Phil was fourth in line on his team. Adrienne was on his too, she was second, and Darek was fifth on another team and loudly letting everyone know that there was no way his team could lose, definitely not with him on it. Adrienne had returned from her task a few minutes ago and was now keeping an eye on her team’s progress back with the other finished team members.

It had been close so far, each team completing tasks within minutes of each other. Her task had been to get to the site of a fire reported at what would become the Drop control room in the moon base. She suited up and raced out faster than the other teams, looking as determined as if it were an actual fire, and got them a good lead. Since the surface base was incomplete, they kept suits on the whole time they were out of the orbiting station. Airlock hadn’t been established on the ground and wouldn’t be until all the compartments were totally done being assembled. Another month or so and they would be spending a lot more time inside setting up all the equipment and breathing fresh air, living in their own quarters and not having to share a bunk room.

Phil glanced back to check on Adrienne again, and she gave him a big smile as she flashed her eyebrows. He smiled back and turned to look at the progress monitors being projected. His team was still in the lead from the time Adrienne bought them, but the others weren’t far behind and Darek’s team seemed to be gaining. Each separate team had to report to a different location for their fire, but all were the same distance away. She recovered a chip that held the program needing to be accessed for the next task; it was hidden in “the fire”– what turned out to be a pulsing red orb that clicked open when touched. Instructions with the chip said it had to be accessed from a specific terminal by the next team member, so off she ran back to the staging area to pass the chip on to her team.

Henry, their number three, had made it to the terminal in the satellite base now, and was accessing the program for the chip, but it required a lot of fast coding to break through to the next piece of their relay puzzle. He kept tripping over his own fingers and had to go back to make corrections every few seconds, costing key time in their lead.

“Come on, Henry! You got this man..” Phil spoke out loud to himself, his teammate couldn’t hear him, they weren’t allowed to directly communicate with them while they were competing. Phil had to stay back in the staging area with the other teams’ number four and five waiting for the number threes to return with the next task. His nerves pulsed to life with the passing time. An unknown challenge loomed closer. He was getting excited and feeling anxious at what his task was going to be. I can’t lose the lead Adrienne got us, I can’t, do it for her. This is the first task, don’t mess up. Do it for her lead. Don’t let her down. He coached himself over and over.

Just like that, Henry appeared, ripping around the corner at a full speed run. A spark of cold lightning shot from the center of Phil’s abdomen and spread outward in a flash. His stomach hardened, and his throat pulsed with a lifting force. In the instant that Henry had rounded the corner and started his head on charge to Phil, Phil’s body loosed its usual automatic high stress/anxiety response and he puked all over the floor, looking shocked at himself as Henry arrived. Henry ran straight up and grabbed Phil by both arms. “You have to go prep a rover for number five. Right now, Phil. Go. Task four is to prep for number five. GO man, GO!”

“Right.” Phil said as he wiped his mouth in a daze and turned to run for the space suits. Still fogged by anxiety, his body went first, then his head followed. He slammed right into Darek, who had been approaching to check on him once he threw up, catching him at a full thrust and knocking him hard to the floor.

Darek choked out his empty lungs, trying to pull a breath. Phil, still stunned, but now for new reasons, scrambled to get off Darek and help him up.

“Shit. Sorry man, I gotta run.” Darek stood with his hands on his knees, still trying to grab his breath and not looking happy about it.

***

Phil had his rover prepped and ready by the time his number five got there. Whoever set up the challenge removed a wheel and made some parts of the process more difficult than a normal circumstance. He didn’t have any issues, and his focus had cleared on the way down the elevator. All he could think about was doing this for Adrienne, making sure he didn’t lose her lead.

Phil helped his teams’ number five into the rover and started back to the staging area, but decided to walk slow since he already passed his torch. Through the windowless frames of the rover bay, Phil took in the bright lunar surface. He realized this was his first-time stepping foot on another world. He pulled his feet off the metal plated floor one at a time, feeling the tug of the magnetic gravity assist upon lifting, and the thunk as it sucked each boot back down. Technically stepping foot, he corrected himself. Gotta get my toes in the sand.

He could see two other team’s rovers had been released and were roaming off toward the final item. It looked like Darek was out in front of the other teams near him. Phil squinted. It was probably Darek. His team can’t lose. Phil thought. The rovers dipped over a hill and disappeared, so he picked up his pace toward the elevators.

