Double Take

Double Take

Roger Russell

Copyright © 2012 by Roger Russell.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011963021

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4691-4070-4

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4691-4069-8

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4691-4071-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

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without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Medicine, as with all real healing begins with the heart.

You really will get someplace faster, if you know where you want to go.

Speed, much like gravity… when misdirected can be very painful.

Ideas only matter when used.

Sometimes, growing pains can really hurt.

All the world’s a stage. But you don’t always have to open the curtain.

Habits are formed slowly, probably in the time you think you wasted

Moments matter. Some more than others.

The worst moments make us what we are.

Surprises usually come when you least expect them.

Important things should always come first.

First impressions only matter for as long as the acquaintance does.

The way we see things, defines how we react to it.

What you know isn’t important. Not nearly as important as knowing how to use it.

The energy we spend is ours alone, and how it’s spent defines us.

The journey of a million parsecs, begins with the boarding gate.

Actually care for the people you care about.

Our hearts know when it’s just right.

You can’t find anything if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

What do you know… that you really do know?

Moments can define us. Sometimes when we don’t want to be defined.

It’s not what you know that matters, it’s what you don’t know that can be a problem.

Nuts and bolts hold the largest of things together. Don’t let size and importance get mixed up.

News isn’t always what you want to hear.

Endings come unexpectedly.

Laying down the law only means you better have the right laws.

The best laid plans were laid very carefully.

A little information is a dangerous thing. It’s very seldom the information you need.

The journey of a thousand steps begins with putting on one’s shoes.

Is mercy always deserved?

Being organized can be overrated, if not used properly.

There are times for everything. And some shouldn’t be avoided.

Knowing what you risk, makes you take smarter risks.

Much thanks to Joyce, for creating order out of chaos.

"Medicine, as with all real

healing begins with the heart."

Dr. Gran

The cool mountain air meandered in the tall open windows. The woman, a bit past middle age, sat facing them in her large chair with a book open on her lap. But her eyes were out the window, looking vacantly among the tall conifer style trees.

Enjoying the silence and the calm she had a faint wistful smile on her face.

Gerty was lost deep in thought wondering about things. Were these trees like the pines on old earth? She wondered if the fragrant sap filled air smelled as good as on any other planet. Finally, she wondered how much she would miss being here smelling them.

The school year was going to start, and being hidden away securely meant no open windows and no tall trees on the hillside leading to the lake. The breeze changed slightly and she tucked her sensible brown hair behind her ear from where it had wandered onto her forehead.

Gerty Smith figured she had another 20 years of useful service left in her, if she was careful. The children she was caring for now would keep her busy for most of that. If she trained Julianne right, she might work her position into a retirement pension. But that was a long way down the road.

In these circles it didn’t pay to think too far ahead for yourself. It wasn’t just the substance that mattered to the ‘families’ that she had worked for. Image was important too.

For example, ‘Gerty’ was not the kind of name these folks wanted their children calling for in the middle of the night. So for another year she put on the pretense that she was their auntie. Since they preferred to sound slightly exotic, she would be their German auntie, or ‘tante’.

Tante said in the right tone of voice did sound pretty nice, she had to admit it. Even if the children mentioned her at a formal dinner it didn’t sound too much like an ‘employee’ was seeing to the children—even if everyone present did the same.

She had learned to be ever so practical. Gerty had been around long enough to know how valuable practicality was. And it was more than worth it for the trade offs. Since she had been a nanny for so many years the other nannies did respect her opinions. And the pay made luxuries like this comfortable cabin possible. She glanced over at her bedside table. As nice as the pay was, Gerty was lucky to be doing the job she adored.

Picking up the framed photo she smiled. The two children had taken a very charming picture. And since their mom was busy with a press conference three systems away, she was the one holding their hands and coaxing them to smile so nicely.

There were rumors of attacks on school aged children at a very exclusive resort. The parents of the children were there for a business meeting, all hush hush. She heard it mentioned in one of those quiet whispers that carried so far. But security hadn’t been a big problem in the past. So Gerty politely listened to the reports. But she stayed focused on her life, the two children.

The corporation would take care of it, they took care of those sorts of things.

The worlds they traded on simply understood the trading group was there to help them. The decent profit would come in time, it always did.

All the same, the school probably had a budget increase to make sure the children were safe enough when they were tucked away to study.

