The Bonding Read Free Page B

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.
                The
Intrepid's crew was getting unstrapped and moving around the cabin. Helmets came
off and everyone breathed a little easier. The takeoffs were always tense.
                From
now to the end of the mission, everything would be mostly routine .
The lander crew would do their job on the surface and the shuttle crew would
accomplish experiments while orbiting, waiting for them to return.
               
                Four
hours into the mission, the two shuttles passed within twenty thousand meters,
which was relatively close in space terms. Colonel Larry Songer, oldest of all
the shuttle commanders and about six years away from retirement, was the head
honcho on Pioneer. He had been on more space missions than any astronaut in the
history of NASA. He had many achievements under his belt: top grad from the Air
force Academy, one of the design engineers for the orbiting space station, a
hell of a fighter pilot, and was also the first black shuttle Commander.
Described as a good ol’ boy from Fort Worth, Texas, Larry had a sense of humor
that made everyone tell him he should have been a comedian instead of an
astronaut. Everybody liked Larry.
                “Pioneer
to Intrepid, do you copy?”
                “Hello,
Larry,” Janet responded. “Boy, some people will do anything to get back from a
mission early. I hear you had a few sparks flying around the computer bay.”
                “Yeah,
but it's really not too bad. Nothin’ them avionics boys can’t fix. Say, Janet,
did you hear about the lady who wore space panties all the time?”
                She
looked over at Ron and smiled as she keyed the mike. “No, Larry. What about
her?”
                “She
thought her ass was out of this world,” Larry laughed, in a raspy, wheezing
sound.
                Janet
looked around and everyone laughed as she keyed the mike again. “Have you been
in my linen drawer, Larry?”
                “No!
Why? Is it full of space panties?”
                “Well,
I am wearing them and I am in space.”
                “And
I think her ass is out of this world,” Ron interjected.
                “Oops!
Hi, Ron. I forgot that you were on board this week.” Larry winked at his first
officer. He knew all along that Ron was there.
                “Hi
Larry. Yeah, they got me acting like a reporter, interviewing everyone and
taking videos. I’ll get a good, close-up shot of that space ass a little
later.”
                Janet
slugged him. “Ow!” he moaned, rubbing his arm.