《Martians》 Chapter 1 The crowd was silent, eyes hunting across the sky¡¯s vast blue expanse, until a finger shot up, and a woman¡¯s shriek announced the arrival. Hao strained to see the vessel in vain, following the frantic gestures to stubbornly blank patches of sky. More and more voices called out, together with calls of ¡°Awesome!¡± and frequent appeals to divinity, while Hao grew more and more anxious. Then suddenly it appeared before him, and his stomach lurched at the sight. The black dot fell lazily, though it seemed to Hao it was aiming right for him, and for a moment he was seized by the terrible urge to run. ¡°Wait for it, wait for it!¡± called a young man, his girlfriend glancing at him with exhilaration. A pair of sonic booms exploded like thunderclaps from the serene sky, prompting a fresh wave of whooping and cheering. Presently the distant shape resolved into the familiar structure of the interplanetary spacecraft: stubby wings holding the fat, torpedo shaped body steady in its ¡®belly flop¡¯ maneuver. ¡°That¡¯s completely absurd.¡± announced someone in the crowd. ¡°Like a whale thought it could fly.¡± As the ship descended, Hao fought off a sense of vertigo. He almost wanted to look away, so powerful was the shaking in his legs, but he refused. This was after all the greatest achievement in spaceflight¡ªand his future. A spacecraft the size of a building was falling to earth over their heads, with only a delicate ballet of cutting-edge engineering to save it from smashing into the ground. Praying to the Creator, he watched as the engines ignited soundlessly with a bright flash, and the nose tipped violently up. The vessel swung around, leaning almost too far in the opposite direction before settling into an upright attitude. Flames billowed out from the engines, and all that was left was for the huge craft to descend gracefully to the pad, touching down to an explosion of cheering that almost drowned out the delayed roar of the engines. ¡°Tu Nguyen Hao?¡± a man with a clipboard and ID badge accosted him. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me. Good pronunciation.¡± he smiled. ¡°Oh, thank you¡± the man grinned. ¡°And may I compliment you on your excellent English?¡± Hao bowed gratefully. ¡°I¡¯m Martell and I¡¯ll be taking you through the onboarding process. How did you like the landing?¡± ¡°Absolutely incredible. You know I thought I knew what to expect from the videos, but really nothing prepares you for it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I still get chills every time. When I think my wife has already been onboard one of those things¡­ well you know what, it¡¯s hard to think about.¡± ¡°Your wife is an astronaut?¡± ¡°Rho Harris¡ªyour project manager, and Martian colonist as we speak.¡± ¡°Oh¡ªfantastic! What a pleasure to meet you.¡± Hao pumped Martell¡¯s hand as hard as could be respectable. ¡°Isn¡¯t it hard to be separated for so long?¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult certainly, but I¡¯m just counting down the days until my own transit¡ªthat¡¯ll be a few weeks after yours. Why don¡¯t we take a trip through the visitor center while I go over the journey to Mars gateway?¡± Hao cheerfully agreed, and they walked across the neatly trimmed grounds of Boca Chica Space center to a large gleaming building¡ªusually filled with tourists but now empty¡ªas the sun approached the horizon. As the orb settled against the distant sand dunes, Hao caught sight of the blood-drenched sky reflecting off a nearby lake, while east Texan wild grass shivered in the evening breeze. The sight of it distracted him from his briefing, and for a moment he felt such a feeling of warmth and oneness with the world, that the thought of leaving it became appalling. ¡°Beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Martell¡¯s voice interrupted his reverie, and Hao apologized profusely. ¡°I love to work in environments like this.¡± Martell continued. ¡°It just reminds me how precious life is, and how vulnerable. That¡¯s why I believe that everything we¡¯re doing, all the sacrifices we make¡ªit¡¯s all so necessary, because the planet won¡¯t last forever. It¡¯s what has helped me get through the years without Rho.¡± Unbidden thoughts rose to the surface of Hao¡¯s mind, and though he thought he might respond, the words wouldn¡¯t come. Instead, he allowed the silence of contemplation to continue. ¡°Well, as I was saying,¡± Martell continued eventually, ¡°tomorrow we will fit you for the MCP suit, and you can spend a bit of time getting used to it. It¡¯s not really comfortable, but you get used to it, so I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°The uh¡­ MCP?