Trip to Mars (Dbspock & Brenda)

dbspock

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Oct 21, 2023
John Williams, Navy veteran, sat behind his desk and took a quick glance around the office. Framed citation hanging on the wall, picture of Mars and the blueprints for the spacecraft on the other, and a bookshelf full of books behind him. at 6'4" and 220 pounds, he'd been almost too damn heavy to be in the running for this mission, but he'd called in a favor and had his stats redacted from the file the board had looked at, and of course the board, predominantly military, had jumped at the chance to have a combat vet lead the first mission to Mars. By the time the scientists had found out and protested, it had been too late. The political machine was already in motion, and the military had threatened to cut the funding if John wasn't selected.

Getting David Brown approved as Chief Engineer had been a bit easier. He was 6'2", barely within the maximum height the scientists would accept, but he was also only 170 pounds, right in the middle of the range. Having a friend and fellow combat vet, and more important someone he could trust, along on the mission had been crucial, but with that box checked off, John had been able to broaden his horizons a bit for the remaining two slots.

The candidates were qualified, sure. Finding qualified candidates, at least on paper, had been easy for such an historic mission. But once John had seen the pictures, he went beyond their schooling to decide if he wanted to spend a couple years in close proximity. He'd quickly weeded through the candidates and selected the top five in each category...and was it really his fault if the candidates were all female and smoking hot? After that, he spent a bit more time with their files and had ranked the candidates in order. No matter how they looked, if the candidates were a bitch he didn't want to be stuck with them, so he needed to arrange for personal interviews.

John turned away from the window, and the view of the launch pad. It was WAY too early for the spacecraft to be out there, of course, but Florida generally had wonderful weather and it was a nice view anyway. he glanced up at the clock and noted he had a few more minutes before the potential medical officer would arrive, so he straightened his polo shirt (he refused to wear a suit and tie, he had too much of that in the military) and took a seat behind the desk. He grinned at the array of file folders he had sprawled out on his desk...most of them he'd already eliminated, but she wouldn't know that. Perhaps increasing her perception of the level of competition would put her on her best behavior.

John leaned back in his seat and waited. Everything was set, but he still felt a wave of nervousness. The government was spending a buttload of money on this little project, and a lot of it was riding on him. The decisions he made today would alter the course of history, not to mention his personal life for the foreseeable future. So being nervous was a bit understandable.
 
Dr. Anne Langley entered the office at precisely 07:30. Her medical experience had been entirely in the civilian sector. Nevertheless, she was confident she was qualified for this first human mission to Mars. She'd served in the Peace Corps as well as a trauma surgeon in Chicago. At 35, she already had three books published, including Trauma Care in a Wilderness Setting. She was dress smartly in black, blouse, slacks, and shoes.

She knew she was meeting with the mission commander, Williams. She knew he was Navy, but she realized she did not know his rank. It didn't matter, she quickly decided. He would be "Commander" to her and the rest of the crew.

"Good morning, Commander Williams," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Doctor Langley. You may call me Anne."
 
"Right on time." John noted approvingly as he rose to his feet. He considered keeping his seat as some sort of power play, but decided to be polite instead. Not that it stopped him from squeezing her hand a little more firmly than necessary as he shook it. His eyes raked over her body, but the outfit she had on hid most of her curves. Her face, at least, was as attractive as it had been in the photos.

He blinked a bit at her calling him Commander...that had been his rank in the Navy, but he wasn't sure how she knew that, unless of course she'd researched him the same way he had her. Or just a lucky guess. Or she'd seen it on the commendation. Or she just figured it was a good title since he was the Commander of the mission. In any event, he decided it was a point in her favor.

"Dr. Anne it is, then." John said with a quick smile as he took his seat again. He considered telling her to call him John, but he held off for the moment, curious how the power disparity would play out. His smile faded as he decided to get right into the interview. "I'm sure it won't surprise you to know that competition has been...intense...for this position, to put it mildly. Clearly, though, you are one of the top candidates, or you wouldn't be talking to me. I think I've gotten all I can out of your file, but I want to hear it from you. Why should I pick you for this mission, ahead of all the other candidates?" John waved at his desk and the pile of folders there.
 
"Just Anne," she said with a smile.

She took a seat across from the desk.

"Practical experience," she answered him. "Both in the field and in a hospital setting. I've bandaged open wounds with lichen because we had no gauze available. And I've sutured with a bone fishhook. You won't find my skill set anywhere else. And we can't know what sort of emergencies we might encounter either in flight or on Mars, which makes me the ideal candidate."
 
"All right, Dr. Anne." John said with a smirk. Might as well tease her and see how she handled it. he raised an eyebrow when she took a seat without asking permission. It was an interesting choice, and he decided to call her out on it. "Clearly you've never served...is it going to be an issue for you following orders...or waiting for them?' He asked. "And practical experience...frankly, I doubt it. No one on earth has been to Mars before, so no one has practical experience in that realm. There won't be any lichen on the spacecraft, or on Mars. Or fish hooks either." He tried to put her on the defensive a bit, curious how badly she wanted this assignment. Desperate people...could do desperate things, perhaps. So he ignored the fact that she made a good point about her ability to improvise.
 
"Not if your first instinct is to quit." John hadn't expected her to walk out the door, but he'd let her if the job meant that little to her. he couldn't have her walking off the job when they were five months in, and the actual training would be far more difficult than an interview.
 
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