Bright Horizons Read Online Free Page A

understatement.
     
     
    12 May 2042
     
    The first
two weeks of training went quickly. The Marines were divided up into teams of
five or six to experience “The Vomit Comet”, as the Sub-orbital Training
Transport was commonly known.  There were no real bad experiences on the STT,
but one Marine did get a little sick on their first trip up.
    NASA
requires any mission specialist to have 30 hours on the STT before launch, so
for 8 hours a day, there were Marines on the edge of space. In two weeks, they
were all space ready by NASA’s standards, and--more importantly--in their own
minds.
    The team
of Ramirez, Kiskaliski and Greene spent the rest of their time in a modified
STT practicing zero-g maneuvers and combat. They were always smiling and ready
for tales of their adventures any given day. They were Marines doing what
Marines do best; getting prepared for combat in any environment.
    The
engineering team spent days pouring over manuals and blueprints before getting
to see the Shuttle up close and personal. The engineers at NASA were impressed
by how quickly the Marines picked up on some of the more subtle aspects of this
most quirky of vehicles. By the end of training, the Marines were able to do
all checks and repairs without asking for help from the engineers.
    The
pilots took to the Shuttle controls like a bird takes to the air; that is to
say a lot of aborted launches and quite a few hard landings. But just like
those baby birds, they started getting the hang of it. Kyle and Kitch had more
experience with a wider variety of aircraft, but Captain Jennings had the
majority of his experience in transports. It was decided after three days that
Jennings would be the first choice in an emergency with Kitch and then Martin
as his back-ups.
    The
diplomatic team had some problems, however.
    “It’s not
political correctness, Colonel.” Ambassador Thomas was clearly frustrated by
the accusation “I just think it’s a better way for the Hidali to recognize some
of our social structure.”
    “I fail
to see how having both of my female Marines as your escorts will accomplish
that objective.”
    “As I’ve
said, Colonel, with myself, Miss Stuart, Major Anderson, Captain Boone and the
documentarian, we are four men and one woman. With both Major Kitch and
Sergeant Dolsen as the escorts, it would balance it to four men and three
women.”
    “Yes, but
neither of them are on this mission to provide combat support.”
    “They are
Marines. Every Marine a rifleman, right?”
    Kyle took
a deep breath. He liked Ambassador Thomas, but at this moment he was very
unhappy with the skills that the man brought to the table. He felt a trap and
was trying to come up with a way out of it.
    He
suddenly saw the opening.
    “Mister
Ambassador, you want Anderson and Boone in civvies, right?  If the only
personnel in military uniform sent to escort you are both women, would that not
convey the idea that our military was made up of only one sex?”
    Ambassador
Thomas sat back slowly and stared at Colonel Martin.
    “Colonel,
I have always had a great deal of respect for you, but I now have more respect
and a bit of trepidation. That was a very good counter to my argument and one
that I have to admit puts my position at a disadvantage.”
    The men
let a silence fill the room that held pure expectation. Ambassador Thomas
finally broke the spell.
    “I want
Sergeant Dolsen and Sergeant Greene.”
    “May I
ask why?”
    “May I
ask why not?”
    “Because
I need Dolsen in case there is a problem with the shuttle.”
    “So Kitch
then.”
    “Ok,
Kitch, but I want you to take Ramirez.”
    “Your
lucky charm?  I thought you would want him with the rest of the team.”
    Kyle
smiled. “So you know about that. I admit, I have him on the mission because he
is… lucky, in a manner of speaking. But he is also the best of the best and you
may need him with you.”
    “I think
we have a deal, Colonel. I need to pull Kitch and Ramirez into our