When he got back to the staging area, everyone crowded around the large multi-informational display. Each of the five team radio coordinators stared at the status monitors and talked quickly to their drivers. Chief Antees was at the front in a chair with his head in his hand and eyes closed as he talked into his own headset. Phil squinted to see the monitors as he approached. Something isn’t right. Phil had rushed in before taking his suit off, excited to hopefully find his team in the lead. Adrienne heard his approach and turned, looking upset. He twisted his face in question.

“Phil. It’s Darek.” She spoke intensely, trying to keep her voice restrained. “He’s losing suit pressure too fast to make it back. We don’t know what happened. It was sudden. We thought he was joking, then all of a sudden the monitors went off and things got intense.”

“Oh, no.” Phil spoke as he repositioned his helmet under his arm and tried to get closer to see the monitors. When he pushed to the front, Chief Antees looked up at him and in an instant of realization released a yell. “Phil! YES! Go now! Go get Darek! You’re the only one ready. Everyone else is too far in a different direction or not in a suit. You’re already suited up! I’ll give instructions while you run. Get to the surface! Go, go, go!”

Phil’s eyes were wide and still. He darted off with less than a moment’s pause, but stopped short after six strides. A loud splash sounded at his feet as he bent over and heaved. He stood with a loud moan but immediately sprinted off again.

“Adrienne, you’re a coordinator, get one of these headsets on. I need to monitor Darek too. You stay on with Phil so he’s got someone at all times.” The chief spoke as he looked at her and immediately went back to speaking to Darek. She eyed the headset hesitantly for a moment. He really took command of the situation, respectable, Adrienne thought as she slid the headset on and tuned in to Phil’s suit.

***

“Phil, can you hear me, this is Chief Antees, we’re going to talk you through this. I’m going to be talking to Darek and the other crews, I have Adrienne dedicated to you, listen to her, she’s your guide. I’ll pop in at points too. You’re our man Phil, remember your training. Chief out.”

“Phil, it’s Adrienne, grab a tool kit when you get to the bottom of the lift. Every one of them has a suit-patch kit in it- it’s a blue rectangular box. We’re assuming there’s a hole of some kind. You’re not going to get him back before he’s out of air, so you have to fix it out there. He’s still heading back, but it’s going to become unsafe for him to operate the rover soon. With his pressure so low, he’ll lose consciousness in minutes. I don’t think he’ll get it all the way back. Just run out there, follow the path rover three left on its way out as fast as you can.” He immediately felt a reserve of strength he didn’t know was there. Confusion faded and dread was replaced by an excited anxiousness. Her voice rang through his whole body and filled him with energy. He had purpose.

“Phil, there’s another small problem.” Her smooth tone managed to make the situation seem less dire. “Darek pushed the rover too hard on his way out, and none of them had a full charge to begin with. We’re showing his power reserves aren’t going to get him much farther. You have to figure this out and walk him back as much as you can until another rover can get there to pick you up. We have them meeting to pass on batteries so they can get to you and back. It’s going to be close but you can do it Phil, I know you can.”

***

Phil’s brain rattled and heart pounded as he panted. The lunar surface was glaringly bright at the moment, and the thick dirt slowed him as he tried to keep his leaps covering as much distance as possible. I had to say it, had to tempt the universe. Happy Phil? Your toes are in the sand now!

“Phil, it’s the Chief, everyone available is heading to you now and we’ve loaded two batteries into rover four to recover you and get back - just checking in. I have a receiving team ready at the base of the elevator. Grab Darek, fix him up, and walk him back. You’re almost to him, you’re doing great.”

“Thanks panties.” Phil immediately realized what he had done and tightened his mouth shut, thinking quickly of how it would play out IN THE MIDDLE of THIS situation. Just his luck.

“What was that Mr. Taft?”

“Sir?” Phil grunted back.

“What did you just say, Phil?”

“I don’t really know, sir. I’m just trying to focus on getting to Darek fast…I think I grunted.”

“Phil, it sounded like you said ‘thanks panties,’ what was that?”

“Oh, I probably sneezed. Yeah, definitely sneezed, I can see it on my helmet still.”

“…… okay….. He’s close Phil, keep pushing, you’ll be to him in under a minute at this pace.” At that moment Darek’s rover popped into view from the distance. It was moving slowly but was now within reach. Phil pushed harder.

“Now Phil, you’re going to have to work this problem fast. He hasn’t got much oxygen left before the suit digs into reserves and we don’t want those leaking out before the suit is sealed or he’s toast. Find the issue, fix the issue, get him back. Chief out.”

“Yes, sir.” Phil responded firmly, tunneling in on Darek’s rover and charging onward at it, his focus on moving most efficiently and keeping his breathing constant.

