“I do. I know that site. I read it all the time. I love those sites.” Thaddeus comfortably moved closer, pulling up a chair to Lucy as he spoke. “Although Armageddon dot com is better, and for sky stuff with the sun . . .” As he spoke it, so did Lucy, “Solar Watch.”
They both laughed.
Thaddeus asked, “Why? What is end of times saying?”
“Some scientist on the board. Big Dipper something.”
“Big Dipper 578?”
“Yeah!” Lucy excitedly pointed with her finger. “Anyhow, he was saying he’s been watching the sky and there’s activity. He’s spotting more spaceships and they are approaching from behind the sun.”
“Did he say how many?”
“Too many too count. It changes daily and they are using reflectors to hide themselves— Like they aren’t really coming from behind the sun at all. Whatever that means.”
Thaddeus shrugged. “This doesn’t worry you does it? There’s been alien activity before.”
“Yeah, but he’s making it seem like they’re planning a takeover.”
“He said that before.”
“True.’
“And we’re going up there Thad. What if they attack us?”
“If you think about it, they are eons away from us, we’ll be safe. You know, Lucy.” Thaddeus inched his chair closer. “Being a big sci-fi buff like this, I’m surprised the alien thing didn’t scare you before.”
“I thought of it. But it sounds ridiculous. I mean, could you see me bringing that up in class?”
“True. Speaking of class, that’s why I’m here. Did you want to study?”
“Oh, shit.” Lucy gasped. “We have that big test tomorrow.”
“Yep, and Colonel Gray said if we don’t all pass, we have to have him teach us again.”
“Oh, God, we don’t want that.” Lucy cringed. “I’ll study.”
“Good, Gene and Kip are in the lunch room waiting on us.” Thaddeus stood.
“Cool.” Lucy slid from the ledge and stopped. “Wait, we don’t have any books. How are we going to study without books?”
“David Hawk.”
“Is he gonna be there?”
“No, he gave us the test to memorize.”
“With the answers?”
“What do you think?” Thaddeus said. “It’s Hawk.”
“I like him; he’s so down to earth.” Lucy spoke as she and Thaddeus walked from the room. “Maybe I should talk to him about my alien concerns.”
Thaddeus stopped walking. “No. he’s earthy like you said. But he’d think you’re eccentric and strange. And David Hawk…” Thaddeus placed a leading hand on Lucy’s back and inched them to walk again. “Maybe I’m wrong. But him, with that science brain and all those years in space, I just don’t see him having a tolerance for people who believe in aliens. Or eccentrics.”
<><><><>
“You’re on what site?” David asked, sipping a drink, while on the phone with Martin.
“End of times dot com.”
“Oh my God, what are you doing there?”
“Seeing what people are saying on the boards,” Martin replied.
“What people? Crazy people?”
“David . . .”
“That’s one of those conspiracy sites, you know. No one takes it seriously.”
“I’ll have you know young man. There are many brilliant scientists on that site. They enjoy getting their theories out to the public without the risk of sounding insane or hindering their reputations.”
“How do you know?”
“I know several personally. And I post. I’m not a loon.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Excuse me.”
David grunted.
“You’re drunk.”
“I am not.”
“Are, too. You never do know when to stop indulging. You drank all day on the beach, all night at the dinner and having several night caps now. Am I right?”
“You’re right.”
“So don’t huff at me. And why are you calling me at midnight?” Martin asked.
“Updates. I haven’t spoken to you today or yesterday. How are things?”
“How are . . . ah, things. Yes. Quiet.”
“Nothing new?” David asked.
“Nothing today. Very calm. Odd. The boards are saying . . .”
“I don’t care about the boards, Martin. No offense.”
“None taken. Things have been happening daily. But nothing today.”
“That’s good then, right?” David asked.
“I don’t know.”
A short chuckle came from David. “You’re so whacked at times. You just said it was calm.”
“I did. I didn’t say that was good. It might be, it might not be. We need to wait and see what happens over the next few days.”
“And why wouldn’t it be a good thing?”
“Because David. Think of the old cliché. What always follows the calm?” Martin asked.
David paused with a sigh. “The storm.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Cheated.” Reese dropped the tests, crossed his arms tightly to his chest, and moved in a storming pace around Jon grant’s office.
“What do you mean cheated?” Jon asked.
“The tests I gave this morning. Read.” Reese pointed to the stack. “All corrected.”
“I’m guessing since you’re claiming they cheated, that they all passed?”
“Yep. All.”
“How does this constitute cheating? Did you leave the room?”
“No.” Reese shook his head. “Look at the answers on the first three. Every word the same, verbatim.”
Jon shifted through the papers. “Maybe Hawk coached them on the answers and…wait.” He stopped. “The others got perfect scores. Kip has three wrong. His answers aren’t the same.”
“No, his weren’t.”
“Then how can you say he cheated.”
“I’m telling you, he changed his answers so I wouldn’t think they cheated.”
“You think he’s that smart.”
“I think he’s got the cheating thing down,” Reese said.
“Gray.”
“Yes.”
