Dark Biology

by Bonnie Doran

  Laura nodded. “I’m glad NASA does a farewell barbeque two days before launch. It sounds lovely.”

  Worth programmed his GPS unit before starting the car and leaving the parking lot, but the navigator proved unnecessary. They drove to a secluded beach area, reserved for astronauts and their families, and pulled up to a cottage with multiple decks. Worth breathed in the salty tang of the Atlantic Ocean mixed with the aroma of grilled meat and watched the waves caress the sands.

  They walked up to the cottage simply known as the beach house. The first people they saw inside were Frank’s parents. “So good to see you again.” He grasped Dick’s hand and winced at his strong grip. The man’s broad shoulders testified to his linebacker days, but his hair had turned silver.

  His wife Debra joined them, her blonde hair framing a pixie face. She wrapped Laura in a bear hug. Worth was still amazed at their continuing friendship with the couple whose son had devastated their daughter’s life. Laura had persevered. She’d bridged the gap of awkwardness. Regret still tinged his thoughts of the marriage that could have been.

  “Where’s your son?” Debra frowned. “Where’s Chet?”

  Worth grimaced. “Not coming.”

  “Still angry.” Laura shook her head. “I’d hoped he’d at least come for Evie’s sake. He knew about it, of course, but he never returns our phone calls.”

  Glass shards pierced Worth’s heart at the pain in Laura’s voice.

  Then Evie appeared in the doorway, and all thoughts fled Worth’s mind except love for his daughter.

  ****

  “That was a great dinner.” Worth’s stomach complained that perhaps he should have stopped gorging himself earlier.

  Laura had hardly touched her steak, caught up in conversations with the other members of Evie’s crew. Grateful that all the astronauts had decided to attend, he shook hands with Larry and Jasper. Frank donned his armor of bravado, avoiding them as much as possible. They danced politely around rhinos in the room. A broken engagement, the dangerous launch, and six months in outer space.

  After dinner, the families strode the beach. Worth locked arms with his wife and daughter as they stepped barefoot onto the warm sand.

  “I still can’t believe you’ll be in space in two days.” Worth’s grip tightened.

  Evie grinned, skipping on the uneven sand and pulling her parents along. “After two years of training, I can hardly believe it myself. It’s just awesome. And I can’t wait to play with that virus in microgravity.”

  Laura frowned. “I wish your brother had come.”

  “I knew he wouldn’t. He’s jealous. He can’t stand the fact I might get ahead of him in scientific recognition. But he can’t catch me now,” Evie whooped.

  Worth’s sadness grew like the lengthening shadows. Daughter and son still at odds, consumed by competition. The repercussions of his stupid actions still rippled through his family. Their children had escaped from a broken home by entering hazardous careers. But he clamped his mouth shut and kept smiling. This was not the time to berate Evie for her ambition.

  Laura’s eyes glistened as they embraced. “We’ll be praying. You know that.”

  “Love you, Mom. Love you, Dad.”

  Worth squeezed her tight one more time. “We’re proud of you, daughter.”

  They left weeping.

  14

  “I” Plus Two Days

  Dan poked his head in the bustling room on his way to a late dinner. The backs of fifteen men and women blocked his view of their computer monitors but not the display of the world map dominating the front wall. Mission Control was now manned around the clock—a clock standing at T minus ten hours. He yawned as he sipped a cup of black coffee strong enough to wake a hibernating bear.

  Tomorrow, once Reconciliation launched and it cleared the tower, control would be theirs. Then he’d begin his job of relaying commands.

  He strolled to his work station and gripped the shoulder of his bald-headed counterpart sitting in the CAPCOM chair. “How’s it going, Dave?”

  “Quiet. Thought we’d have the traditional delay or scrub by now, but everything’s nominal. See you in the morning.”

  Dan smiled and walked away. He hoped the man would dispose of his pile of candy wrappers before then. He yawned. Tossing his empty cup in the trash, he nodded at the shift’s flight director and closed the door. Food then bed.

  He bumped into Sheldon Baxter, his commander for the next Rigel mission. “Hey, buddy. How’s the rat race?”

