You have made yourself comfortable in the space between a wall and the old multi-axis trainer. You are reading a textbook on the physics of launching rockets even though you know the physics inside and out. You hear footsteps. You wonder who it could be. Not many people know about this place. You get up to go and check. You are surprised at who you find.

"Sorry I thought I was the only one here," you remark as you approach Lilly and Neil.

"I was studying," you explain yourself because you think you are in trouble. You hope you are not. Your accent is also coming through. You know it will probably be alright but you can't be sure.

"Don't worry. You can give Lily some competition," Neil remarks as he approaches a control panel. He dusts it with his hand which makes you sneeze. At least you won't have to worry about allergies on the moon or Mars. 

"Bless you," Lily giggles but it doesn't last long because she realises that she is at the multi-axis trainer. It is a good thing you know already. 

"Ladies first," You remark because you are worried. She timidly approaches the seat. She then gets herself organised.

"Lily, I want you to do the RCS sequence at five Gs," Neil instructs Lilly. Your tummy is filled with dread because you only made three Gs in the German Luftwaffe before you became an ESA test pilot. Neill presses a few buttons. Three minutes later the machine has gotten up to speed. Lilly gets to work. Three minutes later you notice that Lilly has done.

"I think she is done," you let Neill know. A minute later she has finished for good. She is dizzy but not disorientated. Your dread has slowly started to build but there is nothing you can do now.

"Good luck Kelsey," Lilly remarks. You are going to need it. You approach the chair and get organised. The machine soon gets up to speed and you are barely able to complete the task. Seven minutes later you have finished. Your world feels like it is upside down but you didn't suffer from G-lock which is a good thing. You are about to collapse but Neil and Lilly catch you.

"Entschuldigung," You mumble your apology in german. You shake the disorientation out of your body and it works to your surprise. Neil and Lilly let go. At least you know what you will need to work on.

"Neil, what was the point of this exercise?" Lilly asks. Good question.

"To demonstrate the risks involved with space flight," Neil responds. You can tell that it's a good answer for Lilly. You resort to giving Neil a death stare because you can't complain. You grab your books so you can finish your studying with Lilly. Hopefully, she won't mind. Something tells you she won't.

"Thank you," Lilly responds. At least you had a head start for the physical training. Five minutes later you have made it back to the library. You have put the stuff down and you are watching what Lilly is looking at. The other cadets enter the room and they are very chatty. The chatter is about the physical training. Lily sits back down with some books on Apollo eleven. You still don't feel great but you decide to ignore it. 

"Kelsey are you alright?" Jay asks. He can tell there is something off about you. You glance at Lily for permission. She nods so you decide to tell him.

"Neil got Lily and I on the old G-force trainer. I'm still a little shaken but I will be fine," you respond. The other cadets have started to think about the physical training. Thirty minutes later a loud whistle pierces the air. 

"Everyone I need your attention," It's Danny. Everyone turns to face Danny. You are curious as to what he has to say. You get the feeling that it may be about the physical training. You can tell that Lilly has the same gut feeling. 

"In an hour we are going to start the physical training but I have been told two of you have gotten a small head start," you can tell he is talking about what you and Lily have done with Neil. He isn't upset about it which surprises you. An hour later you have made it to the new multi-axis trainer. Lily glances at you. It's a good thing that you are feeling much better from the go on the old G-force trainer. 

"Would anyone like to go first?" Jay asks. A ripple of glances flows through the crowd of cadets.

"Ya, I'll go first," You jump at the opportunity to improve yourself. Danny gestures for you to join him closer to the machine. Your dread builds again. You get the feeling that the dread will be worse with the actual rocket.

"You are to complete the abort sequence in the fastest amount of time," Danny announces. You are glad that Danny has decided to add an element of competition. You get yourself ready.

"Are you ready Kelsey?" Danny asks as he pulls a stopwatch from his pocket. You give him an awkward thumbs up because you are not really sure if you are ready or not. He starts the machine. A minute later you have gotten to work. It's a good thing you did the work with Neil. Five minutes later you have finished. You are surprised that you fared better than last time.

"How did I go?" you mumble.

"Five minutes," Danny confirms. It's a good start. Lily and Jay support you but thankfully it doesn't last long.

"Next," Danny calls out. Lily steps forth. Four minutes later she is done. You feel like she has done better than you again. She shakes the disorientation out of her head. Two hours later everyone has had their go and they are waiting for Danny to write the scores down. It's a tense wait

"Who do you think won?" Jess asks. The tension is clearly bothering her. 

"We will find out," you respond. You feel like it will be you or Lily but you don't want to mention the fact. Danny moves away from the board he is writing on to reveal that Lily has come first followed by your name. You are surprised by Jay coming third. Thirty seconds later Danny has done writing. A ripple of congratulations flows through the crowd.

"I'm going to see if I can find Neil," Lily mutters to you.

"Do you want me to come with?" you offer because you have nothing better to do.

"Sure," Lily responds. You are happy that she doesn't mind. You both slip away. After five minutes of looking you find Neil who is talking to Micheal Collins. You can see the resemblance between Lilly and her dad. 

"Hey, dad hey Neil," you decide to leave because you don't feel like talking. You head back to the library. You sit down with your books. You are so engrossed in your study you fail to notice Jay has sat next to you.

"Hey Kelsey," Jay remarks. It makes you flinch.

"Sorry Jay," you apologise because you hate being jumpy.

"It's fine. I snuck up on you because you were too engrossed in your reading. So who do you think will be the first crew to go to the moon?" Jay asks.

"I will tell you when we have done more training," You don't answer the question because you don't really want to think about it. You get the feeling that it will likely be you, Lily and Jay but you have to get through the bridging program as well.

"I'll let you get back to your books," Jay remarks. You can tell he is a little jealous about the fact that beat him but that can't be helped.

"Don't worry Jay I am happy for the interruption," You respond. After all, you have spent four hours reading. Jay brings out a notepad.

"I might as well share my notes," He responds as he passes you a notebook. 

"thank you Jay,"