<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>Dr Gadi's Office, then heading for the main dome</td></tr><tr><td><strong>With:</strong> </td><td>Stefan Versatile, Dr. Gadi, Maj Jack Monroe, Maj Laura Hicks - Hopefully keeping the Major.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Doing:</strong> </td><td>Concluding the meeting.</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><hr/><br/>I nodded slightly at Laura's second message, just enough to let her know I was considering my options. I didn't reply though. (Her first message had almost made me giggle, but I had controlled myself. This was a game we played. Who can make the other loose composure first, in a serious situation, with provocative messages and images. She had won the round in my office, and I damn well wasn't loosing this one).<br/><br/><tt class="bbc_tt">I wonder if they have the whipped cream unpacked yet?</tt>I sent to her.<br/><br/>"Right. Well if there is nothing further?" I shrugged. "I think we have the situation under control for now, we each know what we're doing, and in all honesty, there isn't really anything we can do until we know whether the lasers are here or not. So if you gentle men will excuse us, I would very much like to show this delightful young lady around the base..."<br/><br/>I stood, and of course they all stood too, being either gentlemen or my subordinates. I pulled my cap out of my belt and popped it on my head, returned Jack's salute, and, grabbing Laura's hand in mine like a love-struck school kid, dragged her from the room.<br/><br/>"We have to hurry", I told her. "It's almost time..." I pinged the nearest public blue-tooth link station and logged into the base mainframe, pulled up the astronomical database and checked. We hade barely fifteen minutes to get there.... I walked quickly, dragging Laura by the hand, to the main dome (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=149004.msg6768953#msg6768953).