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Harlow smiled back, aware she was driving her team hard. ‘You said it - treat every draft like it’s the first!’
She turned to the young man seated at a desk nearby. ‘Aran, I’ve just crunched out the last set of results. Run them to Kage, please.’
She handed over a comm tab. He nodded, grabbed the device, and set off towards Kage’s office two doors away.
Aran had rejoined the team at the start of the week. So far, the intern had checked out as a hardworking, eager learner. However, she still detected a thread of sadness in his energy, so she kept him close, taking care not to overtax him. He’d responded by slowly opening up, even lobbing a smile at her today. He also worked well with the other members of her team, running quick errands for them, from fetching cups of kahawa to running components to the design teams on the other end of the complex.
They need to nail the results. Because in just a few weeks, the Proto-XE team needed to be ready to test on an actual two-stage, hybrid, suborbital launch vehicle loaded with the fuel combination. Which Dan Linden, the Sable ship engineer and Sondra Atelo, the team’s components designer, were both working on.
‘How’s it going, team?’
Harlow looked up to see Kage leaning against the door to the lab. Her heart thumped at the sight of him, and she quickly composed herself, giving him a quick smile.
‘It’s going. Faster at times, slower at others. But we’re getting there, step by step.’
‘Any problems? Looks all good to me,’ he said, raising the comm tab she’d tasked Aran to send over to him.
‘Not problems as such. We’re just fine-tuning the formula. We also need to nail the high-frequency dynamic measurements during thrust characterisation. And also importantly, the static pressure monitoring and control of the propellant flow.’
‘How are our sensors performing?’ Kage said, wandering into the lab and leaning on the edge of her desk where he half-sat, half-stood.
‘The static pressure sensors are like nothing I’ve seen before - the piezo-resistive technology is golden for long-term stability testing, the micro-machine work is beyond, and the silicon sensing element is giving me life with how sensitive it is.’
‘Good. I’d hoped for nothing less.’
‘Next week, we’ll work on studying the mix with piezo-electric pressure and acceleration sensors, testing the extreme range of ultra-high temperature stability.’
‘Don’t forget the dynamics required to tackle extreme thrust.’
Tired and narky, Harlow bristled. ‘Kage, you don’t get to dictate my project parameters!’
Kage reared back slightly at the snark and lifted a brow. ‘Sounds like it’s time to wrap this party up for the night,’ he commented drily.
Harlow immediately felt like an ass. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean that. Just amped-up and super-tired, Kage.’
‘I’ll accept that,’ he said softly. He bent to speak to her quietly, keeping the others out of earshot. ‘Remember, if you’re designing tech for a build, listen to the people who will make it work. Unfortunately, I’ve run into too many scientists high on theory perspective who overlook the guys with loads of build experience.’
He gave her a long look, and she felt suitably chastened with new insight. It was yet another humbling glimpse of Kage’s masterful leadership.
Damn this man,she thought again, feeling her great pull towards him grow further.
He pushed off her desk.
‘OK, party people,’ he called out to the team. ‘We’re done for the day.’
The team groaned as one, and he laughed softly. ‘Good to see your dedication to this project, but I won’t be a party to your mental breakdowns from overwork. So got to eat, hydrate and, more importantly, rest. See you back here in the morning.’
The command in his tone was enough to get Dan, Sondra, Aran and Bassam snapping to obedience. They started shutting shop, closing monitors and rushing to gather their belongings.
‘Next shuttle in ten minutes. Let’s hurry it up, folks,’ Kage urged.
‘You’re using your boss voice,’ Harlow complained.
‘Shut it, woman,’ he teased softly under his breath so only she could hear. ‘You like my boss voice.’
She did. She liked more and more of Kage every day. She even enjoyed it when he challenged her and put her in place. She did the same, and they sparred with each other almost daily, which had her mind and heart buzzing.
She’d come back to work on the Monday after their magical mystery lunar tour to a new paradigm between them. One where he still treated her with the utmost respect while at Skylab. The shift came when he escorted her back each evening to her apartment.
