Chapter Ten
--- Monday evening, Metropolis time
Lois pointed out the shuttle’s window at the Moon hanging brightly above them. “See, girls? Even this far away, you can tell how hard those meteorites hit the surface of the moon. You see how the craters look like a splash in swimming pool that suddenly froze?”
The two seven-year-olds nodded.
“Do you know why?”
They shook their heads ‘no’ in eerie unison.
“That’s because there’s no air on the moon, and no wind to push the dirt over or smooth it out. Those craters will look like that forever unless another meteor hits them.”
“No air on the moon? None at all?” asked one.
Her twin punched her lightly on the arm. “Ms. Lane just said so, dummy! She wouldn’t lie to us!”
Lois grinned at them. “Ashley, I think you could find better ways to communicate with your sister than with your fists.”
The little girl was suddenly downcast. “I’m sorry, Ms. Lane. She’s just so dumb sometimes.”
Lois reached out and rubbed each girl’s hair. “Hey, just remember that no one knows everything, not Jennifer and not even you. And there’s always more stuff to learn.” She pulled herself down to their level. “You know what? I think I see your mother looking for you. I bet she’s got some of that really good chocolate pudding from the snack tray.”
Jennifer brightened. “Yay!” Then she pushed her sister and tumbled both of them in place in the null gravity. “Maybe my smart-mouth sister can eat it without throwing up this time!”
Ashley grabbed at her sister and missed. “Stop it, you baby!”
“Make me!”
“I’ll hit you again!”
“You can’t hit me cause you can’t catch me, nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!”
Lois put her feet under a grab bar on the wall and grasped a struggling little girl in each hand, then called out to their mother. “Brenda? Do these tiny tornadoes belong to you?”
Brenda glided expertly to a stop beside Lois’s seat and put her hands on her hips in mock exasperation. “You two are something else! Now come with me and stop showing off for Ms. Lane. If you want anything to eat, you’ll have to get it now, because we’re going to reenter the atmosphere in about half an hour.”
Both girls clapped and reached out for their mother, each trying to be sweeter and more angelic than the other. Lois released them and said, “You girls be good, okay? I’ll see you after we land.”
Brenda smiled at her. “Thanks, Lois. Last time we made this trip to visit their father, they were complete terrors on the return leg.”
Lois laughed. “Well, they’ve been wonderful this trip.”
“Thanks for spending so much time with them. I know it’s been a hassle for you.”
Lois shook her head. “Actually, it hasn’t been a hassle at all. I’ve enjoyed being around them. They’re a lot of fun. It has, however, made me appreciate my own mother more.”
Brenda suppressed her belly laugh. “Then you should spend some time with her when you get back down. Maybe she’ll appreciate some of your stories about the station.” She shifted the girls to more comfortable positions and pushed off towards her seat. “I’ll talk to you later. These two have to eat something before we land.”
Lois called out, “But I thought you fed them last week! Do they have to eat again already?”
The girls laughed at Lois and waved to her over their mother’s shoulders. Lois waved back, then pulled herself down into her seat.
She’d found two seats side by side this time, and Karen had claimed the aisle seat. Lois looked out at the moon as it appeared to slide upwards and out of sight. She sighed. “That looks so pretty.”
Karen looked over her shoulder as the shuttle slowly rotated along its longitudinal axis. “I think the Earth is prettier, especially from this angle.”
“Why from this angle?”
“We’re heading towards it and not away from it.”
“Yeah. Say, how have you been sleeping?”
Karen cocked an eyebrow at her. “With my eyes closed. What about you?”
Lois huffed in mock annoyance. “Oh, you and Jimmy would get along famously.”
“You make jokes at my expense, you get payback.”
“If you insist. But back to my question. Have you been sleeping well?”
Karen looked away. “You mean, have I been dreaming about dead people?”
“Yes.”
Karen pursed her lips. “Yes. Been back in that passageway with Claude a couple of times now. My dreamscape makes the real thing look almost mundane.”
Lois patted her arm. “I can tell you from experience that it will get better. Just give it some time.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so.” Lois sighed deeply. “And I wish you were going to a better posting.”
“Hey, Germany’s not a bad place to be. It could have been a lot worse.”
“Right. Colonel Warren didn’t seem to be a warm and fuzzy guy to me.”
Karen smiled. “Actually, he is a warm and fuzzy guy. But you can’t let the people in your command know that on the first day or they won’t take you seriously when you need them to. Is your editor your best buddy?”
“No. But Perry’s a really great guy. He’d do anything for any one of us.”
“I’m sure that’s true, but if he yells ‘Frog!’ how high do you jump?”
Lois smiled back. “To infinity and beyond, assuming it’s not all that urgent.” She chuckled. “Okay, I get it. Boss first, friend later.”