  “The rats are winning.” Shorty leaned against the wall as if hoping it would hold him up. Judging from the dark circles under his eyes, he’d been keeping the same hours as Dan. “Long day.”

  “Eaten yet?”

  “Nope. Interested in steak?”

  Dan checked his watch. “Guess Perry’s is still open.”

  “You’ll just have to suffer through a New York, medium rare—”

  “Enough. You talked me into it. But we should leave now. I’ve got CAPCOM duty in the morning.”

  They left the building and walked to Shorty’s Camaro. He revved the engine and peeled out of the parking lot, apparently more than ready for dinner.

  The smoky aroma made Dan’s stomach grumble even before they stepped into the restaurant. He ordered a Cowboy rib eye, Shorty the pork chop.

  Dan picked at his salad. “Can I ask you something?”

  Shorty leaned forward. “I’m all ears.”

  “You and Joan seem especially happy. How do you do it?”

  “It ain’t easy.” Shorty swallowed his last bite. “Joan’s a special lady. She knew what she was getting into when she married a space jock. We spend a lot of time together, just the two of us, and with the girls when I’m not gallivanting around the universe.” He shrugged. “We just work at it, that’s all. Why? Don’t tell me you’re thinking about marriage.”

  “Don’t know. Hildi and I—”

  “Hildi? You’ve kept that quiet.”

  “Well, you know how NASA is.”

  Shorty harrumphed as the server presented their salads. “You’re a fool if you let Hildi get away.”

  “I almost proposed before she left for the Cape. She got mad that I didn’t. I think.”

  “Women.” Shorty forked a piece of lettuce. “Why’d you get cold feet?”

  Dan studied his sweet tea. “It wouldn’t be fair to her. She has a career she loves. I can’t ask her to give it up, and I can’t see how we could keep a marriage and our jobs.”

  “Why does she have to be the one to give it up?”

  Dan stared at him. “Give up the astronaut corps?” Give up the moon? He shook his head. “No can do.”

  “Marriage is all about compromise. You need to learn that.”

  The steaks arrived. Dan found his appetite had taken a vacation but made a brave show of it. His efforts to rectify his relationship with Hildi were on hold. She was at the Cape awaiting launch, and he was here.

  His mind chased a stray rabbit. Frank’s affairs had devastated Hildi, but now she displayed her usual self-confidence. Her smile was back. She even smiled at Frank. Was something brewing there?

  Dan drained his tea. Hildi and Frank would only be together in space for a few days, and they’d probably be too busy to talk. Of course she wouldn’t let Frank sway her.

  Or would she?

  ****

  Hildi wrapped herself in an afghan she’d brought from home. She sat in the armchair of her Cape Canaveral apartment, still wide awake. The hefty textbook, History of Space Flight, lay in her lap, guaranteed to put her to sleep. Instead, her mind drifted between prayer and the conflicts with Dan, Frank, and Chet. She glanced at the clock then speed dialed Francine’s number.

  “Hildi!” Francine’s squeal always made her smile and left her partially deaf in one ear.

  “How are you? How’s work in the lab?”

  “Same as always. Shouldn’t you be asleep by now? I mean, don’t you have a launch or something tomorrow morning
?” Francine chuckled.

  “Just you try sleeping when you’re about to ride a rocket and spend some quality time with the guy you almost married.”

  “So how is he, anyway?”

  Hildi huffed out a breath. “I really don’t know. We’ve been so busy with the last phase of training—”

  “Didn’t you spend eight hours in that simulation with the whole crew? That sounded worse than the New York Marathon.”

  “Yeah.” Hildi smiled at the memory. “It went really well, though it was kinda weird sitting behind Frank and hearing Dan in our headsets.”

  “And how’s the love of your life?”

  “Don’t be so nosy.”

  “What do you expect from me? We haven’t talked in two days. Hey, I got a right to know.” Francine’s voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. “And I don’t suppose he’s popped the question yet?”

  Hildi’s pulse banged an angry beat. “Nope. Romance is still—shall we say—up in the air.”

