Fly Me to the Moon Pt. 05

I apologize for the delay but there was a death in the family and that was all I could do.

**********************

"Major McCandless, congratulations... your promotion to colonel has come through and you are to take my place scheduling missions."

We saluted and then shook hands. "It's been a long way since we first met," I said, offering him a cold glass of soda.

"Yes, it has," he replied, taking a sip. "Thank you for the recommendation. I appreciate it very much."

"You're welcome. Working with Captain Americo should be a good thing. Linda knows her way around."

I tried to make my matchmaking subtle, not wanting to bring trouble to anyone involved. Following my marriage to Max I was not going to be a hypocrite regarding romance.

*****

I answered the phone and found it to be Maria Paras.

"I'm retiring from the Corps," she said, "and devoting my time to the Corporation full time."

I knew that she was a part owner in the Corporation, her shares given her by Alessa not long after the death of General Crowell.

"Good for you," I said. "Are you going to have a party?"

"Hadn't thought about it," she replied, "but I'll let you know."

I knew I had to make a call to Alessa to find out what was going to happen.

The rest of my morning was taken up by mundane tasks... moving people around to better reflect the changes taking place without shaking up things too much.

I emailed Max to let him know what I had done and asked him when we could get together again. I didn't expect a quick reply, knowing he was busy with the Joint Chiefs.

Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork... it piled up and was taken care of. People thought with the advent of computers that there would be a paperless office situation but it never happened. Instead, I think it went the other way.

Before I knew it, it was late afternoon and still no call from Max. And then the phone rang and it was him. "I love you," I said, missing him. I was surprised at how much I loved him, especially considering how we had met.

"I can fly out this weekend," I ventured.

"That would be great," he answered. "I'll meet you at the house."

And so Friday late afternoon I took California with my new pilot, Captain Philip Newman, and Pacifica to Andrews AFB outside Washington. He was scheduled to stay at the Bachelors' Officers Quarters while I stayed at the house with Max.

*****

"Max! You're home!" I ran to his arms, holding him close to me. "I missed you so much... you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"And I love you, too, Sweetheart. I'm so glad to see you. Did you bring the baby?"

"Yes... she's napping in the guest room crib. She's missed you, too."

We went arm in arm to the dining room where I had laid out the table for dinner which the cook was bringing out as soon as she heard the front door open.

"Rack of lamb? Wow!" he said, smelling the dishes as they were brought out. "Squash, cornbread, asparagus... quite a feast for us."

"I wanted the best for you. I don't know what you've been eating, knowing you and your love of fast food."

"Now, Sophia, you know that I eat well at home." He nodded a look of appreciation toward the cook. "She treats me well."

I had put on a CD of Puccini's "La Boheme" as background music and waited for him to start to eat. "Your food's getting cold."

"I just can't believe that you're here. I know it's easy to fly out here now but just the same, I've missed you so much."

I smiled in return, eating now. "I don't plan on getting out of bed for a couple of hours, that's for sure."

"I'm not twenty anymore, you know." He took a drink of his iced tea.

"Oh, I'm sure that I can do something about that." I giggled like a schoolgirl on her first date. And then I heard the baby cry.

I got up and brought her down to the table, setting her in her high chair that we kept in the house. The CD had reached "Musetta's Waltz" which had been the basis for "Don't You Know" by Della Reese in 1959. It is hard to believe that that was sixty years ago.

For dessert we had Margarita cupcakes. I could feel the tequila in the frosting. "You like?" I asked, parroting Bloody Mary from "South Pacific."

"Fantastic," Max said, reaching for another. "Is Pacifica going to sleep all night?"

"Yes, she does that now, thank God. She's a good girl."

We took the dishes into the kitchen and placed them on the counter and I then brought the baby back to her room and changed her clothes. Soon, she was asleep and I went to our bedroom, quickly dropping my clothes onto the room's chair. I got into bed and reached out to his arm, bringing it to me. We held each other and began to kiss deeply as he moved me to the top.

*****

The next day we went to the Botanic Gardens, pushing Pacifica in her stroller as we eventually found our way to the Air and Space Museum. After spending two hours there Max called his driver to pick us up on Independence Avenue and soon we were heading back home. I was hungry and hoped that dinner would be ready when we arrived.

When we arrived I found Captain Newman waiting for us. He saluted and then said we were needed back at Area 51 as soon as possible. All thoughts of a restful dinner and another night of love disappeared.

"What's the problem?" I asked as I checked Pacifica's diaper and put her into the infant carrier that I used when traveling.

"There's been another sighting of an asteroid heading this way and it's supposed to impact off the coast of Los Angeles."

I kissed Max goodbye and we took his driver back to Andrews. It took longer to get there than it did to fly back to Nevada.

*****

On the flight back I contacted JPL in Pasadena and they gave me the specifics. The asteroid was a little larger than one kilometer and had a slight tumble which is what caught the attention of the astronomers when they saw the sunlight reflecting from the different surfaces. An impact off the coast would devastate Southern California and the western half of the United States.

