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Cover Artwork is copyrighted by the author,who for some odd reason seems to feel the

undying need to create his own illustrations and

designs. 2012. All rights reserved.

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T.O.A.D.Volume 7

The Pull

By Keegan Hennis

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I love my family.

My sweet wife supports me,

My smart son and daughter inspire

me,

On to excellence.

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This book is part of a series, written in

chronological order. Pick them up out of orderand you may become confused or frustrated by

the story.

T.O.A.D.

The Fall

The RiseThe Run

The Push

The ReachThe Grasp

The Pull

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There are many other series and single

books by Keegan Hennis.

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1Lenny woke before his alarm would

have sounded. He gingerly reached over and

turned it off. No sense interrupting thedreaming of his better half if he didnt need to.

He looked back at her and smiled. She lookedso peaceful as she lay there in the blankets. Onewould never guess by her present appearance

that it had taken hours of fitful tossing to get her

into that state. But it wasnt her fault, it was thebabies.

Every time they kicked or turned or

punched her guts, they woke her. But that

previous night, it seemed they had made somekind of truce, some treaty to pause their

wrestling and let their mother sleep.

As carefully and quietly as he could,Lenny climbed out of bed. He walked to his

bathroom and shut the door without a sound.

Once inside, he turned the lights on to their

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dimmest level, knowing that the crack at the

bottom of the bathroom door would let somelight through to the bedroom. He then climbed

into the shower stall and turned on the water. It

was such a shocking thing to his body, that he

almost squealed like a girl, but the water soonturned from its frigid state warmer.

Once in a while he did this, to buffer thesounds from the shower. The water hitting the

wall and floor of the stall would make

unnecessary noise, noise that could wake hisslumbering wife. It was a sacrifice to start his

morning with a blast of artic water on his back

or chest, but not too large a one to take for her

comfort.As he moved to rinse his hair, he heard a

soft sound in the room and he paused. His earshad become keenly attuned to hear her noises,recently. He heard her small feet padding

across the tile floor to the small toilet room. In

his mind he relaxed somewhat, knowing that itwasnt he that had woke her, but the pressure

the twins were placing on her other organs. It

wasnt their fault, they didnt know any better.

He resumed his rinsing and then tookanother minute longer in the hot spray before

moving to turn it off. But the glass door to the

stall spoke to him before he could turn the waterhandle, Just leave it on, Ill be getting in after

you.

His usual response came, Yes dear.

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Only a slight change to his routine

would have to be made. Generally, he wouldturn off the water and towel off in the stall

before stepping out into the room. But on days

like this, he would have to step out onto the

floor mat and towel off in the open room. Theslight chill he would face from air-drying would

be combatted by the heat fan set into the ceilingimmediately outside the shower stall.

He dried himself as his very pregnant

wife slipped past him into the stall. Then hewalked on the cold tile floor into the dressing

room, little more than a larger walk-in closet

with a few places to sit while dressing. He

picked his clothing for the day, including a shirtfrom the hanger rod, some clean jeans from the

stack on their shelf, and some socks rolledtightly into a bundle to keep them together.That day he would be wearing sock pair

number seventeen. Not that it mattered which

pair he wore in which order, but he liked tokeep the socks wearing in a consistent

progression. To do this, he had marked all his

socks with black marker near the toes. They

each had a number, in this case seventeen, and aletter to signify which foot they went on, right

or left.

Due to his marking, he always knewwhich sock had come up missing after the

laundry had been finished, if any had that time.

Once, he had been missing sock thirteen S for

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four weeks. It finally turned up in the folds of

his gym bag. S stood for starboard, and thosewith a P on them went on his port foot, or left.

It made sense to him, even if his wife thought it

funny.

After he had dressed himself and stoodshaving in front of the mirror, he heard the

water turn off in the stall. He picked her towelfrom the bar and handed it to her quickly, so

that she could towel off in the stall instead of

the colder air in the room. After she hadfinished, his wife stepped from the shower and

handed him her towel, which he held up in the

air. He held it up at the perfect height to block

her from seeing herself in the wide mirror as shepassed it on her way to the dressing room. She

kissed him on his freshly shaved cheek as shewalked by. Once she was in the closet, hefolded the towel, put it back on the bar to dry

and began working on the other cheek with his

shaver.He didnt understand her not liking to

see her present physical state reflected for her

view, but he had his own eccentricities and she

let him have those. He figured it was only fairhe would let her have her own quirks. When

the razor was cleaned and set back on its

charging dock, he stood brushing his teeth, stillin front of the mirror. He didnt need to be

there, but it seemed like as good a place as any

to brush his teeth.

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After his teeth, came his hair, which just

meant making sure the mass looked uniform.He combed it a little, then tipped his head

forward to make sure he had no rogue sprigs of

hair at the crown of his head. As he turned to

leave the bathroom, his wife came from thedressing room and kissed him again. He put his

hands under her arms and lifted her with a quickmovement, popping a few of her back vertebrae.

Thanks dear, she said lovingly.

No problem, cutie, Lenny said inreturn.

What have you got planned for the

day?

Well, theres some work that needs tobe done in seasonal maintenance, began

Lenny. And I guess a few people need to havetheir annual reviews performed.Be safe, said Alicia, mocking his

administrative duties, knowing he was itching to

get back up in the air again.

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2As he sat in his office, a room he used

about once a month on average, he thumbed

through the paperwork he had received fromHR department. As much as he liked to get out

and work with his hands, he also understood theneed to keep up the office duties his positionentailed.

The first person ready for their review

sat in a chair in the hall, waiting patiently forLenny to be ready to proceed. When his door

opened and Lenny stood in the doorway, Red

stood up from her chair. She walked past him

and sat in one of the seats across his desk fromwhere he would sit.

Lenny walked in and shut his door.

Then once he sat in his chair, he began theinterview, So, hows things?

Red answered calmly, They're fine.

And you?

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I'm good, said Lenny. So, as you

were informed, this is an annual performancereview. And you are welcome to have an

attorney present if you choose.

Red nodded, I know, but I dont think

well need one.As per our employee policy, you are

also entitled to have a fountain drink present ora box of popcorn. Do you think youll be

wanting any of those?

Nah, said Red. I'm fine.Suit yourself, said Lenny.

After taking a draw from the straw in his

own fountain drink and setting it back on the

coaster on his desk, Lenny continued to thumbthrough the paperwork in his hands.

Red noticed the waste of her time andspoke up, You dont remember what happensnext, do you?

Nope, said Lenny as he put the

paperwork down. I dont have to do this thatoften, and I think its been like ten months since

the last review. I know were supposed to have

time to discuss any issues we may be having, so

lets skip to that.Alright, said Red. Well, I dont have

any problems with this place or its people. And

I'm not too reserved about my opinions when Ihave them, so anything I have wanted to say

before now, I already have. You?

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I dont have any problems with your

performance up until now. Are you happyhere? I mean, given the opportunity to leave the

island, would you prefer to go or stay?

Do you want me to leave? asked Red.

No, of course not, said Lenny quickly.But I just realize that some people may feel the

need to return to the states and if they do, theyare welcome to with my best wishes. I dont

want anyone staying here if they dont want to.

Like if you wanted to just go take a drive in acar, youd have a hard time doing that here.

Well, now that you talk about it, I have

been feeling a little cramped here, but I wasnt

really sure if it would go away soon. Wouldyou mind if I took some time off here in the

next while, to clear my head?I wouldnt mind a bit, said Lenny.Take the time you need. Just please keep me

in the loop. Like keep your phone on you or

something.That sounds reasonable, said Red.

And then she looked a little sheepish, but asked,

Would you mind if Kyle came with me on this

trip also?Lenny shrugged, Hes your husband. I

have less claim in his time than you do. Take

him with you.Red stood from her chair and said,

You're a great boss, no matter what everyone

else says.

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Lenny looked a little surprised, What?

Everyone else? What are they saying? Arethey saying I'm not nice?

Red smirked and said, Dude, take a

joke. It wont kill you.

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3One down, said Lenny to himself.

