Perfect Storm

Chapter 2

              Reed, Ben, and I watched through binoculars as Johnny Storm - Sue’s brother - drove a motorcycle along a car, making out with the girl in driving the car.

            “Well, if nothing else, you have to at least admire the fact that they can do that and not crash,” I said, watching curiously.

            “I can’t do it,” Ben said, walking off. “Cannot do it.”

 I continued to watch curiously, until the two were broken up, and Johnny sped ahead. I turned to Reed and Ben, leaning against the railing.

            “External SRP, Orbital system engines, it’s just like the ship you flew when you were,” Reed started, but Ben interrupted him.

            “No, I cannot take orders, from the underwear model,” Ben said, pointing to Johnny. “That kid washed out of NASA for sneaking two Victoria Secret wannabes into a flight simulator,” Ben said, and I looked at him wide eyed.

            “Seriously?” I asked. Ben nodded. “I’m not sure I want to get into a shuttle that the underwear model is flying,” I murmured.

            “Maggie, not helping,” Reed said.  “And it was just youthful high spirits.”

            “They crashed it into a wall,” Ben said. “A flight simulator.”

            “Ben, when have I ever asked you to do something you absolutely could not do?” Reed asked him.

            “5 times,” Ben said.

            “I had it at four,” Reed said.

            “This makes 5,” He shouted, walking down the steps. I ran to catch up with them.

            “Ben, it’ll be fine. Maybe if you knock him out, he’ll wake up before we get to the station,” I said, clapping his shoulder. 

            “Maggie, that’s not helping either,” Reed said, walking after us. Ben put a brotherly arm around my shoulders.

            “I knew there was a reason I liked you better,” Ben said, and I laughed.

            We walked to the locker rooms, and Reed and I sat down to do last minute calculations to make sure everything was correct. Unfortunately, whenever I worked, I had to swap my contacts for glasses. Contacts bugged the hell out of me whenever I did calculations.

            “How fast are the solar winds now?” I asked.

            “They’ve increased by 6%,” he said.

            “Reed, are you sure about this. They’ve increased speed by 11% just in the last few days,” I murmured. “Nearly 30% in the last two weeks.”

            “It’ll be fine, Maggie,” Reed said. “At this rate, I’ve calculated that once we get up there, we’ll have 9 hours to prepare and get into the control room. Then, we’ll have all of what we need.”

            I nodded as I refigured the calculations for the acceleration rate. “You’re right,” I said. “I knew you were, but it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.”

            “No kidding,” Reed said, and we continued working on our laptops.

            “Captain on the bridge,” I heard a voice shout, and my head snapped up to see a guy about my age who was… well, he was sexy. And he walked like he knew it.