The next few days were extremely busy. Jason was getting up to speed being the acting CEO and having meeting after meeting with the various division heads. Luckily, Anton and Vanessa were there to help answer any questions, and give him tips on how to deal with the different personalities. Vanessa, Anton, and Pepper, along with the rest of the crew, were busy getting their medical evaluations before the flight, as well as just getting to know each other.

They spent most of the days together going from office to office, getting poked, prodded, scanned, and reviewing their lab work. All the crew members had given lease and mortgage information over to Jason who was arranging for storage and maintenance. Lunch was in the cafeteria, which allowed them to at least unwind and chat. Emily and Xavier already had a good relationship, obviously, but all the others seemed friendly as well. It is always a scary feeling meeting people for the first time, let alone when you know you're about to be locked into a metal tube with them for ten years.

But this team looked like it could get the job done.

Lena, for all her fighter jock persona, turned out to have a penchant for dirty jokes and flirted shamelessly with everyone except Emily and Xavier. The married couple was quite happy together and were thrilled to finally be on a mission together, having been on several without the other. Brody wasn't a surfer guy, though he did joke that he heard that a lot. His mother had been the surfer, and her father before her which is where he got the name. She met his father in Korea during a surf competition and he travelled with her for years before they were married. Pepper and Vanessa had been prepared to be a little leery of Miles, but he turned out to be a soft-spoken man who treated everyone well. Just a big teddy bear.

Anton, as always, dominated the conversations, though he was careful to limit the information he shared. He did mention that the mission could change the course of humanity, but Vanessa was willing to bet he would have said that before the original moon landings too. Every one of the new crew members was curious though, and she couldn't blame them. They kept talking about the belt, Jupiter, and Saturn, not realizing just how many engines they were going to mount on their craft. Hopefully, they wouldn't realize it until they had no chance to tell anyone else.

The secrecy issue was compounded by the fact that PASSpace had launched no less than six booster packs into space from their Ecuadorian launch facility and had several more scheduled. The news would have been going even more crazy had they known the names of the crewmembers going up on the company shuttle. The group was scheduled to fly down on the corporate shuttle the following day, if all the medical checks were passed, and then they would be up at the space station until the modular ship was placed together. Having the ship built that way meant they could string several cargo bays together to store new thrusters for the trip home, while jettisoning the old ones to make room for whatever technology they could bring home.

"The worst thing is, I can't even bribe you into telling me the destination!" Lena complained to Anton as he grinned at her attempts to finagle the destination out of him. "You can buy the whole damned planet!"

"Well, I truly am sorry. But you'll all know within a few days. Once we're on the space station we'll go over our plan," The older man promised.

"Well, maybe I can get the information out of your daughter then," Lena purred, running her hand down Vanessa's arm.

Vanessa looked at her like a gasping fish, before gingerly pulling away her arm. "I'm sorry Lena, my lips are sealed," Pepper reached over to grab Vanessa's other hand to make sure she wasn't too uncomfortable.

"Yeah, yeah, I figured," Lena grumbled.

"I already know, so it doesn't matter," Brody smiled at them, as Lena slapped his shoulder.

"Do you really?" Vanessa asked with a smirk.

"I do indeed. But I'll be good and keep your confidence," He was a good teaser, though not nearly as flirtatious as Lena.

Vanessa laughed at him, though Pepper had a feeling that Brody wasn't kidding.

"I hate being patient," Grumbled Lena, as everyone else laughed.

Soon enough though, all the checks were done, all the tests were fine, and their minimal bags were packed for the trip to Ecuador. The private shuttle bus took everyone to the airfield, and the eight-person crew settled in for the short trip to the launch facility. The hypersonic jet had them there in just over an hour, not even enough time for a nap. Another electric company shuttle loaded them and their gear up and brought them over to the base housing where they would stay before the flight up to the space station.

Across the field, the group could see the twin launch platforms, each containing rockets that would be ferrying the last of their gear up to the space station. They would go up on a shuttle the following afternoon and then stay there until the ship was configured. The sight brought them back to the reality of the situation, and all their heart rates increased at the sight.

"The first of those go up in just over an hour," Anton told them after checking his wrist. "If you like, there is a viewing platform on the roof."

"I'll be there!" Lena called out.

Everyone else agreed, and they headed for the doors to their quarters.

"I have to admit, I'm getting a little nervous," Pepper whispered to Vanessa as they hung back a bit from the others. "I've never been to space. Hell, that was only my second flight."

Vanessa smiled back at her. "Well, I've only been to the space station once, and that was for a birthday present. My dad let me invite a couple friends up for a sleepover on my 18th birthday. Not exactly an exciting space mission."

"No, but that was probably the coolest sleepover in history," Pepper argued.

"You have a point!" Vanessa chuckled.

Pepper bit the inside of her check nervously. "Can I ask you a question?" She whispered.

"Of course," Vanessa replied quietly.

Pepper looked her in the eye. "If I hadn't shown you those images, if I hadn't been the one to find those ships, would I have been chosen for this mission? Am I right for it?"

Vanessa took her hand, pulling them away from the rest of the team that was filing into the building with the rooms for the night. "Listen to me. The short answer is no, you most likely wouldn't have been picked, because you never submitted your name for a mission, right?"

"Well, no," Pepper admitted.

"But that doesn't mean you're not qualified. None of this would even be happening if not for you. You could have given up on that project like everyone else, but you stuck with it. Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, but you're here. If my father got to pick Miles, then I pick you," Vanessa smiled down at her.

Pepper smiled back, hearing that helped with her unease. "Thanks, I needed to hear that, I think. But I'm still going to be petrified heading up there. I just hope I don't puke."

"Just stick with me. We'll help each other through it all," Vanessa added as they finally headed in.

"You do realize we're going to be bored to tears on the flight out there, right?" Pepper asked.

"No, we're not," Vanessa promised with a sly grin. I had a computer brought with all your images. We're going to be scouting for more targets. They'll also be sending us more images as they come in. I told you before, I'm your new assistant, and I'm sticking to that!"

Pepper smiled back, suddenly a lot more excited about the trip out there. "All right, that sounds like a better plan than I had envisioned! And I get to boss around the CEO!" She nudged Vanessa's shoulder in jest.

"Of course! And on the way back, we get to go over all the loot, that will be even more fun!"

"I need a time machine to get us there now!" Pepper bounced excitedly, as Vanessa's enthusiasm was contagious. Pepper never had many friends, and now she felt like Vanessa was going to be a good one. It was long overdue.

"Well for now, let's just take it one day at a time. I need a shower, and then I want to watch that launch!"

"Good idea, me too!"

After showers, and resting, the group gathered on the roof to watch the launch. It was the perfect way to end the day and got their attitudes ready for the mission. Tomorrow they would start to change the world.