The Calling of the Stars

"Oh Jeez! I am such an ass... please accept my apologies... some would-be friend I am, huh? I finally have the luck of a real conversation with you and I wreck it..."

"Don't fret, Chris... we will both learn what it means to be around one another. Now, you're due to relieve me and I'm due at the gym."

The rest of the cruise was rather eventless, except maybe when Katsumi mocked Christopher for insisting on viewing Mars from an observation port, rather than a screen holoprojection. But Christopher stuck to his idea and was glued to the silicate port all throughout the slingshot orbit.

For the rest, they were seldom idle as they were requested to test, operate, or simulate the breakdown of just about every system on board.

They docked again on Mulberry, for tuning work, late in the 13th day. As both were about to disembark for shore leave, Christopher was enraptured by the apparition of Katsumi, dressed in a pale blue V-cut beach dress that barely concealed either breasts, thighs or legs. The fact that the dress was floating about and revealing constant glimpses of her white lace panties and strapless bra was largely amplifying her allure. Swallowing hard, in spite of weightlessness, Christopher blurted out "... Ohmygosh! Katsumi you are mesmerizing... who's the lucky guy?"

"Why thank you, Chris!!! I don't know who he is yet but he WILL be lucky!" She giggled "And you? Where are you going?"

"Just dockside... enjoying a solid meal first... I think I will chew on steak and shrimps... just chew... for hours until there is nothing left to taste. Tomorrow, I have a videoconference set up with my probate."

"Only one cruise and you're already changing your will?" Katsumi scoffed.

"Something along that line, yes..." Christopher had a warm smile and let his answer hang.

"Whatever works for you! See you in two!" And she pecked him on the cheek and entered the dry-dock service way, leaving behind Christopher, forlorn and mute.

**** FMM 542 - IFV Lion - patrol Mars sector ****

"Chris! Mail call! And you got some!"

"Thank you, Katsumi... coming over..."

Christopher was thankful for the distraction. For the last few days he had been bored. And brooding.

One has to understand that, even for the power of these "fast" vessels, our solar system is, to put it plainly, vast. Of course, an impromptu trip to Mars in less than five days is impressive compared to the 130-160 days required, on a good launch window, by the high-speed tether system in service for the regular transit of goods. In case of an emergency, however, 5 days can remain an agonizingly long time. So a majority of the Fast Manned Missions have the label "patrol", the official moniker for floundering in space, on long eccentric solar orbits, in the hope of being at the right place at the right time, if needed.

As a consequence, for every emergency medical evacuation, every interception of contraband or every search and rescue, there are dozens of patrol missions which amount to nothing more than boring crap. Boring, weightless, fuel-economy, eat-nothing-but-space-purees, do-nothing-but-gaze-at-scanners-in-case-you-discover-a-new-asteroid-for-the-first-time-in-nine-decades, crap.

But FMM 542, for a while, had not been such a patrol. Lion was rerouted to ascertain the cause of the loss-of-contact on a space barge. It was a thorium shipment to the Mars orbital fuel enrichment station and Katsumi had decided on a Extra-Vehicular Activity to reset the communication hardware suite, probably shorted out following a solar wind proton gust.

The EVA had been successful and done in time to perform a required course correction, thus saving the trip. Christopher was now happy it was over and cheerful for his partner - he even inquired about logging her 8,68 km/s EVA as a record for the fastest unassisted speed in space - but, in fact, he had opposed the EVA. Thorium was cheap, plentiful and was not worth the risk of flaying a cosmonaut should she hit even space dust... heck, it was not even worth the cost of the fuel expended on all the delta-vees required. But what the watch officer says goes, so he assisted diligently, optimizing the course corrections and computing a radar-sweep strategy to locate the deaf-mute barge in the first place.

However, while Katsumi had been working outside, there was no one to notice how pale had been Christopher while he was surveying the EVA with Ernie and manning the cargo bay arms.

Christopher knew he had been more than worried, he had been afraid for her. So listening to effusive thanks from a family videocast was a very pleasant way of not having to deal with his newfound feelings. "That sounds like happy people... care to share?" Katsumi asked, seemingly oblivious to his torment. Maybe he hid it well...