¡± ¡°Mechanical Counter-Pressure.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± They moved inside the tourist center, and Hao struggled to keep his attention on the briefing, as a treasure trove of space race artefacts passed unappreciated. ¡°You see, one of the big problems of interplanetary space travel is maintaining bone structure, muscle tone and even blood pressure in the weightless environment.¡± Martell explained. ¡°So, the Human Systems team developed the MCP suit. In the first place it weakly restricts areas of blood flow around your body, forcing your heart to pump harder and simulating the daily stress life under gravity would normally subject you to. Secondly, there are elastic strips inlaid across the suit that provide constant force against your limbs.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°It wants to force you into the fetal position¡ªa subtle effect that requires effort to overcome.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fascinating!¡± Hao beamed, his earlier trepidation forgotten. ¡°And presumably you combine that with a constant workout routine onboard?¡± ¡°Absolutely, and I see you¡¯ll have no problems in that regard.¡± Hao smiled ¨C ¡°Yes, I¡¯m something of a fitness fanatic.¡± ¡°However,¡± the other man frowned, ¡°this does pose a logistical problem.¡± ¡°Oh, I know I will lose most of my muscle mass, I¡¯ve made peace with that.¡± ¡°Well, yes, but then any suit we fit you with will ultimately become useless. We can give you a slimmer suit for later, but it won¡¯t be well fitted.¡± Hao¡¯s face fell; he hadn¡¯t thought of that. ¡°With other astronauts it¡¯s easier to calculate, but in your case¡­ oh well I suppose we¡¯ll figure it out. That¡¯s what we do here.¡± he beamed. ¡°Speaking of which I wanted to propose a solution for the bone density problem.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m all ears.¡± ¡°Well, I wondered if it would be a good idea to add a reinforced padded chamber in the spacecraft ¨C something a person could throw themselves around in?¡± Martell stopped, an amused expression on his face. ¡°Throw themselves around?¡± ¡°Yes, I mean bounce off the walls. I can only imagine the fun you would have in zero g.¡± He chuckled at the thought, but seeing his soon-to-be colleague¡¯s expression growing more skeptical, he explained further. ¡°Bone suffers micro fractures during collisions, and under stress that prompt the osseous tissue to reform itself more rigidly. You can¡¯t recreate the constant micro-shocks that come from walking around without gravity, so you need to provide it some other way.¡± ¡°I see, but wouldn¡¯t there be a risk of injury?¡± ¡°Unfortunately that¡¯s not really avoidable when it comes to exercise.¡± ¡°Hmm. I can imagine bouncing around would certainly help vent some of the frustration that comes with long term space travel¡ªof course I¡¯m not a flight doctor. Then there would be some difficult structural challenges to overcome. But I¡¯ll be sure to pass it along.¡± He smiled and made a short note on the clipboard. ¡°Just trying to help.¡± Eventually the briefing turned to the subject of safety. ¡°Obviously your performance in training will be heavily reviewed and if we see any issues suggesting an unsafe attitude or lack of respect for protocols that will be grounds for termination of your contract.¡± Martell explained. Hao found his tone to be strangely light, as though they were discussing a business venture. He seemed to be more concerned with keeping the conversation friendly, but Hao didn¡¯t understand why the problem of safety would demand anything less than an aggressive discipline. Perhaps it was the American way, he thought, suppressing his annoyance. ¡°I am relieved to hear that you take attitude and discipline seriously.¡± he said. ¡°These have been fundamental to my personal growth throughout my career.¡± Martell smiled and the conversation turned back to the training schedule, and what would be required of him once he arrived on Mars. ¡°I understand that, as a drilling engineer, you¡¯ll be helping Rho out with the extraction of water ice.¡± ¡°Yes¡ªI helped develop most of the techniques she¡¯s already using. The challenge now will be to scale up, so we can supply the growing demands of the colony¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. And were you always interested in space travel?¡± Hao looked away, trying to hide the cold expression that had broken free of his usually well-trained restraint. ¡°Uh ¨C I¡­ yes of course. Space is the future.