Julia
Julia The tiny Cessna airplane came to a stop on the small, private airfield’s runway, just in front of the hangers. “Nice landing, Sandra!” enthused the pilot’s blond, nine year old passenger in a thick Texan drawl.
“Thank you. Help me tie the airplane down?”
“Yep!” Sandra taxied the airplane to its designated parking spot and she and her sister prepared the plane for its rest. Once a position opened up in the hanger, the staff would relocate the airplane inside for the upcoming months.
Julia looked at her watch. “We made good time from Orlando.”
“It would have been quicker to drive. It is not that far to Cape Canaveral.” Saying that, Sandra actually preferred to fly rather than drive on the wrong side of the road, but she kept her Florida drivers license and insurance up to date as she was States-side so often.
“I know, but what would you have done with your plane then?”
An unlikely pair, the two sisters unloaded their luggage onto an available trolley and headed toward the small terminal to hire a taxi. Dressed casually and looking younger than her twenty-seven years, Sandra was very small with short, dark hair and large brown eyes. She had the lovely, exotic look of someone of Eurasian heritage. Her much younger half-sister was tall for her age, almost as tall as Sandra, sturdy and strong, and had the suntan and the long, sun-blond hair of an Australian who has not worn a sun-bonnet anywhere near enough.
“How long will this tour last?” Julia asked.
“Nine months, the usual. It will probably be my last, though.”
“Yeah, and that will make Peter happy!” was the astute observation of the child. “Bring me some moon rocks, would you? You forgot last time.”
“I am sorry. I will try to remember this time.”
Sandra had already completed two tours on Alpha. Her unique knowledge and skills had caused her to be invited back for a highly unusual third tour. There was still much work to complete on the communication and data arrays for the Meta Probe. Sandra found the challenges of Alpha exhilarating, but did look forward to a steadier relationship with Peter and the possibility of children. She had quite fulfilled her childhood wish to go into space. She believed her mother would have been proud.
The taxi took them to the Cape directly and dropped them off. Sandra’s security badges got them through the main entrance and they then took a shuttle van to the passenger terminal near the Eagle landing fields. Sandra took one last opportunity to soak up the lush, Floridian scenery. Even this early in March, when much of the rest of the States were shrouded in white and brown, everything here was green and in bloom. Julia was also looking out the window, but she was watching the approaching Eagle with reverent fascination. Julia had never been up close to one of the spacecraft before, and was looking forward to this as much as she had their entire week at Disneyworld. She clutched her camera tightly. She would need proof for her classmates back in Sydney if they were ever to believe her. Until the local news report had broadcast that bit on Dr. Diane Campt’s step-daughter’s reappointment to Alpha, none of her classmates had truly believed her when she had told them her sister was an astronaut. Well, she would show them! And she could throw in the Texas accent for fun. They didn’t need to know that Americans, on a whole, didn’t sound like that.
They passed through one last, very thorough and somewhat intimidating, security check and then walked into the Eagle passenger waiting and loading dock. Just down the corridor, Sandra could see her tall, blond step-mother speaking with an orange-sleeved Alphan pilot while waiting for her daughter. Dr. Diane Campt was a talented propulsion physicist in her own right who contracted with the Lunar Commission. She had more than adequate security clearance to get this far on her own recognizance.
“Mum!” called Julia, very happy to see her mother after her two week holiday with Sandra. It amazed Sandra to see the Texan accent melt away and be replaced by the usual Aussie twang. Sandra had seen her sister do the same amazing lingual shift in front of their much older brothers and sister, switching to the Queen’s English as easily as she shifted from American to Australian. And Julia had picked up that Texan drawl after only a week in Houston with Sandra and Peter. Her linguistic skills, a gift from their father, were quite impressive. Julia could already speak fluent Spanish and French, but still had to learn to read and write in those languages. Sandra was also gifted in languages, but moreso in how language was constructed and patterned. It made her very formidable in computer programming and data analysis. That her older sister had authored papers that were held to be the standard in their field mattered not to Julia. She simply teased her sister about her formal mode of speech, the legacy of Sandra’s deceased mother.
Dr. Campt turned from her conversation partner and bent down to give her daughter a welcoming hug. Sandra was surprised to see that the pilot was Alan Carter. She had not realized that he was on shuttle pilot duty; she had thought he was still assigned to the Meta Probe.
Julia looked at Alan with an inquisitive gaze. She had seen Sandra arrive home in her yellow-sleeved uniform and knew that the orange meant this man had a job different than her sister. If she remembered correctly, and she was sure that she did, this man was a member of Reconnaissance, maybe even a pilot.
Because Julia expected it of her, Sandra formally introduced Alan. “Captain Carter, I would like to present Julia, who claims to know everything about Eagles. Julia, this is Captain Alan Carter, the pilot in charge of the Meta Probe astronaut training.” Sandra leaned over to Julia and said in a whisper loud enough for all to hear, “He is a real astronaut.”
