Cohesion: Chapter Three

It was 0918 hours and Ludwig was standing in the airlock, his jaw clenched in annoyance as he waited for Doctor Djawadi to finish getting ready. “Doctor, how much longer do you think?”

“I’m sorry, just give me another minute,” Djawadi said as he finished looking through one of his personal bags and began to rifle through another.

“You said that ten minutes ago!”

“I know, I’m sorry, I seem to have misplaced my meds.”

“I packed your medication in our day’s provisions an hour ago,” Ludwig said impatiently.

Doctor Djawadi froze, then slowly turned to Ludwig, “Why would you touch my meds?”

Ludwig sighed, “You asked me if I was willing to pack what we needed for the day, the computer told me your medication was part of the day’s considerations, so I packed it.”

Doctor Djawadi took a deep breath and closed his eyes as if he was repressing the outburst he wanted to have. “In the future, I ask that you leave my medication as my responsibility. I prefer to keep it with me, not in our bag, is that okay?”

Ludwig glanced at the time on his view screen—it was now twenty minutes later than when they should have already left to start their day. “If we can start our day before 0930, I will never touch your medication again. Deal?”

Djawadi gave a single nod. Then grabbed his pressure suit’s helmet and put it on.

Ludwig was incredibly relieved when they had finally started their day. Sure, they had been nearly half an hour later than the handbook said they should begin, but at least they were now hiking toward their first mission objective. He knew Djawadi was upset with him because of earlier, and certainly not without cause. While Ludwig had been trying to be helpful, he wasn’t an idiot—it was clear that Djawadi had considered him touching his medication as a violation of a boundary. It was part of their mission handbook to make and keep appropriate boundaries—within the specific boundaries already established by their handbook, of course.

He planned to apologize later, but right now it would likely come across as disingenuous being so soon after the incident. For now, Ludwig figured it was for the best to stay focused on the task at hand, and just hope that Djawadi’s rule breaking wouldn’t escalate.

The first stage of their mission consisted of going to seven different sites that Djawadi and his previous cohesion partner had placed sensors at. Two sensors at each location—one to detect seismic activity and another that would detect the types and concentrations of different gases that were often found in places that would be suitable for a geothermal facility. Once they reached the sensors, they would download the data they had been collecting and their mission computer would analyze the data to help them pinpoint the most promising locations for the geothermal power plant.

Rather than spending the next week going to each site and downloading all the data one by one, they decided during their planning that morning to go to one site at a time, thoroughly analyze the data from that site to rule out that section of the caverns entirely before moving on to the next sensor point. Each sensor point was at least half a day’s hike away from their base, so at least this way, if they happened to find an ideal location after only checking one or two of the sensor locations, they will have saved precious time.

Djawadi hadn’t asked why Ludwig was so concerned with the efficiency and speed of their work when he’d pushed for them to collect the sensors this way, and he was grateful he didn’t need to explain himself. With so much riding on their ability to get as far along as possible in establishing their geothermal capabilities, Ludwig hoped that by the end of their cohesion, they will have not only found the location fir their future power plant, but would already be well on their way to using the fabricator to construct the facility itself.

With the tension of Djawadi’s tardiness now forgotten, Ludwig found himself enjoying the day. The hike to the first sensor site was strenuous, but despite the earlier tension, Djawadi was good company. As was typical for a new cohesion on their first real day of work, they both made sure to teach the other their respective duties. With Djawadi being a geologist and Ludwig being an engineer, it was important to build some redundancy into their cohesion in case one of them became sick or otherwise incapacitated.

So it was that as they made their way through the maze of caverns, Djawadi pointed out interesting features in the rock around them. Noting how super-heated gases had formed the caverns as much as the lava flows had. He went so far as to detail theories of how the difference between this planet’s gravity and Earth’s might have impacted the composition of this rock. Though Ludwig got lost a few times in the jargon, he was an eager student, and Djawadi an engaging teacher.

Retrieving the data from the first set of sensors was simple enough, though Ludwig attempted to teach Djawadi how the sensors he’d placed worked. Ludwig realized he wasn’t as natural a teacher as his partner, especially when explaining the seismographic sensor. He noticed when explaining the gimbal, central to the sensor mechanism, that perhaps Djawadi didn’t know what it was, so he backtracked explaining it. This sent him on a tangent about early space travel. When he saw the polite smile on Djawadi’s face, Ludwig realized, of course, that Djawadi knew about gimbals—he would have learned all about them in the Intro to Space Mechanics class that was required at Luna University.

