THE RAVEN

摘要

It wasn't called the Raven because it looked anything like the stoic black bird. It wasn't called the Raven for any nineteenth century depressed writer. It wasn't called the Raven for any other reason than the rather banal fact that 'R' had been the next letter in the progression and the theme chosen had been birds.rnCaptain Bobby McGhee hadn't been involved in the naming. He hadn't been involved in the design either. Captain McGhee hadn't been involved in anything but test flights for years. He was sixty-eight and had been piloting trips between the Earth and Moon for eighteen years before he had begun spacecraft testing. Before that he'd been an aircraft pilot. He was too old to compete against the kids that were doing tests on the blindingly quick Shuttles. Making Earth to Moon trips in an hour didn't appeal to him anyway.rnHe had signed on to the Raven project with the idea that maybe it'd fail. It wouldn't have been the first and likely wouldn't be the last. He wasn't looking for the Raven to fail in a way that would leave it dry-docked and picked over for spare parts, though. Captain McGhee was looking for a spectacular failure. He wasn't hoping for it, per se, but he was certainly prepared for it. He had been born in 2046 and though he wasn't old by current standards, he felt old. He felt like it was time. He patted the small rook sticker on his armrest and smiled. They'd be preparing for launch today and no one was more expectant than he.