First Steps (Founding of the Federation) (47 page)

"Is
he out?" Wanda asked leaning forward.

"Nyet!"
Tess replied. Another contraction ripped into her and she pulled
herself up. Wanda tried to support her. She grunted in anguish. They
had her sitting up in an improvised birthing position.

"Push!
Okay the head is out, turning to get the shoulders... good... I got
him... Yup! It's a boy!" the Doctor cradled the baby as she
extracted the legs.

"Looks
good, a bit red and wrinkly," she reported. She tried to keep
the umbilical cord away. Mario rubbed at the baby gently. Wanda moved
around Tess and used a plastic bulb to clear his nostrils and mouth.
The baby cried at the invasion and the women cooed laughing softly.
"Oh it's all right..."

Mario
smiled. "Welcome to a whole new world young man," he
murmured. The Doctor handed the towel wrapped bundle to Wanda and
then picked up some surgical twine to tie off the umbilical cord. She
tied it in two places, a centimeter apart.

"Which
one of you wants to do the honors?" She held up a pair of
scissors. Tess was pale and shook her head. Sergei smiled and took
the sheers with his free hand. A snip and spatter of blood and the
baby was free.

"I'll
just get him cleaned up a little more," Wanda said softly. The
baby was thrashing a little, and then let off a howl. Mario smiled.
Tess groaned.

"What
another?" Sergei looked up alarmed.

"Afterbirth,
perfectly normal," the doctor reported coolly. Mario retreated
as the Doctor helped Tess through the afterbirth, bagged it, then
helped Sergei clean her up and make her comfortable and more
presentable.

"Here's
your baby," Wanda said softly.

She
handed Tess the swaddled child. Tess smiled her thanks then cooed at
the baby. She said something soft in Russian to Sergei who hugged
her. Tears were flowing from her face. She looked up and patted Wanda
who was looking a little forlorn but was trying to hide it. "You
will have your turn," she sighed laying back.

"Boshomoy!
What a work out!" Tess exclaimed. Mario chuckled. There was a
knock at the door.

"Can
we see?" Joyce called.

Mario
smiled and turned to the new mother. "You up for visitors?"
he asked Tess.

She
smiled. "Da."

He
nodded. "Come on in."

Joyce
came in with a reluctant Toshi. Latisha hovered behind them. Wanda
moved aside so they could get a better view. "It's a boy?"
Joyce asked, craning her neck to see.

"It'd
better be or I'm getting Mario glasses," Wanda teased.

Mario
chuckled softly. "It's a boy. Healthy one too from the look of
him," the Doctor replied professionally cleaning herself up.
Wanda nodded.

"I
took the blood samples from the umbilical cord. We've sent word to
mission control. They sent E-cards and video cards congratulating
you," Wanda reported.

"We'll
put the afterbirth and umbilical on ice for now doc." Mario
picked up the bag. Some of it would be sent back to Earth but the
umbilical was rich in stem cells so it would remain behind in case
the boy ever needed it. "Good work Tess, He's beautiful."
She smiled down at the baby softly. He chuckled. "Sergei, make
sure she gets anything she needs," he said. Sergei nodded eyes
locked on mother and child. “Thank you Doctor,” Mario
said simply. The doctor didn't say anything, just nodded, eyes on the
mother and child. They looked at Tess, cradling her new son with
Sergei hovering protectively beside and behind her. Chuckling softly
Wanda and Mario retreated.

In
the lab he put the bundle in the freezer and turned to see his wife
wiping at her eyes. He washed up and then turned toweling her hands.
"Quite a day," he said softly, not sure what to do or what
to say. It was definitely an emotional moment.

"Yeah,"
she replied a little tearfully.

"Our
turn will come honey," he murmured. He hugged himself to her
side. She started to sob. "Honest Wanda, it's not the end of the
world it's the beginning." He pulled her into his embrace.
"Whatever happens, we'll face it together," he said. She
sighed as her sobs ebbed. She snuggled into his arms.

 ...*...*...*...*...

"Ladies
and gentlemen of Earth, I would like to introduce you to the newest
member of the Mars mission." Wanda moved in carrying the camera.

Tess
looked up from the bed and smiled softly. "This is little Piotr
George Reshenkov," she said in Russian, and then repeated it in
English. "Named for his grandfathers." She stroked his
head.

