EOTU by D. R. SMITH (summer books .txt) 📕

Nick Walker looked up from the several reports he was mulling over and glared at her over the top of his half-eye reading glasses. There was most certainly a stern warning in his expression. It was no mystery whom Mia meant by ‘SHE’ and Nick was not in the mood to play peacekeeper.

“Yes. SHE is going to be here...” he said in a mumbled angry tone. After a few moments, his irritation with the implied confrontation caused him to sit up and slip his glasses off. He tossed them onto the huge conference table with a sharp clatter and then in a louder, more firm tone said “... and I insist that you keep your disdain to yourself. Remember, NASA has the power to pull the plug on all of this. So you kiss her butt. And I mean it.”

Nicholas Walker was no more fond of Shari Preston than any of the others. As the compliance officer from NASA, her constant badgering of the staff, management, and even investors had been a major thorn in his side since day one. But if there was one thing Nick had come to know it was that the government could shut this project down in a heartbeat if MARCH failed to cooperate with NASA authorities. In so many ways, it seemed strange to Nick that a government entity could regulate space. Tell someone whether they could or couldn’t send something into the vast void of space. Of all the things politicians were determined to lay their hands on and control, outer space would have never crossed his mind as one they would succeed in regulating.

With her arms folded onto the surface of the table, Mia now tilted her forehead down to the its edge while moaning. “Whatever you say boss” He gave her a second 'I'm warning you!' look, even though she couldn't see him. Dr Walker glanced at his watch and then at the digital clock built into the thermostat on the wall. He and Mia were the only two in the room and the meeting would be starting in 5 minutes. Where is everyone, he thought. He was aware that Angie was a ‘no show’, but no one else had notified him of their inability to attend. Mia sat back up causing her chair to creak loudly, piercing the silence of the large meeting room.

Suddenly the door swung open and a mobile conversation strode in. One of them laughed loudly which changed the depressing atmosphere inside to somewhat more jovial. Habib Tafik and Dr Sanjay Patel both stepped through the doorway carrying with them the odor of fresh hot coffee and a look of enthusiasm on their faces. Trailing several steps behind them was Dr Shari Preston, who was also cradling a hot covered cup of java and added to the room’s aroma the scents of hairspray, perfume, and the outside air.

As the three new attendees settled into their conference chairs and swiveled them to a forward position, Sanjay and Habib finished their chatter with the latter stating, “You'll see. They'll make the playoffs next year”. Sanjay chuckled and smiled while pointing a finger at Habib and shaking his head in friendly disagreement of that prediction.

“Actually, I’m moving away so I won’t see!” he replied with a well-acted ‘light bulb just lit over my head’ expression, followed by a burst of laughter. All the meeting’s attendees would in fact be tens of thousands of miles from earth well before the playoffs. Mia had now come to full attention but, in spite of Dr Walkers warning, was giving Dr Preston a despising up and down look out of the corner of her eye. Shari Preston felt, but ignored, the steely stare and went about her business as the now seated woman, began pulling stacks of paper from her dark burgundy leather shoulder bag that was on the floor near her feet.

Nick slipped his lab coat sleeve back an inch or two in order to verify the time. 7:03. He scanned the perimeter of the polished meeting table to make sure they were all ready before he brought the meeting to order. The group seemed considerably smaller, he thought, even though it was truly only Angie that was missing. Scooping up his glasses and sliding them halfway up the bridge of his nose, he cleared his throat in a preparatory manner, using it as though he were hammering a gavel to silence any remaining conversation and bring the “court to order”.

“Well... I want to thank you all for being here and being on time” he said forgivingly as he lifted himself from his chair. “And, as usual, we welcome the presence of Dr Preston to our facility and this meeting.” He smiled and gave a barely noticeable nod in her direction which she graciously returned.

“Can’t really say that for Angie baby! She be runnin' late!” Mia slipped in. Mia was also not a fan of Dr Hemmers. The two of them had practically come to blows in the past and no one really knew what this personal vendetta was all about. For those who knew the two of them well enough, one could only conclude that Mia viewed Angie, with her religious convictions, as a ‘goody two shoes’. In an effort to disqualify Mia's derogatory comment, he intentionally avoided looking in her direction when he explained Angie’s absence.

“Dr Hemmer has excused herself this morning due to the late hours she kept last night resolving the cargo weight issue” he said as he walked slowly towards the smart media whiteboard on the wall. “We all actually owe her a debt of gratitude for her mammoth efforts in this regard.” Looking down at his phone, he accessed the shared project app and flashed Angie's equation and notes on the board. Everyone looked it over for a few moments and then nodded their approval.

“Here here!” Habib said raising his travel coffee tumbler in a toast-like fashion. Walker smiled and tipped his head in Habib's direction in acknowledgment of the appreciative gesture.