***

“I got you Darek! Stay with me man, do you know where the leak is!?” Phil shouted; their suit radios connected by proximity link. He grabbed Darek and immediately started inspecting his suit for damage. Darek looked dazed, his eyes kept half closing, sweat beaded his face and he took slow breaths. “Darek, you still have air, don’t give up man. Where’s the leak??”

Darek made eye contact with Phil and shrugged carelessly.

“Alright get up, let’s go.” Phil grunted as he decided he had to take control of the situation. Darek was in no condition to make decisions. Phil lifted Darek out of the rover seat and leaned him forward over the chassis to inspect the rear side of the suit and systems for damage.

“I GOT IT!” Phil shouted. “I found the hole. It looks like a micro meteor puncture. It’s real tiny.” Phil reported as he dug through the supply bag for the patch kit. “Okay Phil, get patching, backup is still coming.” Adrienne reassured him as he pulled out a small navy-blue box and opened it to find a handheld glue gun and a few strips of bright blue carbon-fiber looking fabric. As fast as he could, Phil globbed a ring of clear epoxy around the hole on Darek’s suit and slapped a sheet of cloth over it. Immediately Darek’s suit pressure began to increase. “YES! Darek, we did it, man! You’re good!” A hiss and the alarms buzzed again, the pressure suddenly started dropping even faster. Phil looked around, but his patch was still on and holding. “Shit. He’s leaking again, I’m looking for another hole, but I don’t know where it would have come from. He was good for a few seconds there.”

The O2 alarm was still buzzing and the meter in the suit showed the levels were dangerously low. His backup would switch on soon, and that was only enough to last thirty minutes in a sealed suit. With a breach, it would only be a few moments.

Phil finally found the other hole; it had been pinched shut the way Darek was sitting, but opened fully when he shifted after the first patch. Phil globbed and slammed another section of fabric on and immediately the alarm on Darek’s suit stopped. The pressure gauge slowly climbed again. “I think I got it, but the suit says reserve supply accessed. I need backup to meet me and help me get him all the way back.”

“They’re on the way Phil, hang tight. Great job. Just keep him coming, move slow if you have to, but move.” Chief Antees spoke.

“You heard him, Darek. LET’S GO!” Phil grunted his last words loud and powerfully as he pressed through his already tired legs to lift Darek to his feet. Even in the low gravity, Darek was a tough load to move single handedly after the exertion of getting out to him. Phil felt the flood of sweat soaking through his uniform, fatigue leaving his legs hollow.

Darek’s suit buzzer started again and panic struck them both. “Adrienne, what do we do??” Phil yelled. Darek was still feeling the effects of lacking oxygen, and Phil’s energy was near tapped out. Darek fell to his knees as Phil let go and started scouring the suit again. He inspected every inch, running his gloved hand over it as he went, moving quickly but efficiently. “I see no damage.. false alarm, Adrienne?” Please. Darek tapped Phil as his eyes half closed. He shook his head ‘no’ and barely got the words “Still leaking” out before he fell forward onto his hands.

“What the FUCK man!” Phil yelled in frustration as he checked more frantically.

Antees spoke, “Check the system connectors Phil, are they sealed? are the seams all good? The others are almost there, but you’ve got to keep him moving.”

“Shit, chief, it looks like the base of his reserve tank is punctured. I saw a jet of moisture leaking from the input valve.” Phil didn’t know what to do. Darek looked up to him with fear of his end in his sagging eyes. Phil, grasping the words behind that glance, shook his head ‘no’ and shored himself up. He took out the patch kit and readied another patch, trying his best to apply the epoxy all the way around the input valve at the base of the reserve connector. He got it on, but Darek’s suit alarm still buzzed and flashed at them. The numbers ticked down as Phil glanced at Darek’s O2 meter.

“Fuck! Chief, no luck, the patch isn’t working there. The crack is too widespread, the part itself is damaged.” Phil looked through the toolkit, pulling out all the supplies to see what he had at his disposal. When he saw a canister of epoxy clearing fluid, he got an idea. “Chief, I think I know what I can do… how close is my backup?” Phil asked as he continued to run the plan in his head. Darek’s meter ticked 0% main, 7% reserve supply.

“They’re closing in Phil; you should be able to see them within seconds.”

“Good.” Was the last thing Phil said out loud. He looked down to check his own oxygen meter; it read 9% main 100% reserve supply. He didn’t grab a new tank after his part in the relay, and he went right back out to save Darek. The gauge showed his reserves were going to be accessed soon. He had to act fast.