Other than his awkward attempt at teaching Djawadi, when they returned to their base camp at the end of the day, Ludwig was feeling relief at how well their first day had gone. They had successfully downloaded the first sensor site’s data and made it back to their pod base in one piece. Yes, Doctor Djawadi had made him nervous with that initial propensity to break the rules, but after a long day’s work without any other issue, Ludwig fell asleep feeling at ease.

The next several days were similar, with the specifics of their mission going well. Each day was either spent retrieving sensor data, or combing through said data with the mission computer, analyzing for signs of a promising geothermal site. They weren’t having any luck so far, the sensors indicated the sections of caverns they’d visited just didn’t have the right composition of requirements to a sustainable geothermal site. But it was still early in the mission.

Despite things going well on the mission, Ludwig grew increasingly frustrated with Doctor Djawadi’s tendency to break small rules. Little things, like failing to annotate the mission computer’s daily log properly or sleeping in past their designated wake time. Last night, Djawadi had stayed up later than he should, writing in his personal journal. Though it was admirable that Djawadi kept such a consistent journal—something Ludwig wished he was better at—it shouldn’t come at the cost of following the rules. It was difficult to bring these small infractions up to Djawadi because none of them directly inconvenienced Ludwig or the mission.

That was, until the fifth day of their mission, when Djawadi crossed a dangerous line.

They had reached the location where the third pair of sensors were placed. Ludwig was calibrating the sensor data before downloading it to his wristpad, while Djawadi was collecting soil samples.

“So what made you decide to become an engineer?” Doctor Djawadi asked as he carefully drilled a hole into the cave wall, then brushed the dust into a small container.

“Honestly,” Ludwig began, checking to make sure that the delicate gimbal inside the seismographic sensor hadn’t locked up since its placement. “I sort of fell into it. I knew ever since I was a teenager that I wanted to be on one of these colony ships and I didn’t care what I had to do to get here.”

“Me too,” Djawadi interjected. “I should tell you about the time I tried dating the daughter of Felix Howard to improve my chances of getting selected.”

“Marian?” Ludwig asked in disbelief. “You tried to date the Marian Howard?”

“The very same,” Djawadi laughed.

“Wow, you are either incredibly brazen or incredibly stupid,” Ludwig laughed.

“I assure you, it was the latter—I was only nineteen at the time.”

“As I remember, she was quite stunning though,” Ludwig said.

Djawadi nodded, wearing his typical goofy grin as he did. “And incredibly mean, as I soon learned.”

“Takes after her father then,” Ludwig joked.

“But I apologize, doctor, I interrupted,” Djawadi said.

“Oh right, well, when I was first accepted to Luna University, the aptitude tests said I had a propensity for engineering. After taking that first class on Moon Orbital Dynamics, I decided to be one of the engineers working on the final phase of the Artificial Moon project.”

“That’s amazing, doctor,” Djawadi said. “I never would have had the grades to even be considered for that route if I wanted to. The orbital mechanics alone would have killed me.”

“I was actually accepted into the program,” Ludwig said. He felt awkward as he did so, just like every time he’d told anyone about his acceptance. He wasn’t sure why.

“Wait, really? So why are you down here in the dirt with me instead of up there piloting that thing with all the other star pupils?”

Ludwig didn’t answer for a moment. He had just started the process of downloading the sensor data to his suit, watching the raw data scroll across his visor’s display. But now, his vision was unfocused, thinking about how it didn’t work out. “Honestly, I don’t really know. I was in the program for a couple of semesters, loved everything about it. But it was also the most competitive colony program at the time.

"There were a dozen of us in the program, and when I found out there would only be three placements for Artificial Moon Engineers onboard the first colony ship . . .” Ludwig trailed off, unsure how to explain himself. Finally, he shrugged. “I dropped out and joined the generalized engineering core. I figured with my grades I was all but guaranteed one of the two hundred slots.”

“So you had a one in four chance of ending up on that crew and you dropped out?”

