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“Thank you.”
He nearly glowed with pride at my thanks, and I couldn’t hold back my eye roll. Alec was like an overeager puppy sometimes.
“So, how are you feeling this morning?”
“Don’t push it,” I muttered, cutting him off before he could drag me into one of those touchy-feely friendly conversations.
He huffed and arched an eyebrow at me.
“You can’t stay mad at me forever,” he chirped, before spinning on his heel and marching away toward the back of the shuttle.
Gods, grant me the patience not to strangle the cheeky little jerk before we made it back to Earth.
“Come on, Alec. Enough messing around. We have readings to report, and then our first order of business is figuring out what landed out there last night.”
“Already on it. I went out early this morning to check the equipment. You can look over my reports if you’d like. I was just waiting for your approval before I transmit them back to the lab.”
He handed me his notes, and I continued sipping my coffee, reminding myself not to be too pleased with his work. In fact, I was a little irked that he had opened the airlock and gone out without warning me first. Anything could have happened.
According to his readings, things were stable, if not a little on the weak side still. We really needed to see an increase in ozone to help form a powerful barrier between us and the sun. In theory, once the ozone was thick enough, extra oxygen molecules could build up in the atmosphere and give us clean, breathable air.
“Looks good. Send it. I’ll get ready. Make sure you pack plenty of water. It looks like it’s going to be a hot one today.”
“Already done!” he called back from the cockpit, and I could hear the satisfaction in his voice at having beat me to the punch.
Ugh! I hated feeling like I was the one being led around here. I pushed my way back into my cabin and rifled through my things, quickly gathering a few items and going into the little lavatory to get ready. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair into place and then stared myself down in the mirror as I did my daily affirmations.
I have the power to create change. I can and I will change the trajectory of humanity. I am on the brink of greatness.
I splashed water on my face, toweled it off, and called myself ready. Slipping back into the front of the shuttle, I hurried to put my helmet and gear on, eager to get some answers out of the other ship. I could hear Alec finishing up his report in the cockpit, and peered out the windows while I waited, wondering if the crew of the other ship made it out alive, and if they did, were they moving toward us or away from us?