Julia looked at Alan as if a rock star had materialized. “Truly? You fly Eagles?”
“Yeah, and other spacecraft, too.” He smiled at an awestruck Julia and then turned to Sandra. “I’m heading back with a payload of urgent supplies. I can give you a lift if you are willing to leave within fifteen minutes.” He looked at the casual clothes Sandra was wearing and raised an eyebrow in question.
“Thank you, yes.” It was worth cutting her visit with Diane short by an hour if she could avoid the regular shuttle Eagle crowded with personnel, new and old, reporting to Alpha.
Although still a little overwhelmed by Alan, Julia felt comfortable enough with her fellow Australian to launch into a discussion about the various abilities of the Eagle, as only a space-fanatic child and a pilot could do. Their speech was quickly so full of colloquial Australianisms that Sandra could barely follow.
Diane Campt smiled at the nattering pair and pulled Sandra off slightly to one side. She gave her step-daughter a warm hug. She had never understood why her husband’s family had always regarded Sandra as so odd. The younger woman was charming and very well mannered. Not to mention brilliant in her own field.
“Join me while I change?” asked Sandra. “Alan will watch Julia.” And with a quick glance at Alan, the request was sent and accepted.
“How would you like to see the inside of an Eagle?” Alan asked the wide-eyed girl.
“Mum, please? May I go? Please?”
Diane looked first at Sandra who smiled and nodded her head. “Alright. Mind that you listen to the Captain.” Diane looked up at Alan. “Thank you, Captain. You have just made her entire holiday. Her status will go up immeasurably at school.”
“MUM!” Julia wailed in embarrassment.
“Come on, kid.” Alan tried not to smile. “Let’s go check out the bird.” The two headed off down the concourse. As they walked away, Sandra could hear Julia chattering almost non-stop.
“Captain, my sister can fly, too…”
Sandra cringed. She had never told anyone on Alpha. Her mere non-commercial fixed-wing license would amount to nothing among the incredible talent on Alpha. She looked at Diane and saw her vaguely worried expression as she watched her young daughter leave with this stranger. Sandra reassured her. “He is trustworthy. If Julia were ten years older, I might worry. Alan is quite the womanizer, but he is very good with children.” Sandra had seen Alan give the rare visiting child tours of Reconnaissance and the Eagles. He really seemed to like doing so.
They walked to a private room and locked the door behind them. Sandra opened her travel kit and pulled out the yellow-sleeved top and beige pants. After a month of civilian clothes, the uniform looked odd and out of place. “Thank you for allowing Julia to spend time with me. I miss her when I am away.”
“And she misses you. She is so very proud of you, Sandra. You should hear her at school! She had several copies made of your official duty photograph, the one where you’re in the orange space suit. One travels in her school kit labeled ‘My sister, the astronaut’.”
“But, I am not…”
“I know, you know, and perhaps even she knows that. But you have lived on Alpha, and that is as good as, to her.”
Sandra wrapped the belt around her waist and automatically reached to adjust her commlock, then recalled that it had been left on Alpha during her holiday. She folded the crisp denim pants and colorful cotton top and handed them to Diane. “I will not be needing these; the Commander is very particular that we stay in approved clothing at all times.”
Diane took the clothes with a closed expression. She did not care for Gorski. She changed the subject as Sandra pulled on her boots. “Julia has asked for flight lessons. Your father is not pleased, but I see no harm once she is a few years older.”
Lawrence Benes understandably would be hesitant, thought Sandra, since his second wife had been shot down by terrorists prior to the Global War of 1987. He did not approve of Sandra’s flying, much less of her tours on Alpha.
Diane answered Sandra’s unvoiced question, well used to her step-daughter’s ways. “Your father is visiting a colleague at the University in Tampa. He does love you, Sandra; it just hurts him to see you leave. He’s afraid you won’t come back.”
Sandra opened her mouth to protest, but Diane forestalled her by holding up her hand. “I have heard the arguments. Yes, Alpha is a well-built facility with an admirable safety record. Yes, the Eagles are well-designed machines with multiple layers of redundancy, I should know, I helped design them. Much safer than your Cessna, in fact.”
Sandra closed her mouth and looked mulish to hear her words coming back at her from Diane…. who she always thought was on her side. For the past ten years, her step-mother had been much more supportive of Sandra’s dreams than any of her own blood kin. More than any of her relations, ever, excepting her own dead mother.
Reading the expression correctly, Diane smiled. “I am on your side, Sandra. It is just that I can see his side, too. We will be glad when you are assigned Earthside again. Who knows, maybe in Sydney, or Christchurch. That isn’t too far away. When are you due back?”
“Nine months. This will be my last tour on Alpha.”
