<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/f/fa/Mars_test.jpg)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Character name:</strong></td><td>Lt Colonel Louise Cotter</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Location:</strong> </td><td>Back in the airlock</td></tr><tr><td><strong>With:</strong> </td><td>Sweet Alycia</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Doing:</strong> </td><td>Getting the door closed.</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><hr/><br/>I stepped out of the swirling rust coloured Maelstrom into a pair of arms and a berating voice that told me basically that I was the most important person on the base, not in any way that MarsCorp might intend, but to one specific person, who was the most important to me.<br/><br/>"I'm fine, darling, I'm fine." I didn't care who heard me on the open channel. "I know. But you were already inside, and damn but that came down so effing fast! Anyway, this is why the military are still in charge, because we have the tech to get us out of shit like that. You counted everyone in, yes? If there's anyone else out there we need to get a search party roped and out now!"<br/><br/>When Laura assured me that I was last in, I sighed with relief and then looked at the lights on the inner door which suddenly changed from a steady orange to a flashing orange. "Shit! Pressure wont equalise. There's dust jamming the outer door open. De-pressurise the lock again, we don't want to waste air".<br/><br/>I waited until the pressure was just above Martian surface pressure and then overrode the outer door. It slid open with a whoosh, the overpressure blowing the dust away from the lock for just long enough for me to run a finger around the seal. "Close it!" I ordered and snatched my hand out of the way as the door slid shut.<br/><br/>This time the lock cycled correctly and we spilled gratefully out into the hangar.<br/>