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- Joined
- Oct 21, 2023
John Williams, Navy veteran, sat behind his desk and took a quick glance around the office. Framed citation hanging on the wall, picture of Mars and the blueprints for the spacecraft on the other, and a bookshelf full of books behind him. at 6'4" and 220 pounds, he'd been almost too damn heavy to be in the running for this mission, but he'd called in a favor and had his stats redacted from the file the board had looked at, and of course the board, predominantly military, had jumped at the chance to have a combat vet lead the first mission to Mars. By the time the scientists had found out and protested, it had been too late. The political machine was already in motion, and the military had threatened to cut the funding if John wasn't selected.
Getting David Brown approved as Chief Engineer had been a bit easier. He was 6'2", barely within the maximum height the scientists would accept, but he was also only 170 pounds, right in the middle of the range. Having a friend and fellow combat vet, and more important someone he could trust, along on the mission had been crucial, but with that box checked off, John had been able to broaden his horizons a bit for the remaining two slots.
The candidates were qualified, sure. Finding qualified candidates, at least on paper, had been easy for such an historic mission. But once John had seen the pictures, he went beyond their schooling to decide if he wanted to spend a couple years in close proximity. He'd quickly weeded through the candidates and selected the top five in each category...and was it really his fault if the candidates were all female and smoking hot? After that, he spent a bit more time with their files and had ranked the candidates in order. No matter how they looked, if the candidates were a bitch he didn't want to be stuck with them, so he needed to arrange for personal interviews.
John turned away from the window, and the view of the launch pad. It was WAY too early for the spacecraft to be out there, of course, but Florida generally had wonderful weather and it was a nice view anyway. he glanced up at the clock and noted he had a few more minutes before the potential medical officer would arrive, so he straightened his polo shirt (he refused to wear a suit and tie, he had too much of that in the military) and took a seat behind the desk. He grinned at the array of file folders he had sprawled out on his desk...most of them he'd already eliminated, but she wouldn't know that. Perhaps increasing her perception of the level of competition would put her on her best behavior.
John leaned back in his seat and waited. Everything was set, but he still felt a wave of nervousness. The government was spending a buttload of money on this little project, and a lot of it was riding on him. The decisions he made today would alter the course of history, not to mention his personal life for the foreseeable future. So being nervous was a bit understandable.
Getting David Brown approved as Chief Engineer had been a bit easier. He was 6'2", barely within the maximum height the scientists would accept, but he was also only 170 pounds, right in the middle of the range. Having a friend and fellow combat vet, and more important someone he could trust, along on the mission had been crucial, but with that box checked off, John had been able to broaden his horizons a bit for the remaining two slots.
The candidates were qualified, sure. Finding qualified candidates, at least on paper, had been easy for such an historic mission. But once John had seen the pictures, he went beyond their schooling to decide if he wanted to spend a couple years in close proximity. He'd quickly weeded through the candidates and selected the top five in each category...and was it really his fault if the candidates were all female and smoking hot? After that, he spent a bit more time with their files and had ranked the candidates in order. No matter how they looked, if the candidates were a bitch he didn't want to be stuck with them, so he needed to arrange for personal interviews.
John turned away from the window, and the view of the launch pad. It was WAY too early for the spacecraft to be out there, of course, but Florida generally had wonderful weather and it was a nice view anyway. he glanced up at the clock and noted he had a few more minutes before the potential medical officer would arrive, so he straightened his polo shirt (he refused to wear a suit and tie, he had too much of that in the military) and took a seat behind the desk. He grinned at the array of file folders he had sprawled out on his desk...most of them he'd already eliminated, but she wouldn't know that. Perhaps increasing her perception of the level of competition would put her on her best behavior.
John leaned back in his seat and waited. Everything was set, but he still felt a wave of nervousness. The government was spending a buttload of money on this little project, and a lot of it was riding on him. The decisions he made today would alter the course of history, not to mention his personal life for the foreseeable future. So being nervous was a bit understandable.
