The Moonwalker

Chapter 10.1

Although ILUB-2 has a small shower, water is limited. Aula wets a towel and cleans herself as economically as possible. They have no-rinse shampoo, although it works better with a smidge of warm water. She massages it in and then combs her hair back, which is now past her shoulders. The air's cold, but that makes for a pleasant contrast to the heat in her side. Moisture from her body will evaporate and be picked up by the base's air conditioner, turned into condensate, and then sent back into the water processing system where it will become drinkable again. One of their goals on ILUB-2 is to decrease dependence on Earth for water, food, and fuel for future settlements. That and study rare earth elements, which everyone in a three piece suit is frothing at the bit to mine.

She dries herself off and slips into clean underwear and bra. Someone knocks on her door. She can tell by the cadence that it's Harvey.

"What?"

He opens the door, gives her a brief once over, and steps inside. "We're having a late dinner at the Cubby. We're still waiting on Masato so you've got about ten minutes before Ben comes looking for you. Earth's shitting bricks right now."

"Of course they are." She grabs a stick of deodorant and puts it on her left armpit and then right. "We were blind out there, Harv. We were supposed to be clear."

"I was listening." He leans against the wall and looks at the pictures above her desk. "I'm not crazy about all this deja-vu."

She toes her way into a pair of worn olive trousers. Despite her exercise regimen, they're starting to hang off her. She zips and buttons her fly, and grabs a black shirt. Slipping it over her head sends her muscles back into spasm.

"Are you going to do something about that or stick with martyrdom?"

Aula exhales slowly. "Nothing a beer and a nap won't cure."

"And when Ross finds out, he'll fly up here and kick both our asses."

"I don't doubt it." She shuts her eyes until the spasm passes. "Fuck that camera. Fuck that whole site."

"And fuck the Moon," he says amiably. "And fuck us for coming back."

She cracks a smile and looks up at the pictures on her wall. She hooks a hair elastic with her thumb and index finger and carefully reaches up to gather her hair into a ponytail. The muscles in her side contract involuntarily. She grunts like a dog.

"This is too damn sad to watch." Harvey takes the elastic out of her hands and gathers her hair like a coil of rope. "You need to chop this off."

"I know." She winces. "Ow!"

He struggles to loop her hair through a third time. "Jesus, Al. How do you live like this? It's like wrestling a corn snake."

"You've got it easy. I had to braid Sophie's hair."

"Sophia, huh?" Harvey finally pulls the loop closed. "Haven't heard that name in a long time."

She stands up carefully and rolls her shoulder. "You know my last thoughts are always going to be of you and the money you owe me."

"That was for simulated emergencies in the MAF." He opens the door and looks at her askance. "You crashed it, remember? Everyone watched Big Dick Reed go down in flames."

Aula pushes him out the door. "Asshole."