Two to go.

His office door opened and he stood toreceive his next guest. Please shut the door

behind you.Pete walked into the room and sat acrossfrom Lenny. Lenny began, Zachery Stuart,

AKA Pete.

Yes, sir.According to the company employee

policy, you are entitled to have an attorney

present. As well, you are entitled to have a

fountain drink and or a box of popcorn. Wouldyou like any of these?

No sir, said Pete.

After another draw from his ownfountain drink, Lenny asked, So, hows

things?

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I think, began Pete, that things are

going pretty good. I mean, do you have anycomplaints against me?

Not a one, said Lenny. But this is a

two way thing, you know. If you have any

issues with me or the company as a whole, youare welcome to mention them in this meeting

without fear of reprisal or retaliation.Pete shrugged and said, Im not having

any problems.

Well, I dont have any issues with yourperformance up until now. In fact, I was

wondering if youd be willing to take on a little

more responsibility. But no pressure though.

Like what? asked Pete.Like, being a team lead, said Lenny.

If you want, we could move you into a leadposition, giving you authority over your ownengineering team, if you wanted. I can see a lot

of potential leadership ability in you and I dont

want to waste it. But I also dont want to pushyou into anything you wont be comfortable

with. This is entirely your option, I'm just

offering it to you.

Pete remained quiet for a short time, butLenny could see he was thinking hard. Would

you like time to think it over?

Yes, sir.Lenny sighed and said, Look, if you're

going to keep calling me Sir, then I'm going to

have to invoke the grievance avoidance clause,

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and neither of us will like that. I still have

nightmares about the slime bucket and foam-padded weapons.

Pete laughed, but he also remembered

the last grievance filed against Lenny. The

whole island turned up to watch theproceedings, and the video nearly ended up on

the web but for some quick thinking by Lennyand some clever network activity by DaNell.

Pete said, Alright. Ill stop calling you

sir, but I still think the monkey deserved it.Lenny shuddered, recalling the final

state of the papier-mch monkey. He brought

he conversation back to the room as he said,

Good then. As we were saying. Are youhappy hear? I mean, if you need to take some

time off to visit people in the states, yourewelcome to, you know.Im doing ok, I think, said Pete.

I've looked over your files and you

have taken a total of three vacation days in thelast year. Am I going to have to make taking

vacations mandatory?

Look, is it my fault that I dont feel the

desire to take a vacation from a dream job in atropical paradise locale?

Actually, began Lenny. I think that

would fall in under things that are your fault.But I guess I do make it all too fun to live and

work here. I've been thinking lately about

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taking down Roaring Chunder because it makes

the island too fun. Thoughts?Both knew Lenny wouldnt actually do

such a thing, but it felt good to laugh about it.

Lenny sometimes felt like he didnt get the time

he wanted with each of his employees, gettingto know them on a personal level like he had

with Josh and Red and Hank when they wereyounger.

Thats up to you, said Pete. But if

you're willing to risk a full-on rebellion of themasses, then by all means shut down Roaring

Chunder.

Seriously, though, said Lenny. If

theres anything you need from me, please letme know?

I think I could move into a leadposition, said Pete. It took me a minute to getused to it, but I'm good now.

Are you sure?

Yeah, I'm good now, said Pete.All right then, Ill let people know

about it tomorrow morning. For the first little

while, youll be my number one go-to guy. If

people have any problems while I'm gone, orbusy, they can come to you. Is that

acceptable?

Pete nodded, Yeah, thats fine. I cando it.

Both men stood up and Lenny shook

Petes hand. As he walked around his desk,

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Lenny said, I think this will be good for you.

And I think in not long, everyone else will seeyou as a leader and someone they can look to if

they need.

Pete smiled and said, Bring it on.

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4His third and final interview for the

morning came into his office and sat casually

while Lenny was out refilling his soda cup.When he returned, with Hank in tow, he made

sure that everything was on the level. No pointlooking like he was showing nepotism if hewasnt planning on it.

Good morning, said Hank, shaking her

hand.Good morning, Hank, said Alicia.

Lenny sat in his seat and took a swallow

from his soda cup. Then he began, As per our

employee policy, you realize that you areentitled to have an attorney present in this

meeting. Would you like to bring one in?

No thank you, said Alicia.And also per the employee policy,

continued Lenny, you are entitled to have a

fountain drink and a box of popcorn in this

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meeting. Would you like either of those

items?Actually, yes, said Alicia. I would

like a soda and a box of popcorn. But Im

already down, could you please get them for

me? Lenny stood and said, Not a problem,

which soda would you like?The strawberry one, please. And extra

butter on the popcorn, if you dont mind.

Lenny walked out of his office anddown the hall to the left. He picked a box from

the popcorn area of the copier room and

scooped it full from the popper basin. Then he

doused the top of the fluffy white treat with theyellow syrup from the butter machine.

Then Lenny took from the dispenser a32 ounce paper cup and filled it half way withice and then the rest of the way with the

strawberry soda, and then snapped a lid on it,

making sure to also pick his wife a straw formthe small box near the lids. He carried the

popcorn and soda back to his office and handed

them respectfully to Alicia, seated in the chair

where he had left her.She graciously took them from him and

smiled, Thanks dear.

Lenny sat down at his seat again andasked, Well, should we get this show on the

road?

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Alicia took a handful of popcorn and

said, Sure.Lenny looked over his paperwork and

then put it down. Do you have any issues with

me as a supervisor? And please be honest.

Alicia thought hard about it and thenanswered, I think to a limited extent, you have

issues with appearances. Meaning I think youput a little too much importance on how others

perceive your performance as a supervisor.

Theres being a good boss, and then theresbeing too scared that youll mess up. It shows.

I think if you relaxed a bit more, things would

still be fine around here.

Hank and Lenny both scribbled in theirnotebooks as she spoke. And then Hank asked,

Are you saying this as a wife to her husband inrelation to how he performs his duties? Or isthis coming from an employee?

Alicia looked a little reluctant to speak,

but then she did so, Look, I know weve beentrying to make this work, and for a while now, it

just hasnt done so effectively. But we gave it a

good run. As of tonight, I am resigning my

position here with TOAD, Inc.Both Hank and Lenny tried to speak,

both obviously trying to stop her resignation.

But Alicia put up her hands and silenced them.she added, I know. You dont want me to feel

like I have to leave, and I'm not really. Ill still

help out with engineering and things when I

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can, when I have the time, but really, I need to

be a mother now. I dont know if you noticed,but I'm about ready to pop here. And my first

few months are going to be taken up solely with

bringing new babies into the world, and taking

care of them.Hank wrote it all down in his legal

shorthand, but Lenny spoke, If this is what youreally want, we can put you on a maternity leave

or an extended leave of absence.

And if I never make it back to being afull-time employee again? How would that

look in my file? No, this is for the best. Until I

can make the decision later to come back, I

should be free to not worry about lingeringpaperwork and policy headaches. Were a

government contractor. We need to make sureeverything is on the level and that includes forthe bosss wife.

Lenny paused and then said, Well

respect your wishes, then. Hank can have thepaperwork draw up pretty quick, I think, to

cancel your contract or amend it, whichever you

choose.

Hank spoke up, I can have it ready inan hour, if this is really what you want.

Just try to stop her, said Lenny

jokingly. When she makes up her mind aboutsomething, not even pesky laws of the universe

can stop her. Trust me, I know.

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Alicia tried valiantly to stand from her

chair, but in the end, Lenny helped her to herfeet, Thanks for understanding dear. And

dont worry, your people trust you, so you

should trust them also. Now go get me a few

new pillows from the commissary, please. Theones in the bed are crap.

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5Lenny had her new pillows to her

bedside before she was ready to lie down. He

helped her position them just right, and thenkissed her on the cheek, Ill be back for lunch.

And what have you planned for the restof today?Nothing but fun for the teams,

reported Lenny. Its Thursday, you know.

Yeah, I forgot. Why is it we doThursday-fun-days again?

