The Law of Attraction [Chris Beck]

Prologue

 Alice Blake brushed her light brown hair behind her ear, her green eyes focused on Mitch Henderson. His soft red hair was slightly messy, but the suit he wore showed that he put time and effort into his appearance every day. Everyone who worked at NASA put time and effort into everything they did. Alice crossed her legs, the pencil skirt that she was wearing shifted comfortably with her movement, and she leaned forward in the leather chair. Resting her hands on her thigh, she smiled politely at Mitch after she put the file on the table in front of her.

         "It's an incredible roster." She gestured to the file.

        "They work very well together, a lot of thought has gone into the crew," Mitch replied.

         The twenty-nine year old psychologist nodded. "I'm eager to assess them."

        "That's why I called you here, today, Miss Blake."

         Alice licked her lips and shifted once again. Sometimes she couldn't sit still, but she kept her eyes focused on Mitch. She respected the man more than anyone else at NASA and had a close relationship with him over the years. Sometimes she thought of him as a father figure, but she would never say that out loud. Her own father had died of cancer when she was fifteen, bringing the family to her, her mother and her older brother, who was out of the house by then. She said nothing more to Mitch, but waited with curious eyes.

          "We appreciate everything you did for the Ares 2 mission; the crew loved working with you before and after their mission, many of them speak highly of you and appreciate that you kept in contact while they were out there."

          "But..?" Alice thought she was getting fired and she felt sweat bead on her forehead. Her hands grew clammy. She hadn't worked night shifts for eight years to pay her way through school to get fired from working her dream job.

          "The data was great, but there were so many variables-"

           She cut him off, "that's very hard to avoid. If I'm here and they're... out there, it makes inconclusive data."

         "That's why we want you to join Ares 3."

           "I'll just pack up my desk-" She stopped mid-sentence, assuming she'd just been fired. "Wait, what?"

            "They need someone there who can help them, if anything happens and I always hope nothing does- but it's so mentally straining on them being out there for that long away from their families. Contact is minimal, anything could go wrong. I want them to have the mental support that they need."

          "You're asking me to go into space."

          "Yes."

           "I've never... I don't..." She stumbled over her words as if she'd just learned how to speak that morning.

           "You'll be well trained, there is still a few years before Ares 3 launches," he said. "I will need an answer by the end of the week."

        She paused, pressed her fingers to her lips. Her eyes were still on Mitch but they were looking through him, as if she were seeing the possibilities of her life in space. It was certainly an incredible offer, one that was hard to pass up, but there were so many things to consider. Her life, her family, her boyfriend; how could she leave it all behind for a trip that long? The bigger question was how could she not?

       "I'm in," she confirmed. "I'm one hundred per cent in."

        "I'm glad to hear that, welcome to the Ares 3 crew, Miss Blake." Mitch held out his hand and she shook it firmly.

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I dedicate this to FrostGiant who wrote the amazing story Forbidden, go read it now!