- Arika, can you get me a map of Valles Marineris? - Einstein asked.
Arika grabbed her phone, which was strangely unharmed by the crash, and quickly whipped up a map of the largest canyon network in the Solar System.
- Look - Einstein started - We're in Melas Chasma, the widest region of Valles Marineris. West of us is Ius Chasma, in which lies Mars Base Beta. That's where we're headed.
- What happened to Mars Base Alpha? - Dawn questioned.
- It's on the south pole of Mars. Too far away from us - Anthony knew the answer.
- Plus, Beta is more technologically advanced and the stay will be a tiny bit more pleasant - Einstein added.
With the plan explained, it was about time for our excursion to begin. Einstein took the middle seat, with Arika occupying the one on the right. I chose the left one a moment later. We performed some tests to see if everything was functional. Afterwards, Arika selected our destination and a map appeared on the largest screen, placed ahead of her. With all the tests complete, we set off towards Ius Chasma.
At the corner of my eye, I saw the others staring at the downed Remedy as we rolled away from it. The Remedy was a beautiful rocket and leaving it to decay further was sad, but it was the only good option, since we prioritised our own survival.
Trying to focus more on the future than the past, I tried to recall some information about Mars Base Beta. At the same time, I still watched the controls, so that I could act if it was necessary.
Mars Base Beta was established in the early 2030s, but I don't remember which year it was. I think it was 2031 or 2032. It was built inside of Valles Marineris, because, frankly, seven kilometers of rocks make for a great natural radiation shield.
For comparison, Mars Base Alpha, which was placed on the south pole for water extraction experiments, had to be covered in a thick layer of 3D printing material made from mostly Martian regolith to protect the astronauts from the hazardous radiation. As research continued, placing a base in Valles Marineris became a viable option and Mars Base Beta was born. Using a natural shield was much cheaper compared to creating one manually.
From what I've heard and read, Martian society has some pretty unique traditions. Take Ice Cream Day for an example. Every two years and two months, a resupply mission from Earth lands ahead of the base, bringing exclusive goods to the outpost. This is widely celebrated, especially since it it also when new crews arrive to replace some of the old ones.
After the newcomers are welcomed with festivity, everyone gathers outside and waves to the veterans as they climb into the rocket. People count down as the fuel tanks are refilled with locally manufactured liqiud methane propellant. Afterwards, the rocket sets off towards Earth and everybody else comes back into the base. I know that the festivities aren't over at this point, but I'm not sure what comes next. Maybe we'll find out?
- Time Skip (yet again) -
Today was my turn to clean the solar panels. Claudius took my place in the cockpit and I stuffed myself into my spacesuit, which was then detatched from the airlock with some help from Anthony.
I used a ladder to climb onto the roof. The panels were covered in a relatively thin layer of dust, so there wasn't much work to do.
- This trip has been going by really smoothly - I thought to myself as I started cleaning.
There are so many ways for things to go wrong on Mars. From raging dust storms covering the planet like a deadly blanket, toxins finding their way into the water trays and contaminating our food supply to the nasty dust getting into the rover's guts and compromising the electronics, along with many more gruesome fates.
However, none of that happened to us. At least not yet. If Justine knew about our progress, she could sleep well. However, due to our communication systems being faulty at best, along with a generally limited range, we couldn't send a message to Earth. Even if something made it through, the Earth would only receive some unintelligible gibberish due to glitches in our system, which was damaged during our abrupt descent.
I wish that Justine wouldn't be kept up at night by thinking "Is my son still alive?". After all, she doesn't even know that our flight was sabotaged! Anthony has the privilege of being with me and being aware of my current status, but mom is about 225 million kilometers away from us. Even when that distance shrinks during transfer windows, it's still far away!
On the bright side, Dawn was especially calm and wasn't causing any problems. It seemed like she miraculously understood that we were working together, not against each other. This helped us survive.
As I took care of the other side of the roof, I got the impression that I saw something move in the distance, but brushed it off as dust being gently lofted upwards by weak winds.
Right when I was about to finish my duty, the side panel arrays were suddenly unfolded. Before I could get to the reasons behind this, they were folded again. Promptly, the lights inside started flickering at it wasn't long before the rover itself was moving in random directions, eventually dropping me onto the regolith.
- Chris, what is going on out there?! - Einstein asked me through the radio.
- I was about to ask you the same thing, becasue I have no idea! - I was quick to reply.
- Somebody must have hijacked the rover! - Arika connected with me - Do you see anyone nearby?
My mind went back to the movements from earlier. This was no dust, but an enemy. Sure, the dust can be an enemy, but not a human one.
- I think I saw someone earlier, but I mistakingly thought it was dust - I didn't hesitate to bring this up.
Amber emerged out of the rover in her spacesuit, ready to fight. The problem was that we couldn't see the hijacker. Through the windows, I could only see Claudius trying to fix the issue, while Arika was scrambling to find the cause.
- Where did you see the "dust"? - Amber asked and I pointed in the general direction which I remembered. Amber hopped into action and checked the area, while I looked around in the opposite side. Our fighter was still connected with me, so I could hear her every move. As I looked around to no avail, grunting and punching noises hit me through the radio.
- Amber's fighting someone! I'll go help her! - I notified the others and rushed to the scene.
Amber got into a serious fight with a guy dressed in the familiar black and green spacesuit. Is he the one who crashed the Remedy?
Right as I was about to launch a surprise attack from behind, the hijacker pushed Amber, who was seemingly electrocuted, as she stumbled. I was alone with the evil agent.
I dodged his first strike, during which I noticed that his gloves are somehow conductive and were used as a weapon. I successfully landed a kick on him right as he was about to use the gloves on me.
The fight continued and I was exhausted. Right as the enemy was going to strike, Anthony arrived and scared the agent away. However, he wasn't able to capture him, because the evil spy managed to puncture Anthony's glass visor and air was leaking out.
- Take care of Amber, I can handle myself! - Anthony exclaimed.
I listened to him and carried Amber into the rover, which Arika managed to calm down. Claudius and Sebastian helped me with dislodging Amber from her spacesuit.
As Einstein took care of the brave girl, I looked out through the window and saw dad stuggling. He tried to cover the crack with his hand, but was quickly losing oxygen. I knew that I had to save him.
I once again got my spacesuit and made my way to Anthony. I sealed the crack with a piece of duct tape, which greatly helped my father. Sure, it wasn't a permanent solution, but it got the job done. We eventually made it to the rover and both Anthony and I breathed a sigh of relief.
- I probably would have made it by myself, but that help was really good. Thank you, son - Anthony thanked me.
- Anytime, dad - I grinned.
As it turned out, Amber was, in fact, electrocuted. As Einstein nursed her back to health, Sebastian was angry with Dawn.
- You lied to us! That was definitely an assassin! - he shouted.
- I told you, our boss may have hidden some plans from me, especially since he was plotting to leave me to rot with you! - Dawn hissed at him.
Anthony took it upon himself to calm the two down before personally interrogating Dawn.
- She isn't lying, but we need to watch out - my father reported to Einstein.
- Okay. In that case, I say we speed up a little. We're getting close - he replied.
ns216.73.216.134da2
and then Add to home screen.