<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/1/1a/Dr._Madison_Chance.jpg)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Character name:</strong></td><td>Dr. Madison Chance</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Location:</strong> </td><td>On the transport shuttle</td></tr><tr><td><strong>With:</strong> </td><td>Mission crew</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Doing:</strong> </td><td>Psychological observations</td></tr></tbody></table><hr/><br/>“I shall take your words (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=148833.msg7721966#msg7721966) as a compliment, then,” I said to Deputy Commander Versatile, as he took a seat next to me. I found his choice of words curious, but said nothing. I hadn’t realized that<em>cold</em>possessed a negative emotional connotation. Was being objective perceived as a disadvantage? It seemed such a curious notion.<br/><br/>The floor of the shuttle rumbled as we rolled out of the hangar. The main engines whined, and then the rotors let out a throaty roar. The hull vibrated, and suddenly we were on our way, heading upwards above scarlet sands into a pink sky. Scarred terrain revealed itself below, a pockmarked array of craters and canyons dancing across a world devoid of life.<br/><br/>It was interesting.<br/><br/>More interesting to me were all the facial expressions within the shuttle. Eyes widened and pupils dilated at the sight of the Martian surface below. Hands clenched into fists, breathing rates increased … even the scent of the filtered air in the shuttle subtly shifted, as trace amounts of sweat formed and adrenaline began to flow. I could detect a slight increase in the cabin temperature as well, presumably from body heat. The members of the crew took such delight in a rather perfunctory part of a mission – travel. If such excitement abounded for traveling to Olympus … what would happen when we reached our destination?<br/><br/>I noted all of the crew’s reactions, cataloguing it for my studies.