First Steps (Founding of the Federation) (51 page)

"You're
honor, if I may, I am here now, may I testify?" Bob asked.

The
judge nodded. "Yes, perhaps we can lie this to rest right here."
He waved to the box next to him. Cameras clicked as Doctor Zubrin
stepped up and was sworn in.

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

"You
believe this crap?" Mario asked. The others shook their heads.

"There
are always people out there who are willing to believe in
conspiracies and hoaxes. Then there are all sorts of people who are
willing to use them to their own ends," Mr. Treadwell sighed.

"Yeah,"
Mario sighed.

"Well,
we're going to get everyone on camera, inside and out, and do a
continuous take," Luigi said. They had already called his family
up, his classmates, his teachers, and even the doctors who had
attended to him while he convalesced. No matter what they said the
skeptics would still clung to their disbelief he knew.

"You
know that won’t stop them," Treadwell cautioned.

"Oh
I know, but it should make people wonder. And we can have more people
who have met us in real life testify." Luigi replied. "I
was thinking reporters, senators, all sorts of people." Luigi
grinned.

Mario
started to chuckle. "Yeah, having them on the spot for a change
would be fun to watch."

Wanda
came in. "What did I miss? Am I still married to a figment of my
imagination?" She kissed Mario.

Mario
chuckled. "Some figment," he said. She grinned.

 ...*...*...*...*...

"As
you can see your honor, we've all gathered in the vault for this
presentation. You can ask any of us a question. I know it is beyond
the scope of your intention, but we wished to put this matter to
rest, as do the astronauts and their families who have already
returned to Earth." Luigi smiled tightly. "We have given
you a tour of the base; now let’s start when you are ready. We
will do this as a live take, no cuts. We will record as we hear the
questions and as we answer them from multiple camera angles."
Luigi waved to each of the cameras.

"We
are ready when you are." He looked at one of the monitors.

“Before
we begin, can we say hello to mom?” Mario grinned looking from
Luigi to the camera.

“Mom?
She's there?” Mario asked in surprise.

“Dad
too.” Luigi chuckled as they and their wives waved. Sixteen
minutes later their parents half stood and waved.

The
judge chuckled. “Well, I see some things never change. Mr. and
Mrs. Irons please have a seat, we may be calling you.” They
both sat and nodded.

 ...*...*...*...*...

Six
hours into the depositions the Judge finally called a halt. "I
see no further use of this. There is no cause for this suit and to
continue would put an undue burden on the NASA agency and the
defendants. Case is dismissed," he said. The Judge rapped the
gavel. The attorneys looked stunned.

Mario
chuckled. "I guess we won." He hugged Wanda. "Now we
can get back to work. I want to see if we can finish that vault
tomorrow. The door is finished; we just need to finish sealing around
it... Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" He waved to the camera. Wanda chuckled
as Luigi shut the cameras off.

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

Reporters
pounced on the Irons as they filed out of the courthouse. “What
do you think of the allegations that you two are actors or
conspirators in a great hoax?”

Mrs.
Irons turned to the reporter who asked the question and laughed.
“Son, you don't know my boys. They would never participate in a
hoax. Sure they love the occasional prank, but usually it is on each
other.” Mr. Irons smiled. “Or family members,” he
said eying his wife. Several people chuckled.

“Why
did you name them after video game characters?” another
reporter jostled in, shoving a microphone forward.

Mr.
Irons shrugged. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Mrs.
Irons laughed. “Yeah, we are both gamers, and the boys grew up
the same way.” She looked at a young woman holding a recorder.
“Do you want to ask something miss?”

The
woman blinked then smiled. “Thank you Mrs. Irons, I was
wondering about your sons, do they ever fight?”

Mrs.
Irons chuckled. “All the time. They're brothers, that's normal.
I believe Mario gave Luigi a nuggie for his little rock stunt when he
finally got him in arms reach a couple weeks ago. I wanted to put him
over my knee for that!” Several people laughed as she glared.

“God's
honest truth folks!” Mr. Irons laughed touching his cap. “I
think Mario was just making sure his little brother goes bald before
he does though,” she said mockingly. The laughter continued.

