First Steps (Founding of the Federation)

by Hechtl, Chris

  "Good idea. I'll check with higher," Joyce replied. He grimaced and then nodded.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "Crap, not good," Mario sighed fingering the ruptured seal.

  "Ruptured?" Joyce asked.

  "Yeah. Shredded."

  She sighed. "Great, just great."

  He nodded. "I've got one spare. Keep your fingers crossed we don't have the same problem in Hab two. We do and we're going to be screwed." He carefully opened the door and walked down the corridor. "The breach has to be at the junction." He stopped at where the accordion corridor connected to the hull of the exterior of Hab two.

  "Yup. Damn, I can see daylight through it too," he sighed frustrated.

  "Okay. Is it just the corridor or is it the seal too?" Joyce asked.

  "Let me check. Carefully he looked the seal over, using his flashlight to get a better look. He poked a few areas until he came to a line. "I have a split." He fingered it. "It doesn't go all the way through, but close."

  He moved on. "Found another... and another. Damn, they aren't all the way through, but they are pretty close. It looks like ice built up outside patching them over. I guess that is why we picked up a drop in life support. Must be triggered when the door closes." He looked the seal over once more. "We'd have to x-ray the entire door seal to be sure." He heard Joyce distant sigh once more.

  "Look, let me get this fixed, I think I can patch it with some plastic. Then I'll get you folks sorted out." He went back to hab one and exited out the airlock. "Well, nice not to have to depressurize." He started trudging to the garage.

  "Are you going to spray it with plastic resin?" Tess asked over the radio.

  "Yeah... Only thing I can think of to work. If we try heat with an iron it could seal the top layer, but leave a bubble underneath. Or it could shred it. I'd like to stick some of the carbon fiber we've been making, but we don't have enough," he sighed, thoroughly frustrated. Unfortunately he couldn't scavenge a seal from another craft; the lock doors were different in the MAV and vehicles. Just slightly smaller to make it impossible of course, he thought darkly.

  He rounded the corner of the garage and looked around. On a shelf in the back was the sprayer. "We have less than a kilogram left. We used it all spraying the inside of the tunnel yesterday," Tess reminded him.

  He nodded. "Yeah." He picked the compressor and spraying rig up.

  "Should I come out and help?" Tess asked.

  "No, I'm good. It's tight quarters anyway." He walked back to the airlock then carried the bulky sprayer and compressor through the hab and down the tunnel to the door.

  He sighed as he set them down inside the lock. "Okay, I'm set." He started spraying the cracks. Plastic resin bubbled in the carbon dioxide atmosphere, and then hardened. "Space age plastics, gotta love them." He smiled. "Oops." He watched as a dribble started to drip.

  "I don't like the sound of that oops," Joyce called.

  "Just dribbling and making a mess," he replied. He didn't want them to worry. He finished with the cracks and then stepped back.

  "I have about half a kilo, more like fifteen or so ounces left." He used the wand tip to smear dribbles around the seams. He used a plastic stick he'd made to smooth the seal out. It wasn't pretty but hopefully it would work. "Okay, it is going to take about a day to cure. You’re stuck for now guys," Mario said as he looked it over. “I'll just see if this will work on the corridor, maybe spray it and the outside too." He hefted the equipment and moved them into the lock.

  "Does that mean Hab two is okay now?" Doc Waldecker asked.

  He grimaced. He fought the dark thought of leaving them in that tiny airlock. "We won’t know that until the plastic fully cures in a day. Until then the two of you are going to have to sit put and wait it out."

  He sighed as he set the equipment down. "Damn, it has a hole bigger then my hand, no way." He shook his head. "Plastic ripped. Looks like it was on the seam too. Kevlar is just gone." He tried not to grind his teeth together." Okay, so that leaves Hab one. No way am I trying this stuff on that. We're going to have to yank the entire door assembly and fix it," he reported. "Damn. Okay, nothing more I can do here for now, I'm going back inside."

  He left the equipment in the tunnel and returned to the vault. Inside he took his helmet off and looked around. "You two okay?" he asked Tess and Sergei. Sergei gave him a thumbs up. "Wanda?" He looked around. Tess pointed to the open archway. He waved and went looking for his wife.