"He
is beautiful," Wanda said softly as she moved to the side to get
a shot of the family together.

Sergei
nodded hugging his wife's shoulders. "Is a lot of work," he
said.

"For
me
you mean," Tess replied. Wanda and Sergei chuckled.

"Definitely."
Sergei shook his hand. "Though getting blood flow back to hand
is hard." Sergei said, rubbing at his hand. Wanda laughed.

"For
those of you at home, Sergei, did she crush it good and proper?"
Wanda asked with a smirk.

He
nodded. "Is small price to pay for such beauty." He looked
down again at his wife and newborn son.

"And
that ladies and gentlemen is the Reshenkov family. Have a good
evening." Wanda backed up then cut the feed. "Okay, we're
done. Thanks." She hefted the camera.

Sergei
nodded. "Anything to help," he replied simply with a nod.

"Except
filming the birth. There are some lines I draw," Tess replied
looking up.

Wanda
chuckled. "Don't worry, no cameras were on. Just us helpers."
She left smiling softly.

...*...*...*...*...

"Mario,
could Tess wear the Commander's old suit?" Wanda asked coming
into the workshop.

He
looked up. "No," he said simply and directly and then went
back to work.

"Oh.
Why not?" she asked looking over his shoulder to the breadbox
device.

"It
doesn't work that way, each suit is designed for the user. We could
maybe get away with swapping it with someone with the same build and
height, but no, not male to female," he explained.

"Damn,"
Wanda frowned. "So Li, and Han's suits are out too," she
said, sounding disgusted.

He
nodded. "Yeah, same reason. The Hans are shorter then Tess."
He pulled out a cylinder and looked inside. "Uh huh...” He
set it down.

"What's
that?" Wanda asked.

"Sabatier
reactor. A RWGS system. Reverse Water Gas Shift reactor. It is
responsible for making all the chemicals we use," he explained.

She
wrinkled her nose. "Okay. So what's wrong with it?" she
asked.

"Zeolite
catalyst is about used up. Need to apply some more. There is also a
stuck valve and a servo that is bad," he said. He'd been running
into this problem more and more. They'd run the equipment hard over
the past five years. He held up a motor.

"Can
you get me one from the bin over there?" She turned and picked
the bin up and carried it to him.

"Heavy."

He
looked at her. "I didn't need them all," he chuckled. He
dug through the parts until he found a matching servo. "This
should do."

She
nodded. "So is this why the Commander and Han's left their suits
behind? For parts?" she asked as she put the bin back.

Mario
nodded. "Yeah. Also in case we have company and they need a
spare.... or if they return."

Wanda
snorted. "Company? Returning? You know that they won’t get
back here, the US and China will never allow it. They are heroes,"
she sighed. He did too.

"Yeah,
we were afraid of that. John Glenn syndrome." He shook his head
as he tested the replacement servo. "Looks good." He turned
to look at Wanda.

"So
what are we going to do about Tess? She can't fit in her suit. Her
hips are too big. We can wrap her breasts, but the hips..."
Wanda waved. Tess was nursing since they didn't have a proper formula
for the child to drink. She complained about how swollen her breasts
were, though Sergei didn't seem to mind at all. Men, Wanda thought in
exasperation.

"Well,
If her hips are permanent, then we can talk to Professor Newman about
mixing and matching suits... or we can jury rig a laser grid scanner
and see if Doctor Zubrin has money in the budget to send her a new
one," Mario replied and then shrugged. "Best I can think
of." He threw his hands up helplessly.

Wanda
nodded. "Okay." She smiled. "Don't forget, dinner is
at six. Make sure you wash your hands." He chuckled and turned
back to the repair as she walked out with a wave.

...*...*...*...*...

"The
third and fourth teams are coming on the first second gen plasma
ferry. Now that we've had a thorough test moving a cargo hab, the
asteroid, the gas giant mission, and the ERV, the powers that be
think it is safe for manned flight," Mario explained to the
assembled group. Mario looked over the group. "Joyce, Sergei,
and Toshi are staying. Mr. and Mrs. Waldecker, and Latisha will be
returning in the MAV. From there they will transfer to the ERV for
the return journey.” He waved to them.

