The Explorer shook as the space station removed its docking clamps. The noise ran down every corner of the vessel and announced the readiness of the ship. When the noise reached Admiral Ashley on the command bridge, she couldn’t help but smile.

For so long, Ashley had waited for this moment. All her hard work gave her the chance to see a measure of success she could have only dreamed of before. All her work was about to result in her departure from the space station in the very first starship of the US Space Corps.

“Admiral, docking clamps have been removed.”

Ashley nodded to the crewman. “Understood. Let me know when the docking clamps have been completely retracted.”

After a pause, the crewman replied, “It’s done, sir. We are prepared to depart on your command.”

“Very well. Pilot, guide us out slowly.”

From the back of the vessel came a loud rumble that shook the ship and pushed it away from the space station. Dangerous and beautiful, the light from the engines pierced the darkness of the shadows around the station. If the crew looked upon it without eye protection, they faced losing their sight. As a precaution, all of the staff of the space station wore thick shades over their eyes. They watched the project they spent so many years working on leave its home. Though sad to see such a large part of their lives leave, they couldn’t wait to hear about its journeys.

Oddly, the admiral felt the movement of the Explorer. Unrestricted by gravity, if it hadn’t been for the harness that held her to her seat, she would float across the command bridge.

Through the viewport at the front of the bridge, the edge of Earth disappeared from view. On one of the many screens lining the walls, Ashley watched as the space station grew smaller behind her vessel. As the ship drifted farther and farther away from the station, the image of Earth on the screen grew smaller as well. Soon it would fade into nothing more than a dot in the distance.

For every bit of excitement she and her crew felt about departing Earth, they also felt a bit of fear. Though burning a new path, they did so alone. They lost the ability to restock their vessel for months. The longer they travelled away, the longer it would take any communications to reach Earth.

The pilot turned his chair to face the admiral. “Sir, we’ve reached acceptable distance from the station. We can increase speed at any time.”

“Very well,” Ashley said, “plot a course for Mars.”

“Yes, sir. It’s done. The course will take roughly a month and a half if things go according to plan.”

Ashley hit a series of buttons on the arm of her chair. “Pilot, please inform engineering to prepare the engines for maximum speed.”

The pilot nodded and pulled a microphone close to his mouth to talk to the engineering team.

Taking a deep breath, Ashley reached for a microphone of her own to address the crew. “All hands, please prepare for launch procedures. We will be departing in a matter of minutes. Before we do, we will be making a final broadcast to the news stations. They will use footage from our security cameras at random as we make final preparations for departure, so look sharp. We only get one shot at this.”

Excited, the Explorer’s crew burst into a flurry of activity. Due to the lack of gravity, they pushed off the walls to get to where they needed to be. When a tool managed to break free from their control, they chased after it with a leap into the air and a somersault.

The communications officer turned toward the admiral. “Sir, they’re ready to begin the departure broadcast whenever you are.”

Ashley said, “Let them know we’re ready and that they can begin immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

The communications officer spoke into her microphone several times before again turning to the admiral. “Sir, we’re live in five, four.” The officer stopped speaking and instead held up three fingers. Then two. Then one.

Throughout the ship, the interchange between the admiral and the pressroom back on Earth broadcast over the intercom for all the crew to hear. On a small screen to her right, the admiral could see the room through a camera set up for her. Throughout the interview, they would see images from the inside of the ship on a large projection screen at the front of the room.

“And we now join the first admiral of the United States Space Corps live onboard the Explorer just moments before she leads her crew on the first manned mission to Mars.” The reporter sounded eager to be covering such a large story. “Admiral, would you remind everyone of the purpose of this mission?”

Ashley replied, “Certainly. We’re headed out to Mars in an attempt to set up the first self-sustaining colony on another planet. We’ve got a large crew here with us because a good number of them will be left behind on the Mars colony as soon as it is deemed safe for human habitation.”

“Now, Admiral, I understand you’re facing a bit of a race getting there. Would you mind telling us about that?”

“When they heard about our intentions on Mars, the Chinese decided they wanted to beat us there. They had already beat us in developing a colony on the moon, so being the first to do so on Mars would definitely be a mark of superiority. We were actually on track to leave at about the same time, but the Space Corps delayed our departure due to safety concerns. As you already know, I faced a lot of scrutiny over this decision, but I stand by it.”

The reporter continued with her questions. “So how far ahead are the Chinese?”

“That’s actually hard to determine,” Ashley said. “They left about a week ago, but we really don’t know how fast their engines are. Using our Ion Pulse Drive, or IPD, we expect we’ll complete the trip in about a month and a half. The Chinese Space Agency says theirs will do about the same, but we really don’t have any way to tell. I guess we’ll have to see who has a flag planted in the Martian soil first.”