“What does it matter?” He handed him the tests. “They still go on the shuttle whether they pass or fail, cheat or don’t cheat. It doesn’t matter. Let it go.”
“But . . .”
“Go back to class and let it go.”
Reese huffed out. It was a pure sound of his frustration. He snatched up the tests, and without saying anything further, walked from Grant’s office.
<><><><>
“Take off.” Ken whistled, adding a certain air of dramatics. “It’s a big thing, and one nobody expects. That’s why we’ll be doing this physical exercise today. To give you a feel of what you’ll be feeling during takeoff.” Ken began to pace. “You’ll feel dizzy, pressure, breathless to an extent, and a lot of times that sensation can lead to incontinence.”
Kip raised his hand.
“Yes, Kip.” Ken called upon him.
“Does that mean the shuttle explodes?”
“Huh?” Ken questioned, confused. “What are you talking about?”
Gene interjected. “Kip, that means you might piss yourself.”
“Ok.” Kip shrugged.
“For that . . .” Ken waved a finger. “We recommend you wear a continence aid.”
Lucy chuckled. “A diaper?”
Ken bobbed his head, hesitant about saying ‘yes’ to the diaper question.
“Fuck that,” Lucy said.
“Luce,” Gene scolded.
Kip laughed.
“I’m not . . .” she stopped when the door opened and Reese walked in. “Oh, hey Colonel Reese, did we pass the test?”
“Yes, with flying colors,” Reese said, with lack of enthusiasm. “One hundred percent right, except for Kip. He missed three.”
Thaddeus spun to him. “How did you miss three?”
/> “I did it on purpose,” Kip whispered. “I didn’t want . . . want . . .” his eyes gazed upwards to Reese, who was standing right there. “Dude.”
“Didn’t want what? And what did you do on purpose?”
Kip sat up straight. “I didn’t want you to know I was smarter than you, so I missed on purpose. Dude, the Hawk, dude, he teaches good. Better than some. Not you, Dude Ken.”
“I should hope not. Now back to where we were.” Ken waited until Reese backed up and sat down.
“I’m not wearing a diaper,” Lucy said.
“Continence aid,” Reese corrected. “And you have to.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Those who lack experience tend to lack control.”
“Too bad for them. I won’t wear one, and I’ll have a hard time ever looking at anyone the same if I know they’re wearing one.”
Reese curled a lip. “What are you talking about? You have issues.”
“Oh my God, you are so rude. Wear your Depends, go ahead, I’m not.”
“I don’t think you understand,” Reese said. “There isn’t a pull over so I can take a leak situation.”
“I understand. My mother used to make me hold it for a long time. I’ll hold it.”
“Hold it?” Reese asked.
“Hold it. I’ll go before takeoff.”
“It could be sixteen hours.”
Lucy shrugged.
“You’ll piss yourself.”
“Then I pee my pants. I’m not wearing a diaper.”
“You’d rather pee your pants?”
“Than wear a diaper, yes.” Lucy nodded. “And I won’t pee my pants, I have great control.”
“Not that good of control.”
“Bet me,” Lucy said, smug.
“Fine. Fine,” Reese said. “Be that way. Piss yourself. I don’t give a shit. But, after today, you’ll be asking for that continence aid.”
“Oh, ye of little faith in a woman raised by a catholic mother who convinced her children all public restrooms carry death invoking diseases.”
“What?” Reese laughed out his question.
Lucy waved out her hand.
“Today you’ll see,” Reese said.
“Yes, today we will see. No, you’ll see.” Lucy nodded. “I’ll have control.”
<><><><>
“Miss Control,” Reese, arms folded tight to his frame, leaned against the wall, just outside the closed bathroom door. “Are you ok?”
The sounds of Lucy’s heaving were loud. She had had her moments of eruptive vomiting, followed by heaving, and then to consecutive retching that didn’t seem to produce anything but noise.
Thaddeus paused in his walk by. “Is she ok?” he asked.
Reese nodded. “She’ll be fine.”
“I don’t get it.” Thaddeus shook his head. “I felt a bit queasy, Gene was fine, Kip, too. How did she get so sick?”
“Let’s just say her pilot was under orders to not be gentle and to test her control.”
Before Thaddeus could say anything, the door to the bathroom flung open.
“You dick!” Lucy blasted. “You did this to me on purpose.”
“Maybe a little more extreme,” Reese smiled. “Miss Control.”
“Well, I’ll have you know something Captain Arrogance. I may have gotten dizzy, I may have thrown my guts up and some, I may have a headache like I killed a fifth of Jack. But I did not . . . I repeat . . . did not pee my pants. So there.” With that, she slammed the door. In a second, the sounds of her regurgitation carried through again.
COMMANDER’S LOG GAL-019 – 2100 hours
The training session, roughly two weeks, ended just four hours ago. As stated in my earlier logs, the lottery winners were congenial and responded well to the training. While the training they received was minimal and skimmed the surface of the training real astronauts receive, they did better than would be expected of the average citizen.
They are, without a doubt, building a team within themselves.
Mr. Bryk, the eldest of the four, physically endured the training better than the other three. His wisdom and common sense will be an asset and missed when he leaves.
