Faith sped through the medical and psychological examinations while her dad and Grace told Truman were to find their team. The medical team was beyond efficient and the whole thing was mostly painless, she was actually more relieved that Rock and Oscar weren't anywhere near her to see the damn hospital gown since it hid nothing.
After acing the medical and squeaking by on the mental exams, she got started on evaluating just how much work she would need to do on the drill. There were plenty of problems with the one Truman showed them, and there was another one that also had to be fixed. Faith was also tasked with coming up with a mount to attach the drills to the armadillos; Truman's word, not hers. If You asked Faith, they were more like ridiculously high-tech monster trucks.
"Looks promising." Grace's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. The younger Stamper sat down next to Faith on the hanger floor. "How far did you get?"
Faith smiled at her sister. "I did good. Truman has a list of everything we'll need and I drew up the plans. I'll be working on the rig tomorrow when the guys are in medical. Any of them here yet?"
"Nope," Grace said, shaking her head. "Oscar and A.J. should be here in a few minutes. Rock, Bear, Max and Freddy will be here in an hour and Chick in two. I don't envy Harry."
"Neither do I."
How do you tell your friends that the world was going to end unless they stopped it? She honestly didn't know and she was glad that she wasn't the one who had to tell them. Faith did know that her father wanted to wait until they were all together before he even broached the subject, which meant she should probably stay where she was for the next two hours because she can't lie to Freddy or Bear to save her life.
"New look, Faith?" Freddy asked as soon as she walked into the room.
"You mean, this old thing?" She tugged the front of her NASA issued jumpsuit. "I stole it," she said before she smiled sweetly and kissed his cheek.
"Has your name on it," A.J. pointed out.
"So, that's what that is." Faith let out a chuckle and sat down next to her best friend, who gave her a look. "You don't wanna know, Fred. Trust me."
That's when her father walked into the room and got down to business. Harry pulled up the newest images and projections of Dottie for the whole team to see.
"What is that?" Chick asked.
"An asteroid," Rock answered, dumbfounded. "That thing is massive."
"Size of Texas is how the guys around here describe it," Faith told them. "It's the reason they brought us here."
Harry nodded before explaining everything to their team; the details about the asteroid, the plan to stop it and what they were being asked to do. Then, he wisely paused to let it all sink in.
"None of you have to go. We can all just sit here on Earth, wait for this big rock to crash into it, kill everything and everybody we know. The United States government just asked us to save the world. Anybody wanna say no?" Harry stood before his men.
Unsurprisingly, Chick spoke up first. "Twenty years. Haven't turned you down once. Not about to start now. I'm there."
"Guess I can't let you go up there alone," Freddy told them after he looked around the room.
"I'm with you," Bear said, keeping it simple.
Oscar was practically bouncing in his seat. "Man, this is… this is historic. Guys, this is… like, deep blue hero shit! Of course, I'm in."
"While I don't share his enthusiasm, you know me," Rockhound said. "Beam me up, Scotty!"
"You alright, Max?" Harry asked the usually happy man.
Max's head was resting on the table. "I… I don't, I… I don't..." He looked up at her dad. "Whatever you think." That was a yes.
Harry looked at A.J. "How about you?"
Her sister's boyfriend looked up her father. "I'm in." He glanced over at her and she knew that they were thinking the same thing, for Grace. "I'm in."
For the first time since they got there, the reality of the situation hit Faith. They were going into space to stop a giant rock from obliterating their planet. Billions of lives hinged on what they were being asked to do.
"All right then. We go, " Harry said to the room.
"I don't mean to be the materialistic weasel of this bunch, but do you think we'll get hazard pay out of this?" Faith couldn't help herself, she laughed. It started a chain reaction through the guys. Leave it to Rock to cut the tension.
"I bet if you make a list they'll let you have anything you want," Faith told the lady's man. She pulled a pen out of her pocket and grabbed a notepad off the table behind her. "Kimsey'll hate it but I doubt Truman would mind."
She watched as they all started talking among themselves, adding things to the list
"What about you?" Freddy asked with a nudge. "You want anything?"
"What I want can't be promised to me by NASA," she said with a shake of her head.
Considering how hard the psych eval was for her, Faith was actually surprised that the guys were cleared for the mission. She knew that NASA needed them so bad that they weren't going to worry about small things like their mental and physical stability but it was still surprising to see them all strut into the hanger like they owned the damn thing.
Since there was actual training that they had to do before they actually strapped into a shuttle, the whole group was going to have some Astronaut 101-type class. Sitting at one of the tables between Chick and Freddy, she was not expecting the pair of piercing blue eyes that were sizing them all up.
What the hell? Where have they been hiding him and why? He wasn't remotely her type with that whole all-American, clean cut, boy scout vibe but she didn't care. She didn't care one bit.