  "Wanda?" he asked looking in the lower level.

  "Up here." she called. He grimaced and went up the improvised spiral stairs. Tess had made them out of the steps, ladders, and stairs they had saved from the tunnels. The set Luigi had sent in the latest shipment would be used in the first vault.

  "Hi," he said. He saw her at the landing. She still had her helmet on. "Hon, you should conserve that, no telling if we may need it later." She shook her head. "Honest its fine." He took his helmet off. "See?" She shook her head again and looked away. He sighed. He went down the hall and looked around. "We have four bedrooms here. Or we can set it up like the hab with smaller ones." He waved. "I thought we could use this one for now."

  Reluctantly she joined him. "See? We can put a king sized bed right there, and still have room for your walk in closet," he teased.

  She looked at the room. "It's dark," she said softly walking over to the wall and running her hand over the resin. "Is it safe?" Even with their suit lights it was still dark and a little foreboding.

  He sighed. "Hon, I trust you with everything rock related. Please trust me in this." She turned and looked down. "Honest." He waved. "See vaulted ceiling too!" He pointed up. She looked up and pursed her lips, trying to go with it.

  "It must be a major selling point," she joked weakly.

  He had to chuckle at that. He watched as gingerly she cracked the seal to her helmet. After a moment she reached up with both hands and took it off. She seemed to be holding her breath for a moment, and then she let it out. "Oh cold!" She watched as her breath froze in front of her. She shook her hair out after a moment.

  "A little. Okay, under fifty. We're working on it." He shrugged as he came up to her. He hugged her. "Thank you for trusting me," he said softly.

  She shook. "I'm sorry I didn't," she replied, equally soft.

  He smiled, glad that was over with. "It takes a little getting used to I admit."

  She nodded. "Can we do anything about the walls?" she asked. She motioned to them. He turned to look at what she was looking.

  "What do you have in mind?" he asked curious.

  "Cover them?"

  He nodded thinking it over. If it made her more comfortable he'd try anything. "Okay, we can do that. Do you mean with plastic or something?" He had a method to make plastic sheeting on file but unfortunately they didn't have the equipment. At least not yet anyway.

  She shook her head. "No, with insulation or a layer of plaster."

  He nodded. "Okay, yeah, we can do that."

  She smiled her eyes lit. "You know, we could maybe paint them too," she said.

  He chuckled. "I don't see a Home Depot around here hon," he teased.

  She grinned. "You said you trust me on rocks right?"

  He nodded. "Yeah...” he drawled eying her.

  She grinned.”So we grind the right rocks together and mix it with your plastic..."

  He nodded. "Okay, we can thin the plastic out too... might work."

  She laughed and punched him on the shoulder. "It'd better bub."

  He smiled. "Tired of seeing red?" he teased.

  "Something like that," she replied dryly. He walked her out into the corridor.

  "Perhaps you would like to paint something else?" he asked.

  "Like what?" she asked, now curious. She loved to draw and paint back in college, she missed it sometimes now. It was soothing. She looked at his face.

  "In here." He walked her down the corridor and through the side arch. "It's almost finished actually." He moved her to
the edge. "Careful." He waved to the ceiling. She looked around then down and gasped. "What do you think?"

  She looked in different directions for a moment then back at him. "Paint what?"

  He waved to the opposite wall. "That! And that!" He pointed to the opposite wall and then the ceiling. "If you can make different colors, then you could do a picture right?"

  Her face suddenly became animated. "Yeah," she breathed, catching on finally. She smiled then turned her smile on him. "You're not half as dumb as you look you know that?" she teased.

  He chuckled. "Why thank you dear. Just goes to show, you have good taste in men," he said, ribbing her. She giggled as he leaned down and rubbed noses with her. "I think this is how Eskimos do it."

  Her smile turned into a grin. "I like my way better." Her arm came up around his neck pulling him closer until her lips locked to his. After an eternity she let him up for air.

  "Yeah, I think I like your method better too," he gasped, eyes soft and amused. She chuckled and stroked his reddened cheek.