  “Is he crazy or just plain stupid?”

  “I’m glad you’re on my side. I’d hate to run into you in a dark alley when you’ve got your claws out.”

  Francine guffawed. “What’s a mama bear to do? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”

  “I haven’t had a thought for three weeks. No time.”

  “He’ll come around.”

  Would he? “Sometimes I wonder if I was too hasty in breaking it off with Frank.”

  “I take it back. You’re the one who’s crazy.”

  Hildi yawned.

  “Glad I’m so entertaining. By the way, how was the barbeque?”

  “It was great to see Mom and Dad. Had a long talk with Frank’s parents. They vowed to keep in touch. They’re great.”

  “No Chet? Wait, don’t tell me. The microbe didn’t show for his own astronaut-sister’s farewell.”

  Hildi tamped down an angry retort. “Nope.”

  “Well…have a good flight.” Francine had the sense to drop the sensitive subject. “Don’t take any wooden nickels.”

  Hildi laughed. “I won’t. I’ll try to send you an e-mail or something. We can do that from orbit, you know.”

  “Wonders never cease. Vaya con Dios. I’ll be praying.”

  Hildi punched the off button and returned the phone to its cradle. Her mind U-turned back to the Frank question. He’d shattered her trust. Could they make the torturous climb back to a healthy friendship? Maybe with her father’s help? Her Father’s help…

  Hildi drifted back to prayer. Father, I need some peace with Frank. All these superficial niceties just don’t cut it.

  Other thoughts tumbled in her mind like clothes in a dryer. She’d cleaned out the refrigerator in the efficiency apartment, but the layer of dust coating the maple coffee table would just have to wait.

  Lord, protect us in the coming flight, be with the ground crew, and please, no delays. Delays happened for a variety of reasons—weather, fuel problems, hangnail…Ah, the joys of a bureaucracy that had seen too many tragedies. Caution flavored every decision.

  But she couldn’t stop grinning at the enormous opportunity NASA had handed her. Working on a virus in space could answer some of her professional questions. She might even make a breakthrough in the field. Journal articles, magazine interviews, Nobel Prize.

  Catch me if you can, little brother. Got spacecraft?

  Her mind kept jumping to the station and back to Earth, refusing to shut down. Frank, Dan, Chet, Vomit Comet, microgravity, scientific satisfaction.

  Besides, she’d have a lot of fun floating around.

  Her grin turned into another yawn. Hildi stood, stretching her arms over her head. She folded the afghan over the back of the couch and headed for the bedroom. Four o’clock would come way too early.

  ****

  Frank lay in bed with his hands behind his head, unable to sleep. He knew Reconciliation’s controls backward and forward but kept reviewing every move. The team at Kennedy had tried to trip up the crew during the long dress rehearsal, throwing in a few emergencies that were either impossible to occur or impossible to scrape out of. He wished he could have pulled a James T. Kirk and rigged the training program, but Tom wasn’t a guy who could take a joke.

  He couldn’t wait to man the spacecraft’s controls and feel Reconciliation’s power at his fingertips. Being pilot had its compensations, including—hopefully—a little prestige. Oh, it wouldn’t be like Apollo 11’s landing on the moon or Apollo 13’s nail-biting flight, but plenty of people would be watching. Maybe. He grimaced. It seemed these days the media considered every flight to be routine.

  He gave up on sleep and pulled out a suspense novel. His mind rejected his command to shift into reading gear. He’d be with Hildi. Somehow, he’d finagle a time to talk to her in private. He’d had enough of shallow women and shallower relationships.

  He stared at the ceiling, random thoughts snubbing his demand to shut down. Hildi and Dan had argued a few weeks ago, but neither had mentioned it. That was just before the crew left for Kennedy. The elephant in the room. During the simulation, Frank had wondered what was going on in Hildi’s pretty little mind as Dan relayed instructions to the capsule.

  As he thought of tomorrow, he smiled. The preparations were always a pain, but waiting for countdown ratcheted his anticipation with every tick. Nothing like sitting on top of tons of explosives to get the blood flowing. Please, no delays.

