Asteroid Patrol: Timid Hero

A sort of sequel to Asteroid Patrol using some of the same characters. Less romance, more musing on the nature of a hero.



Sergeant Michelle Elizabeth (or Emmy to her friends) Baldwin looked up from her desk at the knock on her door. She had been in command of the Space Police hub here on the ‘Boonies’ for nearly three years now.
“Come in Stace.” She called.
Acting Senior Pilot Stacey Grainger entered the office.
“What’s up Sarge? Traffic Control said you wanted to see me.”
“Yes. I’m sorry Stacey; I’ve got some bad news.”
“You’re cancelling my Senior Pilot proficiency test again?” Stacey sighed. The sergeant had been trying for weeks to find the time for the exam, but being in charge of the hub meant that other things kept getting in the way.
“No. You’re still taking the test tomorrow, but neither Dave nor I can come with you. Dave’s appeal hearing against his permanent reprimand has been moved forward to tomorrow too.” Dave, or ‘Big Dave’ as the residents of the ‘Boonies’ called him, was Emmy’s husband.
“Exactly why did he appeal?” Stacey asked. “He always gave the impression it didn’t bother him.”
“It doesn’t. But the Captain and I both think that it’s a waste of his experience and abilities.”
“And you both feel guilty about it.” Stacey smirked.
Emmy reddened slightly.
“And we both feel guilty about it.” She admitted.
“Okay, but why can’t you take the test?” Stacey asked.
“Because there’s going to be a full inspection in two days time. I have to make sure everything is ready for that.”
Stacey nodded in resigned understanding. Despite the fact that she had everyone doing the right things, Emmy worried a little too much at times.
“So, who is testing me?”
“Sergeant Joe Winters from the Academy Flight School will be taking the test. And I’ve assigned Paul Todd from the front desk as your flight crew. He’s a good officer, but a bit timid like you are, or were.” Emmy gave a little smile to herself. Stacey was nowhere near as timid as she used to be. In fact some of the more recent probationers had admitted that she scared them!
“Oh well.” Stacey sighed. “At least if I pass now I’ll know it was on merit.”
“What are you implying Officer Grainger?” The sergeant asked sharply.
“C’mon Sarge. You know everybody outside of the ‘Boonies’ would think you passed me because we’re friends.”
“And you?”
“It would have been at the back of my mind I suppose.”
“Sit down Stace.” Emmy sighed. “Do you really think Dave or I would compromise the integrity of the force, even for one of our best friends?”
“No, not really.” Stacey sighed too. “But the possibility was always there. Now all I have to do is get it right.” She smiled.
“That’s all you had to do anyway.” Emmy smiled back. “If anything, it might be easier for you. Dave and I would have been tougher on you precisely because we are friends.” She looked at her former bridesmaid. “You don’t think much of yourself as an officer of the law do you? Why not?”
“Because like you said, I’m timid. I nearly made things worse during the Lafarge incident when I panicked and called in the special squad.”
“No. That was the right thing to do. And your shyness has made you methodical, a good thing. And you’re not so timid now I hear. Some of the newbies are actually scared of you.” Stacey looked astonished at this. Emmy carried on. “You don’t think Dave would have let you take over flying ‘Juliet’ if he didn’t trust you do you? And me? I keep you around for the entertainment your on-off thing with Nobby provides do I?”
“I suppose not.” Stacey said sheepishly. “Sorry Sarge. Thanks for the pep-talk. I won’t let you down.”
“You’d better not. And I want your impressions of young Toddy too. Now buzz off and leave me to my admin nightmare.” Emmy suddenly gave Stacey a quizzical look. “How is the thing with Nobby going anyway? I haven’t seen you together for quite a while now.”
“It’s off again. My fault. Again. And probably permanently this time.”
“Perhaps you should have tried methodical?”
“Where would the fun be in that?” Stacey laughed as she closed the office door.

Officer Paul Todd nervously shuffled his feet as he waited outside the airlock of the patrol ship ‘Juliet’. He had asked Sergeant Baldwin for a more active assignment a couple of weeks before, more to show enthusiasm than for any great desire to get away from the front desk. She had said she would see what was available. He had thought that was it, that he wasn’t going anywhere. And then yesterday he had been told to report here to act as co-pilot to the Acting Senior Pilot for her proficiency test! And the test was to be taken in JHU, the most renowned patrol ship in the force! He wondered what he had let himself in for. He kicked at the ground again.
“Officer Todd?” A female voice behind him asked. He nearly leapt out of his skin.
“Yes ma’am.” He replied, spinning around and trying to salute at the same time. In doing so he managed to knock his cap off. The officer in front of him giggled as he scrambled to pick it up. He felt his face going red. This was not a good start.
“It’s okay.” She said comfortingly. “I’m Officer Stacey Grainger.” She held out her hand. “I believe you’ve been assigned to me and ‘Juliet’ for a while.”
“Yes ma’am.” He said, shaking the proffered hand.
“Call me Stacey, or Stace.” She said, still trying to suppress an amused smile.
“Yes ma’am. Errr…Stacey.” Paul felt hopelessly confused and out of his depth. He looked into her hazel eyes and pitying expression and was immediately smitten.
“What’s the matter?” Stacey asked, noting his attention. “I haven’t got something on my face have I?”
Guiltily Paul broke his stare and shook his head.
“No. Nothing is wrong with your face. I’d just never noticed your eyes before.” He said, blushing.
“My eyes? What about my eyes?”
“I’d never realised how pretty they were before.” He answered, shrugging helplessly.
“Spend a lot of time looking at girl’s eyes do you?” Stacey asked with a mischievous grin.
“Can we change the subject? I’m embarrassed enough already.” He pleaded desperately.
“All right.” She gave in. “What do you know about Sergeant Winters?”
“He always shows up at an interesting point in the conversation.” A third voice joined in. They span around to see Sergeant Winters beaming at them, his hands on his hips. “Shall we get started?” He asked, still smiling. “That’s if you’ve done gossiping.”
Stacey, the more experienced of the two grinned back.
“No problem Sarge.”
Paul just turned bright red, but managed to stutter.
“I’m ready Sergeant.”
Stacey began by explaining to Paul that ‘Juliet’ had a second cargo airlock that should be checked before take-off, and then went on to tell him that the ship could be flown from either of the pilot seats, but that she personally preferred the right hand one as that was where she had sat when Big Dave had shown her how to fly ‘Juliet’. Sergeant Winters said nothing at all throughout the pre-flight checks, just nodding or smiling and occasionally making a note on his computer pad. Stacey had practically forgotten what he was there for to be truthful. She called up Traffic Control.
“Control, this is Juliet Hotel Uniform requesting clearance to depart.”
“Juliet Hotel Uniform, this is control, you are cleared to depart. You have a message from Sergeant Baldwin.”
Stacey sighed and turned to Paul.
“I bet she’s just wishing me luck.” She grinned and then replied. “What is the message control?”
“Message reads: Unusual activity in asteroid field near Station Six. Investigate if possible.”
“Oh!” Stacey said in surprise. “Message acknowledged control.”
There was a snort of suppressed laughter from Sergeant Winters who had overheard her aside to Paul.
“There is an addendum. It reads: Good luck.”
All three of them laughed now.
“Thank you control. Juliet Hotel Uniform departing. Tell the boys I’ll bring her back safe. JHU out.”

