Lone Stowaway

4

"I know everyone has probably heard by now that we only have enough fuel for one Jupiter to make it to the Resolute so whoever goes is gonna send back help. But if we're going to get this one off the ground, we're gonna have to lose things we thought we needed," said Maureen. "Like... like, the navigation system itself weighs 1.3 tons and..." she trailed off.

"Back in the day, NASA space capsules were basically tin cans. All the instrumentation was handled from the ground at mission control. So, we are going to launch off this planet the old-fashioned way."

A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd, a mixture of surprise and doubt.

"Welcome to 1962."

Shadow was now helping to unload everything from the Jupiter. She carried a storage box off the ship, dragged a dolly cart out of the ship and threw a couple boxes around.

This is fine, she thought. Nothing stupid about this at all.

Although Shadow worried for this mission. The first two missions before the Mercury-Redstone 3 had blown up. And this was just like it. Shadow was worried that they'd lose more people, and losing people was never Shadow's forte.

Shadow glanced around and entered the Jupiter again. John was right; this place would get hotter and hotter until it was uninhabitable. And having black hair didn't help at all. Shadow could almost swear she could cook an egg on her head. Rolling up her sleeves, Shadow hoisted another box onto her shoulder.

"Hey we need those!" yelled a man. "Cushions? Seriously?" she snapped. "Not necessary."

Shadow shook her head and carried the box outside.

Judy suddenly approached Shadow. Putting the box down, Shadow glanced at her. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Did you notice anything sketchy about Smith?" she asked, as if expecting a right or wrong answer.

"Not quite. I mean, she's annoying, but..."

"Look at this."

Judy handed Shadow an ID card. "Dr. Z. Smith," it read.

"Wait, but isn't Smith a woman-"

"That's the problem," said Judy. "The Smith we have here isn't the same "Dr. Smith"."

Shadow winced. "Then what happened to the real Dr. Smith?"

"We don't know," replied Judy.

"Well, one thing's for sure, one doesn't go so far if they don't have something to hide," growled Shadow, narrowing her eyes at Smith. "And whatever she's hiding, it can't be good."

Shadow stormed into her room. Dr. Smith wasn't the real Dr. Smith. She was hiding something, and Shadow knew it. The storm of emotions overtook her as she sat down on the floor.

"Smith gave Angela the gun, didn't she?" snarled Shadow.

"That's what Mom thinks, at least," replied Judy. Will came running.

"Hey Jude, do you have the access codes? Mom told me you had them, but I couldn't find you at the Chariot," he said, breathing heavily. "Oh, yeah, sorry, I have them," said Judy, handing him her mother's computer.

As Will left, Shadow turned to Judy again. "But why? She probably knew that Angela was mentally unstable, did she want Angela to try and shoot General?"

"..General?"

"Robot, General, whatever. But that's not the point."

"I don't know..." murmured Judy.