2
Kate
Kate Henderson stood behind the table, a winsome smile plastered to her face. Of course, to the fans lined up to meet her, she would always be Katie. She’d gone by that nickname while she was on the show, and in their eyes she would always be little Katie. It didn’t help that the character she’d played had also been called Katie. Katie Bly, daughter of the starship captain.
The fans didn’t want Kate, they wanted Katie, whether it was Henderson or Bly, so she made sure to look the part. Her long, straw-colored hair almost reached her waist, and the familiar, stretchy uniform of the Starship Inertia clung to her hips, as it had every day that Suspended in Space was in production.
Sometimes, when she put on the uniform and looked at herself in the mirror, she felt like the same person she had been ten years ago, when the show was canceled. Other times, she wondered if fans would jeer at an obviously adult woman still masquerading as her teenaged self.
They never did.
The fans were always super pumped. And the one time she’d worn her hair up, there were so many questions that she’d dashed off to the ladies room and taken it down before the signing was done.
“Katie,” the woman before her gasped.
“Hi there,” Kate said, taking in the woman’s full figure, SIS t-shirt, black eyeliner and nose ring.
Was this woman into SIS ironically? That was a thing that had been happening more often lately.
“I need to tell you something,” the woman said, leaning in. “You changed my life.”
Not ironically, then.
“In Episode fourteen,” the woman whispered, “when you kissed the female Wangdoonian, it gave me the strength to come out as bi-sexual.”
The Wangdoonian wasn’t intended to be male or female. But because of its fuchsia tentacles, a lot of fans had thought it was a girl. And when Katie Bly, daughter of the first mate of the Inertia had consoled the lost alien with a chaste kiss on the top of its round, pale head, viewers had seen what they wanted to see.
“I’m glad the show helped you,” Kate told the woman kindly. “Be yourself—” she began.
“—and worlds will follow,” the woman finished, her eyes sparkling.
Katie reached out and patted the woman’s hand. It was pointy as a hedgehog with spiked silver rings, but the blush of pleasure on her face was worth it.
“What’s your name?” Kate asked her.
“Jody,” the girl said.
Kate wrote To Jody - Be yourself! Love, Katie with a flourish and pushed the headshot across the table.
Jody hugged it to her chest and shuffled off.
“Nice,” grunted Tex from beside her.
Arthur “Tex” Mulroney had played her dad on the show. He’d made his name in Westerns, but fans loved him as the squinty-eyed first mate on SIS.
Kate shrugged.
“You’re better at this than I am,” he said with a grin.
“My fan base is a little different,” she said, grinning back because she could see what he couldn’t - a gaggle of older ladies tittering as they approached him.
“Tex,” cried out the first one bravely.
“Aw, hell,” Tex grunted to Kate.
But he turned around gamely to greet the women.
Kate figured Tex was pretty happy with how things had turned out. He’d already had a bad back from all the horse tricks by the time he’d arrived on the set of SIS. A show that ran two seasons and then developed a cult following after it was canceled was just right for the middle-aged cowboy. He was a celebrity, but he didn’t have to do any more acting. These Cons were a great excuse to stay in nice hotels, meet fans and chat about the good old days.
For Kate, on the other hand, it wasn’t so easy. She had always dreamed of acting in films, but after SIS she was permanently typecast as Katie. She’d been unable to land a decent role that fit her three criteria - no stretch uniform, no outer space, and absolutely no aliens.
Now, like her character in Suspended in Space, her career and life were stuck forever, orbiting the waylaid starship that made her a household name, even after the show was canceled.
After a few years of disappointment, she’d finally packed it in and headed to college. Her plan was to turn her love of real-world astronomy and space into a science education degree and a teaching job. The next generation of students wouldn’t know about Suspended in Space, and if she cut her hair short enough and started wearing make-up, maybe the parents wouldn’t recognize her either. Then she could begin a quiet and organized life as Miss Henderson. Anonymity or not, she’d be making an actual difference in the world, not just trotting around with flowing hair and a tight jumpsuit.
Her agent, Carol, had convinced her to do the Con circuit one last time this summer.
“How do you know you won’t change your mind?” the older woman had asked in her trademark unsinkable, happy tone.
“Because I won’t,” Kate said. “No more space shows. I don’t want to play Katie again. And no one wants me to play anything else. My acting days are over.”
“Well, just one more circuit, honey, for old time’s sake,” Carol said firmly. “Then you can hang up that suit for good.”
Kate hadn’t been able to argue. Carol had been good to her. She’d helped Kate land the role in Suspended in Space at a low point in all their lives, when Kate’s dad was undergoing cancer treatments. Carol quietly came and picked up Kate to take her to every audition for a year and a half. She had a roster of other clients, but she made time for Kate.
And when Kate finally booked a gig, the pay for Suspended was enough to cover her dad’s special treatments and even to allow her mother to quit her job in retail and stay home with him to get him back on his feet. Carol’s investment in Kate had probably saved her father’s life.
So one more tour seemed like a small price to pay.
“Hey there,” a familiar voice boomed from the crowd, bringing her back to herself.
At least it had seemed like a small price to pay. Kate had a feeling that might be about to change.
“Yes, it’s me,” the voice said, drawing closer. “Hi, ladies.”
