"Too much by far," Clare agreed, kissing his cheek.
Their walk back to the settlement was slow and leisurely, unlike Jimmy and Shelley who ran all the way.
"So, when shall we go then?" Clare asked.
"Let's make it as soon as possible," Steve suggested, "but we need to make plans first, and hey, we don't have any maps!"
He was getting visibly excited, and Clare loved it. They had always loved doing things together, and the extended gap since the last time had certainly made their hearts grow fonder. The whole idea was almost too wonderful for them, and the exuberance of youth threatened to engulf them. They giggled like two naughty school children hatching a plot to put glue on the teacher's chair. As they approached the settlement, Hope came out to meet them. She was beaming, and her eyes flashed as she sensed something had happened to her mom and dad.
"Everything all right you two?" she asked, knowing full well that it wasn't.
"Sure Hops," Clare replied trying not to grin from ear to ear.
"Now I know you're up to something." Hope said, staring at each of them in turn. "You'd better tell me before you both burst, it's no use trying to hide it, you're up to something, it's written all over your faces."
Steve squeezed Clare's hand, took a deep breath and said, "We're going on a field trip, we want to see just how far things have gone and what kind of plant growth there has been."
"When are we leaving?" Hope responded knowing they'd have to take her along.
Steve looked at Clare and replied, "As soon as we have it all planned Hops."
"Yes!" Hope gestured on hearing it.
"When shall we tell them?" Shelley asked, as Jimmy rose from his knee.
"How about now, there's no time like the present."
She giggled in agreement and they set off to find his future in-laws. They bumped into Hope first who was obviously excited about something.
"Hey what's got you going?" Shelley asked her.
"It's mom and dad," she answered, "they're going on a field trip and I'm going with them. I've never seen them so excited; they're like a couple of kids. And what's with you two?" she asked, seeing that they also were very excited.
"We've just gotten engaged!" Jimmy blurted out, unable to hold it in any longer.
"Wow, what a day this has turned out to be," Hope said, hugging them both, "I'm so happy for you, when are you going to tell mom and dad?"
"We're on the way there now," Shelley responded, "coming?"
"You bet," Hope answered, "I wouldn't miss this for the Moon!"
All three set off in search of Steve and Clare. They found them in the central meeting place talking with Bill Somers and Eric Hadden. The conversation suddenly stopped as the three came bouncing around the corner, and four sets of eyes turned their gaze onto the youngsters. This time it was Clare's turn to squeeze Steve's hand.
"Mom, dad, we're engaged," Shelley said.
Jimmy cleared his throat and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Forester, I'd like to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."
Steve and Clare just stood, looking at the blushing couple, and burst into tears of joy.
"Oh, Jimmy," Clare said hugging him, "you wonderful man, how could anyone refuse you anything!"
When she eventually let go of him, Steve and Jimmy squared up to each other, tears rolling down both their cheeks. They made a grab for each other, and attempted to break each other's backs, twisting and turning, laughing and crying, whooping and hopping up and down. The commotion brought most of the other folks out to see what was going on. Suddenly they stopped and stood back from each other just a little. Jimmy looked straight into Steve's eyes and began singing, "Vinkle Vinkle Starlabs star how I wonder what you are." They hugged again, but this time it was a deep knowing and unspoken hug between Jimmy and Steve. "Sure you can have her!" Steve eventually blurted out, his tears turning to laughter. Somehow, the trip was forgotten.
It was the next day when they all got together again, and Steve told them about the field trip. "Sounds really exciting," Jimmy said, seeing how much it was affecting them.
"Will you be gone long?" Shelley asked. Steve and Clare hadn't thought of that, and now that there was an impending wedding, it needed to be thought about. It was decided right away that the wedding should take priority; there seemed little point in making the youngsters wait whilst mom and dad wandered off into the green yonder.
"Let's set a date for the wedding now," Clare said, "then we can go ahead and start the planning."
A date was duly set, and two very excited youngsters left to begin making their own plans.
"I'm so happy," Clare said, turning to Steve.
"Me, to Sweetie, it seems somehow unfair, that we should be so blessed."
And for an instant, their thoughts went back to Earth, and those who had made it possible for them to enjoy this happiness. It was at this point that an idea was planted into Steve's mind, but he decided to keep it to himself for the time being.
Chapter Eleven
Chapter 2.
The Wedding and The Idea
The following day, Steve met with the section heads to discuss the field trip and get their thoughts on it. The meeting began with some hearty congratulations for the forthcoming wedding. Everyone loved both Jimmy and Shelley, and they were not bashful about saying so.
"So," Steve began, "any ideas for the field trip?"
"I've got one," Sarah Porter said. She was in charge of the hydro section. "You'll need water, and as you know, water is heavy to carry, so why not take a portable detector with you so you can search for subterranean springs or ice."
"Great idea," Steve replied, "I had been thinking about water, but from the point of view of how much we could carry. I think the detector is a great idea. Eric, perhaps you could look into that for me."
"Sure thing." Eric replied.
