Queen Mary entered the Marton 3 orbit seven minutes later than scheduled. This doesn't seem like a huge delay until one considers how many pounds per minute are needed to operate the yacht. Suffice it to say that this is enough to make ordinary citizens dizzy. Fortunately, this time deficit will not have any meaningful effect, because the Malton system is nothing more than a stopover. As far as tourism goes, there's nothing particularly important or interesting here – no celestial formations, no famous landmarks, no local festivals, not even a bit of weird history. The only reason this yacht appeared was that it was waiting for the cargo ship to move to a more interesting place in three days, so it didn't matter how many minutes were wasted.

The ship was already here, so there was no reason to refuse to pick up some passengers to and from the Malton Three. The aforementioned lack of attractions means that there are no official tour guides, which in turn means that anyone going to the side of the planet must sign a certain waiver. This document does nothing else and only exonerates the cruise organizers of any legal responsibility if something happens to the passengers when they leave on their own. It also informs people that the ship will not wait for them to return before continuing its voyage as planned. If someone loses track of time and misses the departure time, they are left behind, and it's entirely their responsibility.

This is exactly what Joe and Maggie want, because this is almost their final destination, the solar system where Barry Mulligan was sentenced to hard labor. That is, the girl very much wants to continue the interstellar cruise, because she has not seen enough of the Milky Way. And she had already paid the whole amount, only a part less, which did not correspond to her orderly feelings. Of course, helping Joe with family issues is her top priority, but ideally, they would be able to get it done before the Queen Mary leaves. It won't be easy, as Barry's mining station is in the distant asteroid belt, but it's not impossible as long as the couple adheres to the schedule that Maggie has carefully prepared.

The first thing is to go to the planet and get two things - a space shuttle capable of interstellar travel and a flight permit. The latter is more or less a foregone conclusion. Throughout the cruise, Maggie has been surreptitiously entering virtual flight hours, and has logged enough time to serve as a training session. She handed over the documents to the local government and asked to take the exam immediately. Normally, she wouldn't be allowed to do so, but technically, she's still a diplomat with all the associated privileges and benefits. One of them is to expedite the release of any official government documents, which is most certain. Because of this, she passed the written, practical, and psychological exams in record time with perfect marks, and it took only 3 and a half hours to get her driver's license.

Well, the psychoassessor may have left a suspicious "strange but polite" remark on her file, but that didn't have any significant impact on the whole process.

Since the law allows her to fly a real space shuttle, Maggie has to get one. Or, more precisely, she had to go and pick it up. A Space Shuttle "Silver Storm" orbital with the designation OS-64-M is already waiting for her. Not your ordinary Silver Storm, it's her Silver Storm. The girl has already been able to "convince" Director Millington to "donate" a spaceship in exchange for her scientific breakthrough. He was also "persuaded" to transport the painting to Malton 3 until its new owner came to claim it. Of course, it's all about keeping Maggie working together.

Joe wasn't sure if he was happy with the way his girlfriend blackmailed government officials, but that cunning Millington should be punished for the "fan club" gimmick. Dubious morals aside, this person doesn't complain that he can fly in style and comfort. The "Silver Storm" is a high-end model, the equivalent of a luxury sports car, while Maggie's is furnished like a flying hotel suite. Inside, there are bathrooms, bedrooms, living rooms, kitchens, and even a VR pod. The last one surprised Joe the most, though it was mostly because it was where that bloody shogot haunted. Then again, he probably should have thought of this a long time ago, as the butler robot Jeffs had been transported here as well.

Another thing that made him hesitate was how much effort Maggie had put into equipping her new space shuttle without Joe realizing it. It's clear that she's not just going to go this far for a trip, it's likely that she wants the two of them to go further and further on the journey. This simple-minded guy didn't know what to think. He never liked to travel. He likes to go to something new once in a while and see exotic landscapes, but he doesn't like the process of actually getting there. Then again, he would probably prefer to go on long trips in this mobile home, especially since Maggie will be there. This positive attitude lasted for a full three minutes.