¡± It was such a half-hearted response that Martell blushed and seemed lost for words. ¡°What¡¯s that? One of the first capsules? How fascinating!¡± Hao quickly pointed and wandered over to a large glass booth, but when he looked back to the other man he went cold. Martell¡¯s expression told him he had made a dreadful error. ¡°That is the Ghidorah Seven manned capsule.¡± Martell explained sadly. ¡°We keep it here together with pieces of the Challenger and Colombia space shuttles. Shortly after reaching orbit, it was struck by untracked debris¡ªa bolt from an old communication satellite. Astronauts Leith Joss, and Grisha Vasiliy were killed in the subsequent decompression.¡± ¡°Yes of course, I should have known. My sincere apologies.¡± Hao had been aware of the incident, but at the time had filed it away with the rest of the world¡¯s forgettable tragedies. ¡°In this organization, with all our successes, it can be easy to get comfortable. After we recovered the capsule, the decision was made to keep it in the visitor center as a permanent reminder. Sometimes you can do everything right, but the universe just doesn¡¯t care.¡± Hao shivered. Looking back at the capsule he saw the tiny puncture mark, where the chunk of metal had punched through the steel wall at a dozen times the speed of sound. A wave of nausea and dread enveloped him as the reality of where he was and what he was doing hit home¡ªbut he shoved the feelings back down inside, mentally cursing himself for the weakness. He turned back to Martell with a blank expression. ¡°Shall we continue?¡± Chapter 2 Hao wiped the fog of his breath from the spacecraft window, unable to tear his gaze away from the awe-inspiring spectacle. The brilliant blue globe of the Earth¡ªnow terrifyingly small¡ªhung against the blackness in such a fragile way that it seemed as though the universe was mocking him. All his dreams, fears, conquests, and defeats rendered laughable, as he floated inside a giant tin can with two dozen other fools, traversing the deathly void. It had been a few days since launch, but the nightmares were still fresh. Quite beyond the expectation of being burned alive in a terrible explosion, what Hao had not been prepared for was the sense that the spacecraft, barely moving off the pad, drifted around like a felled tree¡ªswaying with uncertainty before gravity lay inexorable hands upon it. The effect was caused by the engines gimballing back and forth to maintain stability. For a moment he had been sure they were going to tip over. Then there were thoughts of the dreaded ¡®conjunction¡¯. While the views outside their crowded vessel were visually stunning, and a welcome distraction from the misery of shipboard life, they also served as a persistent reminder that death lay behind a half inch of steel or glass. Hardly much protection against a chunk of paint moving faster than a bullet. When the vessel maneuvered as part of its regular maintenance activities¡ªplacing the Earth into a blind spot¡ªit seemed as though nothing existed but the star-studded void. Hao most dreaded the coming weeks when neither Earth nor Mars would be larger than a bright dot, and wondered how he might hold on to his sanity. There was always exercise; cycling and rowing stations were set up, and even body extensions against elastic restraints. Unfortunately, accustomed to heavier lifting, Hao felt unchallenged and under-stimulated. Meanwhile his hard-earned body shrank, becoming more fragile every day. For privacy, he only enjoyed the personal space of a small cupboard; to browse mindless nonsense on the internet or watch the same tv shows and movies on repeat. ¡°Hey partner, trying to bring yourself back down to Earth?¡± the voice of Kerry Finnegan interrupted his thoughts, and he hid an annoyed expression. ¡°I¡¯m just appreciating the majesty of the cosmos.¡± ¡°I wanted to invite you for a game of chess. Gotta keep your mind sharp hey?¡± Kerry wasn¡¯t fooled by his clich¨¦ shield. Since the group had started interacting closely in the months before launch, the bright young electrical engineer had worked diligently to get under everyone¡¯s skin and figure them out. She was almost obnoxious in her persistence, and Hao struggled daily to keep her at bay. His objective mind understood, and was perhaps even impressed by the woman¡¯s tenacity; any subject and every person were fascinating to her, and if you weren¡¯t careful she would have you sharing every detail of your life, and that of your friends, family and casual acquaintances. For the rest of the prospective Martian colonists she was a godsend; providing the social glue that kept them from descending into Lord of the Flies madness. Unfortunately, Hao did not want to share, and while he found space travel to be deeply trying, he had his own mechanism of coping. It involved peace, quiet, and loneliness, disturbed only by occasional small talk. ¡°Did they say when the next solar drill would be?