"Can I add in a thought?" Martha Belikof said, who was part of the original Moon Base Alpha team, and a geologist.
"We've been working on a system to test rock formations and mineral deposits. I think we could fix you up with a field kit that would enable you to survey some areas for us. We think there are some minerals here that are not found on Earth, probably from meteor strikes, but they may be part of the mantle. We need to check further afield to see if our suspicions are correct."
"Okay," Steve smiled, "I think I can handle a bit of geology. Anything else?" Nothing came, so Steve asked Bill Somers about transport.
"There's a four-by-four down in Lark that has never been used, I could bring it up if you like."
"Sounds like just the ticket Bill," Steve said, "but what about power? These electric vehicles are only good for twenty miles per charge, any thoughts?"
Roland, the head of power generation answered, "Yes Steve, I may be able to help with that. For some time now I've been working on alternate power sources, and I've come up with a new type of solar panel. Oddly enough, it's based on your Bycrylic sheeting used in the domes. The chemical make-up that gives it its wonderful light properties are ideal for power generation, and I've recently managed to construct a way of collecting that power. I'll spare you the details, but suffice to say, I think we could run the four-by-four on the panels alone, just using the batteries to help out when going up-hill. When stopped, the panels would recharge the batteries quite quickly. I'll need to test a couple of things of course, but I'm almost certain it will work."
"Excellent, excellent work everyone," Steve commended them, "by the way, Hope will be coming with us...Erm...She gave us no choice!" A few chuckles ensued from those present who had kids.
"One last item," Steve announced, "we'll need communications equipment. I've decided to abandon the neural interface I was working on, it would have meant an implant in everyone's chest, and I don't think we want to go down that road, so I've scrapped the research. We'll use good old-fashioned radio instead. There are no other radio waves here on the Moon, so we should be able to communicate over long distances without any problems."
"I've got several hand sets stashed away," Bill said, "and I'll fit a powerful transmitter to the four-by-four.
The meeting broke up and each went their various ways. Steve headed off to find Clare, he wanted to pass on the news so she could begin planning her field trip. He bumped into Hope on the way,
"Hi Hops, I want you to be in charge of the domestic details for the trip. We'll need food, water, and clothing. Oh, and something to sleep in."
"Okay daddy," she beamed, "I'll get right on it." She trotted off humming tunelessly as only Hope could, but Steve knew she'd do a good job. He found Clare, she was busy preparing files and materials ready to record her findings.
"It's been such a long time since I was in the field I'm having trouble remembering what I'll need." She said.
"Well, we won't have to worry about food, clothes or sleeping bags," Steve assured her, "I've just put Hope in charge of all things domestic, so that's one aspect of this trip taken care of. Also, the transport is sorted, we'll have a nice new four-by-four that runs on solar power, so we can go as far as we like, so long as it's sunny! Try doing that on Earth!"
He stopped short.
"Funny how Earth has come up several times recently."
"Yes, I was thinking that too," Clare replied. "I'm going to have a quick word with John Hammond Sweetie, catch you later."
Steve found John at home. "Can I come in?" he called from the doorway.
"Sure thing Steve," John replied, "what can I do for you?"
Steve ran his idea past John to see what he thought of it.
"Hmm, I'll certainly give it some thought Steve, but It's something we must approach with extreme caution."
"Let me know when we get back from the trip, Ok?"
"Sure. By the way, when are you leaving?"
"As soon after the wedding as we can," Steve answered. "While I'm here John, would you conduct the wedding for us? Clare and I would be honoured if you would."
"Take the service you mean? I'd be delighted to, sure I'll do it."
❧
The day of the wedding came, and Jimmy was more than a little jittery. "Don't worry Jims, it will soon be over, and we can begin the rest of our lives together."
Shelley had always been the calm one, Jimmy was a lot of fun, and fast thinking, but it was Shelley who took control. Calm, level headed and very much like her mother in both looks and temperament. Jimmy knew he had found the right girl, even though she was his junior by more than ten years. She was just perfect for him, and complimented his zest for life with her tempered decision making. This was certainly a match made in heaven.
"Don't fuss Hun," Clare insisted as she tried to tie Steve's tie.
"You're choking me," he gasped.
"No, I'm not," she answered, "but I will if you don't keep still."
Steve did his best to keep still just in case she carried out the threat, Clare could be a little spirited when she wanted to be. The tie done up to her satisfaction, she stood back to look him over.
"You'll do," she said, with a glint in her eye. Actually, he looked great, but she didn't want him to get cocky.
"And me?" she quizzed.
"You'll do," he answered, knowing as usual just what he could get away with.
Shelley arrived at that moment, looking radiant.
"Are you two ready?" She asked.
"Most definitely," Steve answered her, stopping short as he turned to catch sight of his beautiful daughter.
"My, my, treasure, but you look wonderful, Jimmy is a very lucky man." Shelley blushed at her dad's admiration.
"Come on," Clare broke in, "it's time for the Foresters to put their best foot forward."
With that, they stepped out of the house and into the central meeting place where Jimmy was already waiting.