Martin eyed the other passenger as the small plane sped
toward Point Nemo. He watched her lean down and casually adjust the laces of
her boot. Martin struggled to understand how she could be concerned about
something so trivial. He’d just been flown halfway around the globe on an
urgent, secret mission. She seemed as cool and collected as if she was taking a
trip to the corner-store.
What was also awkward was that Martin didn’t know how much
she knew. He decided to play it safe, and not speak to her at all until they
reached their destination.
She was having none of that. “Holly Ridgeway, NASA,” she
told him, thrusting out her hand boldly.
“Hi,” said Martin. “Lt. Rob Martin. Good to meet you, Ms.
Ridgeway.”
Ridgeway smiled. “You’ve got it, then?” she asked, pointing
at the bag Martin had been gripping the entire flight.
“It?” said Martin, weakly deflecting the question.
“The servo,” said Ridgeway. “The one they need at Nemo. You
know, you’d think that they’d keep one of two of those on hand in case of
emergencies. That was all in my report.”
“Was it?” asked Martin, giving nothing away.
“Oh, yes. It’s my test,” she told him.
The pilot’s voice crackled over the intercom. “We’re setting
down in one minute. As noted in the pre-flight briefing, we’ll be ditching at
sea. Please follow my instructions after we set down, and brace for impact.”
“Here we go,” said Ridgeway with a wink.
Martin clutched his bag even closer, and closed his eyes.
“Brace!” called the pilot.
Then the plane hit the water with a shuddering crash.
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