¡± He asked, attempting to change the subject. The drills required them to rush into the spacecraft¡¯s mid-section, where water tanks surrounded the compartment. The drills began with an alarm and were usually a ripe source of fun as passengers bounced off each other to get in first. The last person in would usually be subject to some form of public humiliation. They allowed themselves this indulgence of frivolity as a necessary release, and every few drills, one would be performed with the severity of good order. ¡°Next drill is on the schedule.¡± Kerry chided him. ¡°How about that game?¡± ¡°Maybe some other time. I¡¯ve never been very good at chess, I¡¯m afraid¡ªwouldn¡¯t want to give you a boring game.¡± ¡°Aw come on¡ªa tough guy like you afraid of little old me?¡± Hao looked away. He knew that in this environment he didn¡¯t have the right to be hostile and was about to attempt more small talk when another figure drifted close. ¡°Don¡¯t give in Hao, she¡¯s setting you up.¡± said Jamey Knox, a chemist specializing in Methane refinement. ¡°Lord knows she¡¯s swindled half of us out of our chocolate allowance.¡± ¡°You knew the terms of the bet when you agreed to them. And you¡¯d seen me play a dozen games. I swear¡ªthere¡¯s a certain type of man that sees his friends get thrashed and can only think ¡®Aha! But I will be different!¡¯ Kerry complained. ¡°Absolutely correct.¡± Jamey grinned. Hao felt himself moved to smile, and nod in agreement. ¡°But in my case,¡± he protested, ¡°I just don¡¯t understand chess. Never had the mind for it.¡± Jamey thought for a moment. ¡°What about a different form of chess? Weren¡¯t you telling me the other day about Jiu Jitsu?¡± ¡°Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and I only took a few classes. But that¡¯s impossible in zero g anyway.¡± ¡°Well hold on a moment,¡± Jamey mused. ¡°I¡¯m sure you would agree that with all these flights and the psychological stress they impart, there must be a non-zero chance of someone cracking.¡± ¡°Well with the tough selection criteria and all the testing they do¡­ but sure maybe it could happen.¡± ¡°A crazed person throwing a fit would be a serious threat to the ship, no? Wouldn¡¯t it be helpful to have some kind of training to control a person like that?¡±Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Oh yes.¡± Kerry agreed, getting excited. ¡°Imagine if a big guy like Hao got claustrophobia and started bouncing off the walls.¡± She winked at him. ¡°I¡¯d want to know if a weakling like me could do something about it.¡± ¡°To be honest, now that you¡¯ve mentioned it, I find the idea fascinating.¡± Hao nodded, ¡°but I don¡¯t know how it would work.¡± ¡°This is what they hired us for.¡± Kerry said. ¡°Solve problems. We should get to work on this.¡± ¡°Sign me up for classes.¡± Jamey grinned. ¡°Hao, can you pass me the wrench?¡± Rho asked, her voice tinny over the suit radio and clouded by heavy breathing. She squatted by one of the fixed drill emplacements they had already installed, waiting patiently while Hao fetched a wrench from the rover. He walked it over to her, legs still shaky on the rocky Martian surface. Almost hourly he reminded himself that no colonist yet had smashed their impact-protection helmet open after a fall, but that invited the inevitable conclusion that someone would have to be first. She thanked him and began locking in the braces for the drill that would punch down through the blood-red surface of the planet. Once armed, the drill would burrow down up to a dozen meters, in search of the most sacred and inaccessible resource in the solar system¡ªwater. ¡°You want to run the drill this time?¡± She smiled at him, and he swelled with pride. Rho had quickly recognized his strong mechanical skills and sought to push him towards greater and greater responsibility. In his previous career, he had been more used to micro-managers who would often hold him back. ¡°Thank you.¡± He said, sincerely, and then, since he felt their relationship had grown quite strongly over the weeks since his arrival, threw in a joke. ¡°Once I¡¯ve stolen your job, I¡¯ll be sure to treat you generously.¡± Rho laughed. ¡°Well actually that¡¯s kind of the point. If i get killed, you¡¯ll need to be able to push my body out of the way and take over.