First Steps (Founding of the Federation) Page 7

  "Yeah, I know." He shrugged and looked over the trio of psychologists.

  "Tile is out. We're going to be in a dirty, grimy place folks, constantly tracking dirt in."

  One of the psychologists started to protest but another sighed. "We've done extensive studies; really it is for the best."

  He started to stand. "Wait a moment." Luigi raised a restraining hand. "I'm going on the first mission and I happen to agree with them, white is nice, but it is sterile. We are going to live in this place, make it a home for three years." He looked over to the lead scientist. "Think about it. We want to be at home in this place and I for one am not comfortable living in a lab. White linoleum in the labs and airlock? Okay. But in the living areas..." He looked over to Wanda.

  She nodded. "Right. Wood. Lightly stained," she replied with a firm nod.

  He nodded. "That would work."

  He looked at the scientists again. "Wood? On a space craft?" The elderly psychologist gibbered. "You’re kidding!" He shook his head. "Out of the question," he replied, vehemently waving his hands in chopping motions.

  "Don't be silly, not real wood, linoleum patterned to look like wood. In fact, we could do bamboo too," Mario replied starting to smile. "Would the Hans like that?" Mario asked looking over to Luigi.

  One of the scientists started to rub his jaw. "Lightly stained you say?" he asked.

  "Yes, a light grain, so it isn't so dark and depressive like the deep dark stains. But enough contrast so it isn't blinding and too clinical," Wanda replied.

  Betsy nodded. "We can do it, we could do a different pattern in each living quarters as well. Bamboo, or light pine, or light oak, a different pattern for each Hab. We could paint the trim to match if we wanted too," Betsy said.

  The female psychologist nodded. "I see that you want to make this place a home, perfectly understandable." She looked over to the others. "Touches of home are important for the mental health of the crew," she reminded them. Reluctantly the other two nodded.

  "We can get it done like this." Luigi looked up from his tablet and placed it in the middle of the table. After a moment the table computer picked up his upload and the wall screen changed to show a simulation of the interior of the Hab.

  Luigi picked up the tablet then scrolled through the hab, allowing them to look around. "See? More homey," he replied.

  Mario nodded. "I like it." He smiled.

  "Next you'll want a fireplace I suppose..." One of the scientists grumped.

  Mario chuckled, and then rubbed his chin. "You know, that's not a bad idea come to think of it..." Wanda poked him. Mario grinned at her. "No, the wood will work." He smiled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  “I see you swapped one of the open rovers for a greenhouse,” Mario said. Mario looked over the revised cargo list. “Three open rovers and two enclosed ones. Good.” He nodded. “And with the greenhouse we can have fresh food to supplement your rations.”

  Luigi nodded. “Yeah good point. Three years of TV dinners is not very appealing.”

  Mario sighed. “Well, we can try to do some home grown meals. NASA has spent the past forty years acquiring recipes and has tons of manuals,” Mario grunted. He was still irritated that NASA had spent forty years developing things for space flight but when it came time to actually do it they wanted to throw everything out and start fresh. It was like they didn't get the concept of getting the job done!

  “Were going almost totally paperless right? Relying on the computers for as much documentation as possible to save weight?” Mario asked looking over the net. “Damn. Please tell me this data storage here isn't a hard drive.”

  Luigi chuckled. “No, solid state hard drive. Basically a really big ROM chip.”

  Mario whistled. “Sony is providing the Terabyte chips? Wow. I couldn't fill a one Terabyte drive and we each get a stack of them?” He shook his head.

  “Well we are going to have an AV library in the net and each person will have their own materials,” Luigi replied and then pointed. “We're not just going without paper; we're going to try to go with only a handful of data backups too. We'll keep a back up of the OS and diagnostics in a shielded vault just in case though.”

  Mario grunted. “Good idea. I wasn't too keen on being out there and having a stray cosmic radiation cloud or solar flare wiping out our data...” Luigi nodded.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "I still can't believe you talked me into this," Mario grumped as he hefted the plunger. He felt like a goof ball. Hell, he looked like one. Every Halloween they did this, but now for everyone to see?