Ludwig didn’t answer. Everyone always reacted this way when he’d explained his reasoning, but to him? It had been a clear choice.

“How many of the dozen were nepo babies?” Djawadi asked.

Ludwig sighed, “A handful—”

“I can’t believe you just dropped out!” Djawadi exclaimed.

“It was the practical thing to do!” Ludwig stood up from where he had been squatting by the sensors, intending to address his cohesion partner more directly. Only, Djawadi was no longer where he had been a few minutes ago. Ludwig looked around and couldn’t immediately see the doctor.

“Do you ever regret dropping out of that program?”

“Doctor, where are you?” Ludwig asked. “I don’t see you in my eyeline.”

“Hmm? Oh, oops,” Djawadi responded. “Just a sec, got caught up in what I was doing.”

“What do you mean, oops?” Ludwig asked his anger rising quickly. “Doctor, this is a serious breach of cohesion protocol.”

Djawadi sighed through their comms, just as he rounded a curve in the caverns to get back into Ludwig’s view. “There, I’m back in your eyeline, no one has died; the mission is still on track, okay?”

“Not okay, Doctor.” Ludwig made a gesture with his glove, bringing up the official computer log. “This is Doctor Ludwig Pehl, I would like to log an official request for a cohesion inventory with my partner Doctor Pratik Djawadi.”

“Are you serious?” Doctor Djawadi asked. “I wandered a little out of your eyeline while I was focused on my work. It wasn’t even enough to set off the proximity alarm in your suit. You’re really going to file an official complaint against me?”

“You have shown a distinct pattern of breaking the rules, doctor!”

“You make it sound so heinous—breaking the rules! As if I’m sabotaging our mission or something! Will you quit hassling me, Doctor? I feel like your eyes are constantly on me and it’s making me feel crazy!”

Ludwig was surprised at the venom in Djawadi’s voice. He wouldn’t have expected this level of anger from someone as generally cheerful as Djawadi usually was. But he couldn’t back down now; he was trying to make a point. “Save it for the cohesion inventory when we’ll both be on the record.”

Djawadi threw one of the plastic bins carrying his soil samples against the cavern wall. “This is ridiculous.”

“Doctor, I take our mission very seriously—I strive for exact obedience in all that I do!”

“Exact obedience,” Djawadi scoffed. “Why do you care so much about what I do? If you want to be exactly obedient, then do it! I’m not stopping you!”

Ludwig tensed up, “You are though. When you are late starting our day, it makes me late too! When you broke eyeline just now, it made me break that rule too!”

Djawadi rolled his eyes, “Do you not see how dramatic you’re being? This is not a big deal!”

“I just want you to care more about the rules for the sake of the mission! You may see it as just bending the rules, but the rules keep us safe! Not only that, but it shows a distinct pattern of disregard for our organization! We’re part of the Carl Sagan Science and Space Society—there is a reason we’re doing things differently than the other colonies! We are supposed to be different!”

“Fine!” Djawadi said through clenched teeth. “Let’s just quit arguing about it!”

“Fine!” Ludwig growled back.

The rest of the day was tense and uncomfortable for them both. When they arrived back at their base camp and had passed through their pod’s depressurization chamber, the computer dinged, reminding them of Ludwig’s request for a cohesion inventory.

“Let’s get this over with,” Djawadi said. “Anything else you’d like to say on the record?”

Ludwig sighed and shook his head. “Look, Doctor Djawadi... I’m not trying to be one of those robotic cohesion partners everyone complains about. I understand that there is a time and a place for things, and I admit that I may have been caught up in the heat of the moment. I don’t believe this warrants an official inventory on the record if you can just agree that you’ll try to be a little more mindful.”

Djawadi sighed, relief taking the place of the anger and resentment he’d displayed so transparently mere moments before. “And I promise you, I’m not trying to be so blasé about the rules. Yes, there are some rules I truly don’t see the need for in most use cases. But it’s not that I seek to break them; I sometimes just don’t think about them. But yes, I will try and do better.”

“Good enough for me,” Ludwig said. “Computer, cancel the inventory.”

“Please provide dual confirmation of cohesion inventory cancelation.”

“Confirmed,” Ludwig said.

Djawadi sighed and took off his pressure suit helmet, “Confirmed.”

The computer went silent, leaving them both to stew in the remaining tension.