¡± Hao shivered. If Rho had one character flaw it was her morbid sense of humor. She joined him at the portable drilling station they had unpacked from the Rover and walked him through the startup sequence. ¡°Just go straight down for the first five meters, and we¡¯ll see what we find.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t water ice be present just under the topsoil?¡± ¡°Normally yes, but we pretty much drained this area dry in the first years. Now we need to go deeper.¡± Hao guided the drill down slowly under Rho¡¯s watchful gaze. Their greatest concern was the presence of metals which might damage the drill; any unusual resistance was carefully probed before digging resumed. After a short wait the drills inbuilt water sensor beeped, signaling their contact with ice. Then they inserted the Magnetic Resonance probe into the drill string and initiated the mapping program. Within a few seconds they saw that a twenty-meter sheet of ice lay beneath their feet, stretching for kilometers in every direction. ¡°We struck blue gold boys!¡± Rho hollered and slapped Hao¡¯s back. He congratulated himself that he didn¡¯t flinch this time. ¡°Now we need to calculate the heat energy required.¡± he said. ¡°Good. Talk me through it.¡± ¡°If we provide too much energy to the heating element, then too much ice will flash to steam and explode out through the drill emplacement¡ªpossibly killing us both or destroying the rover and stranding us out here.¡± ¡°Right. We call this a sub-optimal outcome since it will require either an expensive rescue operation or a substantial amount of paperwork for our overworked colleagues. Not to mention the disruption to the logistical network needed to get a new rover and water trailer out here.¡± Through the reflected image of the Martian landscape on her visor, Hao saw the woman wink. ¡°Uh¡­ yes. But if the heat energy is insufficient, too little of the ice will melt before the heat can propagate, leaving us with very little water, and the heating element dangling in a void. So we work from the volume of the trailer, thermal capacity of water, and take care to calculate the desired level and time limit to run the reactor¡ªsubtracting ten percent as a safety margin.¡± ¡°You got this Hao! Guess I can go sit in the rover and read my book. Kidding! You connect the heating element and I¡¯ll plug the hoses from the trailer.¡± Though Hao rarely heard much sound through his helmet, the shriek of steam boiling up through the drilling rig and into the trailer was muted, but quite audible¡ªtogether with the subtle vibration passing through the soles of his boots. Within minutes around six thousand gallons of water had transferred into their tank, the exterior vanes glowing as the heat began to dissipate into the thin Martian air. ¡°Another couple of days¡¯ worth of water from one expedition.¡± Rho said cheerfully, as they drove back to the colony, trailer in tow. ¡°This new technique works wonders.¡± ¡°It will certainly allow us to rapidly expand manufacturing operations.¡± Hao agreed. ¡°Do you get that glow yet?¡± ¡°Glow?¡± he wanted to turn to look at her, but the bulky suits prevented much movement in the cramped interior of the rover. ¡°We¡¯re building something every day; a real and tangible foundation for a new civilization. I¡¯m addicted to that feeling.¡± ¡°You sound like Martell.¡± ¡°We¡¯re both true believers. Most people here are.¡± She let the statement hang in the air, but Hao didn¡¯t take the bait. ¡°You must be excited for his arrival.¡± ¡°Oh my God, are you kidding? Two years of video messages and in a few days I¡¯ll be able to jump on top of him. You¡¯ll have a couple of days off work obviously.¡± She laughed raucously and despite himself Hao couldn¡¯t contain a chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re irrepressible.¡± ¡°I hope so. Ah¡ªhome sweet home.¡± They passed over a low ridge and Hao had to look carefully to make out the shape of the colony against the red plain. A series of bulges and ripples marked the cavern roofs that sheltered them from radiation and dust, and here and there bulky decontamination airlocks dotted the terrain. ¡°Puts me in mind of a lizard clinging to the last bit of shade in a desert.¡± he said. ¡°Will you come for a drink later?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ yes of course. I¡¯m sure I have some Orange juice left on my ration card.¡± ¡°Good man. Once we transfer the water, if you can clean out the trepanning tray on the drilling module, I¡¯ll give the rover a wipe down?