Someone else would be sharing her room with a man tonight, Jancey realized as she heard Mila introducing herself to the two men from the Red group.
“Hello, I’m Mila Todorov.” Amiable and eager to please.
Kamal Sidhu from India and David Pillay from South Africa already planned on teaming up together. That left Mila with Jerry, Wade or Jean-Paul. Most likely the latter, because the two NASA astronauts would naturally choose one another. Not necessarily a good idea in light of what Mila had said about the committee perhaps being reluctant to send two Americans.
That wouldn’t affect her and Marlon. Not only were their scores better across the board, they also had proven their qualifications for long-term space missions. The committee would be pleased to choose an African-American, and also to have someone of her notoriety. The ideal team.
The day had brought a change of uniform. Gone were her thin T-shirt and khakis, replaced by a dark blue one-piece flight suit bearing her name over her chest pocket and the Tenacity Project patch on both sleeves. It was fashioned from durable material designed to be worn over thermal layers if necessary. If her experience at NASA was any indication, the suit would become a second skin as they trained over the next four years.
“Good afternoon.” A new face—another man, natch—entered the residence carrying a worn brown leather briefcase. He looked to be in his sixties, with wavy gray hair, and eyebrows that curled upward sharply. “I’m Dr. Edwin Calloway from the University of Hawaii. Please call me Cal. I’ll be leading a discussion on teamwork to help prepare everyone here to select a partner.”
Jancey asserted herself, gesturing for Jerry to scoot toward the center of the sofa next to Wade so she could have the end. The others pulled in chairs to make a circle.
Cal commandeered the only armchair and began flipping through a yellow legal pad. “Since arriving here on the island, you’ve had an opportunity to get to know some of your fellow candidates, but perhaps not in a personal way. Our objective here today is to open up with one another so you can get a glimpse of traits that draw you to someone, or conversely, that might be difficult to reconcile with your own. By the time our session ends today, I hope you’ll have enough information to choose the one person from this group who would make the best partner for this mission. The concept may seem foreign to some of you, but your partnership in the Tenacity Project is very much like a marriage, and if you’re selected to go, your wedding is today. For better or worse, as long as you both shall live.”
Jancey noted his wedding ring and wondered what his wife was like. Had she been drawn to his studious intellect, or was she taken in by his soft-spoken manner? According to their handbook, he was a professor in the department of psychology. Likely an independent contractor, though it wouldn’t be unreasonable to have a psychologist on staff.
Despite his overall pleasant demeanor, she wasn’t interested in his touchy-feely exercises. She’d made her decision about a partner, and had based it on logic.
“I’d like to begin with a series of questions. We’ll go around the room and give each person time to respond. It’s perfectly all right to give the same answer as someone else, but I ask each of you to be as truthful as possible. Don’t tailor your remarks based on what you think others want to hear.”
Mila had pulled one of the dining chairs over to the circle. With her long legs stretched out and her arms folded across her chest, she looked disengaged. Not a wise move should Dr. Cal report her lack of interest. She could be bored without looking it.
“How will you spend your free time on Mars?”
Starting on his left with Wade, they reeled off top of mind replies. Reading spy novels. Working out.
Marlon huffed. “I don’t expect to have any free time on Mars.”
Writing notes to friends and family on Earth.
“I enjoy playing the clarinet,” Jancey said.
Sleeping. Sketching.
“I’m not exactly sure,” Mila said. “Something that doesn’t disturb my companion.”
Cal shook his head. “Remember what I said. The truth. Not the answers you think people want to hear.”
“It is the truth. I wouldn’t do something that annoyed someone else, especially if there was nowhere they could go to get away from it. That would make me feel bad and I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’ll find quiet things to do, like reading or working a Rubik’s Cube, something to keep my brain engaged.”
It was a good answer, Jancey conceded. Mila struck her as someone who could entertain herself. More power to her if she did so without disturbing those around her.
For more than two hours, Cal pelted them with questions. Pet peeves, things that make you sad, happiest childhood memory. From the answers, they were to glean enough insight to know what life would be like with each person in the group.
Jerry would keep things light with jokes and wisecracks. Marlon was mission-oriented to a fault. Wade was “utterly fascinated” by the space science, and couldn’t wait for the chance to gather data and send it back to Earth. Jancey could easily work with someone like that.
Apparently Mila could too, since she’d listened intently as he spoke. Wade showed interest in her as well, nodding along as she talked of her obsession with engineering systems. They might make a decent team.
“What is your most important consideration in choosing a partner?” Cal asked.
One after another, candidates answered with various synonyms for professionalism. A partner who could do the job.
But not Mila. “Normally, I would say competence, but I expect all of us to be well-trained. The most important thing to me is compatibility. Who would be the best companion?”
Jancey found her insight irritating. Not because it was simple or naïve, but because it was spot-on. No one among them would skate through training and emerge incapable of performing the required duties. Their biggest challenge was establishing a comfortable rapport, something the married couples had already done. Mila could have been channeling Grace.