With a laugh, the reporter continued. “Well, I certainly don’t want to be the one to cost you the race, Admiral. I understand that our video feed will be knocked out after you actually fire off the engines, but would you mind if we stayed with you until that point?”

Ashley smiled and brushed at her hair. Though pointless with her hair tied back in a bun, she did so because of a nervous habit. “It would be my honor.” Ashley glanced over to the pilot. “Helm, have engineering begin gearing up the engines.”

The engines filled the ship with a steadily increasing noise as they prepared to work their magic.

“All crew, this is the Admiral, please prepare for final departure and make your way to your harnesses. Please do not remove the harness until you have received the all-clear from your immediate commanding officer.”

“Admiral,” the pilot said, “the course to Mars is plotted. The engines are prepared to engage on your mark.”

A sense of joy ran throughout the ship, but nowhere could it be seen clearer than in Ashley’s face. She always longed to give this order.

“Pilot, engage in three, two, one, mark!”

The engines at the back of the Explorer fired off, quickly bringing the ship up to speed. The Explorer would take much longer than the 250 seconds it would take light to travel from Earth to Mars, but they still traveled faster than any human in history.

It only took a matter of moments for the video broadcast to cut out. Ashley sighed with relief, because it gave her a few moments to reflect on what had just happened. She had prepared her whole life for something great. She never knew anything could feel as wonderful as this. As the noise of the engines hushed, they lulled her into a trance in which she reflected upon the journey that took her to this moment.

Chapter 2

Reconnecting

“Are you about done, babe?”

Ashley jumped a little at the words before turning toward the door. “Yeah, I’ll be done in just a few minutes, Dad.” She paused as she noticed the lines under his eyes. “You look tired. Not getting enough sleep?”

With a smile, her father said, “Maybe not enough, but it’s still more than you’ve been getting. I’ll be glad when you’re done for the semester. It’ll be good to have you stick around here for a couple of months again.”

Ashley couldn’t speak for a moment and looked down at the papers and books around her. She knew she neglected to spend as much time with her father as she hoped, but she also knew that if she didn’t finish her thesis paper soon, then there would be very little point to all of her schooling over the past year.

“Dad, I’m sorry, but I—”

“I know, kiddo,” he said with a grin. “I’m proud of you and all the hard work you do. With your school so far away, I’ve learned to really appreciate when I have you home.” His words trailed off and Ashley could tell that he said more than he intended. “Dinner will be ready in just a bit. You should come downstairs when you get a chance.”

As he walked off, Ashley began to pack her things. She had been working for hours straight and figured she could take a break. After all, she could finish up after her father went to bed.

She wanted to read her paper once more before joining her father for dinner, but hearing the clinking of plates coming from the kitchen, Ashley thought better of it. She knew he would wait for her until his food got cold and she wouldn’t do that to him again.

Moments later, she bounced down the stairs the same way she had as a kid. Though old, the house and everything in it felt new and refreshed after returning from school. People in pictures stared at her on her way down and she ignored them like always until she got to the very last one at the bottom of the stairs.

In one of the plainest picture frames of the house, Ashley looked at a faded picture of herself with her mother and father at a park she could not remember. Her mother’s tightly curled hair looked very much like her own. Like so many times in the past, Ashley grabbed a small handful of her hair and ran her fingers through it. When her mom was away on business, it felt good to pretend she was running her fingers through her mom’s hair.

The scent of her father’s unnaturally spicy chili found its way to the stairs and Ashley felt enticed. Following the scent to the kitchen, she saw a small pot on the stove with red spots splattered all around. On a nearby counter sat a bowl on a plate with a spoon ready for her to use. She filled the bowl and made her way to the living room.

“I figured you’d be in here.”

Ashley’s father jumped after burning his tongue with the chili before turning to her and nodding. “Well, there’s really not much point in using the dining room when there’s just the two of us.” Ashley sat down and her father swallowed another bite. “Besides, there’s something on that I thought you’d be interested in.”

The television showed a very formal setting with thousands of people surrounding a podium. After several moments of silence, a man walked up to thunderous applause.

“We’re going to listen to the President make a speech? Why would I be interested in that?”

“Just listen,” Ashley’s father said. “It’s not just any speech. You’ll see.”

With some level of difficulty, the man on the screen quieted the crowd. When he cleared his throat to talk, the crowd erupted again. For several minutes, the man talked through a bit of an accent and thunderous applause.

