award hands down, darling. Who's gotten up to check on the boys every night since we've been here? Who's brought home new journals and sketchpads and other little presents for the boys, and flowers for me each night? The whole house looks like a florist. Your executive assistant and your head of security don't hold a candle to you, you big softy."
Flicking the page over in his magazine, Scott smiled to himself. He hadn't known that his father had been checking on them each night, walking the hall of the single story log cabin overlooking the Pacific Ocean as he and his brothers slept. It made him feel safe and secure, something he'd thought he'd grown out of the need for, now that he was almost thirteen.
"Yes, it's okay for you to take the wagon tomorrow." Scott noticed his dad quickly change the subject; knowing when to beat a strategic retreat in discussions with their mom was an important safety tip he always explained to his sons. "As long as you drive me into Ames Base for a 7am meeting. It means leaving here at 6am to get through the forest roads. The wagon has the base decals and it's too late to organise a temporary pass for the rental car. We'll need to refit Alan and Gordon's booster seats as well. I took them out the other night."
"I'm sure that can be arranged."
Yawning, Scott really didn't pay too much attention to the rest of the conversation. He vaguely heard his dad grouse about the dirty tactics of his competitors, and about the unprofessional hints being dropped from some senior agency official at Ames who Jeff said wasn't fit to have the NASA brand on their resumé.
To Scott the most important thing was that Dad's business was going well enough that he'd soon be spending more time with the family on the ranch. His mind drifted towards sleep as he imagined life with his dad around more; coming to games, piano recitals and school events; days spent tinkering with farm equipment and watching contrails in the sky, and nights watching for shooting stars and satellites out behind the barn.
In the distance he heard his dad sigh, "Mmmm, you always know how to convince me, Mrs Tracy." And his mom laughing softly, "Let's get the boys to bed and then let me show you how happy I am you brought us out here to California."
A short time later, when he was tucked up in his warm bed with his magazine, his mom's hand ghosted through his hair as she laid a kiss on his forehead and reminded him not to stay up too late.