For the next couple of hours it was pretty much like a normal patrol for Stacey. The proficiency test was designed mainly to confirm her day-to-day piloting skills and to assess her instructional ability. Sergeant Winters could find no fault so far.
Officer Todd spoke.
“Stacey, we’re nearing Station Six. Sergeant Baldwin asked if…”
“…If we could check on the asteroid activity.” She finished with a grin. “I remember, but thanks for the reminder Toddy.” She half turned to the sergeant behind her. “I’m about to enter the asteroid field sir, so if you’d buckle up I’d be grateful. And an extra pair of eyes is always useful in the field.” She added hopefully.
“Carry on Officer Grainger. And if I see anything I’ll shout.” He smiled and then added something else onto his computer pad.
“Station Six; this is Juliet Hotel Uniform informing you we are entering the asteroid field in your sector.” She reported on the radio. She got a short acknowledgement from the local station. “I’ll take her in Toddy.” Stacey said, her face set hard in concentration. “You keep an eye on the shields and a lookout for anything coming our way.” She took a deep breath. “Hold tight, here we go.” With that she picked a spot and deftly flicked ‘Juliet’ into the asteroid field. She was confidant of avoiding the larger lumps of rock and the smaller ones would be deflected by the shields, but they had to keep alert to the possibility of a counter-moving rogue.
Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary as Stacey wove through the asteroids and none of the three of them could see anything unusual about the way the rocks were moving. After twenty minutes or so of nothing, Stacey spotted one of the larger asteroids. She spoke over her shoulder to Winters.
“Sergeant. Is it all right if I let Toddy make a landing on this big one? The experience will do him good.”
“It’s your mission Officer Grainger. I’m only a passenger.”
Stacey took that as a yes.
“Okay Toddy. I’m handing control to you. Just remember; although it doesn’t look like it, that rock is moving, so compensate a little.”
“Are you sure about this Stacey? I’ve never done it before.” He asked in a concerned voice.
Stacey just grinned.
“No-one has the first time they do it. Besides, I have confidence in you. See?” With that she took her hands and feet away from the controls, crossing her arms.

“I said you’d be fine didn’t I Toddy?” Stacey smirked at a limp Paul. “That was a pretty good landing wasn’t it Sarge?” She turned to Winters.
“Not bad.” He agreed. “But I’m here to assess you not him.”
“Just making use of your experience to bolster his confidence.” She shot him another grin. She was really enjoying herself.
“You’ve got very cheeky these days Officer Grainger. Not at all like the timid girl I recall back at the academy.”
“You weren’t my pilot tutor?” Stacey asked, puzzled.
“No I wasn’t. But I remember you at the passing out parade, looking small and more than a little scared. Half the spectators I spoke to commented on you.”
Stacey blushed.
“I really looked scared?”
“You did. But you seem to have got over it. Big Dave’s doing I suspect.”
“Him and Emmy. They trusted me and gave me confidence.”
“They’re good at that.” The sergeant sighed. “We need a few more tutors like that at the academy, but I suppose they’re more use on station.”
“And I can’t see either of them wanting to leave the ‘Boonies’.” She grinned.
“No. Neither can I.” He grinned back.
Paul was looking at Stacey oddly, trying to picture her like him, all timid and worried, but he couldn’t. He looked away as she turned around, blushing again. He thought of an unrelated question.
“Stacey, I get the feeling that us landing here wasn’t just so that I could nearly crash in the attempt. What is the real reason?”
“Paul, I told you the landing was fine. And yes I did have an ulterior motive for us being here. From here we can get a good look at the field without having to keep an eye on everything else at the same time. So have a good look at those asteroids and we’ll see if we can spot whatever it is Emmy was on about.”
“That’s good thinking.” Paul replied, impressed. Sergeant Winters grunted in agreement and made another note on his pad. Stacey would rather like to see what it was he was putting down, but knew she’d have to wait until the test was over.

