After Earth - Chapter 6 - Murphy's Law

"Sir, a Cadet Talia is here to see you."  Commander Donaldson frowned.  He hadn't expected to hear from this cadet so quickly.  He fully expected she would settle in, find her place, and work her way out, but it appears that he was incorrect.

"Send her in."  He groaned inwardly as he saw her eyes.  They flashed angrily, while her face was void of emotion.  How she pulled that off, he had yet to figure out.  Not a twitch to a muscle, yet she looked angrier then a rabid badger.

"Cadet..."

"Who was the moron who nixed the water reclamation unit and the hydroponics facility?"  He stepped back.

"What?  Are you saying...."

"That engineering has not built  the waste and water reclamation system that was designed to reclaim liquid and solid wastes for methane production, and water usage for the hydroponics bays.  The hydro..."  He waved his hand to stall her.

"Yes, the hydroponics bays were supposed to be nearing the first harvest by now, and you're saying that they were nixed?"  His eyes sparked as well.  He was angry.  "There are only two people on board who have that power."  He pressed a button.  Cadet Talia closed her mouth, and waited.

"Sir?"

"Security.  Retrieve the XO and bring him to my office.  Treat him gently, Murphy."

"Gently, sir?"

"If he says he's busy, insist.  And then you can be a little rougher."  She heard the tone change.

"Yes, sir!  I hope he resists!"  Talia frowned.

"Murphy, sir?"  He growled under his breath.

"They call him Murphy, as in Murphy's Law.  His real name is Benson.  Lieutenant Dave Benson.  A real piece of work, and as thick as the bulk head doors.  Both physically, and mentally.  And Murphy's law is that Murphy takes what he wants, and dares you to try to stop him."  She didn't bat an eyelash, or flinch.

"Understood,sir.  A future problem that may have to be dealt with."  He nodded.

"But for now, he's useful."  The door opened.

"Sir, you sent for me?"  Talia grimaced inwardly.  The tone was wavering and hesitant.  There was no confidence, and felt mostly subservient.  She despised the weak willed who could not speak for themselves.  Not for their weakness, but how they always seemed to need approval, or they would fold under the pressure.

"Lieutenant Commander, I've just been given a report that says the water reclamation unit and the hydroponics bays were not built.  Care to explain that?"  He nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course!  The hydroponics bays use a ton of water, and by not having them, we can save the power needed to run the water reclamation unit!  It was quite ingenious of me...."

"You bloody moron!"  The Commander thumped his fist down on his desk.

"Sir?"  The XO backed up a step.

"The water reclamation unit is also the waste processing unit, which harvests methane for fuel!  That helps the power draw, but the water would be necessary for all who live here!  The hydroponics bays would produce oxygen, clean the water as it used it and turned some into vapor, which would be reclaimed through a condenser, and it produces....are you understanding this?  FOOD!"  The XO stepped back another step and walked right into Murphy.

"There are five green light functions aboard this ship!  All are needed to be green in order for us to start the trip to Mars!  You've managed to make four of those green lights red!  Food, water, air, shelter, and power.  No food grown means reduced rations until the first crop is harvested.  That is six months from now.  Water has been wasted, along with organic material that could have been used for methane production, and fertilizer for the agriculture operations that are necessary to our survival.  Without people to repair the mistakes, and build for the future, there is no future for the entire human race."  He turned away.  "I've never met a more incompetent person in my life!"  He turned back, and cleared his face of all emotions.

"Cadet Talia, how soon can the engineering department begin on setting things right?"

"Right away, sir, but you are correct in your assessment.  One month minimum to build, and test the waste water unit, two months to get hydroponics set up with soil, water rations, power needs, and seed.  Then a minimum of three months before the first crops can be harvested.  That is also using quick growing genetically modified variants that no human wants to grow again.  It can't be helped, but we'll also plant a quarter of the bays with non gmo heirloom vegetables and grains, keep them separated from the modified variants, and when the first harvest is in, we'll switch completely to the unmodified.  The harvest were to keep us going until we reached Mars, then transfer the majority of that load to the planet.  Now...."  He nodded.

"It can't be helped.  I can't believe we have to use the very things that helped to destroy our own planet in order to remedy the situation this moron created!"  The commander cleared his face again.

"Murphy!"

"Sir?"  There was a sizable smile now on Murphy's face.

"Escort the former XO to his quarters to retrieve his gear.  He'll be on the next shuttle to the surface.  Feel free to not be gentle.  It was his decisions that led to reduced rations after all."  Murphy smiled.  The commander heard the pitiful whine issue from the former XO's lips as the door closed.

"Time to learn Murphy's law."  The commander thought he was quite clever, but Talia never twitched a muscle in her lips.

"Not Murphy's Law, sir.  Fenix's Law.  Don't mess with my squad."  She thought about just leaving, but she had something to say.  "Sir, if I might suggest Lieutenant Ayers."  Then she walked out without waiting to be dismissed.