  "Oh come on, it will be fun, we used to do it for Halloween remember?" Luigi teased.

  "Yeah, but for the cover art of Newsweek?" Mario sighed as the photographer finished setting up her camera.

  "Sure, why not? It will create a stir for sure," Luigi smiled. Wendy the public relations director looked a little concerned by the whole idea. "Now come on, our public awaits." Luigi pressed the fake mustache to his lip. "How do I look?" He wiggled his lip, making the mustache go up and down, then teeter totter. Wendy giggled, hand over her mouth.

  "Here take this before I use it on your head," Mario grumped. He handed Luigi a rubber hammer.

  "Okay gentlemen, you’re going to stand side by side here, no please put your foot up on the green ball, no your other foot." The photographer manhandled them into position then took a tape measure and measured out the lines. "A little more light here..." She adjusted a few things then took the picture. "Okay we're going to take a few more."

  Mario sighed. "How I let you talk me into this..."

  Luigi smiled. "Just shut up and smile bro." They did a fist bump. Luigi's eyes were twinkling. “Just remind me to try to get Wanda to dress up as one of the Princesses... Maybe we could get one of the other ladies to double date?” Luigi teased. Mario chuckled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "Senator, as we explained..." Luigi sighed. "Senator, honestly, the money is not being wasted. It is going into the economy." He'd been getting a lot of flack like this lately, mainly from Republicans or Democrats who didn't have a hand in the construction of the program.

  The senator frowned. "That money would be better spent on education and on the poor!" The elderly democrat was a ferocious supporter of the poor.... as long as they were in his state.

  "Sir, do you know what is happening in schools and colleges across the country, across the world?" Luigi asked patiently.

  The senator sat back. "No. Why does that have to do with this?"

  "It has everything to do with this sir; we are providing an incentive, an inspiration for all those young people. We are showing them they can touch the stars." He waved to the ceiling. "Senator, we are giving them one of the most precious things imaginable. A goal. A dream. Man cannot live on bread and circuses alone. We have to dream, to crawl, to walk, to fly."

  The senator smiled. "Very poetic."

  Luigi chuckled. "Try telling that to my English professor. Best I could ever get in her class was a C."

  The senator chuckled. "So what happens when funding for your pie in the sky plan begins to be diverted for more important things?"

  Luigi nodded. "Well, first we are spreading the cost among all the nations of the world. Second, we are giving each of those nations a stake in this. Each can have an astronaut or cosmonaut to walk the red planet and return to inspire their next generation. Third..." He waved.

  "Senator have you seen the polls? The people are going nuts about this. It is one thing to talk about it, but quite another to do it. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed in this. From the person who makes the smallest pin or bolt to the guy or gal sitting in the cockpit." He smiled.

  "And you plan on being in the cockpit," the Senator grumped.

  "Well sir, I will be in the ship, but no, not as a pilot," Luigi smiled. The Senator harrumphed in irritation.

  "As to continuous funding, well we will have to make this pay for itself so future generations will b
e inspired and take the next step," Luigi replied.

  The senator grunted. "Well, you did get my grandchildren to sit up and take notice," he admitted. He chuckled. "Anything that can get them to pay attention to things other then what is on the idiot box is a good thing in my book."

  Luigi smiled. "I'd love to give you and your grandchildren a tour sir," Luigi invited politely.

  The Senator sat back, eyes intent. "You've got a deal son." He shook Luigi's hand then moved off to an aide.

  Nick came over and patted his boss on the shoulder. "Think we got another vote?" he whispered.

  Luigi shrugged. "Maybe. Too early to tell," he replied quietly as staffers surrounded the Senator.

  Nick nodded at the answer. "Well, his constituents will be happy; we're planning on restarting the GM factory there to build the ground vehicles."

  Luigi chuckled. "Whatever works." He glanced up to see the aid whispering to the senator. The senator looked over to them then waved.

  "Looks like he just got the news. Perhaps we should have the tour in the factory?" Nick smirked. "With or without cameras so he can show his voters he is getting them jobs?"

  Luigi chuckled. "Now now... be nice."