¡± After stowing his suit Hao almost jumped into the decontamination shower. In training they had spent nearly a full day going over the dangers posed by Martian dust and the toxic effects it would have on the human body. Although they went through a suit decon in the outer airlock, he didn¡¯t trust it, and began to itch even as he extracted himself from the sweaty armor. Hot water ran across his skin, and he began to feel whole again. The insidious silent desert faded to a distant corner of his mind, pushed back behind a comfortably thick wall of artificial dirt bricks. Hao let the heat and steam soak into his body and when he closed his eyes he was in a shower on the Danang Sun Peninsula, after a day of swimming and hiking in the hot sun. Once finished he would step out into the balcony of his private penthouse, where a young air hostess would hand him an ice cool Daiquiri. He could almost taste the sharp citrus pouring down his throat and it almost made him drool; the colony rations were painfully meager when it came to fruit. The heavenly thoughts evaporated with the steam as an automatic timer disabled the shower and the vent sucked the compartment dry. Hao banged his head against the wall and took a deep breath. At least he could look forward to the Orange Juice. Chapter 3 Kerry waved him over to their table in the cafeteria¡ªlocated, Hao noted with relief, in a corner tucked away from the large, reinforced windows that looked out onto the Utopia Planitia. ¡°Hey there tough guy. Heard you had a good day.¡± Hao nodded a greeting as he sat down across from Jamey, cradling his glass of lukewarm and slightly stale juice. ¡°Just glad to see we¡¯re making progress.¡± he said. ¡°I bet Rho is a real slave driver huh?¡± Jamey said loudly, as the accused joined them. ¡°You are forbidden to respond to that question.¡± Rho said in a serious tone, before laughing. Hao took a sip of his orange juice, savoring the liquid on his palate for as long as possible before swallowing. They tried to keep the conversation away from work, though there was scant recreation in their lives, and almost nobody in the colony did much beyond work and sleep. Even Hao¡¯s sporadic Jiu Jitsu sessions with Jamey had come to an end. Eventually, unable to contain further anxiety, Hao turned to Kerry. ¡°Do you have another trip to the fueling station planned?¡± She nodded. ¡°A few days from now. Me and Jamey.¡± ¡°Is that for the new fueling procedure? For the incoming ships?¡± Rho asked, her brow furrowed. ¡°Did they sort out all the wrinkles?¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s getting there, but that¡¯s why they need another crew to launch and handle the test procedures.¡± ¡°They¡¯re really playing catch up with all the extra traffic they have planned.¡± Rho replied in a cooler tone that caused Hao to watch her carefully. ¡°Why is that?¡± he asked ¡°Well,¡± Kerry began, ¡°They want the fastest possible trajectory to Mars, but they still haven¡¯t figured a direct entry path that doesn¡¯t¡­ um¡­ explode in the atmosphere. This means the transfer is very fuel intense, so the best solution right now is to have the incoming ship dock, refuel, then land.¡± ¡°With a station cobbled together from spare parts.¡± Jamey noted. ¡°Yes, but you know we¡¯ll get it sorted out. We always find a solution. The colony needs to grow.¡± Rho nodded, but she remained subdued. ¡°Oh, and we¡¯ll meet Martell up there¡ªhis ship will be our guinea pig!¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his first belly flop isn¡¯t it? Gosh, how do you think he¡¯ll handle it?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Rho waved her hand. ¡°He¡¯ll love it. He flies wingsuits and drives motorbikes way too fast and anything else he can get a buzz from. It drives me crazy, but he loves to find that edge.¡± ¡°I think I still have the imprints from my armrests carved into my hands, I was gripping so tight.¡± Jamey laughed. ¡°You just need to do it a few more times, learn to trust the technology.¡± Kerry said encouragingly. ¡°I bet Hao didn¡¯t even blink, right?¡± she smiled warmly at him. Hao couldn¡¯t recall much of the Martian atmospheric entry and landing experience beyond an intense longing that it would be a quick death. However, the sleepless nights afterward were certainly etched into his memory, together with a fervent hatred of the colony for its longstanding alcohol ban. ¡°As you say, it¡¯s amazing technology.¡± He smiled. They soon agreed that their social time was overrunning the reasonable limit and began to leave for their quarters. ¡°Maybe when I get back we can do another Jiu Jitsui sesson?¡± Kerry said to Hao as she left. ¡°In this low gravity I feel like a superhero!