The control tower wasn't nearly as hostile as the day before. But it still wasn't running very smoothly. Lisa was distant, and she seemed removed from her responsibilities. She was making little mistakes all over the place -- mistakes that Claudia and the girls had to immediately correct.
Vanessa sighed and leaned back in her chair. "All right everyone!" she beamed. "I've got that reactor leak sealed up!"
"Thank goodness!" cried Sammie. "The Veritechs in Hangar Twelve could've been destroyed!"
Claudia turned around. "Great job, Vanessa," she nodded.
Lisa took a while to respond. "Oh!" she finally said. "Yes...well done, Vanessa!"
She went back to watching the display on her computer. She tried to concentrate, but soon she was daydreaming again.
I wonder what he'll be like! she thought. I hope he's not an older guy...but he can't be too old, can he? Otherwise Claudia wouldn't have asked him to come along!
Rick Hunter's voice called in from the sky. Come in, Tower. This is Lieutenant Hunter...my wingmen have landed; requesting permission to come down."
Lisa said nothing. Claudia waited for a few seconds and watched, but Lisa kept staring blankly at her computer screens.
Claudia exhaled. "We read you, Lieutenant," she said.
Lisa snapped out of it. "Oh! Sorry!" she cried. "I'll take care of it, Claudia. And Lieutenant Hunter, please hold while we find you a runway..."
Here we go with this again, groaned Rick. He patiently maintained radio silence.
"Now, let's see..." Lisa went back to her computers, but it wasn't long before she drifted away again. She couldn't wait to meet her date, but she was less than thrilled about the movie. In fact, she had been troubled about it ever since Claudia had brought it up.
If only there was a way to skip the movie...what if I were to meet him after it was over? No, I couldn't do that, I'd look stupid. Especially in front of Claudia...she set this whole thing up for me in the first place...
Claudia noticed her staring carefully at the computer screens. "Um...hey, Lisa?" she leaned over. "Aren't you supposed to be pushing some buttons over there?"
Lisa shook off her daydream. "Hmm? Oh, sorry. You're right."
Claudia smiled gently. "Now, I know you need a break...but try to remember, it doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon!"
"Sorry," Lisa blushed.
She returned to her old self, typing madly at the keys until she found a result she liked. "Ah! Here we go. We've got Runway Six open for him." She flipped on the radio and cheerfully gave Hunter the information.
Thank you, Commander! said Rick, a little surprised. I'll be down in a few.
Claudia poked Lisa in the shoulder. "Well, he certainly sounded cheery! You think he likes you?"
The girls all giggled in the background. Lisa blushed and waved at Claudia. "Oh, get real."
Rick saw the runway quickly approaching. His landing gear were down, and his airbrakes were slowing the Veritech to landing speed. Trails of vapor slid off his out-swept wings.
The landing lights blinked and showed him the way in. And his head-up display showed that he was lined up perfectly. The asphalt passed under his fuselage as he prepared to touch down.
And then he looked further in the distance, to the end of the runway, and saw another Veritech fighter rolling to a stop.
He slammed back on his flight stick and throttled up, before his heart could beat again.
Max Sterling climbed out of his cockpit, with his blue-striped helmet cradled under his arm. "Oh man," he said to himself, "feels like I've been sitting up there for days!"
He stretched his aching back and arms, looking down the runway. And he quickly noticed Rick's Veritech, coming straight at him.
Its airbrakes slid away and it quickly pulled up. The engines blasted to life and the fighter roared back off the pavement, missing Max's tail fins by inches. The sound was horrible, and the force of the Veritech threw Max to the ground.
Max's helmet radio immediately sparked up. Lieutenant Sterling! Called a technician's voice. Evacuate the runway immediately!
He stood back up, shakily running his hand through his long blue hair. "Uhmm...yeah...yeah, that...sounds good."
The bartender poured a draft beer from the tap, and slid it to Ben Dixon. He took a healthy slug. "Ahh...hits the spot, you know?" he grinned, slapping Rick on the back.
Max leaned over the bar and watched Ben. "Are you old enough to drink that?"
"Very funny," said Ben. He started to order a beer for Rick, but he was caught short.
"I don't drink," sighed Rick, exhausted. "Not tonight, anyway."
Ben scoffed. "Oh, come on! You gotta loosen up a little, sir! You had a long day, why not enjoy a couple beers?"
"Not tonight, Ben."