“All right, last exercise. I’m assuming by this time you’ve narrowed your choices. It’s your turn now. One question you can pose to three people. This is your chance to cover anything I missed. Let’s start with Jerry.”
“One question…one question. Do you snore?” He’d narrowed his choices to Wade, Jean-Paul and Marlon.
Marlon asked which was best, sharing all the work equally or dividing it according to capabilities.
Jancey answered, “As Mila pointed out, I expect to be capable of everything. That said, a division of labor seems like a good idea for those tasks we particularly enjoy. No one, however, should think I’m going to do all the cooking just because my expertise is growing food.” She bolstered that with a narrowing of the eyes directed at Marlon.
He threw up his hands in mock surrender. “I hear you loud and clear.”
As they continued around the room, no one posed a question to Mila, proof she wasn’t on anyone’s shortlist. She likely was correct that her partner would be chosen by default.
It was painful for Jancey to see someone with obvious capabilities and a demonstrated sense of staying cool under pressure be overlooked. She’d always believed the men of NASA would place respect for those things above inherent gender bias, but clearly that wasn’t the case, since she too had been snubbed by everyone but Marlon. As the only one in the room with expertise in food production, she’d expected more of them to express interest in partnering with her.
When her turn came, she used her question to help Mila decide who would accept her, who would respect her.
“My question is for Marlon, Jean-Paul and Wade.” She’d ruled out Jerry in fear his antics would turn hostile if he were teamed with someone he considered inferior. “Be honest here. How would you treat me—or any woman—as a partner on Mars?”
Marlon started. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Jancey, but I don’t see you as a woman. I mean, I do…but I don’t. You’re an accomplished astronaut, a scientist and a major
in the US Air Force. I couldn’t possibly respect you more than I do. You’re my equal in every sense.”
Not bad, but there was no way Marlon would see Mila in the same light. “Jean-Paul?”
“Asking a Frenchman not to notice a woman is like asking a rooster to ignore the sunrise. It does not mean I would not respect you as a colleague, but I would be dishonest to pretend you weren’t a woman. I would treat you as a gentleman should.”
She appreciated his candor and suspected he wasn’t alone in his ingrained chivalry. While it wasn’t threatening, it was condescending for someone who didn’t wish to be coddled because of her sex. Mila would find it infuriating. “And Wade.”
“My first question of anyone is going to be, ‘What are you working on?’ It doesn’t matter to me if you’re a woman, a man or a space alien. I want to learn everything you know. I want to pick your brain on my work too. We should build on that together. That’s the whole reason we want to go to Mars—to expand our knowledge of the universe.”
She had grossly misjudged him, thinking him dull and dry. He actually was an ordinary science geek—socially awkward but someone Mila probably would enjoy working with.
Predictably, Wade used his opportunity to ask his question directly of Jerry first, then Jean-Paul. In a mild surprise, his third potential candidate was Jancey. Perhaps he’d thought she was entertaining a possible pairing because of her question to him.
“Let’s see…what will I be working on?” she said, stroking her chin pensively. “In addition to training for this mission, I expect to spend the next few years working on ways to grow food on Mars. Something tells me I’ll still be doing that when I get there.”
Jerry chucked Wade’s shoulder. “Sorry, bro. I’ve changed my mind. I’m picking Jancey.”
When Mila’s turn finally came, she leaned forward in her chair with her fingertips pressed together, her mouth twisted with doubt. “I couldn’t help but notice no one seems to have me in mind as a partner. Someone will get me though, so I guess I need to know how hard you’ll work to be selected if you know it means working in tight quarters with me forever.”
Under the circumstances, it was the best question she could have asked, Jancey thought.
Jean-Paul answered first, smiling wryly. “I very much want to go to Mars. I’d go with the Beast of Gévaudan if it was my only way to get there. I want a partner I can work with. All you have to do is show me you can be that person.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement. The underlying message was that Mila had something to prove, while he did not. She’d be expected to shape her work around his directives. Not acceptable.
“Kind of what Jean-Paul said,” Wade answered. “Going to Mars would be the biggest thrill I could imagine, no matter who I went with. If I end up being your partner, all I care about is whether or not you can hold up your end.”
At best, it was a lukewarm response. Neither had shown even a trace of enthusiasm at the idea of being paired with Mila. Nor had they spoken of working with her, certainly not as an equal partner. She’d be choosing the lesser of two evils, both of whom were set to blame their possible failure on her perceived shortcomings.
“And Jancey.”
She needed to show them Mila was someone they’d be lucky to get as a partner, someone who possibly had more upside potential than anyone in the room. “How hard would I work if you and I were partners? As hard as I’d work with anyone. After seeing your propulsion design, I’d like our chances a lot, since it’s obvious you’re a gifted engineer.”
The doctor put his notes away and passed out a stack of forms and pencils. “That wraps up our questions. Your last task is to choose a partner. Circle your name on this list and rank all the others, with one being the most desirable, seven being the least. I just got a text that your lunch has arrived. While you’re eating, the committee will review your selections and announce the pairings.”
