Flight Plans
Flight Plans
Breakaway + ~4 years
Sandra sat at her station wrapping up the shift’s tasks. Once again, it had been a completely quiet and uneventful day. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder and covered a smile at the sight. Never had she seen Koenig so utterly inattentive. She could initiate a red alert and doubted the man would even blink. The Commander and Helena’s long awaited wedding was planned for the following week, and Sandra fervently hoped Alpha’s erratic luck held them disaster free for just that little longer. Helena and the Commander deserved this chance to celebrate their love, and all of Alpha could use a cause for celebration.
As she shut down, Sandra quickly reviewed the data on the small inset screen she had called up at the beginning of her shift. It included the most salient information from the Eagle Ops console watched by the pilot seated to her left. She doubted if the duty pilot knew she had also watched the Eagle’s progress, but she had made it a habit to do so whenever Alan was piloting.
Waiting for Yasko’s arrival before entering her final sign off code, Sandra idly watched the monitor in front of her. She wasn’t an Eagle pilot, but years of having to cover the other stations in Main Mission and then Command Center had given her an excellent working knowledge of how to read the incoming data. The fact she had at one time been letter perfect on the Eagle flight manuals also helped. Taking a deep breath, Sandra felt the familiar tug of sadness at the memory of her stepmother. Diane had helped design the engines used on the Eagles and when asked had obtained the manuals for her. Firmly pushing melancholy thoughts aside, Sandra confirmed that the Eagle was due to land in forty minutes on Pad 1 and that all systems were green. Seeing her relief arrive, she shut down her access codes, signed over to Yasko and bid the daydreaming Commander a good night. She had promised to meet Alan for dinner.
Running early, Sandra stopped by her quarters en route to her destination. She had time to freshen up and did so. While not precisely a date, she always felt a distinct note of pleasure in thinking about the time she spent with Alan. The gossips of Alpha no longer even noticed that most of their evenings were spent in her quarters. They were more than friends, but not yet lovers. It was entirely frustrating.
She arrived at the empty embarkation area with a generous safety margin and looked forward to the rare opportunity to just look outside Alpha and daydream. As cluttery as Alan could be in his private life, she knew he was as precise and particular when it came to his beloved Eagles and flying. Sandra sighed. Alan seemed to have more passion for the machines then for any one person. It was an admirable trait, and one that had kept Alpha alive on many an occasion, but it did leave Sandra feeling the odd person out. She wanted to capture his attention in a very personal way but was at a loss as to how.
Approaching the arrival time, Sandra looked up from the moon’s surface to watch for the inbound Eagle. She was distracted when a flash of reflected movement caught her attention. She turned to find pilot Kevin Taylor looking out the viewports on the other side of the room, perhaps studying the blue-green nebulae visible from that angle.
“Hello, Kevin.”
The orange-sleeved man startled at the sound of her voice and whirled around with fighter-pilot reflexes. Surprised, Sandra involuntarily stepped backward. Obviously, he had not seen her.
“Good-evening, Miss Benes. Sandra.” Kevin was courteous to a fault.
Sandra smiled her approval of the change of address. After four years in space, there was no longer the need to be so formal. True, the command structure had to be followed to keep the base functioning and respond quickly in time of crises, but Alpha was their home and a sense of community was important.
“The nebulae are beautiful.” She nodded at the lovely stars behind Kevin.
Kevin smiled and nodded. He had an artist’s soul and was frequently found listening to music, admiring the flowers in the biodome, or simply watching the stars. Sandra thought him a kind person but very rarely were they ever in the same place at the same time.
“Yes, they are, but I was actually waiting for the Captain.”
Sandra did not ask why, although she did admit to herself a certain curiosity given the lateness of the hour. She noticed Kevin giving her an odd look.
“The Captain wants to train additional pilots. We really need more in case of Operation Exodus.”
Sandra found this interesting, both that Kevin volunteered this to a person not in his section and because she had always dreamed about flying an Eagle. “Oh?”
Kevin nodded slowly while maintaining eye contact. “He asked me to do some background research and find Alphans who held flight ratings on Earth. He’s hoping they might have the basic aptitude we need.”
Sandra’s heart skipped a beat. She had held a non-commercial license on Earth, but only for the smallest of personal airplanes. She had also buried this information in the data base years ago, before Breakaway, to avoid being teased by the pilots. Alan in particular.
“And?”
“I found thirteen names. I thought I had a fourteenth, but the file locked. It had your authorization.”
