Infinite

Chapter 12: During the Storm- Part 1

Houston, Texas, at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Friday, September 26th, 2030, at 6:15 pm

Lucas

It feels like deja vu as I watch Cooper tighten the last of the straps again. My team and I haven't stopped so much as to go to the bathroom since the test failed earlier this afternoon. They've all been working tirelessly, knowing that Rachel's faith in me is on the line tonight. I don't know how to thank them for working so hard today. Maybe Rachel will help me think of something.

"I don't wanna say it," Cooper whines from the floor. Tran crawls over to Cooper on the ground like he's wounded.

"We're almost there, man," Tran says this in an exasperated tone like he's been crawling around all day. Well, he sort of has. Cooper reaches out to Tran and coughs dramatically.

"Do you...think that...it's gonna work?" Cooper coughs in between his words, and I cover my mouth to avoid laughing and ruining their serious performance.

"It...has to...or else Lucas...won't...get laid," Tran coughs as he flops onto his back and begins laughing hysterically. Cooper joins him in a fit of laughter on the floor, holding his stomach and curling up into a ball.

"Alright, very funny guys, you got me." I wave them off as I try not to laugh, but I can't help it.

I take one more look at them sprawled out on the floor and burst into laughter. The immense stress we have been under lately has been almost unbearable, but moments like this are exactly what we need, and how the crew copes.

"You gotta say it, Richardson," Tran says as he hops up off the floor. Cooper groans loudly and rolls over onto his knees.

"Alright, that's the last one!" Cooper yells as loud as possible, causing Tran and I to cover our ears.

We chuckle and give a thumbs up to the rest of our crew in the window. Cooper pushes me up the stairs as Tran follows behind closely. We join Sokolov, Jennings, and Samson in the control room, and Tran steps up to the panel to set up the test.

"Okay, moment of truth." Tran gives me a meaningful look before he starts to inflate the habitat. We watch the straps begin to expand and reveal the woven pattern we've been tweaking for over a week now. I hold my breath as I dart my eyes back and forth between the window and the pressure meter.

170 PSI.

The habitat is almost at its full size.

"Come on, work!" Cooper shouts next to me, breaking the tension in the room.

181 PSI.

It's so quiet in here you could hear a pin drop. We begin to hear some creaking noises as the pressure meter continues to rise.

182.4 PSI.

My heart stops as I watch the habitat closely. It should be as hard as steel now. The pressure meter continues to climb.

188 PSI.

Members of the crew begin to cheer, and I can feel my stress beginning to melt away.

A large snapping sound followed by a loud boom makes everyone in the control room jump as the habitat explodes.

"Yeehaw!" Cooper yells, laughing. I look over at the pressure meter.

192 PSI.

It's incredible. The room erupts into applause and cheering, and Cooper grabs my shoulders.

"We did it, Lucas!" Cooper shouts at me and shakes me hard. I laugh hysterically, almost collapsing as all of my fears and anxiety from this past week vanish. I grab his shoulders and shake him back.

"Are you ready for tonight, man?" Cooper looks at me seriously all of a sudden. He has an eyebrow raised, and his bright blue eyes are piercing.

"Readier than I've ever been." I give him a confident smile and nod my head.

A wide grin spreads across his face and he shakes me around some more.

"Then let's go and try to look half as good as our wives." Cooper skips out of the control room and down the wide hall towards the showers. I follow him quickly, my heart beating with excitement that I get to prove to Rachel that I'm always going to be there for her.