“How long are we going to keep looking?” Paul asked Stacey after about half an hour of fruitlessly scanning the scene above them.
“Around another 30 minutes. If we’ve spotted nothing by then I’ll feel justified in filing a negative report.” Stacey replied. She looked around at the others. The sergeant was tapping away at his computer pad while Paul was apprehensively looking up, obviously not sure what he was supposed to be looking for. In truth she didn’t know either, it had been a vague report, but after three years out here she knew she would be the one to notice any anomaly. Just as she was thinking that something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked with renewed interest. There it was again; a glint of light off metal! Stacey pointed and asked if the other two could see it. After a couple of minutes of concentrated staring they both confirmed her observation.
“What is it Stace?” Paul asked.
“I think it’s a mining vessel of some sort.”
“Ships aren’t supposed to be in the asteroid field.” Sergeant Winters said.
“Some are, but they’re supposed to inform the local station like we did.” As she was saying this Stacey was reaching once again for the radio. “Station Six, this is Juliet Hotel Uniform, are you reading me?”
“Loud and clear JHU. What’s up?”
“Have you been informed of any other ship in the belt?”
“Only you JHU. Why?”
“We’re observing the belt from ‘Big Blue 7’ and can see a ship that appears to be moored to a non-mover. I think it’s out of your line of sight.”
“Can you check it out for us? Our ship has only just got back, she needs refuelling.”
“Will do Six. Out.”
“Stacey, there’s another one.” Paul nudged her and pointed. “Just above us and much closer. It’s just moved out from behind that meteorite.” His voice squeaked urgently.
Stacey looked up and went white.
“Emergency take-off! NOW!!” She commanded, dropping her hands to the controls. Paul copied her immediately. “Somehow they’ve launched that meteorite at us.” She explained as her hands prepped ‘Juliet’ for engine start.
“How much time?” Winters asked as he strapped in.
“Not a lot.” She said, glancing up. “Skip the check list Paul, fire up the main engine. We need to get off this asteroid fast.”
“She’s too cold.” Paul cried as the engine failed to ignite.
“Hit the injectors, the reheat and the ignition simultaneously.” The still calm voice of Winters came from behind them. “It’s not a recommended procedure, but it will work, I promise.”
“DO IT!” Stacey yelled. She and Paul pushed all the required buttons at once and the engine burst into life. As they began to move they could all see the approaching meteorite getting closer. It would hit behind them “Buckle up. Rear shields to maximum.” Stacey said, knowing it could be too late. And then the huge piece of space rock smashed into ‘Big Blue 7’.
The shockwave caught the barely airborne ‘Juliet’ and flung her skywards amidst a rain of fragmenting rock as the two asteroids impacted. The occupants were flung around in their seats despite being strapped in. Stacey was barely in control of the bucking space craft, just enough to guide them clear of the flying debris, but ‘Juliet’ had been hit and hit hard by more than one piece of the exploding rock. Several alarms were going off as she regained control.
“We’re losing air from a puncture in the hold, and we have a leak in one of the fuel tanks.” Paul reported as he extinguished a tiny electrical fire on his console.
“Seal the hold and pump the tank into one of the others.” Stacey ordered as she looked around for an escape route from the mushrooming debris cloud.
“On it.” Despite his fright, Paul was reacting well to the situation. He did as he was told, sealing the hold off and beginning to pump fuel from the leaking tank into one of the sound ones.
“Sergeant, we have our hands full. Can you get in touch with Station Six and tell them we need to dock to make emergency repairs?”
“I’m on it too Stacey.”
“Sorry to have to ask.” She threw a grin over her shoulder. “Bit different to a normal flight for you, eh Sarge?”
“Flights in the ‘Boonies’ always seem to offer something new.” He grinned back.
Stacey finally managed to get ‘Juliet’ out of the way of the following rock cloud by slipping behind another of the larger asteroids. She breathed a sigh of relief and began to look around. Her eyes were drawn to where Station Six was.
“Sergeant, have you been able to get through to Six?” She asked in a dead voice.
“No. Only hiss and crackle.”
“I’m not surprised. They have problems of their own.” She pointed. “That second meteorite, the one we spotted first, must have been launched at them.”
The other two looked and saw that the station seemed to be damaged quite badly.
“If that second one had hit them, there would be nothing left at all.” Sergeant Winters said hopefully.
“Then it must have hit something smaller into them.” Stacey said.
“Like a pool shot?” Paul said quietly.
“I suppose.” Stacey shrugged, in despair for a moment. Then she straightened her shoulders. “They’ll need help.”
“Yes, but we’re damaged too.” Paul said. Winters said nothing.
“We’re here!” Stacey said forcefully. “And we’re close enough to help. We help.”
“Of course Officer Grainger. I didn’t mean we shouldn’t, just that we are leaking air and fuel and need repair as well.”
“I understand Paul. Let’s go.”

Stacey deftly clamped onto the one airlock that was vacant, the other had a wrecked ‘Sierra 4’ scout ship hanging from it. Thankfully the airlock was still operational.
“Good. That means they still have power and air.” Stacey said. “Paul, I want you to find the crew and get some ‘Space-seal’, they’ll know what you mean. Bring it back here and then go back and help in whatever way you can.”
“Yes ma’am.” He went, not daring to question her.
“Sergeant, go find the radio communications. One of them should be trying to get through to Emmy. Take over so he can help the others. When you get through, tell them to send Nobby and a repair crew ASAP.”
“Yes ma’am.” Winters said wryly. “What are you going to do?”
“Well ‘Juliet’ has the same systems the station has. I’m going to set her up to keep them going until Nobby gets here. And when Paul gets back with the ‘Space-seal’ I’m going out to patch our leaks so if we can’t save the station, we can save the crew. Now go. Time is of the essence.”
“I’m on it Stacey.” As he reached the airlock he turned back once more. “Big Dave and Emmy will be proud of you.” He said and then he was gone, before she could ask him what he meant.

About three hours after they had docked and two after Winters had got through to the hub Nobby arrived with his repair crew. Paul and Stacey had managed to jettison the wrecked scout so he docked on the now vacant second airlock. The moment they had cleared the scout away Stacey had donned her space suit and gone outside to begin fixing the damage done to ‘Juliet’. She was just finishing when Nobby arrived. She hurried back to the airlock so that they could dock.
Stacey had only removed her helmet when Nobby came through the airlock, a big grin on his face as ever.
“Watcha darlin’” He smiled. “Bin for a wander?”
“Patching ‘Juliet’. She answered.
“We coulda done that.” He said a little reproachfully. The rest of his crew had passed them and gone to assess the current situation of the station.
“Didn’t know how long you’d be.” She said, a little shortly. For some reason Nobby always wound her up these days.
“I’m sure you’re right.” Nobby looked more subdued than she could remember.
“What is it Nobby?”
Nobby shuffled his feet and looked embarrassed.
“Well I…The truth is…I…I’ve found another girl.” He finally managed to say.
“You have? I’m happy for you. Who is it?” Stacey asked with a smile.
“That new nurse, Heather. We sort of just clicked. I’m sorry babe…” He tailed off again.
“It’s okay Nobby, I understand. I’m not the girl I used to be, not the girl you first met. We just grew apart.” They looked at each other for a moment and then Nobby kissed her on the cheek.
“Gotta get to work. Emmy wants you and your lot back at the hub pronto. Take the injured bod with you. Now scram cutie!” He smiled. “The boss don’t like to be kept waiting.”
“Going now.” She smiled back. “As soon as I can get unplugged from the station.”
“You remembered how to do that?” He whistled in awe. “Good girl.”
“You taught me, remember?”
“I weren’t sure you’d remember.”
“I remember lots of things.” She smirked naughtily, waggling her eyebrows. Nobby went red and then scuttled off to do his job.

With a sigh of relief Stacey docked ‘Juliet’ back at her berth in the hub. She let her body sag tiredly for the first time since the emergency take off on ‘Big Blue 7’.Then she pulled herself back together one more time. She called Toddy in the cargo hold with the injured officer from Station Six.
“Paul, help them get our guest to the infirmary. When you’ve done that, get a drink and a bite to eat and then report to Sergeant Baldwin, she’ll want your version of the events too.”
“Okay Stace. See you later.” He sounded perkier than at any other time since she’d met him. Then she realised that had only been this morning.
Next Stacey turned to Sergeant Winters who had acted as co-pilot back to the hub.
“Sorry for disrupting your test Sarge, and I’m really, really sorry for ordering you about on Six.”
“I told you before.” He smiled. “I was just a passenger. It was…Interesting, shall we say? And it made me realise that I need to get out more.” Stacey gave a weak smile. Winters held out his hand. “It’s definitely been educational Stacey.” She took his hand and they shook. “Now I think I’d better go and make my report.” With that he left, leaving Stacey sitting alone. She placed her hand on the control panel in front of her.
“Well, I busted you up pretty good old girl. I hope they think you’re worth saving, because you saved us.” She patted the panel affectionately before squaring her shoulders and leaving the pilots seat of ‘Juliet’ for what might be the last time.

