The Bonding (2 page)

           
He
watched her tight little ass sway across the room and out the door, then shook
his head and smiled as he picked up his papers. “God! I love that woman.”

           
At
the end of the building she boarded the monorail for the short trip to her
apartment. The monorail traveled in an elevated clear tube, an experimental
replica of what would eventually be on the moon base.

           
NASA
now had two launch pads, the original in Florida and the most modern in
Arizona. Appleton Air Force base, commonly referred to as Spacetown, was a city
of the future. The entire station looked like a series of glass bubbles and
tubes connected together with a monorail system. Much of it was also
constructed underground. Spacetown was actually a fully operational prototype
of the moon base. Janet enjoyed being stationed here. Everything was automated and
state of the art. It was like living in a science fiction world.

           
Janet
got to her apartment and headed straight for the bathroom. She quickly
undressed and stepped in. The shower was the same as the ones on the shuttle,
and quite different from a normal shower. She put a breathing tube into her
mouth and pushed the button. There was nothing to adjust - simply one big
button to push. From this point on it was completely automatic. She raised her
arms and spread her legs as a spray of warm, white foam covered her entire
body. Seconds after it enveloped her, it turned into a gel, which dissolved any
dirt and bacteria on her hair and skin, while stimulating her natural body
oils.

           
Thirty
seconds later, a short burst of microwaves turned the gel into a fine powder,
which fell from her body and was sucked out by an exhaust system. She used a
sanitary wipe to clean the mouthpiece of the breathing tube, then hung it up
and stepped out. Her body tingled from the clean feeling. It was quite
refreshing.

           
She
went to the closet and gazed at herself in the mirror. She was in top physical
condition with a body that most women would die for. She ran her fingers around
her firm breasts and turned to see her backside, nodding in satisfaction at the
beautiful image looking back. She thought that her workouts of alternating
between the gym and martial arts were definitely showing.

           
A
quick glance at the clock reminded her that Ron would be there in about twenty
minutes. At exactly six o'clock, the doorbell rang and Ron stood there looking
extremely handsome. She wondered how she got so lucky to find a guy like him.

           
“Whoa!”
he raved, his eyes quickly devouring the beautiful woman standing before him.
"Are you gorgeous or what?"

           
“Okay!
That’ll get you in the door,” she replied.

           
He
stepped in and gave her a passionate kiss. “I don't know if we can go out in
public with you looking that beautiful. There’ll be a trail of guys following
us everywhere.”

           
She
loved his comments. “Like you're not going to turn some ladies heads?” She shook
her finger at him. “Just be sure they don't follow you home.”

           
“Hey!
There's only one lady I'm taking home with me tonight.” He extended his arm for
her.

           
“Wait
a second.” She quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped the very red lipstick from
his lips. “That’s better.” He smiled and took her hand. “Shall we?” She smiled
and shut out the lights.

           
A
short distance away, in his base house, Oliver was chatting with his new bride,
Pippa. “You know, as much as I love the missions, it’s so much harder to go
now, knowing that I’m leaving you down here all alone.”

           
She
stroked his cheek and gave him a quick kiss. “I know. I feel the same way. It
is
different now that we’re married.”

           
“However,
one good thing about going away is that I always have something very wonderful
waiting for me when I return.”

           
She
smiled and kissed him again. “Thank you my love. That is so sweet.”

           
“Yes,
every time I get back you have my favorite meal sitting on the table.”

           
She
slugged him on the arm. “What?”

           
He
grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. “You know I’m just joking, love. I go
crazy thinking about you anytime we’re not together. I can’t wait to see your
beautiful smile and kiss those ruby lips.”

           
“Oh,
Oliver.”

           
He
picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. “What about dinner?” she asked.

           
“That’s
why we have a microwave.” He dimmed the lights and closed the bedroom door. “I
can’t wait to start raising a family with you.”

           
“I
love you, Oliver.”

           
“I
love you too, Pippa.”

           
The
next few days were filled with preparations for both the shuttle mission and
the celebration ceremonies. News and talk show hosts were already contacting
the members of the three shuttle crews - Janet, of course, being the main
attraction. She was, by far, the most beautiful woman ever to grace the space program.
Her position as a shuttle commander, along with a very interesting life story,
made her a hot commodity on the news market. Also, the public was dying to know
if one of the most eligible single ladies, in America, was going to marry one
of the most eligible bachelors, Commander Ron Seiger.

           
It
amazed both of them how, only a week ago, their names were hardly known by
anyone outside of the space program. But now, as news of the moon base
completion filled the headlines, they were becoming household names.
 
All sorts of rumors flourished, usually
stirred up by the gossip papers, those trashy ones you see at the supermarket
checkout. The headlines read everything from ‘Shuttle Commanders want more
Space between them’ to ‘Sex on the Shuttle! What's it like in zero gravity?’

           
Mostly,
Ron and Janet kept their personal lives private, which drove a lot of the
reporters crazy. They had discussed marriage, but never really got serious
about it.
 
Their relationship was
wonderful just the way it was. They felt comfortable, yet not committed, and
liked it like that. Janet even shocked the press once when she remarked, “I've
got a great job, a great guy and great sex! Who could ask for anything more?”

