Chapter 11

Still in the Running

T Minus 2 Years and 0 Months…

The fall training session had begun, and Don was still in the running for the top seat. Since the whole world now knew that he and Judy were attracted to each other, they continued to date openly. The only downside was that, whenever they ventured off the grounds of the training facility, they were stalked by photographers. They thought about trying to outwit them, but decided to just smile for the cameras and go on about their business.

Maureen and John were still uneasy about the coupling. They too were plagued by reporters and both became disgusted with the constant questioning of whether Don and Judy's relationship would affect their choice for a pilot. Maureen finally mastered the fine art of saying "No comment" with conviction, while John learned to robotically relay his pat response of "Whoever sits in that pilot seat will have earned it on his or her talent and hard work."

The pool of pilots had been reduced to sixteen because four of the original twenty had become involved in outside relationships and voluntarily dropped out. The next set of training activities involved exposing the pilots to unexpected dangerous situations that they would have to resolve with minimal collateral damage. They would be working on simulation machines and Don was looking forward to it because it was a lot like playing video games, and he had done plenty of that in his day.

The most recent scenario took place at a mock-up of the Jupiter flight controls. Each pilot had a family member with him, and Don had Penny. The scene was that the Jupiter was caught in an uncharted asteroid field. The shields overheated from the constant battering and shorted out. All of the pilots left their seats to tear out the lower panels and diagnose the problem. Only Don called on his passenger for help.

"Keep your hand on these buttons. If she dips to the left, hit the right button, if it's to the right, hit the left button. The same with these two. Got it?"

She nodded.

When he was under the console he found the damaged wire and cut it.

"Penny, do you have a hair pin?"

"You mean a bobby pin?"

"Yeah."

She pulled one out and handed it to him. He opened it up and bypassed the short circuit by using the bobby pin as a conductor between the two pieces. All of the pilots diagnosed the problem easily, but Don was the only one who solved it both quickly and by keeping the ship under control. The trainers were impressed by both his mechanical and improvisational ability. They especially liked the fact that he trusted Penny enough to enlist her help.

Captain Bryce held first place in the training up to this point. Once the simulations started, however, Don outperformed them all and even surpassed Bryce. His new position did not sit well with the captain. After the third day of simulations, Bryce and three other pilots confronted Don as he and Red were walking down a hallway. "West! I want to talk to you!" Bryce shouted.

Don stopped in his tracks and turned. "Talk to me, Captain. I'm listening."

"Who are you romancing at Alpha Control?"

"What?"

"Who's feeding you the simulations before they happen? Because that's the only way you could beat us all every time."

"Are you accusing me of cheating?"

"I'm accusing you of doing anything and everything, even if it's unethical, to insure that you come out on top."

Lieutenant Jackson added, "I bet you even paid for the cheerleader's abortion this summer."

Don was enraged and tackled Jackson to the ground. Fists flew and uniforms were torn. Red pulled Don back and Bryce held onto Jackson. By this time, the entire family and several more pilots had gathered round. Professor Robinson faced both men and commanded, "Pack your things. You're both out of here."

"Dad, no!" Judy said, "You can't do that!"

"Can't I? Just watch me," he replied.

Jackson defended himself, "But he attacked me… What was I supposed to do, let him beat me?"

Don stood there breathing hard. Blood was oozing from his mouth and his cheek was red. 'Was I supposed to let him bad mouth your daughter like that?' he thought, but he remained silent.

Red spoke up. "You should hear the whole story, professor. You might want to reconsider."

John was tempted to brush off Red's comment, but Maureen intervened. "Maybe we should listen to him, John."

John rarely dismissed Maureen's opinions and he nodded. "Get yourselves cleaned up and in my office A.S.A.P."

Judy pressed ice to Don's face and he shrugged her off. "I'm okay."

"No you're not. Stop being so stubborn."

He took the ice from her hand and held it to his cheek. He hadn't told her what was said and he had no plans to do so. Judy could see that he was still steamed, so she remained quiet, but at his side as he cooled down. She accompanied him to her father's office where Jackson, his eye turning black and blue, was just leaving. He glared at Don as he passed him. Don entered and Judy followed.

"Judy, please leave," her father instructed.

"No. I want to know what happened," she replied.

"Do what your father told you, Judy," Don said.

"Did this fight have anything to do with me?" she asked.

He hesitated.

"Uh-huh. Just as I thought." She sat down and was adamant. "I'm not leaving."

"All right… Proceed, Lieutenant West," Professor Robinson directed.

Don told his side of the story.

John was speechless for a moment. He walked to the window and stared out at the bustling landscape. He silently rebuked himself for allowing his daughter to stay. Don turned to Judy and said, "I'm sorry you had to hear that, Judy."

"It's not your fault, Don. Besides, I'm not surprised. Ros and I talked about it in the locker room."

"Ros?"

"The only female pilot in the group? Lieutenant Perry?"

"I know who she is… I just didn't know you and she were that friendly."

"Men aren't the only ones who talk in locker rooms," Judy wryly stated. She stood and walked up to him. "And thank you for defending my honor, Lieutenant West."

John came to a decision and faced them. "Lieutenant Jackson conveniently left the details of his comment out of his story, but take this as a warning, Lieutenant. There is enough pressure and stress in this place without resorting to fisticuffs. Do a better job of controlling your hot-headed temper. Understood?"

Don nodded. "Understood, sir."

As mad as Don was with Jackson, he was furious with Bryce for starting the whole scenario in the first place. He sought him out and found him in the weight room.

"Captain Bryce, I'd like a word with you," Don announced.

Bryce turned slowly to face him. "What is it, West."

