The Martian Journal by Michael Burnside

22:51 Wednesday 7th January 2178
    An interesting bunch to say the least. Initially it started off bad when the first person to arrive was the white coat who chased me away from the farming deck the day before. He looked equally pleased to see me. Introduced himself as Dr Leonard Lloyd, emphasising the doctor part, before examining the cutlery at the table. I thought best to leave him as there would be plenty of time to get acquainted during the journey to Clarke. I’m hoping he’s one of the scientists who we’ll be leaving on Clarke along with the cargo as I’m sure he may not survive the return trip back.
    The next one to come through was the complete opposite, although I’m not sure if that’s much better. He was a bear of a man who loudly introduced himself as Hutchie and told me he was the ship’s engineer. I prayed nothing would break down. The smell from him told me that he must have had a few drinks already. Although I did warm to him slightly after he walked over to Lloyd, gave him a slap on the back and asked for a beer for him and his new ‘bud’. The look I got from Lloyd was priceless and I did my best to stifle a smirk.
    The next two came in together. They were brothers, twins in fact . Frank and Aaron Harris, both navigators and will be the ones who keep us on course. Totally identical except that Aaron has a slight limp. Hutchie made a joke that he must have drunk too much already and was seeing double. The Harris brothers seemed to accept him better than Lloyd did and took him up on his offer of a beer for each hand.
    Finally an elderly gentleman entered the room. He quietly introduced himself to me as Malcolm Callaghan and he would be a passenger on the voyage rather than a crew member. I actually had to strain to hear what he said, although the noise Hutchie was making didn’t help. Having said that, once Hutchie noticed Malcolm, he immediately fell silent, almost embarrassed by his loud behaviour in front of such a senior citizen. Malcolm simply smiled and told him not to let an old man like him ruin the party. This started Hutchie up again and called for another beer for Malcolm.
    The meal was one of the finest I have ever had. Steak cooked to perfection and the potato wedges were the best I've tasted. The new crew all seemed to blend well with the exception of Lloyd who remained silent. He seemed to obsessively inspect each piece of his food before eating it while Hutchie on the other hand, shoveled it in while joking and telling some inappropriate stories. The Harris brothers seem to have taken to him. While I can see that part of them would share Hutchie’s enthusiasm for a good time, I sense a strong sense of duty and pride from them both. Even Malcolm, so much senior seems to have gelled well, even if he is just merely smiling and nodding at the jokes.
    I tried engaging Lloyd in conversation but I just received short, sharp answers so I thought best to leave him in peace. I did find out that much to my pleasure, he will be remaining on Clarke when we return back. I asked Malcolm why he was travelling with us and he replied softly that he had business there. He didn't say anymore about it and I didn't want to push it. Clarke is after all , full of top secrets and people have probably been ordered not to talk about it. Perhaps Lloyd has good reason to be the way he is.
    Lloyd and Malcolm both excused themselves after the meal to return to their quarters. Malcolm stating he's not the young man that he once was while Lloyd gave a quick 'evening gentlemen'. Hutchie and the Harris brothers had no intention of turning in just yet. As much as it would be a good opportunity to get to know them, I thought it best to keep the distance between captain and crew for now. I bid them good evening and told them not to over do it. Hutchie stood up straight and gave a mock salute, which made the brothers and I laugh. A likeable guy, although I wonder if I'll still be saying that at the end of the