The young man we refer to as Kip, could have done better. My crew feels he withheld to make the others look good. Why that is, I don’t know.
Thaddeus Hall was unremarkable in his training. His enthusiasm outshone his ability.
Lucy Montgomery, the only female on the crew was a worry for me. My first test of her was a bit harsh, so I lightened up. But as stated in logs, 011, 013, and 015, she had me concerned that she might drop from the mission.
Fortunately, Thaddeus Hall was a rock and provided constant reassurance to her. He aided her in deciding on continuing. Although there is a rumor that he offered her one million dollars to complete the mission, when he heard she was packing to go home.
Ms. Montgomery has a lot on her mind and I believe that had a lot to do with her weakness in training and the fact that she became ill. She had trouble connecting with her spouse via the phone. A situation that Mr. Bryk informed me had grown worse. A personal conflict can often interfere with focusing.
Hopefully she will find solace in this mission and a sense of pride.
In less than 12 hours, we prepare to launch.
The mission is simple. Orbit the earth for four days, and then return safely.
I believe that will be a mission we can accomplish with ease.
CHAPTER NINE
Ever since Lucy called him Captain Arrogance that second day in class, Thaddeus had a hard time looking at Reese without seeing him in a tight blue leotard outfit, cape blowing in the wind with a big letter ‘A’ on his chest. But all that changed when they prepared to launch. Suddenly he had to look at Reese as Colonel Gray. He had to view him as the man with experience, the man who controlled the mission and held the lives of those on the shuttle in his hands.
Thaddeus focused on that as they violently ejected from the earth.
It was endless, or so it seemed.
Not the training.
The sky. The Heavens.
All the spinning, chest feeling like it was caving in, the vomiting, it was all worth it in that single moment. That moment when Lucy was able to catch her breath, get her bearings, and open her eyes to see that sky.
During take-off she couldn’t tell a soul what was said between the commander and Houston. She just knew everything was spinning and she was mumbling, “I’m going die.” It seemed so silly when they finally leveled off.
She had just a peek, but that was enough. She waited for Reese to give the all clear and she could remove her helmet.
She was seated next to Thaddeus, who had said nothing.
He was probably basking in it as well.
Lucy and Thaddeus became friends over the previous ten days. In fact, she wouldn’t be aboard the shuttle if it weren’t for him.
When things got rough, physically, Thaddeus was the pep talk she needed, telling her to focus on something that wasn’t moving to keep from getting sick. Was it mental? Or did it really physically work. She didn’t know which, but it helped. And when she was ready to quit, he had convinced her not to. Plus, his offering of a million dollars to stay wasn’t a bad thing either.
Kip was stoned. Assured by David Hawk that there’d be no pre-flight drug testing, he snuck off and indulged.
For the first time in his life, which he spent mostly high, he wished he hadn’t.
The flight enhanced by the drugs, was numbed. He sat there kind of sad about his childish decision. But that didn’t last long before his mind wandered to the packages of marijuana Hawk had stored in the compartment. A stash Hawk asked Kip not to tell a soul about. It was a secret experiment to see how it retained freshness in space.
Not that any of it made any sense to Kip, but he wasn’t going to argue. He just figured the near hippy scientist was up to something and who was Kip to question.
He wondered if his heart would finally
give out, since it pounded out of control within the confounds of his chest.
Gene Bryk never had health issues, but he had had a deep seeded fear that he’d be the first lottery winner, not only to ride the shuttle, but to die on it. If it was going to be anyone, it would be him. After all the fear, he had handled every test and physical endurance exercise they threw at him, and he handled it with flying colors.
He was glad once they reached the limits of the atmosphere the shuttle was stabilizing, physically. Gene could feel that. He waited for that moment, that first moment, to remove his helmet and peer at the endless sky.
A dream he had since he was a kid.
Reese gave the go ahead to get out of the flight suits and that the cabin was stabilized, allowing the crew to be more comfortable.
By the time Lucy was undressed, blurted out her ‘I didn’t pee my pants’ and darted to relieve herself, David was grasping for a cell phone that had floated away.
Returning with a ‘whew,’ Lucy reclaimed her seat. “You don’t waste any time,” she said to David.
“Hey, I have to experiment.” David grabbed a phone.
“Got a signal?” Reese asked.
“Not on this one.” David released the phone allowing it to float away, and then grabbed the next one. “Oh, yeah, got one.”
“No way,” Reese scoffed. “There’s no way you got a signal.”
The phone beeped with the moving of David’s fingers. “Sent.”
“But can you get a message in return?” Reese asked.
Within a second, the phone bleeped.
David grinned.
Reese rolled his eyes. “He’ll drive us nuts.”
David chuckled at that. He had six phones and satellites to check in those initial moments. Who was he sending texts messages to? He sent three to NASA, one to that woman he met in the bar, the one who didn’t believe he was going to try to text her from space, and he send another to Martin who hadn’t gotten back to him.
Thaddeus extended his hand as he perched by the small window. “Lucy, come here.”
The Last Mile Trilogy Page 39