"Good morning, I'm Colonel Willie Sharp," their very attractive instructor said. "In addition to flying one of the X-71 teams to that rock, my job is to train you how to deal with the mental and physical riggers of working in space so you don't freak out on the asteroid. United States astronauts train for years. You have twelve days. Do we have any intelligent questions before we get started?"
Chick raised his hand, Sharp gave him a nod. "What's an X-71?"
"It's a shuttle," Faith answered, "two of them actually. Brand new, high tech and all kinds of classified. I got to see one last night. Truman said you guys will get to see 'em later before they get sent to Florida for launch prep."
"That's where you're heading after this class." Sharp looked at her for a second before he flipped open a book and they got started.
When class wrapped up and they got a quick lunch, the guys went to see the X-71s and Faith went to the hanger where they were gonna work on the armadillos. She didn't even realize that the guys showed up until Truman started talking.
"Here at downtown NASA, we call these the monster armadillos. They can go up to eight hundred turbohorses in zero gravity."
"What the hell are they doing to them?" she heard someone ask.
Faith jumped down from one of the lower catwalks, where she had been working. "They're stripping unnecessary bullshit and prepping for the mount to be welded on. I got a list of stuff for ya, boys. We don't have a ton of time, so let's go."
As expected, Chick reached for her clipboard and started issuing out assignments. Despite what people may have assumed, they didn't need to be told twice.
"Faith," Truman said. "Come meet the flight team."
"I guess," she said, glancing at her dad, who followed Chick.
"You already met Sharp," Truman said. "This is Colonel Davis. Pilots Watts and Tucker. Munitions Specialists Gruber and Halsey. Guys, this is Faith Stamper."
"I'd love to stay and chat but I got about a million things to do if we're planning on getting this sorted in time, so if you'll excuse me," Faith said before she stepped away without waiting for a response.
"They've been giving us the evil eye since we got here," Chick stage whispered.
"That sounds like a personal problem," she said, giving her dad's best friend a nudge.
"Too bad none of us can pull that off without looking like assholes." Freddy chuckled.
Rockhound laughed. "That's because she's…"
"Rock." They all looked at Harry.
The man put his hands up in surrender. "What? I was gonna say brilliant and badass."
They all knew better but, fortunately for him, nobody called him out on it.
"Why are you sitting alone?" Grace asked as she sat next to Faith in the cafeteria.
"Needed a moment," she told her sister. "Easier to think that way."
"What are you thinking about?
Faith smiled. "About life and how it could all end if we fail."
"You're too much like Harry to fail." They both laughed at that, Grace had a point.
"These seats taken?" The sisters looked up as Tucker stood in front of them, Watts, Davis and Sharp not far behind him.
"Not at all," Grace said before Faith could stop her.
The pilots sat down, offering civil greetings as they did. Faith watched them for a minute, maybe two were Sharp was concerned, before she went back to the plans in front of her.
"What are you working on?" Tucker asked.
"The cluster fuck that NASA made outta my rig," she said without looking up.
Grace whacked her on the arm. "Excuse my sister, tact is not her strongest trait."
"I can be tactful." She cleared her throat. "They reconfigured the rig to operate on Mars. Problem is that math and physics are universal, doesn't matter where you are. In their attempt to make it better, they made it worse. And now I have to fix it if we're gonna us it to save the planet," Faith said, earning small smiles from Sharp and Watts.
"You know, NASA has some of the best engineers in the world," Tucker told her.
"They are. Doesn't mean they didn't mess this up. They've been training that team for eight months and nobody thought to contact me and Harry when they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. And I am an engineer." The looks on their faces told Faith that they didn't know, "Let me guess, Kimsey didn't tell you?"
"Kimsey doesn't tell anyone much," Sharp said.
"That does not surprise me, Colonel," Faith said. "Let's see. Oscar is a Geologist, went to Sam Houston. Rock has double doctorates in Chemistry and Geology from MIT. Noonan has a Masters in Math from UIC in Chicago. I have a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from TAMU. Chick was in the Air Force."
"I think that's it but I'd have to look," Grace said with a nod.
"We're a much smarter bunch than the General would have everyone believe," Faith added.
Kimsey hates them and he's not even shy about showing it. She swears if that man glares at her one more time she was gonna hit him. It's not their fault that the world was gonna end and it's not their fault that NASA couldn't fix it without them. He's just wasting his energy being pissed at them.
Grace smiled. "Though it may look like it, we aren't idiots. Our job is dangerous and if one person drops the ball, we could all get ourselves killed. That's every day. It's not as simple as flipping the switch on a drill or more people would do it. These guys aren't the best because they work for Harry, they work for Harry because they're the best, there's a difference."
"Sorry. I guess I didn't even think about it." Tucker told them.