Because, explained Lenny, Thursday

is the day before Friday, the last day of the

week. We need to celebrate the last day of thework week, with a party the previous day. That

way, the teams power through the last day and

can relax on Saturdays. It all makes sense to usguys.

Of course it does, said Alicia.

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Lenny kissed her again and then left his

apartment. He walked the halls and found hisway to the NASA offices in his fortress. Upon

entering, he found that he had missed an

announcement or memo, or whatever. There in

bright blue letters on the dry-erase board he sawscribbled, Still have an opening for someone to

deadhead the supply run.Nearly jumping for excitement, Lenny

found the first person he could reach and

begged, Please tell me that opening is stillthere?

Nobody took it yet, said the secretary.

Lenny bounced a few times and then

Ill take it. Its tomorrow morning, right?Yes, sir. But have the flight medical

team check you out before going up there,please. The last thing we need is to spread theflu or some other bacteria around our moon

base.

Youve got a deal! said Lenny.Even a shot in the arm couldnt stop him

from making this trip. Though he hated needles

with a passion to rival his love for flying, his

first visit to the moon base run by NASA wouldbe payment enough for the blood-screening they

needed to do on him.

No amount of distraction could take hismind off the impending trip, but the only thing

that could stop him at that point would be denial

of permission from his wife. How to ask her?

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Its not like he needed her permission,

but he felt like he needed her approval for thetrip, because she was after all carrying his

children in her belly. She had a say in what he

did, anything that might be dangerous or time-

consuming would require her approval.Generally, she didnt deny him his

adventures, but once in a while, she advocatedcaution over ambition, just until more

information could be received about whatever

situation.All throughout the day, Lenny wondered

how he would put it to her, how he could

convince her to let him go up. At long last, he

decided around dinner time that he would justask her nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal.

Maybe she would let him go if she thought itwas as routine as walking to the dining hall.That night, he had normal dreams, as

normal as any he had remembered before. And

in the morning, after his shower and dressingroutine, he spoke to his wife, Any plans for

today?

I thought I would just relax and wait for

the babies to pop out, you?Making an effort to sound as casual as

he could, Lenny spoke to his wife as if it were

no different than any other morning.I thought Id go on a supply run this

morning, said Lenny. Alpha Base is

scheduled to receive a shipment of dry food

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stuffs and water tanks this afternoon. I figured I

could hitch a ride in the command module.Just be safe dear, said Alicia.

Always, said Lenny. This will be as

quick and painless as getting the mail from the

post office.

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6He entered the large dining hall and

walked up toward the larger assortment of

breakfast foods under the warmers. As he stoodin line, not a normal thing for him to do, he

decided he would depart from his usual morningmeal and get another plate array. Whereas heusually had a bowl of rice with cinnamon, sugar

and milk on it, this morning he instead scooped

some scrambled eggs onto his plate.These eggs werent the normal blend

either, but had little bits of peppers and onion in

them, along with gooey cheddar cheese melted

throughout the batch. Along with his eggs, hepicked two strips of turkey bacon from the stack

and a warm flakey biscuit from another tray.

He also took a slice of wheat bread toastfrom a basket and set it near his eggs.

Collecting his silverware and a tall glass of

orange juice from the beverage area, he looked

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around and decided he would sit at a different

seat than his usual. Picking one out, he walkedtoward it and placed his tray of food and glass

of juice on the table.

As he sat down, preparing to eat from

his chosen breakfast, an uncommonly energeticvoice seemed to shout near him, What the

CRAP? Help! Someones replaced Lenny withan alien! Hes doing something different this

morning.

Lenny paused and waited for Darcy tosit down, which she did do near him. He spoke

calmly, Good morning Darcy.

Hey, you know I was just pulling your

beard, right?Of course, said Lenny as he picked up

some egg from his plate.So, really, though. Whats up with thenew dish?

After he had cleared his mouth, Lenny

answered, It so happens that I am tryingsomething new this morning. Its not the first

time I've eaten eggs in my life you know.

I get that, said Darcy as she sipped

from her normal mug of coffee, but if you areanything, Leonardo, you are a creature of habit.

And to see a man like yourself changing it up in

such a way, begs the question, what else isgoing on in his life? I mean, you sat at a new

seat, you got different foods, and if I'm not

mistaken, you changed up your aftershave.

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Lenny smiled, I know this may come as

a shock to you, but I dont wear aftershave. Iuse an electric razor and so dont need to

condition my skin afterwards. I did however

change my underarm deodorant this morning, if

it matters that much to you.Whoa! Too much information, big

dog. I was just being conversational. Butreally, its good to see you branching out from

your routines.

I'm glad you approve of my choicesthis morning, said Lenny before a long drink

from his orange juice.

So, whats on the docket this morning,

asked Darcy, more calm after half her mug hadbeen emptied.

I'm not sure, answered Lenny. Ihavent gotten to it yet. As you can see, I'm stilleating my breakfast. I dont have it all

memorized.

Yeah, I didnt think you did, saidDarcy looking around. Hey, wheres your

wife?

Shell be along in a while, said Lenny.

Its just that I was helping her withsome stuff and we kind of left some questions

unanswered last night.

As I said, shell be along shortly, saidLenny before another bite of eggs.

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Sure thing, chief, said Darcy as she

stood from the table. Hey, have her call mewhen you see her next. Comprende?

Sure, said Lenny as Darcy walked off,

not waiting for his answer.

He continued to eat his breakfast until itwas gone, looking around at his workers and

villagers eating and enjoying their lives. In hismind, he felt a little like he had done this for

them, but he also had an unmistakable feeling

that something was missing. There was a holein his head, and he needed to fill it with

something. But he couldnt figure out what was

missing.

And then the idea came to him, ofcourse, that was it. He hadnt worked on

anything world-changing in months, andanything exciting in even longer. He had triedto tone down his companys efforts and risks

since they had lost Bruce. He felt like they

couldnt take another risk like that again.Especially not after their third Military

occupation had passed as a temporary one.

Lenny gathered his dishes and stood

from his table. He walked over to the dirty dishwindow and slid his load through the small slot.

The sounds of a few dishes clinking and

bumping could be heard through the slot, aswhoever they were took them to be rinsed and

sanitized. He turned again and made his way

over to where they had their usual morning

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meetings. He knew it would be a few minutes

more before anyone noticed him there, but hedidnt mind waiting.

In his mind, he jumped for joy knowing

what he was about to do. He was actually really

sure-enough going to visit a real moon base, andnot even in the sci-fi story he was writing. It

was for real.

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7When he had made sure his teams were

ready for their day, he informed them that he

would be out the rest of his. And I may not beback by the end of the shift, depending on how

long it takes for me to get unloaded and backhere. If you have any questions or concerns, Illbe on the radio, but if you need immediate help,

get with Pete.

After a short open forum discussion,Lenny found himself walking the halls on his

way to the launch bay. It felt exciting and

frightening at once, to finally take the

opportunity to take a ride in their restockingvessel. Little more than a few long girders with

cargo canisters securely fastened to them and a

computerized command module, it representedalmost four months of labor in its final

completion. It had been in service for a few

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months to that point, and had suffered no

problems yet.His heart raced as he fastened his safety

belts. He would really be doing it this time.

Telling the autopilot that he was ready for it to

continue its program, he readied himself forflight. His space suit hindered his movements

greatly, but he wasnt really planning on doingmuch while in the cockpit anyway. The thing

pretty much flew itself.

Lidia, their name for the cargo hauler,lifted carefully from the floor and entered the

launch tunnel. The heavy doors closed behind

it, and then the lock chamber filled with water

quickly as the ocean-side doors openedunceremoniously. Out into the water he rode

the shuttle, and then felt himself rising towardthe waves.Once they broke the surface and Lidia

pointed her nose skyward, Lenny felt the slight

acceleration as they rocket to several hundredmiles per hour. It felt exhilarating as he hadnt

flown in months, hadnt had the time or need.

But the stars had aligned for this trip and he

jumped at the chance when it came.Up and up he flew as the sky darkened

gradually. The blue faded to black with points

of light showing brightly around his view. Hisgoal became more visible also, as a large bright

gray disk in front of Lidias path.

