First Steps (Founding of the Federation)

by Hechtl, Chris

  "Keep it up, I can always spray you two," Tess grunted.

  Mario chuckled. "Here, let me take a turn at it."

  She shut the sprayer off and handed it over to him. "Good, is heavy," she replied sighing in relief. He chuckled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  It took them nearly four hours to finish spraying the vaults. When they were finished they were sweaty and tired, but full of elation. Tess turned the heater coils on to help cure the resin before they left.

  "What did you do about the bathroom?" The commander asked Mario. Mario smiled as they sat down in the living room of hab two.

  "What bathroom?" Wanda asked.

  "The one in the vaults. Or lack thereof if these two forgot it," The commander answered.

  Mario acted surprised. "Didn't we put a bathroom in?"

  Tess smiled. "I seem to remember relocating the head next to the kitchen. In fact, you did." She saluted him with the glass.

  He smiled. "That's right we did." He turned to the commander. Wanda sat on his arm rest. He wrapped his arm around her then chuckled. "Commander we followed the blueprints. I can show them to you and the crew if you want." He waved his glass to the computer nearby.

  The commander put up a stopping hand. "Later, this is a holiday after all," he said. Which was true. Mario sighed.

  Wanda smiled down at him. "Yes dear, Party now, play later."

  He chuckled. "Promises promises." She giggled herself when he squeezed her to his side.

  "We should have the first life support pieces in as soon as the sealant dries." He looked over to Tess who was swirling her glass.

  "As to that, I am not sure when it will be. There is something wrong with the mix; it is taking longer to dry than expected," Tess sighed and took a sip. "It may be because it is dark and cold. I am not sure." She shrugged.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Mario grunted as they dragged the piece in through the vault lock and across the floor. "Next time, we should use the crane," he grunted.

  "How?" Tess panted, shifting her grip. The deck spar was more bulky then heavy, but since they had bundles two together, it was difficult to move.

  "Drop them in before we seal the roof."

  She grunted. "Might work. It was a pain in the ass getting the arch support out though."

  He grunted remembering that thing dangling and how he'd cringed when it had swung about in the light breeze. He'd been terrified the cable would snap and drop it on the vault wrecking everything thing. Fortunately it had all worked out in the end. "Yeah, that it was." The stopped at the last notch in the wall.

  "This would be so much easier if we did it in atmosphere," The commander complained as he looked around.

  "Yeah, but then we would have to depressurize every time we came in and out of the lock with loads," Tess sighed.

  "Just a few more loads, then we can start putting things up. I don't want to fill this place with Oh two until we are done welding, that way we don't have to worry about a flare out," Mario replied. The commander froze and then patted the spar.

  "Good point. I forgot about that. An oxygen rich atmosphere is no place to be welding," The Commander chuckled. He was glad Mario was thinking about safety.

  Mario smiled. "We'll make you a dedicated engineer yet!" Tess and the commander chuckled.

  "Well I do have a masters like you two you know," the commander grumped as they untied the bundle.

  "Yeah, but I bet that was an afterthought. You were more interested in flying weren't you?" Mario asked.

  "Yeah. You got me there. My courses were more aerospace related." The commander waved to the vault.

  "This is more general and construction engineering," Mario replied.

  Tess coiled her cable. "Da. It is. Nice to do though, much better than reading book."

  Mario followed the two of them out. "We have just enough material for the floors for all three vaults. Only one set of stairs and no interior walls though," he sighed as they exited the lock then turned away from the sun.

  "We wanted to grow bamboo in the greenhouse, but it grows so fast it would have punctured the plastic," he sighed. "Besides, in that tiny cylinder we wouldn't have made enough to be useful." They climbed into the open rover and moved off.

  "Li and Wanda are due back in a couple days?" Tess asked. The two geologists had taken off the moment the weather had cleared yesterday.

  "Yes. She called in and all they wanted to talk about were salt formations and pyroclastic formations," Mario replied with a grimace. "Mrs. Han took the line and they were chattering like crazy." He steered around a weather station.

