Free Rocket! An Ell Donsaii story #4) by Laurence Dahners Page B

science…”
     
    Allan, Ell’s AI spoke in her ear, “You have a call from Phillip Zabrisk.”
    “Put him on! Phil, how are you doing?”
    Phil chuckled, “How am I doing? Ha! Asks the woman who’s single handedly destroying my intended career as an astronaut?”
    “What?! How do you figure that?”
    “Haven’t you been hearing all this talk about using remote control of robotic astronauts with those PGR chips that are based on your theory? Then they won’t have to keep sending expensive astronauts into dangerous locations?”
    “Oh!” Ell thought furiously, then said with a chipper tone, “But a remote telepresence astronaut can be over six foot three can’t he?”
    “You’re so behind the times! I took Denson’s advice to slouch and convinced NASA that I’m six foot two and a half, not six foot three and a half.”
    “Oh.” Ell said in a small voice.
    “And, I don’t want to fly my spaceship from a cubicle! No girl’s gonna go googly eyed over that!”
    “Sorry.” Ell said contritely.
    Phil laughed, “Oh hell, it isn’t your fault. Besides, telepresence or no, I can’t believe they won’t be sending people up there again once they get this Vulcan 5 snafu straightened out.”
    “So, did you get accepted by NASA?”
    “Well I haven’t been rejected yet. I’m hoping to find out before graduation.”
    “Oh! That’s right, when exactly is your graduation?”
    “Wednesday, two weeks.”
    “Hey, could I get a ticket?”
    “Sorry, they’re all gone.”
    Disappointed, Ell said, “Oh.”
    “However there is a spot reserved for one ‘Captain Donsaii’ on the reviewing stand. Something about her being a ‘special friend of the graduating class.’”
    “What!”
    “Yeah, the class figured that ‘Ell Donsaii’ should be there for the graduation of her class, even if she was too uppity to graduate with the rest of us. I got elected to ask you.”
    “Hah! I’ll be there. ‘Uppity’ and all.”
    “They want you to wear your uniform. Since you’re still in the reserves you’re entitled to wear it.”
    “Oh! I’ll have to get it out of storage. Have your AI send me ticket codes and the other info and I’ll be there.”
     
    ***
     
    Ell walked into Bailey’s for their D5R “social hour” and looked around.
    A pretty hostess asked, “Would you like a table?”
    Ell heard her name and saw Ben Stavos waving from over near the pool tables. She thanked the hostess and headed over to hop up on one of the barstools around the tables Ben had sequestered. She grinned at him, “Is it just you and me?”
    “Naw, Eddy just came in, Sheila is in the bathroom, Brian promised he’d be here. Don’t know about ‘team ring ding’ though.”
    Ell had noticed a little rivalry developing between the team trying to entangle tori and the team trying to make rings out of the buckyballs. She wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad but it was crazy to pretend it wasn’t there. “Are all the ‘ball busters’ going to be here?”
    “Hah! ‘Ball busters!’ I like that! I think they’ll all be here.”
    The waitress came by and Ben ordered a Guinness. Ell ordered a Coke. “What! Are you a teetotaler or something?”
    Ell grinned at him, “Uh, Ben? Underage? Are you trying to be a bad influence on me? Lead me into a corrupt life of drunken debauchery?
    His eyes widened in startlement as he was reminded just how young his boss was. Eddy ordered a wheat beer and Sheila a glass of Merlot.
    More and more of the D5R team filtered in and ordered drinks, then nachos and wings. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits with good-natured teasing developing between the “Ring dings” and the “Ball busters.” Ell surveyed the happy crowd and decided that the “social hour” had been a great idea. She leaned closer to Ben and said, “Hey thanks for suggesting this. Think we should do it regularly?”
    “Sure, maybe every two weeks?”
    Ell nodded, “OK.”
    “Hey,” Ben proclaimed, “Team ‘Ball