“Our
boys are wild, passionate, and hard working, we've never been more
proud. All of you should be as well. They are making a new home for
mankind on another world. It's dangerous, so dangerous it keeps us up
some nights, but believe me, we always taught them to follow their
hearts and dreams,” she finished and then smiled. Her eyes were
a little misty.

The
conspirator plaintiffs started to come out of the courthouse and the
crowd of reporters melted away. Mr. Irons chuckled. “What not
even goodbye?” He chuckled as they swarmed the plaintiffs.

 ...*...*...*...*...

"I'm
not sure which is the reason the judge threw out the case, the
laughable plaintiff’s motions, or the frustration at the time
lag. I think this last bit is more telling than anything in the
deposition." Rachel Maddow played the clip of Mario talking as
the case was dismissed. "If that isn't Mario, true to his word
of building a new home on a new planet, I don't know what it is."
She smiled for the camera. "It was fun watching it all play out
though!" she chuckled.

"Speaking
from personal experience I was a little put out that I wasn't called
for this, for the record I interviewed Mario and Luigi Irons as well
as several of the astronauts on several occasions. They sat in that
very chair. Yes that one!" She pointed. The camera panned to
show the chair. "Are you going to sue me too? My chair?"
she asked, leaning into the shot. She shook her head. "When are
the foil hat wearing people every going to learn to get a life?"
she asked and then chuckled once more.

 ...*...*...*...*...

Tess
smiled as Piotr fed the goat. It was such a relief to get the animals
where they belonged, in their own barn. They even had a small pasture
area in their vault. Next year they would build another vault with a
series of domes connected to it for pasture land. The goat licked at
the boys hand and he giggled. She smiled. She looked over to Maria
Gutierrez.

The
fiery Latina woman had been waging a war of words with Wanda and
Hernando Cerabron over moving the greenhouses. Wanda and Cerabron
wanted to move the greenhouses to ports off the barn freeing up the
ports next to the habs for further expansion. However the Latina had
pointed out that it would disturb the plants, causing damage to their
life cycle that would take time for them to recover. Eventually Luigi
had brokered a compromise, they would build new greenhouses next to
the ports, transfer plants that could handle the move, and then
gradually phase out the old greenhouses.

Once
they were not producing they would move them to the next location, or
recycle them. She wasn't sure what Tess or the Columbian architect
was so upset about, moving from one greenhouse to another had been an
exercise, but it was good exercise. They needed to make a wagon
though, something to carry gear through the base or little Piotr.
She'd have to remind Mario about it or do it herself. "He is
having a good time. Going to keep one as a pet?" Sergei teased
in Russian She looked up and smiled. Piotr looked up and beamed
chortling.

"Heaven
forbid. Perhaps a fish or we could import a dog or cat..." Tess
replied as she hefted Piotr to her hip. The baby burbled and made
grabbing motions for the goat. She chuckled. Sergei took the baby and
put him astride the goats back. He squealed in laughter, startling
the miniature goat into bahing in protest and trotting off. Sergei
caught the boy before he could fall.

"He
is growing fast," Sergei said. Already the baby was crawling.
Four months old and crawling. He'd started to pull himself up too. If
he held true to Sergei's development he'd walk before he was six
months old.

"Not
if you drop him," Tess teased.

 ...*...*...*...*...

Wanda
admired Mrs. Treadwell's skin suit. It was the latest generation, and
colored an eye catching purple with gold trim. Mr. Treadwell had a
matching purple suit trimmed in silver. They made quite a pair. What
really made Wanda and many of the veterans envious was the suit
itself, it used Professor Newman's new self healing memory polymers
in the skin. Scratches and nicks that would normally take a patch kit
to repair now sealed themselves. Of course major scrapes were a bit
beyond the technology. She rubbed her knee pad and calf patch.
"Thinking about getting one?" Mario teased. "Oh yeah,"
Wanda replied.

He
chuckled. "Well, we can see about ordering one. Maybe trade some
shares for it," he teased.

She
shook her head. "Keep the shares, I can make do for now,"
she sighed.