To her utter astonishment Stacey was greeted by a round of applause as she stepped out of the airlock. She stopped still, unsure what was happening. Big Dave walked over to her, clapping, a smile on his lips.
“What’s this for?” Stacey asked.
“Appreciation for the return of a hero Stace.” He continued to grin, amused by her puzzlement.
“A hero? Me? But I nearly got everyone killed with my clever ideas. And ‘Juliet’… ’Juliet’ could be finished.”
“Stacey, everyone’s alive because of you. And you don’t think we’re going to let them scrap ‘Juliet’ because of a couple of dents.”
“A couple of dents? Dave, she’s been hammered: the engine misfires and the electrics keep shorting…”
Big Dave held up his hand.
“She needed upgrading anyway. They are NOT going to take her away, I promise.”
“And I made a mess of the test.” Stacey continued to protest.
She looked so downcast that Dave put his arm around her shoulder.
“We’ll see shall we? Come on, Emmy wants to see you.”

Still unsure she was deserving of being called a hero Stacey was surprised by the number of handshakes and back-slaps she got while following Big Dave up to Emmy’s office. Sergeant Winters was just coming out as they arrived. Stacey stopped to speak to him.
“Sergeant, I hope they assign you to my re-test.”
“What re-test?” He appeared puzzled.
“No re-test? I blew it that badly?”
“Officer Grainger!” Sergeant Baldwin called out. “If you’re done gossiping…” Emmy sounded unhappy, so Stacey went in quickly.
This meant she missed the exchange between Big Dave and Joe Winters.
“Thanks for feigning ignorance Joe; I know Emmy wants to tell Stacey herself.”
“No big deal Dave, although I did have a problem keeping a straight face.” They shook hands. “You can tell Stacey that if she ever wants a change, we can find her an instructors post at the Flight School.” He thought of something else. “And remind her that a Senior Pilot needs to be able to fly all the craft under their jurisdiction, not just their favourite.”
“Will do Joe. See you around.”
Stacey falteringly finished her report to the hard-faced Sergeant Baldwin. While she had been worried before, seeing her friend looking so stern increased her anxiety ten-fold. Emmy leant her elbows on the desk and peered at Stacey over steepled fingers.
“So Officer Grainger, you are assuming responsibility for everything that went on out there?”
“Yes ma’am. I entered the asteroid field when I didn’t have too; I caused Officer Todd to land on an asteroid on a whim; and I initiated an unauthorised engine start-up procedure.” Stacey replied, deflatedly. Although she blamed herself for the damage ‘Juliet’ had suffered, she hadn’t thought that Emmy would too.
“I’m glad.” Emmy suddenly smiled. “It means Dave and I were right about you.” Stacey looked bewildered now. “Stacey, who was it that asked you to enter the field?”
“No-one ma’am.” She replied, still unsure about what Emmy meant about being right.
“Wrong. I did. I knew what you’d do when I made the request.”
“You did?”
“Of course. In any case, we now think the initial report was a fake. Someone wanted to destroy a patrol ship and a station at the same time for some reason and the report was a lure. We don’t know why yet.”
“Wait a second. You mean you don’t blame me for any of this?”
“I do not. Why would I?”
“Why all the serious looks then?”
“My dear Stacey, I’m just trying to make you realise that you are one of the best and most responsible officers I have. Do you honestly think anyone else could have done better out there?”
“They might have got airborne quicker.”
“They might not have got airborne at all.” Emmy countered.
“Sergeant Winters didn’t think that highly of me. He said I couldn’t have a re-test.”
“Why would you need a re-test? He passed you.”
“So he was in on this wind-up with you too?”
“All three of us.”
“Paul as well?”
“No silly. Big Dave. You don’t seriously think there’s anything going on around here HE doesn’t know about.”
“No.” Stacey said. Then realisation hit her. “I passed? I’m a Senior Pilot?”
“Indeed you are. Sergeant Grainger.” Emmy smiled at her friends’ excitement.
“Sergeant? I’m promoted as well?” Stacey was amazed.
“Goes with the job.”
“But…but I can’t order Big Dave about.”
“Why not? I can.”
“You’re married to him.”
“Just don’t worry about Dave. There are going to be a few changes around here shortly.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not at liberty to say at the moment. Anyway, here are your orders.” Emmy handed a file over. “You are now in charge of everything pilot-related. You get an office and an admin assistant and why am I telling you this when you’ve been doing this job for me for a couple of months? And wipe that smirk off your face.”
“Sorry ma’am.” Stacey said, now unable to suppress the smile, a gleam of excitement in her eyes.
Emmy looked down at a list on the desk. She too was having trouble keeping a straight face.
“Oh yes. What are your impressions of Officer Todd?”
“I think Paul has the makings of a fine officer.” Emmy smiled at the ‘Paul’. “He has the intelligence and ability, but he lacks confidence.” Emmy smiled again. “A little responsibility could do him good.” Stacey finished.
“Then it’s up to you to give it to him.”
“What?”
“I’m assigning him to you. You need a partner or a co-pilot, or whatever you decide.” Emmy said this last part with a twinkle in her eye.
“What do you mean by that? ‘Whatever I decide’. Why are you smirking?”
“See you later Stace, when you’ve worked it out.” Emmy practically pointed at the door. “And if Officer Todd is out there, send him in please.” She called out as Stacey left the office somewhat bemused.

Big Dave was still outside, talking quietly with Paul. Stacey recognised the tone; it was Dave’s confidence-building small-talk voice, the one he had used so often with her when she had first been posted here. Toddy looked up as she closed the door.
“Me now?” He asked nervously.
“Yep.” Stacey grinned.
“But why does the sergeant need to see me?” Paul looked worried.
“She doesn’t NEED to see you, Officer Todd; She WANTS to see you.” Dave explained. “Emmy likes to get as much input as possible.”
“Too much at times.” Stacey added.
“But what do I say?” He wailed.
“Just answer her questions.” Stacey told him. “All Emmy wants is your account of the incident. She’s not trying to catch you out or anything, I promise.” She paused. “Oh! And she’s got a new assignment for you. Now get in there.” He went.
Stacey smiled to herself.
“You like him don’t you?” Big Dave asked suddenly.
“I do. Even though he was scared he did everything he was supposed to do. And he did them right.”
“Sounds a bit like someone I remember from three years ago.” Dave grinned.
“Was I really like that?” Stacey asked blushing.
“Yes, you were. A timid new probationer that I was never going to let out on the streets on her own.” He smiled and tousled her hair. “Until you got ‘Juliet’ that is. She gave you what you needed, confidence.”
“Ahh, ‘Juliet’.” Stacey sighed and then frowned. “They wouldn’t really scrap her would they?”
“Stace, even if she’s too far gone for them to rebuild her, she’s not going to the scrap yard. We’ll keep her as your office or something.” He hugged her as her face cleared. “By the way, Joe says you should make yourself familiar with all the ship types on the hub. It helps if the Senior Pilot knows what their subordinates are talking about.”
“I was thinking that, especially now that my ship is in dock for repairs.” She gave him a big smile. “Send Toddy down to my office when he’s done here. I need to go and see what ships I’ve got available for tomorrow.”
“Will do.” Dave paused, a look of devilment on his face. “Sarge.” He finished. Stacey turned to go, her face crimson with a mixture of embarrassment and pride.