¡± As he was standing to leave, Rho stopped him. ¡°You know relationships aren¡¯t banned on the colony don¡¯t you?¡± she asked. Hao sighed before replying. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure I agree that it¡¯s the best idea to start a relationship in this kind of environment.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°There¡¯s just so much work and, well, it¡¯s quite stressful. I¡¯ve always found relationships to be difficult, even in a comfortable environment. But out here¡­¡± he shook his head. ¡°You never relax ¨C you¡¯re always worried you¡¯ve forgotten something critical that you can¡¯t recall?¡± Hao nodded. ¡°Just my opinion, but all this fun flying around the solar system has us forgetting the basics sometimes. Humans solve problems together, not separately.¡± She gave him a hug and left him alone in the canteen. He reflected for some time, refusing as ever to look out the observation window.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The silence of the desert filled Hao¡¯s ears, broken only by the muted and distant clanking of the drill assembly¡ªquiet suggestions that he was still connected to a real world. He breathed the same stale air of a suit he had been working in for hours, grateful that it at least kept him cool. The fabric under-suit did a good job of wicking away sweat, to be vented by the outer suit, and this was all the comfort he could expect. Unlatching the interface cover on his arm, he gripped the aluminum plate between the bulky plastic suit fingers and lifted it up. It was another sequence in the endless dance of slow, deliberate, and considered gestures that defined their lives. He tapped the controls until the display showed ¡®suit temp.¡¯ and pushed the down arrow until he had lowered the number by half a degree. He knew that the work to follow would require exertion and wanted to be prepared. Next, he turned to the rover, and began the process of unwinding each of the rubber hoses that would connect to the drill. Every step of the procedure was laborious¡ªexecuted slowly as they checked every connection and smoothed out any kinks in the line. While on Earth they might have thrown equipment around with careless skill, on mars they moved like stiff robots. Once he was sure the evacuation lines were connected to the assembly, Hao began threading the heating element into the drill string. Rho stood by the rover, patiently awaiting his signal to activate the reactor. ¡°Okay ready to go.¡± he radioed, and she flipped the switch. A delay of silence was followed by the usual faint buildup of shrieking steam flowing back through the lines into the water trailer, and Hao had almost started to relax when he realized there was a new sound¡ªa strange, repetitive clicking noise. ¡°Do you hear that?¡± he radioed to Rho. ¡°Hear what?¡± Approaching the drill assembly, Hao saw the feed line start to vibrate violently. ¡°Uh-¡± he began, but was cut short as the thick tubing ripped itself free from the assembly, immersing his suit in boiling steam and knocking him off his feet. He came down hard against the rocks¡ªfelt something in his suit snap. Overhead a giant enraged snake thrashed through the air as the steam, escaping from the trailer, turned the line¡¯s destroyed nozzle into a rocket engine. The snake struck the ground by his head, and Hao tensed for the end. Again it smashed close by him and he knew that the next one must surely strike his body, pulverizing organs, cracking bone, or shattering his helmet to leave him suffocating in the thin air. Then it stopped, falling lifelessly to the ground. Ducking beneath the thrashing serpent, Rho had managed to reach the shut off valve. Now she was on top of him, checking his suit for leaks while he desperately fought the urge to vomit into his helmet. He slowly became aware that she was calling his name through the radio. ¡°My suit¡¯s leaking¡± he replied urgently. ¡°I can hear air escaping.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t find a leak.¡± ¡°I can hear it¡± he insisted. ¡°Help me!¡± ¡°Your suit pressure is stable, Hao, you¡¯re not leaking.¡± He paused, trying to isolate the sounds from the blood pounding in his ears. Was the whining noise his imagination¡ªconcocting his worst fear just to torment him? ¡°One of your ventilators is broken. That¡¯s what you¡¯re hearing. You¡¯re okay, Hao, we¡¯re both okay.¡± The danger gone, Hao felt adrenaline flush into his veins and he began to shake violently. ¡°We need to go back!¡± he stammered. ¡°I¡¯m going to throw up!¡± Rho hauled him upright and took him to the Rover, but once he was sat down, she only stood there, watching him. ¡°Please! Let¡¯s go!