Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1) (48 page)

            “Without Chrissie? What are you trying to do?
Get me killed?”

            “Eh, buy her a T-shirt.”

            “Yeah, like that’ll help.” Jeff glanced at Gabe
and Sue who both nodded.

            “Hmmm.” Jeff hung his head and rubbed the back
of his neck. “That’s not an entirely bad idea. Alright, let’s go.”

Late Monday afternoon, Jeff, Gabe,
Abby and Susan pulled to a stop at the front door of Wrentham House.

            “Home again, home again,” said Jeff.

            Abby stared out the Escalade’s window at the
front door. “So, who gets to explain all this to Chrissie?”

            Jeff smiled. “You.”

            “No way.”

            About that time the front door opened and out
came Chrissie. As they all climbed out of the car, she stood on the front
porch, arms crossed and tapping her toe on the tile. “New Orleans, huh? I’ll
bet you didn’t even bring me a T-shirt.”

            Jeff walked to the rear of the Escalade and
opened the door. “Actually, I did.”

            Chrissie frowned. “And you think that’ll make it
all better?”

            Jeff grinned at her. “No. But would you accept
ten pounds of fresh Gulf jumbo shrimp, and another fifty pounds of frozen as
additional payment?”

            “You’re kidding?!” And she ran to join him.

            Jeff patted the tops of two ice chests. “Nope.
Help yourself.”

            “Boy, do you know how to buy your way out of
trouble.”

            “Well, give us hand here and we can have some
for dinner.”

            “Deal!”

Tuesday, December 10,
2013 (T minus 833 days)

Jeff leaned back in his chair at
the conference table, groaned and hung his head. “Oh god, Gabriel, we’ve
covered this ground before.”

Gabe sighed. “I know, but we need
to rethink it; six engines are much better than one. The difference in safety
margin is huge. It gives us redundancy.”

“Yeah, I know, but it can’t be
done. There are not twelve RL-10s available, and Pratt & Whitney can’t
build that many that fast. It’s not an option, Gabe.”

“It is if we use 10B-2s on one
vehicle and 10A-4-2s on the other.”

Jeff shook his head. “Only if we
beg, borrow, or steal every engine in the pipeline for every planned launch for
the next three years. That’s not gonna happen. And even if we could get them,
they’d cost us their weight in gold. How would we pay for them?”

She frowned. “So our safety comes
down to dollars?”

Jeff glared at her. “You know
better than that! I would never put a price on our safety, but there’s a
practical limit to what we can do. We’ve already got J-2s, and they cost us
next to nothing. We can’t get RL-10s, and couldn’t afford them even if we
could, and they wouldn’t work any better. The Apollo astronauts put their trust
in the J-2, that’s good enough for me. The J-2 worked spectacularly on the
S-IVB, it’ll work just as well on the EDS.”

“But…”

Abby, standing a few feet from
Gabe, leaned back against the wall and groaned, her impatience showing. “Jesus,
Gabe, give it a rest! Like the boss said, we’ve been here before. Let’s move
on.”

Gabe glanced at her and snarled, “I
don’t recall asking for your opinion,” and immediately reached for her slide
rule.

Jeff cringed. Uh oh, she’s losing
it. He looked to his side at Susan, who rolled her eyes and shrugged. He
decided to call a halt to the meeting, but wasn’t fast enough.

Abby leaped forward, screaming at
Gabe and slapping the slide rule from her hands, “Will you put that goddamn
thing down and just pay attention?” As the rule struck the floor the slide
snapped in half.

Gabe stood for a moment staring at
the broken rule in horror, then slowly knelt, gently picked up the
broken pieces and clutched them to her bosom. Then she raised to her full
height, towering over Abby, and socked her in the cheek. Abby crumpled to the
floor, her head knocking a hole in the plasterboard wall. “Bitch!” screamed
Gabe, as she turned and ran from the room sobbing.

Jeff leaped from his seat, “Shit!”
Abby appeared unconscious. He glanced at Susan.

She jumped toward Abby. “I’ve got
it.”

Jeff nodded and took off after
Gabe. She had run out the front door and he finally caught up with her at the
top of the drive where she was sitting on the ground, curled into a ball,
clutching the broken slide rule and crying her eyes out. He knelt and put his
arms around her.

