I always wondered just what Lois meant to accomplish with her little stow away mission... Especially for the first crew, I wouldn't expect it to be a shuttle mission of dropping people off and coming right back down... *hides*

Oh, that was too funny. Poor Lois.
Did Lois even go up? I figured Superman would never have let her, but who knows.
I have to say, that was Lois's best move the whole series. Definitely stupid, but it did land her Superman

It was subtle, but there was no bomb in this reality, so Clark never showed up at the launch. The apartment fire he debuted at was where the bomb was being made and Lex's laky messed up.

Glad you enjoyed it though =)

Irony profound enough to make even Tempus proud! Scooped by a hack. Love it!

Me, too.

If you ever feel like writing a sequel, I'd love to see that first conversation between Lois and Clark when she finally returns. (Or what she does to try to attract Superman's attention for an interview. We all saw what she did to attract Luthor's attention.)

Unlike Tempus, I love irony. Brava on coming up with such a unique take on the pilot.

Joy,
Lynn

Thanks you two.

A sequel, well... that could be fun with a humorous one shot, or really, really involved... sort of like Wendy Richards' Strange Visitor From the Congo or even like Carol Malo's Connections: An Alternate Story if Lois got fired or laid off while she was on the station.

Since this would be a Lois not only not awed from the start but in full Mad Dog mode trying to get back on track after a forced 6 month sabbatical. I mean, I can't imagine the bosses at the Planet being too happy with her even if she doesn't also have Perry enraged at her carelessness... Add to that a Clark who's likely gotten more scoops in the interim (I'd place her coming back anywhere from ILTY to Vatman depending on if you use the revised May date for Never-ending Battle given in Super Mann or the broadcast date in September and how you date time in the rest of the episodes...) and whether or not Lex forgot about her after their one dinner. Heck, unless Lucy stuck around, she might even have lost her apartment...

Lois will NOT be in a forgiving mood when she gets back to Earth.

Delightful, great fun.

This is what happens when we fail to check the water level before jumping in!

Great story.

Definitely too funny!

Really enjoyed the irony, and glad to see that Lois had to face the consequences of her actions. I agree a sequel would be interesting, although might very well end up being a long story due to the possible consequences awaiting her.

This one shot is delightful.

Glad people enjoyed this little whirlwind. If I were to do a sequel would anyone have a preference for where in the series Lois would get home?

I got to thinking about this tale again,



Even more important then the space, was the fuel & mass calculations.

Assume Lois had hid somewhere but everyone was aboard, her added mass could cause a crash.

Imagine that Superman's first Public act was saving and boosting into orbit the launch vehicle which had started falling due to unknown causes.

I'd actually been thinking in terms of rations, oxygen/CO2 management and waste up in the station... but that is another good point.

Starting to make the classic helicopter debut look a lot better, lol.

Fun little reading that kind of applies:
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/001160.html
Forum post asking about weight limitations for the apollo missions. Specifically how much moon rock they were allowed to bring back.

Interesting article on a short story and reactions to it on engineering vs physics:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cold_Equations

Unfortunately that was the best I can seem to manage with google.

Actually when I read the story, I assumed that was one of the reasons Lois was lucky. That not only was there an empty seat and space, but also that she was replacing someone else's mass. Maybe even weighing less than Dr. Lyons.

The book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13 by James Lovell or the movie Apollo 13 may also have some ideas for researching what could go wrong (and did) and how to jury-rig or MacGyver solutions.

Great question.
I've actually been wondering how that fact would change canon, and where Lois's presence or absence could make the biggest difference.

Just from Strange Visitor:

• Would Clark have avoided Trask's polygraph and just let them take his computer?
• In Thompson's office could Clark have been able to read the Smallville file?
• If Clark was in the warehouse alone, could he have gotten away with the ship and Smallville files?
• If Clark was pushed from the plane could Superman have forced the military craft down, gotten Trask and Bureau 39 arrested and Bureau 39 dismantled and actually avoided Bureau 39's presence in Smallville (and the need for Lois to call out to save Clark's life?)
  

Personally I'm okay with any return during the first season. You might want to give an explanation, even brief of how the story differs from canon where you think Lois's presence is integral to the episode (e.g. GGGOH, Lois's pep talk to Clark about how Superman is needed for hope in Neverending Battle, return of his memory in ASU, "saving" Superman in MoSB). It definitely would change the dynamic and perhaps the speed of the development of Lois and Clark's relationship.

Vatman aired almost 6 months to the day after the Pilot, however ASU and Witness may have originally been planned as December episodes not January, especially with the Christmas decorations in Witness. It could also be argued that more than a week passed between any of the episodes, so 6 months could occur anytime during Season 1. So I think you're okay with her return during any episode in Season 1 you choose.

Great idea...I always thought this same thing when watching the pilot...what the heck is Lois doing? How is she going to get back to Earth if that thing launches?! Perfect last line!

I am not an engineer, so the medical necessities were what jumped out at me. You can also add what would have happened to her if she didn't have a seat... and the bruising, if not broken bones, that would occur.

I'm not sure where to place a sequel, nothing screams at me for inspiration, though you could also scramble the episodes. The longer fic I'm working on jumps off from MoSB so it would be nice to work with different episodes... *shrug*.

Thanks Groobie =)

If you haven't read Tom Godwin's classic tale grab a copy and some tissue
http://www.baen.com/the-cold-equations.html

I rather imagine the fine folks of Space Station Prometheus will make Lois read it.

It does sound like a good read, unfortunately I'd probably be trying to hold back arguing with the book about why a margin of error that slim on fuel is asking for something to go wrong anyway... but, then again, it's about the morality not the engineering in the end.

I'm so glad you wrote this!

YES--I, too, have always been amazed by Lois' lack of preplanning (to jump aboard a spacecraft heading into space ) for an article?!?

Clark rescued her/everyone from the bomb, but really, he saved her from potentially leaving the planet, also .

I love how you actually had her go into space--and face up to not checking the water level first .

Hmm....as for a 'return date'? Boy, I dunno. Having Lois gone for potentially 6 months really does change everything about the first season I'd imagine. How do you have HIM without Lois in the suite with Clark? Witness without Clark body-guarding Lois? ASU without Lois for Clark to remember again? The Rival without a rival for Clark's attention? But then again, I suppose the 'problem' in each of those episodes could probably still be solved in the end by Clark/Superman somehow. You just loose a lot of those classic 'moments' that create the backbone for Lois and Clark's friendship.

I guess, IMO, you just dive in. Pick an episode for her to show up in, vaguely update on any of the big changes that happened without Lois around so far, and then create whatever you want from that point on.

Great job!
Laura

Thanks Laura

Looking back on it, there was a lot in the Pilot that isn't that logical, but then, they were much more worried about pitching the series than continuity with future episodes.

I think quite a bit of episode plot could be shuffled around. Kind of like Nan Smith's series where Clark doesn't start to work at the Planet until after Nightfall.

Hi again!
So…what’s going on this time?

Blind passanger?

Oops?



Aww…Mad Dog is being treated like doggy! Lois. Fetch!

Ooooops!



Good thing he has already met Lois and she’ll be back before Linda gets to town. Otherwise, Cat or Linda might be serious contenders

Michael

Hey Micheal =) Glad you liked it. Just a quick little thing about something that always bothered me.

You know... I don't know if you'll have any recollection of this... but if you remember telling me I chickened out on something back in Coin... I didn't in Externals >:)

Thank you for pointing out the obvious FLAW in Lois' plan of sneaking onto the Space Station. What were the writers thinking? The world will never know.