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TOAD, Inc. wasnt moving its

operations to the moon, nor were they buildinga place to play. They were in fact doing their

part to further NASAs plans toward

colonization. In order to help them, Lenny had

agreed to allow the agency limited use of traveland transportation equipment and technologies,

in helping them to build their first off-planetbase. For the most part, few people knew about

the initiative, in relation to the number of people

who could have, but to Lenny and his team, thenumber was very high.

Still, he jumped at the chance to help

them develop technologies and practices that

they could use in building other bases andoutposts around the solar system. In return for

their shuttle services, TOAD, Inc. receivedabout a tenth of the cost of conventional rocketlaunches. Yes it was a steep price, he knew, but

Lenny didnt want them to think it was an easy

thing he gave to them, though it really was.The radio squawked at Lenny, Supply

shuttle, this is Alpha Base. We have you on

radar and show a proper vectoring for approach.

Hold course and enjoy the ride. We estimatelunar gravitational acquisition in under two

hours.

Lenny keyed his mic and responded,Acknowledged, Alpha Base. Say, hows the

weather up there today?

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The reply came back, As always, cold

and vacuous.The channel went quiet and Lenny

settled in to wait. He listened to his music

playlist, piped into his helmet from the onboard

computer system. He listened as he read froman ereader his favorite story. It was a book,

written by an engineering technician of allpeople, about a not too probable present.

The story told of a secret military

organization protecting earth from space threats,while interweaving interpersonal struggles into

the space junk also. It gave him ideas on how

he wanted his group to work in space, except for

a few changes hed make. For starters, they hadbuilt a massive starship for their uses, whereas

Lenny liked things to be smaller.The starship had a sentient AI mindcontrolling it, but it wasnt very believable

because it talked too much like a human. It

spoke of feelings and things like that, whereasLenny knew from first-hand experience that

computers could only simulate emotion, not

truly feel it themselves.

His reading ended abruptly as he openedhis eyes. A searing pain in his head told him

that he hadnt just fallen asleep, but had been

knocked unconscious. His blurry vision sooncleared and told him very little more than he

knew before.

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He remembered almost nothing, except

for a siren and then the lights going out. As helooked around, he saw mostly nothing, and then

something. It was a large rock about the size of

a football, and it seemed to be floating near the

top of his canopy. Another handful of smallerones also turned near it in his view. But where

had they come from?He looked around his console and saw

that it was dead. No lights anywhere. And then

he realized something else very nerve-wracking.As Lenny sat in his seat, he felt no gravity. In

an instant, he knew what had happened. Or

what could have happened. The Hatching drive

had cut out, returning his gravity from normalearth level to none. But how had that anything

to do with the rocks?Were they asteroids? The answer came,Of course, you nimrod. In his mind he spoke

to himself, Youre in space, and you came

from high speed flight on earth. Where elsecould the rocks have come from?

He put together in his mind a possible

timeline of events that would explain his

situation. As he had been flying along, mindinghis own business, his path had crossed that of a

space rock, and he had hit it at just the exact

moment that it was in his path. The rock haddamaged at least the control systems that drove

his small ship, if not the module itself as well.

When it went offline, he must have been tossed

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forward or to the side, or something. He hit his

head with enough force to render himunconscious but not kill him.

Well, he said out loud, Maybe I

should have installed some airbags in this thing.

Note to self.He looked around himself closely and

saw that the canopy seemed to have remainedintact. But there was no telling how long it

would remain so. He checked his gages on his

arm and saw that his suit still registered fullpressure. Ok, he thought to himself, Im still

safe for now. But I need to decompress the

canopy safely if I want to guarantee safe exit.

Who knows if these suits are designed towithstand explosive decompression?

He found the cabin depress valve nearhis reach and slowly turned it just a little. Hedidnt want to overdo it, just let it out slowly.

As he let the air out into space, he also hoped

that it didnt change his course of flight. Butwith so much mass as he had in his cargo

compartments, chances of that happening were

slim. But he acted defensively just in case.

The gage on his arm showed no pressurearound him in a short time. Again, he watched

his internal pressure gage and felt relieved to

see that it hadnt moved. So his suit seal stillhad integrity. That was another thing to be

grateful for. But when he had finished with his

gage checks, he knew he still wasnt any closer

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to being saved. He had to act quickly to get it

done in his allotted time remaining. Once hefelt comfortable with that, he tried to key his

mic, Alpha Base, come in please.

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8The speaker in his helmet remained

silent, but not from damage. It simply hadnt

the range to reach the moon without theshuttles radio repeating his signal. He hadnt

really expected that to work, but unless he triedit, hed never know if that was all it took to alertthe bases of his condition.

Calm down, he said out loud. Youre

still fine. Just keep calm and youll make itthere safely.

And then another fact hit him squarely

in the jaw, Wait, no you wont. Without the

autopilot, this thing will just either crash intothe surface or bypass the moon into deep space.

But theyll notice the transponder out and send a

rescue for you in short order.But he couldnt lie to himself for long.

The reality of his situation set in and he knew he

wouldnt be fine. Space is vast, he said to

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himself. Im flying at thousands of miles per

hour, though I have no idea what the impact didto my speed and course. Even a few miles away

from me and Ill be invisible in the blackness

and lost to whatever rescue my people will

send. And without a means of communicatingwith them, I have no idea if theyll find me at

all. Even if I were on course, Im not aimed forgravitational acquisition and orbit, like the older

moon missions were. Im aimed, or I WAS

aimed at a calculated approach vector, planningto use the drive module as an engine up until I

landed. And the chances that I would have been

bumped perfectly onto an orbital insertion angle

by that rock are infinitesimally small. No, if Iplan to get home, its going to be my doing.

At once, Lenny set to work making amental accounting of his tools and equipment.There wasnt much. Up until that time, they

had enjoyed relative success with their drive

modules, to the point of laziness in the areas ofalternate plans. He resolved right then to

change that when he got back homeif he got

back home.

Tools and supplies, said Lenny. Ihave my ereader, and whatever is stuffed in the

pockets of this suit. He looked around himself,

and discovered something else, I dont haveany pockets? What idiot designs a space suit

without pockets?

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As he sat back in his seat, calming

himself, he decided to think it over. What didhe have? He had a system that was offline, a

battery supply, which may have been damaged

by the impact, and a drive module, which also

could have been damaged, depending on thearea and force of impact. Was he sure it was an

impact? Yes, the rocks and state of his vesselpretty much guaranteed the fact that he was hit

by a space rock, or that he had hit one.

I have experience in making electronicsdo what I want, he said aloud. I can do this.

Slowly, and ever-so-carefully, Lenny

opened the canopy on the cockpit and made his

way safely from it along the outside of hisvessel, to assess the damage to the other

systems outside the cockpit. He always keptone hand on the ship at all times, knowing thatif he let it go, for even a second, he could be

really lost in space, and permanently without

hope.His gages told him that he had still a few

hours of air, and if he carefully monitored his

breathing, he might make it last longer, but not

much. The sight he saw when he found his wayto the drive module wasnt a good one. The

thing had been decimated by the impact. It

looked like it had barely managed to not fall offthe supports that held it in place. A large

section of the resin ball had been blown off,

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with bits of its innards hanging loose here and

there.Upon reaching the battery compartment,

he felt a little better. At least that had remained

undamaged. But the compartment that housed

the brains of the ship left him saddened again.A hole large enough for him to stick his hand

through had been punched in the lid plate.Behind it, he saw the computer tower had

suffered the same fate. And the holes lined up

with the impact area on the drive module.So, he said to himself. No system to

control the module, battery is good, but mostly

no module itself. Even if I am able to hack the

remaining functional guts of the drive into aworking order with nothing but my bare gloved

hands, I have nothing with which to control it.Lenny mentally kicked himself for nothaving a backup system in place, knowing that

this possibility existed in real outer space. It

would have been just a few pounds and a fewcubic feet to have the extra tower near the

battery box.

