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So, Claudeng80 and I got to talking, and then it was Obiyuki Kiss-a-thon and then this happened. It’s all yours, now, dearies. J. out.
Undertow: a force or tendency that is in opposition to what is apparent.
In space no one can hear you scream, but Zen is willing to give it a shot. Except he can’t. Not when the success of his mission and the morale of his crew depends on his next decision.
“Are we positive we can’t fix the MDV?”
Ryuu is the youngest of his crew but his voice doesn’t falter.
“I can re-engineer some of the Olin Maris’s spare units to match the malfunctioning ones on the MDV. There is a 75% chance that will work.”
“I’ll take those chances.” Zen is grasping at straws, he knows.
“Unfortunately for us, the MDV is a matchbox in comparison to the Olin Maris. Even with our very competent poking around, that’s gonna eat up a lot of space.”
The Olin Maris crew is seated around the kitchen table, as the great ship plods steadily through space, except for Obi, who’s leaning tall against the kitchen cupboards, looking like he’s going to launch any second now. He’d been running flight simulations when the glitch was recorded. His brown jumpsuit strikes a discordant note to the rest of the crew’s downtime civvy grays.
“I can make room for two.”
Ryuu is competent but everyone else around him is competently quiet. Two means one. Obi needs to fly and dock the MDV on the platform Commander Izana Wistalia’s crew set up for them on the previous Mars expedition. The highly successful previous Mars expedition.
Zen feels sick.
“This isn’t a two man mission.”
Trust Kiki to put it out there.
“Then we don’t have a mission.”
Shirayuki squeaks and Zen wishes Mitsuhide learned how to actually communicate in communication school. None of them underwent 5 years of grueling astronaut training, reading mission reports Zen Wistalia’s older brother routinely sent from Mars in preparation for Olin Maris’s first voyage to the Red Planet, just to turn the colossal ship around, empty handed and on tax payer’s money, just because their ride down to the actual planet malfunctioned and Zen couldn’t catch it in time.
“We still have a mission. Get the MDV ready for flight.”
“The MDV will fly. It’s docking that’ll be tricky. Flight sims show 0.5% success odds even with manual control.”
Obi doesn’t trust computers. Izana wanted him on the mission not even a week after he graduated top of his class, but NASA doesn’t work that way. Lone wolf syndrome is what his psych eval said.
Train this stray, will you? is what Izana told Zen right before he launched himself  into the Space Heroes Hall of Fame.
“What if we eject before impact?” Kiki trust computers. She trusts Obi’s piloting skills more though.
“We could.”
His brave Shirayuki, always making Zen smile, even in the face of adversity. She took her more physical training very seriously. Zen knows for a fact she had Obi sneak her in for Extra G Force practice, even though she passed Advanced Survival Training with above average grades. She could take a tumble, even on Mars.
“But our equipment won’t make it in one piece. These are delicate instruments. NASA build a separate container into the MDV just for them.”
“Could we scavenge the Wistal Hab for instruments?
Shirayuki scrunches her nose dejectedly: “Not for what we need.”
“Ryuu?”
“We don’t have the resources I need to replicate the instruments. We don’t have time.”
And time is the critical issue. Zen knows his crew. Ryuu could build a rocket to get them down to Mars and Obi could fly it with Mitsuhide and Kiki riding first class, sipping martinis, while Shirayuki is strapped in with a lap full of delicate instruments, but with only 10 days to spare, Zen is keenly aware that they can’t work miracles.
“What if we make this a two man mission?”
It isn’t meant as a challenge, but there are no what ifs involved here and Obi knows it. Zen wonders when he got so easy to read.
“Obi needs to fly the MDV down and the MAV up. He can double up as mechanical engineer, if need be. The Lyrias Hab is brand new. Shouldn’t require much maintenance.” Kiki speaks in her no nonsense tone now, which only serves to remind Zen Kiki Seiran could have been commanding this ship had her father not put an end to that train of thought, what was NASA thinking, seriously? Surely not his only child and heir - things go wrong in space all the time. Let somebody else deal with that.
Well, Zen is trying.
“Cool. Always wanted to be a space janitor.”
A collective giggle brings some much needed levity in the somber kitchen.
“You wouldn’t be in space. You’d be on Mars. The planet we need to terraform. We need a mission specialist on the ground. We have two.”
Zen steals his nerves against what he knows is coming.
“We are all here familiar with the mission parameters, doctor. We have all been trained in operating the instruments.”
Kiki is only partially mollified. She can see it coming - the decision Zen has to make. It isn’t pretty.
