<I would NEVER disregard the speed of light!!!

Complicated...

Expensive...

But:
According to Isaac Asimov, the best part about sci-fi is creating, playing in, and eventually destroying your own Universe. It's yours. When asked why he chose writing, Asimov pointed out that anything else would require him to work for a living, and, for him, writing was anything BUT work.

What if...

What if controlled black holes could be employed in the story, even virtual ones? Create a science, one that would allow the placement of these black holes in orbit, one at Mars, and another at Earth -- possibly even on the surface of Earth, at someplace like Fermi -- not very big ones, but large enough to compensate for small time variables. At its closest to Earth, the time delay would be 12 minutes (approx. 6 to, and 6 from). I think you could tweak that, by bending the right laws a little.

"So, what do you do for a living?" she asked, accepting the offered drink.

"I fly around Mars."

She centering him in her view, turning a little as she settled to the soft leather of the upholstery. "Really...?"

He idly sipped at his Collins, joining her on the sofa. "Mm-hm. Just finished a virtual survey of the Tharsis Ridge."

"You're serious..."

"Well, you did ask. I work over at Fermilab, on loan from the JSC in Houston. I have a program I'll be starting tomorrow that involves a detailed mineral survey of Valles Marineris, just to the east of the ridge. The first couple days will be flying the Gossamer over to the site. It’s berthed at the Ulysses Patera base...” He gave her a light shrug. “It's kind of exciting."

"Could I watch?"

"Well, that part’s not very exciting at all. I spend the day wired into a console... Well, if you want to, sure, I guess it’d be alright. ...You’d better bring a book to read, though."

Have some fun with it, and see what happens,
Dan