Trying not to dip into depression at

every turn, he shook his head and thoughtpositively, I can do this. The remaining bits of

controller boards in the drive module housing

can be reworked. The wires can be tied togetherand I can use

His voice trailed off as he realized that

he would have to somehow figure out how to

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fly his ship, literally manually. Hed have to

charge the uranium rice grains that he could useby touching wires together in his gloved fingers,

while floating in space next to the drive,

somehow not falling away the whole time.

Positive, positive, I can do this, hesaid to himself. I just wish I had finished that

chapter before-He shook himself when he realized he

did in fact have a computer with him still. He

had his ereader. It was a simple system, andwould have to be heavily reworked for the

purpose, but he could do it. Hed done harder

things before with less. But not with less time,

he realized. In just a few short hours, if hehadnt found a way to get either back to earth or

forward to the moon base, hed be sunk anyway,no matter how close he got.No, he said again. Positive, positive,

positive. I can do this.

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9Work went quickly, but as carefully as

he could. The unusable wiring he could

scavenge from the damaged control boards inthe drive module he tied into a long pair of

leads. He twisted the ends together as tight ashe could with his gloves and hoped they wouldwork. He laced them through holes in the

cockpit firewall, the barrier that separated his

area from the battery compartment and that ofthe computer tower that had flown it.

Lenny plugged the wires into the holes

in the wiring where he knew the commands

went to the drive module. The adapter plug thatused to fit snugly into the tower now hung

freely. In his cockpit, Lenny worked with his

ereader, luckily he had the model with a basickeyboard on it. He had rooted it, or hacked the

programming more usable, weeks before so that

he could let himself load unapproved content

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onto it like PDFs and other unsupported file

types. He had no idea that hed use the sameprogramming backdoor to save his life.

As he typed slowly the code lines into

the ereader, he began to feel like he would be

okay after all. The wires fit snugly into theexpansion slot plug he found in the back casing

of his toy, again realizing that things were liningup to save his life. He knew that if one thing

had gone differently all those weeks and months

ago, he wouldnt be able to get out of hispredicament. Of course, if he had simply stayed

behind and let Lidia fly herself there on her

own, no one would have been endangered when

the rock had hit her. It would just have been aloss of hardware, not a potential loss of life.

Finally, after hours of coding andrecoding, he felt ready to test his system out.He closed his eyes and pressed the enter button

on the ereader. He knew at once that it had

worked, if well enough. He felt a small amountof inertia pushing him back in his seat. The

back half of the drive module still worked

almost as good as the thing in one piece. He

turned his ship about and then noticed that theearth looked much farther than he had hoped.

Which way would be safest for him?

Should he return to earth? Or should he chancethe shorter distance and continue on toward the

moon base? Knowing he was wasting precious

seconds with indecision, Lenny pushed his

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signature. But once he came into view, theyd

recognize his shape and know it was him.He came in slowly, unthreateningly, and

set down on the soft dirt near the exposed

cement ceiling of the launch bay. He powered

down the system once down and then climbedout of the cockpit and manually unplugged the

battery wiring from the battery.Then as he turned around, he saw a few

people approaching him. Lenny unlocked and

removed his helmet and addressed them, Itsokay, its just me.

The guards lowered their weapons and

Pete spoke, Why didnt you respond on the

radio-ooohwhat happened to the shuttle?Lenny guessed Pete noticed for the first

time the damage he had taken. I got a flat tire,had to limp it back home.And the supply drop?

They have enough to last them another

month up there. Theyll be safe for now, untilwe can get Lidia back up and running. But call

them and let them know this trip had a mishap.

Pete nodded and went back toward the

complex entrance speaking on his phone.Lenny took the opportunity to pull out his own

cell phone and dial in to command. DaNell

answered, This is Command.This is Lenny. I'm fine, but there was

an accident en route to the moon. I apologize

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about not following radio protocols. My system

was literally smashed to pieces, though.Were just glad youre back safe. And

this is coming from a woman and a wife, you

might want to tell your wife about this in

person, not on the phone. Trust me.Lenny cringed at the thought of telling

his wife anything about the trip. He wasntabout to lie to her, but he just didnt want to

upset her in her condition. The doctor had

warned her not to have any stress if she couldhelp it.

But firmly he walked back toward the

complex, making his way as carefully as he

would try to speak to his wife.

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10The disappointing news spread through

the community like a plague, and before

nightfall, not a single person wouldnt haveheard of his ingenious work in getting back

home with a broken drive module, some sparewiring and an ereader.But of the whole island, there were a

few people that were less than pleased with his

story. Alicia sat quietly, trying to remain calmas he explained it all to her. But he continued

nervously, I didnt plan on it, and I know its a

miracle that I made it back safely. And were

changing the procedures from here out as aresult of thisincident.

Alicia sat quietly, trying to remain calm.

Lenny asked, Can you say something?What do you want me to say? Good

job? Welcome home? Lenny, our children

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almost lost their father today before they ever

met him. How do you want me to respond?I dont know, defended Lenny. But

as long as you know that it wasnt on purpose

and it wont happen again, I guess I dont care

how you respond.Alicia sat stewing before she spoke up,

I get that you didnt plan this, but theres onlyone way to perfectly guarantee that itll never

happen again.

No way, said Lenny. Thats notgoing to happen. You cant clip my wings.

Youre not a bird, she said. You're a

man, and my husband. And if I ask you to stay

grounded for a while, its because I love you.Lenny glared at the floor. It didnt seem

fair. She was punishing him for something thatwasnt his fault. And in his mind he knew thathe would submit to her will, out of love. He

didnt agree with her request, but he didnt need

to. In time his days and nights would be so fullof other distractions that he wouldnt have time

to daydream, let alone run off on adventures.

Things like diapers and crying and midnight

feedings would soon fill his waking andsleeping thoughts.

Upset about it, but defeated, Lenny said

softly, Fine. Ill stay grounded for a while.But not permanently.

Im not asking for this plan to be

permanently, said Alicia, rubbing his leg,

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trying to reassure him. I just need to know that

youre calming it down for a while. I still needyou here even though our children arent born

yet. And Ill need you even more so when they

ARE here. Tell me you understand this?

Lenny nodded forlornly. Flight hadbeen such a large part of his life up until then, it

felt like he was losing an arm to let it go. Buthe would do it for her, for his family. He loved

his family more then he loved to fly.

As he prepared his dinner that night, anidea came to him. That isnt to say that ideas

didnt come to him often, but this one seemed to

come unnoticed in the beginning. But before

long, he had stopped working in the kitchen.He stood still contemplating the idea. Could it

work? Possibly, but hed have to figure it outfully before proposing it to his people.And then when the prototype had been

finishedbut he stopped himself. His idea

dealt with flight, or flight propulsion morespecifically. Would it be cheating on his

promise to develop a flight technology if he

himself didnt go up in it? Of course it

wouldnt, he told himself.Immediately he picked up his slate PC

and started drawing up some specs for his

design. The numbers were coming togethernicely when a scent in his nose made him pause.

It was unpleasant, like wood burning. But not

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the kind of wood that smells good when it

burns.He looked around him and quickly

found the cause of the smell. As fast as he

could, he grabbed a pair of tongs from the

cooking tool rack and grabbed the woodenspoon from the gas stovetop. He dropped it in

the sink and turned the faucet on full power onthe burning wood.

Then he turned off the stove flame and

picked up his slate again. He minimized thedrawing application and opened the protocols

for the fortress venting systems. Calling up his

residence, he ordered the system to purge his

residence with no thought for his dinner.The vent above the stove began to draw

in air at an alarming rate, so much so that thesalad greens in the bowl beside the stove gotsucked up with the smoke from the burning

wood. The cool air in the air conditioning

system turned on at a high rate and acted as thebypass supply for the vent suction.

Just two minutes later the system

detected no more smoke in the purge stream and

it slowed the intake of air to nearly stopped.Lenny stood in shock, knowing he had nearly

caused a disaster by setting the wood spoon too

close to the flame under the pot he had beenheating. If it had spread to far, it could have

quickly compromised the safety of his section,

his floor, or the entire complex.