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

Wanda
climbed out of the airlock and sighed as she came into her lab. She
picked up her scruffy lab coat off the back of her chair and put it
on, then went to sit down. She stopped when she noticed the plastic
bowl on the seat.

It
was upside down, forming a dome. She picked it up and looked it over.
It was clean; it looked like one of Mario's fabricated ones. She
looked at the seat again in curiosity and found a figurine sitting
there. Her eyes teared slightly and she smiled softly. Gingerly she
picked up the little Marvin Martian figurine.

From
the looks of him Mario had made him with his machine. Fondly she
traced the figure's shape, and then she propped him up on her
computer monitor. “Okay Marvin, time for me to get to work.”
She smiled as she sat down and set the bowl aside. “Let's see
if we can get through another forty sets today...”

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

"Is
this going to work?" Tess crossed her arms over her breasts.
Sergei was holding Piotr.

"I've
got the lasers set up. We're projecting a grid on you. Just hold your
arms out and hold still." Wanda told her. Tess sighed and
complied. "Now turn ninety degrees... again... again... wait...
okay that was the last one," Wanda said.

Tess
sighed in relief and caught the robe Wanda tossed her. "Will it
work?" she asked again.

"We'll
know in a bit. We are each going to do it; Mission control wants the
data for the medical studies files. Something about looking for any
changes in our physiology," Wanda shrugged. Tess took little
Piotr and rubbed her nose into his tummy. He giggled. "You’re
next Sergei," Wanda said. He smiled.

"Tess
need more than me. Need new suit," he replied and waved.

Tess
sighed. "Da. is true." Tess's body had changed during her
pregnancy. Her hips had flared out, and her breasts had grown at
least a cup size, maybe two. She hoped that it would go down after
Piotr stopped nursing. She'd stuck to her exercise regime and lost
weight but not enough apparently.

Wanda
nodded. "We're working on it. Professor Newman is building you a
new one from the data I just sent."

Tess
looked shocked. "Is true?" she asked softly.

Wanda
nodded. "It might have to be with your being the first mom on
another world," she said smiling. The Mars Company was paying
for the shipping; the doctor said she'd donate the suit. It would
hopefully come out on the next flight.

Tess
nodded. "Is very generous." She looked over to Sergei who
nodded.

 ...*...*...*...*...

"Mister
Irons I represent a brokerage, we understand you have been investing
your monies into CD's. We'd like to talk to you about that..."
Mario scowled at the latest recording. He had been investing ten
percent of his income into the cds for retirement before the buyout.
They were safe. The rest he had been investing in firms related to
the space program. "We understand your getting a modest profit
from your investment with Newman biosuit industries; their new self
healing memory polymer is doing revolutionary things to the
marketplace. We'd like you to consider selling some of the stake and
buying shares in Deuteron, a pharmaceutical company. We've taken the
liberty of drawing up the paperwork and initializing the deal."

Mario's
scowl turned grim. He didn't know who these people were, but they had
no business messing with his trades. He looked over to Wanda reading
her mail. "Did you get this crap from a brokerage?" he
demanded. He waved to the tablet as he pulled his headphones off.

"Yeah,
the one trying to get us to sell our shares in Newman? Seems fishy,"
she said wrinkling her nose.

He
nodded. "Yeah, I guess we need to contact the brokers..."
he sighed as he pulled up an e-mail and started to type.”I
don't know who the hell these people think they are, but as soon as I
am done here, I am going to give them a piece of something all right,
I'm going to tear off one of their cheeks and stuff it down their
throat..." he growled.

"Now
now..." Wanda teased.

"Right,
Now." He tapped send. "One down." He pulled the
brokerage vid file up. "Okay, let’s see, reply. I don't
know who you are but under no circumstances do I authorize anyone to
do any trading on my behalf without prior consent. I and my wife wish
to continue with our current trades. Find someone else to sell,"
he snarled and then hit send.

"My
my. You actually let them off easy," Wanda said admiringly.

He
chuckled. "I have e-mail." He looked at the tag. "Seems
it is from our original broker." He opened it and read for a
moment.