Chapter
Two

           
Launch
day had finally arrived. Everyone was getting strapped into the shuttle as the
ground crews scurried around, making last minute inspections of all the
systems.
 
The shuttle was an
awesome sight. From the tip to the tail it was nearly three hundred meters,
much larger than the early models. The tremendous booster rockets attached to
it were equally as awesome.

The ground crew was finishing up inside
the shuttle.

“We’re ready Commander,” the crew chief
said. “Anything else you need before we go?”

She looked up and smiled. “No, George.
We’re ready to roll.”

George nodded and took one last look
around the cabin. “Have a good flight, Commander. See you in a few days.”
Satisfied that everything was ready, he closed the shuttle door and left. The
launch tower elevator took them down to ground level, and a van drove them back
to a safe distance. Everyone was at their stations, going down the prelaunch
checklists. A general feeling of joviality flowed among the entire crew.
Although, this was like any other mission, it was also unlike any other
mission. The routine was the same, but being such an historic flight made it
different. Everyone knew that their names now had a special place in history,
along with the other milestones of the space program: the first man in space,
the first man to walk on the moon, completion of the orbiting space station,
and now, Moon Base One.

           
The
entire world was watching this mission. People were glued to their televisions,
watching from anywhere they could. Shoppers stopped at the TV section of
department stores, teachers and students in classrooms - some of the boys
throwing paper space shuttles around the room and getting a nasty look from the
teacher, executives in skyscrapers, and factories momentarily halting
production to allow the workers to see. Even in countries where it was the wee
hours of the morning, local residents were sitting in the light of the
television, snuggled on a sofa, waiting for the blast of the huge rockets.

           
“Intrepid
from control, how do you read?”

           
“Loud
and clear, control,” Janet confidently replied.

           
Matt
Johnson was the Mission Control Director, a veteran shuttle pilot and a good
friend to both Janet and Ron. “We are go on all systems and commencing
countdown.”

           
“Go
and commencing countdown,” Janet repeated as she glanced over at Oliver. He
winked at her through his helmet and gave her a thumbs-up.

           
Matt's
voice echoed over the radio. “Ten, nine, eight...”

           
Janet
and Oliver scanned the instruments, double-checking everything. The others
didn’t have anything to do, at this time, except sit back and enjoy the ride.

           
“...
seven
, six, five, four...”

           
Janet
reached around behind her seat and extended her hand. She knew Ron couldn't
reach it, but he extended his and they acted like they were squeezing each
other’s hands. Ron was sitting directly behind her.

           
“...
three
...,” the ignition started and preliminary thrust
began,
 
“...two...,” they were into
full ignition and the thrusters spewed immensely hot gas and roared like an
erupting volcano, “...one.”
 
The
huge wonder of computerized electronics, rocket-powered nuts and bolts
vibrated, shook and shimmied, then lifted gracefully from the pad into the
beautiful, blue Arizona sky. “We have liftoff!”

           
Everyone
in the control center and around the world simultaneously cheered the event.
Even the men on the moon were watching and cheering. Cameras followed the
Intrepid’s every move from the launch pad, across the United States to the
outer stratosphere and toward the heavens, leaving a trail of white smoke, like
a huge tapeworm, across the sky. You didn’t have to watch it on TV if you lived
anywhere in the Southern U.S. - just walk outside and look up. The weather was
clear across all of the Southern states and the sight was spectacular. You
couldn’t actually see the shuttle, just a bright ball of fire followed by the
puffy white entrails, but you had to be quick if you wanted to see. In a matter
of twenty seconds, it went from zero to over three thousand miles per hour. By
the time it was over Texas, the speed was already past ten thousand.

           
The
G-forces made it nearly impossible for the astronauts to do much more than lay
back in their seats and vibrate. It was an effort to simply reach up and flick
a switch. That’s why most of the liftoff was computer controlled. The shuttle
engines went to full throttle up, as the boosters were jettisoned, and the
speed increased to twenty thousand miles per hour. By the time they reached
zero gravity, the target speed of just over 41,000 miles per hour was obtained
- definitely the best, and most exciting ride, in and out of the world. From
liftoff to moon orbit would take only seven hours.

           
Near
the moon, another shuttle was leaving orbit, to return to Earth. It was leaving
earlier than normal, because of a short circuit that caused a small electrical
fire and knocked out three of the seven master computers. Commander Shelby's
shuttle would be there in seven hours, so there wasn't a problem.

           
Janet
pulled off her helmet and shook her head. Her short hair floated about. “Well,
that was fun.” She released the buckle on her seat harness.

           
Oliver
removed his helmet. “Good show, Commander!” He immediately pulled a cap from
one of his pockets and adjusted it on his head. “Another well executed
liftoff.”

           
Ron
was floating up out of his seat and stretching. “Oh! A stretch always feels soooo
good right after takeoff.”

           
Janet
pushed him back down into his seat. “You like a good stretch anytime. Takeoff
has nothing to do with it.”

           
He
smiled and continued groaning as he arched his back and reached over his head,
extending his arms as far as they would go.