Stargazers

8. Drummond's Paranoia

     The more Drummond dug into the information that was in the Elpis' databanks, the more he realized how dangerous it was to reach out to Dr. Saunders. He was already aware of Eric's O.C.D but had no idea what a control freak he would become as the months passed by. He was near impossible to work with on normal projects, but with the end of the world on the line, he ran the Stargazer project like a dictator on steroids. Eric ran the project with an iron fist, making sure no one talked or leaked what they were doing. Drummond was impressed but scared at the same time. Was he going to run the Mars colony the same way he ran the project on Earth; like a dictator? The thought scared Drummond, but there was a glimmer of hope: the addition of Captain Web. The Captain was clearly in charge of the Elpis, and not even Eric seemed to be above him. It seemed that Eric was not dumb enough to try to run this ship on his own. He understood that there were people better qualified to do that and not endanger the ship or the mission. Drummond jumped when his door's buzzer went off. He took a deep breath and then finally replied.

     "Enter," he called out.

     The door opened, and Eric strolled in.

     "What can I do for you?" Drummond asked.

     "I noticed you're reading a lot of our project files," Eric replied, "I thought I'd save you some trouble and help you find the answers you're looking for."

     "Is that so?" Drummond asked, shutting off his monitor, "What incentive do you have to tell the truth?"

     "Trust," Eric said as he took a seat across from Drummond, "Is going to be vital if we're going to run a successful colony."

     "So, you do plan on running the colony?" Drummond accused him, "Is this going to be the perfect utopia for you to run as you see fit?"

     "Hardly," Eric answered, even chuckling at the thought. "I have no plans to run Mars as an off-world dictatorship. The last thing I want to do is oppress the people I'm bringing to Mars, because they will rebel if I tried. We didn't recruit or pick up lackies that will follow my every whim. Over eighty percent of the people we're bringing with us are highly educated. They will not accept any form of a dictatorship, nor should they. I do not want to bring Earth's baggage to Mars. While it won't be a perfect utopia, it's also not going to be the clusterfuck we left behind either."

     "That's not what I expected," Drummond admitted, "You're actually going to let the people control their own future?"

     "To an extent," Eric corrected him, "I will have the ability to overrule the council and lock them out if I have to. Something I hope I never have to exercise but only will if something endangers the entire colony. I will step in if our civilians are at risk."

     "That seems fair," Drummond agreed, "But is it wise for you to have the only access to this protocol? What if you die in an accident? You need a backup."

     "That makes perfect sense to me," Eric said, thinking about it. "Do you want to be the backup then?"

     "I will take on this responsibility if I have to," Drummond replied, "but like yourself I hope that it's something neither of us will have to use. Ever."

     "I can agree to that," Eric said, shaking Drummond's hand. "I hope you take that as a sign that I do not plan on being the supreme ruler of Mars."

     "A bit," Drummond confessed, "But let's see how things go on the red planet."

     "We should head for the mess," Eric suggested, standing up. "I'm famished."

     "I'm not hungry," Drummond admitted. "I haven't been that much since coming aboard."

     "I noticed that," Eric said, amused. "You're the kind of guy who gets sick on airplanes, aren't ya?"

     "Guilty," Drummond said, before looking back at Eric. "Do you think Earth will survive? Do you think they'll stop the asteroid?"

     Eric paused for a moment and thought about it. "To be honest, I'm not sure. Of course, I hope they get a miracle and are spared an extinction level event. It would definitely make our lives easier because we can send stargazers back to Earth for more supplies. We could turn our colony into a rather profitable resort too. But odds are they are not going to survive. We have to carry on assuming they won't because all we can think about right now is surviving. Depending on Earth to make it and then help us only sets ourselves up for defeat. As much as I would love for them to win, we don't have the luxury to make assumptions. Until we can confirm it later, we have to assume the asteroid is going to hit them and wipe them all out. It's the only way we can make it. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."

     "Wise words," Drummond confessed, "Words I like to live by."

     "Is there anything else you need to know?" Eric asked.

     "Not right now," Drummond said, "But I do appreciate your honesty and your willingness to ease my nerves."

     "We're in this together," Eric said, giving his friend a soft pat on the shoulder. "This is our problem to solve, and I want your help to make this work."

     "You have it," Drummond replied, "My son is all the motivation I need to give this project the best effort I can. We will make it work on Mars."

     "I know," Eric said with a grin. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask?"

     "How long will it really take us to get to Mars?" Drummond asked, "We caught up with the ships that left before us, so I assume we're going faster than you led us all to believe the ships were capable of going."

     "You are correct." Eric said, sitting down again. "The first two Stargazer ships pushed the engines ten percent harder and they cut their time down by a month. As a test we had Stargazer three and four push it harder, and as a result they arrived in record time. We're moving at the safe ten perfect pace the first two ships did, because our cargo is fragile. I have no intention of taking any chances with the people who will populate our colony."

     "That makes sense," Drummond agreed, "You may have kept a lot from our government, but you're not being reckless. I appreciate that."

     "This is why I wanted you here," Eric continued, "Out of all the people in the military, you are the one I trusted most. You never bullshit me, and always handed me the truth with the subtlety of a sledge hammer to the head. I admired you for that, and that's why I knew you had to come along. Our colony's survival, your son's survival, depended on it."

     "You didn't answer my question." Drummond replied, "How long will it take for us to get to Mars?"

     Eric smiled, aware he didn't answer it.

     "Four more weeks," he replied. "Right now Elpis is running ten percent above normal parameters. The other two ships are running at fifteen just to keep up. We're making great time and so it the colony. They'll be ready for us when the ships get there. Once Elpis' people have all been made comfortable in their new home, we'll begin to tear this ship apart and transform it into the next section of the new base, more housing for future generation as well as a lab for scientific research."

     "You're really thought of everything," Drummond said to him.

     "Not everything," Eric corrected him, "but hopefully enough. In the meantime, you need to get something to eat. Don't make me get the captain to order you to eat."

     "Alright," Drummond said as he got up, "Let's get some chow."

     As the two men left for the mess, Drummond felt a little more at east than he had earlier that day. Eric's power trip only matter when trying to fend off a government that could have stalled his project. Now that he was off world and making killer time, he wasn't as possessive as he thought Eric might be with the new colony. Drummond had new hope for the weeks ahead, when both he and Eric would become citizens of Mars.