Lambert stumbled into his quarters and fell down on top of the bunk. He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stop the room from spinning. It didn't quite work. During the past couple of days, his team had been going through intensive zero-G combat training, and while the exercises had been going well, prolonged exposure to what had lovingly been dubbed the "puke chamber" could lead to a period of disorientation afterwards. Lambert, like the other soldiers, was tired and sore, but they were professionals, and were beginning to mesh into a true team. He just hoped they would grow cohesive enough in the short time that remained before the start of the mission. There was still a great deal of work to do.
The weary sergeant was on the edge of dozing off when a knock sounded on the door. Lambert groaned softly then hoisted himself to his feet. "Come in," he said. A corporal appeared in the doorway, looking slightly apologetic.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Sergeant Lambert, but you said you wanted to be notified when Dr. Hardin arrived on the base. She is here."
Lambert rubbed his eyes. "Swell," he said. "Lead on, Corporal. There's no sense in putting it off any longer." The two soldiers walked side by side through the labyrinth of twisting hallways. "Did you get to meet the good doctor?" asked Lambert.
"Yes, I did," said the corporal. He paused for a long moment as he ordered his thoughts. "She didn't seem very pleased with anything. She began snapping at General Smith the moment she entered his office door." General Alphonse Smith was the base commander, and was known for being a superb diplomat. If anyone could calm down an irate civilian, it was him. The corporal led Lambert to one of the innumerable offices dotting the building, and stopped outside the closed door. "The doctor is inside. Good luck," said the soldier with a half-hearted grin before he turned and returned to whatever duty from which he had been called.
Lambert frowned and steeled himself for a probable confrontation. He opened the door and walked inside. A woman was standing with her back toward him. She was leaning on one hip, with her arms crossed, and fingers drumming silently on one bicep, while she stared out a large window facing the inner workings of the base. Lambert assumed this was Dr. Hardin. He cleared his throat, and she glanced over her shoulder at him.
"Yes?" she asked, and Lambert felt the ice in her tone.
"I'm Sergeant Lambert, ma'am. I am the head of the security team which will accompany you on the Psion mission."
Hardin scowled, her upper lip curling into a sneer, as she regarded Lambert with unmitigated hostility. "Let's get one thing straight, Sergeant," she spat. "You and your gorillas are not wanted or needed on this scientific excursion." Hardin began to pace around the room, like an angry tiger stuck in a cage. "If I did not need the government's assistance to reach the Psions, which is ridiculous anyway since it would be much easier for them to land here on Earth where we could greet them properly, I can assure you a pack of trigger happy goons would not be allowed anywhere near my expedition. Your very presence as a part of this operation offends me." She stared defiantly at the career soldier, almost daring him to speak in his own defense.
Lambert was speechless for a moment, taken aback by Hardin's venom. He has expected a certain level of coolness, a disdain for the military that some academics, for whatever reason, possessed, but he was not prepared for an outright frontal assault full of anger. "Dr. Hardin," he began slowly. "I appreciate your openness and willingness to cooperate with us, but you simply don't understand--" As soon as the words passed his lips, Lambert knew he had made a mistake. Hardin narrowed her eyes, and Lambert could see the heat boiling inside of them.
"What I understand, Sergeant, is that we have an opportunity to establish a working relationship with an advanced alien species, one that evidently sees us as worthy of the effort, and that could be jeopardized by the appearance of an armed squad of soldiers at the first official contact between races."
"You're naïve," said Lambert
"You're paranoid," returned Hardin.
Lambert stopped, and gathered himself. Biting his tongue did not come naturally to him, but he did it before things got out of hand, and irreparable damage was caused to the mission. He was acutely aware, now, of the gulf between himself and Hardin. "Dr. Hardin," he said slowly and softly. "We are in the midst of training for zero gravity and space travel. I would advise you to participate so you can get a feel for what we will be going through when we leave Earth in a few days. We will be suiting up for space simulation at 1500 hours." Hardin dismissed him with a wave of her hand. Lambert turned on his heel and marched out the door. He was a professional soldier, and his face betrayed nothing, but inside, Lambert was steaming.