Ashley’s father sat amazed and hung onto every word the President spoke. When he turned and saw that Ashley seemed to find the chunks of meat in her chili far more interesting to watch, he let out a grunt.

“What?” Ashley didn’t have to look up at her father to know why he was irritated, but she did to shoot him a smile. “Come on, you can’t expect me to find any of this interesting. He’s on TV all the time and he’s always saying the same thing.”

“Not this time. Look at the screen. I think you might recognize someone.”

Ashley did as her father told her, and looked at the screen thinking she might see an old friend or family member. She scanned and rescanned the screen to no avail. “I don’t see anyone. Wait a second, isn’t that the Administrator of NASA?”

Ashley’s father laughed, “Took you long enough. I figured you’d have seen that a lot sooner.”

“But what’s he doing up there?”

“I’ll bet if we watch we’ll find out.”

Ashley shot her father a glare, but her interest in what the President had to say suddenly grew too much for her to maintain any interest in her father.

The President spoke his words as though he had rehearsed them a hundred times to get them just right, and his confidence showed in his voice. “…and this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it. We mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.”

For several minutes, the President continued talking about the merits of space exploration. For several minutes, Ashley sat in wonder of what the end result of the speech would be.

On screen, the President paused to allow for more applause before continuing. “Ladies and gentlemen, we set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own.”

Ashley shook with anticipation. She dreamt of the day when the nation would again find a desire to explore space and the President’s speech made her feel as though her dream had come true.

“Wait a second, Dad,” Ashley said. “I’ve heard this speech before.”

“I’d be surprised if you hadn’t.”

“What are you talking about?”

Ashley’s father sighed and shook his head with a smile on his face. “That’s the exact same speech President Kennedy gave in 1962 before he told the nation we would be going to the moon.”

Ashley could have slapped herself for forgetting. One of her professors at MIT made her write a paper on that speech.

“Dad, is this the anniversary of that address or something?”

“Not that I’m aware of.”

With a new sense of curiosity, Ashley stood to watch the remainder of the speech. With her mind racing, she found it hard to concentrate on the words coming from the President’s mouth.

“Many years ago the great British explorer George Mallory, who was to die on Mount Everest, was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there."

“Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there.” Again, the President paused until the crowd could control its clapping.

“Many of you,” the President continued, “recognized that as the speech Kennedy gave before we sent a man to the moon. I like to consider myself as good at presenting speeches, but I’m terrible at writing them. Therefore, I thought it only fitting to repeat his words of so many years ago.

“The space race is again alive. Whereas Kennedy had the Soviet Union to race against, we have China. Already the Chinese have sent men to the moon to build a permanent base. For a year now, the Chinese have proved they knew what they were doing and that it is possible to build a colony outside of Earth. They proved a wonderful thing to the entire world.

“Now there is something more to prove. While the Chinese have built a colony on the moon, the colony has regular shipments from Earth and cannot exist on its own, unless it absolutely had to. We, the American people, are going one step further than our friendly rivals. While they have claimed the moon as their own, we have set up a plan to claim something even greater.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are, without question, going to not only land a man on Mars, but we are going to colonize it. Before long, you will hear news of people who were not born in another country visiting our nation, but you will hear news of people who were born on another planet visiting our home world.”

The television clicked off and Ashley let out a yelp of joy and surprise.

“Dad, do you know what this means?”

Ashley’s father stood up and put his arms around her. “Of course I do. It means that all your hard work will be put to use. The years at MIT, the years at the Naval Academy, it will all be worth it.”

Ashley found herself unable to talk. Instead of letting the silence take hold of the moment, her father continued.

“I know you didn’t want to graduate school so much faster than all of your friends, but you had the kind of drive most people only dream of. We couldn’t let you hold yourself back. I know that it was hard for you to understand back when you were twelve, but you’ve already received your degree from MIT and are almost done with the Naval Academy. How many people your age are as far along as you?”

Forcing the growing drops of water from her eyes, Ashley said, “Not many. Now when I apply to NASA after my term in the Navy, I can apply at the start of something amazing. Because of you, Dad, I have a chance to do what I’ve always dreamt about.”

“Not because of me. I made sure you had the opportunity, but you’re the one that decided to use it. You’re the one who did all the work and spent all those nights up late studying this or that. You’re the one who wanted this bad enough to put forth the effort while your friends were hanging out.”

Without another thought, Ashley increased the strength of her hold on her father. They stood there with neither one wanting to let go of the moment. Finally, Ashley dropped her embrace and stood there contemplating everything she heard on the television.

“I’ve kept you down here long enough. If you don’t finish up your thesis paper, you won’t hand it in on time and you won’t graduate.”

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