“But you have a point. Could any of us effectively deal with the myriad variables involved in analysing the data and executing the right command? We’re not scientists. We’re heavy lifters.”
Primary Civilian Personnel is what they called Ryuu and Shirayuki. Exceptional people with an extraordinary set of skills that were indispensable to the success of the Olin Maris terraforming mission. But they were people, who unlike Zen and Kiki and Mitsuhide and even the wild card that was Obi, hadn’t listed astronaut as their first career choice. Five years ago they had been working in the sterile environment of a lab, not in the vacuum of space. It was only after the success of the Experiment (information classified) in one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth (location undisclosed) that they left a deafening mark on NASA’s radar and were co-opted on the mission. They were the mission.
“I volunteer.”
Ryuu beats Shirayuki to it by a hair, which is not entirely surprising. He only speaks up when it matters.
“Ryuu!”
“We already have an engineer. The mission needs a geologist.”
“I assure you, doctor Seiran, that I can competently...”
“Enough!”
Zen isn’t about to let this turn into a PhD pissing contest. He musters his best Commander voice and lays out a course of action.
“New mission parameters - a scenario. Obi, sit down, please.” He’s distracting.
Obi takes his place between Shirayuki and Kiki, so Zen gets a good look at everyone, from Mitsuhide to his right and Ryuu’s shaggy black mop of a hair to his left.
“Ryuu engineers us enough working space on the MDV so that Obi can fly Shirayuki and our equipment safely next to the Lyrias Hab. Estimated time?”
“Three days. Two days for tests. Five days for scheduled pre-flight tests.”
“We need to get NASA on the line for this. Mitsuhide?”
“MDV stat report is ready to send. 24 minutes ETA. Crisis cells usually take another 15 minutes. Protocol states they need to advise within the hour. Plus another 24 minutes for relay.”
“Ryuu, I want a report on changes made on the MDV. I’m issuing an executive order. Mitsuhide, be ready to inform NASA as soon as the report is ready.”
“Understood.”
“Obi, you are now scheduled to assist Ryuu. I want those tests positive for landing. Mitsuhide will merge your work schedules as appropriate.”
“Aye-aye, Cap’n!”
Obi’s mock salute is met with Zen’s personal brand of not the time, Obi! He’s had to use that look more often than he’d anticipated on this mission.
“Shirayuki, you will resume your daily tasks. Downtime will be cut one hour short for mandatory counselling with Kiki. Which brings me to my next point. Kiki.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What’s the psychological impact on the crew pending a change in mission parameters?”
They know Kiki won’t pull her punches, but the gravity of the matter leaves Zen no choice. They need to hear this.
“We trained for a Mars expedition: our goals were to land on Mars and begin Stage Two of  terraforming procedures at the Lyrias Hab. We have been practising our tasks for over an  year on the Maris to ensure the peak of efficiency once on Mars. You are effectively ordering the four of us to stay behind. Yes, that includes yourself, Zen. You are the mission Commander - but once Obi and Shirayuki are down there, executive command is effectively transferred to the senior officer. That’s Obi.”
Obi wants to protest, but Mitsuhide is faster: “That won’t necessarily happen. They aren’t cut off. We’ll be in constant communication. Hab is linked to the Olin Maris. We’re all connected. They still report to the mission Commander.”
“They will be alone on a planet that does not support human life.”
“Yet”, Shirayuki interjects.
“Even so, every information that we receive is second-hand information. We can’t possibly devise mission protocols for...everything. Things will go wrong. We’ll have eyes and ears on you, but we won’t be there.”
“What does that leave us with then?”
Obi’s eyes are golden slits of frustration. He’s not sure if Kiki is challenging his ability to follow orders or Zen’s ability to relinquish control. Zen knows it’s both. And he can’t really blame her.
“Trust, Obi. That leaves us with trust.”
Zen feels suddenly very weary and it’s only the mental image of Izana’s clear blue eyes when he’s disappointed that keeps his poker face intact.
“I trust you to complete the mission: get Shirayuki there and back again safely and assist her as she completes Stage Two.”
Obi has a very expressive face, but his smiles now are only for Shirayuki’s benefit.
“Hear that, Miss? I’ll be your own personal bodyguard.”
Shirayuki is all green-eyed determination when she says: “We won’t fail this mission. We won’t fail you.”
Zen smiles. She never could.
…
Ever since Shirayuki complained that she can’t hear him coming and it’s very unsettling - and hazardous to their surrounding, but that only happened once and Obi thinks it’s not fair that he should be held accountable for his Miss dropping the thingamajig into the whatdoyoucallit just because he startled her half to death - Obi walks in whistling.