A small noise got her attention and she lowered the portrait just a little.

There were a few small animals of the forest on the balcony. They were tentatively nibbling at the seeds in a feeder. The smells were calming. The sights relaxing. The food had been enjoyable. All in all a perfect day to remember after school started.

Then a buzz interrupted her idyl. Her comp pad had gone off. Gerty picked it up and checked the screen, then smiled.

Mr. Bridges, the head teacher had sent her a message. With the normal routing it had probably taken a week to get here.

It was sweet of him to think of her as she read the note and understood what he was asking for. If she answered quickly it would give him time to forward on her comments to the new nannies before they had to leave for New Madrid.

Could you offer some suggestions that would help make the coming year go by easier for the staff and the students? The returning ones value your opinion, and the new ones don’t have a clue what to expect.

She pondered for a moment, the fresh air moved in a light breeze. What advice could she give to new caregivers getting ready for the trip to school? Watching the little animals frolic over the feeder she realized what helped her. Whether they knew it or not this was the kind of day they needed, and that children would treasure later.

Getting up and moving to her desk she started composing that advice.

"Dear Mr. Bridges.

Thank you for dropping me a note, I’m looking forward to another year of growth and training for the children. A treat just before leaving would make the return all the sweeter, don’t you think?"

She turned the photo on the desk to face her more directly. It made it easier to talk if she had an audience.

"I always give them one day of memories to draw from, and I’m doing that for myself today. I wish you could smell the mountain air here, and look down to the lake under the dark blue sky.

You might want to suggest that the new staffing not get so busy that they forget to take time for themselves before catching the shuttle. Once the school year starts, there won’t be much time later."

Checking her spelling, she hit the send button and then after filling the feeder on the porch she went back and settled in her chair one more time.

The Collier-Boyd family had a sleek FTL yacht able to make the trip from their summer home to the spaceport at New Barcelona in a little less than three days.

Well, it would have been less than three days to the spaceport if they didn’t have to stop and pick up another student. The reserved boy was one of the new ‘political’ students. Julianne was polite but let Tante handle getting them settled. They had two cabins not being used. So, they let the young nanny take one and the fourth grade boy was soon settled into the other.

He had been quiet and almost painfully shy as they boarded. The trip from the surface to the orbital station was probably a new experience for them both.

Since then they hadn’t been out in the common area much. It seemed as if they were a bit overwhelmed. And looking around Julianne could understand why. The yacht did have a certain understated elegance.

Of course as a daughter of a corporate director she understood that planetary politicians didn’t have things like space yachts. Certainly not any larger trading ships that would make it to New Barcelona. That’s why the corporation was doing so well in the outer spiral of this quadrant in space.

Tante had mentioned that allowing them into the school was a ‘bargain with the devil’. But she had done so in a hushed whisper and told her they would discuss it later, alone. Julianne understood that meant when they were settled in their quarters at the school.

The yacht simply wasn’t large enough for much privacy.

The little ship left Tirelius 3 and headed for the planet of New Barcelona smoothly enough. The pilot was nice but kept to the crew compartment that included the cockpit and other ship system areas. So Julianne wasn’t interested. Tante was letting her handle the galley this time. So, the food and all involved was up to her. It was turning out to be fun.

Since her little brother Jason was busy in his cabin playing games on the new computer pad their mother had just given him she was actually alone. Julianne smiled and started cleaning up after dinner. They could have eaten at a restaurant before leaving. But Tante had seen the look on her face and suggested they get an early departure. Julianne had made spaghetti for that first meal. Picking up a armload of dishes she hummed to herself. After taking so much time cooking it would be easy to clean up the galley. Since there was nothing else to do it wasn’t asking so much. Washing another pot she placed the rest of the dishes into the recycler and hit the start button. On a larger ship there would be staff for all this stuff, but during the summer she had snuck to the kitchens and this was a good chance to practice what the cook had taught her.

Besides, Tante retired early and the ship was pretty quiet.

Hello.

She dropped the sponge and whirled around.

The boy stood there awkwardly, Tante had told her about manners, so she knew exactly the proper thing to say.

Hello, we haven’t had a chance to speak to each other. I’m Julianne, you must be… ?

She wanted to just carry them to the city of New Madrid but it didn’t hurt to

be sociable. And how often would she have a chance to talk to a total stranger?