"It's because my team's obnoxious," Faith said with a shrug.
"HEY!" the guys all yelled in unison.
"Shouldn't eavesdropping, guys," Grace said, shaking her head. Their guys all turned back to their own tables and conversations.
Faith sighed as she got up. "They're loud and crazy but they're also some of the best people you'll ever meet. Wouldn't be here otherwise."
"Can I ask you a personal question, Miss Stamper?"
Faith practically jumped out her skin, she was working on the drill and didn't hear Sharp come in.
"That was a question, Colonel. And for the millionth time, it's Faith." He gave her a humorless look. She sighed, "Go ahead."
"Why oil drilling?" he asked.
She smiled. "Love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life. That and it's the family business, me and Gracie are fourth generation."
"Do you ever wish you picked something else?" Sharp asked,
"Like what? Some office job? Work nine to five? Not really. I love what I do. Do you ever wish you weren't a pilot?" Faith asked.
"Once, right before I got divorced."
"Wife didn't like being a mistress to the Air Force?"
"She was tired of the life, wanted me to quit."
Faith could understand that. She's met her fair share of guys who looked at her like she was crazy when she told them her profession.
"I've had that conversation before," she told him.
"I'm sure you have. Can't imagine a lot of men being okay with their girlfriend spending months on end with a bunch of guys."
"Funny thing about that," Faith said with a smirk, "those guys are just family. I was raised by half of them."
"Really?" Sharp asked with a chuckled.
"Yeah. I mean, Chick and Rock have been friends with dad since I was like five. I don't remember a time where they weren't around, Bear and Max too. Freddy's my best friend and Oscar and AJ are like my little brothers. I got some other friends on the rig but still." She took a breath. "You think it's too much to hope that we'll all come home in one piece?"
"I don't think it's too much. That's the point, right? Hope that we'll protect everyone we care about."
Faith smiled, he had a look on his face that she saw on her dad all the time. "How many and how old?"
Sharp offered her a real smile, the first on she's seen since they met. "Clare is eight and Ella is six. They don't know about this..." He paused for a moment. "I didn't mean to get this personal or bother you, I was just curious."
"You aren't bothering me. I'm a master at multitasking."
"I can see that," he said with a smile. She kept working on the flow system the whole time he was there. "Don't stay up too late, underwater simulations start tomorrow. Trust me, you're gonna want your rest."
She nodded. "Thanks for the heads up."
"You're welcome. Good night, Miss Stamper."
"'Night, Colonel. And it's Faith." He nodded and she watched as he left the room. "Fate is such a bitch."
"Monkey, wake up."
She blinked her eyes open. "I hate you so much, Chick."
He laughed. "You couldn't hate me if you tried." That was true.
She looked at him for a second before she slowly sat up and looked over at the empty bed. "If Grace is with AJ, is Oscar in there too?"
"No." Chick shook his head. "He's rooming with Rock."
"That's just asking for trouble."
"True, but the only other option was to put him with you and I'm sure you'd kill him. Go get dressed; they said something about a pool."
Faith nodded. "Underwater sims. Supposed to mimic zero gravity."
She pushed herself up, took a quick shower and met the guys in the cafeteria. Tucker was explaining to them how it all worked. They were gonna be in suits with a mock-up of the armadillos and drills, using the computers, they were gonna practice.
Faith could admit to being a little nervous as they walked to the pool. She didn't mind water or anything like that but something about this whole thing made her uneasy. Didn't help that the pilots were going with them. Maybe the flight teams wanted to see what they'd be dealing with on the asteroid or something like that; no pressure.
"You guys got any advice?" she asked quietly, half-hoping that nobody heard her.
"Breathe," Sharp said from behind her. "Your first instinct in the water is gonna be to panic but you're wearing a suit that designed to keep you alive in a no oxygen environment. If you panic you use up all your air. So, breathe normally."
Faith looked over her shoulder at the officer. "I will try to do that. Thank you."
He nodded. "You're welcome."
"What's the deal with that?" Freddy whispered just as they walked into the room.
"What?" she asked.
"You know what." He glanced at Sharp and then back at her. "What's the deal with that?"
Before she could answer, Chick looked at them. "What's up, monkey?"
"Nothing that I know of." She shrugged.
"Uh huh," Freddy muttered.
"Monkey?" They were standing by the pool when Tucker looked at her.
"I used to climb on stuff. Still do if the situation calls for someone who isn't afraid of heights."
"She used to scare the shit out of me," Harry said. "I'm just glad Grace stayed on the ground."
Faith looked at A.J.; he has a stupid grin on his face. She really doesn't want to know. Luckily, she didn't get a chance to think about it too hard since the NASA people got started.
"Lady and Gentlemen, welcome to our Weightless Environment Training Facility."