I got all fifty ships ready to rendezvous in low orbit and asked Paras to join us so that we had fifty-one ships.

The armada flew out and intercepted the asteroid just past the moon's orbit and proceeded to disintegrate it, each ship attacking in turn until there was nothing left but dust which sparkled in the sunlight. I was nervous for there was no room for mistakes.

Our energy levels were down to twenty percent and so we waited as each ship recharged back to eighty percent to make the flight back to base. It wasn't until we had landed back at Area 51 that I was breathing again, not realizing that I was holding my breath figuratively.

"Damn," I whispered to myself.

*****

When we returned to Area 51 I knew I needed a drink. We had come so close to following the dinosaurs into oblivion. I poured a half-tumbler of Bacardi and downed it in one shot, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. I set the glass down, hearing the tapping of it against the tabletop as I slouched into my chair.

I thought about pouring another but decided not to.

"General, are you all right?" asked Philip who had entered my office not making a sound.

"What? Oh, Philip, I didn't hear you come in." I thought about offering him a drink but didn't.

"That was really something. Looks like your baby is the first space baby."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Didn't think about that. She was safer with us than on the ground. Glad it didn't come to that."

"Have you thought about what would have happened... I mean, if we hadn't been successful?"

I knew I couldn't tell him the truth about our wonderful ships but the loss of civilization would have been obvious to anyone.

"Yes," I said, quietly looking at my empty glass. "We should notify Washington, I guess. The West Coast is still there and so are we. I should call Max... I should..." I couldn't say anymore, realizing how close we came to the end of the world.

I picked up my cell phone and called Max, telling him how much I loved him and that the end of the world had been postponed again, following the Paris attack. Why did I think 'attack'. Was something happening that my subconscious had figured out but I refused to admit to? Was there someone out there trying to kill us like the dinosaurs?

My call to the president went as predicted. He talked about Medal of Honor for everyone connected. I didn't know what to say, it was what was expected, in my opinion. He said he'd call back with further information when he had it. I said 'thank you' and waited for him to hang up.

*****

Things eventually went back to normal, or as normal as anything can be if you consider flying space ships normal. Pacifica and I visited Max once a month, flying with Philip each time. The cross-country flight took an hour when you figured in takeoff and landing approaches. With security tightened at Andrews, Philip was my house guest rather than stay at the base.

We pulled up in front of my house... well, Max's and my house, and Philip carried the overnight bags while I carried Pacifica. I fumbled with the keys and finally got the door opened in time for the housekeeper to meet us and take the bags.

"Welcome home, General," she said, "Captain Newman."

"Thank you," he replied. "Is General Stanbery home?"

"No, he is not but said he'd be home as soon as possible."

I took my baby upstairs and put her down for a nap after changing her diaper. I left the door ajar in case she woke up and went downstairs for some iced tea. I found the pitcher on the sideboard and poured a glass for myself and one for Philip, ever the hostess.

I heard a rattle in the door lock and set my drink down and hurried to see Max enter from the now pouring rain. "Max! My love! I'm so glad to see you."

"Sophia, darling... or should I say, 'my hero'? You're the talk of everyone in the Pentagon who know what happened. My God, and you took the baby with you. Couldn't be helped, I guess."

"It was best and she was safer with me than on the ground."

"You're right. There's talk of Medal of Honor... It's the least they can do, you saved the country, if not the world."

"I've... I've been thinking... what if we're being attacked?"

He looked to see if we were alone. "I've thought about that, first Paris and now the West Coast, not to say what happened before. I can't say it's not possible, I just don't know how to convince anyone of it."

"It should be easy, now."

"I'll see if I can arrange something with the president. I'm so glad to see you again, I've really missed you." He held me close.

"I've missed you, too, more than you can imagine."

"Excuse me, dinner is ready."

The three of us sat down to prime rib and baked potatoes. Max started the dinner conversation. "So, Captain, how are things going with you, aside from saving the world, I mean."

A slight smile broke out on Philip's face. "It's been very exciting, sir. Even the dull days are not."

"Glad to hear it, Captain. Not a bit of work, it was. I don't exaggerate when I say everyone was scared to death, you know. I don't know if that Medal of Honor is going to happen or not because there's no clear cut enemy."

"Didn't do it for the medal, sir."

"Good answer... probably come down to a Distinguished Service Medal and a Bronze Star."

"Yes, sir," answered Philip.

That night Max and I made love with an urgency that had not been there before, trying hard to reach the safety of each other, something that had been missing in our otherwise safe lives.

I held him, thinking how much I loved him and how he had changed my life that night he came to my office in the Pentagon.

I didn't know if we were under attack or not but decided that, if Max approved, we needed to act as if we were and establish an early warning system, maybe re-open the moonbase.

I walked out into the backyard and stared at the sky, beautiful with stars yet also with a coldness that scared me as I looked up at the darkness.

*****

The End... for now...

For the backstory of Alessa and Maria please see the following story:

https://www.literotica.com/s/sister-golden-hair-delight-ch-01