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Vowing to never again cook absent-

mindedly, Lenny turned the purge protocol backoff and adjusted the room thermostat to

compensate for the frigid air that got pumped in

from levels below him. He knew his wife

would notice the smell; her nose had becomemore sensitive with the growth of her

pregnancy. Hopefully she would think he hadburned some food. He wouldnt lie to her about

it, but he wouldnt volunteer the fact that he had

very well almost cost them their home.

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11This is fantastic, said Lenny as he

retooled the design on his slate PC.

His stylus had become an extension ofhis hand again, marking down figures and

dimensions in his notes about his design. Healmost didnt notice the baby finish drinkingfrom the bottle near him, but on instinct he

saved his work and put the tablet down for a

minute. Now came the burping.Gently Lenny picked up his daughter

from her seat. Although most babies are able to

effectively burp themselves at four months old,

he and Alicia had yet to see young Kayla do so.It could have been laziness, or insufficient

development, but whatever the reason, they still

found themselves burping her over theirshoulders after her eight month mark.

Cory slept in his bassinette a few feet

from them, and it seemed that he could do so

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with is sister crying, too. Generally, it was her

that Lenny and Alicia heard in the middle of thenight, and not him. Cory cried once in a while,

but generally they assumed that he had learned

to rely on his sisters cries to get what he

wanted.As he fed them and burped them and

cleaned their diapered behinds and put themback down for their sleeping, Lenny knew that

his time was quickly approaching. He said as

much to his wife lying near him with her eyesopen. Its coming up quick, you know.

What is dear?

The blink. You know, the big one.

Remember how parents always say that theyhad babies and in the space of a blink those

babies grew up into adults? That blink iscoming up quick.Not for me, said Alicia. I'm too busy

enjoying their infancy.

Im not enjoying changing theirdiapers, said Lenny. I think Corys getting

his teeth in, with all that that implies.

Oh, said Alicia as she stretched and

then relaxed, I just overlook the messes andconcentrate on the beauty.

Here it comes, said Lenny comically

as he exaggerated a blink. When he opened hiseyes again, he spoke, Nope. Theyre still

babies. Huh. Well, I guess I get to enjoy our

time together also.

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Are you mocking me, Mr. Hatching?

asked Alicia with fake offense.No, maam, answered Lenny. Id be

too scared to mock you.

Kayla burped big and both her parents

cheered for her. Then Lenny gently lay herback down in her own bassinette and rubbed her

back for a few seconds. Good night littlelamb.

So what were you working on over

there while she was eating?Lenny answered coyly, Just something

new and exciting. Im working on a new

arrangement for the grains of rice in a Hatching

Drive module. It may give usgive a pilotbetter agility during high speed maneuvers.

Alicia noticed his correction and ignoredit. She saw no sense bringing up old decisionsbefore it was time to readdress them. Okay,

well, dont stay up too late. Its after ten

already.Im going to sleep now, said Lenny.

I read that when your baby sleeps, youre

supposed to sleep.

Just remember, said Alicia. Yourestill on deck until two in the morning if they

stir.

I remember, sweetie, said Lenny as hecurled up in the blankets and promptly fell

asleep.

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12As time often does, it marched on by

those that slept and worked. It flew by in

moments as fun times and sad times set like thesun. It vanished into the night as those that

dreamt did so of the future and how they couldmake it better.And in the morning one day, years had

passed and Lenny found himself wishing he

hadnt blinked that one time, whichever one itwas that stole away the youth of his children

and gave him instead a pair of well-behaved yet

difficult to reign in teens. He woke that

morning, wishing he could hide the batteries tohis daughters music player, but also knowing it

wouldnt be fair to her.

Rolling over, he hugged his wife andwhispered, Honey, Kaylas awake. Its your

turn to change her.

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headphones had been plugged into her stereo

and she would again be absorbed in whatevershe was working on that morning. Back to his

bed he trudged groggily noting that his sons

room was as quiet as a stone box. He walked

into his bedroom and then climbed back into hisbed, his wife snuggling up to his back quickly

thereafter.Thanks, dear, said Alicia without

opening her eyes.

No problem, mumbled Lenny, afterwhich he promptly began snoring again.

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13The family sat in the dining room, eating

softly. The breakfast spread seemed about the

same as it had been every other morning for thepast fifteen years. There were fruits and breads

and eggs prepared several ways. One mightfind cold cereals and hot cereals and biscuitsand gravy. But what a perspective diner

wouldnt find when looking over the spread was

an answer to why Lenny seemed so happy.His normal somber mood had been

replaced that morning by an almost giddy air

about him. In fact, he found it hard to sit still

with as exciting a bit of news he held inside.And before he had finished his meal, it

exploded out of him.

Im going to take you three up in the airwith me today.

Both teens looked at their father not

quite believing what they had heard, not sure if

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they had heard right. From beneath raised

eyebrows, Alicia asked, And how shall we beflying?

Lenny answered after another bite of

rice, Shes finished, actually has been for a

while now. But we had to be sure that thetesting finished its proper course before we sent

people up in her. Yesterday, I receivedconfirmation from the testing team. Shes

ready.

Alicia nodded and smiled, And doesthis mystery vehicle have a name?

Lenny smiled, Yeah.

After a few minutes of waiting, Kayla

asked, Are you going to tell us what it is?Sure, but not yet. Ill make the

introductions this afternoon. First, I need youkids to pack small bags for a trip.Where are we going? asked Alicia.

Were going on vacation, said Lenny

mysteriously. Pack for two days after today.After their breakfast, and as the teens

were packing their bags, Alicia pulled Lenny

aside and spoke, Are you sure this thing is

safe?Lenny answered, So sure that I would

bring my family up in it. After thousands of

hours of automated test-flights, we are onehundred percent confident that its as safe as

sitting in a chair.

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Alicia nodded and then said, Okay,

then. As long as your people have put itthrough its paces a few hundred times without

incident, then I'm convinced. So where are you

taking us?

Lenny smiled again and only replied hissame answer, On vacation.

Half an hour later, as Lenny sat in asatellite teleconference meeting with a few other

people, he spoke just as confidently,

Gentlemen, let me assure you. Your moneyhas not been wasted. As of this afternoon, we

have finished our testing on your new

Supersonic Reconnaissance Fighters, ahead of

schedule and under budget. As a condition ofour contract, you will be receiving your first

delivery of SRFs today. Three models havebeen finished and put through as many tests aswe could manage with our equipment. The

combat testing is up to you.

One man asked, And you can guaranteethat this new stealth technology is absolute?

I cant promise that theyll never get

shot down, or that your enemies wont

eventually come up with a way of tracking yoursquadrons. But I can give you my personal

guarantee that for the foreseeable future, these

planes are invisible to monitoring. Theyre asloud as a diesel pickup idling next to you and

their engines create no thermal exhaust

whatsoever. Whatever radar-proofing treatment

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you apply to their hull is on you, but weve

done what we could to minimize the radarcross-section on our end.

Another man asked, How long until we

can receive the deliveries?

Lenny looked at his watch. Well, Illbe flying the three prototypes out to Nellis Air

Force Base in Nevada this afternoon. Withtakeoff at 2:00, we should be flying over your

areas before 2:15.

A slight chaotic event took place at eachof the several locations where Lennys partners

were sitting. One spoke up, You promised us a

plane, not a rocket. How can you achieve such

speeds?Lenny put up his hands, Gentlemen

please. At top cruising velocity, the prototypeplanes can in fact get from my island to Nellisin less time, but I had to figure time for taking

off and landing. The six hundred miles between

the two points could be accomplished in fiveminutes flat at their cruising velocity of Mach

twelve, but theyre not going to land at Mach

twelve, now are they?

Again the men became clamorous andLenny had to calm them, Look. You wanted a

fast jet. You wanted something agile and

invisible to radar. Are you really complainingabout getting more than you wanted? Because I

could just rip the guts out of these birds and

hand you the generic turbojet engines in them.