"Phoebe got the word from Florida Social Services. The transfer of my birthright to her is finalized and approved. And I got lucky with the timing so I'm being hailed as the most generous Santa Claus in generations." That video had washed away a lot of angst and Christopher, for the first time since the EVA, had a contended smile, plus some moisture to wipe from his eyes. This was one very good, and very deserved, deed.

"You didn't tell me that! You gave up your quota to have kids... why?"

"Actually, I did tell you I was visiting my probate, a while back. As for why... I guess I examined my life and figured I was not heading in the direction of having children, so I might as well let the best mother-material in the universe have some more. You would love Phoebe, Katsumi... she's warm and loving, smart as a whip and has a piercing wit - she has to, as an immigration lawyer. Plus, she practices from her home office, she's always there for her two girls and her family life seems idyllic. I don't pretend to know how she does it... I just admire her as all hell... and I miss her."

"Sheesh! You're sure she's only your sister?" Katsumi was smiling sardonically, but Christopher could swear he saw a trace of envy in her eyes.

"Fun-ny! Yes, we grew up very close, and that's even by the standards of our tight-knit family. I helped her out at school and she gave me dating advice. We were partners in dance class and we both played in a family garage band. Until dad managed to get the permits to renovate and enlarge the house, we were lodged in the same room. We're not twins, but at times I swear we share a psychic connection."

"Wow... that... must be really nice. But what if you get the paternal bug after your Commission?"

"If that happens, I figure I will relocate to Florida and dote shamelessly on my goddaughters. Okay, change of subject: what's it saying on that Ops memo you were reading?"

"No big deal... it's the reception of our after-action report for the EVA. Your uncle says hi."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, it IS signed admiral Joshua Tomlinson, CIC Ops ISA... I figure the Commander-In-Chief of Operations must have a reason to bother with a routine notice." Katsumi saw Christopher's smile widen.

"Wow... I guess you're right. Thank you."

A little later, once moored at the fuel station for refueling, Christopher silently sneering at Katsumi, dressed in an extremely revealing elf costume, triggered their second and most serious heart-to-heart.

"What? You don't like it?"

"Yea Yea, I like it all right... it's just..." Christopher hesitated and searched his words, for he knew that if he went down that that path, he could not go back. "... does this really work for you? Picking up guys or women all the time, everywhere we dock? I mean, I don't really know what goes on and, in a sense, I really don't want to know, but ... God ... forgive me, Katsumi, I think you're better than that." He braced inwardly while saying that... he knew he had just kicked a hornet's nest.

And, with an instant jolt of anger, Katsumi Miyazaki did not disappoint. "Who died and named you my father?!! The last time I was talked to in this manner, I was told I should be home, married with kids, supporting my parents and... oh yea... a MAN!!! Don't you dare pretend to even GET what I deserve or not!!!"

"Oh, for Pete's sake, will you get over your God damn penis already!!! Do you think that's what got you here? Fuck, Katsumi, even on numbers, you're literally one in a BILLION! And with your talents, smarts and, yes, your looks, you're actually a unique gem in this riverbed of sand that is the human population! So why on Earth, with all of what's going for you, can't you find a way of just being happy? Because you can't possibly tell me you're happy with all that fucking around during these past four months?!?"

"Happy? We're not supposed to be happy, WE'RE IN SPACE, you moron! This is not a life, it's a procedure! At least, while I waste my years with my ass on top of a rocket, I'm not lonely! See this body? I know you do!!! You're always rock hard when you just look at me! Just because you choose to live like a eunuch doesn't mean I have to... this is a sexual body... I get sexual attention... and I like it! If you cared to try it, you would find out I'm an amazing fuck!!! But hey.. in the meantime, how is your search for happiness working for you?"

Christopher was out for the count. He mumbled "Right now, pretty crummy... and that was a low blow, even for you."

"Well, if I'm so repugnant, why do you always try to be my friend, then?"

"Because I AM your friend, you clueless douchebag... it's not a lifestyle choice!!! Do you even know how terrified I was for you, while you were out there?" That revelation, plus the fact that she, indeed, had not noticed, stunned her and she had no reply.

After an uncomfortable standoff in the argument, she yielded. "Whatever... are you coming or not?"

"No thank you. I have had enough excitement for one cruise already, plus I always worry on fuel transfers... I'd rather be on board to monitor things alongside Francis."

