The governor sighed. He’d been through all this before. “I wish it were so. Ladies and gentlemen, I don’t want anyone here to misunderstand what I’m trying to say. I’m aware that we’ve gained a lot from what the people here have done. They have my deepest respect and admiration. What I am saying is that if we want to keep the program from dying, we have to make some hard decisions. Cut back now, and we can still look forward to a bright future. And that’s it. That’s my message. It’s all I’m saying.”
More hands went up. “Yes, Harvey?”
Priscilla turned and headed for the elevator. Frank joined her there. He looked pleased. “Nice job, Hutch,” he said.
She couldn’t head off a grin. Still, she was not happy. “How can you say that, Frank? He’s explaining why they should slash our funding, and I helped him.”
“No, you did fine. You put a face on the organization, Priscilla. It was all we could hope for.”
* * *
NORMALLY, THE PEOPLE who hung out at the Cockpit were staff from Union, the operations guys, the administrative types, the maintenance workers. Priscilla suspected they all enjoyed being in a place the general public assumed was limited to the men and women who took the interstellars into the night. After all, in this era of expansion out of the solar system, the pilots were the ultimate heroic figures. They’d replaced military people and detectives and emergency medical workers. More HV shows featured their adventures than those of any other character type. They showed up in commercials explaining how Poltex provided more energy when energy was seriously needed. They told you which lawyers you could trust. They retired, ran for Congress, and usually won. And it was inevitably a huge story when one of them was caught cheating on a spouse.
Rob Clayborn showed up the day after the governor’s visit. He looked okay. The dizzy spells had apparently gone away. That afternoon, Frank told her he’d been pronounced ready to resume his duties aboard the Baumbachner. “The doctors think it had something to do with his diet,” he said. “He’s been trying to lose weight and may not have been getting enough nutrition. Anyhow, we’ve got him back.”
“That’s good news,” she said. “Thanks.”
“I’m sorry, Priscilla.”
“Hey, don’t be. I’m glad he’s all right.”
* * *
CAL CALLED AGAIN. “I miss you. It’s never happened to me before. Never really missed anybody. Not like this. I was thinking maybe I’d come up to the Wheel for a couple of days. If that would be okay with you.”
Priscilla wasn’t quite ready to move to that stage of a relationship she wasn’t sure she wanted at all. So she explained how busy she was, that she almost never had any time off, and why didn’t they wait until she got home?
Her mother also called, still pushing law school.
* * *
THEN CAPTAIN BRANDYWINE arrived at the station. Mike Brandywine, played by Ryan Fletcher, was, of course, the heroic starship captain in the series Deep Skies. The studios were shooting a sequence in the launch area. In this episode, a time traveler had landed on the Valiant, warning its crew that, in seven hours, terrorists would seize the space station and be waiting to take control of the ship when it docked. “Unless we can change things,” she told them in a halting voice, “they’ll be successful. They’ll use the Valiant to destroy London. Eventually, the attack will destabilize the UK, and, within two years, bring down the entire Western World.” They wouldn’t allow anyone to watch the actual filming, but the Catherine Perth was in port, and Fletcher and some of his colleagues asked to tour the ship. Priscilla was a fan of the series and she took advantage of the opportunity to go see him. Also present were the actors who portrayed Jason Petrie, the half-French half-alien engineering officer, and Barbara Cole, the knockout security chief. Every staff worker not on duty must have been in the launch area when Fletcher and the others arrived, escorted by Patricia. The crowd applauded, collected autographs, and applauded again when Fletcher told them what an honor it was to be there with the people “who were actually making it all happen, rather than just pretending.”
When they came out of the Perth, accompanied by its captain, Arnold “Easy” Barnicle, Patricia brought them in Priscilla’s direction. “And this young lady,” she said, “is Priscilla Hutchins. Hutch to her friends. She’s one of our pilots.”
Fletcher looked at her. “Hutch,” he said, “I didn’t realize our pilots looked so good.” Then he flashed that killer smile and turned away for more introductions.
It was a heartbreaker.
* * *
NEWSDESK
FOUR CLIMBERS DEAD IN COLORADO AVALANCHE
Ignored Warnings to Stay off Mountain
SENATE VOTES TO DISMISS CASTOR
Corruption Charges Filed; Indictment Believed Imminent
Other Senators May Be Involved
Historic Term Limits Bill Introduced in House
BANCROFT COMPLETES CROSS-COUNTRY BIKE RIDE
Pledges for Homeless Pass 5 Million
GENETIC GOOD-LOOKS BOOST NOT WORKING
No Real Change in Glamour Generation
It May Be All in the Smile
INCREASES IN TEST SCORES ATTRIBUTED TO ROBOT TEACHERS
In Classroom, Robots Consistently Outperform Humans
Hold Inherent Advantage in One-on-One Instruction
INCOMING SOLAR FLARE MAY DISRUPT TECHNOLOGY
POLICE KILL VIOLENT CHIMP
Three People Injured in Southsea Park
FERAL CATS STILL A MAJOR PROBLEM ACROSS COUNTRY
MCGRUDER CHALLENGES BELMAR TO RELEASE IQ SCORE
SPACEPORT SECURITY FLUNKS CHECK
Reporters Board Flights with Fake Bombs
Coordinated Test Gets by Flaws in London, Berlin, Tokyo, New York
Peking & Paris Block Entry
DROUGHT CONTINUES IN MIDWEST
Water Rationing in Effect in Eight States
Chapter 28
“HI, HUTCH.”
She heard it several times next morning before she even got to her desk. One of the medical guys used it to say hello while she was at breakfast; Joan Kung sang it out as they passed in the Starlight lobby; a staff member whose name she didn’t even know used it coming out of the elevator. Frank, who was going the other way in the corridor outside her office, raised a hand but said nothing. Though maybe the smile said it all.
She picked up her coffee and went into her office. Nikki greeted her: “Good morning, Hutch.”
“You, too?”
“I’m sorry. Couldn’t resist.”
“You need some new material.”
“I sense that you are annoyed.”
“Hey, they introduced me to one of the biggest stars of this generation, and they made it a point to screw up my name.”
“I’m sure Patricia meant no harm.”
Priscilla sank into her chair and set her coffee on the desk. “I know. And I’m acting like an idiot.”
“May I ask why, Priscilla?”
“Love your tact.”