“You’ve got it.” Karen glanced around them, then lowered her voice. “Look, if I tell you something in confidence, can you keep it just between us?”
“If you want me to, sure.”
“I want you to, but only because I’ve been asked – not ordered, just asked – not to tell anyone about it. So this can never appear in print. Is that okay?”
Lois nodded. “Done. Now what is it?”
“I had a little heart-to-heart talk with Colonel Warren right before I boarded the shuttle. Seems your last article about the solution of the murders made quite an impression on the civilian authorities, and they weren’t happy that their star law enforcement officer on the Prometheus and current media darling – me – was relieved of her command in such an ignominious manner.”
“Ignominious manner? They actually said that?”
“The colonel did. He’s a nice guy, but also kind of a stuffed shirt. Anyway, he offered me the Air Force’s official apology for my treatment and gave me a choice of four different assignments. I picked the one in Germany, because it has the best food and climate of the four and because it gives me the chance to go through criminal investigator’s school.”
Lois smiled. “Hey, that’s great! But I thought you weren’t all that interested in being an investigator.”
“I wasn’t until I worked this case with you. I always thought it was dull and boring.”
“A lot of it is dull and boring. Some of it is downright scary. This last case was a shining example of that. You had three years of dull and a few days of downright scary with no warning that the scary part was coming.”
“I know. But this training will give me a career boost and more varied employment opportunities when I do finally retire.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think it’s a great idea. Good for you, Karen!”
Just then, the snack cart floated by, and the attendant asked, “Would you ladies care for anything? Last chance before we all belt in for atmosphere re-entry.”
Both Karen and Lois shook their heads, and the attendant pushed away to the next line of seats. “That’s one thing I won’t miss,” Lois muttered.
“What, having food brought to you?”
“No. Eating grainy pudding three meals a day.” She made a face. “I know it’s healthy and it doesn’t taste all that bad and the kids seem to love it, but I’m ready for something just a little more substantial.”
“I know what you mean. I’ve got twenty-three days of accumulated leave coming, and there are a whole bunch of restaurants I’m going to visit before I fly across the ocean. Speaking of places to eat, have you heard about that new restaurant on the Moon?”
“A restaurant on the moon?” Lois was intrigued. “No, I hadn’t heard. Tell me about it.”
Karen shrugged. “You’d better go soon if you’re going. I don’t think they’re going to stay open much longer. Everybody who’s been there says the food’s great but there’s just no atmosphere.”
Lois groaned. “Please, no more! You’ve been telling the most horrible jokes in the solar system ever since we left Prometheus Station!”
“Just be glad this is the shuttle Pegasus and not the shuttle Neptune.”
Lois glanced at her warily. “You know I’m not going to ask you.”
“Yes, you are.”
Lois held her breath for a long moment, then sighed. “Okay, I’m asking. Why am I so glad this is the Pegasus and not the Neptune?”
“If you rode the Neptune, you’d be all wet.”
“Huh?” Lois scrunched her face in thought for a moment, then groaned again. “Ohh. Neptune, Greek god of the ocean, all wet, I get it already! Arrghh! That was the worst one yet! Please, somebody stop her before she puns again!”
“Hey, you won’t stop talking about Clark and how absolutely terrific he is. I feel like I know him better than I know Matt Walker, and I served with Matt for almost two years.”
“But he’s such a great guy! You’d like him if you met him.”
“I’m sure I would, but you should let me form my own opinions. You don’t have to fill my head with all of his glorious attributes.”
“Okay, okay! I’ll cut back on the Clark talk if you’ll stop with the jokes!”
Karen laughed. “Okay, I’ll give you a break. At least until after we land.”
“Thank you. How long before we touch down?”
“We’ve already dropped off the ion drivers at the Firefall waypoint. We’ll enter the atmosphere in about twenty minutes, then touch down in Metropolis about ninety minutes after that.”
“Y’know, that was all in the preflight briefing, but I forgot about it. Takes a lot longer to come down than it does to go up.”
“It’s harder to slow down safely in the atmosphere than it is to speed up, because we come down so much faster. Don’t worry, this crew hasn’t lost a passenger yet.”
“I’m not worried. Just because I tend to find the only way in the world to get hurt while feeding my goldfish, I’m not worried.”
“And because you seem to dangle over the jaws of death on a regular basis and require Superman’s assistance even more often – “
“Right. See, shouldn’t be a lick of trouble.”
Karen nodded. “Anyway, that Peggy Wilkins girl, the one who replaced you on the station, ought to be able to handle the next few homicides.”
Lois shuddered and hugged herself. “Don’t say that. It was hard enough giving up my laptop and story notes to her.”