He whistles extra loud now just to make sure. Shirayuki is running a marathon on the treadmill and he’s fairly sure she’s going to wear the damn thing to pieces.
She’s a sweaty pony-tailed wonder and his Commander (and best friend) wrapped a bow around her tiny frame and deposited her - competent, brilliant, geeky, Shirayuki - in his less than worthy hands.
His Miss wounds down and beams up at him - as she always does.
“Obi! Are you whistling opera?”
A few red tendrils of hair have snaked out of her messy ponytail and are now clinging to her neck. Why must he be so good at noticing minor changes in everything around him? This image is going to haunt him for days and space is a lonely place.
“I don’t know. Am I? It’s what Mitsuhide always listens to.”
...and punished him with last time Obi was late with a data dump. Obi is more of an 80’s disco guy. Secretly, of course.
“Yes! It’s a famous aria from...” and then Miss promptly launches into a detailed plot summary of some servant dude’s marriage to a girl courted by his master.
“...it’s one of the most frequently performed operas, actually. Ryuu and I...”
Shirayuki suddenly stops and looks away.
“Yeah, you guys…?” Obi prompts. He needs to squash this now or else he’ll be no use to her planetside.
“We used to go to the opera all the time.” Shirayuki finishes rather lamely.
“And you still can, even if you’re descending and he’s not.”
“Don’t be silly, Obi.” She’s trying to be brave about this, but she’s in space, prepping to go down on an uninhabited planet in a malfunctioning vehicle they patched up together to complete a terraforming mission that not only cost billions of dollars but may in the very near future save billions of lives. Without her lab partner. With a glorified space janitor as chaperone.
“We’ll have opera nights, Miss. I’ll get Mitsuhide to dig up this Figaro guy’s nuptials and we’ll all watch it together. I’m sure it will be a riveting  experience!”
Shirayuki laughs her true laugh then and mock slaps him with her towel.
“They don’t actually show the wedding night, Obi, you realise that, right?”
Obi pretends to be shocked, but her laugh is  infectious. She knows him too well.
“Good. I’m not sure the kid’s old enough to be watching that kind of stuff.”
Obi’s not a super scientist like Shirayuki or a prodigy like Ryuu, but Shirayuki is every inch a pretty Miss and Ryuu is a cute kid. Obi’s ways are no more convoluted than that.
Shirayuki is still trying to be indignant over their assigned nicknames, but she’s smiling and her eyes are now bright again.
“So, are we good, Miss?”
They need to be.
You’ll be alone with her for six months. Working together, breathing the same recycled air together. Cohabitating. A man and a woman, on a deserted planet.  With very little privacy. You can’t run from your feelings on Mars, Obi. You’d have nowhere to go.
The Doc didn’t mince words and she was far too clever and observant. Almost as observant as he was.
Doc, give me a break. I’m a professional. I’m ex-military. I know what’s at stake here.
You’re still military,  the Doc had corrected. That had made Obi smile: you couldn’t bullshit a bullshitter. But you like her. And she’s technically a civilian.
Are you baiting me?
I’m warning you. This might be a bit more difficult than you think.
Come on, Doc, it’s not illegal to like someone. I like you too.
Most of the time.
Problem is, she likes you too.
Which was when Obi realised this must have been a weird ass psych test. Miss had the biggest crush on Zen. He’d been there: We won’t fail you, his Miss had said. He could almost taste the adoration in her words. Did it taste bitter? Yes, but he wasn’t going to prove Kiki right.
So, according to the Doc, they liked each other, did they? Shouldn’t that make things easier?
Things always seemed easier when Shirayuki was looking at him with clever bright green eyes and cheeks dimpled by her smile. She was practically bouncing with excitement.
“We’re good! We’re great! We’re going to Mars! On an adventure! We’re going to do science, Obi! On Mars!”
It was the bouncing. One moment she was beaming up at him, the next all he could see was red and all he could feel was her lips making brief contact with his left cheek.
Regroup, Obi, dammit, regroup!
“I am going to hit the gym. And you are going to shower. You stink, Miss.”
“I do not...” Shirayuki started but a quick sniff of her sweat soaked tee had her running to showers with that cute little squeak Obi found so endearing.
our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood; forever in the stars by girl_in_stripes
pairing: louis/harry
wordcount: 2400
summary: astronaut!au, inspired by the president’s speech had the apollo eleven mission failed, also includes themes from the apollo thirteen mission.
