The Story
It was a gray cold wet day when he got the news. The job was his if he wanted it. Decker leaned back in his chair and looked out the large round window in his office in thought.
There were a lot of reasons for going and just as many for staying. The Galactic Enterprise was his design from the very beginning. Modular Concepts a division of his company worked out the actual engineering and Decker financed more than fifty percent of the project from his company’s profits and public support. When the Russians signed on to the project, NASA reluctantly joined the project too. A chance to get into space was hard to pass up.
However, there were risks and the dangers imposed by space itself were the least of Decker’s worries. His company, while popular with the people, had many enemies in both the political and corporate worlds. A trip to all the planets in the solar system would take years and it would be impossible to return to deal with challenges his company might face. Just last year he had to deal with a lawsuit that tried to prevent him from putting the plans for his Food Synthesizer on the internet for almost anyone to use. A machine, with a few base ingredients, that could produce simple meals with the touch of a button was priceless. Companies that had bought the rights claimed that it would devaluate their product and reduce sales. Decker had won that battle but it had made him more than a few enemies in the corporate world.
The job of Captain of the Galactic Enterprise was his if he wanted it.
