Cosmic Rendezvous

Shelly walked to the blackboard and wrote out the launch simulator exercises for the day. “One difference between Draco and the space shuttle is the thrusters. So we’re going to practice—”

Randy snickered next to Linc. “The last thing this team needs to practice is thrusting. Lightning definitely has that down.”

Shelly gritted her teeth. Normally, she didn’t have trouble getting her peers to respect her authority. But Linc had already set a tone of disrespect, and it was only natural that his team would follow suit.

Before Shelly could figure out the best way to handle Randy’s remark, Dusty Chambers spoke up. “Give me a break, guys. You wouldn’t say things like that if Colonel Murphy was in the room, so don’t start mouthing off now. Let’s show Shelly how professional we are in the air force.”

“Thank you, Dusty,” Shelly said gratefully.

Dusty gave her a wide smile in return. And, judging by the sudden scowl on Linc’s face, he didn’t appreciate his rival coming to her rescue. She knew all about the tension between them, and a sudden burst of wisdom had told her that she could use it to her advantage.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Apparently, Dusty subscribed to that same philosophy. During the twenty-minute break between the briefing and the walk to the hangar where the flight simulations would take place, he fell into step beside her.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he said.

Shelly stopped in the corridor and turned to face him. He was handsome, with spiky blond hair and a lined, weathered face from spending a lot of time outdoors. “Sure. What’s on your mind, Dusty?”

“I’m just curious. Did you really try to get Lightning pulled off the mission?”

Shelly sighed. “He blew that out of proportion. It’s not that I tried to get him pulled from the mission so much as I inquired if there were other astronauts that would have been a better fit.”

Dusty laughed out loud. “He must have loved that.”

She shrugged. “It seems Colonel Murphy is really sold on Linc as the best man for the job. Even though I don’t agree, I have to respect his judgment.”

“I gotta tell you, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who thinks Lightning is all hype.”

“If that’s what you think, why do you call him Lightning? I refuse to indulge his ego.”

Dusty scoffed. “It’s mocking when I say it. Sure, he had a moment. I can’t take away the fact that he pulled a heroic stunt, but there’s more to being an astronaut than one moment. He’s getting a whole career’s mileage from one good mission. Most astronauts put in years of hard work and never get one newspaper article or magazine cover. But does that make them lesser astronauts?”

Shelly nodded in agreement. “You won’t get any argument from me.”

“Good. It’s nice to know we’re on the same page,” Dusty said.

Shelly turned to look after him as he walked away. Just what had he meant by that?

The airplane hangar had been equipped with an exact replica of Draco and all its parts. A series of training exercises had been scheduled, with first the Alpha and then the Beta team running through each maneuver.

Right away the Alpha and Beta teams took on the roles of rival sports teams, talking trash and bragging about which one would outperform the other.

Colonel Murphy was in attendance to supervise the exercises, and Shelly expected him to intervene. Instead, he told her that the military encouraged healthy competition because it would push each team to perform at its best.

While Shelly found herself secretly rooting for the Beta team, it was the Alpha team, and Linc specifically, that performed better. Dusty and Linc were clearly well-matched, but Linc was just a bit more of a risk taker, which allowed him to clock better times.

As a result, Linc was almost impossible to stomach during their lunch break. Colonel Murphy encouraged them all to eat together in the cafeteria to establish team unity.

But Shelly didn’t see that happening at all. There was so much back and forth between the two teams, she didn’t understand how they’d make it through the rest of the week.

Hoping to give her ears a rest so she could finish her turkey sandwich in peace, she poked Quincy in the ribs. “Change the subject. I can’t take any more of this.”

Quincy was a short, stocky guy with sandy-red hair and freckles. He looked at least ten years younger than his thirty-two years. He was one of the engineers who had moved out to Houston with her from D.C. Of all the engineers on her team, she was closest to him.