Looking at the biomechanical abomination and servile automata, Joe realized how homesick he was. He misses spending time with Benny and Karen. He misses watching AJ walk around the house with the look of "always on duty". He missed a random visit from Officer Maloney. He missed going to Mr. Charles's shop to see what new pointless gadgets were in the store. Hell, oddly enough, he even began to miss his nosy old neighbor, Ms. Edith Mandrake. Whenever the neighbor's message board was filled with topics about him and Maggie, she must have been annoyed and he couldn't help but laugh. If she had seen what had almost happened to Kelly, she would probably explode with jealousy.

"What are you laughing at?"

The girl asked the question suddenly but just right, and Jo was startled in his seat.

"Oh, uh, nothing," he stammered. "Just, you know. I can't wait to end this and go home. ”

“I… see.”

"What?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm just disappointed that we're going to miss the rest of the cruise. ”

It dawned on Joe, like a volcano erupting. She didn't say anything, but he really should know. Otherwise, why would she have completed today's agenda so quickly and with such firm efficiency? The man felt a little embarrassed because her hopes were dashed like that, especially after she had done so much for him. Even when she said things like, "Your love is enough compensation," he felt that he should at least accommodate her a little.

"You know, if it's important to you, we can stay on the yacht for another week or two. I'm not in a hurry to go back. ”

"Thank you."

Seeing the smile on her face, Joe felt like she had made the right decision. If the girl he likes is happy, what is self-sacrifice?

"What about you?" Have you decided how to deal with your father? She abruptly changed the subject.

"of. I think there will be a lot of people yelling. Maybe there will be punches and kicks. Maybe a lot of punches. ”

"I see."

"But don't blow my dad's head off, okay?" It's a bit too much. ”

"Of course."

"Also, why are you so excited all of a sudden?"

Her voice was relaxed, but her hair shook in anticipation.

"I'm just trying to confirm if human males can really communicate through physical violence."

"Uh, Maggie? I'm pretty sure the whole 'man speaks with his fist' argument is a metaphor. ”

"Are you 100% sure?"

"Well, no..."

"Then I'm looking forward to your conversation, in whatever form."

"Since you say so. By the way, how long will it take us to get there?"

"About another twenty-six hours and thirty-eight minutes."

"Hmm. All right. ”

Joe couldn't help but feel ambivalent about this time frame. It was a longer period than he expected, but shorter than he had hoped. It also makes sense that it takes a while to get to Barry's place of work. Even with a brand new top-of-the-line space shuttle, it's an unimaginable distance until it reaches the mining rig where he's stationed. At least as soon as Maggie and Joe got there, he could see them. After all, the couple was going to see a prisoner, which required some requirements and the necessary permissions. Of course, nothing can speed up the day's flight, which gives Joe something to think about.

"You know, I've always wondered why Dad chose to work for so long," he said, expressing his thoughts. "I can't imagine anyone willing to live in a space bungalow almost all year round, unless they're an absolute lunatic. So, you know, I'm kind of glad to find out that Dad didn't do it voluntarily. To the entire ...... Being convicted of lying was less agitated. ”

Maggie begins to conceive a response, but Joe doesn't give her a chance.

"I need to be alone for a while."

He got up from the co-pilot's seat, walked to the back, and entered the virtual reality cabin. Of course, it is not connected to anything outside the ship, but it still has a hard copy of his personal collection. The girl wanted to follow him in and stay with him. However, she couldn't. During the flight, the shuttle pilot had to be on constant alert and stay in the cockpit in order to react immediately in case of any complications. Since Joe's personal safety is more important than his emotional problems, Maggie has no choice but to leave him alone. Well, he asked for a little space, which she thought was a reasonable request at this juncture. Still, she couldn't help but start feeling lonely when she realized that Joe was going to spend the entire flight in that pod. He just came out while eating or sleeping, and he didn't say much to her other than a few casual greetings or simple requests. The girl didn't know what was going on, because it was the first time a man had been so estranged. She then reminds herself that he might have a good reason to snub her, and stops there.

