The journey was still long, only a month has passed and the daily routine is starting to drive the crew impatient and irritable. Asher stares out into the vast darkness, thinking about what he's left behind and will never see again whilst the scientists finish all the prep work and maintenance.
Albert still regularly loses focus on his task whilst thinking about new theories and impossible scenarios. It was this thinking that made him a pillar of science, his theories perfectly match all data collected but even he wants to be proven wrong to learn more to develop and change his ways of thinking.
Rosalind and Niels discuss the progress scientists on Earth are making and wishing they could be involved, somehow it never came to either of them that they are part of the most important people in the universe. They repeatedly throw questions at each other and delve deep to the new theories being made and dissect them.
'12pm, time to eat, we should spend more time to learn about each other so after we've ate we shall have one hour off work to talk, after all it is only us here so we need to get along' ordered Albert.
Everyone hurried and frowned after getting their packet of dried food handed out. A silence filled the room and Asher rushed his meal to get out the way and be alone, he hated anything social and struggles to hold a conversation with anyone without feeling embarrassed or annoyed at having to respond.
Albert started off the conversation, 'Does anyone not like card games? we have no tasks left and a long journey ahead so there's plenty of time to kill.'
A brief silence was shattered by Niels and Rosalind agreeing then Asher following along.
'Do we all know the rules for 21? it's simple if you don't.' Once again Niels and Rosalind agreed, followed by Asher nodding.
Whilst dealing the cards, Albert asked 'now can introduce ourselves one by one properly, I will start then let's go clockwise around the table.'
'Obviously I'm Albert, I am a physicist but in my spare time I occasionally cycle and play tennis. My life has been strange but I am blessed with a great family and colleagues. I'm not the most interesting person however I was a champion pool player at university. There is nothing really else that I do. Most of my time is invested into research and learning so I have had to give up alot to get where I am today.'
A brief silence was interrupted by Rosalind's introduction, 'To no suprise, I am Rosalind, I am a strange scientist in the sense that I was working on a physics and a biology paper at the same time. however there are often overlaps in disciplines. Anyways I don't really have any interests except running and learning. I'm not the most interesting but after a while I imagine we can all get along well enough to not go insane, if we don't it will strange and won't help any of us so it's vital we respect and learn about each other Anyways, moving on to Niels.'
'I am Niels and apart from physics the only things i ever take seriously are running and cycling. However, I occasionally read any kind of fiction and I've watched my fair share of sci-fi movies but there are none I've been captivated by. I have nothing else to say really, I'm not the most interesting.'
'I'm Asher I'm not sure I deserve to be here when there are so many better physics students and the average person can hold better conversations that me. I spend most of the time watching TV or playing games and I don't really have a goal anymore, I am glad to leave since I struggled to make any strong connections with anyone. I also cycle, however I will have started running everyday now that we have to exercise so much for our bones to not decay.' Asher thought he was rambling on and panicked, 'There is nothing else I like but I hope I can get along with you all and learn alot from you.'
Albert hugs in all the cards and clears the table
'Oh well, we all seem good enough to work together, in 30 minutes we can get back to finishing bits of our research and then we will all eat and discuss more later. While on Mars we will need a strong team spirit, none of us can predict what will happen there but we know teamwork is vital. If you are free Asher, you can read through the plan and start thinking of how things will play out.'
'I will have a look, I have spent most of the time here trying to keep up with you all but only now I can slightly understand all the terms you use in your research.' Asher thought the plan would be simple to stick to but there are too many variables to understand it in just one day. Something could be found on Mars that has never seen before, it was Asher's one chance to let go of the burden of his past and have a fresh start. That chance will begin soon.