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "Chess?" Benny observed as Nick moved his rook. Since the good Senator from Michigan had left early they'd had some free time to get a game in.

  "Nothing gets past you does it?" Nick asked as he studied the board. He winced. "Oye." Luigi pounced on it with his queen.

  "Could have seen that coming a mile away," Benny replied dryly.

  "Oh go pound sand," Nick snarled sitting back.

  "Never play chess with a genius, you should know this," Benny chuckled as Nick retreated. "Mate in three moves bub."

  Nick studied the board then sighed and flicked his king over. "Next time you juvenile delinquent." He got up and brushed his lap off then picked up his coat off the back of the chair. "I need to see a man about a budget." Nick waved as he exited.

  "Sore loser," Benny chuckled as Luigi put the tiny chess set away. ""We've dug into the public relations with a will; hopefully we will get more fruit now that Hollywood is getting on the band wagon." He waved to the quiet LCD on the wall. "I heard your working on licensing the rights to a video game? What's next cereal boxes?" He chuckled.

  "Whatever gets the message out," Luigi smiled, determined to get the job done and the message to as many minds as possible. He turned to look out his window. It was snowing lightly.

  "Going to be a cold one," Benny observed. He shivered. "Should have put a fireplace in here." He shivered again. Luigi picked up the remote and clicked it. A couple taps and a fireplace came up on the screen.

  "Better?" he asked Benny.

  "Yeah, if you like having a fireplace at eye level." Benny looked at it then turned back to Luigi.

  "Everyone's a critic. Give the man an inch he wants a mile." Luigi sat back smiling.

  "Does everyone have the winter blahs?" Benny asked. They were in DC for another week before they headed to California. All the traveling had them either jet lagged or suffering colds. Being away from their families was taking a toll on some.

  "Nah, just a few." A wet smack on the glass behind Luigi made them both jump. They looked to see Wanda, Julia, and Mario toss snow balls.

  "Looks like fun," Benny chuckled.

  "Well, it beats studying pie charts and spread sheets," Luigi got up and put on his coat and scarf.

  "I'll meet you out there; I left my coat in my office," Benny ran out.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "Musicians, actors, man, do we have all of Hollywood behind us?" Benny shook his head.

  Mario smiled. "Mars makes good drama. It is something new, something interesting. Besides, once one or two started in, the others joined the band wagon, and now, it is a growing movement."

  Benny shook his head. "Yeah, my son is all excited about the Discovery channel coverage. Not to mention the live Hulu broadcasts," he said. Mario smiled.

  "Well, not quite live, there is a time lag," Mario replied.

  Benny shrugged. "Close enough. It's the best reality TV show in decades. The primary networks are all trying to get exclusive rights to it.” He shook his head. “We are getting a little flack from the greens, but so far they are not raising to big a stink. They aren't happy about the nukes though."

  Nick sighed. "Yeah, I remember. I caught that broadcast about the carbon footprint of the space program as well."

  Luigi took a sip of his beer then set it down. "I never was a beer drinker like Mario here is."

  Mario saluted him with the beer. "More for us, right Nick?" Nick nodded.

  "Benny, think you can rustle up something from the archives to show us helping with the environment?"

  Benny sat back looking amused. "I'll get Wendy to look. Julia too. I think there should be some stuff about the global warming research done on the station and with satellites. Not to mention weather forecasting in general," Benny replied and then nodded thoughtfully.

  "Good point," Luigi nodded. "We have the first MAV with a Topaz three on the Russian star city pad. I was supposed to be there for the launch, but I have to be in Tokyo for another conference," Luigi sighed.

  "Better you than me little bro, twenty minutes babysitting a panel and I would go postal," Mario chuckled. “I for one am glad to go see it. Even if I'm going with Bower.”

  "Only twenty?" Benny teased.

  "Wow world record for you," Nick added.

  Mario grumped. "Everyone's gotta be a comedian," he sighed as the others chuckled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Mario smiled as he looked around. The politicians were out in force. Zubrin was doing his best to handle the media and political attention. “Nothing like kissing ass in weather like this,” Mario grumbled.

  “Wonder if they get frostbite?” Commander Bower asked behind him.

