Katie beamed at the jackass.  "Right away, sir."  She headed for the departure door, swiped her ID to get through, and made sure it clicked shut behind her.<br/><br/>It was a sunny morning on Regina, and heat haze shimmered off the runway as she crossed toward the<em>Jonquil,</em>kit bag in hand.  She waved up to the guy in the jumpsuit, but he didn't see her, so she kept going up the ramp and into the belly of the ship, looking for the captain.  Her stomach was in a tight knot and she hoped he wouldn't say anything about her being late.