KIM POSSIBLE: FLY ME TO THE MOON
Chapter Two
AN: Found my old copy of Space Cruiser Yamato (aka Starblazers) sound track and while listening to that it I decided to take a short break from my other Ron's Dinner so I could finish up this chapter and push it out. Hope everyone enjoys.
I.
Kim sat in front of her television that night watching but not really registering the images on the screen as she wondered how she had gotten in to this situation. What should have been a nice relaxing vacation, well as relaxing as any vacation is that involves watching your best friend get married, had now turned in to both a mission and a major source of stress for her. It just didn't make sense. Kim had known Ron a long time, since pre-K, he couldn't be a terrorist. Could he?
Or maybe that was the problem, that Kim knew Ron and there for had over looked the signs. Signs, what signs? Kim thought to her self. After Ron had failed out of college and had been dumped by his girlfriend Zita, he had been devastated and aimless. Ron had taken his life savings and had moved to the moon to open a restaurant and start a new life, not become a terrorist.
"Oh Pandaroo, what should I do?" Kim asked her favorite stuffed animal who sat on the top of her bookshelf. After several minutes of silence it was obvious that Pandaroo wasn't going to provide any answers. But fortunately Wade was.
"Kim, I've run several hundred calculations and simulated numerous different outcomes to your predicament. Would you like to hear my advice?"
Kim sat and thought for a moment. There was no doubt that Wade, the AI, was probably the most advanced AI in the world, but still, would he really be able to offer a solution?
"Kim?" Wade prompted.
"Ok Wade, what's your advice?"
"After running numerous simulations and calculations attempting to take in to account all known data and possible outcomes, I've concluded that there is not enough data for a good answer. Perhaps if you could get more information you could make a more informed decision."
Kim sat there for a moment and thought about what Wade had just said. It was true that she needed more information, but so did Global Justice. More information about Josh, more information about Bonnie, and most importantly more information about Ron. More information, the truth, as to what was really going on.
Suddenly Kim smiled as the answer came to her. "Thanks Wade, you've helped me to reach a decision."
"Thank you Kim, although I don't know how I was able to do that."
II.
The next morning, in the same conference room, at the same time, with the same people as the day previous, Kim gave her decision to Dr. Director.
"Ma'am, I've made my decision. I'll accept the mission."
"I see, very well then. Agent Du, Agent K, I'm sure the three of you have a lot to discuss then if this mission is to be a success. I'll leave you three to work out the details." Dr. Director said as she rose from her seat and exited the room.
Kim could feel that she was being glared at by both Agent Du and K and knew that their estimation of her had dropped several points. Squaring her shoulders Kim, determined not to be intimidated, returned their glare.
III.
Two days later Kim found her self somewhat bored while waiting for her flight at the spaceport terminal. It had been years since she had seen her friend Ron in the flesh, ever since he had moved to the moon to open a new restaurant, and she was anxious to see him again. That and she wanted to give Ron's new fiancé the "hairy eyeball" to see if she was worthy of her Ron. "He he," Kim chuckled softly to her self at the use of her old pet name for him. Back in high school they had dated for a while, and it had been fun, but things just didn't work out between them. They were able to break up on friendly terms and after a couple of weeks of akwardness the two soon fell back in to their old friendship roles. After that Kim had several other relationships over the years that also just never seemed to work out. In some ways she was like a one woman "Sex in the City" going from one lousy relationship to another. Both Robert and Michael started out as nice enough guys, but in the end neither one of them could accept Kim and her Kimminess. Nor could they seem to accept the fact that Kim didn't exactly live up to the old saying about redheads being "red on top and fiery in the crotch". In a bit of desperation she had even tried going out with a girl while in college, that lasted all of two dates, and the less she thought about that particular "sitch" the better. But sometimes late at night, Kim would lie in her bed and wonder if part of what had driven Ron away from her as a boyfriend, and to want to leave earth and go to the moon was her "Kimminess", or as some more bluntly put it, her stubbornness.
Shaking her head slightly to chase away those thoughts, Kim decided that she needed something else to help occupy her mind. Stepping in to the spacer terminal's bookstore, Kim want right past the terminals that allowed a person to down load various books or magazines in to one's Personal Access Data Device and instead went to the back of the store where actual hard copy reading material were kept.
"One hard copy of the Middleton Times please and thank you." She said to the very old looking Asian man who completed the transaction without taking the long pipe out of his mouth, despite the terminal's regulations on smoking, and the fact he was sitting directly under a no smoking sign. Kim considered reporting him to the authorities, since no one else apparently had, but thought against it since she was under orders not to draw attention to herself.
Sitting down in a comfy chair Kim began to turn the pages of her newspaper while waiting for her flight in the spaceport terminal. Despite what pundits and futurist had been saying for the past two hundred years it seemed that the newspaper was in no danger of dying off as people were still willing to pay for the portability and versatility of a physical paper they could hold in their hands. As for Global Justice Agent Kim Possible, she couldn't deny the fact that a newspaper obscured her face and helped her to maintain a lower profile. Not that Kim had any delusions that there were any spies in the terminal on the look out just for her. Still it was something that Agent First Class K had insisted for Kim to do as part of the denial and deception part of their plan, so maybe the intelligence agent was under the delusion that there were spies everywhere.