  He chuckled. “Yeah.” He tried to get a glimpse of the giant rocket out on the horizon, but the snow was just too blinding. “Damn.” He pulled out his binoculars and took another look. Steam was starting to drift around the rocket.

  “Just wait, two more years...” Bower sighed.

  “Yeah.” Mario grunted. “For you and Luigi maybe, I am on the second flight. Four for me.” he sighed.

  “T minus thirty seconds and counting,” a voice over the intercom said then repeated the countdown in Russian.

  “Glad we went with English as the base language. No way I could learn Russian or French,” Bower chuckled.

  Mario chuckled again. “Me too.” He looked the vehicle over once more than let the binoculars down. “Hope this works, we can't afford a screw up,” Mario sighed looking over his shoulder at Bower. Bower nodded, holding up her crossed fingers. He snorted and crossed his own.

  “Ten... nine... eight...” Mario hastily turned back to the launch.

  “Don't watch with the binoculars, the initial flare can be bright.” Bower warned.

  “Gotcha.” Mario nodded.

  “Ignition. We have lift off,” the accented voice was professional, but had a hint of pride as the craft began to lunge into the sky.

  “Damn you’re not kidding!” Mario tried to turn away from the blinding flash. Slowly it rose on a column of smoke exhaust.

  “Biggest rocket in decades,” Bower sighed reverently watching it go.

  “Go baby go,” he said softly.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  "We're still getting flack from Senator Nathaniel over that rover factory. He wants us to build a brand new facility in his home state." Nick looked up from his report to Luigi who looked tired.

  "Do we need his support?"

  Nick looked down at his report. "We have a comfortable margin now. Long term is anyone's guess," he replied. Luigi sighed scrubbing his face with his hands as Nick took a pull of his beer.

  "We don't need another factory, using an existing one works fine. Tell the dear Senator from Wisconsin to piss up a rope. Nicely,"
Luigi replied. Nick sputtered. Luigi chuckled as Nick wiped up the mess.

  "You evil little... You know I can't tell him that!"

  Luigi smirked as he got up. “I'm going to the skin suit test.”

  “I'll join you in a minute,” Nick replied.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  They watched as the girls bounced around in the vacuum chamber. The Mars suits were working well. Designed as a skin suit, they used space age materials to tightly grip the skin. A breathing tank was fitted on each of their backs. "Re-breathers?" Nick asked looking over to Benny.

  Luigi shook his head. "Straight quill for now, we will get the re-breathers in next gen. Right now we are testing the coolant and pressure." Latisha tripped and fell.

  Benny winced. "Damn. That's gotta hurt." Nick shook his head as the girl got up. She was sobbing a little over the radio. "Bad?" She looked up, clutching her knee.

  "Vacuum burn," Luigi replied with a grimace. A tech in an old fashioned pressure suit was already coming over to check.

  "Damn, must sting. Should pad the knees and elbows."

  Nick shook his head. "Stings like a son of a gun actually, the welts last a long time too. We may need another layer." Nick nodded but Julia shook her head.

  "No, that just covers the area; you can still breach it underneath. Then it is harder to patch. Maybe a removable pad?" She made a note. They watched as the tech bandaged the wound.

  "Are you going to stop the exercise?" Nick asked.

  Latisha looked up and shook her head vehemently. "No, I'm okay," he said. They could hear the catch in her voice but she was steadying.

  Benny looked at her vitals. "She's okay; it just caught her off guard," he observed. Latisha nodded. "Shall we continue ladies? This time with a little more finesse." Latisha smiled but gave him a one finger salute. Benny chuckled.

  "Now now, what would my wife thing if she caught you making promises like that?" he teased. Latisha and Tess chuckled.

  ...*...*...*...*...

  Nick examined the model. It looked like a cylinder, with a thruster on one end, and a cluster of habs around a docking port on the other. It was wrapped in hoops. He fingered one. "Careful!" a tech cautioned. He jerked his hand back like he had been scalded. "Sorry, it's just they are very delicate." The tech looked the model over. "I had a fumble fingered congressmen chew it up the other day. Took me hours to fix it," he sighed as he adjusted his glasses.