Chapter Two

Flight 344 had just left Earth's atmosphere.  Anya, Emma, and Adam were sitting in the attendant's row near the craft's exit.  All the passengers were asleep, except a few insomniacs.  The trio hadn't realized that being a flight attendant was so demanding, and they were surprised their supervisor had allowed them a short break.

"My goodness, how long will it be until we get there?  All this flying is really getting to me.  I mean, I thought those regular 707 passenger jets were bad.  This spaceship is even worse.  What is up with their gravity regulator?  I feel as if I've lost seventy pounds or something!" Emma sighed.

"I know.  I am feeling incredibly dizzy.  I don't know how I managed to serve that stupid old woman in the first-class cabin.  What a bitch--she kept asking for all kinds of crap we didn't have," Adam grumbled.  Emma laughed.  "I know.  I thought you were going to explode or something when she asked for blackened sea bass.  Is Anya asleep?" she asked.  They looked at Anya, who had the window seat.  She was fast asleep.

"She's worn out.  I guess her mother had her working over time or something.  That whole family is so messy," Emma said.  Adam nodded.  "She and I were talking while we were serving the economy class cabin, and she was telling me she hopes she can find her father on Mars.  Turns out he left for an assignment there and never came home," she continued.  Anya's father was a reporter for the local newspaper, and he often got assignments that would take him all over the inner planets--especially Mars.  He had been dedicated to exposing corruption in the NWO, and the Mars assignment had something to do with it.  Unfortunately, he mysteriously disappeared.

"Hmm...I am quite sure the NWO got to him.  I mean, I don't know how and I don't know what they did with him, but he's probably in their hands now.  You know how he is...always sneaking on NWO territory and all..." Adam said, staring at the cabin's ceiling.  Emma sighed.  "I wish things were the way they were thousands of years ago--where it was a world of many nations, not three.  Where most people on earth could say and do what they wanted--within the law, of course," Emma said dreamily.

"We all dream of better days." Adam remarked.  Emma nodded and they both drifted off to sleep.

Victoria had docked her spacecraft at a refueling station.  "Fill her up, she said to the attendant.  She hopped out of the cockpit while the attendant began refueling the craft.  She walked over to the convenience store to look around.  Some things never, ever change she thought as she walked to the entrance, remembering stories of the past civilization, when technology was primitive, but full of promise.

The store was large, and had things like snacks, radios, books, magazines, and a large soda fountain.  She went over to the magazine rack.  Free world publications were stacked next to NWO publications, and this surprised her.  She wished that the two powers could get along...at least enough to where people weren't being killed every day.

She picked up a map, a fashion magazine and strolled over to the soda fountain.  She looked at the different flavors, and decided on bottled water instead.  She picked up that and went to the counter.  

"Pump five," she told the attendant as he rung up her purchases.  As he put them in a bag, she handed over a 20 NWO dollar note and he took it, giving her fifteen back in change.

"My goodness, things are getting quite expensive these days," she murmured as she left the store.  Looking at her ship, she felt horribly lonely.  "Arthur and I would've had fun traveling the universe.  It's a shame he isn't here," Victoria said, thinking of her deceased elder brother.

She got into the cockpit and started the craft up again.  She had more than enough to get to Mars.  "That's one thing off my back," she said as she took off, the station becoming smaller and more distant behind her.

The Air Force base on Mars had been notified of the renegades entering Mars on flight 344.  Trouble is, there was a fire raging out of control on the west side of the base, and most of the base's personnel was either trying to put it out, calculating the damage done, or standing around watching it.  This worked out fine for Anya, Adam, and Emma, whose flight was only thirty miles away from Mars's man-made atmosphere.

"God, I certainly hope my lungs can cope with the Martian atmosphere," Adam said.  "It's manmade, but it supposedly feels extremely humid there.  My cousin told me her father had been there, and he said the air was very thick and wet," Emma said.  Anya laughed.  "Sounds like Florida in the summertime," said she.

They went to the attendant's cubicle to clean up and prepare for landing.  Anya got on the loudspeaker and announced to the passengers that the landing was imminent, and to buckle their seatbelts, put their trays away, and thanks for flying with us.  Then they took their seats as the ship entered Mars's thick, manmade atmosphere.

"It's only slightly thicker than Earth's atmosphere.  It's so it won't drift off into outer space or something," Emma explained as they sat down.  "Oh," Adam answered.  "So, do you really think you'll find your father on Mars?" Adam asked.

"I don't know.  You're probably right about the whole NWO thing, but I am not about to give up.  Besides, he might still be there.  I heard there was a fire on the base.  Maybe he got sidetracked by the fire or something.  When we land I am going to send a message to his card.  Maybe he'll answer this time," Anya replied.  They were struck into silence when the Martian landscape became visible.  Adam and Emma leaned over Anya, trying to look out the window.  

This area of the planet was experiencing spring, but the grass was still very thin.  There were nothing but giant glass domes, from the earliest bases, before the manmade atmosphere.  The fire was visible to their north, and it was certainly raging out of control, scorching the Martian surface.

The craft landed onto the landing strip and everyone cheered.  Most of the passengers hadn't been to another planet.  The craft pulled up to the terminal and the passengers stood up once the craft had come to a full stop and the engines turned off.  They hurriedly gathered up their things and were gone in fifteen minutes.  Anya, Emma, Adam and the other attendants stayed behind to clean up the ship.