“Phil, he’s at 5% O2.” Adrienne said calmly. “Phil, your main tank is at 9%.”

He popped the top off the epoxy clearing fluid and poked the tip into what he smeared around Darek’s tank. As it liquified, it lifted off the part, leaving it clear again.

Staring at Darek for only a second, he reached back and gripped the backup tank release handle on the rear side of his suit. Phil took a deep breath. A blink later, he exhaled fully and pulled the release, cranking himself to the side to shake the tank loose. A hiss of his air escaped with it. He pulled Darek’s backup release and removed his tank, then scooped up his own backup and slid it into place on Darek’s suit compartment. Adrienne reported again, “Darek is at 0%, Phil, you just dropped suddenly, you’re at 2% before backup. You’re going to make it. Don’t give up.”

He reengaged the lock and Darek’s suit pressure started ticking upward. “Darek’s suit pressure is climbing, Phil! What’s up with yours now? You’re, showing zero O2 in main and backup.”

His head was screaming and pulsing, ears burned with a high-pitched hiss; his lungs ached to be filled, straining against the flash of pressure loss and feeling like they were going to implode. He looked at his own gauge again, blurry now with faded colors. It flashed a pale red and orange, reading 0%. Time slowed, and sounds became hazy. He needed another breath and fought his body for the seconds he had before taking it. He knew it wouldn’t be satisfying, there was nothing in his suit but his body. He squeezed against the reflex, but the need became too great. He choked and gasped, but no air existed for him to pull in. The feelings didn’t go away, sound didn’t come out. He could feel his saliva tingling in his mouth as he gasped at nothing. The others very near now, blurry white figures approaching.

He heard Adrienne again, distant and foggy, laced with a tinny echo “Backup is on you. You did it, Phil! We got you!”

He clenched his eyes shut as he fought, hardly able to hear above the ringing. Darkness fell over his vision. He choked empty rasps and lost consciousness, hitting the ground with a thud no one could hear.

***

Phil awoke to a white-lit ceiling, a blanket covering him as oxygen was pumped in quick, even pulses into a mask on his face. His hearing seemed clear and even a little sensitive. Everything felt too bright, and he was groggy, as if he just awoke from a deep nap.

Squeezing the tired from his eyes, Phil pulled his fists up and got lost in rubbing the rest out when Allen spotted the motion and came over. “Woah, what’s up there, Phil? Easy bud, don’t rub your eyes out. They’re just a little irritated from the dehydration and low pressure. They’ll bother you for a little while but don’t keep rubbing them.” Allen spoke in a calm and matter-of-fact voice. He was the medical chief serving the moon base operations and Adrienne’s brother. “Pretty bold thing you did there. Darek made it back okay too, by the way. He’s still passed out though.” Phil angled his head to follow Allen’s gesture. In the bed next to him, Darek lay with a mask on his face and a blanket covering his body. He looked like he was napping as his chest rose and fell with the pumps from the machine. “We were all a little worried when you puked twice within such a short amount of time. But you did good, Phil. Darek wouldn’t be here right now without you.”

Phil raised his hands to his forehead and pulled in a deep breath as he reabsorbed reality. Running his hands through his hair, he sat up slowly.

“Why was his suit so messed up? They should be brand new.” Phil asked.

“Micrometeorites from what they could tell. He must’ve gotten unlucky and picked up a few while he was cruising. Scary stuff.”

“Damn.” As memories returned, he was receiving more than he had words for and was still too exhausted to fully sort it.

“Nothing like starting out with a bang, right? You’re gonna have a name for yourself up here Phil, everyone is going to talk about this forever. You just saved the top two nano-technicians in the Drop program… on the first exercise of the mission.” Allen smiled and turned to exit the med area with a wink before he dipped behind the corner. “Oh, and you’re staying the night.”

“Oh, no.” Phil shook his head a little and looked over at his friend Darek again, knowing everyone would talk about them if they weren’t in the bunk room. This was a new thing for him. He never saved anyone’s life before and absolutely hated recognition for things he felt he did because they had to be done. Phil sat and watched Darek’s breaths, hoping he’d be up and conscious soon, continuing to dread attention from everyone when they got out. He laid back and drifted into his thoughts.

***

The next morning Phil woke to Chief Antees smiling at him from the chair beside his bed. He looked over and saw that Darek had moved around; he was lying on his side now.

“Good Morning, Phil. I wanted to check up and see that you two were all right. I haven’t been here long.”

“Hi Chief.” He grumbled out.