This time, Joe really didn't. He didn't know why, but for the first time in a long, long time he had been separated from Maggie, and he felt a strange freshness. Now that he remembers, his girlfriend has been quite bossy lately, especially since Kelly's affair. However, this simple lad doesn't mind that she's a little clingy. If anything, he thought, it would be a good question. Other than that, he does have a lot to think about, and there are a lot of things he's been putting off since he left home. When Maggie began to dock with the mining station, his last-minute introspection didn't yield much results. Joe was still unsure what he was going to say to his dad and even began to wonder if it made sense for him to come here.

"Will you be okay?" The girl noticed his indecision.

"Well, yes. Possible. Let's get to an end to this. ”

The couple disembarked, greeted by a very bored security guard, who stood in the middle of a nearly empty docking cabin. Taking a step back, they don't have many visitors. The man did a basic security scan and then lazily waved for them to pass. He didn't even notice that his psionic sensor blew itself up while reading Maggie's brain waves. She did, but didn't feel the need to tell him about it, complicating things. He then pointed the couple in the general direction of the dormitory and told them where to find Barry. As they walked past the station, they noticed that it wasn't actually a correctional facility. As far as they knew, it was just a privately run mining operation, and apparently there were some convicted laborers. These people are considered non-violent and do not pose a threat to society, so they are allowed to spend their sentences in relatively comfortable conditions rather than being sent to regular prisons.

Joe was relieved of all this. Even if he was angry with Barry, he didn't want to see his dad tormented. He has no ill will towards anyone, let alone his family. By the time he and Maggie arrived at Mulligan Sr.'s quarters, he had a clear idea of what to do. He rang the doorbell, and the sliding door "hissed" open, revealing a rather small living space. It was nowhere near as small as Joe's old apartment, but it was also much cramped up to any room in Maggie's new home. It also looked very messy before its owner recently tried to clean it up. Piled under the bed with dirty old paper plates and cups, this is nothing short of a "bachelor apartment", even though the only occupant must have been married.

Speaking of which, Barry isn't much better. He was still as tall, balding, clean-shaven, and broad-shouldered as Joe remembered. His outfit was a t-shirt, a pair of baggy pants, and a pair of bulky boots, which looked almost as old as Joe's from the antique stains on them. Father himself had been holding a cup of tea that had been cold at the small table in the corner, but he still stood and greeted the guests as best he could. The expression on Joe's face is best described as an incredible giggle with no complicated thoughts, an expression that Maggie now classifies as "Mulligan Special Edition".

"Joe!" Barry roared. "I'm glad to see you, my child!" Come here!"

He hugged his son like a bear, without any courtesy or reservation, and actually picked up his little son.

"I'm glad to meet you, Daddy, too."

"I miss you so much, you won't believe it!"

"No, I'm pretty sure I will. Can you let me down?"

Barry did so, then patted Joe on the shoulder, turning his merciless smile to the girl.

"This lovely bird must be Maggie."

"Definitely. Nice to meet you. ”

"So polite, so formal!" It's like your mom said," he said as he turned to Joe. "I'm so proud of you, son. Happy for both of you too. ”

"Thanks, Dad. What about you, are you okay?"

"Oh, you know. The same old way, the same old way. I'm persevering and staying optimistic. In another 20 months I will be free. ”

Barry doesn't want to keep his little secret at all. He already knew that his wife had leaked his mouth. Even if he didn't go, he would have to allow Joe and Maggie to see him, and if he wasn't in this case, they wouldn't have asked for it.

"How's your health?" Are they here to take care of you? The son asked.

"Of course. It takes a lot of effort to equip them with drilling suits, and the management here likes to keep their workhorses strong. The hours are horribly long, and I don't get paid, but at least I'm healthy. You've felt that way too. The last time I saw you, you were much stronger than I was. It should weigh at least ten kilograms. ”

"Oh, um, you can tell?" Joe was a little embarrassed.