  "Maybe we should move that to another location. Out of the way," Tess commented.

  Mario grunted. "Yeah. Tell that to the egg heads on Earth. They want it there so they can get accurate weather readings," he sighed. "Just have to deal with it." He pulled up to the wrecked MAV. It was a skeleton of its former self, most of usable parts had been scavenged. "Okay, let’s get to work." They piled out and set to it with a will.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "Nice sentiment Mario, Tess, Commander, but honestly, we can't use this." Wanda looked around the open space. She'd finally taken an interest in what they had been doing when she and Li had returned. Apparently Li had told her a little about it on the trip back.

  "Why?" Tess asked surprised.

  "Well first off, cross contamination. You used native materials here, and we can't be sure of contamination." Wanda ran her hands over the plastic covered bricks.

  "Wanda, you know for a fact that you can't say that is true." Mario walked over to her hands on his hips. He crossed his arms. "I happen to know you complain about the fines and dust in the lab. That means your contaminated everywhere." She looked over to him. "It doesn't matter anyway, if you find life in the dust or in a rock so what?"

  She stared at him. "It matters to the scientific community," she said heatedly.

  He sighed and shook his head. "That isn't the real reason is it? Spit it out," he replied watching her.

  She looked around uncomfortably. "I don't like it. Living in a brick house waiting for the ceiling to cave in!" She waved to the ceiling.

  "Yeah? Good radiation shielding," he replied as he waved to it as well. "No more concerns about getting fried by the sun."

  She grimaced. "Okay, you have me there, but I... I mean ..." She waved helplessly. "It's a half ass building Mario!"

  He glared. "What do you mean half ass?" His voice dropped into a subterranean growl.

  "Well look!" She pointed to the life support system. "You’re using parts from a wrecked ship!" She pointed out.

  He sighed. "The air is fine in here."

  He reached up and started to remove his helmet. "What? What are you doing??" She tried to stop him but he twisted away. With a hiss his helmet seal was breached. He lifted it off his head.

  "Wow cold." His breath clouded in front of him. "Damnnn VVvvery cold." He looked around, keeping his teeth from chattering with physical effort.

  "You’re turning a little blue Mario." Tess observed looking concerned.

  "Jjjust the ccold." He looked over to the heater. "Obviously nnnot ennnnough." He looked it over. His breath clouded the area around his head.

  "You made your point. Put your helmet on before you freeze to death." Wanda growled. He put the helmet back on and sealed it. He inhaled for a few moments.

  "Better." He looked over to her.

  "Not the fault of the machinery, we just installed the second heater coil this morning. It takes time to warm this place," he said. He waved to the large enclosure. "Once it is heated the brick will help retain the heat easily. Here, let us show you the rest of the place." He waved to the open arch door.

  She sighed. "Okay, lead on."

  He shook his head. "Ladies first."

  He bowed and waved to Tess who smiled and curtsied. "Why thank you." He watched her walk by.

  "At least someone appreciates what I do," he growled softly. Wanda caught th
at rebuke and bit her lip.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "We're almost finished the atrium. I'd like you all to come in and take a look," Mario said at breakfast.

  Tess nodded. "Da is important for future." She gave Wanda a challenging look. Wanda shivered. She still didn't like the thing.

  "Please Honey, it's worth it."

  She sighed. "All right." After chores the entire group suited up and trooped out to the airlock, then into the atrium. Wanda refused to take her helmet off.

  "We have one last thing to do here." Mario pointed to six bricks and a plastic bucket. Tess was mixing mortar. "We're each going to place a brick, and sign our name in the duracrete for posterity." Mario held up a plastic tube.

  The commander smiled. "And I see you set up cameras to document this. Smart," he replied.

  Mario nodded. "The honor of the first brick goes to you commander." He held out the brick to the commander.

  The commander fumbled it, and then set it in the indicated place. Tess troweled mortar on top of the brick, then in front of it. Mario handed him the stylus. The commander signed his name and dated it with a flourish. "There. Who's next?" He looked over to the Hans. Li had a brick already and was buttering it with mortar. He held it out to his wife with a bow. She smiled and took the brick with a returning bow.