He returned to the training area just before 3 o'clock, considerably calmed. Lambert decided to focus on the training, and let the Hardin situation fester on the back burner for awhile. As it turned out, things did not go as planned. Lambert wasn't that surprised.
The rest of the team had already gathered inside the locker room and were occupied with strapping on their orange and black space suits. Bull Carver looked up as Lambert entered. "So, how was the meeting with the doc?"
"How do you know about that?"
"C'mon, that's an insult," said Malcolm Evans. "We are high speed, low drag soldiers. It's our job to know stuff."
"Huh," grunted Lambert as he went to his locker and began to drag out his equipment. "She is a piece of work. Hopefully, she will stay out of our way so we can do our jobs."
"Told you," said Evans, turning toward Lone Wolf. "He blew it. Pay up." Lone Wolf just shook his head in resignation and placed a five dollar bill to Evans' outstretched hand.
"What the hell is that all about?" demanded Lambert.
"Nothing personal, Lambert," said Evans. "It just seemed that the situation called for someone with a diplomatic touch, something you ain't got. Wolf was the only other motherfucker here that believed in your ability to make nice with a civilian, and now he's poorer because of it. None of these other chumps would take my bet." Miller snickered in the background.
"Fuck all of you," said Lambert. "You weren't face to face with the beast."
"The beast, huh?" scoffed Pierce. "I heard she was hot."
"Did you?" enquired Lambert.
"Smokin," affirmed Pierce. "Dark blond hair, blue eyes, and a pair of legs that went all they way up to a nice, round juicy ass."
"That true, Lambert?" asked Bull.
"Don't know, Bull," said Lambert, pulling his suit onto one leg. "I was too busy dodging her fangs and claws."
"Are my ears burning?" The soldiers turned as one to see Dr. Hardin standing the doorway, arms crossed and looking slightly put out.
"Dr. Hardin," said Lambert hurriedly as he finished putting on his suit. "I'm glad you decided to join us for the exercise."
"Spare me the pleasantries and any introductions," said Hardin. "I am only here because I have no experience with space travel. I am not here to praise the warrior elite or marvel at your weapons expertise like some drooling schoolgirl. I will familiarize myself with the life support equipment, and escape simulations, but that will be it. I have important work that needs to be done before we leave."
"Okay," said Lambert, looking around. "Miller, will you help Dr. Hardin into her suit?"
"Why would I want to do that?" asked Gwen Miller, with a touch of frost.
"Because you are the only other woman assigned to this mission, and Dr. Hardin might be more comfortable with you showing her the intricacies of the space suit," replied Lambert.
"Sorry," said Miller, her eyes never leaving Hardin. "I have to go work on keeping my warrior elite status. You're the civilian liaison, you deal with the good doctor." She picked up her assault rifle and marched out the door, and never looked back. The rest of the squad followed, although Evans did smirk at Lambert in passing.
"Looks like its just you and me, doc," said Lambert, running his hand thorough his short hair. "What say we try and make the best of things, and get through this without killing one another."
"Whatever," said Hardin, as she walked over to a suit hanging inside a locker. "Will this one fit me?"
"Yes, ma'am," replied Lambert. They are one-size-fits-all, the rest is just adjustment." He watched Hardin take the suit down and try to wrestle her way into it. Reluctantly, Lambert went to her aid when she got to a sticking place. Trying to touch Hardin as little as possible, the sergeant finally got her operational, and gave Hardin a quick lesson in how to seal the suit, breathe and check her air regulation. Satisfied, Lambert sealed his own suit and he motioned Hardin to follow him into the zero-grav chamber. "I hope to God she removes the board from her ass before we leave Earth," thought Lambert, "or this is going to be one bitch of a mission."