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Chapter 51

Chapter 51

 January 31st, 2158 (station time)

Before Aashif and Chuck had arrived back at the base, there was a flurry of action to prepare several chemical baths as well as preparation to ready the base for any possible unwanted attention.  Everyone was feeling anxious with the possibility that a Goliath, or several, could be following Aashif and Chuck.

Taavi routed all of the incoming information on Chuck's mech to the bases general communication channel so everyone had access it.  Josh activated the holo screen in the center of the common room to give a three hundred and sixty degree view around the mech.

The mech had cameras that covered almost an entire sphere around it, but the video quality was poor.  Sending real time video feed from so far away, the result was grainy and almost pixilated.  Even worse was the audio quality.  The mech had stopped on the side of a hill, and the wind was blowing from the ocean towards the desert.  The resulting static noise from the wind was almost unbearable.

Josh muted the audio and sat down away from the center of the room.  Activating his DNAC he reopened the audio, this time in a visual format.  He then began to manipulate the sound waves trying to eliminate the static.

As Aashif and Chuck approached the nearest ridge with out signs of any pursuit, the team began to breath a little easier.  At this time there was no satellite directly overhead, so they had to rely on the drone for intel on the possible locations of any Goliaths.  However, with the limited range of the drone's sensors, no one was ready to believe they were safe yet.

Logan left the common room and headed out to help with the chemical baths.  In the storage room, he met up with Manuel Suke Mike Gantulga and Nassor.  Each was in various stages of garbing up in chemical protective suits.

The protective suits were like most other biohazard suits that have been used over the past few centauries.  These suits were designed to be almost air tight, with positive pressure inside the suit.  The pressure kept almost everything from getting into the suit and compromising the wearer.

After climbing into his suit, Logan carefully removed a protective strip on the front of his suit and pressed it to the opposite side to seal it from his navel to chin.  With the protective strip removed, a minor chemical reaction seals the two parts of the suit together.  The chemical reaction fuses both sides of the suit to create a permanent seal.  Because of this, each suit can only be used once.

After checking the seal, Logan then repeated the process with the hood, sealing it across his chest in a crescent shape from shoulder to shoulder.  The suit received air from a pump that fit on the lower back.  The pump was cylindrical in shape, close to thirty centimeters long and four centimeters in diameter.  The actual motor of the pump was small; filters were the reason for the size of the pump.  As air moves through the cylinder, it passes through four filters, including a nano filter using nanobots programmed to break down any molecule that isn't found in normal breathing air.  Nano filters worked extremely well, but only for a short period of time.

A quick check on the pump showed that there was positive pressure inside the suit, and Logan's seals were adequate.  To Logan, wearing the chemical suits was overkill.  Surly this level of protection was not needed from some pheromones.  However, the suits were an order from Taavi.  Taavi wanted Aashif and Chuck to be cleaned as quickly and efficiently as possible, while not cutting any corners on safety.

Logan began the awkward shuffle to the exit of the base.  He always felt silly walking in an inflated suit, and he must have looked at least as much.  Aashif and Chuck had already arrived before he had finished suiting up.  Logan instantly went to work assisting with the chemical bathing of the mech.