  “You know, when Tess and I converted her old quarters into the workshop, we moved the bed here...” He leered at her.

  “Down boy. No way am I trying anything in this suit. Besides it is to dddda-damn cold!” she replied with a glower.

  He laughed. “Awe but honey...”

  She dimpled. “You're impossible you know that? Let's check your kitchenette for breakfast. I think we're going to have a long day,” she sighed. Reluctantly he nodded.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "When are you going to fix this? It is cold and I am hungry." Doctor Waldecker whined over the channel.

  Mario grimaced. "We're working as fast as we can," he answered. It just served the snit right he thought.

  "Settle down, just do some yoga or get some rest," Joyce suggested.

  "Easy for you to say, you’re not trapped in this tiny airlock," the Doctor complained.

  "Well, if you hadn't screwed with the temperature we wouldn't be in this in the first place. So I suggest you shut up and let them fix it!" Wanda snarled over the net.

  Mario grimaced. "Okay, let's focus on the job at hand, we’ve got Hab two almost ready, just let Tess and I look the other seals over and we will let you know." Mario watched as Tess traced her hand around the porthole. "Found another?" he asked turning to Tess.

  She shook her head. "I don't think so."

  He sighed in relief. "Okay, that's the last one then folks. Do you want to double check or do you want to close the door and give it a shot?" he asked.

  "Give it a shot. We go slowly may find another leak," Tess suggested. She held up a strip of plastic. She had cut it into the shape of a feather. The edges were cut in thin strips.

  He nodded. "Okay." He went over and closed the door. "Door closed. Looks good. Checking the seal now." He finished the check then went over to Tess. They had stacked the Waldecker's skin suits outside their door. He waved at them through the porthole.

  "Okay, we're going to test it now."

  Tess picked up a tablet and started tapping. "Is done. Coming up one bar every five minutes with five minute pause so we can check."

  He nodded. "Good idea." He pulled out his own test strip and went around to the windows and doors, checking each.

  "Is good, bumping up to next bar," Tess reported when they finished.

  It took two hours to get the Hab back up to normal pressure. "Is going to take time for heat to return," Tess cautioned.

  "I don't care; I need to get back to work," Mr. Waldecker said as he opened the door. His breath immediately frosted.

  "CCClose ttthe dddooor!" His wife stuttered. Tess handed him their skin suits.

  "Here get into these, they will help," Tess ordered. Mario grimaced as he turned his back to the door.

  "So everything is fixed?" Waldecker asked.

  "Hardly. We still need to go around the outside and check, then fix the tunnel, and Hab one's door. But you can come out when you are ready." He pulled his helmet off and sighed. "Joyce we're okay, you can open your door and come over." He looked over to Tess who was taking her helmet off. "Keep it handy just in case," he cautioned. She nodded.

  "Okay we're coming out," Waldecker said a moment later. Mario moved aside so the door could open. The Waldecker's came out wearing their packs and helmets.

  "Why do you have your helmets off?" Mrs. Waldecker asked.

  "The air is cold but breathable," Mario said. He waved to Joyce as she came through the tunnel. "Hey Joyce, welcome to the party," he said. She smiled.

  "I want out of here!" Doctor Waldecker pushed past her husband, then Joyce to get into the tunnel to Hab three.

  Mario sighed. "Okay, we're going to check the seals again, and every hour on the hour until we are sure she is safe." He looked over to Joyce. She nodded reluctantly. "Can you handle that with Doctor Waldecker and Latisha?" he asked. She nodded again.

  "I got your back you two work on the tunnel and door," she said.

  He sighed. "Yeah. That's going to be tricky." He shook his head. He still wasn't sure about a permanent fix.

  "Have to glue it?" Tess asked. "Nyet, won’t hold. Is tricky..." She looked away.

  "I'll get to work on pulling the tunnel seal. You check the other ring. If it is okay we can either try to stretch the first part, or we can see about melting the hole closed with a patch," Mario replied.

  "Da, will leak... must seal with resin," she replied. He nodded.

  "Yeah, good point," he grimaced. "Talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed!" he sighed. "Okay, we're on it." Joyce motioned for Doc Waldecker.