“I was just thinking back to my own training days. I had an accident that almost took my life too.” He said as he patted his overly large legs. Phil noticed the sound of the impact wasn’t a normal impact with flesh. He questioned the chief with a glance, his voice still hushed by sleep.

“I was working on Earth. Used to be a part of The Phoenix.” Phil lit up at its mention.

“My father was Phoenix; I used to go all over and see the rebuilds with him.” Wake came to him the more he remembered.

“I saw that, I went through both of your files after the accident. Read up on some of those parts. I think you and I may have even crossed paths at one point or another. I recall working with your dad more than once. He was a good man.”

Phil nodded to honor the sentiment.

“When I was working with them, I did some of the scouting before they transitioned a city. One of my trips I was inspecting structures that had been damaged by storms, making sure there was nothing left there that we couldn’t make another one of. It was all going to come down and be reprinted, but we always did a visual inspection before the nano’s came in. As it turned out, the structure was not as stable as it seemed from the outside. There was a collapse and my legs were trapped under concrete and steel. It took some time to get me out. By the time they did, my legs were gone. Nothing we could do. I’ve had these ever since.” He finished with a knock on a leg.

“What are they made of?” Phil asked.

“Nano-printed carbon. I have nothing from the middle of the thigh down.”

“Wow, I’m sorry that happened to you.”

“Ya know Phil, at first I was too. But after a while I realized that these guys were better than my own. They’re stronger, faster, and they don’t get tired. I’ve been able to accomplish things in these legs that I never would have before.”

“Hm. Then I’m glad you chose to live well, Chief.” Phil smiled at him.

“Me too. No sense getting down about what’s done. Quite a thing you did for your friend there.” The chief said, shifting the subject back to the present.

“It seemed like it was the only thing, I didn’t really do anything anyone else wouldn’t have done.” Phil said.

Phil stretched through the chief’s response. “Right, but YOU are the someone who DID do it. AND you risked your own life doing it and brought actual harm to yourself. You laid your life out for his; bargained yours for another. That’s about the biggest thing you could ever do. Don’t be so modest, Phil, it looks just as ridiculous as bragging about it.” That jab made Phil stop and look dead at the chief.

“… oh and one other thing before I go. Your visor was clean.”

“What?” Phil looked puzzled.

“Well, you said you sneezed, so when things were settled with you and Darek and we were cleaning up from the challenge, I figured I would have your helmet cleaned since you mentioned you sneezed and it was on your visor.”

Phil’s face was expressionless now as he stared into the chief’s unwavering eyes.

“There was nothing on it, your visor was clean.” He smiled a fun, big smile and winked, patted Phil’s shoulder when he stood, then walked out laughing to himself.

Phil sat in contemplation, just staring at the peaks his feet made in the blanket, not really thinking. He occupied the space and let himself have a few minutes of absolute disconnected daze.

The rustling of Darek’s blankets brought him to. As Phil looked over, Darek was sitting himself up in bed. “Sup, Phil?” He said happily. Phil noted that he sounded well rested.

“Hey man, how do you feel?” Phil asked.

“I’m good. I feel fine, like I just had a big nap. You?”

“I’m good. A little shaken mentally, but my body’s fine.”

“Yeah, I get it man, I feel that a little too. But it’s in my head, right? So, I’m gonna change it… it’s my head. Phil… we almost died. We lived.”

“I know… It is crazy.”

“I was thinking all last night. I feel truly different now. I see differently.”

Phil didn’t share the sentiment, so nodded along.

“It kinda clicked for me after yesterday - you make your reality what it is. We survived what could have been death, I feel like I should make every day the best day. We’re here now because of you, Phil. Thank you. You gave me today. After that, dude - I can’t waste anymore.”

Phil smiled warmly as tears threatened to escape and reveal his soft side. He couldn’t speak for fear of breaking the dam, so he just nodded with his smile and laid flat again. “You’re welcome.” Memories of Adrienne’s voice through the comm took over as he noticed his AURA sitting on the table next to his bed. He grabbed his wrist computer from the table, clipped the AURA to his shoulder and lined up his favorite music, Alina Baraz—Urban Flora. It was old music and unlike most he had heard, but once he heard it, there was never anything else. Phil smiled as the air around his ears began to vibrate richly. He laid back; Pretty thoughts; he drifted into the warm haze of her sweet voice and floated to sleep.

Over the next year, Darek and Phil became inseparable. Not only were they the two best nano-technicians currently around, now they were also best friends. They did everything together all the time; they became a team.