Chapter 01.2

“18… 17… 16…” The last crewmember, Brandon Devlin, is the ship’s Mechanical Engineer / Horticulturist. He is married to Emma, the cutest little schoolteacher in Norfolk, Virginia (second time was the charm). Eight years senior to Commander Tom, he is the old man on the ship and I don’t mean ‘Captain’. His hair is a medium, reddish brown and most of it is still there. All in all, Brandon doesn’t think he looks any older than Tom.

“15… 14… 13…” Brandon pulled two six-month tours on the ISS in 2012 and 2014, but has spent most of his career designing this ship. From the water tubes in the outer bulkheads, to the leaded acrylic radiation-shielded storm shelter running through all three decks of the ship, Brandon knows more about Bolo One than most of the team who assembled her. He also designed quite a few of the storage tanks, tables, and chairs, as well as the onboard bunks.

“12… 11… 10…” Brandon met Ty Cody while they were both attending Western Michigan University (WMU). Ty was studying Chemistry while Brandon tackled Mechanical Engineering. Eventually, Ty went off to study medicine at the University of Michigan (U of M), before returning to WMU to become one of the first graduates from its new School of Medicine. He had decided to focus his skills toward General Medicine, which dealt with many disciplines affecting the human body.

“9… 8… 7…” While Ty was off fulfilling his personal goals, Brandon immersed himself in a second discipline: Horticulture. This had always been a favorite hobby and getting his hands dirty enabled him to relax and bleed off stress. This second specialty would also make him more versatile, even if it and Mechanical Engineering didn’t seem to go together at first glance.

“6… 5… 4…” From the onset, Commander (Dr.) Tyler R. Cody was a born leader and had been the first choice to head-up the mission. Ty was the only one of the group that actually earned the title of Commander through his service in the U. S. Navy. Through the ROTC Program, he had been able to serve while attending college.

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