Yves Giraud - Kahnu

Occasionally, a TV host was added in the mix to help explain the technical and scientific mumbo-jumbo related to the tests and training of the astronauts, but had otherwise been deemed unnecessary. Most people understood well enough what was happening and were much less interested in the technical aspect of the program than they were in the human interactions and conflicts that occasionally took place between the participants. But those were few and far between and most days were about the clockwork regiment of the tasks at hand. Of course, if something went wrong during an exercise, the media never missed to inflame the incident for good drama effect. For the applicants, being watched constantly presented its own challenges. Privacy was often non-existent, but the fortunate selectees were quick to remind anyone who asked that the discomfort of being watched by millions all the time was a small price to pay for a chance at becoming the first man or woman to set foot on another world.

For Liu Xing, a twenty-six-year-old physics teacher from South Korea, science and discovery was everything. She was a member of crew number two. A fierce rival of Dedrick’s team, her group had high hopes to be the first to go to Mars. Liu, however, secretly hoped her team would not get their wish. She, for one, preferred to land on Mars after someone else had made it there safely, already tested the unknowns of the six-month trip and spent even more time on the red planet itself. It was true that the risks were enormous, and although being the first to land on Mars guaranteed a place in the history books, she figured being on the next flight would probably make history just as well. Either way, she preferred getting there alive.

For now, the public was showing a preference for crew one. Each crew was comprised of four individuals, from four different countries. Two women and two men had been the preferred arrangement from the get go. Lars had insisted on it and to his pleasant surprise, most of the administration and board members had agreed, for the very same reasons he had presented. One, of course, was the non-discrimination of genders. He had quickly argued that this was the 21st century and an evenly mixed team was best. He had also explained that the four astronauts should come from different regions of the world, and preferably be of different ethnicities. Age discrimination, racial profiling, and religious favoritism would have to be avoided as well. In short, diversity in background and personality of those selected was essential to the success and global appeal of the project.

By the end of 2021, Team One, comprised of thirty-year-old Russian candidate Dedrick Sokolov as commander and mission leader, thirty-one-year-old French candidate François Menardais as mission engineer, twenty-eight-year-old Guatemalan candidate Sabrina Lazano as chief biochemist and science officer, and thirty-eight-year-old American candidate Vera Via as medical officer, had become a favorite. The public votes had placed them in the lead to be the first team to reach Mars. This was of course not unrelated to the recent news of Dedrick and Vera’s romantic involvement, which had immediately become a subject of great interest to many. The two candidates had somehow managed to keep their romance private the first few years, but the public had finally caught on regardless, and since the Mars First Corporation had not opposed it, they had finally made it official.

It had also been decided early on that the first four to go to Mars would be voted by the public. Of course, that was what everyone had been told. The final decision would still be made by the Mars First project team leaders. The general voting would be considered of course, and it was obvious telling the audience they had full power in the final selection making would generate more interest in the project. The voting system had become so popular by the end of 2018, that it had barely made a dent in the number of votes when the company had announced the decision to charge a small “fee” for every vote made. It had certainly paid off. Mars First had raised over $700 million during the past eight months alone.

No one was complaining. It was a win-win situation. Dedrick and his team were more than happy as well, and as it was, their crew had a few advantages over team two. François’ French accent and bad boy image had managed to charm more votes than any of the candidates. Vera was close behind. Her physical attributes and social skills had a lot to do with it, and she was certainly not shy in front of the camera. Dedrick was a favorite among the scientific community for his logical thinking, self-discipline, and natural leader abilities. Sabrina was in a league all her own. Although she came last in the official reports, the Latin community around the world was more supportive than any other demographic group, and had it not been for the fact that some of the voting countries had been temporarily suspended from the list for senseless political reasons and unwarranted foreign tensions, her votes would have tallied higher than any of them.

All in all, 2021 was going extremely well for the four and the grand endeavor was well on its way.

The next couple of years had only showed great promises for the astronauts. Ladli O’Connor, the Medical officer on Team Two, had become the first woman in history to withstand 9.4 G-s during a centrifugal exercise before passing out. The thirty-five-year-old Irish woman, it was true, was more athletic than most of her male colleagues. A body builder in her early teens, she was physically fit; a trait her team’s mission engineer, Tendai Nyandoro, found particularly attractive. The Zimbabwe man was known to love a good challenge, and there again, Tendai had met “courtship resistance,” as he often called it.

In Ladli’s defense, her past had a lot to do with it. Ladli’s early childhood had not been easy. After losing her parents and three siblings in a house fire at the age of ten, Ladli had found herself in an orphanage. The tragedy of losing her entire family had made her stop talking. She had eventually been placed in a foster home a year later. From day one, that arrangement had been challenging for the quiet girl. Both parents were verbally abusive and treated her like an inconvenience, a situation that had only worsened over the years. Her foster dad in particular had been an “abusive bastard and an evil monster,” as she had often mentioned in therapy. After Miss Richards, her school counselor, had learned from Ladli herself that both her parents were abusing her sexually, she had been removed from that terrible environment at the age of fourteen and forced to attend mandatory therapy sessions after school. The following two years of therapy had helped the child regain her speech and cope with her past to some degree. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, her second foster family had turned out to be just as difficult to deal with for the teenager. Her new mother was overbearing and pampering while her husband was an absolute control freak, and the dysfunctional nature of her second foster home had given Ladli ample reasons to leave as soon as she had been legally able to. The string of bad relationships that had followed until her recruiting by Mars First had given the Irish woman even more reasons to be guarded.

Those were all important facts that Tendai would learn much later. Regardless, the two had eventually become involved.

Jumping off his bucket seat, Dedrick plunged forward and grabbed François’ right arm, stopping him in his tracks. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What? I’m opening the cabin door, like I’m supposed to?” replied François.

“I would not do that if I were you.” Dedrick was pointing at a bright red light slowly pulsing to the left of the door.