The Attempt (The Martian Manifesto Book 1) Read Free Page A

up, so everyone listen closely. As quickly and as orderly as you can, board and take your assigned seats. There are compartments at the ends of each aisle to hold your belongings. If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t come.”
    He then looked at the back of the group where there was a pretty blond woman with two young children hanging on to her belt. The children were holding a dog and a goat by leashes. He almost shook his head as he thought, “Why am I not surprised? Like we don’t already have enough ‘firsts’ on this crazy mission. Well, I guess animals were the first astronauts, so why not also be among the first colonists to another planet?” He straightened himself and said, “Miss, there are two cages at the end of each aisle to hold the animals. Please be sure to secure them with the harnesses you’ll find in the cages so that they are not injured.”
    Roy scanned the faces of the crowd in front of him. With a big grin he thought, “Well, I might as well make this good.” He made a slight bow, and with a flourish waved his left hand towards the ramp. “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard your chariot to the stars, the Pegasus! Pilot Tuttle will brief you once you are all inside and seated.”
    # # #
    Pilot Samantha “Sam” Tuttle stood in front of the seated colonists. The passengers were arranged in five rows of five seats each, and there was barely enough room in here for her and her bulky spacesuit. In fact, there was barely enough room for all of the people on this flight. The seats were the smallest she had ever seen. Normally, passengers going into orbit would have been wearing spacesuits in case of emergency, but the flight company, Virgin Intergalactic, knew that they would have to forgo those in order to fit twice as many people as normal into this tight space. There was a narrow aisle along the left and right sides, with small compartments for storage in the walls, and at the back of the aisles were two narrow cages where the animals were strapped down. Sam wasn’t even sure how the people in the last aisle had managed to get to their seats, but that wasn’t her concern at the moment. She needed to get everyone prepared.
    “Thank you everyone for seating yourselves so quickly. Commander Olstein and I will be on the other side of this bulkhead, but there is a microphone attached to Brother Jacobs’ seat. You may relay any questions you have for us through him during the flight. You can also watch the overhead monitor which will show the view out the front of the ship, as well as our current speed.” Sam tapped the monitor over her head for emphasis, and then continued, “Please stay relaxed and think of this as a normal airplane ride. In fact, it actually is an airplane ride for about half of the trip. The hyperjet to which we are attached is the first of its kind, and so you will most likely feel a number of jolts, but I will announce each stage over the loudspeaker to prepare you. Once we reach orbit, we will experience zero-G for about ninety minutes. You are welcome to look out the side windows, but remember your training and do not turn your heads quickly while weightless or you will experience vertigo.”
    A hand rose from one of the p eople in the middle of the third row. “Excuse me, Ma’am, but what training are you talking about?”
    Sam answered, “ Why, the training that is given to all civilians going into orbit.”
    Brother Jacobs interjected. “Excuse me, Pilot Tuttle. As you can imagine, this venture has strained even my vast, though not infinite, resources. We could only afford to train my three Platinums, sitting here with me in the first row. But do not worry. There are three spacesuits in the hold, and my Platinums can assist you in any situation that may occur.”
    “Three…spacesuits?” Sam said with a frown. “Not twenty-five?”
    “Why no,” Brother Jacobs said. “That would be excessive. We are relying on you to get us to our destination safely.”
    “But