Outpost   Preparations Lucky calls Crazy's communicator and a few seconds later Crazy's face appears with in the background the cabin of the Dino. His face looks grim and his eyes seem to stare at something to Lucky's right. 'Sorry Luck, can't really talk now. The track is getting slippery with this downpour and a lot of loose rubble is coming down from the rocks. It takes some effort to keep the Dino on the right track. Still, I'm almost at the stream and things should become easier after that.' 'I see. I just wanted to tell you that lightning has struck one of the sustaining legs and has caused some damage. It's next to the airlock, so be careful when you dock the Dino. See you soon.' Crazy's image dissolves and Lucky decides to head for the little laboratory to see if she needs to put any of the ongoing experiments on hold pending the expected skin breach. Of course Margie will take care of all necessary emergency procedures when the time comes, but she doesn't like to just sit and wait for the inevitable to happen. Once she shuts the laboratory's airlock behind her, most of the storm's noise is shut out. As the laboratory is designed also to provide the dome's inhabitants with shelter in the case of a skin breach, it has its own airlock and its walls and roof are strengthened, allowing it to withstand the severest conditions that the planet has been known to produce over its monitored lifetime. Lucky checks the status of the ongoing experiments, which are mostly related to mining and ore processing. 'Margie, give me an overview of current experiments and their status. Specify any potential hazards and actions to be taken in case of emergency.' 'Station one is verifying the efficiency of laser induced thermal stress for the breaking of surface rock in section delta to allow access to the underlying ore layers. Hazard: the high intensity laser beam will cause severe damage when deflected from its target. In case of emergency the experiment will be terminated and the laser beam switched off.' 'Station two is involved with a new chemical extraction procedure for the ore, found in section theta. Hazard: the acids used for the extraction will cause serious damage to the experimental setup when released from their containers. In case of emergency the experiment will be terminated and the acid flow will be redirected to emergency storage containers.' 'Station three is working on genetically modified plants, capable of surviving in the planet's atmosphere. Hazards: none. No emergency actions are foreseen.' Satisfied Lucky turns to the improvised shelter at the end of the laboratory. 'Please specify available food and water rations. Also specify expected repair time in case of the foreseen skin breach.' 'Food supply is sufficient for two people for seven days. Water supply is sufficient for ten days. Expected repair time will be two to three days, based on a regeneration of the entire skin.' 'Thanks Margie, looks like everything is under control here.' 'You're welcome, Lucky.' Lucky's next stop is the dome's airlock to the planet's surface. She places the palm of her hand on the skin of the dome and feels the tiny waves that ripple through the thin material as the winds exert their force on the outside. About two meters from the airlock the waves seem to converge and the skin movements are just large enough to become visible. That is the spot where the skin is attached to the damaged sustaining leg. The skin movements are still hardly noticeable, but Lucky knows how sensitive the ultra thin skin is to the slightest imbalance in the strains that act on the material.

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