“Hey, Lightning, I heard you had a date with a girl from Make Me a Supermodel. How did it go?” said Quincy.

Shelly cringed. He would pick that topic. This was going to be a long day.

“It was great,” Linc said, then dug into his bowl of chili.

Shelly studied Linc’s reaction and wondered why he was reluctant to talk about his date. He’d certainly proven that he wasn’t the modest type, and this was the perfect audience to listen to him brag.

“Don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise,” Shelly said before she could stop herself.

Linc glared at her. “There’s no trouble. Anisa is a great girl.”

“I know. I met her,” replied Shelly. “We had a great conversation about stain remover and hair salons. What do you two talk about?”

“If they’re doing a lot of talking, Lightning’s doing something wrong,” Randy joked.

Shelly rolled her eyes. “What was I thinking? A space jock like you doesn’t want to date girls capable of stimulating conversation. All you’re after is…stimulation. Nothing more than arm candy.”

Linc shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve got a sweet tooth.”

“Wait a minute,” Mitch said. “How come Shelly has met your girl? You’ve never let any of us meet your dates.”

“That’s because he’s never dated one girl long enough,” Randy said, laughing. “It’s been what? Three weeks already? She’s only got another week or so before he moves on.”

Linc scoffed. “What are you talking about? It’s not like I schedule them or anything.”

“Oh, you don’t? Then it just works out that way,” Randy said.

Linc squirmed a bit. “That’s not true.”

“Oh, then you’re serious about this one?” Vince asked.

Linc ducked his head, with a sheepish grin on his face. “Can’t get serious. Anisa is moving to Milan to model for Dolce&Gabbana on a long-term basis.”

“Oh, yeah? When does she leave?” Randy asked.

Linc shrugged. “Next week.”

“I rest my case,” said Randy.

Shelly pursed her lips. It figured that he was the “love them and leave them” type. So far he wasn’t failing to live up to her low opinion of him.

“You guys haven’t considered the fact that the girls may be running away from him. After all, not many women appreciate a guy who’s lightning fast,” Shelly quipped. She heard Quincy gasp beside her.

Linc glared at her. “I’ve never had any complaints.”

Shelly laughed. “Women don’t usually bother with complaining. They just get the hell out.”

Everyone at the table laughed, and Linc was visibly angry. But after a deep breath, his face relaxed. “That’s okay. You all can laugh if you want to. I know jealousy when I hear it. I’m secure with my manhood. My reflexes are lightning fast when I fly. Enough said.”

Shelly just shook her head, taking a bite of her turkey sandwich. While her mouth was full, and she couldn’t retort, Linc leveled his gaze on her.

“I’m noticing that you have a keen interest in my private life,” he said. “I saw you perk up when you heard there’s going to be an opening in my date book. But I have to be frank with you. I just don’t think it would be professional of me to encourage your crush.”

Shelly’s startled intake of breath was followed by a wad of turkey, which flew past her tongue and lodged solidly in her throat. Her eyes went wide, immediately starting to water as she choked. Coughing and wheezing, she pounded on her chest, trying to swallow the meat.

She couldn’t hear anything but the panicked pounding of her heart as she gasped for breath. Suddenly, she was pulled to her feet, and two powerful arms encircled her. Two quick presses below her ribs and the wad of turkey flew onto the table before them.

Tears were streaming down her face, blurring her vision. All she heard were voices gasping and asking if she was all right.

The strong arms holding her upright finally released her, and she reached up to wipe her eyes. Turning to face her rescuer, she coughed out the words, “Thanks…so much.”

Lincoln Ripley’s face came into view. “Are you sure you’re all right?” He helped her to the cafeteria bench, facing away from the anxious onlookers. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have been teasing you.”

Shelly swallowed hard, taking in the fact that her worst enemy had just become her savior.

Loud enough for everyone to hear, she said, “Fine. I take it back. You’ll never hear me complain about you being lightning fast ever again.”

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