He tried to meet her eyes, but just seemed to shy to manage. His face was turning an alarming red, starting at the ears. Finally he managed to squeeze a few words out.

My friends call me ‘little Earl’ but ‘Earl’ works just as well.

He scuffed one toe on the carpet and seemed glued to the spot.

Are you hungry Earl?

Tante had always told her that you couldn’t go wrong offering food.

And while she didn’t think they starved on his home planet, a growing boy could always use a little bit more. Reaching into the food cooler she pulled out some leftovers she had put away.

It’s not even cold yet.

Reaching into a cabinet she pulled out silverware and then handed him a drink.

Earl looked around the kitchen unsure of himself. Julianne smiled and motioned to the small eating nook and grabbed another cookie for herself.

Tante was right, from the way Earl tucked into the food.

In her quarters Gerty stopped writing and glanced at her monitor. She had been so proud of the way Julianne had taken charge in the galley and had been running things so well. There wasn’t a better girl to teach than her Julianne.

But the boy, he was a complication. Her eyes got a bit wider as she saw him enter the galley. If those two thought they could sit alone this late at night unchaperoned? Well, it wasn’t going to happen. Slipping into comfortable slippers she decided it was time to get a glass of water. Gerty was out of her cabin in a flash.

The days went quickly, Earl was good with Jason and showed him some new games on his new comp pad. And it was good practice for Julianne to cook enough for the other two as well. Tante would drop a line to the director so they could bill the added costs to Earl’s education account.

She grinned at the idea. The charges would keep his accounting staff busy. And Mr. Boyd liked seeing his accounts receivable staff busy.

The last morning came early, and of course Earl was there for breakfast.

Tante suggested it was time to get his things together. The other nanny had done precious little during the trip. While they had taken Earl under their wings and made sure he was taken care of, Julianne knew it hadn’t gone unnoticed.

The ‘Orchid’ had docked during the night and even Jason had slept right through it. Earl wanted to look through a portal before they opened the hatch, But Tante was patient and told him not to worry. She was really good at knowing when to say things like that.

Before anyone had a chance to get very well organized it was already time to disembark. Julianne knew someone else would clean the galley for her after breakfast, but it still rankled her to leave even a few dishes. Taking Jason’s hand she led him through the open hatch to the dock outside the yacht. His eyes went from scene to scene as he took it all in.

Pulling her hand, he stretched and leaned so she could hear him better.

Daddy has a pretty ship!

And of course glancing around she realized that the ‘Orchid’ did stand out.

Of course he does! Wait until you see the office he works in!

She wiggled her eyebrows at him and they laughed together.

There was no putting it off any longer.

Time for school, come on.

And hand in hand they moved to join the others at the Mendelson dock just a little farther along in the space station.

And not far behind Earl dragged his nanny across the dock, trying not to lose sight of his new friends.

Tante had the pilot call for porters to deliver their supplies and luggage, then started after them. She had taught Julianne a lot, but the household move responsibility wouldn’t pass over for at least another year, probably two. And until then, she made sure nothing slipped between the cracks. That was how she taught her charges, no boring lectures. Just expanding responsibilities and growing chances to do things. Tante understood children learned by doing much better than just listening.

The crowd was moving from the latest arriving local shuttle, and drifting towards the school loading area.

Julianne slipped through the crowds, her little brother securely hanging on her hand. As a mature sixth grader she had been through this so many times it was almost second nature.

And so far it was all going according to schedule. Have ‘Tante’ pack your bags, and have a dinner with family at the end of summer. Then there was a ride in the Orchid to catch the shuttle and head out for another year of school. No problem, she knew what was expected of her.

Still, stepping onto the boarding ramp made it seem so final.

At this point she knew that something changed on a lot of levels. She would go from her Tante’s helper to just another passenger and student. There was a lot of authority she was used to at home, but that wouldn’t matter once she got on the Mendelson shuttle. But Jason didn’t know that, and she wasn’t going to let him know any sooner than she had to.

Having traveled more than most Julianne looked around. The arrangements the school had made were nothing to get a swelled head about. She saw the worn look to the shuttle and sighed. Having been all over the quadrant she had been on small ships that were worth bragging about, and this wasn’t even close to that. It left from a space port that didn’t have much to recommend it. The experience didn’t get any better either, it was just the last leg on the way to school with the most ordinary things like homework and class assignments. Writer’s cramps were the same regardless of what your parents did for a living.

