First by Randy Brown

Author:Randy Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2023-08-10T12:03:34+00:00

35

With Eve gone we’d skipped the traditional Last Supper the night before my mission. I didn’t want to be anywhere near Peter anyway. He’d avoided me the previous couple of days and I was happy to do the same. The few times I talked with Colt I could tell he sensed something was wrong but knew I didn’t need any distractions, so he let the subject lie.

I was angry with Ray for using Eve’s voice. I understood why he did it, but still felt a sense of betrayal. I did my best to push the thought out of my mind, knowing we’d have time over the next several days to hash it out.

Our corporate spies, if you wanted to call them that, reported Deep Sky was dormant. They saw no indication of an impending launch from their Florida headquarters. It seemed the lost drone had grounded them indefinitely. After all the back and forth of the race, first to the planets and now another star, it appeared we were going to be the first across the finish line.

I suited up in a small room in Hangar A-10. A tech assisted in making sure everything was sealed correctly so that all I needed to do was don the helmet a few minutes before departure. Even though we’d been successful since discovering the problem that doomed Sandra’s mission, we still weren’t taking any chances. Glenn was not about to back down on the requirement for wearing a suit and I agreed with him completely. The last thing we needed was an incident that could be avoided if I simply wore a pressurized suit.

With an hour to go before departure I jumped on the back of an electric cart and the tech drove me out to the departure area. The wheels ran smoothly over the concrete as I sat facing backward and watched the hangar recede slowly. In just a few minutes I’d be light years away. The concept was still just as mind-boggling as it had been on the first day. We’d focused all our effort on this moment in time and now we’d arrived. The past several months had been a blur, time rushing by like a flash flood that was now receding and leaving me standing alone.

To my right I heard and saw the large assembly of SpaceFirst employees, media, and VIPs. It was a massive gathering, probably twice what we’d hosted at previous launches. The tech steered the cart in a gentle swoop as we reached the concrete pad and my spacecraft. Lined up in front of it was my team. Chris, Marie, Jackie, Colt, and Peter. And one more.

Eve.

She stood at the end of the line. Our eyes met briefly and then she looked away toward the crowd. I studied her face but her expression provided no hint of her thoughts.

As if in a trance, I hopped off the cart and started making my way down the line. Chris pumped my hand and pulled me into a hug.

“This is for all the marbles, Lewis.

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