Destination Mars, Part 4 (The Doctor)

My name is Major Hardy Cochran. It took about two hours in the academy for my buds to give me the nick name: Hard cock. It was a name I rightfully deserved as well. Back in the day at the Aeronautical University in Japan I was a member of what was called an “inner circle” which was a group of men or women handpicked for training in hopes of being chosen for the first journey to Mars. Inner circles were created everywhere around the world by wealthy individuals from the private sector, who felt they were recruiting the best of the best, in order to save mankind.

My inner circle happened to be comprised of all male gay members. We were a good team but as time went on, one by one my fellow hopefuls either dropped out of, or were rejected by the powers to be, and kicked out of the program until only I was left.

I graduated with top honors and was given my first job in the military as lead engineer in charge of organizing mission details from scratch on how our team would successfully complete the mission to Mars. This was a prestigious position for anyone, especially for someone right out of the University. I was sure I had daddy general to thank and I wasn’t about to let him down. I took the position and the task seriously and never looked back.

But that was years ago and when I was promoted to Major, the nick name fit even more. Earth’s supplies were dwindling as its population continued to increase. The need to find a new location for mankind to thrive was becoming critical and Mars was becoming an option which could no longer wait. My plan was in place and I was going over every detail to insure there was nothing I had missed. My only dilemma was that I was not entirely happy with the qualifications of the military astronauts I had to choose from.

One group of individuals had set up operations in Germany. When their funding was becoming weak they tried to cut corners. They launched in hopes of being the first to succeed, but two weeks into their journey they met with catastrophe when a substandard fuel valve failed resulting in an explosion which disintegrated all the years of their hard work into a single ball of fire, debris and human flesh. I had the military behind me and an unlimited paycheck of tax payer’s dollars. I was not about to make their mistake. This was how my plan was designed.

The first mission to Mars was to be a simple one. Transport enough material to build a habitat that could sustain life, long enough for others to come and establish colonies. The ship would be designed with all the cargo space necessary and food and water sources that had been invented and could provide us with meals that would keep us healthy and strong. Granted they were not steak and potatoes dinners but flavor was a secondary consideration.

The time had come to make final arrangements and launch within the year. As the mission leader for this historic flight I needed to decide on my crew. There would be myself, (the team leader and pilot), a navigations expert and co-pilot, a doctor, an electrical engineer, a communications expert, as well as design engineer and finally a weapons and explosive expert. The commanding generals were not pleased when I informed them I would be interviewing candidates from around the world and not just from the military. I wanted to insure I had recruited the best and it was my decision to make. They finally agreed.

As we would all have to be laborers as well, I fought the military leadership and won the argument that the crew should be all male. I claimed that it was no place for child bearing women on this mission. They could come later in ships designed to handle family life. Of course I also had my own private agenda as to who I would retain. There would be a lot of lonely nights in the cold dark expanse of space and I wanted to bring with me …….