Red Gold by Ido Sharon

Author:Ido Sharon [Sharon, Ido]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-23T16:00:00+00:00

6.

During the directors meeting, Faina raised a motion to suspend Noa from flights. “Due to reckless flying which endangered both the crew and the irreplaceable plane on the return of the rescue mission to Earth,” Faina argued, “any professional and ethical dilemma Rakefet employees face must be weighed by them against the salvation of humanity. Saving a single individual, in this case Avi, cannot justify risking the entire mission. We don’t even know if his life has been saved, and if it has, we don’t know whether landing in Ben Gurion within two hours instead of four made much of a difference. We do know that if Noa would have crashed the plane everyone on it would have died — and with Plane 2 still stuck in orbit, the mission would have been set back for several months at the very least. I know that you are worried about how Nadav will react to her suspension, especially with their upcoming nuptials, but surely, he of all people understands that the risk she put the project in outweighs any marginal benefits to the survival of a single individual,” she said.

“I must correct you and say that while we would have faced delays had Noa crashed the plane,” said Shlomo, “we have a backup in place for every Rakefet employee, so the project definitely would not have ground to a halt. That said, I do think Noa’s suspension is called for.” Shlomo cleared his throat and added, seemingly as an afterthought, “by the way, how do you know about Noa’s nuptial plans?”

Chou rushed in to rescue Faina from an awkward moment. Chou knew, of course how Faina knew Noa and Nadav were planning to get married — Chinese intelligence had been listening in on the same conversation in Nadav’s car.

“What do you mean? Everyone knows they are getting married,” he said. “I understand Faina’s concern, but I think that, at the moment, such a suspension will harm the morale of our flight crews — and not only them. Noa is currently viewed as a hero by the team. Certainly, she is the most talented pilot we have. Rotem is probably the better pilot, when you take into consideration her judgment, experience and moderation — but Noa’s raw flying talent is unparalleled.”

Galit supported Chou, “while cold calculation favors suspension,” said Galit, “crew morale has considerable influence on how fast the project can progress. And as Faina noted, that is our paramount concern.”

And so, absent the as-yet unappointed representatives of the EU, India, Japan and Russia, they had a tie. Faina and Shlomo favored suspension, whereas Galit and Chou opposed it.

“To the best of my recollection,” Shlomo said, “the Rakefet articles of incorporation state that in a case of a tie among the board, the chair casts the deciding vote.” They therefore decided to pass the matter over to Joel, who would investigate the matter and provide his conclusions within a week.

In the meantime, Galit summoned Noa for a reprimand.

“Saving Avi did not justify your hell-bent descent.

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