“That’s fantastic! Wow! Guys! This is going to change everything. Now, we have liquid water on Mars. This is huge! I’m so proud of you. We’re ecstatic. Great job!”
Sylvia leaned over Lars and kissed him on the cheek, hugging him from behind. Staring at the screen, she also congratulated the Martian team.
“Thank you, guys! That’s such great news. We are so very happy for you and wish we could celebrate with you. Vera, I’m so excited for you too, love. A baby girl; that’s wonderful. My love to all.”
Fifteen minutes later, the Martian group was listening to Lars’ reply.
“…margaritas and Pina coladas? Ha ha, sounds like a fair request. I’ll see if we can give team three some ‘treats’ to bring along with them. But I can’t promise anything. Either way, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait another seven months before they get there, but I’m sure you’ll gladly wait. And it looks like MF3’s landing will coincide with the baby’s birth, so you’ll have two reasons to celebrate. I can’t tell you how thrilled we are here, guys, and very proud of all of you for your teamwork and your progress. You’ve done such a good job at adapting to the planet’s demanding challenges. Thank you! You have surpassed our expectations, and I can’t wait to make the announcement about today’s discovery to the media. As soon as I talk to the board, I’ll arrange a conference. NASA is going to be so pissed we got there before they did! Ha ha. Anyway, go ahead and celebrate, you deserve it! I speak for all of us, here at Mars First headquarters, when I say we wish you all a wonderful night! Earth signing out.”
“You think I should’ve asked for ice cream?” asked Ladli to Vera.
“Darn! I bet they would have sent us some,” she replied laughing. “We’ll have to mention it tomorrow.”
Everyone on both sides of the communication screens was gleaming. This was a day to be remembered, and they intended to. April 14th, 2034, the day they had found liquid water on Mars. The first important discovery made by the team since their arrival on the lonely planet. François had promised he would do something special for the occasion.
That night they gathered in greenhouse II, and the Frenchman broke out a bottle of special brew he had concocted the year before by fermenting a strange mix of ingredients he was determined to keep secret.
“The girls have their ‘Mount Olympus’ and now we have this,” he had said proudly, still miscalling the Olympus Mons drink. He was holding the bottle and its blue content up high in front of them.
“Oh yeah? What do you call it? ‘Sacre blue?’” asked Vera sarcastically, with a forced French accent.
“Ha ha, you’re cute. ‘Non.’ I call it Eau d’Amour,” he replied, in perfect French.
“Ouch! Wow! That’s strong. What’s in it? Whatever it is, I love it!” said Tendai with a big grin on his face, before pouring himself a full glass.
“So, we know we need confirmation from headquarters, but I’m assuming we can start working on setting up the extraction equipment. The weather has been very favorable to us lately, so we should be able to do some good work tomorrow. What do you all think?”
“Dedrick, baby… don’t worry about tomorrow. Come and dance with me,” said Vera, extending her hand for him to grab, while François was selecting the Stereophonics’ song, “Maybe Tomorrow,” from the music library.
That night, back on Earth, a Mars First employee was alone in his office. He picked up the phone and dialed. In his native language: “Yes sir. We have confirmation. The Mars First team has found water. Lars wants to make the announcement tomorrow… Yes, sir. I agree. It will be the perfect opportunity. I will take care of it… No need. I have someone… Thank you, sir. I’ll be in touch.” And he hung up.
Less than two hours later, Lars was reviewing the speech he was about to deliver to a room filled with cameras and reporters. Accompanied by Sylvia, Dr. Kovachev and several high ranked officials from the Mars First board of directors, he was about to report on the latest news from Mars, water and baby included. Key engineers and project managers were present as well. TV stations and internet social media were getting ready to broadcast the event live all around the world from within the Mars First Headquarters in the Netherlands. They had all been invited with the promise of exciting news from the red planet.
Not too far from there…
“Good evening and welcome to Mars First,” said the man in uniform to a young female journalist who had just passed through a life-size x-ray machine. Following the signs along multiple corridors, she eventually came to the door of the amphitheater and pushed her way in gently. A woman seated behind a low table greeted her with a smile and gave her the sign to approach.
“Gina Glenver,” the visitor said quietly, as she reached the table.
“Let me see… Gina Glenver… There you are. Sign here, please,” replied the woman, pointing at a long registry list in front of her.
After the reporter had signed her name, the woman added, “Here is your badge, dear. Please make sure to wear it at all times.”
“Thank you. I will,” replied Gina, as she turned away and started walking toward the large door behind her. She quickly found her seat among the crowded assembly and made her way to it quietly. At the other end of the room, the Mars First officials were seated in a row on stage.
Lars Bruininck, the man behind the podium, began his speech.
“Good evening. On Tuesday, April 14th, 2034, the Mars First team confirmed the discovery of liquid water on Mars. It is thought to be an underground cave containing at least several pockets of H2O. Water! The exact amount has not yet been confirmed, but the water is there. The team was able to…”
Twenty minutes and several questions later, Lars ended the conference.
“Thank you all for coming. Goodnight!”
As the large audience slowly made its way to the exits, Gina made hers against the flow of the crowd, and eventually managed to get Lars’ attention.
“Mr. Bruininck? Mr. Bruininck? Lars!”
“Yes?” he replied, turning around.
“Gina? Is that you? Oh, my God! You look fantastic! How are you?” he added with a big smile.
Lars and Gina had met in New York back in 2012, at a conference hosted by Dr. Neil Tyson-DeGrasse, an American astrophysicist. A short-lived romance had kindled between the two, but life obligations and career responsibilities had ended it just as quickly. Almost five years had passed since they had seen each other.
“It’s good to see you, Lars. Your speech was very impressive. Congratulations on your progress with Mars First. Water… That’s big! And right before the launch of your next ship!”
“It is. We couldn’t be happier.”
But he did not really feel like talking about Mars right now. Seeing her again after all this time had suddenly stirred all kinds of emotions and feelings in him.
“But, what about you? What’s new? Do you still live in New York? Still working for the New York Post? Do you want to get a drink somewhere? Or how about a coffee? Are you hungry?” He suddenly realized how nervous he was.
She smiled.
“Yes, a coffee would be nice.”
“My car is outside. This way,” he said, smiling back at her and pointing to the staircase behind him.
Lars had only one rule about inviting women back to his place. He simply didn’t. Not that the opportunity presented itself very often anyway, but his work at Mars First headquarters didn’t give him much time for anything else. Recreation was always at the bottom of the list for him. He had pretty much been a single man all his life, had never married and didn’t care to. He was so secretive about his love life that some of his close friends suspected he was gay. He was not, and was in fact strongly attracted to the opposite sex, but didn’t like to mix work and pleasure, and didn’t care to be seen with a companion. Lars also had a bit of a paranoid personality, which made him suspicious of anyone he didn’t know well. As for Gina, if the evening went as he hoped, he had a place in mind. A small studio apartment in Amersfoort that he rented year-round, and where he often retreated when he needed to clear his mind. Or in a case like tonight, have some privacy.