Eric Flint - Boundary

"So," Jackie said, ignoring their byplay. "Obviously everyone knows what I'm celebrating. What about you guys?"

After A.J. filled her in on the latest news, Jackie jumped up and hugged him, nearly spilling water all over Joe. "Congratulations! That's wonderful news!"

"Dammit, Jackie, watch out." Joe blotted up the spill with a handful of napkins. "Or you'll get in trouble for consorting with the enemy."

She resumed her seat. "Yeah, right. Like they don't already believe I'm consorting. Do you know how often I have to repeat the fact that A.J. and I are not dating?" Jackie studied the menu and her eyes widened. "Holy sheep, as my dad used to say. Celebrations shouldn't leave people broke!"

"Don't worry, I'm paying." A.J. spoke before Joe could even respond.

"Oh, A.J., you don't have to-"

"It's no biggie, guys. Seriously."

Joe raised an eyebrow. "Paying for Jackie, I can understand, but I doubt I'm that good to look at."

"No, you're ugly. I'm paying for you out of pity."

"You are funny, A.J. That is why I'll kill you last."

There was a break in the banter as the trio considered the many options on the menu. The ordering process was delayed as Joe interrogated the waiter sternly on the precise methods of cooking employed, the spices, and a number of other issues. Jackie saw A.J. roll his eyes.

Joe was a gourmet; and, quite possibly, the most ungodly picky eater either of them knew. Apparently, however, the waiter's answers satisfied him, because he finally leaned back and selected stuffed portobello mushrooms with lobster and king crab for an appetizer, with grilled swordfish marinated in red wine sauce for his main course.

A.J. had taken all of three seconds to make his choice of calamari followed by a broiled lobster. Jackie wasn't quite that fast, but she'd still managed to order her grilled vegetables with dipping sauce and surf-and-turf combo in far less time than Joe took.

"I can see why you said you don't go out to eat with Joe very often."

Joe gave a tolerant smile. "Oh, you complain now, Jackie, but that's because you aren't in Ares."

She looked quizzically at A.J. "Just what does Joe's mania for cuisine have to do with the Project?"

"Well, everyone in the Project has to wear more than one hat. It so happens that Joe is in charge of the consumable supplies aboard the ships."

"Ah. Light dawns."

"Which," A.J. added, "is one of the reasons I pay for his meals. He's going to be picking mine when we go."

"So you're actually going?" Jackie couldn't keep her voice from rising on the last part, nor exclude the envy.

"About ninety-five percent chance. I'm in training already."

"Not that he really needs much," Joe said. "A.J.'s always been in good shape. I'm the one who has to really work."

"Don't tell me you're going, too!"

"Not all that likely. But possible. I'm a candidate, but nowhere near the front of the pack like A.J." Joe shook his head. "Basically, for me to go up, some of the others have to either get disqualified or quit. Or else something new has to turn up that gives me some special qualifications that other people don't have."

He eyed Jackie sympathetically. "What about you? The Nike is going to be big. We've heard it'll have a crew as large as ten people. Maybe even more."

Jackie knew she didn't look very optimistic. She didn't feel optimistic, either.

"Maybe. There's hellish competition. I'm going to be starting training next week, but I don't think they'll want more than one drive systems engineer aboard, and Dr. Gupta isn't about to step down. If the crew size was maybe half again larger-leaving enough room for an assistant drive engineer-then I'd have a real chance."

"You're a good electrical and micro-electro mechanical systems engineer, too."

"Thanks, but they've got qualified specialists for that. Again, the problem is the crew size. I'm everybody's favorite second banana, but with a crew of only ten there's just no room for any second bananas. If the Nike were twice the size-" She shrugged. "But it isn't. So all I can do is hope."

"Well," said A.J. brightly, "if both of you stay back, you can at least keep busy cheering me on."

It was Joe's turn to roll his eyes. "A.J., sometimes you are really a… "

"Self-centered jerk?"

"I wasn't going to say it," Joe muttered, still staring at the ceiling.

"I was," Jackie hissed.

Joe brought his eyes back down and changed the subject. "So, Jackie, today's test-any hitches at all?

"Not a one, so far. We may-wonder of wonders-actually finish a project ahead of time."

"Isn't that, like, completely against government regulations?"

"Normally, sure. But as we are currently under what amounts to an order to kick your sorry civilian asses, we've actually got permission to do things at real speed."

"The ass-kicking is going to happen in the other direction," A.J. jeered.

Jackie just smiled. "Possibly. But we've got a big fat government butt to absorb the punishment, where all you've got is skin and bones. Besides, if we can actually get close enough to launch this mission, I don't think it will matter. Especially if we can get everything done we've got projected."

"Well, I'll do my best to make it easy," A.J. said. "I'm really looking forward to doing this one. I'll actually get to play in both sandboxes at once. I stay on Ares' payroll and get to design all their cool stuff, but when the Faeries actually get down to business, since that data's going to belong to NASA, I'll be working in Mission Control with the big boys. Does it get any better than this?"

Joe laughed. "Probably not. I suppose I'm a little jealous, but hell, if it's adding that much to the department budget I can't really complain." He looked back at Jackie. "So how's the Nike design going?"

"Mostly hush-hush, but I can tell you she's going to be really big. More than one main engine to shove this lady along."

"I'll admit NASA did one thing right," said A.J. "At least they gave her the right name for the job."

He raised his glass over the arriving appetizers. "It may be disloyal, but here's to the winged Goddess of Victory, Nike!"

The others clinked their glasses with his, Jackie managing to control her irritation. Jackie had plenty of criticisms of NASA herself, but as time went on, she found A.J.'s incessant jibes were getting more and more annoying. As she'd often found with hardcore libertarians like A.J., if not with someone like Joe, the man could be insufferably smug-and amazingly blind to the contradictions in his own attitudes.

In this instance, she'd admit, Jackie happened to agree with A.J. She wasn't sure who, in the vast bureaucracy of NASA, had first come up with the name, but it was appropriate in so many ways. The Greek/Roman pantheon had, of course, been the source of the planetary names, and Mars-Ares to the Greeks-was the God of War. However, the Greek pantheon had another deity of war: Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare. Athena was symbolic of the necessity of war waged with rationality and control, while Mars/Ares was the symbol of its destructive savagery. NASA's first goal, however, was Phobos, one of the two moons of Mars, named after Ares' companions Phobos and Deimos: Fear and Terror. But Athena had her own companion, Nike. Thus the ship was named, and the motto of the Phobos Expedition was born.

She raised her glass and repeated it. "'Conquer Fear.'"

They drank again. When she lowered her glass, Jackie found that she was still irritated enough to do a little needling of her own.

"A.J., explain to me again exactly how you guys are proposing to finance your junket-besides begging money from NASA? I've never been able to figure out how the abracadabra works."

"Oh, you mean instead of mugging the taxpayers and blowing their dough on expensive boondoggles?" A.J. grinned. "Well, you know about the prizes."