Martian Dawn

Part 2, Chapter 4: Gravity

"I thought Martian gravity was supposed to be light," Mitchell complained over the speaker. "When's that causeway going to get hooked up?"

"Marguerite is in the airlock. We'll have the door open in five. And Martian gravity isn't technically considered light anymore," Jerry replied over the room mic. "The International Astronomical Society formally defined light gravity in 2046, remember? Less than point three but more than point oh five? So that the gravities of all the big moons fall into that category, but the planets are all considered full gravity and asteroids all have microgravity?"

"What about Pluto's gravity?" Mitchell asked. "Did Old Man Tyson screw the pooch again?"

Jerry laughed before he replied, "Mitchell, allow me to introduce you to my twelve year old daughter, Dawn."

"Oh sorry! Hi Dawn, nice to meet you."

"Hi Mitchell," Dawn replied. "Excited to meet you, too. And don't worry about your language. My dad's just fucking with you."

Three distinct laughs could be heard over the radio.

Jerry turned the mic off for a moment and reminded her. "Radio, Dawn, radio."

Dawn scoffed. "It's a low power broadcast, Dad. It's not like they can pick it up on Earth."

"Just..." Jerry scowled in frustration. "We'll talk about it later." He turned the mic back on.

"Hey, I hear banging on the hull. Is that you, Marguerite, or are we under alien attack?" The pilot asked.

"That's me," confirmed Marguerite. "These clamps are not the easiest things to secure by hand. It'll be a little noisy in there."

"I think you woke up Roarke. How you doing there, Finn? Did ya puke in your suit?" Mitchell teased.

There was a low grumble on the radio that might have been, "...uck you."

"See?" Dawn said to her father.

Instead of answering, he leaned over the console and switched channels so that the new arrivals wouldn't hear, "Marguerite, what's the holdup?"

"We're not perfectly lined up, Jer. It just takes a bit of muscle, that's all."

"If you need me to adjust, just say the word."

"No, no. You are as close as can be expected. One... second... Ok, seal in place. Pressurize that bad boy."

Jerry switched back to channel 3. "Roger; pressurizing now." Dawn hit the button on the panel beside the airlock. Pressurized air hissed from the tanks into the causeway, making it go abruptly rigid. A single crease formed and then slowly shrank halfway along the length. The light on the panel turned green, indicating full pressure. They watched the readouts on the panel for thirty seconds before Jerry thumbed the mic again. "Stable pressure in the causeway. Opening airlock."

Dawn pulled the inner door into the buggy and swung it aside. The outer door swung down and formed a stable floor.

"Ground transport airlock open. Causeway is equalized with the buggy and holding steady," Jerry announced into the radio.

"Acknowledged. Opening lander airlock now," the pilot replied.

A series of bumps and hisses carried through the atmosphere of the causeway, and then the outer airlock door of the lander swung slowly down and engaged loosely with that of the buggy. A slight breeze blew toward the buggy from the lander. A tunnel now connected the two of them together. Jerry and Dawn gazed down the tunnel at a pressure-suited astronaut. She waved.