Chapter Text
It's not like he doesn't see women inside the facility; it's that she isn't in uniform, though she holds herself in a way that makes it clear she doesn't need one. The door behind her opens, the security detail she brought along shifting a step to the side. The officer that comes in sets a cup of coffee on the table in front of her, though her eyes don't leave Simon's face, watching him closely.
Simon fidgets. There are no handcuffs around his wrists, though he almost wishes there were. As it is, they aren't needed, not with the thick walls and layers upon layers of locked doors and security around him.
"Why me?" He has to ask. It doesn't make sense. "I can't be your first choice."
The woman - Stratt - sighs. "Mr. Fischer, believe me, in an ideal world you wouldn't even be my third choice. But this isn't an ideal world. Far from it." She flips through some of the papers on the desk in front of her. "There's a gene that causes coma resistance. To estimate how prevalent it is in the general population, we did a survey among the military personal about a year ago. A small extra test in all active duty members, it was part of your last medical assessment. It's estimated to be one in seven thousand." She flips the folder closed, resting her hand on top of it. "People, that is. Not just military pilots with the kind of flight training we're looking for."
Simon swallows, unsure what to say to that.
"The next best qualified candidate is a retired military flight instructor from Norway who hasn't flown any type of aircraft in the last six years." Her face is remarkably hard to read. "So no. You aren't my first choice. But my first and second choices are dead."
Simon squeezes his eyes shut. His hands are shaking where they're resting on his thighs, the thick weave of the plain uniform he's wearing soaking up the sweat he can suddenly feel making his skin damp all over. "And all this?" he asks, jerking his head to indicate their surroundings, the correctional facility he's been living in for the past half a year.
Stratt doesn't consult her files again. "You are claiming you're innocent."
"I didn't know what they had planned." Even though no one believed him, not the internal investigation, not the military court.
"Your name and rank will be reinstated. The incident will be deleted from your files. You'll join the Petrova Taskforce as the pilot of the Mary and will receive the same accolades as the rest of the crew. You'll be remembered as serving your country and all of humanity." Her voice is even, like this hasn't been the first time she's said something similar. Simon shudders. His throat is dry. Stratt takes his silence as a cue to keep talking. "This facility is closest to Cape Canaveral. The next scheduled flight up to the space dock where the Mary is currently being prepared for departure is in five days. You'll be transferred there today. A crew is waiting to give you in depth training in a simulator until launch. Then you'll have about ten days on the actual ship for further training and to get acquainted with everything before the rest of the crew will join you from Baikonur before the transit window closes."
There's a kind of white noise inside his head. His throat is so dry, but the strong scent of her coffee in the otherwise stale air of the interrogation room makes him nauseous.
"There is a limited capacity for personal items allotted to each crew member. Please provide us a list of items you would like to take along." She gathers her papers. The chair scratches across the concrete floor as she gets to her feet.
"Wait," Simon blurts out. "M-my mother—"
"With your rank reinstated, your family will receive compensation for their loss from the Department of Veteran Affairs. Do you have any other questions, soldier?" The use of rank makes him perk up reflexively, his body twitching with the urge to stand at attention. His mind is reeling, making him mute. "Good. As I understand it, you don't have many personal affects to collect. You'll be taken back to your room to pack and then escorted outside. There's a helicopter waiting for us."