“That will make Peter happy,” smiled Diane. Sandra did not respond, but felt the same way. Peter Rockwell was a British RAF pilot currently assigned to Houston and the Johnson Space Center.
While she was quite used to conversational silence from Sandra, Diane felt it timely to change the subject. “Captain Carter seems pleasant. Do you know him well?”
Sandra nodded. “A little. He has also done multiple tours on Alpha. He is career military.”
“And fancies himself a ladies’ man? Not your type?” Diane asked teasingly.
“No.”
“Is he as good a pilot as he seems to believe he is?”
“Yes. He is the best on Alpha.” And that meant just about the best in the world.
The two women gathered Sandra’s things and returned to the waiting room. They chatted a short while until Julia came running up the concourse.
“Mum, the inside of the Eagle was incredible! Captain Carter let me sit behind the controls and everything!” Julia’s eyes were shining with happiness.
Alan seemed pleased with the results of the short tour. He had even taken a few photos of Julia in the Eagle, much to her delight. He passed the camera to Dr. Compt and looked at the clock on the wall. “Ready, Sahn?”
“Sahn?” giggled Julia.
“Julia Danae…” Diane called her daughter to order and gave her a quelling look, she then hugged Sandra fondly. In her uniform she appeared almost another person. “We will miss you. Take care.”
Sandra was a bit embarrassed at the public display in front of Alan, but was grateful for the woman’s support. “I will.”
Julia impatiently waited for her turn and then gave Sandra a very tight hug. “I’ll really miss you,” she said hoarsely. After Diane took a couple of photographs of her daughter with the two Alphans, Julia stepped back next to her mother as Sandra and Alan turned away. “Hey, bring me back some moon rocks, okay?” She called, deliberately slipping back into her Texas twang. Sandra turned back briefly and nodded with a small smile.
As the two Alphans walked down the concourse, Sandra heard running foot steps behind her. She turned and was caught in one, last fierce hug from Julia. “Take care, sis. I love you,” she whispered in Sandra’s ear, and then slipped a folded envelope into Sandra’s hand. Julia turned back and ran to her mother and buried herself in her mother’s hug.
Sandra made eye contact with Diane one last time and then turned to walk down the boarding tube after Alan. She entered the Eagle, closed the doors and stowed her small piece of luggage. She looked at the data terminals, but decided that catch-up could wait until she returned to Alpha proper. She was feeling too sad right now. She sat down and reached for the buckle. It was only then that she recalled the envelope that she held. She looked inside and saw about a dozen photos. The top one was of her and Julia, arm-in-arm in front of the huge geodesic dome called Spaceship Earth at Epcot, taken just three days ago. Some of the others were a bit yellowed and looked much older; Julia must have been planning this for a while, she thought. Just then, she heard Alan coming back down the short corridor from the flight deck. She quickly returned the photos and closed and folded the envelope.
“Nice kid,” he said to break the awkward silence.
“Thank you, Alan, for your kindness.”
Alan nodded his acknowledgement. “No problem. Why don’t you come and sit up front. I could use the company.”
Sandra was a little surprised at the offer, but it was pilot’s prerogative. “I would like that. Thank you.” After Alan had returned to his seat, Sandra slipped the envelope into an outside pocket of her luggage. She would look at the other photos later.
As she buckled herself into the complicated webbing of the co-pilot’s seat, Alan ran the preflight checks with an off handed thoroughness that impressed Sandra. Clearance was obtained and the Eagle launched smoothly and was soon headed up and out. For all of his flip mannerisms, she rather liked Alan Carter and was comfortable in his presence. He had never tried to proposition her as he did most of the new, single Alphan women. Maybe she just wasn’t his type.
As they cleared Earth’s atmosphere, Alan asked, “Sahn, how did you get to know Dr. Campt? She was just about the best lecturer back at the RAAF Academy.” Alan was used to Sandra’s pauses, and it gave him a moment to think. “Your father lectures all over, is she a family friend?”
“Yes, something like that,” Sandra agreed, grateful for the provided explanation. They passed much of the remaining flight in companionable silence as the Space Dock passed majestically off their port side. Shortly before entering the moon’s influence, Alan asked her one last question.
“Julia said her sister was a pilot. Have you ever met her?”
Sandra wondered, for a moment, if Alan was teasing her. That would be in his style. She looked at him cautiously, but then realized that he was simply asking an honest question. Julia had not mentioned her name and Alan had still not made the familial connection. “No, I have not.” No reason to start a new topic for the Alphan gossip mill.
Paul Morrow’s voice broke the silence and welcomed them back with landing instructions. Sandra enjoyed the view from the front of the Eagle and the magnificent, heart-lifting view as they approached Alpha. Her enthusiasm was rising again, as it always did when she realized that she, despite all the naysayers in her family, had made it into space. She would enjoy her last months on Alpha. And she would remember to take Julia some moon rocks on that final trip back home.
MGK