Therian

Chapter 15

  "Gideon, I thought we agreed on clip-ons for me." I said while struggling with the tie.

  "Apologies, Logan, but due to the era and location, you must wear a normal tie."

  "How the Hell am I supposed to even do this?" I grumbled while standing by the fabricator.

  "Shall I bring up a diagram?"

  "Please." I turned to look at the screen as a step-by-step with pictures came up. My brows knit together as I looked and straightened out the mess my tie was in. Having it draped around my neck, I lined it up like in the picture.

  "Do you need help?" Turning to look at the doorway, I saw Stein standing there, already dressed to leave.

  "Yes, please."

  "You usually don't struggle with these things." He softly chuckled while walking over.

  "I usually get a clip-on."

  "I see." Stein flipped the side of the tie facing outward and lined it up. "Was this not something your parents taught you?"

  "Nah. More likely to tie up a runaway cow than a suit tie." I replied while watching Stein flip and turn the fabric of the tie.

  "Cow? As in fully grown?"

  "Yeah. Ah, that probably sounds dangerous to you, huh?"

  "Quite."

  "A Therian can take down a young bull by the age of 13 when hunting, so catching cattle and roping them is no big deal when done properly." I explained as Stein tightened the tie and straightened it.

  "Is it....common practice to hunt a bull at that age?"

  "No. We- well, my family at least- teach the kids to hunt bigger game using wild deer."

  "Oh. Well, that seems normal enough." Stein raised his eyebrows. "Now, we should be going. Mr. Rory and Jefferson are waiting for us." Nodding, I followed Stein out of the fabricator room and into the hallway.

  However, when I saw Mick, my brain stalled like an old car. I'd seen him in a suit before, sure, but I'd never seen him in a suit with glasses, and it shockingly worked for him. He looked like a hot professor.

  I managed to keep my staring to a minimum so the others wouldn't notice. I also was definitely not paying attention to whatever Stein was saying.

✧☾✧

  "These are flight controllers?"

  "Yes. They're with the, uh, British Space Program." Henry nodded to us as we stood in the control room for Apollo 13. "They're here to study our procedures."

  "What's your area of expertise?" The balding man jerked his chin up to gesture towards Jax.

  "I'm a Booster Systems Engineer." Jax replied with a rather good English accent. "They call me 'the Rocket Man'."

  "You?" The man then looked at me as I had my hands in my pockets.

  "Flight Activities Officer." I nodded, and the man seemed to accept the answer well enough.

  "And him?" He turned to look at Mick who was standing by an ashtray while inspecting a cigar.

  "Uh, he's a man of few words, but makes up for it with....personality." Stein replied.

  "All right. Fine. But if any of you Brits get in the way of my controllers, or jeopardize the safe return of our astronauts, you'll answer to me."

  "Of course." Jax gave a short bow that I was sure was supposed to mock the man while appearing polite.