Gabe, chest heaving with sobs,
cried to him, “It’s broken, I can’t fix it.”

Jeff held her close, “I know. It’s
okay; I’ll get you a new one. I promise.”

She looked up at him, tears
streaming down her face, “I can’t do this.”

Jeff put his hands on her face and
wiped the tears from beneath her eyes, “Yes you can. You’re one of the most
brilliant minds on this planet. If you can’t do it, no one can. But you don’t
have to do it alone. We’ll do it together, you and me, and Abby and Sue and
Chrissie. We’re a team, we’re a family, and we’ll do it together.”

Gabe buried her head in Jeff’s
shoulder and cried. He held her gently and let her get it out of her system. He
refused to believe they were in over their heads.

After a while Jeff gently pulled
Gabe to her feet and dusted her off. “You okay now?”

Gabe nodded and sniffed, “Yeah, I’m
alright.”

“Okay.” He grinned at her. “That’s
some right cross you’ve got. Let’s go see if Sue needs help extracting Abby
from the wall.”

Jeff and Gabe returned to the
conference room but found no one there. Jeff hollered down the hall, “Sue!”

“In the lab,” she yelled.

Gabe groaned, “Oh, God, what have I
done?”

They hurried down the hall and into
the lab. Sue was setting up the x-ray machine while Abby sat on the examining
table, Chrissie holding an ice pack to her cheek.

Jeff stared at Abby, concerned.
“How bad is it?”

Sue shook her head. “Oh, she’ll be
fine, probably just a bruise and a bump on the head. But I’m going to take a
couple x-rays just to make sure nothing is broken.”

Gabe, head bowed and still
clutching the broken slide rule, slowly walked up to Abby. “I’m sorry.”

Abby gingerly shook her head.
“Forget about it. I had it coming.”

Gabe sat beside Abby and put her
arm around her.

Abby leaned her head on Gabe’s
shoulder. “I’m sorry too. I swear I’ll never do anything like that again.”

Gabe hugged her.

Jeff sighed and nodded. “Alright
then. Say, if you two are gonna kiss and make up, can I watch?”

Gabe glared at him. “Go away, or
you’ll be next.”

Jeff grinned. “Yes, ma’am, on my
way.” He turned and started out of the room. “I’ll be at the bar.”

Thursday, December
12, 2013 (T minus 831 days)

Jeff’s office intercom lit up on
Chrissie’s line. “Boss, your one o’clock is at the gate.”

            “Okay, thanks. On my way.” Jeff greeted his
visitor at the front door and nodded in respect. “
Salāmu
`Alayka
.”

            “
Wa-Alayaka As-Salām
,”
the gentleman replied, extending his hand to Jeff. “
It is a pleasure to
meet you, Captain Grey. You speak Arabic?”

            Jeff smiled. “No, sir, just a few words.”

“Ah. I am Sheikh Salem Al-Fahad
Al-Sabah, and I am the Director of the Kuwait Department of Aerospace.”

            “The pleasure is all mine Sheikh. Please, come
in.” Jeff showed the sheikh into the great room and offered him a seat.

            “Your home is quite lovely, Captain.”

            “Thank you sir, we find it comfortable. Forgive
me, but I didn’t know Kuwait had an Aerospace Department.”

            “It is a new and rather small department,
consisting for the most part of, well, myself. I possess a degree in
aeronautical engineering from Oxford, and my somewhat distant cousin, the Emir,
humors me.”

            “Ah. Well, Sheikh, every oak begins as an
acorn.”

            The sheikh smiled. “Exactly.”

            “What can I do for you, sir?”

            “Captain, I believe it is more a case of what
I
can do for you.”

            “Really? And, how is that, Sheikh?”

            “Captain, I am what some in the Arab world might
call a ‘progressive’. From a technological perspective, many in the Western
world look upon we Arabs as, uh, what is the word? Bumpkins?”

            Jeff laughed. “Forgive me, sir.”

            “That’s quite alright, Captain, a perfectly
understandable reaction. Some in the Arab world would like to improve that
image and, at the same time, hopefully improve relations with the West.
Contrary to the viewpoint of many in the West, we are not all barbarians and
terrorists, living in tents and longing for a return to the Dark Ages.”