"Alright, Beta, listen up!  This is home."  They looked around and saw the tons of scrap that clogged the hold right up to the door.

"This?"  Of course, Wilson was the first one to speak.

"This.  Inside this hold is the barracks for the cadets.  It is your job to identify, sort, and move all this scrap to the appropriate bays that have need of this material."  Wilson put his hand up.  "Yes, Cadet?"  He swallowed.

"Sir, this is nothing but junk!  Garbage to be jettisoned!"  She shook her head.

"And where do you expect the Fenix to pick up more copper, aluminum, and steel?  The local hardware store?"  He made himself smaller in the lineup.  "That's right.  None of the former manufacturers exist today.  Those places have almost all been wiped off the face of the planet, or are close to being just that. A spot on an old map about to be erased.  That means we have to reuse and recycle all the scrap until we can make it ourselves."  She took a small object from her pocket.  "This is a magnet.  Put it near your piece of scrap to find out whether or not its iron based.  Some stainless steel can be nonmagnetic, but most structural steel has a high iron to carbon percentage.  Any that is not magnetic, put it into a separate pile to be further tested."  She picked up a piece and let the magnet stick to it.

"Wilson!"

"Sir?"

"Take this piece to bay A1 across the hall from your barracks.  Its a fairly large bay, so keep all iron to one side, and the rest unsorted to the other.  When you've cleared enough space, put your cots down, and set up your lockers.  Remember, do not put your cots down until that space is cleared right to the walls.  Am I clear?"

"Clear, sir!"  She handed out the magnets and watched some work harder then others, but she already knew who they would be.  Coral worked like a demon, as she expected, with Wilson not far behind her.  As much flak as she gets from him, he still backs everyone up.  He would make a good officer if he could learn some restraint for his mouth.

Talia set up the arc welder, took a wire brush that had seen better days, cleaned a spot on the wall to attach the ground wire, and set herself up to begin fixing the mistakes.  The normal safety precautions people used to take, such as fume extraction, were integrated into the Fenix's air handling system.  It would remove, and filter out the majority of fumes when it passed through paper and carbon filters as it entered the system, then other ceramic filters at the base unit.

She hoped it would stand up to the wear and tear it would have to endure over the next few months before the plant life took off some of the strain.  Ceramic would be difficult to acquire in space unless they brought a significant amount of it with them and recycled it heavily.  She hadn't worked in such recycling facilities into the overall footprint, but it looked like she would have to try and fit it in.

The Fenix had to succeed.  Her family, her mother and daughter, and now Coral, all depended on the Fenix's success.  That meant she had to deal ruthlessly with anyone who became a threat.





"Alright, its chow time, guys."  Talia lifted her head from her work when Coral made the call.  She got fairly involved in her work, and the chief engineer had already been by to see what she had been up to.  He walked away with a fairly large smile on his lips, and a small section of the schematics grayed out.  Apparently, he approved of her work.

"Hey, boss!  Its time for food!  You know, that stuff they allow us to eat from time to time!"  Talia smirked, but the amusement didn't reach her eyes.  In truth, she was amused, but it didn't help her reputation to smile and nod like the rest of the cadets.  She had to teach them that she was stronger then anything space could throw at them.

"We could hear your stomach growling over that welder, Wilson, so I do believe she knows what time it is!"  Coral called out with a smile.  "Lets get to the cafeteria before we lose our seats!"

"Aye aye, ma'am!"  Wilson snapped a quick salute, but he wasn't really looking forward to eating in the cafeteria.  Things had worked out rather poorly for the whole squad the last couple of days due to the reduced rations.  Some of the staff couldn't handle the reduced food allowance and had come up with some inventive ways to make due.

Coral looked around, a little bit unnerved as she walked into the cafeteria, though Talia's mind was on the next set of welds she would have to make.  She had only taken a few bites when she felt an enormous weight strike her.  Her ears rang for a moment and was helped up to her seat.

"What just happened?"  She asked and cleared her vision quickly.

"That gorilla just stole your food!"  She looked around and found the culprit.  Murphy.  She growled.

"I'll have to make sure to keep my mind on my food from now on."

"But...Aren't you going to do something?"  Wilson asked, a little bit confused.  He had his own food stolen the day before when Talia was too busy to come to the cafeteria.

"Its personal, cadet.  There is nothing I can do without getting a superior officer's okay to take it into the ring."

"But he stole Coral's food as well!  And mine yesterday!"  She looked at her now vacant place, and Coral's.  She stood up.

"But....he's so big!  I don't..."  Talia stepped away and didn't listen to her any longer.  Her eyes were focused on one person only.

The mountain of muscle named Murphy.





"Oh shit, she's going after him!"  Lieutenant Ayers said in a low voice.

"She's gonna get killed!"  Lieutenant Ronson said.  Ayers smiled.

"You want to bet on that, Don?  How about a day's rations?"  He frowned, then shook her hand.

"You're on!"  Ayers smiled, and waited for the inevitable.