"Hmm. Your mother and I have never agreed on this. I wanted my son to grow big and strong, but she insisted that as long as you were comfortable and relaxed like a human slug, it was enough. That's pretty much the only thing we're arguing about. You can call me corny, but men should be manly. ”

Maggie nodded vigorously from behind, and Joe scratched her cheek nervously.

"So, yes. I was just...... Really, really nice to see you take care of yourself," Barry said with a laugh.

"You know what? Me too. I'm not very passionate about fitness, but I do feel better. It only took three flights of stairs to make it feel good not to be out of breath. ”

"Hah! I bet Maggie appreciates your stamina too, right? He blinked.

"Well, we- we haven't, you know ......"

When Barry understood what Joe was trying to say, regret immediately flashed across his face.

"yes," the girl interjected. "Joe's promise to improve his physique for my sake is most endearing."

Whether she understood the subtext or not, the girl's honest answer went a long way in avoiding the awkward atmosphere.

"All right," the father regained his composure. "Your new muscles may need more than just the bare minimum of nutrients, right?"

He looked back at the clock on the back wall of his tiny room, just above the portrait of his queen May, Elizabeth II.

"How about you go with me to the cafeteria for a late lunch?" He proposed. "I'd love to invite you in, but I can't fit that tin."

"Yes, I can eat it. Maggie?"

"Of course."

"Great! I'm sure you'll love the food here. It's not some fancy robot butler's cooking, but it'll keep you full. ”

In fact, the station's canteen serves extremely basic food, consisting mainly of bread, potatoes, beans, dried fruits, and maybe a sausage or two. Noether-Goop, on which Joe lived for most of his life, was nowhere to be found. While cheaper to produce, easier to store, and more nutritionally balanced, the sheer lack of texture and taste of this protein paste is devastating to worker morale. These people work in a high-stress environment and need adequate comfort and distraction after work if they want to fully perform their duties. As a result, this mining station is equipped with quite a few leisure facilities, including several bars and a casino.

However, on that special day, the cafeteria is a place worth visiting. As one of the oldest miners here, Barry is friends with almost everyone. The news that his son and his god-beautiful girlfriend were coming to visit spread far and wide, and everyone wanted to meet them. People even leave work early, just to come and see. What was supposed to be a quiet family lunch quickly turned into something more like an office party. Of course, the all-male staff knew it was best not to disturb Maggie, but they had no reservations about getting up close and personal with Joe. As the girl expected, both father and son share more or less the same humble and easy-going personalities, so Barry's friends soon become Joe's friends. At some point, Maggie decides to go back to the boat so that the lads don't have to back down for her. Of course, she was curious to see how things would turn out, but she didn't need to watch them happen herself.

It wasn't until six hours later that Joe finally returned to the shuttle. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that Joe was sent. The guy unwisely entered a drinking contest and passed out as a result. A tipsy security guard had to bring him over in an automatic cargo box, a space-age unicycle. Strictly speaking, this was also three hours later than the scheduled visitation time, but no one seemed to mind. In fact, quite the opposite. The guard said he was sad about having to kick Barry's son off the station, but there was only so much he and his colleagues could do before they got into trouble. He left the fainted guest in the care of Maggie, along with a small gift from Barry, but the father apparently forgot in his excitement.

Eight hours later, Joe woke up on his way back to Malton 3 with a terrible headache. Thankfully, his dad's parting gift was a small vial of homemade hangover pills. It tastes strangely like sour cabbage juice. Although it wasn't very comfortable, it cured me within 15 minutes. Of course, that's not the only thing Barry left him. His shoebox-sized package also contained some interesting mineral samples that he had collected over the years of his work. The accompanying note says that a big-headed melon scientist like Maggie might appreciate these strange constructs, and that he was right about the money. The last and most important gift was, of course, for Joe. It was a small holographic locket, the same as his mother's. There are a lot of photos of him and Barry bingeing the night before, and these are very popular. He looked over Maggie, a big smile on his face. The girl was naturally glad that the visit did not cause any major trouble, although that was a problem in itself.