The
German looked at them. "You are all insane. To remain here!"
He waved to the outside storm.

"Just
like home in Siberia." Sergei grinned. "Just dust instead
of snow. We adapt." Sergei gave his trademark fatalistic shrug.

"Right,
moving on, the first cargo lander will be in orbit in fifty days. The
second will follow a day later. The SSTO will be right behind it by
two days. The SSTO will dock with the station; the lander will come
in when we have a window in the weather." Mario motioned to the
dust storm outside.

"Good
luck with that," Latisha commented dryly.

"If
necessary both landers will remain in orbit for a month or two until
the window appears," Mario shrugged. "Most of it is
construction equipment and industrial plants, important, but not
critical." He nodded to Wanda then sat down.

"Luigi
is bringing a team of twelve people," Joyce said and nodded.

"Like
Spam in a can," Latisha murmured.

Mario
smiled. "Well, not exactly. The Hab is three times longer than
the first gen we flew out in. It is permanently attached to the
Ferry. They will dock with the station and ride the SSTO down."

Mario
leaned back and picked up a drink. "Luigi better bring a decent
beer or I am going to send him right back where he came from,"
he grumped. Even Doctor Waldecker chuckled at that. "We have to
let the tourists take the rover they are bringing to go to Olympus
Mons and the Marines canyon in a couple months or so." Mario
shrugged.

"We'll
have to set up way stations along the way. Dr. Waldecker and I have
been to the mouth of the Marines canyon, I can't wait to get inside
for a better look." Wanda said.

"He
is carrying a lot of toys for us to play with, and some new faces."
Mario smiled. "We're going to be busy setting up weather
instruments; we have Doctor Asanti coming in." Each of them knew
the rail thin Indian climatologist.

"Doctor
Asanti will be working with some of us to study the past climate of
Mars, and its current changes." She shrugged. "Latisha, you
should bed down, your team has an early preflight and launch
tomorrow." Joyce nodded to her pilot.

Latisha
looked startled but quickly recovered. "I'll bring them home
safe Joyce, I promise."

Joyce
smiled and patted her hand. "See that you do." She nodded
to the others. "Good night folks." She left.

...*...*...*...*...

Luigi
chuckled at the young Swedish boy who had excitedly asked him about
the ship. The boy was a red haired freckle faced boy, missing his
front teeth.

Maybe
ten or eleven, he had a glint in his eye that just said mischief
waiting to happen. "Eric, thank you for your question. We are on
the Hudson, the first of the second generation plasma driven
vehicles, and the first purpose built to carry people and cargo
anywhere in the solar system," he said and then paused
theatrically with a smile.

"That's
right,
anywhere
in the solar system. With this, the Columbus,
and the Drake we can send twelve people to any destination in the
system. It uses a Russian built Topaz five reactor and two plasma
rockets to accelerate. Once we get half way to our destination the
magsail, that’s the magnetic superconductor hoops encircling
the craft, push against the solar wind with an electric charge,
slowing us back down so we can enter orbit." Betsy smiled as she
held the camera. He nodded to her as he held up a model. "You
see, this is where we are, in the hab section." He pointed to
the forward segment of cylinders. “The center is the Hab; the
three cylinders around it are Transhab modules.” He pointed
each out.

"This
mouth here," He circled it with his finger. "On the end is
the docking port. With this we dock with the stations." He mimed
the action then shifted his grip to expose the latter half of the
craft. "These globes in the middle are the fuel tanks and
radiation shielding. Behind that is the Topaz reactor, then the
plasma rockets." He put the model down and picked up a tablet.

Of
course he was leaving out how they'd used Russian Uragan rockets to
list the pieces into orbit, then a work crew lifted to orbit by a
modified Burtan space plane had taken a ferry out from the ISS to put
the pieces together over a week.

"Now
when we dock, we will be docking with a Bigelow Genesis two Station.
Think of it as a couple of long balloons connected to a couple of
cylinders. The SSTO, that's the Mars shuttle, was sent ahead of us
fully loaded with cargo. It will aero brake into the atmosphere that
means it will use a shell and surf...” He pulled up a video and
opened a window on top of his feed so they could see. "It will
surf the atmosphere of Mars to slow itself down so it can enter orbit
and dock. Once it docks with the station, we will have our ride
home," he explained and then smiled.