<div class="floatleft">(http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/ent_images/6565_5.jpg)</div><strong>Name: </strong>James Braithwaite<br/><strong>Occupation:</strong>Engineer<br/><strong>Location: </strong>Shuttle en-route to Pioneer / Pioneer main cabin.<br/><strong>Date:  </strong><br/><hr/><br/>Braithwaite grinned. He knew she was egging him on, just trying to needle him into some sort of Ill considered outburst that would make him angry and embarrassed at the same time. She knew he knew that she knew as well, and yet she still did it. That was all part of this potentially dangerous little game they were playing. He knew he shouldn't play it, just as she did, yet here they were.<br/><br/>"OK," he said, "Just don't waste any photon torpedoes on the Klingons. They are meant to be our friends now."<br/><br/>He called for a systems readiness check. All lights were green, but he wanted everyone else to confirm it once more. He 'pinged' Tranquility Control as well, and all was good on their end too. They were ready for the off.<br/><br/>He pulled up his prepared launch speech. It had been written by a committee and yet was meant to sound inspirational and natural. Seventeen lawyers and twice as many politicians had had to sign off on it, so there was no chance of it sounding at all natural. He was in overall command though, and so he did his duty. He cleared his throat, pressed the intercom channel that would broadcast his words to Tranquility and to Earth, and he began.<br/><br/>"Not so long ago, our ancient ancestors emerged from a blue ocean onto the land. A little while later others of our kin emerged from the trees. Still later some stood up to walk on their back legs. For all that time, we have called an unimportant blue-green planet home. Not so long ago, a hundred years or so after the first of us gained powered flight, we sent men to the moon on a rocket ship. Then as well as blue-green, we could call a grey airless place home. Today we take another Giant Leap. Towards another planet, this time red. We happy few will blaze a trail that others of our kind will soon follow. We are the first of a long line of people who will come to call the red planet home. To our brothers on Earth, and on the Moon we say 'Thank you' for the trust you have placed in us. We will not let you down."<br/><br/>The rest of the speech droned off his tongue. Making sure to thank all the major stakeholder groups and nations not represented on Pioneer or the 200. Yada Yada, blah blah. Eventually, thankfully, he came to an end and CapCom on Tranquility gave them the go-ahead for launch.<br/><br/>"Powers." he said, all business now. "You are on. Light 'Em up."<br/><br/>