Our rover isn't very spacious. The back is occupied mainly by special airlocks, through which we leave our spacesuits on the outside, so that we won't carry any dust into the inside. The crates and cubic water containers took most of the space on the floor, making it difficult to move around.
Each of the side walls were vertical farms, layers of trays filled with plants. We will farm those plants using hydroponics, which means that instead of using soil, the plants are submerged in a liqiud filled with nutrients. In our case, this fluid is water enriched with Super Fertilizer.
We had some expierience with it, because during our previous mission we were working undercover for BIORBITAL and ran experiments with the stronger version of Super Fertilizer, known as Ultra Fertilizer.
When we used Ultra Fertilizer, the plant affected by it grew way too much, expanding out of its tray. This is why we got a weaker version now, Super Fertilizer. We hoped that it won't be as destructive as its stronger cousin. Especially since, excluding leftover lyophillised meals that we salvaged from the Remedy, the vertical farm will be our only source of food.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVEIplxlYGr
Hydroponics have their pros and cons. A pro is that some plants, which we placed in the top layer, absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, cleaning the air and allowing us to breathe. Another advantage is that it requires minimal input, because an automated system of pipes cleans the water and pumps in the nutrients, so our role is reduced to supervision and cleaning the trays once they are emptied, along with cleaning toxins, should they ever get into the water.
A major con was that we needed to bring a large supply of Super Fertilizer to fill the pipes with and complete the circulation system. There's also the fact that hydroponics aren't applicable for every type of plant.
In our vertical farms, we grow tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, peppers and strawberries, along with the inedible air-filtering plants. I'll skip out on the strawberries, because, being completely honest, I never liked them and probably never will. Unless they become our only food source in the near future, I'll leave the strawberries to the others.
- How long will this last us? - Amber asked.
- No more than two months, probably less - Einstein sighed.
- Looks like we'll need to ration the food to survive - Sebastian noted.
- I thought that was obvious - Einstein replied.
Anthony stopped Dawn from snatching a strawberry that wasn't even fully grown yet. Pretty ironic, considering how we were just talking about food rationing.
- I know you're a thief, but if we want to survive, you can't break the rules. Understood? - Anthony's tone was menacing. I rarely heard him in this tone, but he used it to intimidate Dawn. It worked, as she just sat in the corner. For now, at least.
Speaking of sitting, there are three blue seats at the front of the rover, with an array of panels, buttons and levers controlling the rover's functions. Above them was a front window, through which we saw the barren landscape outside. The seats can be unfolded into miniature beds. Only three people can sleep in them, and everyone else must sleep on the floor, with mattresses brought in from the Remedy.
In the middle of the rover was the largest crate, which we plan to use as a table, since bringing an actual one was unfeasible, not to mention more or less impossible. In the back left corner of the vehicle was a small airlock that allowed items to be brought in, but not people, as people would bring Martian dust through. Most of our items were brought in crates which we either emptied and left outside if they were really dirty, and the cleaner ones were kept inside. Anyhow, a table would be too big to fit through the airlock.
As far as electricity is concerned, we had to rely on a pretty mid source: solar power.
The roof of the rover was entirely covered in solar panels, along with additional arrays that can be unfolded. Solar power isn't the best option, because a lot less sunlight reaches Mars compared to the Earth, not to mention the pesky dust, which regularly covers the panels, decreasing the absorption. However, other options were worse.
Wind power would require absolutely gargantuan turbines, because the Martian winds are pretty weak. The water is deep underground or frozen on the poles, as surface lakes and rivers evaporated billions of years ago. Geothermal energy might work in some areas, assuming that we had an extremely powerful drill, which would need a lot of energy on its own. It's like geothermal energy needs geothermal energy to be feasible on the Red Planet.
The best approach would be nuclear energy, as it is the most efficient here. As far as I know, the Martian outposts rely mostly on nuclear reactors, with extra solar panel fields for support. However, we don't have a nuclear reactor aboard our rover, and the fusion engine from the Remedy, which was also a power source, was ejected before we even entered the atmosphere of Mars.
So, if we want to survive, somebody needs to clean the solar panels regularly. We chose to switch every day, turning the process into a chore.
- I volunteer to go first - Claudius said and we agreed.
- I'll go second - I added, wanting to contribute.
We established a stable rotation: first Claudius, then me, then Sebastian, then Anthony, then Amber, then Arika, then Dawn and finally Einstein.
- Why did you join the Martians? - Sebastian asked Dawn out of the blue.
- I think I already said that; to get revenge on you - Dawn reluctantly responded.
- Okay, maybe I should have asked a slightly different question: Why did they allow you to join? It's not like anyone can get into an evil organization - Sebastian formulated a new question.
- Firstly, because I have expierience from my time with the Perseids and secondly, because I have insider knowledge, since I was a mole in your Agency and got to know a lot about it and you too... - Dawn replied, still reluctant.
- ...and you can't keep a secret - Arika whispered jokingly. Dawn luckily didn't hear her.
- Why are you telling us this? Isn't that revealing confidential information? - I was skeptical. Maybe she's lying?
- They did effectively put me out of commission by abandoning me, so I have nothing left in that group - Dawn shrugged.
- Are the Martians plotting something evil? - Anthony joined the interrogation.
- To my knowledge, nothing aside from killing you - Dawn denied - Also, why are you interrogatting me? We're allies now, right?98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxhYbPvzHd
- Not really. We're stuck together, that's it. You're going behind bars as soon as we get back to Earth - Einstein added.
- If we get back to Earth... - Sebastian corrected.
- But you won't kick me out of here, right? - Dawn was slightly concerned.
- No, unless you sabotage our survival operation - Anthony calmed her down.
- We just want to know if there are assassins waiting for us in here - Arika answered Dawn's question.
- Oh, about that. I don't recall our leader mentioning anything about that, but he may have untold plans hidden in his head... - Dawn came back on track too.
- We'll hope for the best, I guess... - Claudius stayed optimistic.
- Okay, talking is fun, but I reckon that we move if we want to live. I have an idea - Einstein informed us.
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and then Add to home screen.