"The name is Lieutenant West, sir. I've been putting up with your comments for a long time and I want to know what you have against me."

"What I've got against you, Lieutenant, is that you're all flash… charming the women… that car of yours… You've never taken this training seriously enough. This is all fun and games to you. You think this is easy. What really galls me is that, despite your nonchalant attitude, you're still here."

"Easy? I've been working my butt off for five years to get here. Don't tell me I have it 'easy'!"

"You don't have half the experience or half the character most of these men have. You don't deserve to be here. You haven't paid your dues!"

"What do you call putting up with all the crap that I've taken from you guys about Judy?"

"Crap? That's kid stuff compared to what you might face out there. Can you look me in the eye and tell me that this mission doesn't scare you?"

"No, I can't, because it does scare me. I'm scared as hell that something might happen to those people. The reason I'm here is to protect them. I'll protect them with my life if I have to."

What they didn't know was that John was eavesdropping outside the door. Lieutenant West's value just went up another fifty points.

A psychologist by the name of Colonel Zachary Smith had recently joined the training team. He was a sixteen year veteran of the Air Force and was an expert in Environmental Space Psychology. His role was to gauge the family's stress reactions to the simulations. So far, he felt that they had all done quite well, however, he had some concerns about the girls.

John had just finished reading his preliminary reports on the family and pilots and discussed them with Maureen. "Smith says that Penny has an over active imagination and will not be able to distinguish reality from fantasy, which could put her in danger in an alien world."

"She's always been imaginative, John. Do you think that could be a problem?"

"A problem? We're going off into a fantasy land. No one's been there before, so I think we'll all be in the same boat."

"What does he say about Will?"

"Perfectly suited for space flight."

"And Judy?"

"Too sensitive and dependent on Lieutenant West, whom he describes as an impulsive, easily angered reactionary. Has him last on his list."

"Oh, my. Maybe he's right, John. I know that General Bowers has him at the top, but maybe we should eliminate him from consideration. If we do, we need to tell Judy."

"Now, darling, let's not be too hasty. He has risen higher in my book. I'm not ready to dismiss him."

"All right, John, but I hope you know what you're doing."

Judy's eighteenth birthday arrived and Don took her to see a re-release of the movie, Apollo 13. She hadn't seen it the previous summer and Don was dying to see it again. She held tightly to his hand throughout the film and they were silent as they left the theater until they were confronted with photographers, yet again.

"Uh, oh… 'Houston, we have a problem'," Don announced to Judy as he spied a reporter coming at them.

"Just smile, Don," Judy encouraged.

"What did you think of the movie, Lieutenant West?" the reporter asked.

"Great stuff."

"Now that Miss Robinson is eighteen, are you and she going to get married so you'll have to be named as the pilot?"

Don scowled. He had hoped that those types of questions had been laid to rest, but they were never far from the surface.

"Let it go, Don," Judy advised.

"No comment." Don stated as he helped Judy into the car and took off.

He turned down a rural road, pulled over and turned off the engine. "Judy, I'm sorry," he stated.

"What for?"

"For having to listen to that stuff."

"It doesn't bother me, Don."

"Well, it bothers me," he said as he banged the steering wheel.

She sighed. There wasn't anything she could say to help, so she looked out her window at the setting sun. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

He looked up to see what she was talking about.

"I wonder what the sunsets will be like wherever we're going?" Judy commented.

"I'm sure they'll be just as beautiful," he replied. Watching her admire nature's beauty lifted his mood. 'Especially if I'm with you,' he thought to himself.

She turned her sweet smile on him as if she had heard his thought. They leaned towards each other over the gear shift and their lips met… and met… and… lightening flashed around them.

They pulled back just a centimeter and Judy said, "Houston, we have a problem."

"Damn photographers!" Don complained. He started the car and took off for home.

Despite Smith's opinion of Lieutenant West, Don was still coming out on top. The toughest tests, however, were still to come. They were called the 'survival' series and in each case, the Jupiter needed to lift off before all of its passengers had returned. The only caveat was that the pilots could not leave the ship to search for the missing person.

In Don's simulation, it was Judy for whom they were waiting. The planet was disintegrating and John was calling the count down. Don was poised to start the take-off sequence, but his hand never moved when John reached 'zero'. He continued to scan the surroundings looking for her and the simulation was terminated just as Judy appeared on the horizon in his screen. This was the first simulation Don had failed. He stared at the controls and John told him to exit the simulator. Don didn't move.

"Can we run that again, please?" he asked.

John replied, "Lieutenant, you failed. A second trial won't change your score."

"I'd still like to run it again. This time wait until I call it finished."

Curious, John agreed.

As the count down was once again started, Judy appeared on the horizon as before, but the simulation continued as the video Judy walked towards them and Don timed it so that she would have had time to board. He started the lift-off sequence two minutes later than he was supposed to, but rather than lifting straight up and into space, he lifted off at a thirty degree angle. The ship sustained damage, but it was successfully launched. Don then called the simulation finished.

"Thank you, Professor. I know I failed, but there is no way I could leave her behind, and it would be the same for Will, Penny, or you and Maureen," Don stated.

"That may be fine in a simulation, but we may face the scenario where one of us would need to be sacrificed for the survival of the rest. You have to be able to make that split second decision, Lieutenant."

"Professor, would you really be able to leave one of your children behind?" Don asked.

John knew the answer to that. In fact it bothered him that the other pilots made the decision to leave one of them behind almost too easily. He wanted a pilot who would value his family as much as he did, and he realized that the pilot he had initially written off was surpassing the others by leaps and bounds.