“I second that” Dr Patel added, almost jokingly clinking the edge of his coffee mug against Habib's insulated receptacle.

“Thank you gentlemen. Your appreciation will be noted and passed on to Dr Hemmer” Dr Walker said emphatically while looking in Mia's direction. “Now let's get down to the real meat of this get together. First, I wish to point out that the project has progressed far enough now that only the crew is required to attend these morning meetings, unless of course, one of the techs is specifically requested. This is a significant milestone” He paused as everyone weakly applauded this remark. “Thank you... thank you very much. We are nearing total launch readiness and only minor technical and navigational details need to be ironed out” He looked at Dr Preston while making that statement and felt a bit uneasy when she turned her eyes from his in response to the comment. Although his smile melted slightly and his gaze was still attempting to read Dr Preston’s body language, he continued.

“As all of us on the MARCH team are always connected through our shared project communication tools, I believe we'll start by allowing Dr Preston to address us so she can exit while we complete our internal part of the meeting” He paused a moment and then, in an introductory manner, said “Dr Preston”. He smiled, waved an open palm in her direction giving her the floor, and then sat down.

Shari Preston stood up and slid her chair under the table as far as it would go. Dr Preston never failed to project 'government' in every aspect of her 5' 4” appearance. The navy blue blazer with the stitched NASA logo screamed of authority as did her gray slacks, red-white-and-blue ascot, and loosely pinned hair bun. The dark rimmed reading glasses that dangled on the tip of her nose were more esthetic than functional as she appeared to always be avoiding them... even when reading. It was difficult to get a smile or laugh out of her as she was constantly on the defensive when visiting MARCH. Although she her fidgety actions gave the impression of impatience, it truly was not her MO. In reality, she was simply a nervous individual who had to be moving all the time.

It took what seemed like an eternity for her to shuffle through her papers to find the first item of the day. Slipping one of the sheets out of the stack, she displayed an 'Ah...there it is' look on her face and began to speak.

“OK. As you know we at NASA are closely monitoring the Horizon Mission Project in order to insure the safety of the public, your staff, and of course, the crew of the EHM.” She paused a moment after giving this oft-repeated opening comment. Gazing up and down her selected sheet she once again raised her brows in recognition of her desired information. “We do understand your deadline for a launch is approaching and appreciate your eager anticipation of that day. But it has come to our attention that there are still a few items that need to be addressed”

Once again she searched around the page as though she had either lost her place or was selecting which tidbit of bad news she would drop on the MARCH folks first. Dr Walker’s brow furrowed slightly as he cautiously glanced at Dr Patel, now feeling something awful was about to be divulged. Even Mia and Habib squirmed in their seats as the uncomfortable feeling became thick in the air.

“Ah... OK here...” In keeping with her training at presenting these regulatory bombs, Dr Preston momentarily looked beyond the piece of paper she was holding with both hands so her eyes could make contact with each crew member. She then continued reading.

“After careful examination of the device known as the NTWGT48, NASA has decided to disqualify it...” Each person in the room moved forward in their seats with glaring eyes and raised their voice in astonishment as Dr Preston reactively escalated hers so as to still be heard over the talking “... as a valid proven form of propulsion thereby requesting the MARCH organization and the Horizon Mission Team to provide either evidence to the contrary or evidence of an alternate form of propulsion... EXCUSE ME!” She expressed loudly at the end of her written statement in an attempt to quiet the group.

Dr Walker was lightly shaking his head but chose to take control of the meeting to bring it to order.

“Please! Please! Quiet everyone! You have to allow Dr Preston to finish her comments!” he said in a loud but controlled voice knowing that deep down inside, he TOO wanted badly to protest.

“Allow her to finish WHAT?” Dr Patel exclaimed in his thick Indian accent, “Destroying everything we've worked for these past 8 years!” He finalized his remark looking down to his lap with a strong shaking of his head which was clearly done to prevent himself from saying more than he should.

“Do you realize without that propulsion unit operating in the EHM that it would take us a thousand years to reach M87?” Habib questioned. He ended his comment with a slightly more threatening approach than Dr Patel. His challenging stare directly into Dr Preston's eyes remained for a few seconds after he finished. “That's what the whole thing is about!” Habib turned to look directly at Dr Patel. “Wait till Angie hears this” he said with his eyes slitted and his lips tight.

“I sure wouldn’t want to be the one to tell her” Mia said as she lounged back in her chair stretching both hands out above her and then ‘finger intertwining’ them behind her head.

Walker then sat waiting for a barrage of insults to fly from Mia and he was actually prepared to 'open the gate', so to speak. and let her tear into Preston. But surprisingly, she just stared down the NASA employee, straight browed with a disgusted upturn