That and it always paid to keep abreast of the latest information, if not so much for her job than just so neither Agent Du or Agent K could hold her lack of current events over her head. Kim really didn't know what was up about the two of them, or if they even was anything between them, but the way they seemed to hold their superiority over the more junior agents made it hard not to believe that the two were involved with each other. Kim's great grandmother, after meeting her two more senior agents for just a couple of moments, had referred to them as Major Burns and Major Houlihan. Kim had no idea what the comment meant, but judging by the way that Dr. Director had to stifle her laughter it must have not been a compliment. Not that they would have much time to really date each other. Especially after Dr. Director indicated how busy GJ would be after Kim had informed her boss of her decision to accept the mission and gather intelligence on the Free Mars mission.
Having finished reading most of her newspaper Kim was about to start the crossword puzzle when her interest was drawn toward an article on one of the back pages about the new governing body of the deep space station known as side seven. The article was an expose on some of the personalities of the governing body of the space colony and how these personalities were the real cause of the colonies continuing calls for succession from the group of eight space colonies that were situated around Lagrange point number five or orbit L5. Apparently many of the people on side seven considered themselves to be better than their fellow humans on the other colonies and no longer wished to be associated with them.
"Final boarding call for Pan Am flight 205. Final boarding call for Pan Am flight 205." A pleasant sounding female voice announced over the loud speakers as it interrupted Kim about a third of the way in the story. Tossing the newspaper, along with the unfinished article in to the trash, Kim passed through the security gates and crossed the gangway leading to the large low orbital shuttle. After strapping herself in and receiving the mandatory safety briefing from the flight attendants, the shuttle began to make its way down the five kilometer long magnetic launch rail. By the time the shuttle had reached the end of the line it had already accelerated to over 600 kilometers an hours when it left the ramp.
Once clear of the ramp the shuttle's main boosters engaged and accelerated the craft out of the earth's atmosphere towards both escape velocity and space station Liberty. There was nothing special about space station liberty, other than the fact that it was about a quarter of the way between the earth and the moon and made an excellent way station for travel between the earth and the moon. The sort of travel like what Kim was doing today. Four hours later, of which a good thirty minutes was consumed simply reading the directions on how to use the zero gravity toilet, Kim watched with growing excitement as the shuttle glided in to its docking position at space station Liberty.
IV.
"Your call will be placed in thirty seconds." The automated voice of the video phone service said from inside the AT&T phone booth on space station Liberty. Kim wondered why it would take so long to place a simple call to Earth when her PADD could down load at rates of over fifty megabits per second, and with only two bars. It must be a plot by the phone company to keep the customers online longer so they could charge more. After all it wasn't like space station Liberty had so much message traffic as to clog up their communication lines.
Kim was soon snapped out of her thoughts as the video phone announced that a connection had been made and replaced the image of the AT&T globe with the image of her mother.
"Kimberly dear, it's good to hear from you."
"Hi mom." Kim answered with a big smile. "I thought I would call you and let you know that I'm on my way to the moon for Ron's wedding."
"Oh that's right, you mentioned that in your last e-mail. I hope he received our wedding gift in time."
"I'm sure he did mom." Kim reassured before changing the topic. "Is dad around?"
"He's with your brothers. The "boys" are working on a new type of ion engine they claim will halve the travel time to Mars."
"Do they have it working yet?"
"Not yet. But as a precaution I warned them that if they destroy the basement in the process then they'll find their collective butts getting to Mars faster than their engine."
Then as if to emphasis the point to Kim, a loud explosion could be heard in the background behind her mother.
"Sounds like they didn't take you seriously." Kim chuckled.
"No I'm afraid not. I guess I had better go and check for casualties. Give us a call later and tell us how the wedding went. Give Ronald our love."
"Sure thing mom. I'll call you in a few days. Bye."
After the screen had gone blank Kim placed another call, a call that she had been looking forward to making for quite a while now. When she was finally connected to the person on the other end, Kim couldn't help but to smile.
"Hi Ron."
"KP!" The kowtow young man exclaimed, "You're not at Von Bruan already are you? I thought I was supposed to pick you up in the morning. I'm sorry Kim, I'll be right there." He stammered.
"Ron, you're not late. I'm at Liberty station for my lay over right now. The next leg of my flight leaves in a few hours."
"I knew that." Ron answered with his trademark goofy grin.
"Sure you did."
"Ronald, are you ready yet? Who are you talking to?" Came a disembodied voice from somewhere off of the screen.
Ron turned his head to answer the off screen inquisitor. "Just a minute honey, I'm talking to Kim."
"Well make it quick, we have to meet Josh at the restaurant in twenty minutes."
"Sorry Kim, looks like I need to get going before Bon Bon has a drama scene." Then in a hushed tone he added, "She hates being late, almost as much as she hates being seen in the last year's fashions."
"I heard that." Bonnie announced as her face appeared over Ron's shoulder. "So you must be Kim, Ron's told me so much about you. I hate to cut this short but we really do need to go. I look forward to meeting you tomorrow." With out a further word she terminated the connection.
Kim sat there for a moment in surprise. Well that was rude, she thought. Hopefully Ron's fiancé wasn't like that all of the time, other wise she and Kim were going to have to have a long and serious discussion. And if Bonnie wasn't one hundred percent loyal to Ron, well Kim was ready to go World War IV on her.