Delta Outpost

Chapter 4

The rain is still pouring, but not as hard as earlier. Still, it's enough to soak me pretty well below the point where my umbrella could offer any shelter. The automatic doors part with a faint hiss as I approach. Once out of the rain, my skin freezes against the cold air blowing in the lab.

As the initial shock subsides, an amalgam of familiar senses starts putting me at ease. This is the environment where I spend most of my time. Even if it isn't my usual lab, it still all feels familiar. The polished metal surfaces reflect the fluorescent lights lining the ceiling, making the large room incredibly bright. The air smells like cleaning solutions. I still remember when I first started in this field; the odors of bleach and ammonium were enough to make me dizzy. Now it might as well be the scent of a weak air freshener. There are rows of gleaming silver tables, each covered in lab equipment. Holographic images dance around the specimens laying in trays, flashing up data faster than anyone can read it.

I take a deep breath and allow the zen-like effect of being in my natural habitat to calm my nerves. Even if it is an on-site lab, it's still a lab. The thick walls drown out the sound of the storm outside. It's like being back on the ship, or even back on Earth. With a quick toss of my umbrella into the gold metal can by the door, I head off to find my station.

"About time you showed up," Maggie says. She's now in a grey jumpsuit with a small set of screwdrivers on her belt. There's a band circling the back of her head, projecting a small holographic image in front of her left eye. A small bulb next to her right eye illuminates her field of view while she's working on our machinery. You won't find a better computer technician in the galaxy than Maggie Ramsen. It's always amazing to watch her work.

"So sorry," I say sarcastically. "Next time I'll let you babysit the frightened child."

The smile leaves her face and she looks away. I know what she's thinking. My mention of Danny's distress is reminding her that someone just died and we could have as well. It still feels weird to try and be business as usual under these circumstances, but the show must go on. Our livelihoods aren't going to go on hold for anything. Besides, it's not like we can just go home, so we might as well work while we're here. "Your station is over there in the corner," she says.

I notice my stuff as I get closer to the table. That's the nice thing about being a mobile lab; you get to bring all your equipment with you. If it weren't for Danny, I'd have had to be here setting all this up. I'll still need to move it anyway since there's no way anyone else could get it exactly the way I want it. I'm itching to dive in. Even in all the turmoil, I've been taking mental notes of everything I see and smell since we landed. The scent of the air, the feel of the gravity, and especially the look of the flora have all told me that I'm really going to enjoy looking at this planet up close and personal. Sure, my expertise helps a multi-billion credit organization get even richer, but they, in turn, buy all the equipment I need to play with dirt, rocks, and bugs, so I chalk it up to a win.

As soon as I sit down in the black, swiveling chair I notice something's missing. "Where are my samples?!" I call out to no one in particular. There's no response. I turn to face my colleagues and ask again. Someone finally informs me that they've not been delivered to the lab yet. I have all the testing equipment I need and nothing to use it on. "The hell is taking so long? The samples were supposed to be ready before we even landed."

"Something about the team having trouble gathering them," Maggie says. She sits down in the chair next to mine. This is kinda how we became friends; since she's really only needed for setup, teardown, and repairs, she gets a lot of down time. More and more she kept just sitting with me and gossiping while I worked.

"What kind of trouble?" I ask.

"Sweetie, you know if I knew that I'd have told you," she responds while giving me a funny look.