Luke Marusiak - Lifeboat Moon

“That’s true.”

“We need to save the Moon Base Armstrong crew from control by Japan Station. The only way we do that is through central control in the caves. If we have that, we have leverage — power to call the shots.”

“I’ll help,” Chuck said. “Can you get one of these Bluetooth controller boxes built in a day?”

“I have one here,” Doug said. “I just built it yesterday.” He had it and several more like it for weeks. Now was the time to use his creations. He’d come up with the perfect plan. Doug didn’t need Chuck to believe him. He only needed Chuck to play his part. He pulled out a control box that was the size of a coffee mug.

“That’s the magic central controller that will give us control of the cave systems?”

“Nothing magic about it.” He handed it to Chuck. “All I need you to do is use the spare power cable on the environmental control unit on this mulch they’re bringing out. Every pile of mulch is so precious they keep it in heated hermetically sealed travelers.”

“That I’m glad about. Have you ever smelled the mulch? Half of it is our crew’s sewage — the stuff we flushed down the toilet over the last six months.”

“I know the mulch is sealed but on the back is a simple controller for the sensors and moisture. There’s plenty of room in there for this little guy. Just connect it until you see this little LED,” he pointed to the controller in his hand, “turn green and we’ll be in business.”

“I got it.” Chuck took Doug’s Bluetooth device. “I’ll get this done with the pile of mulch they bring in.”

“Good, now pocket that. I see from their locators they’re coming back to the hangar.”

“Thanks for trusting me,” Chuck said.

Doug didn’t reply as the large hatch doors that separated the Nexus from the hangar opened. Jim and Sally were each pushing wheeled dollies, one with stacked cables and one with a large box of mulch.

You’re going to win , Doug’s inner voice said, because you think on your feet and never lose focus. He smiled. “It took you guys long enough.”

Mark knew that either Doug or Chuck was playing him. Perhaps both were, he never fully forgave Chuck for unleashing his suffocation demon. Mark also knew they weren’t in on one salient fact — he had moved up the timetable for habitation of the cave by forty-eight hours.

“The power light was green,” Chuck said. “I hooked it up just as Doug wanted in case he checked. Either you or Tina need to take that Bluetooth controller out before bringing the mulch into the cave.”

Mark nodded. “Thanks Chuck. This is good work.”

“One more thing. Doug said you have a contest to name the cave. Is that right?”

“That’s right. I’m surprised you think naming’s important. Doug’s a tough enemy.”

“He is but I’m all over it. I’m sure Sally is as well when she’s on shift with him. The name for our cave is also important.”

“Do you have a suggestion?”

“Yes, we should call the cave Eden. Moon Base Eden.”

“You mean like the Garden of Eden?”

“Exactly. That’s what it’d be like. The beginning of everything.”

“We’ll put Eden in consideration. I’m not sure our Japanese partners would be happy with a Judeo-Christian concept like Eden.”

“It wasn’t a concept,” Chuck said. “It was a place.”

“It’ll be in consideration, I promise. And again, good work on identifying that Bluetooth controller Doug had you plant. We’ll take care of it.”

Chuck smiled. “That’s all I’ve got for today.”

“That’s enough, get some rest.” Mark watched as Chuck departed his quarters. The shift work was wearing both he and Sally thin. There was so much to talk about outside of the normal work shifts and he wondered if he and Sally would ever find a moment to simply enjoy each other’s company. That moment, if it came at all, would have to wait.

Mark pulled out his contactor and punched the small icon of Thad’s picture on his screen. “Is he gone?” Thad asked upon answering.

“He’s gone. Let’s go over tomorrow’s plan.” Mark wondered how long the crew would still use meaningless time-cycle terms like tomorrow.

“I’ll be right over.”

Thad and Mark hunched over a schematic diagram that showed a newly produced and routed air hose. “We’re sure this is leak tight?” Mark asked.

“It is. I had everyone thinking it was for water and we tested it that way. The seal stress for water is a lot more than air.”

“And it’s in position?”

“It is. I worked with Yumi on the installation. This is a good plan.” Thad nudged Mark. “You seem somewhere else. Did Chuck give you bad news?”

“Chuck put a Bluetooth central controller in the mulch environmental control box that’s staged in the hangar. Once that gets transported into the cave Doug could use it to manipulate the other control units there.”

“To hell with that, let’s get it out of there.”

“We will but the moment we do, Doug will know. The moment we remove that controller is the moment we’ll have to deal with Doug.”

“It’s a good thing we’re finishing the pressurization of the cave with nitrogen tomorrow. That will throw a monkey wrench into Doug’s timing and buy us some installation buffer on static electricity. That was a hell of an idea Mark.”

“Yeah, that was one of my better ones. With the cave livable and the pods in orbit we’ve limited the sabotage points to Moon Base Armstrong, Japan Station, and the solar arrays.”

“And with the redundancy we get with Japan Station’s second array, it’s really only down to Moon Base Armstrong’s solar array.” He turned to Mark. “The only thing that could screw this up is if Doug figures out how to deorbit pods without us knowing.”

“There’s that and all this cave preparation has got to work. It has to come together without wasting our precious nitrogen, without overtaxing our limited electrical power, and without tipping Doug off.”

“Do you think Doug has any idea about Chuck?”

“He’s not stupid. I’ll bet he suspects something’s up.”

“I haven’t seen any sign of that in my work crew communications.”

“You wouldn’t.” Mark shook his head. “I hate this secret stuff. If I had my way, I’d sit Doug down and ask him why — why is he so hell-bent on destroying us, the last of humanity?”

“You’d go around and around on that topic. I came up here to live permanently so I never felt the same loss as everyone else. I felt it, don’t get me wrong, but I never lost faith in our lunar crew. At least half of the NASA and JAXA crew planned to go back to earth. They were counting the days with crossed out calendars as to how long they’d have to endure this. Doug was one of those guys. Those are the ones that get immersed in despair.”

“Those are the ones most susceptible to it, I agree, but everyone feels the loss. I lost my family and history and everything I grew up enjoying. Everyone did, even those who planned to stay. Japan Station feels it as well, maybe more so with their reverence for the Japanese archipelago. We have to acknowledge this loss for everyone. We have to grieve.”

“I agree but we also have to celebrate. We have to celebrate our survival and find joy in our humble moon base.” Thad grinned. “By the way, I heard about the cave naming contest.”

“Yes, we’re collecting proposals. Chuck thought we should name the cave Moon Base Eden.”

“Eden? That’s okay but I’ve got a better suggestion.”

“What’s that?”

“Moon Base Phoenix — the rebirth of human civilization.”

Mark laughed. “Not bad but don’t forget the crew of Japan Station gets a say as well. We’ll put Phoenix in the idea hopper.”