Talia didn't hesitate.  She walked up and punched him in the throat before he could push any more of her cadet's food into his mouth.  He choked, and grabbed his throat to try and clear it.

"Hurk!  Cough cough!  Bitch!"

"Cadet!  What's the meaning of this?  Striking a superior officer?"  Her eyes turned towards him for only the briefest of seconds, but only to register the speaker.

"He stole food from Cadet Coral."  The commander nodded.

"No permission needed.  He broke the law.  Deal with it."  She nodded.

"I intend to."  Murphy had cleared his throat and stood up.

"You're going to get it now, girly!"  He swung his big meaty fist, and her training came up into her mind.  Her mentor, George, was a behemoth of a man who taught her military style hand to hand combat, and had other martial fighters teach her other techniques.

She dodged only enough to allow his fist to go by her face, and feel the brush of skin on her cheek.  She wrapped her hands around his wrist, threw her feet up and wrapped her legs about his bicep.  A puncher like him would see this as an opportunity.

As he lifted his arm to throw her down, she reached up over his arm, put his hand below her armpit, and braced both arms beneath his forearm.  She then extended all pressure up and out.  She knew that someone as beefy as Murphy would be able to out muscle her if she tried to hyper extend his arm.  Instead, the pressure was centered between his wrist, and his elbow.

The breaking of bone coincided with the scream that emerged from his lips.




"You know her, don't you?"  Lieutenant Ronaldson asked.  She smiled.

"She's squad leader of Beta squad."  He laid his head against his hand.  "Be glad I didn't press for a larger wager.  Its only one day, and you could stand to lose a couple of pounds, Don."

Ayers watched the rest of the event unfold, and Talia cement her place as the biggest threat to anyone who messed with her squad.




Murphy looked up at Talia from the floor, and saw the coldest eyes he had ever seen.

She stood over him, not sweating, or swearing.  She was perfectly calm.  That scared the hell out of him.  He had never fought with anyone that was not angry afterward, whether they lost, or won.  This was not a normal woman.




"Lieutenant Murphy, you've stolen from my squad, and I take that personally."  He nodded.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Do I have to break your other arm, Murphy?"  He shook his head.

"No, ma'am!  I'm sorry, ma'am!  I'm just so hungry!"  She put her foot on his throat.

"Smile, Murphy."  He frowned.

"Smile?"

"Show me your teeth, Murphy.  If I find any signs of you being an eater, I'll turn you into compost.  Now smile!"  He bared his teeth quickly.  "Good.  Now, if you'll excuse me, you have my plate, and my cadets."  She turned to the commander.  "A penance, sir?"

"Yes, take his plate as well."  Murphy swallowed hard.  "Murphy!"

"Sir?"  He said from the floor, not sure if he should try to stand as that demon might put him down again.

"Go to the infirmary and get that arm looked at.  If you steal anyone's food again, your rations will be cut even further.  As it stands, you've violated the Fenix's Law, Murphy.  Expect a price to be paid."  He nodded.

"Yes, sir.  I'll get going, sir."  He was surprised when Talia helped him to his feet, and did not grunt in any way.  This small woman was extremely strong, and knew how to fight.  He could respect that, and his eyes reflected that.

"If you leave my squad alone, I'll have no ill will, Murphy."  He nodded.

"Understood, ma'am.  Thank you."  He jogged out of the cafeteria and did not bother to listen to the rest of the staff hoot and holler.  He didn't need to hear it anyway.  He had been a bully, and he paid the price.




"Here, Coral.  You're food is cold, but still edible."  She nodded and watched as Talia split Murphy's food between them.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Coral.  What did you learn from this though?"  Coral didn't have a chance to answer.

"I know what I learned!  Don't mess with Cadet's Talia's squad!"  She allowed a small smirk to lay on her lips, and looked down when a hand gripped her thigh.  Her cheeks remained clear of any flush she felt might be there, but Coral's hand did not move the whole meal.





"So, what do you think, sir?"  Lieutenant Ayers said.

"There will be a slight change in staff rankings.  Make sure the entire staff are there first thing in the morning, minus the necessary crew for those problematic areas that need attention."  She nodded.

"Right after the morning meal.  A good time to hit them with any necessary changes.  When everyone is still a little bit groggy.  Accept for that cadet.  I think she fully intends to sleep when she's dead."  he chuckled.

"I almost thought she was today.  A good woman to have on our staff.  Intelligent, and fearless."

"And what about the XO's replacement, sir?  Who will I be reporting to, sir?"  He smiled a small smile.

"You'll find out in the morning, Ayers.  Oh, and enjoy your extra rations.  I can still hear Don complaining on the bridge, though he doesn't really do anything else but complain some days."  She chuckled.

"Thank you, sir."  she stepped out and didn't hear the last remark from her commanding officer.

"Need a new name for that law.  Maybe Talia's Law."  He rubbed his chin.  "She wouldn't like that one bit, but it fits.  That cadet said it best.  Don't mess with Talia's squad."