<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/6/6b/Lt_Laura_Alicia_Hicks.jpg)</div><table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Character name:</strong></td><td>Major Laura Hicks (MSF)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Location:</strong> </td><td>Command Center Block</td></tr><tr><td><strong>With:</strong> </td><td> Alone</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Doing:</strong> </td><td> Finishing up business, settling in</td></tr></tbody></table><br/><hr/><br/>Laura strolled down the corridore from Main Dome (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=149004.0) and into the Command Center block; her eyes automatically scanning the area ahead of her through long years of training more than anything else. She paused at the poster on the wall and grinned to herself at the Marvin The Martian poster with the caption, “We want YOU for the Martian Marines!” Someone had enjoyed themselves, she thought and continued on into the block and climbed the stairs to the security Office.<br/><br/>The brunette entered the front office with it’s metal desk and wall of monitors and functional chairs; the monitors, she noted were already running and showing a variety of locations both inside and outside of the colony; one monitor never flickered though as it showed an airlock with red and yellow warning paint surrounding it and an elaborate security system… the arms area.<br/><br/>Laura continued through and into the back corridor and the series of smaller rooms that cut off of it. She knew one was an interrogation room, another was a small conference room and the third was her own office… and off by itself at the end of the corridor near her office door was the red and yellow stripped airlock.<br/><br/>She had reset the security system when she had gotten there earlier (and had to take off her glove to do that), and now the system was set up so only 3 people could access the contents within. Herself, Louise Cotter and Laura’s own second in command. The only time these weapons would be released would be in the event of an emergency and only two people, in her mind, were capable of stating that condition.<br/><br/>She pressed her thumb to the DNA scanner, then leaned in for the retina scan. She blinked twice to remove the spots from her eyes.<br/><br/>She knew that she only had a few seconds to enter the code, and quickly tapped the 6 digit number into the touch screen pad and heard the beep and the click of the locks releasing.<br/><br/>Laura pulled the airlock door open and stepped inside. The lock closed automatically behind her and she moved deeper into the dimly lit chamber. She noted the orange banded cargo containers that had been brought down and unpacked… all but 1. The subguns and spare pistols were in their appropriate racks and secured with another thumbscanner; the pre-loaded magazines and powerpacks stored separately in their own protected cabinet. Satisfied that the weapons were secured, she absently stripped the orange tape from the containers and balled it up to slip into a pocket. The containers would be broken down and returned to storage tomorrow.<br/><br/>Then, she knelt and pressed her thumb against the last container’s lock and heard the click and hiss of escaping gas. Good, it had not been breached. “Ok, my little lovelies.” She said softly and opened the crate to examine the explosive ordinants that she had been authorized to bring along. They were not high yield explosives, but as a mass, they could certainly be destructive.<br/><br/>Working quietly and efficiently in the still room, she pulled open a reinforced locker and moved the shaped charges and blocks of C-33 into the locker; the detonators would be stored separately both for safety and security.<br/><br/>The C-33 was specifically designed for airless environments… or environments that couldn’t supply it’s own supportive gases for the detonations. It would be perfect for the surface of Mars.<br/><br/>With everything settled into it’s appropriate place, she closed and secured the locker… Only herself and Louise could access this locker and it would take more time to force it than anyone should have time for… not to mention that it was as likely to blow up as to open.<br/><br/>She picked up thee container of detonators, little more than a tiny battery pack with two hardwired leads in them, and left the weapons locker. She made sure to resecure the door and went back into her office.<br/><br/>She knelt beside the safe behind her desk and used both the thumb scan and keypad to open the door and slipped the detonators into the space before closing it again. “Done.”<br/><br/>She let ut a breath and rose to retrieve her duffle and single box of personal items that the supercargo had allowed her and left the security office.<br/><br/>She climbed up to the next level and passed through the control center to the three rooms beyond. She could see on the display beside each door which one was Louise’s and chose the room across from hers. Stefan could have the one at the end of the corridor, she thought to herself.<br/><br/>She pressed her thumb to the lock and stepped inside. She looked around her new home and thought that it was better than her quarters back on earth. With a soft laugh, she dropped the duffle and box on the floor and grinning a little to herself, she pulleda napkin from her pocket and stepped back outside. She had snitched it out from under Louise’s tray after watching her lover use it to wipe er mouth and thought that it would do the job. She pressed the napkin to the thumb scanner and waited to see if it would pick up enough DNA to log the person. It blinked acceptance and she locked the system. “Not that I’ll spend a lot of time here.” She thought to herself, but she began to unpack and put things away. She was done in a few minutes and took a quick sower. She remembered the water conversation issues, so she kept it to just a few minutes… but it felt good to be clean after months of sleep.<br/><br/>She reentered the main room again, unconcerned about her nudity and adjusted the room’s thermostat up to 20 C.. about 68F… and with a yawn, slipped onto the bed and rolled up in the comforter, willing herself to sleep.<br/><br/>