Stacey went down to what was now officially her office and began to look for the files on the available ships stationed at the ‘Boonies’. She had just found them on the system when Paul came in.
“Sergeant Baldwin told me I was assigned to you. She said you needed an assistant or whatever you decided. What did she mean?”
“I’m not sure, but I do need an assistant, someone who’s better with the paperwork than me. How are you with files?”
“Not bad I suppose. I’ve been on the front desk since I arrived here, so I’ve got a reasonable idea about the system.”
“Good.” Stacey turned the computer over to him. “I need to know what types of ship and in what numbers we have here, and which ones are operational.”
Paul tapped away and found what she wanted.
“There are four ‘Sierra’ class 4 scouts, and three class 4A’s, all available. There is the repair ship which is a modified ‘Uniform’ transport, but that’s out at Station Six still. Central are sending a ‘Whiskey’ model B to cover for ‘Juliet’ that’s due to arrive in two days. Each of the seven outlying stations has a scout ship assigned to it. Three ‘Sierra’ class 3C’s and two more class 4’s. Station Two has a class 5 and Station Six will get something sent from the central pool when it’s operational again.”
“That’s everything is it?” Stacey asked. Paul nodded in reply. “Well, I’ve flown Nobby’s ship and a ‘Whiskey B’ and a ‘Sierra 3C’ so I’ll need to get into a ‘Sierra 4’ and the 5 sometime soon.” She stopped and thought. “Are the 4’s and the 4A’s the same?”
“I’ll check.” Paul punched up the schematics for the two classes of scout ships. “The only difference is in the weapon. The 4A’s have a more powerful blaster.”
Stacey sat back and hummed to herself.
“Still, it might be worth taking a 4A out as well.” She sat up. “What are you current on?” She asked Paul.
“Well, I was taught on a 4 and I’ve flown a 5 as well. No time in a 3C or any of the transport types.”
“Except ‘Juliet’.”
“Yes. But she’s not exactly a transport is she.”
“One of a kind. But the basics are pretty much the same in the larger ships. I want you up to speed on all the types too, that way I’ll have no qualms about sending you out on trips without me.” She smiled.
“That means that between us we need to fly every type on the hub.”
“Looks like it. What’s available tomorrow?”
“To you? Everything. You’re in charge, remember?”
“I meant what isn’t scheduled for a mission tomorrow, dummy.”
“Oh. Okay, there are two scout patrols tomorrow, no specific ships assigned. The station scouts come in once a week; tomorrow it’s Station One, a 3C.”
“We’ll start with a 4 and a 4A then. When the 3C comes in we’ll borrow that too.” She smiled at Paul. “We’ll have a go at the others when they become available. Now let’s go and have a drink to celebrate.”
“Celebrate what?”
“Not getting run over by a meteorite?” Stacey grinned.
“Why not?” Paul smiled and stood up, holding his hand out to his new boss and hauling her upright.

Throughout the next week an investigation into the ‘Meteorite Incident’ got underway. A detective from central came over and went through everybody’s statement until he had a picture of the events. At the same time a team of specialists went into the asteroid belt to see if they could find the two used as weapons. ‘Big Blue 7’ had been split in half and the smaller rock totally disintegrated, but they did find pieces of a space engine which had been used to propel it. They had better luck with the other meteorite. It had indeed hit another rock into Station Six and then it had halted, the engine on it having failed with the shock. It matched the other pieces they had found. Station Six had survived because it had been hit by the second rock, travelling at a slower speed. They reported their findings to the detective, who began to investigate the ‘who’ now that he had the ‘how’.

Emmy and Big Dave came down to Stacey’s office a day or so after the detective had returned to central. She stood up to greet them.
“Hello you two. What’s up?”
“Why do you think something’s up Stace?” Dave grinned as he plonked himself in the spare chair in the office corner.
“Because you’re both here at the same time.” She smiled back.
Emmy sat herself down at what was now Paul’s desk, looking preoccupied.
“The thing is Stacey; we’d like your advice about the changes I told you about earlier.”
“The ‘I’m not at liberty to discuss these’ changes? And why me? I’m the most junior sergeant here still.”
“Yes, those changes.” Emmy gave a little smile. “And we’re asking you because you’re our friend. We’d liked to have asked Nobby too, but he’s still busy on Six.”
“Okay then, I’ll try and help. Fire away.”
“Stacey, they’re going to expand the ‘Boonies’ hub even more, up to sector size, which will mean more work for you as well as me.” Emmy explained.
“I can manage a few more ships I suppose. And they’ve already asked you to be in charge?” Emmy nodded. “Then what’s the problem?”
“I feel I’m losing touch with the ‘Boonies’, the people that is. I was wondering if I should turn them down and go back on patrol.”
“That’s just silly boss. What’s stopping you doing an occasional patrol anyway? Apart from your strange desire to do all your own paperwork?”
Dave laughed.
“That’s what I said.”
“All you need is a competent admin assistant.” Stacey said.
“Lieutenant’s don’t do that sort of thing.”
“That’s only because they want to stay behind their desk’s love.” Dave said. “You don’t have to conform to them. You can be a new kind of Lieutenant.”
“There’s a promotion in it too? And you’re asking me if you should take it? I would; like a shot. And like Dave says, it’s a new position. You can do it how you like.”
“I could I suppose.” Emmy said thoughtfully.
“Now, what’s Dave’s problem?”
“Hey! Who said I had a problem?”
“Why are you here then?” Stacey asked sweetly.
Dave went a little red.
“Well, I’m sort of worried about my new role in this set up.”
“Which is? Come on, don’t drag it out.”
“They want me to become Senior Sergeant and oversee the ‘Boonies’ while Emmy looks after the rest of the sector.” He said quietly.
“That a new rank? Just so you don’t have to call me ‘sergeant’?” Stacey grinned broadly. “Any way, isn’t that what you do anyway? Apart from the paperwork.”
“Don’t get cheeky with me young Grainger.” He wagged his finger in mock admonishment. Emmy grinned too; remembering how scared of Big Dave Stacey had been at first.
“Look ‘Senior Sergeant’, the same thing that applies to Emmy applies to you. It’s a new position, a new role. You can make it what you want.”
“I can, can’t I?” He mused.
“What are the alternatives? Teach at the academy, or, if you don’t want to leave the ‘Boonies’, resign and do something else? I can see neither of you doing either to be honest. And it wouldn’t be the same here without you to keep an eye on us.” They both laughed. “I mean it. I’d miss you keep popping in to check up on me.”
“All right Stace, I’m convinced.” Dave said. “What about you boss?” He turned to Emmy.
“Well, she makes some good points. I think I’m convinced too.” She smiled at Stacey. “At least until Stacey can take over.”
“ME! You’re kidding!”
“No I’m not. You’re very good at this. Look how quickly you’ve got your section working properly.” Emmy said.
“It’s only eight ships and pilots.” Stacey said meekly. “Not an entire sector of space.”
“We’ll wait and see shall we.”
“By the way ‘Senior Pilot’, how are you getting on with familiarising yourself with all your types.” Dave asked.
“Paul and I have flown everything we’ve got here, except Paul hasn’t got to fly in the repair ship yet.”
“Find anything you like?”
“The ‘Sierra 5’ is quite nice to fly, but I still want ‘Juliet’ back.”
“How is she coming along?” Emmy asked.
“Still some time away.” Stacey sighed. “The ‘Whiskey B’ just isn’t the same.”
“I heard you gave her a name though?”
“Paul calls her the ‘Boozy Bee’.” She grinned a little.
“Chin up. ‘Juliet’ will be back.” Big Dave smiled. “Thanks for the chat Stace; it’s helped us a lot.” He and Emmy both stood up.
“Yes, thank you.” Emmy kissed her on the cheek. “We’ll leave you to it.” She turned and followed Dave out.

