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Stratt sits across from Grace, her fingers tented against each other so her hands make the shape of a spade. Her face is serious as she concentrates on what the engineer at the front of the room is saying about the spindrive on the Hail Mary ship. The ship is only half built, but Stratt has pushed the engineering team so they'll have enough time to make it perfect before launch. Ryland is trying his hardest to concentrate but he can't get himself to care. The engineer lost him somewhere between “spin” and “drive.” He wants to get back to his lab. He wants to get back to his classroom, if he really digs deep and analyzes why he's so antsy lately. It's April, and his eighth graders graduate in two months. Ryland hasn't accepted yet that he'll miss that milestone. And more, as the project gets closer and closer to launch. He doesn't know what will happen after the Hail Mary launches and before the crew gets to Tau Ceti. Stratt refuses to answer him when he brings it up. So for now, he does his job and he does it well and if he spaces out in a meeting that doesn’t really concern him, no one can do anything about it.
“Any questions?” The engineer ends their presentation. Ryland shakes his head to bring himself back to the moment.
“To confirm, it will need a secondary override should the pilot want to cut off the spindrive?” Stratt asks. She picks up a pen with her left hand and steadies her legal pad with her right. She circles something on the page as the engineer confirms.
“Dr. Grace, do you have any questions?” The engineer asks him directly. Ryland can't tell if the engineer could tell he'd completely spaced out for nearly the entire presentation or if they know to expect his grilling either way.
“And if only one crew member is left? What happens then?” Maybe Ryland understands more than he realizes. The engineer looks at the floor and nervously toes the carpet with the tip of their dress shoes.
“The automatic life support on the ship will register the two deaths and adjust the system accordingly,” the engineer finally answers. They're still not making eye contact with anyone in the meeting room. Stratt is watching the engineer with her usual imperiousness; the look she gives everyone but Ryland. She seems to be the only one on the entire project who's so far unaffected by the risks. But then again, Grace hasn't met the astronauts actually going on the mission, so maybe Stratt isn't unique. Despite the ostensible callousness, though, Ryland has a sneaky feeling that Stratt is, in fact, very unique. But he doesn't analyze those feelings just like he doesn't analyze why he's so antsy.
Ryland nods at the engineer’s answer. Stratt makes eye contact with him and he cocks his head in answer to her unspoken question.
“Thank you, Dr. Longfellow,” Stratt says, indicating that their time is up. Longfellow nods curtly and moves to sit back down. As they lower themselves into their chair a few people down from Stratt, the lead engineer, Dr. Williams, speaks up for the first time in an hour.
“Looks like our team is making more progress than your astrophage nerds, Grace.” Ryland is used to the engineering and science teams not getting along as well as they probably should— usually it’s mild heckling, though, rarely hedging into taunts. Grace leans forward in his seat so he can look at Williams, who’s on his side of the table across from Longfellow. The junior engineer looks worried.
“We’re in charge of breeding 2 million kilograms of astrophage. How many spindrives does your team need to build?” Grace shoots back. And that’s where it would have ended, if it had been anyone but Williams. He scoffs and sits back in his chair so Ryland can no longer see him without leaning too far back.
“At least we know that our spindrive actually works.” The entire room goes still, except for Stratt, who raises her eyebrows at Grace. She knows he won’t let the engineer get the last word. Longfellow looks like they’re going to throw up, like they wish they could be literally anywhere else on Earth. Maybe not even just Earth. Maybe like they’re considering volunteering to be shot off into space with no return ticket. Grace leans back in his seat so far that he has to keep his tippy toes on the floor so he doesn’t fall backwards. He gives Williams a crooked smile.
“And how would you know that my astrophage won’t work? What’s your PhD in again? Being a bitch?” Longfellow gasps. Stratt tries to look like she doesn’t want to laugh. The other scientists and engineers in the room look at each other in a mixture of awe and terror. They’ve never heard Grace swear before. Williams, for his part, rolls his eyes, trying to look nonchalant. If it was possible for steam to come out of a human’s ears, though, that’s exactly what would be happening to him.
Carl steps forward from his post by the door ever so slightly. He knows what Grace is capable of. He’s bailed him out of jail more than once. They don’t have a jail on the aircraft carrier, but Carl knows Stratt will expect him to protect Grace at all costs. Without him the project fails entirely. The engineers know that too and Carl also knows that it really pisses them off.
“At least I got to finish my postdoc,” Williams says after too long a pause. But pause or not, he knows this is how he can get under Grace’s skin for real. Carl makes eye contact with Stratt who gives him a small shake of her head. She wants to see what Grace will do next. Longfellow goes to take a sip from their coffee mug and suddenly realizes they’ve made a fatal mistake. As soon as the rim touches their lips Grace speaks.
“At least I got your mom to finish last night.” Longfellow chokes on their coffee. This time Stratt doesn’t even try to cover up her laughter. Grace thinks that he’s spent too much time around twelve year olds. Carl is still watching the room, still as a statue. He realizes maybe nothing can truly phase him. The only people stiller than Carl are the other engineers and scientists around the table. Two in between Stratt and Longfellow. Three in between Grace and Williams. They’re not enough of a buffer, though, as Williams stands so quickly his chair tips over and he lunges for Grace.
Ryland is much faster than he looks. To nearly everyone’s surprise he’s able to sidestep Williams so that the engineer falls into the table. Williams recovers, much to Grace’s chagrin, and turns, winding his fist back. Grace ducks and side steps again. Williams is slower to recover this time so his fist collides with the wall and he hollers in pain as he shakes his hand out. Grace has never quite known when to stop talking.
“You’re almost as loud as your wife was this morning,” he says. Williams lunges again, this time going for Grace’s throat. If Grace is faster than he looks, Carl moves like he’s teleported from one end of the room to the middle. He grabs Williams by the collar of his shirt, yanking him backwards.
“Go cool down, Williams,” Carl says gruffly. He pushes the engineer toward the door where another guard has appeared to open it. Before the others in the room can settle, Stratt dismisses them back to their regular duties.
“Not you, Dr. Grace,” she says. Ryland sits back down as everyone else but Stratt and Carl file out of the room and down the hall. He takes his glasses off and hangs them from one ear, then rubs the bridge of his nose. He’s not entirely sure what to expect from Stratt. She’s also bailed him out of jail more than once, usually with Carl, but has never said much about it. Carl shuts the door with a quiet click and comes a little closer to the table than before. He wants to hear this too.
“So, when were you going to mention his sister? During or after he strangled you to death?” Not even Carl could have predicted that question from Eva. Both men can’t help but laugh; Carl’s is a deeper baritone chuckle, while Grace’s comes out as a full giggle. Eva looks very proud of herself. Then she clears her throat and Director Stratt is back.
“Now get back to work, Grace,” she shoos him out of the room.
Grace and Carl walk back to Ryland’s lab side by side.
“You’re really gonna get yourself beaten up one of these days,” Carl tells him. Grace shrugs.
“Not as long as I have you around,” he says fondly. Carl huffs but they both know it’s true. Grace is practically untouchable until the sun is back to full brightness— no matter how many mothers and wives he insults, there’s nothing the most powerful engineer in the world can do to him, and he doesn’t miss any opportunity to remind them. There’s going to be a long line to wring his neck once astrophage has been eradicated.