            “I’m not one that holds that viewpoint, Sheikh.”

            “I can see that, sir. Besides your own country,
I understand that your intended mission has attracted the interest of others;
France, Russia, and I hear even China. Kuwait, representing the Arab world, is
interested in, how do you say it? Getting in on the act?”

            “Sheikh, the nations you mention have rather
substantial aerospace programs and launch facilities. What did you have in
mind?”

            “Yes, of course. We are indeed lacking in such
facilities. However, Captain Grey, what we do possess in substantial quantity
is… money.”

            Jeff smiled. “Ah.”

            “Furthermore, Captain, it seems Kuwait owes you
some debt of gratitude.”

            “How is that, sir?”

            “We have a mutual acquaintance, Senator
Landers.”

            “You know the senator, sir?”

            “Yes, he has been most helpful in assisting our
country with certain technological aide, particularly in the area of defense.”

            Jeff nodded. “I see.”

            “The senator informs me that you, at
considerable peril to life and limb, aided in no small manner in the liberation
and salvation of my nation’s oil fields during the Gulf War, and still bear the
scars of your service on our behalf.”

            “It was just my job, sir.”

            “Be that as it may, Captain, we are most grateful.
The senator also informs me that your mission is in need of some additional
funding.”

            Jeff smiled. “Well, sir, he’s right about that.
This is a shoestring operation and two things we are always short of are time
and money.”

            “Understood. Captain, if I may be blunt, how
much do you need?”

            Jeff raised his eyebrows. “Ahem, well, Sheikh,
that’s a little hard to say. There are a lot of intangibles.”

            “Also understood. Perhaps a… ballpark figure?”

            Jeff sighed deeply. “Well, sir, we’ve raised
around $300 million in general contributions and grants, and the U.S.
government, through NASA’s budget, has provided us with a one billion dollar
loan guarantee, which I don’t think they expect us to repay. We’ve also
received generous backing in terms of surplus systems and equipment from a
variety of sources, and there are the international cooperative efforts you
noted. And, of course, there’s my personal investment in the project…”

            “All that you have, I understand.”

            Jeff smiled. “More or less. Still, there is a
great deal left to be done. Offhand, I estimate we will need to come up with
around another billion dollars.”

            “A billion dollars?”

            “Give or take.”

            “Hmmm.” Sheikh Salem stared out the window for a
minute. “Your view of the ocean is quite spectacular, Captain, in spite of the
snow. I would imagine that during the summer months you spend a great deal of
time enjoying the luxury of your… patio.”

            “Not nearly as much as I would like, Sheikh.
This job keeps me pretty busy.”

            “Yes, but is it a job, Captain, or a passion?”

            “By now, Sheikh, I fear it’s achieved the status
of ‘obsession’.” Jeff shook his head. “Otherwise, I would have given up on it
long ago.”

            “Yes, I can imagine. Alright, Captain, you have
your one billion dollars. If you’d care to have your bank contact my office, my
secretary will see to it that the funds are transferred. Call it an investment
in international cooperation.”

            Jeff started coughing.

            The sheikh leaned forward with a look of
concern. “Are you alright, Captain?”

            After a moment, Jeff got the coughing under
control. “Yes, thank you. Ahem, wow. That’s, uh, very generous of you, sir.”

            “It seems to be for a very good cause, Captain.”

            “Thank you, sir.” Jeff rubbed his chin and
thought for a moment. “Sheikh, please forgive me if this sounds rude but, what
is it you want in return for this generosity?”

            “A fair question, Captain. Only two things:
first, I understand you intend to raise the flags of the various nations
involved in this project on Mars.”

            “Yes, sir, that’s correct.”

            Sheik Salem picked up his briefcase, opened it,
and handed Jeff a paper-wrapped package, emblazoned with the Kuwaiti coat of
arms. “Captain, would you be so kind as to raise the flag of Kuwait as well?”

            Jeff took the package. “Sir, it would be my
honor. And, your second request?”

            “Ah, yes. I understand you have a very
interesting crew. I would very much like to meet them.”

            “That’s it?”

            “Yes, Captain, that is… it.”