"Joe?"

"Huh?"

"May I ask a question?"

"Of course." He put the locket away for the time being. "What's wrong?"

"You are much more affectionate to your father than you are to you. Why is that?"

In fact, every time the topic of confrontation with his father comes up, Joe will only say how much he wants to yell at old Mulligan and berate him until he expects violence. However, none of this happened.

"Oh, yes. About this. Finally I watched a bunch of old photos and videos of him on the plane, you know? I realized I wasn't mad at him because he lied. I'm mad at him because I just miss him. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted him to be around me more, and I hated him because he didn't. I just didn't know it wasn't his decision, and I still hate him and mom for lying about it. Then I saw his big, dumb face, and I ...... I decided that I would rather spend our time together than on arguing. ”

"I understand ......"

"And, his two buddies?" Tim and another Tim? I mentioned the "talking with their fists" thing, and they said that they were involved in some scientific research on this. The person who performed the operation was called Bobe

stie

Doctor or something. Maybe you can look into it. ”

"I will, thank you."

The girl had remotely observed the conversation being discussed, but she decided to admit Joe's thoughtfulness instead of pointing out the obvious. The man then proceeded to browse through the photos of this impromptu party. These all helped him a lot, as they helped to evoke his vague memories of the festivities. He had to admit that he had a lot of fun despite being surrounded by strangers. They even taught him to play darts, which he enjoyed much more than he had previously thought. That being said, the visit wasn't all laughter and good wine. There was also a conversation between him and his father that his son will never forget.

Halfway through the festivities, Barry pulled his son aside and chatted alone with the noisy miners. Instead of pretending nothing happened, Dad admitted and apologized for lying to Joe for most of his life. Little Mulligan immediately accepted and didn't ask any questions. This was a big reason why Joe later felt good about the whole thing, but it wasn't the only thing his dad wanted to say. Barry Mulligan does his best every time he sees his son, and this time was no exception.

"Joe, listen to me," he said sternly. "I don't know how you ended up with that girl. I'm sure it's a good story, and I'd love to hear it, but not right now. Now, I'm going to tell you something I've wanted to tell you for years. You need to start being yourself and not let others lead you by the nose. ”

"What do you mean?" The son asked, confused. "I came all the way to see you!"

"I know it takes courage. But you didn't "come" here. You've been brought here. I know Maggie is all you have, it's fantastic, really. However, you can't let that girl be all you have. Feel me?"

"Oh, stop. It's not like that. ”

"You live in her apartment. You rub oil from her salary. For Queenie's sake, she uses a shuttle to get you here. You even admit that you started eating reasonably and working for her. Not for yourself. for her. ”

"I ...... No...... Actually, you ...... Maybe there's some truth to that," Joe admitted with difficulty. "I think I've been feeling this way lately, but I just brushed it off. I don't think I should have done that, right?"

"No, you shouldn't. It's not healthy. I mean mentally. You should start doing things for yourself. Take some initiative. Learn to be self-reliant. Start saying "no" to others. I know life seems good right now, but it doesn't always provide you with what's on the silver platter, right? When things don't go well, you need to be prepared. ”

None of this is particularly profound, but it's true. Truth be told, it's really impressive that Barry can see all of this, as he rarely sees his son. After learning something from his wife's bimonthly letters and hearing the boy's way of talking about his girlfriend, the older man realized the same flaw that had put him in trouble. In fact, it was his interdependent nature and desire to please others that kept him in forced labor for decades.

It all started long before Joe was born. A colleague of Barry asks the man if he can make up for the last half hour of work because he is too tired, and asks him to drink a pint of beer as compensation. Barry was just as tired, but he agreed to work twice as hard for the rest of the day. It's a favor for a friend, he told himself. A few weeks later, the same person asked the same question again. Then he did it a third time. It's become a trend, but it doesn't stop there. When word spread that Barry was particularly helpful and hardworking, more and more people began to shift their blame to him. I didn't mean it out of malice. They're just lazy, incompetent, inconsiderate, or a mixture of these. Barry didn't want to disappoint any of them, and he did his best to do what was asked of him, in addition to his own workload. For a while, he had to come up with his own little shortcuts to keep up. For example, stacking crates that shouldn't be stacked, or dumping raw ore into containers without checking whether the containers are empty. They're just a bunch of time-wasting regulations that companies do just because some stupid laws say so.