"Don't tell me I have bathroom duties again," Adam groaned.  Anya and Emma laughed.  "No, I think that blonde woman has the bathrooms this time.  We'll vacuum the economy and business class cabins, and then we're done," Anya said, handing her comrades vacuum cleaners.  Adam sighed with relief and they both got to work.

Victoria had landed on Mars twenty minutes ago, and had parked her craft in a private hangar.  She had rented it out for two weeks.  She immediately entered the terminal and headed for the employment desk.  Most airline companies were willing to train new employees because they were in desperate need of employees--especially flight attendants.

The employment desk was small, and a short, dumpy man with an uneven beard and balding head was sitting at the desk.  He had coffee stains all over his white shirt.  Victoria sighed.  This was the only airline servicing this terminal, so she had no choice.

"Excuse me, I'd like to apply for flight attendant school.  Do you have any forms I can fill out?" she asked him.  He grunted, burped, and handed her a thick pamphlet.  She took it and sat down at a table nearby, pen in hand.  She sighed, wondering how she can get away with giving out such sensitive information without the NWO authorities catching her.  Victoria pulled out her mini computer, signed on to the Internet and quickly found an ID number generator.  This airline was American, so she generated an American ID number.  Then she thought about her full name:  Victoria Charlotte Elizabeth Mary Windsor.  She decided to cut out the Elizabeth and Mary and changed Windsor to her grandmother's maiden name, Adams.  Reminds me of the Spice Girl.  Only I would remember them she thought wryly.  "Fooling people is far too easy these days.  That's the downside to such incredible technology," she murmured.  She wrote her names as Victoria Charlotte Adams and filled out the rest of her application.

She walked up to the desk and handed the completed form to the dumpy guy, who had a twangy Texas accent.  "You'll get a fax, phone call, or message to your card in two days regarding your schedule and which campus to report to.  Thanks very much," he said, and took a swig of his foul-smelling coffee--spilling more on his shirt, but thankfully, not on Victoria's form.  She grimaced.  "Thank you," she answered and turned away.  She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw all the commotion coming from the baggage claim.  Three young people--two girls and a guy--were being detained for having false ID cards.  Victoria looked at them with great interest.  "Perhaps they can be of help..."

Anya and Adam were fighting the burly officers who had tried to confiscate their false IDs.  The three refused to give up.

"We're not lying.  Let us go!  We just want to get home and get some sleep!" Emma blagged, kicking a female officer in the shin.

"We've had enough of you renegades grabbing free flights all over the damn galaxy.  You're coming with me!" the female officer snapped back.  

"Um, is there any way we can pay you back?  I mean, it's not that big of a deal--the airlines can afford it if they're training attendants for free!" Anya prostested.  The officers just glared at them and dragged them off to the security office, which was past the employment desk.

As they were being dragged off, a red-haired girl stared at them.  Probably sick of us too,  Anya thought angrily.  God, all we want is an escape from our mundane life.  Is that so hard to understand?

In the office the three sat, waiting for the airline's manager.  Adam was thinking about the comment Anya made.

"Hey, we should do that.  We can save up enough money from working as attendants--pooling all three of our paychecks, or part of it--and save up for a jet.  Plus, they might let us off the hook if we offer to work for the airline and pay for those two flights," he announced.

"At this point, that's the only thing that will save us from being forced to work for the government.  At least this isn't the NWO, or we'd be in slave labor camps right now," Anya agreed.

"Yeah, and to wear those horrid uniforms.  I was visiting a cousin who lived in a NWO territory, and she had been sent to those horrible camps!  Those slaves have no social lives, and their wardrobes are all a joke," the fashion-conscious Emma lamented.

"God, that's all you think about, isn't it?" Anya asked.  Emma giggled.  The officers and manager entered, all glaring at the three thieves.

"Okay, you've got two choices.  You can train as attendants for the airline, who will withhold your first paycheck to pay for the two flights, and do community service.  Or you can go to jail, and work in the cotton fields.  Those are your only choices," the officer informed them.  "Personally, it would be ideal to take the first choice as all the prisons are full."

The three took the hint.  "Okay, we'll go with the first choice.  Sounds a lot better anyway.  Nothing can be worse than working in a cotton field," Emma said.  Adam and Anya nodded in agreement. 

"Well, then you can fill out these forms, and use your real identity this time kids, okay?" the manager said, handing out application forms.  "There's a training facility on base, so you'll get your schedules in two days, via phone call, fax, or a message to your communication card." he continued.

The trio filled out their forms as the officers and manager walked out to the lobby, chatting about the jails and the fires.  "People get away with too much these days," Adam said.  "I can't blame them--I mean, this works out for both of them.  No more extra inmates, and more employees for the airlines.  God, they charge so much for ONE damn flight.  They still need more people because their fleet grows every single year--by fifty percent or more," Anya replied.

"I certainly hope we can afford the simple things--like clothes, food, and stuff.  I seriously need a new dress," Emma said.  The other two laughed as they finished their forms.

They stood up and went into the lobby to hand their forms in.  The manager took them, and asked them if they had anywhere to stay.  "No, we don't.  I'm looking for my father.  He's a reporter for a newspaper back in Oakland, California.  He came here to investigate the NWO's slave labor camps, and hasn't been back home since," Anya answered.  The manager nodded his head, and his toupee fell off.  The trio burst out into laughter.

"Okay, if you keep this a secret you can stay in my place tonight.  But tonight only," he told them, replacing his toupee.  The trio nodded, chocking back their laughter.  They walked out of the lobby with the manager, still laughing.