"You know that means you get to blow up with the fuel if things go awry?" Katsumi was trying hard to force a smile, with little success.

"That's pretty much how I feel right now... and a merry Christmas to you too."

Christopher did indeed spend a silent night that Christmas, that is until the mess hall raised him at 0331h. Although still a little groggy, he was not even half-mad at having to pick up Katsumi, all alone and quite inebriated, from the barstool, under the watchful eyes of the staff waiting to finish their closing and go home. She smiled lazily when feeling him pick up her hand. "Don't go get any bright ideas about you being right or something... I mean, I DO have standards... eugghhh! Real green Martians would have had a better shot at fucking me!"

"I see..."

"Where are you talking me, stuuud?"

"I figure it will be easier for you to cure this hangover with gravity, so I booked bunk space for us in the station barracks. I have some aspirin, water and some towels. I'll be right beside you if you need me."

While gently laying her down on her cot and covering her with blankets, she regained cohesion. "If you're going to keep on being my friend, do it right and call me Kat... all my friends do."

"Thanks Kat, I'll do that... but, you know, I don't think I ever heard someone calling you Kat before..."

"That's because you're the first, you dumbass... merrryyy Christmasss..." and she promptly snored, leaving a supercharged Christopher to watch over her.

**** FMM 546 - IFV Lion - Mars L5 Archipelago ****

"Orbital velocity match. Achilles, standby for cargo transfer."

"Acknowledged and thank you Lion." While Katsumi was maneuvering the cargo bay arms to transfer the equipment that was needed in such a hurry - in the rare event that a triple-redundant critical system experiences a double failure, a space habitat supervisor is forgiven all anxiety - and while Ernie kept station, Christopher had free reign to admire the habitat under construction, named Ulysses, right alongside the island they were supplying. It would stand to reason that the naming committees would keep in line with the Martian tradition of naming after characters from the Iliad and Greek mythology. In the background, Christopher could also glance at a nearby asteroid, a Mars Trojan, being mined for materials.

Christopher could not help but feel pride at human ingenuity, looking through the port at a design that had almost not been modified since MIT proposed it to NASA way back in the mid-1970s - if it isn't broke, don't fix it, after all. Ulysses and Achilles were typical island designs.

By "typical island", one means a pair of cylinders 40 km long by 36 km in circumference, both pointed at the sun and counter-rotating at 0,395 rpm in order to achieve artificial gravity and gyroscopic stability. Each cylinder is separated in six parallel slices, three of solid habitat and three of transparent cover. At the base of each cylinder were six extended mirrors, looking like blooming petals on a giant flower: three for solar power and three for reflecting sunlight inside the habitat. At the root of each cylinder were housed a zero-g industrial block and mass drivers to accelerate and decelerate the barges used for usual goods transfer, when time allows. Although he did not know the exact number for Achilles, Christopher knew that the design conception of the total island ecosystem allowed for three million inhabitants.

Then it occurred to him "How much colder do you think the climate is in there? I mean, considering the added distance from the Sun, it's got to be colder... this design seems identical to the islands in the Moon and Earth L4 or L5 archipelagos."

"Whoever designed this probably has the climatology figured out already; and I suppose there are plenty of northern populations who would feel at ease with a colder climate... maybe even snow." Christopher was surprised, as Katsumi rarely even hinted at her experience in the Moon L4 archipelago, in fact she did not even disclose on which island she grew up. Either she was busy focusing on maneuvering the cargo or she was unusually relaxed.

"Not snow, at least not on a permanent basis... that would whack out the agriculture capacity."

"Ah, yes, the precious obsession of achieving 0,040 ha/person of agriculture performance..." She sounded weary and sad saying that.

"Is life that bad in an island, Kat? You never talk about it, like it's some dark secret shame. I mean, I know the grass is always greener on the neighbor's lawn, but I figured there would be clean air, smaller government, almost non-existing crime, no hurricane season, plus the joy of watching the stars whirl around every night..."