“Shit,” Kate said under her breath.
Spencer Carson came into view. He was a hearty male specimen - slicked back blond hair, body bristling with muscles. Objectively, Kate could see how the fans liked him, if you were into that kind of thing.
Unfortunately, Kate knew too much about what was inside that slick blond head to be into Spencer.
He’d had one cameo on the show, as a teenaged alien boy who, for whatever reason, didn’t have a ton of alien make-up or a wacky costume. Kate knew the only reason he’d landed the role was because his dad, Barry Carson, was a big-time producer.
Spencer’s character had been part of the cliffhanger ending of season one. And his presence had caused a real stir among fans as to whether his character, Prazgar, was intended to become a love interest for Katie Bly.
His presence on set had caused a real stir too. Carson was unable to remember his few lines and continually broke character to laugh or comment. As a result, the powers that be had written him off, and he hadn’t even had a farewell at the beginning of season two.
But that didn’t stop the fans from dreaming.
And apparently it didn’t stop Spencer Carson from dreaming either.
He made his way through the crowd, a look of triumph in his eyes. A black t-shirt with white lettering emblazoned on it stretched across his barrel chest.
Prazgatie 4 ever
Prazgatie? She hoped that wasn’t really a thing now.
“Move over, old man,” he sang out to Tex.
“I don’t think so,” Tex replied quietly.
“Hey, Katie,” Carson crooned. “Miss me?”
Kate studiously ignored him, reaching out a hand to the nearest woman in line and beckoning her over.
“Are you guys a thing?” the woman asked eagerly, looking between Kate and Carson.
“God, no,” Kate said.
The woman looked instantly disappointed.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Carson winked at the woman.
She giggled.
Kate signed a headshot quickly.
“Thanks for coming out,” she said, pushing the headshot to the woman.
“I loved the show,” the woman said fondly. “You were my favorite, you stood up for yourself.”
“Thanks,” Kate said. “I was very lucky to be part of the show.”
“Be yourself, and worlds will follow,” the woman replied fervently and scurried away.
“Okay, break time,” one of the organizers shouted.
The fans that were still waiting in the lines sighed their frustration.
“The actors just need a short break,” the organizer yelled. “They’ll be back in fifteen.”
Kate fled to the ladies green room. If she moved fast enough, she could avoid a conversation with Spencer Carson.
Concentric circles in the carpet made the distance to the door at the end of the hall seem farther away.
Kate jogged for freedom and made it inside.
“What is this, A Hard Day’s Night?” Sadie Stein asked and then barked out a laugh.
“I’m not running from the fans,” Kate told the veteran actress.
“Ah, the co-star then,” Sadie nodded sagely.
“I’d hardly call him a co-star,” Kate grumbled.
“Don’t say that in front of Barry Carson or you’ll never work in this town again,” Sadie said.
It was probably an exaggeration, but still something Kate had thought about before. Carson could have used his dad’s connections to keep her from getting consideration for other roles. It would explain why she had such a hard time landing a new gig after SIS. But no one would be that petty.
Would they?
She perched on a chair and slid her cell phone out of her pocket.
Kate:
Why is he here?
Carol:
Hi there, Katie! Why is who there?
Kate:
Spencer Carson.
Carol:
What the hell? I told them you would not attend if he was on the panel. Hang tight, Katie-cat, I’m on it.
Kate put the phone in her lap.
Sadie was busy, fluffing up her already very fluffy head of tangerine orange hair. Sadie had to be pushing eighty but she looked fantastic.
Next to her, Kate’s reflection looked dull and pasty - a gloomy girl with a hank of blonde hair and a morose expression.
She straightened her posture and relaxed her facial muscles.
“Try some lip liner,” Sadie advised, waving a pencil-looking thing at her.
“Katie Bly doesn’t wear make-up,” Kate said. “Thanks anyway.”
“What about in production?” Sadie asked, looking scandalized.
“Oh, tons of make-up in production,” Kate said. “But it was made to look like she didn’t wear any. So they want me au natural for bookings. It’s in my contract.”
“A word of advice,” Sadie offered, meeting Kate’s eyes in the mirror. “Never get old.”
Kate laughed.
Her phone buzzed.
Carol:
That son of a bitch isn’t on the panel, and they didn’t book him. He paid for a ticket.
Kate:
Thanks Carol.
Carol:
I’ll have Jeff meet you there. He’ll shadow you all day. Sorry to ruin your privacy but I worry about you, kid.
Jeff was an ex-cop Carol had hired as a bodyguard for Kate when Spencer Carson first began to stalk her. Jeff was a nice guy - a little prone to showing off pictures of his grandkids, but Kate didn’t mind. She felt better just knowing he was coming.
Spencer had started off friendly enough today. He always did. But he went from sweet to pushy to aggressive very quickly. And Kate was never sure just how far he would go.
A judge had thrown out her request for a restraining order two years ago. And the publicity had been so unpleasant she hadn’t wanted to try again, even after Spencer showed up on campus and threatened her last fall.
She had hoped a quiet year meant no more trouble, but she should have known better.
The phone buzzed again.
Carol:
Sorry, Katie, Jeff is at Disney with the family. I already called the company. They’re going to get someone else over to you ASAP.
Great.