Despite the Baldwin’s hesitation over accepting their new roles the expansion of the hub into a fully-fledged sector went smoothly, mainly due to their meticulous planning. Stacey would soon gain five extra pilots and craft for them to fly. The new ships would be four ‘Sierra’ 4A’s and another ‘Whiskey’’ class transport, a ‘C’ this time. After only a couple of weeks everything was ready for the big day when the ‘Boonies’ hub was renamed the ‘Boonies’ sector. There was to be a formal ceremony to mark it.
The increase in traffic was easily handled but then some of the incoming ships began to report sighting unidentified craft operating in the asteroid belt in close proximity to the ‘Boonies’. Stacey decided to act on those reports in light of the attack on Station Six a month earlier and set up a constant patrol overhead. Emmy and Big Dave concurred with her thinking and in consequence there was always a ‘Sierra’ class scout patrolling the immediate vicinity of the ‘Boonies’.
For the day of the ceremony Stacey put an extra scout up on a hunch. With two regular patrols off in the belt, that left her with four scouts in case of trouble. Just before the start of the activities Traffic Control received reports from both scouts and passed them to Emmy and Stacey. Unidentified craft had been spotted approaching two fair-sized meteorites. Stacey instructed the patrols to try and apprehend or chase off the intruders and then ordered three of the scouts into the skies to help them, taking the fourth ‘Sierra’ herself even though she was supposed to be attending the inauguration. Pretty soon Big Dave and Emmy were calling her from Traffic Control.
“Stacey, what the hell is happening?” Emmy demanded.
“We’re under attack, I’m sure of it. They’re going to use meteorites again. I’ve got the two scout patrols trying to scare them off and launched the other four scouts to help them.”
“And you’re in one of them?” Dave asked.
“Yes. Sorry boss, can’t let someone else do the dirty work.”
“What can we do to help?” Emmy sighed.
“Cross your fingers?” Stacey suggested.
“Already doing that. Good luck. Out”
“Thanks.” Stacey turned her attention to the disposition of her ships. “Sierra Foxtrot Zulu, Sierra Golf Bravo, assist Sierra Charlie Tango. Sierra Bravo X-ray, you and I will help Sierra Poppa Whiskey. We must stop them igniting those engines.” They all acknowledged her, and sped to their assigned tasks.
It wasn’t more than five minutes later that Stacey received another call.
“Sierra Tango Zulu, this is Charlie Tango. We have secured Runaway 1. Am standing by until someone arrives to take possession. Foxtrot Zulu and Golf Bravo are pursuing suspects.”
“Good work Charlie Tango. Confer with Control over possession. Out.” By now Stacey and Bravo X-ray were bearing down on the second meteorite, the furthest away of the two. To her dismay it had already started to move, the second crew obviously made of sterner stuff than the first. She thought fast. “Poppa Whiskey, Bravo X-ray, you go after the ship. I’ll handle this.” ‘Though I have no idea how,’ she thought. “Control, this is Tango Zulu. Runaway 2 is mobile, repeat, mobile. Am attempting to stop it. Out.” With that she snapped off her radio, knowing it would be full of well-meaning but useless advice.
Stacey realised she had to stop the engine. That would keep the meteorite from accelerating and give her more time. With that decision she flicked her slim craft into a low swoop over the space rock and pulled into a hover near the engine. After a long burst of blaster fire it exploded. Stacey noted that the explosion altered the course of the meteorite slightly. That gave her another idea. Maybe she could use her ships engine to further deflect the trajectory of the rock, at least enough to miss the ‘Boonies’. As it was the only thing that had occurred to her she began to look for a suitable spot to land near the front of the meteorite where the effect would be greater. She glimpsed a flattish surface that was facing the way she wanted and looked more than big enough to accommodate her scout ship. Stacey gingerly set Sierra Tango Zulu down on the rock. She locked everything down, pointed her manoeuvring jets to keep her on the meteorite and then unleashed the power of her engine. The little scout shook horribly, like it was threatening to tear itself apart, but Stacey persevered. She looked at her radar scope. It showed that she was altering the course of the meteorite relative to the ‘Boonies’, but not by enough.
Suddenly Stacey heard the sound of another more powerful ship setting down alongside her. She looked up and around and saw it was the ‘Boozy Bee’ landing. Switching her radio back on she called it up, assuming that they had landed on the wrong meteorite.
“Boozy Bee, you are in the wrong place. You should be on Runaway 1.”
“Tango Zulu; No, we’re not. Are we Officer Todd?”
“Certainly not, Senior Sergeant Baldwin. Runaway 2 needs stopping, so here we are.”
“Will you two clowns buzz off? This is dangerous.”
