The Inner Ring (gxg)

Chapter 7

"This is bullshit!" Lena muttered as we were all strapping into the shuttle.

"Oh, come on," Brody laughed. "You get to fly the real mission, let these guys take us up to the space station!"

"Bite me!" Lena growled back.

The group was all in a standard commercial shuttle that ran standard weekly runs up to the company's space station. It wasn't scheduled to fly for another three days, but when the current and original CEO ask, they get what they want. However, the mission pilots, who always wanted to be the ones in control, didn't appreciate being passengers. Lena was just the most vocal about it.

The shuttle was arranged like a small passenger jet, with two seats on either side of the isle, and a dozen seats in all. Typically, it was used for shuttling new crew up to the station, or to take paying customers on a tour of space. With the Mars colony just over ten years old, there were more visitors in space than ever. It was just a matter of time before tourists were going to Mars along with the scientists. Vanessa made sure to sit next to Pepper and gave her the window seat so she could have the best view. She didn't want her new friend to miss the sight of Earth from orbit.

Pepper gripped Vanessa's hand as the shuttle started down the runway, rapidly picking up speed and then rocketing almost vertical up into the sky. Pepper's fingers squeezed tighter the higher they flew, and Vanessa reached over with her free hand to rub circles over the back of Pepper's hand to try and relieve some of the stress. She understood the fear and was hoping that it would soon turn into the same wonder that the view held for her.

Elsewhere in the shuttle, Xavier and Emily were laughing and giggling together, finally realizing their dream of being together in space. Vanessa had no doubt that there might be some noisy nights near their bunks during the mission. Brody and Lena were sitting alone in their rows, with Lena critiquing the flight and Brody relaxing and napping. Miles and Anton sat together, having an animated conversation about something that Vanessa couldn't hear over the roar of the engines. As she thought about that, she pulled out a pair of small earpieces, and passed one to Pepper once the shuttle leveled out and the G forces lessened.

"Hey, put this in," she nudged Pepper, pointing to her ear.

Pepper turned to look at her, a smile on her face, and Vanessa realized that the pressure on her hand had disappeared. Vanessa raised her hand so Pepper could see the earpiece. Pepper picked it up, slipping it into her ear. Vanessa did the same with the other one. "Can you hear me?" Vanessa whispered.

Pepper's eyes widened in shock, even with a whisper, she could hear her perfectly over the sound of the engines. "Yes, I can! These are amazing!"

"I'm sorry, I meant to give it to you before we took off, but I forgot. The latest tech, they feed off the body's electricity so they never die, I will be able to hear you anywhere on the ship. So, if you're ever feeling weird in space, just whisper and I'll come find you," Vanessa smiled.

Pepper released her hand and threw her arms around Vanessa's neck. She had been terrified of being alone or lost up there on the ship, but this simple gift made her feel so much better. "Thank you so much!" She whispered into the other woman's ear. "I might never take it out!"

"You don't have to unless it gets uncomfortable," Vanessa promised. "This way we make sure we can get through this trip in one piece!"

"I do feel a lot better about the trip," Pepper sighed, sitting back in her seat. "I was so anxious; everything was moving so fast. I've never been one for adventures in my life, even living on my own was big. But this was obviously gigantic. Thanks for helping me through it. I'm going to have a hard time when we get back remembering that you're my boss."