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But my team and I have gone above and beyond

the requirements here to give you the besthardware on the planet. And yeah, youre right,

these planes will only be bested in speed races

by rockets sprinting for orbit. But when was the

last time terrorists shot one of those at you?Now, Ill be leaving here at two this afternoon.

Well be landing at Nellis shortly thereafterwith four planes, delivering three to your test

facility. Any questions?

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14Hank sat patiently in the command

center of the underground fortress. He waited

in a comfortable seat watching the largemonitors on the wall before him. On the screen

one could make out several different dials andsimulated gages, which displayed informationgiven to them from a vehicle in the launching

bay.

DaNell spoke when she had keyed hermic, Lenny, this is command. I show on my

board full function in all drones. You are clear

to signal their liftoff.

Lenny spoke to his phone, Understood,Command. Im lighting the candles now.

Standby to open the hanger door. Open it now,

please.The large cement slab that generally

rested above the ceiling opening on the launch

bay slowly slid back and away, revealing a

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bright blue sky above. Lenny gave the

commands on his control console to the planes,all of which were small enough to fit on the lift

at once, but only barely.

One by one, they taxied carefully onto

the lift platform in the only way they knew how.Though they were unmanned at that moment,

that ability would be removed from them beforeLenny handed the keys over to the officers who

would receive them. The only reason they still

had it was to allow unmanned testing and easydelivery.

Once all were on the platform, Lenny

stepped up onto it also, huddling under one of

the wings. He had his remote control slate withhim, which would also not be handed over to

the new owners. The lift began to rise up out ofthe hangar, on command from Lennys controlslate.

Up they rose the thirty feet to the end of

the line for the lift. When it rested locked in theup position, Lenny walked a distance away from

the planes and then sent the programs to the first

Mako to spin up its engines. In a minute flat, it

hummed on the platform ready to take off.Once it signaled Lennys tablet that it had

finished its spin-up, he told it to execute the

VTOL program in its buffer.Large ductwork changed orientation

within the engines, and vents opened in several

places along the bottom of the plane. The jet-

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wash from the engines almost blew Lenny off

his feet, so close was he standing right then. Hehad been a distance away, but too close it turned

out. He walked a good distance from the

platform as the first Mako lifted gracefully from

its surface. When it had lifted a hundred feetup, the engines adjusted and began to draw

power off the vertical ducts and blow it out therear exhaust ports. The result was that the jet

began to move forward gradually, and then

accelerate into a holding pattern around theisland.

Lenny repeated the process for each of

the remaining two Makos, until all three were

circling the island at a thousand feet up andthree miles out. They flew a mere few hundred

miles per hour, less than a twentieth of theirtested maximum speed.Another thing that the new owners

wouldnt learn was that Lenny and his team had

intentionally blocked the engines from pumpingout their maximum thrust with governors. They

would cruise at Mach twelve, but the hardware

and software could safely handle up to a

theoretical Mach sixteen speed limit. Becauseof the dangers of losing an expensive prototype

at those speeds, Lenny and his teams felt scared

to test out what would happen if they tried for it.The complication of their engines and

other systems suggested that a catastrophic

failure at cruising speed would do a large

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amount of damage to the plane, and probably

the pilot. If the pilot survived the ejectionprocess at speeds of seven thousand miles per

hour or more, it would be a long fall back to an

altitude where they would be able to breathe

without a mask.The military suggested they would use

the plane for high-altitude reconnaissance athypersonic speeds. Lenny assumed they would

require their pilots to wear space-suits in case of

a punch-out at that ceiling.But not only had he designed the Makos

to work well at high altitude and speeds, but

they were agile fighters as well. In simulated

dogfights, the planes held their own wellenough to make even the most experienced

pilots jealous of the prototypes.As the platform lowered him again backinto the launch bay, upon his request, Lenny

looked on at his private model of the plane. He

traced its smooth lines and followed its curvesas an artist might on a nude muse. The lift

reached the launch bay floor which roused him

from his staring. He tuned and left the bay in

search of his family.Is everyone ready? asked Lenny when

he entered his apartment.

A few voices all spoke up, Ready!Ok, let me get my bag and we can get

going, he said as he picked up his duffel.

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Two teenage children followed him out

as his wife walked by his side. Are you goingto tell me where were going sweetie?

Lenny smiled and said only, Were

going somewhere special, with a quick stop on

the way.

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15Once the door opened, the two teens

mouths dropped open. They stood with their

eyes glued to what looked to them to be afighter-jet. Lenny walked forward, and spoke in

a loud enough voice, Let me introduce you twoto a friend of mine. Your mom has already mether, actually helped to design her. This is

Harmony.

The teens stepped slowly forward. Theyhad seen Gretta and Clarence, two other

vehicles flown out of that bay, but precious few

other people had seen Harmonys curves. And

that was by design. All testing had been done atnight up to that point, in fact, not even the sun

had seen any of the Makos before the delivery

date. This was to ensure that no other peopleexcept those on the list would see them. Not

that Lenny distrusted any of his islands

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residents, but the decision had been made by his

customers without his input.Lenny continued to introduce, This is

our modified prototype of the YF-62 Makos

design. It has four seats in the cockpit, instead

of the usual two. It has a higher cruising speedthan the military variant, and it also has two

other propulsion types that the military flavorwill never possess. Her top cruising speed is

Mach 14 with the Funnel-jet engines, two

million miles per hours with the Hatching Drivemodule, and believe it or not even faster with

the Slingshot Drive.

The teens werent listening to most of it,

but Alicia was. Lenny continued, It runs on amodified lithium gel battery pack, similar to

what powers electric cars in the States. It has aliquid nitrogen cooling jacket beneath theceramic hull, to keep the skin a constant

temperature, even with supreme wind friction

on the skin when flying at fourteen times thespeed of sound.

Cory, Lennys son interrupted, Wait,

I'm sorry. Did you say two million miles per

hour? How is that even possible?Lenny explained, When I was your age,

I built a device capable of driving an object at

what we calculated to be just over one millionmiles per hour. But that limit was imposed by

the placement of the engine and the material of

the hull of the vehicle. Before we put that drive

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technology on any other vehicle, we exhausted

our supply of tests numerous times before weever sent people up in them. All the other

testing was done with unmanned scenarios.

Wait, said Kayla. A million miles

per hour?! That means you could go around theworld in like a minute and a half! Why would

you need to fly that fast anywhere on earth?Lenny smiled warmly, Its not meant

for use within an atmosphere.

Cory had walked up close to engineintake and was peeking his nose over the edge,

Hey dad, jet engines have impellor fans. Did

you forget to install them in this thing?

Lenny walked up behind his son andreached into the hole in the plane to point, You

see those seams in the ductwork? Those arecounter-rotating ringlets with complicated solid-state parts behind them. The science behind it

would take a long time to explain, but suffice it

to say, these arent your average turbojetengines. Theyre a new design developed here

on our island called funnel-jets, patent-pending.

They use both electromotive field insertion and

static resonance band manipulation, coupledwith our own brand of-

Alicia interrupted, Youre tossing some

mighty big words at that fifteen-year-old. Areyou realistically expecting him to understand

any of it?

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Lenny summed his explanation up

quickly as he walked back toward his wife,The engines have no fans, but they still draw

air in the intake and blow it out the exhaust

applying thrust to the area behind the plane.

So, what you're saying is, beganKayla, If a bird gets sucked through that

engine, itll just get tossed out the other side alittle dizzy but no worse for wear?

Pretty much, said Lenny. And as

long as the battery back has a charge, theengines will turn. Harmony has about the same

range as some other planes her size, but the

difference is you can charge her off an electric

dryer plug, instead of trying to find a jet fueltanker.

How much does it cost in electricity tocharge it? asked Kayla.Lenny answered, I guess depending on

where you plug it in, and your local rates, it

could be around fifty or so dollars in electricity,give or take.

Fifty bucks to recharge it? said Kayla

shocked.

Give or take. Your average dieselpickup truck costs more than that to fill with

fuel at the station, defended Lenny. The only

difference is that youll be paying for it on themonthly bill with the AC, fridge and TV costs.