Sandra shrugged. “Gorski gave many odd orders in those last days before Breakaway.” True enough.
Kevin nodded, appearing to accept the plausible explanation. He gently regarded the small woman in front of him. All the pilots knew that the Captain was quite taken with Sandra. The occasionally crude locker-room banter had them wedded and bedded within the next old-time calendar year. And not necessarily in that order. Interestingly, the Captain did not join in on this verbal back and forth. “I’m sure the Captain will be tired. Would you give this to him? He can review the names with me in the morning.” He handed Sandra a small sealed printout and left with a courteous smile.
Sandra nodded absently as she took the reusable slip, not noticing Kevin’s departure. She was thinking at a furious pace. Maybe, just maybe, this was a solution to her dilemma. And the answer to a dream.
“Alpha to Sandra. You in there?” Alan stood in front of Sandra; from her glazed eyes it was clear to him that she was millions of kilometers away. He had even ducked into the ready room and stripped off his pressure suit without a change in her expression. Alan watched Sandra blink her eyes owlishly as she realized who was in front of her. “Alpha to Sandra, turn on your sonar.” He had a whimsical smile for her unusual inattentiveness.
She gave him a brief, disgusted look for such a completely inappropriate mode of technology for space communications, but then smiled. “I am sorry, Alan. Dinner?”
“Yeah, I’m famished.” He took her hand and all but towed her in his wake to the nearest cafeteria.
As hungry as he was, he still filled Sandra in on the events of his day between bites of the unremarkable dinner. Filling and hot were its best attributes. During one brief lull, Sandra gave him the data slip saying it was from Kevin. It took him a second to recall the errand he had sent the young pilot on, but then he stuffed it in his pocket for later consideration. He’d much rather focus on Sandra at present, especially as something seemed to be distracting her. “Everything alright, Sahn? Anything happen in Command Center today?”
“Yes, and no.” She spared him a reassuring smile. “Done?” As usual, she had eaten lightly by his standards and had finished before him.
“Yeah.”
They cleaned up their trays and as usual found their way to Sandra’s quarters. No matter how weary he was, Alan looked forward to his evenings with Sandra. One day soon, he hoped she would ask him for more then just another platonic evening together. He refused to crowd her though. Sandra had been through hell and back with Paul, and Alan wanted to make sure she was ready for any change in her relationship with him, as much as he wanted exactly that.
Sandra sat on her small sofa leaving room for him to join her and he did so willingly. He kicked off his shoes and propped his feet on the low table, adjusting the arm he draped across her slight shoulders to accommodate her small, warm body snuggling close. Music played softly in the background, not quite masking the hypnotic sounds of the small recycling waterfall. Alan dozed on and off. He was dog tired but loathed to give up the warmth and comfort of sitting here with Sandra curled up beside him. It wouldn’t be the first time he had fallen asleep on her sofa.
“Alan, I have a favor to ask.”
Alan shook himself awake at that and looked down at her with a surprised expression. Maybe this would explain why she had been so distracted and even quieter then usual. She asked for very few favors. “Whatever I can do, love.”
“Teach me to fly an Eagle.”
Alan stared at her amazed. Of all the possible requests, he never would have considered this. “Really?”
Sandra nodded.
Without thinking of the consequences, Alan leaned over and started to kiss her with enthusiasm. Embarrassed he pulled back, but Sandra didn’t seem particularly upset. He settled back down on the sofa and pulled her back to his side. “I’d like that, Sahn.” He felt a surge of excitement as he considered the possibilities, but his exhausted body betrayed him and he drifted inexorably back toward sleep.
Once Alan had fallen soundly asleep and his arm had slipped off her shoulders, Sandra sat up and stretched stiff muscles. She was tired but flushed with success. The chance to fly an Eagle was the dream of her pre-Breakaway life. She pulled a spare blanket off the back of the sofa and covered Alan against the ever present chill. He was obviously much too tired to awake on his own. She leaned over and lightly touched her lips to his. His kiss had been very nice, but much too brief. If she hadn’t been so surprised at his reaction to her request, she would have pulled him back to her. Oh, well. Now at least she had the hope there would be another chance. No doubt he would be gone by the time she awoke, like the other occasions he had fallen asleep here. She turned off the music, left the lights on low and walked to the small sleeping alcove. In a pleasant fog as she changed and slipped into her bed, Sandra wondered how long it would be until Alan shared it with her.
4 Jan 2006
MGK