Snippet #1574789

The light went on in the cargo bay as John cursed under his breath. So much for his stealthy maneuvers. He did what any good politician would do when caught with his hand in the cookie jar: Deny everything and act normal. John casually gathered the remaining stuff and placed it back in their containers. A small envelope disappeared in his pocket. Then he grabbed a rock sample, closed the lid on the bulkhead and turned to face the payload commander.

“Hi” - he began defensively - “No need to waste your time. I was just grabbing some rock samples to test the microscopes; Yellowstone's diagenesis may compare to future samples.” John tried to act normal but his face turned slightly red. He forced a smile and tried to look innocent. In reality he looked more like a disturbed mountain man on Prozac. From the corner of his eye he spotted the bottle of Stuarts Draft. It was still standing behind the debris as he positioned himself in Isoldes line of sight.

He decided to change subject. “So how about that wormhole?”

It sounded like the space travel equivalent of mentioning the merry weather. Maybe he should have gone with something less obvious like gossiping about the other crew members or talking about family. He hoped she'd buy the diversion.