Read Online Glory on Mars by Kate Rauner - Free Book Online

funny shapes by the food
printer, there were a few treats in the galley cabinets - dried
fruit, chocolate, textured cheese, and some squeeze tubes of wine
and beer.
    "Beer loses something in a squeeze tube," Claude said
sadly. "I can't watch bubbles rise or smell the brew properly."
    "I can't smell anything anyway," Emma said. "My
head's all stuffed up and achy. I feel like I'm hanging upside
down."
    "As your medic," Liz said, "all I can suggest is grin
and bear it. You'll feel better when you get some gravity under
your feet."
    "I know what you need," James said. He maneuvered up
to the ceiling and unfastened a few bungee cords.
    "Hey," Claude said. "Those hold cargo in place."
    "Oh, relax, Professor. The cargo's not going
anywhere." He pushed off from the ceiling and landed next to
Emma.
    "I bungee myself against my bunk wall at night. Try
it. You can snuggle into the sleeping bag. You'll feel better after
a good sleep." He grinned at Claude. "It improves your mood, too.
Want to try, Professor?"
    Claude scowled.
    "Well, I'm going to," Emma said, taking the bungees.
"The closer we get to the course correction, the less patience I
have with this trip."
     
     
     

Chapter Ten:
Mid-Point

    Shortly after American Thanksgiving the mid-point
engine burn approached. The ship was still in an enormously
elliptical orbit around Earth and had to increase velocity to
transfer to a Mars orbit. If the engines didn't fire, their ship
would start a long fall back to Earth. Malcolm reminded her of that
in another message.
    "He said, this is my chance to return to Earth," she
whispered to Liz. "He wants me to tell MEX to call off the burn -
let the ship fall back to Earth."
    "Does MEX know he's saying these things?" Liz asked.
"I bet they wouldn't appreciate Malcolm trying to sabotage the
mission.
    "You don't want to go back, do you?" Liz spoke with a
cautiously neutral tone like psychologists used, but her eyes
narrowed.
    Emma's back straightened and her shoulders squared.
The journey was going well and she was happy - there was no reason
to abort the orbital transfer.
    "No - I'm going to Mars. I've told him so."
    "Good," Liz said, relaxing into a smile. "I know how
to take your mind off Malcolm. I want to neuter the kitten now, so
he'll heal before the engine burn. You can help me set up the
surgical kit after lunch."
    She told Claude and James over fake-pasta shaped like
stars.
    "Guys, it's time for my big medical procedure. I need
to pull one of the downdraft panels from life support to use here
on the table."
    "Okay," James said. "But I don't see why you have to
neuter the poor little fellow. He'll be the only cat in the world.
It's not like he'll make babies by himself."
    "He'll be a better citizen. It'll keep him cuddly and
prevent any objectionable male behaviors."
    "Don't look at me when you say that." James kicked
out of his chair and up to the ceiling in mock distress.
    "Don't worry, James, you're safe. A colony wouldn't
make much sense without children, would it?"
    Emma laughed with the others, but her fingers rubbed
the spot on her upper arm where her contraceptive chip was
embedded. She couldn't feel it, but it was there, reliably tweaking
hormone production until she shut it off with the little device in
her duffle bag. That was one personal electronic device she got to
keep. But Colony Mars hadn't scheduled the first Martian pregnancy
for another five years. That allowed time for S-4, the Doctors'
Mission, to arrive with a test batch of frozen embryos.
    S-4 would have been Malcolm's mission, Emma thought
dryly. He'd cross-trained as a physician's assistant, but Colony
Mars replaced him with a full-fledged doctor who had a psych
specialty. A replacement for Malcolm and for Ingra.
    All the research said Colony Mars' chosen cryochamber
design was impervious to the dangers of space flight, but with
abundant of caution, S-4 would confirm the embryo viability and set
up a medical bay. And after the Doctors would come Settler