Down at the shuttle on the dock there was a rough industrial look to the place. From the appearances you would never guess the most exclusive people had this space dock reserved for their children’s school shuttle. They may as well have brought in help from some backwards planet, put them in place and given them space suits to perform in. And the galling part was, not even their parents could do anything about improving the shuttle connections, schedules or food.

Her mom was the director of media relations so she ‘knew’ things that she ‘may have’ accidentally overheard during the summer.

And it wasn’t just about the Mendelson yards. Her mom had been busy.

Thankfully, Mr. Bridges would have no idea how hard her mom had been working to get political students into the school. It was for a lot of reasons, but it boiled down to the chance for political access. Within twenty years it was too important to have known rulers dealing with the corporation. Of course knowing who to call when the time came was also too much of an opportunity to pass up.

So the political students were carefully chosen. But that didn’t change that they still were going to be out of place.

So, her mom had won on that battle. But it wasn’t always like that.

And as much as her mom was used to getting what she wanted, it didn’t always happen. Some directors refused to give much when it came to media coverage. And the school was one of the most secretive places in the quadrant.

The Mendelson family that ran the school facility had the only set of shuttles that ran to the school and no one was allowed to know where it was located. So, students and faculty alike had to go to New Barcelona. The planet was nice enough, for this part of space. Most used the corporate complex in the city of New Madrid. As the children of corporate directors they had access to the short term housing there for all the important families at the company complex down on the planet. Normally it was a short stop over before the students lifted to the space station and then caught the next shuttle out to the school. It was all so ordinary Julianne thought with a sigh. She would be in charge some day and expected to fix the entire process. Looking down at her brother she realized it might be his job to take care of this mess. He was more organized about things.

Down at the launch complex things were different the last time she was there with her mother. Her mom sniffed and held her chin up the last time on the planet when they hadn’t received a warm enough welcome.

With her mom she had been a somebody. It really was a heady feeling. At the school the only thing that mattered was your latest series of test scores. It did make it easier to focus on learning rather than the focus of being the ‘important’ director’s daughter.

Settling into her chair she watched as people around her inside the shuttle snoozed or played games as the crew prepared for the flight.

There was a gentle bump as they pulled away from the dock, then the smooth acceleration started to kick in. There wasn’t any vibration, it was even smoother than the ‘Orchid’. She’d have to mention to her dad that the engineers here were better than the ones at home. Before long, the comfortable seat was making her drowsy and the last thing she remembered was wondering how the stars were going by so fast. Then her head settled and her eyes closed.

The next thing Julianne was aware of was Jason waking her, a hand on her arm. Glancing out the window she realized that the shuttle was slowing. The time had come for the rendezvous with the asteroid.

Their tante was awake and already bossing them around, making them turn the games off before they got closer to the school. There would be some sort of energy wave that would shut down everything with power cells. They wouldn’t even have a chance to play her games for months, so Julianne hated turning it off a moment before she had to. Last year she had tried to pin staff down on the ‘energy wave’ they talked about, but no one would give her a straight answer about it. It seemed to her it was more ‘anti-energy’ than anything else. Some day she’d get to the bottom of things. But until then Julianne was busy enough just living in it. Of course she was sure they would all be bored. There would be books and study material, just not their games. Sure enough it didn’t take long before things started to happen. The shuttle always seemed to have a massive power failure just prior to landing, it was most unnerving. You had to sit in your shuttle chair and stay strapped in. Sitting in the dark doing nothing was frightening while the shuttle was being grabbed by the tractor beam and brought in like a big chunk of space debris. Even the internal gravity would fail, so the seat belts kept everyone safe and in place. Jason was strapped in and she tugged hers to make sure before the tractor beam caught them and started bringing the shuttle in for a landing.

This was the way the best school in the quadrant transported their students? Julianne visualized her friends who stayed at home for school. They had parents that thought an education was good enough planet side. They never had these problems. She had tried explaining this to her father, but there was no changing his mind on the most simple of topics.

Just then the shuttle lurched and dipped around her. Some of the smaller kids might have been scared sitting in the dark while this was happening, but not Julianne. And with one look over at him Jason calmed down as well.

She kept reminding herself that they would feel the touchdown shortly. The backup lights came on. Reacting on instinct she reached out again to put her hand