Ben shrugged, and finished his beer in a few gulps. Max rolled his eyes and smiled. They all sat at the bar for a while, watching sports on the TV and chatting idly, but mostly watching Ben drink.
"So, Space Battle!" Max remembered. "That's tomorrow night, isn't it?"
Rick smiled at the thought of it. "You bet it is. And thanks to Ben here, we've got tickets for the first showing."
"You're welcome!" said Ben from behind a pint glass.
Max leaned tiredly against the bar. "Yeah, I can't wait. I've seen it a million times, but it'll be amazing to see it in a theater!"
Rick nodded. As long as I'm not seeing it alone, he thought.
Ben grabbed a handful of nuts from a bowl beside him. "Ya know...I don't get what's so great about that movie. I've never even seen it."
Max and Rick stared at him, cold as ice.
"What?" shrugged Ben. He tossed a few beer nuts across the bar by accident.
"You have to be kidding!" laughed Max. "That's ridiculous. You never saw Space Battle as a kid?"
"I was making good with the ladies as a kid," beamed Ben.
Max went back to sitting quietly. But after a moment passed, Rick chuckled and looked up.
"No you weren't!"
They shared a good laugh at Ben's expense. He decided to prove his masculinity by ordering yet another beer. They found this equally funny.
But their laughter was cut short, as Commander Hayes approached behind them. She cleared her throat, as if she were ready to make some formal announcement. Max and Ben gave their attention, but Rick buried his head between his arms.
Lisa took a nervous breath. "Good evening...gentlemen," she began shakily. "This will only take a minute...may I say something?"
Ben just blinked at her, confused. But Max smiled kindly and said, "Sure, ma'am! We're all ears."
"Well...I only want to say that...what happened on the landing strip today was a terrible mistake. You were put in very grave danger...and I take full responsibility for that. I hope you accept my most heartfelt apologies."
Max blinked with surprise. "Well...sure! I mean, yes ma'am! It was just an accident anyway."
Ben shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't even there!" he said, downing his beer.
Everyone seemed to be waiting for Rick. So he slowly raised his head, turned around, and smiled politely at Lisa. "Thank you," he said quickly. "Have a nice evening."
Lisa nodded nervously and left them alone. Max looked quizzically at Rick. "You seemed a little short with her, sir."
"What am I supposed to say?" sighed Rick.
"I don't know...she was just trying to apologize."
"I don't want an apology. I want her to do her job, or find someone who can..."
Ben slapped his face. "Sir, can you let it go for at least a couple of hours? You're gonna give me a bigger headache than the drinks."
"Ben, she almost got us killed today -- "
"Yeah yeah, got us killed, whatever. With all due respect, let's quit with the angst already! And I've got just the thing to help you out. Bartender...?"
Ben raised his hand, but Rick grabbed it and brought it back down. "Cut that out!"
Ben and Max laughed, but Rick wasn't in the mood. He slid off his barstool and walked away, still thinking about the near-disaster of the day. But as he looked around, he noticed Lisa Hayes. She was seated at a table in a dark corner of the bar, by herself. And she looked miserable, slumped over the table and sipping a strong drink. Her eyes were shut tightly and her hair was a complete mess.
Rick zipped up his jacket and stepped outside.
The credits finished rolling and the theater lights came on. Ushers began to walk the aisles, cleaning up whatever mess was left by the small crowd. Almost everyone had left, but a few people had stayed to see the credits through.
The young, black-haired boy finished the last of his giant Petite Cola. "Wow," he smiled, as the screen faded to black.
In the row behind him, some girls were laughing and joking about Space Battle.
"That was the stupidest thing ever!" said one.
"What a dumb movie!" said another.
And the third added, "Like...the dumbest thing ever!"
They had been mocking the movie ever since they arrived, halfway through it. But the boy was too embarrassed to say anything. Now he just wanted to shut them up.
"Hey!" he turned around, throwing his hands onto his hips. "This is a good movie!"
The girls laughed even louder. He hadn't gotten a good look at them, but now he noticed that they were a lot older than him. Maybe even in high school. He regretted it already.
"Sure it is," said one of them, and she patted the boy's scruffy black hair. "Now run along and tell all your friends about it, 'kay?"
The girls were still giggling to each other as they left the theater. The young boy could make out a whisper of, "I think he was alone the whole time!"
He looked down at his Petite Cola, then up at the movie screen. "It's a good movie," he frowned defiantly.