In the long run, its the same for us average

people. But the jets the military flies cost

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between a thousand and two thousand dollars to

fill with fuel each and every time they go up.Thats the big selling point Im betting theyll

like. Upkeep and running is a fraction of what

their other planes cost. Who knows, they may

order more from us.

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16They let his words sink in for a minute

before Cory spoke up, I call shotgun!

Lenny chuckled and answered, Sorry,but that space is reserved for your mother. But

you can place your bags on that plate therehanging under the belly. Itll go back up inside,air-sealing the compartment. And dont worry,

the cargo box is pressurized which means your

bottle of shampoo wont burst all over yourclothes.

The twins and their mother placed their

luggage on the thick plate suspended down from

the plane by an armature on each side. Oncethere bags were in, Lenny put his own bag on

the shelf and then stepped back and hit the

command on his tablet to close the bay. Theplate rose up and sealed flush with the rest of

the skin in a few seconds, impressing the kids

and their mother.

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Then Lenny climbed up the yellow

ladder near the fuselage and opened the canopy.It swung up in a way that suggested it had

counterbalance methods in its hinges. He

stepped down into the cockpit and then offered

his hand to those that would need it to climbinside near him. One by one, the two teens

found their places in the rear seats. And thenAlicia sat in the other front seat. Lenny helped

his kids to buckle themselves down safely, and

then after checking his wifes belts, buckledhimself down to his seat.

Once in, Lenny pressed the button on the

console that made the canopy go down over

them. As it touched down, their ears popped,letting them know that the cabin pressure had

been regulated properly. Lenny turned thesystems on one by one and then pushed histhrottle up just a touch. The plane began to

move forward, and then stopped on the

platform.Command, this is Harmony. Please lift

the platform.

The radio responded DaNells voice,

Harmony, this is Command. Lifting now.They felt themselves begin to go up, like

the normal feeling of being in an elevator. They

went up until the lift rested level with theground outside, when it stopped. Lenny put on

a pair of sunglasses and again keyed his mic,

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Command, this is Harmony. Requesting

clearance for takeoff.The radio spoke in the cockpit,

Harmony, I read you clear and ready for liftoff,

you have clear skies above you and are wished

good luck and a following wind.Acknowledged, said Lenny, as he

moved some controls here and there. Liftingoff now.

The kids both gasped involuntarily as

they felt themselves rising off the ground. In afew seconds, they were no longer in ground

effect, when the downward thrust from the

vertical vents was pushing on the ground. They

had lifted high enough that the thrust waspushing on the air itself. Soon they were

beginning to move forward, and picking upspeed.The radio spoke again, Be advised that

the other Makos are in a holding pattern at one

thousand feet altitude. Theyre circling theisland at three miles out, running at two hundred

and thirty miles per hour.

Acknowledged, Command, said

Lenny as he began to pull his small yet agileflying sedan into a tight sweeping turn.

He slowly and carefully merged his path

with the pattern held by the other planes. Eventhe smallest course corrections at those speeds

made noticeable changes in their position in

relation to the drones.

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Lenny kept his hands on the controls as

he spoke to his wife, Sweetie, could you pleasesend the drones the program for following my

lead?

Alicia took the tablet and sent the

requested program to the other planes. Shewatched in a few seconds that each signaled

their acceptance of the program and were in factthen following Lennys lead.

She spoke, Its all you now, honey.

Lenny spoke to the ambient radio,Command, this is Harmony. Breaking for the

mainland in threetwoone.

Lenny pulled his plane around to flying

flat again, aimed toward California. Theydidnt see the other three planes following suit

behind them as goslings following a goose.When he felt he had lined himself up properlywith his heading, he pushed the throttle up

farther than he ever had before in that plane.

The passengers felt themselves pushedback into their seat with the acceleration,

another thing he hadnt felt so pronounced in a

while. The kids saw over his shoulder the

airspeed increasing like milliseconds ticking ona clock. The wind outside grew a little louder,

but not by much. The waves below them

moved faster and passed them by quicker by thesecond until their acceleration ceased and they

cruised at roughly seven thousand miles per

hour over the Pacific.

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Lenny set his controls to hold their state

and he let them go. He turned to look at hiskids and said, Well, what do you think so far?

This is your first time flying faster than the

speed of sound, but not your last. Any

thoughts?Kayla spoke excitedly, This is so cool!

I bet no other kids get to do this!Only the really rich ones with jets in

their families, answered Lenny.

Cory spoke, So, how were you able tomake one for us if the other three were

contracted by the military? Isnt this stealing?

Lenny answered, Nope. We built theirs

with their money. This bird we built solely withour own income from our other subsidiary

companies. Its all ours legally. The skys thelimit, but not for long.

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17When it came time, Lenny turned back

to the controls and gave flying his plane the full

attention it needed. He pulled his plane slowerand lower as they passed over a massive desert

of small hills.When in range, the radio spoke to them,Unidentified aircraft, you have entered military

controlled airspace. Identify yourselves.

Lenny spoke up, This is an aircraftdelivery direct from the production site owned

by TOAD, Incorporated. We are expected.

The channel sat silent for a while before

the woman spoke again, TOAD aircraft, youare cleared for landing on runway zero-three

from the south-west. When youve landed,

remain in your aircraft until your escorts reachyou. Do you understand?

Lenny answered respectfully, I fully

understand and will comply.

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Lenny brought them lower and lower

until he had lined up on the tarmac he had beenassigned. When he had lowered enough, he put

his gear down and approached the ground

carefully. His jet training paid off well as he

executed a perfect landing. He raised hisairbrake panels and felt the plane jerking back

against them. In under a minute they hadslowed enough to use their wheel brakes.

Lenny kept the engines blowing,

pushing them forward at about twenty miles perhour to the end of the runway. When he

reached it, he turned his nose around gently and

then stopped his plane. The engines slowed and

quieted, but they hadnt been very loud beforeanyway.

Turning to his kids, he spoke, This isimportant. Please stay belted in. This shouldnttake long.

Both kids nodded agreement. They

knew very little about the military, like mostpeople, but they did know enough to understand

that the armed forces protected their assets well.

They looked out the canopy at the other

hardware resting on the pavement a mile ormore from them. They had seen it better while

on approach and knew some of the models from

the news and movies.They recognized a few wings of F-16s

and F-22s lined up. They saw a few C-130s

parked here and there, and hundreds of other

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have to learn about before using. Until the

presentation, theyll be locked down, as per ourcontract. Please show us to their secure storage

area.

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18The men lead the way, as Lenny worked

on his tablet before them. The planes began to

move again, rolling forward using the air thrustout their engines, and steering by turning their

nose wheel. Alicia sat in a sedan while Lennyrode in the back of an open-top hummer. Therest of the cars followed the jets. A few soldiers

remained behind to guard Lennys family in

Harmony. They said it was to protect the plane,but Lenny knew it was really to protect the base

from those left in the plane.

The convoy drove up to a waiting

hangar and Lenny guided his birds inside it. Henavigated each one separately into the building,

making sure they were parked securely and

safely. Once each stopped, Alicia opened theircanopies and removed from them a tangled bit

of hardware from each console. She tossed

each of them down to Lenny, who tucked them

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all into a small bag. These were the autopilot

harnesses, which followed the orders given byLenny on his tablet. After closing each plane

down and locking them, they chirped in turn

letting Lenny know their security systems had

activated.Lenny spoke to the men around him,

Anyone touches these planes before I get backhere and alarms will sound for one minute.

After which theyll all blow up. Its a self-

defense mechanism that youll get control overwhen you take possession next week. If you

want it removed at that point, Ill do so.

You have nothing to worry about, Sir,

said an armed soldier with many stripes on hisshoulders. No one will be in this building until

you get back.Lenny and Alicia shook each of theirhands again and walked out of the hangar. The

large doors closed slowly and they watched the

guards lock it down. Then they gave the couplea lift again back to their plane, eyeing it closely.

And then the escorts stood