  "We are honored to make this place a home for all mankind," Li said softly.

  One by one they each took their turns placing a brick and signing their name. When they were finished Mario nodded to them. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen this completes this portion of Mario's traveling circus. You can return to your usual lives now," he said solemnly as a dismissal. Tess chuckled at that as they filed out.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "So why did you do this?" Wanda asked him quietly as they walked back to the hab complex.

  "Well didn't I promise you a castle on Mars?" he asked, looking at her.

  She looked over to him then away. She felt her eyes itch and sparkle. "Yeah, I seem to remember something about that," she said softly.

  He chuckled. "Well, here's the beginning. Surprise." He smiled at her as he sat down next to her. He took her hand and she rested her helmet on his shoulder.

  "Thanks," she sighed quietly fighting the tears. They watched the sun set in all its glorious beauty.

  Wanda smiled for the camera. "I am going to cook a three course meal with the ingredients we have here on hand." She waved to the kitchen. Mario came in and watched. Tess was holding the camera. "But first we're going to take a quick tour of our greenhouse so you can see what we have to work with..." The girls left and the commander came in.

  "Food network?" Mario asked, looking over to the Commander.

  The commander nodded. "Simulcast on Discovery, Science and Planet Green channels," the commander replied. The mainstream media had gotten sick of them but the Discovery network still had specials and the occasional report.

  Mario chuckled. "Well, the ladies are the photogenic ones, glad they are enjoying the spotlight,” he said as they left.

  ·Chapter 10

  Busted:

  "Benny can you take a look at this, something is hinky," Julia said. She pointed to the camera feeds.

  "What about it?" Benny asked, leaning over her shoulder.

  "Well, I did a comparison, and we are only getting a two hundred fifty degree arch around the base. This area is not covered." She pulled up an aerial map and used her stylus to draw out the indicated area. She'd also noticed the wrecked MAV was being stripped.

  "For some reason the cameras are either not working or pointed in different directions. Two of them are pointed to that blasted billboard," she said in disgust.

  Benny nodded. "Hmm, why are you concerned?" he asked.

  She looked up at him. "Well the crew has been spending a lot of time in that area lately. I just picked up on it two days ago. Mario keeps coming in and out of the area with loads of material from the MAV." She waved her hands. "According to the schedule he is supposed to be doing maintenance. His logs say it is getting done..."

  Benny frowned getting suspicious. "Can you pull up one of the MAV cameras?" She looked down then began to type. "Try MAV two," he suggested. She did. "No, the angles are no good," he said after a moment. He watched as she tapped MAV three. "Okay, it is pretty far out. Hmmm, Wait, what is that?" He pointed to an area on the image. "Go in tighter," he ordered. She put a karat over the indicated area then zoomed in. The image pixilated out, then in, slowly building and smoothing into a clear image of a series of mounds. "What the devil are they up to now?" Benny asked. Julia stared. "Not a word. To anyone," he finally said. He held a hand on her shoulder as she hunched.

  "Let me check with higher. See if they know anything," he said looking around to make sure no one else noticed their recent activity. She nodded, and then pointed.

  "Benny, there isn't just one, there are... two or three cells. Roman vaults?" Julia asked quietly.

  Benny stood up straight, crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. "That sneak. Both of them, they didn't tell me. Didn't say a word," he murmured. "I oughta rat on them just out of spite." Julia looked up alarmed. "Oh don't worry; I'll keep it in the family," he growled. "Still, would have been nice to have been in on it." He waved. "Log it and let’s move on." She nodded.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “Aren't you going to wash your hands?” Senator Branth grimaced as he stopped on his way out of the wash room.

  “Oh hell, I was just going to shake hands with Republicans, they'll get dirty anyway,” he joked as he walked back to the sink. Senator Kimbley chuckled as he adjusted his tie.