It turns out that these laws exist for a reason. Due to Barry's deliberate negligence, he mixed a large amount of unrefined magnesium with a box of tungsten ore and poured it into a melting furnace, causing an explosion and dumping the molten metal onto the fuel pipeline. What happened next was officially described as a "cascading structural failure". When the dust settled, several people were taken to the hospital, and the property damage amounted to millions of pounds. So an investigation was launched, and all logs and security monitoring were thoroughly checked.

Unsurprisingly, Barry's many indiscretions were exposed, and the finger was pointed at him. Realistically, is he to blame for that incident? Definitely not. The only reason magnesium is transported so far to the production line and goes unnoticed is because a group of people aren't doing their job. However, Barry foolishly thought it was indeed his fault and admitted it at the hearing. It wasn't until years later that he realized how naïve and stupid he was before and after this incident, and he hated himself for it.

As a good father, he didn't want his son to make the same mistake again.

"I would say that you should at least be a little selfish," he said to Joe. "Not for me, but for you. Do you see what I mean?"

"Yes, Dad. I think I know. I'll try. ”

"What a good boy. Come on now and let's make sure you don't forget this little talk. ”

The next photo Barry took was the one Joe had been staring at for the past few minutes. Even without these backgrounds, it stands out from the rest. All the other photos show both of them with goofy faces and some random rude guys around. In contrast, the photo looks like a normal father-son selfie, the kind that is framed and proudly displayed on a shelf. In fact, Joe liked the idea and remembered that he would do it when he got home. That was later, though. At that time, he was planning a more direct implementation of his father's words of wisdom.

"Maggie, can you come with me for a while?"

"I'm afraid not," she refused. "The shuttle is in flight, and I can't get out of the pilot's seat."

Technically, it's a traffic law, but no one actually follows it. Navigation computers are advanced enough, statistically, unmanned space flights are safer than artificial ones. However, it was still a law, and Maggie had to follow it.

"Then you can't pull over or something?" The man insisted.

"I could, but then we would miss the yacht's departure."

Bringing the shuttle to a complete halt would mean killing the momentum it has gradually accumulated since leaving the space station. Theoretically, it would be possible to get it back to a fast enough pace to meet the deadline, but this would require burning a lot of fuel, which the shuttle did not have.

"Please? It's important," Joe insisted.

"Understood."

Maggie didn't hesitate to hit the brakes. The whole ship shouted and shook, its thrusters wiping out its power as quickly as possible without tearing the hull in half. Even so, it took about a minute for the Silver Storm to completely stop. By that time Joe had already stepped out of the cockpit. Maggie turned on the shuttle's "flash beacon" to warn other ships that they might be on a collision path. The odds of this happening are astronomical low, yes, but that's the rule. With all the details taken care of, she finally got up from her seat and walked over to Joe. The man sat in the double bed in the cabin they shared, with a certain determined look on his face. He patted the sheets beside him. The girl accepted the hint and immediately sat down.

"What-uh-huh——!"

As soon as Maggie said two words, the man couldn't find a better word and pounced on her. He pressed his lips to hers and aggressively pressed her against the bed. He hugged her tightly, grabbed her soft skin, and kissed her mercilessly. It was like a hungry beast in a cage that had finally been released, and he hugged her without hesitation, which was unprecedented. Girls not only allow this kind of thing to happen, but welcome it to happen. In fact, she had been quietly looking forward to this moment for a long time, and the fact that it came so suddenly only made her even more excited. She doesn't just passively accept men's passions. She replied eagerly and enthusiastically.

In this way, Joe and Maggie fell in love for the first time, and hopefully there will be many more times in the future.