The pairings. From three dozen questions and a handful of structured interactions, they were supposed to select a lifetime partner. At least she had a history with Marlon. Poor Mila was left to choose based on little more than she’d get from an online dating site. Except instead of dinner and a movie, it was a wedding.
* * *
“Lunch” turned out to be a soy concoction blended with sweet potatoes and cinnamon. It was supposed to be indicative of a quick meal they might have on Mars when their work kept them from preparing something more conventional.
Mila noticed right away the men’s shakes were nearly twice as large as hers and Jancey’s. Metabolically balanced. Yet another reason they’d be the perfect choice.
The morning session had shed little light on the question of who besides Jancey she’d want as a partner. It probably was a moot point. Marlon and Jancey, David and Kamal. From the answers Jerry and Wade had given, they were likely to team up. That left only Jean-Paul.
It would be interesting to hear of his experience with the European Space Agency. She’d applied two years ago but made it only to the second level. In their thirty-year history of human space flight, only three women had been selected for the program, and only one had ever flown a mission.
Jean-Paul had designed one of the crew modules for the ISS and flown on a Soyuz mission to install it. Over the past four years, he’d worked with engineering teams on the blueprints for Tenacity’s living space aboard the vessel and also in the planet habitat. A space architect. From a practical standpoint, that was a useless skill, since their quarters were already designed. Even after four years of identical training in food production, he’d probably expect her to serve him dinner every night on Mars. In return, he’d behave “like a gentleman.”
Jean-Paul, David and Kamal were clustered at the counter talking about working in weightlessness. Jancey and the others—the four NASA astronauts—were seated in a grouping around the sofa. It was Mila’s own fault she wasn’t accepted by anyone in the group, not only here today but throughout her time in Hawaii. She’d fooled the psychologists into believing she could work cooperatively when all she’d done was complain about Andi and try to undermine Jancey and Marlon.
She needed a reset. Accept her assignment with Jean-Paul and set out to make him glad the dice had rolled their way.
During a pause in their conversation, she wedged herself between Jean-Paul and David. “Tell me more about this Beast of Gévaudan.”
His welcoming hand on her shoulder felt genuine, as though he too recognized their fates were intertwined. “The hybrid wolf. We should take along one silver bullet.”
Several staffers entered carrying canvas duffel bags, each with a name stamped on the side. Their analog gear, no doubt. Mila spotted hers between Jean-Paul’s and Wade’s…if that meant anything.
Danielle Zion, wearing a dark blue sweater atop her yellow polo shirt, followed and waved a single piece of paper. “I have your assignments. When you hear your name, collect your gear and stow it in one of the bedrooms with your partner. Then proceed to Building A for Dr. V’s afternoon seminar. He’ll provide an overview of the analog trials…what your quarters will be like, communications with Mission Control, the experiments you’ll be running. Also, very important—how you’ll be evaluated. That begins in fifteen minutes.”
Mila drew a deep breath through her teeth and did her best imitation of an actual smile. Just get on with it!
“Most of you got your top choice. These are the teams—Pillay and Sidhu, Huffstetler and Hackett, Beaumont and Todorov, Quinn and Robillard. Everybody get that?”
Beaumont and Todorov. Her heart pounded as she played it back in her head. Had she heard it right, or was her mind playing tricks on her?
Before she could react, Jancey tossed a duffel at her feet and muttered, “Go put our bags away.”
“What the hell?” Marlon exclaimed. “There has to be a mistake.”
With her insides doing cartwheels, Mila lifted both bags and shuffled across the room, straining to hear the conversation.
�
�I’m sorry, Marlon. I decided it was better for me to go with Mila.”
David and Kamal had already ventured into their room, but the other astronauts were frozen in their tracks to hear what Jancey would say, making the moment even more awkward than it already was.
“I don’t understand.” His face a mask of hurt and confusion, he looked over his shoulder at Mila and back at Jancey. “Is it…because you’re both gay?”
Jancey panned the faces of the other men, finishing with a brief glance toward Mila. “You’re kidding, right? Let’s talk about this later.”
Mila whirled around and continued toward the room with Jancey right behind her. She felt guilty for eavesdropping, but not enough to dampen her elation. Never in her wildest dreams did she think Jancey would choose her.
“You’ll never be sorry, Jancey. We’re going to win this competition. I can feel it.”
“Feeling’s not enough,” she snapped. “Right now one of my best friends thinks I’ve lost my mind and he might be right. If we want this, we’re going to have to work harder and smarter than everyone here. The committee doesn’t want to pick two women for this mission. We have to make them.” She poked a finger in Mila’s chest for emphasis. “Whatever they ask us to do, we do more. We do better. No slacking off, not even for a minute.”
The harshness of her voice didn’t faze Mila because she agreed with every word. “This has been my dream since I was thirteen years old. I will not let you down.”
Left unsaid was that her dream had always included Major Jancey Beaumont.
Chapter Ten
“It wasn’t about you, Marlon. But it wasn’t about her either…not the way you might think.”
They were standing outside Building A, huddled against a wall that blocked the wind. Even in July, the air at nine thousand feet was chilly.
“I don’t understand, Jancey. Ever since we got here, we planned this together.”
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