  Frank closed his eyes and willed his body to relax. His body refused.

  15

  “I” Plus Three Days

  Worth and Laura munched energy bars as they drove in the early morning light to the Banana River viewing site, reserved for VIPs and the astronauts’ families. A security guard checked their tickets and IDs. “Mr. and Mrs. Hildebrandt? Are you Hildi’s parents?”

  “Yes.” Worth and Laura spoke in unison. They looked at each other and laughed.

  The guard smiled then pointed to his right. “Please drive to the fourth row and follow the attendant.”

  Worth parked the car and opened the door for Laura. She grabbed her camera and handed Worth a pair of binoculars. Humidity weighted the air.

  “Want more coffee?” He pointed at the building that housed a cafeteria, gift shop, restroom, and a small museum.

  “Nothing right now, thanks.”

  Worth scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces. Dick and Debra joined them. “We’re finally here. Beautiful day for a launch.” Debra’s smile competed with the sun. “T minus two hours.” She called attention to the huge digital clock as the seconds snapped by.

  Worth nodded. “I’m glad we have a couple of veterans in our midst. We’re new to this daughter-astronaut launch thing.”

  Dick pointed at the countdown. “Don’t get too attached to the countdown. We’ve seen Frank’s three shuttle launches, and each of them was delayed.”

  Lifting his gaze to the Banana River, Worth’s breath caught in his throat. Beyond it and the lush Florida greenery, the heavy-lift rocket stood in defiance of the skies.

  Laura hugged her arms. “I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe our little girl is an astronaut. Do you ever get used to this?”

  “Not really.” Debra frowned. “Sometimes I wish I didn’t know all the details of space flight.”

  All the dangerous details, that is. Worth forced a smile as his mind wandered another lane. How would Evie handle the next few days in space with her ex-fiancé? She said she had moved past the hurt, but Worth knew how anger could rear its dragon head and spew fire at unexpected moments. Unfortunately, he knew it firsthand from Laura’s unbridled rage in the early days of their painful road back to a loving relationship.

  Worth coughed. Laura pulled him aside. “Think you’re catching a cold?” Her eyes mirrored concern.

  He shook his head and coughed again. “No. My throat’s just a little sore from speaking.” Hiding his increasing symptoms of illness had been tough during their tour of Florida’s theme p
arks, the amusement parks an ineffective attempt to get their minds off today’s launch. Worth’s attention instead became fixed on his persistent hacking and body aches.

  She searched his face but finally smiled. Always protective. His compromised immune system welcomed every bug like a long-lost friend.

  He offered coffee again, and this time Laura agreed. She turned her gaze to the launch pad.

  Returning from the cafeteria with two paper cups, he glanced at Frank’s parents, now engaged in a television interview. Worth ducked his head and pulled his ball cap low over his eyes. Maybe the reporters wouldn’t recognize him.

  He handed Laura her coffee and sipped his own. The brew scalded his tongue and throat. He juggled the cup between his hands, the heat burning his fingers through the protective sleeve. “Every time I see Dick and Debra, I wish things had turned out differently.”

  As usual, Laura read his mind. “That Evie and Frank had overcome the pain? So do I.”

  He turned to her and grasped her hand. “I’m still amazed you took me back. Have I told you today I love you?”

  “You can always say it again.”

  ****

  “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, ignition sequence start—”

  Worth held his breath.

  “Three, two, one, zero, liftoff. We have liftoff. The first manned mission of Reconciliation and the new Rigel series is on its way.”

  Fire blazed from the engines of the rocket. It rose in slow motion as if reluctant to leave the safety of Earth. The roar hit Worth like a physical blast. His jaw dropped. Dick was right. Even at this distance, words couldn’t describe the spectacle seen live. Billows of steam poured along the ground as tons of propellant launched his daughter skyward.

  The rocket cleared the tower. Launch Control now handed the reins to Mission Control in Houston. With Dan as CAPCOM.

  Was he their future son-in-law? Or another man who’d break Evie’s heart?