Lunar One

Chapter 3: The Moon Base

     Morgan never bugged Rogers that much and when it was all said and done it took a little over thirty six hours for the shuttle to reach the orbit of the moon. Despite how nervous the crew was as they got back into their space suits, Rogers was a cool as a cucumber as he made this landing several times before. Using just thrusters, he navigated the shuttle towards the moon and made a perfect touchdown on the lunar landing bay. The shuffle softly touched down and there were already three astronauts out there to anchor the ship down to make sure it didn't float away.

     "There we go," Rogers called out, "Thank you for flying with us. Please make sure all trays and chairs are left in the upright position."

     The crew all put their helmets on, grabbed the stuff they were going to take to the station and slowly floated over to the cargo bay to make their first spacewalk. Once the ship was secure and everyone was ready, the bay doors opened and for the first time Morgan was in space outside the ship, something that felt totally amazing. He floated out of the cargo bay and down towards the other space walkers that were waiting to escort them into the station. It took fifteen minutes to cover ten meters from the ship to the main airlock to the station. Morgan took a look at the space station and again he was amazed. It looked a lot bigger than the pictures would have suggested. He could see why NASA had to send monthly supply ships there as it probably took a crapload of oxygen to keep everyone in there alive. When all seven of them made it the airlock, they were greeted by someone who was on the other side. He waved and smiled at his new guests.

     "Greetings space travelers," He started. "My name is Commander Jack Gordon, and I am in command of this station. Before I open the airlock, I need to remind everyone that you all signed a non-disclosure agreement before accepting this mission. Do you remember that?"

     All the astronauts nodded to confirm.

     "What the hell is he babbling about?" Morgan asked.

     "I can't tell you," Rogers said with a smile. "It's a surprise."

     "Whatever you see or feel inside this station is strictly classified. You are not allowed to divulge anything you experience here without permission from both NASA and the Department of National Defense."

     "Wait a minute," Morgan interrupted. "The defense department?"

     "That's right," Rogers answered. "Do you think NASA could afford all this on their own the way the Congress has been slashing their budget?"

     "I see your point." Morgan answered. "So this is a joint venture. Basically NASA does all the grunt work and you guys get to use the results like a private, third party investor."

     "Something like that Dr. Taylor," Gordon answered. "Brace yourselves."

     "Brace ourselves?" Jessica repeated. "For what?"

     "You'll see." Rogers said as he grabbed a bar behind him."

     The door leading out the ship was closed behind them and then without warning, all the astronauts except Rogers and the two who escorted them in all fell to the floor with a hard thud. When the room decompressed, not only did the room fill with oxygen but gravity was restored as well. They were no longer floating like they had for the last few days, at least not as much as they didn't when they traveled from the ship to the docking port.

     "Welcome to Lunar One." Rogers said as he offered a hand to help Morgan back to his feet.

     "Holy shit!" Morgan said as he got back to his feet. "We have full gravity on the moon! How the hell is that possible?"