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the rank of commander?”
    He stiffened. “Haven’t been an astronaut
very long, have you?”
    “ Well, I’ve—”
    “ Only a rookie wouldn’t
know who I am.”
    “ I’m not a rookie.
I—”
    Lynch talked over her, repeating his
credentials robotically. “This is my eleventh space mission in
twenty years at NASA. Before that, I trained Air Force stealth
pilots and spent my entire life ’n’ military career workin’ toward
one goal—become an astronaut and explore interstellar space. Never
took time for marriage ’n’ family. Attained Senior Commander status
in the space program last year at age forty-eight.”
    Faith forced a smile. “Congratulations, you
deserve it.” She turned to Deni. “How about you, Deni?”
    “ I’d rather not talk about
myself.”
    Uncomfortable with Deni’s curt response,
Faith headed to the galley to help G.R. She pressed close to his
side and whispered from behind her hand, “Deni’s so tall and very
beautiful, but is she always so grumpy?”
    He led her aft where they could speak
freely. “Deni’s driven and focused and comes across that way, but
she’s a great lady. Gets her height from roots in Africa’s Watusi
tribe. She’s an amazing pilot. Outflew all the guys in simulation
exercises, so NASA awarded her the enviable position of piloting
the AstroLab at age thirty-nine,” he hesitated, “but it’s not so
enviable right now.”
    “ Yeah.”
    G.R. looked through the cabin. “Let’s do our
safety check. You take one side and I’ll take the other.”
    “ Hey,” Faith yelled to the
others, “Anyone want a drink before we get everything tied
down?”
    “ Anything but water,” Deni
said. “I need a shot of energy.”
    “ Protein shake? We brought
packets from the Wizard.”
    “ Perfect,
thanks.”
    When Faith served drinks to the crew, Deni
became more cordial. “Thanks, Faith. Sorry I was a bit short,” she
said. “We’re all under a lot of stress and I’m anxious to fly this
ship home.”
    “ You’ll do it,” Faith
replied with a smile.
    Deni smiled back.
     
    #
     
    NASA’s troubleshooting communiqué came
through, and Bach went to work on the powerplant. Within twenty
minutes he announced, “Gettin’ a positive response here. If
everything resets, we might be ready to go in two hours.” To ease
the stress, he joked and made up a song about eluding aliens, to
the amusement of some.
    G.R. yelled toward Lynch, “Hey, I hate to
put a ding in the positive energy, but even with the food they
brought from the Wizard, we won’t have enough to get us home. And
that’s if nothing else goes wrong.”
    Lynch strode to the food storage area,
acting as if he’d somehow find a hidden stash of supplies. G.R.
knew he hadn’t missed anything, but looked on in silence while
Lynch nosed around the cabinets and drawers. The commander soon
agreed they were short of food for six people and walked to mid
ship to watch Bach’s final systems check. “When you came through
the space station’s flight deck area, what did you see? A
disaster?”
    “ No, it’s immaculate,” Bach
replied. “I got a good look. The labs are secured, and I’d bet
there’s still oxygen and space food aboard.”
    “ That’s what I’m thinking,”
Lynch said. “Even though NASA said to stay out, after hearing your
observations, I don’t see a problem.”
    G.R. said, “I’ll volunteer to get it.”
    “ Better check with Ground
Control first,” Bach said.
    During the time delay, the crewmates waited
restlessly for NASA’s approval to search the space station for
supplies. Lynch, Deni, and Faith had all been on the station in the
past, and as soon as the go-ahead came through, Faith handed G.R. a
diagram. “The ship is like a wheel with two intersecting spokes
inside. They’re passageways.” She pointed to the diagram. “After
you enter from the airlock, go left to the first passageway and
take it all the way to the other side. Food storage and the galley
are right