“Sorry Stace, you don’t outrank me anymore. We can see what you’re trying to do, but you need more power. We’ve brought it. Now shut up and let me concentrate.” Big Dave said. Now he powered up the larger engines on the ‘Boozy Bee’. She started to shake like Tango Zulu. Stacey again looked at her radar scope. Bit by bit they were pushing the path the rock was taking away from the asteroid occupied by the ‘Boonies’. But it still wouldn’t be enough. They needed one big push. With a sudden realisation Stacey knew how to do it.
“Big Dave, I know what to do now. When I say ‘go’, get the hell out of here.”
“What are you going to do Stace?” Dave asked.
“If I tell you, you won’t let me do it. Just wait for me to tell you ‘go’.”
“I know what you’re planning.” Paul said.
“How?”
“I read the tech manuals at the same time as you Stacey. Don’t do it, please.”
“Get going, I’m overloading the engine and the weapons system, and I’m doing it…” She waited momentarily until the power peaked. “…NOW! GO!!!”
“Get over here now Sergeant Grainger. That is an order. We are not leaving until you are on this craft.” Big Dave spoke gruffly, meaning it.
“There isn’t time.” Stacey replied.
“EJECT NOW! We’ll catch you.” Paul cried, after explaining something to Dave.
Stacey fired the last ditch rescue ejector. It blew the cockpit of the scout ship away from the fuselage. As she flew upwards she saw ‘Boozy Bee’ leave the meteorite seconds later, matching her trajectory. Stacey watched in amazement as Dave flicked the cargo ship over onto its side above her, the open cargo bay covering the path she was on. The cockpit of Tango Zulu clattered into the hold and the doors snapped shut behind it.
“Stay strapped in Stace, it’s about to get rough.” Paul called.
He was right. Tango Zulu exploded on the surface of the rock. The shockwave pushed the meteorite well away from the ‘Boonies’. Then it hit the ‘Boozy Bee’ before carrying on to shake the whole area. The ship bucked and shook, but Dave retained control. ‘Boozy Bee’ levelled out.
“Sergeant Grainger, are you all right?” Dave asked.
“It’s hard to tell, I’m sort of upside down.”
“Toddy is on his way to get you out.”
Another voice cut in.
“Whiskey Bravo Bravo, this is control; what the hell do you think you’re doing up there? Land at once, before I have another heart attack.” It was Emmy.
“Yes dear. Sorry.” Dave replied sardonically.
“The Lieutenant sounds annoyed.” Paul said nervously.
“She’ll get over it.” Big Dave said simply. “She’s just upset I grabbed you as co-pilot instead of her. Now go and see how Stacey is. She sounds stuck.” Paul made his way to the cargo hold. After making sure it was airtight he went in.
Stacey was definitely stuck. The ejected cockpit section had come to rest on its side, leaning towards the back wall of the cargo hold of ‘Boozy Bee’ in such a way that the canopy wouldn’t open. She was dangling from her harness nearly upside down and couldn’t unclip herself. After a couple of minutes of trying she had given up and just hung there, waiting for the assistance she knew was coming. Suddenly she could see Toddy through the scratched windshield. He gave her a little wave and a tight smile and then stood scratching his head as he tried to work out a way to free her.
Officer Todd took in the situation. Stacey’s canopy couldn’t be opened in the position the cockpit had ended up in. He knew he’d never be able to smash his way in; the canopy material was too tough. Maybe he could find a way to right the broken cockpit section? He scanned the cargo bay for something to assist him. The manual hoist secured near the airlock caught his eye. If he could find a way to attach that…
He went to work, unhitching the hoist and manoeuvring it closer to Stacey. He secured the lifting chain to one of the locking bolts which had secured the cockpit to the rest of the scout ship, and then he hammered in some cargo locking pins into the floor, holding the side of the cockpit was resting on in place. In theory he should be able to pivot Stacey far enough up so that she could get the canopy open. He went to the hoist controls and began to wind in the slack. As the chain tightened the cockpit came away from the hold wall. The hoist was starting to burn out with the effort as the cockpit reached ninety degrees to the floor. Suddenly, the locking bolt he’d attached the chain to sheared off. The cockpit teetered momentarily and then slammed onto the cargo hold floor the right way up.
Paul rushed across to find Stacey already unstrapping her harness and cranking the canopy open at the same time.
“That wasn’t the best landing I’ve ever made.” She grinned as he helped her out.
“I’ve had worse.” He grinned back. “Come on, we need to get to the flight deck. We’ll be docking soon.”
They scampered into the cockpit just as Big Dave received docking clearance.
“What was that big bang?” He asked.
“I had to get her the right way up.” Paul explained.
“In that case, you need to lose some weight Stace; I felt that up here.”
She gave him a friendly slap across the back of the helmet and then glanced out of the flight deck window.
“There are an awful lot of people on the dock again.” She said dubiously. “You don’t think they’re going to cheer me again do you?”
“Very probably, Miss Timid-But-Heroic.” Paul said with a smirk as Big Dave gently docked ‘Boozy Bee’. “Now it’s time for you to meet your admirers. Again.”
“Oh No! You two are coming with me. If I’m a hero, so are you.”