  “I heard that,” a voice called from the stall, making them turn. The toilet flushed and after a moment the door opened and Senator Roth stepped out.

  Branth chuckled. “Senator, nice to see you here. It's always surprising to me who you meet in a rest room.” Branth smiled at the Republican Senator's mirror image. The Senator scowled as he stepped up to an empty sink and turned the water on.

  “Never mind that malarky; I know you don't mean it. We have more important things to discuss.” Branth looked at Kimbley with a raised eyebrow.

  Kimbley nodded. “Word going around is Mario Irons isn't coming back,” Kimbley filled in. “How long are we supposed to support him and the others who stay with billion dollar hand outs?” Roth snarled as he washed his hands.

  “That depends Bob, do you want his brother out of your hair and mine?” Branth asked.

  “What do you mean by that?” The Republican looked up at the reflection, and then turned to them. He flicked his hands to get most of the water off, and then caught a towel Senator Kimbley handed to him.

  “Well, if we cut off funding before the next mission, that means Luigi Irons will stay. If he does, he will most likely turn his energy to politics,” Branth explained. Roth paused.

  “Playing with the big boys?” he asked softly.

  “He's been playing in our circles for over five years now Bob. Some are trying to get him to give up going to Mars and set up a run for the Presidency like Obama and Kennedy did,” Kimbley replied.

  “You're kidding!” Roth shook his head. “He's scary enough where he is now!” he sighed. “So I guess we have to support the mission at least until he gets to Mars.” He looked over to the Senators who nodded.

  “Yes, and just remember, if his brother is staying, he may too,” Branth explained. He also wanted to run for the presidency in the next election. He wouldn't mind the kid as a running mate as long as he knew his place.

  Kimbley nodded. “Right, and Mars is a dangerous planet. Who knows what could go wrong there. Accidents happen in space all the time. All we have to do is wait and watch,” he replied, smiling.

  Roth nodded. “I knew you were a bastard,” Roth muttered. The trio chuckled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Benny scowled at Luigi. “What? What'd I do this time?” Luigi looked around, then down at his shirt. “I'm not wearing my lun
ch again am I?”

  Benny shook his head and flopped down into a chair. “No, you guys could have told me.”

  Luigi looked at him. “Told you what?”

  Benny got up and paced. “The Roman vaults! You could have told us! ME! Hell anyone especially me!” He threw his hands up in the air.

  Luigi's face dropped into a polite mask as he got up and shut the open door. He checked that the counter listening devices were on then sat back down. “Hold all calls,” he ordered to his secretary through the box on his desk. Benny was oblivious pacing.

  “Now that you've had your rant, why don't you have a seat and I'll fill you in,” Luigi said. He stopped and looked over. Luigi had rarely if ever had a bite to his voice. Now the clear tone and bite of command was unmistakable.

  “Okay, why don't you do that?” Benny asked. He flopped into a chair.

  “First, who else knows?” Luigi asked, gathering his thoughts.

  “Julia. She found it and brought it to my attention.”

  Luigi wrote it down. “Anyone else?” he asked. Benny shook his head. “Okay.” He pressed the button to his secretary.

  “Yes sir?” the secretary replied.

  “Get Julia in my office. Now,” he ordered. He clicked off before she could confirm.

  His cool eyes bore into Benny's suddenly. “Benny, what did you see? You said Roman vaults?”

  Benny nodded. “You mean you didn't know?”

  Luigi smiled. “Oh, I suspected. It was on the backup agenda. Mario's back up agenda.”

  Benny sighed deflated. “Back up agenda?” Someone knocked at the door.

  “Come in,” Luigi ordered. Julia opened the door and came in. He motioned for her to close the door and take a seat.

  “Yes, you see, we don't have just a photo op in mind with the Mars program. This isn't a purely science endeavor. We decided from the beginning if we are getting in, we are going to get in for the long haul.”

  Benny's eyes were wide. “So it, I mean, they are staying?”

  Luigi chuckled. “Well you heard Mario say he will see me on Mars right?” Julia nodded. “Bingo.” He sat back.