Luke Marusiak - Lifeboat Moon

“His quarters are empty,” Sally replied. “The Manufacturing Pod team is here. I’m going to seal us up until we deal with the leak.”

“We see Thad,” Doug’s voice came over the intercom.

“Is he at the hangar?”

“No, he is still a ways out but will be here soon. The pressurized section of the walkway is just gone… but the hangar doors appear sound. Chuck is suited and waiting in the load lock for him.”

“Good. Good.”

“Oh no,” Zeke said in a barely audible voice as he stared at a computer screen.

“What?” Mark was desperate to get his bearings.

“The ArmCon’s last contactor location was in the director’s quarters.”

“We lost ArmCon Little?” Mark didn’t immediately digest this.

Zeke scanned the contactor responses on the screen. “I count eight that we lost.”

“We lost ArmCon Little?” Mark asked.

“The eight we lost include Director Collier, ArmCon Little, Doctor McCarthy and the five McCarthy was tending to in the med-bay.” Zeke’s voice was calm but his face was pinched.

“Chuck’s got Thad.” Doug’s voice came over the intercom. “Thad made it back.”

“Eight?” Mark gasped. “We lost eight of our crew?”

“Seam is resealed.” Sally’s voice came over the intercom. “Manufacturing Pod is stable.”

“Director Collier and ArmCon Little are… gone?” Mark tried to get his mind around it.

Doug, Chuck, and Thad came into the Nexus from the hangar at the same time that Sally, Jerry, Gitty, and Jim entered from the Manufacturing Pod.

Thad started speaking first. “The beacons were green but I saw the craft yaw and then the thrusters lit…” He shook his head. “The damn thing became a missile.” He looked up. “Is everyone okay in here?”

“No,” Zeke said. “Habitation Tube One depressurized. We lost eight including the director and the ArmCon.”

“We lost Director Collier and ArmCon Little?” Jerry was still panting from his rush to seal the Manufacturing Pod. “Then who the hell is in charge?”

“He is,” Thad said pointing to Mark.

“Okay Major Martelli,” Chuck said with obvious sarcasm. “What the hell do we do now?”

Major Mark Martelli apprised the group in the Nexus. All eyes were on him. The supply pod mishap that destroyed Habitation Tube One altered everything. After the director’s ceremony that highlighted the innovation of their hydroponic farming, moon buggy model, and manufactured bricks; the crew had confidence that Moon Base Armstrong would be their salvation. The pod crash shattered that confidence. Mark looked into the wide fearful eyes of the crew and put on a brave face. “We’re going to fix our moon base.”

Doug looked down at his flashing contactor. “Japan Station is hailing us in the control room.”

“Japan Station?” Mark asked.

“They must be wondering what’s going on.”

“Do they contact the control room often?”

“They usually contact the director. I better get in there and answer them.”

“I’ll go with you.” Mark turned to Zeke and Sally. “Can you guys give the base a once over so we know what we need to fix first?”

“Fix?” Zeke was incredulous. “We need to validate all seal integrity and make sure our air supply is solid.”

Mark nodded. “Makes sense. I’ll talk to Japan Station with Doug and then come back to see what you’ve come up with.” He turned and followed Doug to the hangar door, ignoring Zeke’s look of dismay.

The first thing Mark noticed upon entering the hangar was that the floor was vibrating. “What the?”

“Dampeners,” Doug explained. “The Nexus and habitation tubes have dampeners. The hangar and control room are sealed directly to the crater wall without dampeners. That’s why we feel the shake.”

“But it’s been ten minutes since the crash. The ground’s still vibrating?”

Doug shrugged. The urgent beeping on the control panel beckoned. The vacant control room was illuminated by a flashing red light Mark hadn’t seen before. He’d shadowed Sally for over a month and never saw that light and never talked to Japan Station.

Doug and Mark bounded to the control room platform. Doug grabbed an orange colored handset and flicked on the speaker. “Japan Station, this is Moon Base Armstrong — we’re dealing with an emergency.”

“So are we,” a well annunciated voice replied. “We need to speak to Director Collier or Armstrong Controller Little.”

Doug looked at Mark with raised eyebrows. Mark reached for the handset and replied. “Japan Station, this is Major Mark Martelli of Moon Base Armstrong. Our supply pod crashed and one of our habitation tubes depressurized. We lost both the director and the ArmCon. I’m in command.”

There was a long pause punctuated by what Mark heard as a sucking sound of long inhalation. The voice returned. “This is Japan Station Director Katsumi Hayashi and with me is Captain Yumi Kaneko. Your accident created seal integrity problems with our station. We are still dealing with this emergency.”

“As are we,” Mark replied. “Give me one hour to assess damage and get our containment in place.” He frowned, looked at Doug, and turned back to the handset. “We’ll call back at that time.”

“We’ll be awaiting your call.”

Doug couldn’t help himself. “Damn, they’re upset!”

Zeke watched Mark disappear into the hangar and glanced back at the monitor. The seismograph trace showed that the moon’s crust was still vibrating from the crash. He looked at the pressure readings in the living quarters, the Nexus, and both operational habitation tubes. He heard someone call his name and turned. He locked eyes with his lover Habibeh — Habi Rahimi.

Habi’s expressive Persian eyes regarded Zeke with calm reserve. “There’s a problem in the Manufacturing Pod.”

“Is it leaking again?”

“No but the vibration is straining the seams.” She looked at the computer trace showing the crust’s vibration. “And your bricks won’t work.”

“Are you sure?”

Habi displayed an image from her contactor — her lunar version of the smartphone had a large display — that showed the prototype bricks bonded to a wall in the Manufacturing Pod. “Look at the bottom. There’s a crack that moves up about a centimeter.”

“I see it.”

“And that brick is against a wall mounted to dampeners.”

Zeke examined the image of the crack. It was another blow, another hit to the edge of calm he was desperate to maintain. “Okay, one thing at a time.”

“Zeke honey, this might be everything. They’re too brittle.” She swept her arm in an encompassing gesture. “The whole base is too brittle.”

“Well, we have to fix it.” Zeke stared off into space. “Do you have ideas how to do that?”

Habi sighed. “No, I don’t know.”

“My dad’s gone?” An urgent hand grabbed Zeke by the arm and swung him around.

Zeke stared into the pained expression of Armstrong Controller Huxley Little’s son, Brexton Little. Zeke wasn’t ready to face this grieving boy. “I don’t… not sure…”

“Just tell me.”

Zeke steeled himself. “Brex, indications are that your dad was in the director’s quarters when it depressurized.”

The young man gasped, tears welled and then streaked both cheeks. “Dad…”

“I got Brex.” Habi moved between Zeke and Brexton. She worked with Brexton in the large Manufacturing Pod group, the Manufacturing Engineers, and draped an arm around him. “We got to let Zeke do his thing,” Habi’s voice was liquid serenity. “Come with me.”