The Scout ships were applauded too as they returned. Charlie Tango came in after Nobby and his crew had arrived to collect the meteorite engine, and was warmly cheered. Both of the pursuing pairs arrived towing a captured ship and received hearty congratulations. Dave, Stacey, and Paul didn’t see them bringing in their prisoners though; they were in Lieutenant Baldwin’s office. Paul felt seriously outranked. In addition to the lieutenant and the two sergeants, the Captain and the Commissioner were there as well as Arnie, the erstwhile Mayor of the ‘Boonies’.
Emmy hugged Dave and then Stacey. And then with a shrug that said’ why not?’ she hugged a surprised Paul.
“I feel I should be berating you, but that would be churlish.” Emmy said.
The other three dignitaries came forward and shook each of the three non-plussed officers by the hand. The Captain was especially pleased with Big Dave.
“We are recommending all three of you for awards.” He said.
“We just did what we had to sir.” Dave replied.
“What about my scout ship pilots sir?” Stacey asked. “They were magnificent.”
“Indeed they were Sergeant Grainger. Have no fear; they will get their rewards as well. Because of them we should be able to track down whoever is behind this attack now. But you three, particularly you Grainger, saved the ‘Boonies’ from certain destruction and we want to show our appreciation.”

All the medal recipients were sat in a line in front of the audience at the award ceremony a week or so later. Every one of them looked anxious except perhaps Big Dave; he just seemed amused and more than a little proud of his protégés. If anything Paul and Stacey looked the most nervous, edging towards terrified, their natural timidity reasserting itself.
One by one the Scout Ship pilots stepped up and received their awards, and all the time Stacey got more and more apprehensive. She felt her new Sergeants Dress Uniform was itching and she couldn’t sit still.
“How much longer?” She whispered to Dave sat beside her.
“Why ask me? I’ve never been to an awards ceremony before.” He whispered back.
Stacey looked at him in surprise.
“You haven’t?”
Emmy looked around and gave them a look that said ‘BE QUIET’. Stacey lapsed into silence. Paul stood to accept his medal, and then Big Dave. That left only Stacey.
The Commissioner, awarding the honours, cleared his throat.
“And now for the final award to Senior Pilot Sergeant Stacey Grainger, whose recent service has been beyond exemplary. From her cool piloting of the patrol ship Juliet Hotel Uniform, or ‘Juliet’ as she is known, away from an exploding asteroid, to her decisive actions that resulted in the stabilisation of Station Six, and finally to her bravery and willingness to sacrifice herself to divert the recent attack here on the ‘Boonies’. Therefore it gives me great pleasure to announce the award of the Armstrong Cross for conspicuous gallantry and meritorious service to Sergeant Grainger.”
Stacey’s jaw dropped open while everyone else cheered and applauded. The Armstrong Cross was the ultimate space service honour and the two additional clasps made it practically unique. The audience was standing, clapping, waiting for her to step forward and receive her medal. But her legs had turned to jelly. Big Dave reached down and hauled her to her feet and then gently nudged her in the right direction. Still in a daze, Stacey stumbled up to the dais and allowed the Commissioner to pin the simple cross to her tunic. He pointed at the microphone. They wanted her to make a speech as well? Stacey found Emmy standing beside her, whispering encouragement. The cheering died away as Stacey fiddled with the mike.
“I…I…I truly don’t know w…what to say. Obviously I wasn’t expecting this.” She fingered the shiny new medal. “I didn’t set out to be brave or heroic; I was just there and did what had to be done. I’m sure any of you would have done the same.” She stopped, unsure about how to carry on. “I wasn’t thinking about being a hero, I was thinking of you, my friends, and the people of the ‘Boonies’, who it’s my job to protect, and how to save them.” She tailed off again, running out of words. “Any way, thank you all.”
Stacey went bright red as renewed applause thundered in her ears. She sat back down and Emmy took her place at the mike.
“Thank you Stacey. That was quite eloquently put.” She said to the deeply blushing sergeant. Then she turned to the rest of the audience. “Sergeant Grainger, Stace to some of us, sets us all an excellent example. We should all endeavour to be like her. I don’t mean blow up our ship to save others…” There was a ripple of laughter. “…I mean we should all be as caring and conscientious. It’s something we all forget from time to time. So our thanks for reminding us of one of the tenets of our service Sergeant.” She turned to face her friend and gave her a big smile. “On a personal note, I’d like to say ‘good work Stace’.” Stacey gave a beaming smile in return. “Now, let’s get to the party at McLeary’s.” Everyone started to stand. “Just remember if you’re on duty later, I’ll be checking on sobriety!”

Stacey slipped away from the party after half an hour or so. Despite being awarded a medal for gallantry she still couldn’t see herself as a hero. She had been terribly frightened through out the entire episode; not for herself, but for her friends and colleagues and the innocent denizens of the ‘Boonies’. So she made a quiet exit and went to her office overlooking the dock. She leant on the rail outside, looking down at ‘Juliet’ and the goings-on around the ships coming in and going out. There was nothing happening around her ship, but because she had been so busy for the past few days she had no idea whether or not the ship was fully repaired yet. It looked as if she was. A voice hailed her from below.
“Hey sarge, what’re you doing up there?”
Stacey looked down. It was Paul.
“Avoiding attention. What about you?” She replied.
“I’m looking for you.” He grinned. “And avoiding attention. You look incredibly pretty in your dress uniform you know?”
“I thought you looked at peoples eyes?” She laughed. “And you don’t look to shabby either. That medal suits you.”
“Couldn’t let you grab all the headlines could I?” He laughed back. “Come on down here, I’ve got something to show you.”
“Bring it up here then.”
“I can’t, sorry. You’ll have to come down. It’s worth it, I promise.”
Sighing heavily, Stacey made her way down to Paul. He smiled.
“Okay, what?” She said.
“Close your eyes.” He smirked.
“Paul! Stop mucking about.”
“Come on Stace, humour me.”
Grudgingly Stacey did as he asked. She let him lead her a short distance and stopped impatiently when he told her to.
“This better be good.” She grumbled.
“Open your eyes and tell me.” He said.
She did so and saw the newly painted artwork next to the airlock of ‘Juliet’. It was a picture of a semi-clad girl riding a meteorite which trailed the words ‘Just Juliet’.
“It’s lovely.” Stacey said, leaning forward to get a closer look at the picture. “Hey! Is that supposed to be me?”
“Maybe.” Paul smirked again.
“I’m not that curvy.”
“I couldn’t possibly comment on the state of your curves without closer inspection.”
Stacey blushed and then asked.
“When did they do that?”
“Last night, after they’d finished her.”
“She’s ready to fly?” She looked at him in surprise.
“Returned to operations pending a shakedown flight it says on your computer.”
“Right! Find our helmets and we’ll take her out.” Stacey’s eyes were shining.
“Already on board.” Paul smiled.
“You thought of everything, thank you.” In her excitement she kissed him on the side of the face and then entered ‘Juliet’.
“Well, maybe not everything.” He murmured in surprise, holding his hand to his cheek and then following her into the cockpit.

“Control, this is Juliet Hotel Uniform requesting clearance for a shakedown mission.” Stacey called on the radio.
“This is control, clearance granted Juliet Hotel Uniform. It’s good to have you back.”
“Thank you control, it’s good to be back. Juliet Hotel Uniform out.”
Another voice broke in.
“Juliet Hotel Uniform, this is Lieutenant Baldwin. Where do you think you’re going off to?”
“Hi Emmy! Sorry, but this can’t wait.”
“I suppose it can’t.” The Lieutenant sighed. “All right, you are authorised to take a couple of days to test her out, but no sneaking off and getting married without telling me and Dave. Got that Officer Todd?”
“Still working on that Lieutenant.” Paul grinned at Stacey who was looking slightly shocked. “Juliet Hotel Uniform Out.”
“Baldwin out.”
Stacey looked thoughtful throughout the departure, finally speaking again when they left the hub behind.
“Did you mean that Paul? The marriage thing I mean.” She asked.
“Of course I did. I am still working on it.”
“But I thought you weren’t interested in me.”
“Stacey Grainger, I’ve been in love with you since we first met outside that airlock. What’s the matter? Don’t you like me?”
“Actually I do, a lot as it happens. I just didn’t think you’d be interested in a timid girl like me.”
“What’s not to like? And who are you calling timid? Timid girls don’t get gallantry medals.” He gave his broadest ever grin.
“Paul, you don’t think that’s what Emmy meant by ‘whatever I decide’ do you?”
“Probably, she’s a lot more observant than we are obviously. Do you think we can make it work?”
“We’ve a couple of days to find out!” Stacey grinned.