"You WOULD like that, wouldn't you? In truth, I don't talk about it because I know myself enough to feel the bias of my own unhappy existence there. I have seen many people live, learn, farm, meet cute, get married, have kids ... the whole life social contract. And sure, at 40 households per hectare, its crowded, but on paper it's not nearly as crowded as many of Earth's metropolises, plus 84% of rural spatial distribution gives a nice green outlook for the eyes. For the crime thing, well, if you're young, rambunctious and a semi-sadistic sheriff's deputy tells you he has an airlock with your name on it, you can only think he's kidding up to a certain point!"

"You're joking!"

"No Chris, I kid you not!" And Katsumi erupted in a warm, shy laughter. A sound, musical and bright, that shook Christopher to his core and made him shiver. That's when he was 100% sure he wanted to live to make her happy. Now all he had to do is figure out how. "But that pre-programmed life was not for me, and I resented the financial burden that came with space real estate: in my opinion, even with the Space Trust funding and everything, a six-generation-long mortgage is an inexpungible investment. Maybe later, in phase three, when space travel is more accessible and cheaper..."

"Wow! You were really listening during your planning and land management classes, weren't you?! My dear Kat, I hate to burst your corporate bubble, but I don't think we will ever reach phase three. The solar system is just too big. I know that I'm performing a sort a family heresy and some of my forefathers must be turning in their graves right now, but the fact is that Mars, although far, is still reachable by tether launch and we have more than 15 000 Near Earth Objects to mine for materials. The Martian poles will yield more water than we could ever waste, we have not even started tapping the Venus atmosphere for resources and the Sun-Venus orbit offers two more stable Lagrange points for future archipelagos. Given that, I don't see myself justifying the unbelievable energy to extend to the Mars-Jupiter frontier. There is almost a half billion people in space right now and pressure for more colonies is already slacking a bit. But you're right about travel, we DO need to make public space travel cheaper and more accessible."

"Well, well! Look who's preparing a campaign speech!!!" Katsumi was clapping and cheering. What a sight!

Christopher took a bow and got in on the fun. "Thank you. Thank you. But seriously, I was not so much thinking about a political future as I was about a posting in Planning... you know... when I'm done riding the Lion. Speaking about future posting, Kat, I have a favor to ask you."

"Ooookay..." Christopher was briefly amused at seeing her puzzled.

"After our next patrol, we're returning to Mulberry for Lion's 500 hours overhaul. We get 10 days leave and Phoebe timed it so the baptism of her youngest girl will take place then. Of course, as her godfather, I will attend. But it would make me happy to no end if you would accompany me there."

Katsumi turned so very pale and nervous, it was almost comical. "There... you mean on Earth? and I would meet the Tomlinson clan? And spend 10 days there with you?"

"Why, yes Kat... we live less than 100 km away from Cape Canaveral orbital transfer station, so we'll waste no time on transit. I have booked a small lakeside suite in St. Cloud, so you will have the comfort of two beds and the high-risk thrill of myself cooking solid, grown, food. We would have time to visit and rest and..."

"You know I have never been on Earth?" Katsumi was trembling now.

"Actually no Kat, I didn't know that. Granted, central Florida is not representative of late-22nd century Earth living but it shouldn't be toxic to you! Plus, St. Cloud is so small town that it should probably make island life seem hectic, so..."

Christopher never got a chance to finish his argument. In an instant, he felt a bear hug, a pair of divine breasts crushed on his chest and a pair of lips pecking his. "Yes! Yes! Chris, of course I'll accompany you! But the trip must be worth a king's ransom and I don't have anything to wear! And..." at that moment, they bumped the floor of the bridge, still hovering in freefall from the momentum of her hug.

"Ouch!" Christopher laughed as he tried to stabilize the merged drifting human pair. "Don't worry about the finances, I've known this event was coming up and I've been saving for it. It's a fringe benefit of living, with risk pay, as a eunuch. I am thrilled and privileged to have you as my guest and we will figure the rest quickly enough. Besides, both Phoebe and mom will adore you so much, I'll be lucky to get some time alone with you." Upon having their historic spat brought up, Katsumi felt embarrassed.

"About that... I never got to apologize and thank..." Christopher hushed her with a finger softly pressing her lips. The electricity he felt went from his fingertip to his toes right back up to his brain via his eyebrows. He also felt moisture in his underwear.

"Ssshhht, Kat... that's what friends are for." He was in SERIOUS trouble, as he knew his rationale for detachment was collapsing like the house of cards it always was.