“She’ll bring it back in a couple of weeks. Unless, of course, she decides she likes it up there.”
Lois made a face. “Right. As if Perry’s going to let anyone set up shop on the station right now. There’s not enough news filtering back to pay for a full-time correspondent, and she sure can’t work part-time up there.”
“Oh, I don’t know. With that light green coverall she was wearing, I’m sure the kitchen staff will welcome her with open arms.”
--- Monday, late evening
The shuttle approached the runway, lowered its landing gear, and touched down on the three-mile long runway just above stall speed, exactly as the flight computer had been programmed to do. Lois felt the jar as the parachutes at the spaceplane’s tail deployed to slow it down, then they all leaned forward against the drag of the magnetic brakes grabbing the titanium stripping under the surface of the runway.
As the shuttle slowed, the captain’s voice came over the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, please don’t try to unstrap until we’ve come to a complete stop and the crew tells you that it’s time to deplane. This is for your safety and the maintenance of our low passenger insurance premiums.”
The light flow of laughter echoed along the compartment. “When you do stand up, remember that you’ve been living with a maximum of three-quarters gravity for quite some time and that you’ve just spent a little over two days in the shuttle at zero gee. You’ll need to allow for an adjustment period before you’re comfortable on Earth again, despite the many sweaty hours you’ve spent in the Prometheus’s luxurious gymnasium. Also, don’t forget that you’ll be required to change out of your pressure suits before you leave the receiving station. We’ll need them for the next complement of passengers, but we don’t want your underwear back. Please, for all our sakes, do keep that.”
They laughed again. “Thank you for flying the winged steed Pegasus back down to Earth. Have a good stay, and we’ll see you again when you’re ready for your next adventure in space.”
--- Metropolis, ten-thirty-eight PM local time
Lois called to Karen as they both walked to the exit door of the receiving station. “Hey, fellow crime-stopper, how do you feel?”
Karen stopped and turned around carefully. “I got very used to low gravity and loose-fitting coveralls. I feel like I’m wearing about thirty pounds of lead on the shoulders and hips of my very uncomfortable regulation Air Force uniform. What about you?”
Lois shrugged. “I feel a little draggy, like I’ve just been through a good workout or a very long day at the office, but otherwise I’m okay. Don’t you have a press conference to attend?”
“Not until tomorrow morning at ten. My time is my own until then. Hey, you up for some real Earth food? I’ve got a strong hankering for a huge hamburger with all the trimmings, French fries, a chocolate shake, and Pepto-Bismol for dessert.”
Lois laughed and whacked Karen on the shoulder, causing her to stumble slightly. “Easy, there, Inspector Lane! I haven’t got my land legs yet.”
“Sorry. Oh! Inspector! You reminded me of something. I never did give you back that badge, did I?”
“Nope. Tell you what, you just keep it as a souvenir. It’ll be our little secret.”
Lois pushed the door open and winked at Karen. “Got it.”
Just then a gruff male voice called out to her. “Lois! Hey, Lois, over here!”
They looked up to see three men trotting in their direction. Clark got there first and lifted Lois off the ground, then spun her around twice.
She laughed and said, “Put me down this instant, Clark Kent! I’ve been up in the air quite enough for one day!”
He smiled warmly and gently put her down. “I’m very glad you’re back, Lois.”
She grabbed his head. “Me, too.”
“I’ve really missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
He tightened his grip on her arms for a moment, then relaxed. “You can’t go anywhere without getting into serious trouble, can you?”
Her eyes sparkled. “No, I guess not.” Then she looked closer and realized he’d been afraid for her until this very minute. She put her palms on the front of his shoulders. “I’m okay, Clark. Really.” She pointed to her cheek. “Except for this, I’m not even bruised.”
“You could have used some super-help up there.”
She smiled softly. “Yes. But we managed. And I’m sure Superman will come in handy again real soon.”
“I’m sure he hopes his services aren’t needed in the immediate future. At least, not by you.”
She tweaked his nose. “I just might have to chase some bad guys through an airport or something. You never can tell what I might do.”
His face relaxed and he smiled warmly. “That may be the truest statement you’ve ever made.”
She laughed with him. “Truth is our business, Clark.”
“That’s true.” They shared another smile, then his fingers gently brushed her face. “The eye is healing nicely.”
“Yeah. The doctor said there’s no long-term damage.”
“I’m glad. It’s down to yellow with blue highlights now.”
She pushed ineffectually at his chest. “Hey, I earned that black eye, so don’t rag on me about it! Besides, I got it in the course of an investigation, so it’s tax-deductible.”
Clark chuckled deep in his chest. “Leave it to you to look at the bright side of a facial injury.” He cupped her face with his hand. “I didn’t get to see your hair before you left for the station. It looks nice. I like it.”