  "What? I need to get back to my lab! I need to see what is damaged!" the doctor replied indignantly.

  She motioned. "Get. All experiments are on hold during a crisis. You know that. Move it." She waved him to the door. "Check this deck, I'll check the next." She told Latisha. "Check his too, he might pass things over to get to the lab," she told the pilot softly. Latisha nodded.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "Luigi do you want to let me know why we had a micromanaging pin head telling us what to do ten steps behind?" Mario asked exasperated some time later. Now that things were under control they had time to vent to Mission control. "I checked the day-night cycle; I am assuming Betsy had hauled you off to bed. But whoever that was thought we were working in the Apollo days," he sighed, running his hand through his hair.

  "We've gotten the habs repaired the best we can. Good news is Wanda has gotten over some of her fear of the vaults, it seems spending time in them during a crisis with nowhere else to go woke her up a bit." Mario chuckled as he sat back and rocked in the chair. "Tell our family we said hi. Get your house sorted out little brother. Love to all." Mario waved and cut the recording. A few taps at the virtual keyboard and it was set to go in the next upload.

  · Chapter 15

  Aftermath:

  Wanda nodded to the Waldecker’s as they got up from their chairs. "All done? We have a salt deposit sample to look at; I have it under the scope if you would like to take a look Doctor Waldecker...” She was confused by the slightly smug expressions both had that turned into signs of fear, then satisfaction.

  "All right." The Doctor stood and took his body microphone off. He left it on the chair as he left.

  "Doc, we still need the inventory of medical supplies, we need to know what was damaged during the breach, and can you get that in the mainframe and cc a copy to Luigi and the flight surgeon's office by close of business today?" Joyce called over the intercom.

  "We, I will finish now," the French woman said. She took off her microphone.

  "How'd it go?" Latisha asked. She whirled in fright at the sight of Latisha and Tess.

  "It went well," she smiled smugly. "Good. Glad that's over. Mario is up next." Latisha waved as Mario came in reluctantly.

  "Do we have to do this now?" he whined. Doc took one look at him then squeezed past quickly.

  "What's wrong with her? She took off like a scalded c
at?" Latisha asked looking at the departed Doctor's wake.

  "No idea," Mario shrugged.

  "I didn't leave my ogre face on did I?" he mock scowled at both women. They shook their heads smiling politely. "Huh," he shrugged as Tess hooked a body mike up to his coverall, then the other to her own. "Okay."

  She sat down in the chair. "I won't bite." She tapped the seat next to her.

  He sighed. "Everyone's a comedian." He sat back and waited for the first clip to play.

  Two reporters appeared on the screen. "And here we are with the so called heroes of the hour, or should we say the villains? Let's find out ladies and gentlemen. Mr. Irons isn't it true you were responsible for the repairs and upkeep of the habs? And as Doctor Waldecker informed us, also responsible for their design? You've neglected your duties and endangered your wife and crew for a pipe dream?" the reporter demanded. Mario sighed.

  "Ready?" Tess asked nervously.

  "Oh, you betcha," he growled. She gave him a nervous look, then shrugged and hit the record button. "Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to set the record straight Vanessa, Miguel. To begin, let's take those things one by one... Yes, I was one of the designers of the Mars vehicles, but I was in charge of the ERV and Orion MAV, not the Habs." Mario shook his head.

  "Nor was I the only person involved. Dozens of scientists and engineers were in the project." He nodded to Tess. "Including our international allies. Now, as to the cause of the disaster, well, it has several causes, one of which, the fast design time may have been a factor. But if you remember several days ago we had a problem with our temperature control, well, Mrs. Waldecker was playing with the controls and spiked internal temperatures up to almost ninety degrees Fahrenheit inside,” he grimaced.

  “That sort of temperature can do all sorts of nasty things to seals when the outside temperature is much lower. It can degrade seals in a remarkably short time period as we found out." Mario smiled grimly for the camera. "I'll leave it to you to discuss the event with mission control. I believe they can turn over the logs and allow you access to our data and engineers who designed the seals." Mario nodded to a stunned Tess. "I believe the next question is for Tess Vladiskov?" He asked politely as Tess whistled softly.