“Good, because I think I’m going to keep it this length. You can’t imagine how much easier it is to get ready in the morning.”
“I’d like to see that sometime.”
Lois checked the impulse to banter back at him and looked into his eyes.
Then she kissed him like there was no one else in the spaceport.
She slowly became aware of the music. Reluctantly, she broke the kiss and looked around Clark’s shoulder to see Perry with his hands in his pockets, bouncing on the balls of his feet, and whistling the final question theme from the game show ‘Jeopardy.’ Jimmy’s face wore a silly grin, and Karen was shuffling her feet and making a show of looking off somewhere in the distance.
She moved away from Clark and hugged her rugged boss. “You old softy, you! I’m glad to see you, too.” Then she embraced Jimmy. “I’m even glad to see you, you young scamp!”
“Young scamp?” Jimmy goggled at her. “Lois? Are you okay?”
She pushed his shoulder playfully and chuckled. “Yes. But don’t get used to it. Mad Dog Lane will be back tomorrow morning, bright and early.”
Karen cleared her throat. “Say, Lois? Aren’t you going to introduce me to all these good-looking men?”
“Oh! I’m sorry, Karen. Guys, this is Major Katrina Vukovich, the one from my dispatches. This is my editor, Perry White.”
Perry stepped forward and smiled broadly. “I’m pleased to meet you, Major.”
Karen took his hand and returned his smile. “And you too, Mr. White. Lois did a great job for us up there.”
“She did a great job for us, too. We’re real proud of her.”
“You should be. She’s one of the good ones.”
Lois smiled under the stereo praise. “This is Jimmy Olsen, head of our crack research department.”
Karen tried to hide a grin but failed. “Hi, Jimmy. Good to meet you, too. You did good with the research end of this assignment. Lois and I were glad to get all of the information you sent up. Say, you aren’t up past your bedtime, are you?”
Jimmy’s smile faded to confusion for a moment, then he nodded in comprehension. “Oh, like, no way, Major, like, my mom is, like, Lois’s best friend. They went to high school together, way, way back before, like, all the dinosaurs died.”
Karen joined Perry in a loud guffaw. Lois crossed her arms. “That’s it, Olsen, the Mad Dog is barking at you for the rest of the month.”
He smirked at her and shook his head ‘no.’ “Sorry, the Grand Canyon beckons. My flight leaves at six in the morning and you won’t see me for two weeks.”
“I’ll save it up for when you get back. Karen, this is Clark Kent. I’ve told you all about him, remember?”
Clark stepped forward and extended his hand. “I’m glad to finally meet you, Major Vukovimmpphphphh!”
Instead of taking his hand and shaking it, Karen reached up and put her right arm around Clark’s neck, her other arm under his shoulder, and pulled him into a passionate kiss. Perry and Jimmy were astounded, but Lois was shocked beyond coherent thought. She couldn’t have been more astonished had her sister Lucy announced her engagement to the Prince of Wales.
After a few seconds, Karen released him and drew in a dramatic breath. As Clark struggled to keep his eyes in their sockets, she stepped back and said, “You were right, Lois. He is wonderfully delicious. Hey, if you’re not using him right now, can I borrow him for a while?”
Lois’s mouth flopped around of its own accord. “Ah – Karen, I – but you – I thought – you said you – but – “
“Oh, I did, Lois, I did say that.” Karen gave Clark a conspiratorial wink, then she grinned at Lois and nudged her with an elbow. “But for a guy this gorgeous, girlfriend, I’ll risk it.”
Lois’s mouth moved a few more times without making any noise. She realized that she must look like a fish out of water, so she snapped her jaws shut. Now that they were on solid ground again, she –
On solid ground. Karen had promised not to joke with Lois any more until after they’d landed. Well, they’d landed. Lois stepped beside Clark and took his arm in hers. “Sorry, Karen, he’s already taken.”
“Oh.” Karen looked at Clark with a disappointed puppy expression and asked, “Is that really true, Clark?”
Lois watched Clark’s eyes check out Karen’s expression, then he turned to face her. She could see the wheels turning in his mind as he compared the obviously fake sadness in the major’s eyes to the gentle steel in his partner’s eyes. Then he made the smart decision.
He put his hand over Lois’s and smiled at Karen. “I think I am taken.” He looked back to Lois. “And I’m certain that I’m glad of it.”
She poked him in the ribs. “You’d better be glad, farm boy. Now, let’s go somewhere so you can tell Karen and me all the corny jokes you can remember. Besides, I’m dying for a pizza or a hamburger or something else to clog my arteries.” She gathered Karen with her eyes and tugged Clark towards the parking lot. “And my apartment better be super-clean or you’re so in for it!”
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