¡± he urged. ¡°Control your breathing¡ªlike we practiced, remember?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t handle it!¡± ¡°You can and you will.¡± Rho snapped. ¡°Breath slowly.¡± He forced himself to do so, though he hated her for not driving them away from the dark and evil place. ¡°Where were you born? Answer the question.¡± ¡°Haiphong¡± ¡°What date?¡± she kept up the questions, asking him about his early life and family, forcing him to access his long-term memory. As the minutes passed he felt himself growing calmer, though the fear shot through his body like electricity. ¡°Drink some water, take some time.¡± Rho told him, her tone now soothing and encouraging. She left his side to tend to the ruined drill assembly. Once the shaking subsided, he grew ashamed of himself, smacking his fist against the rover¡¯s roof in anger. Rho returned holding the destroyed nozzle. ¡°Looks like you locked it in tightly enough, the screws are nice and tight¡ªjust sheared off.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°Faulty screws, or a bad design. Could be anything. We need to get back to a lab to find the answer.¡± ¡°Okay. I can help you pack up the trailer.¡± ¡°Nope. We¡¯re not leaving.¡± Her lips curled into a grim smile. ¡°If we spend a couple of days trying to figure this out, the colony will run through its surplus and be at risk in the event of another problem. We¡¯ll dig a new hole, and try again.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious Rho! What if the other line breaks the same way?¡± ¡°It could do, but we know we¡¯ve done dozens of successful extractions before a failure, so I think the odds are on our side.¡± ¡°Oh God.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle the drill, and you going to stand next to the kill valve watching like a hawk, right?¡± Hao nodded reluctantly, conscious that it was an acceptable risk. The next extraction went smoothly, though Hao was slower, checking everything three or four times, and even then, never finding his previous confidence. With incredible relief, he sank back into the Rover¡¯s seat for the last time that day. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for¡­ earlier¡± he managed, as they made the drive back. ¡°You¡¯re sorry for not being a cold, granite statue in the face of danger?¡± she chuckled. ¡°I think you can give yourself a break.¡± ¡°I lost control.¡± ¡°You were nearly killed. We both were. That¡¯s a tough thing to have to deal with.¡± ¡°Thank God you kept your head. Jesus, I should have-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that to yourself. It¡¯s over. There¡¯s no such thing as time travel, and if you fixate on it, you will make yourself miserable.¡± Hao paused, unable to respond. ¡°Think about lessons learned for next time.¡± Rho finished. They drove the rest of the way in silence. Inside the colony they were met with grim, teary-eyed faces. Small groups of people huddled in corners, talking quietly. Most of them appeared to be in shock. As they looked up and saw Rho, they turned wide-eyed. An administrator hurried up to them and pulled them into his office. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry to tell you this Rho.¡± He began. ¡°There¡¯s been an explosion on the fueling station. We¡¯ve lost contact, but a nearby satellite took a photo and¡­¡± he gulped, unsure how to continue. ¡°Martell¡­¡± Rho began and hung her head. She had known from the minute she entered the colony. ¡°Were there any survivors?¡± Hao asked gently. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t seem possible. The station was completely destroyed, together with the arriving ship.¡± Hao thought back to Martell¡¯s passionate speeches about space travel, to Kerry¡¯s infectious smile and kind heart, and Jamey¡¯s boisterous self-confidence, and loyalty. He prayed they had died quickly. ¡°Please, if there¡¯s anything I can do¡­¡± the administrator offered, but Rho wasn¡¯t listening, staring off into space as she struggled to hold back tears. Chapter 4 Electricity coursed through Hao¡¯s nerves. He wanted to smash everything in his cabin but knew the futility of such an act. Instead, he sat like a caged animal, mind racing through the events of the day, trying to find the way out that didn¡¯t exist. Time seemed to stop as minutes turned to hours while nothing changed. He didn¡¯t calm down, he didn¡¯t arrive at any state of acceptance. He wondered how long he could live this way, and joked bitterly to himself that maybe he wouldn¡¯t need to find out. There was a soft knock at the door, and he opened it to see a red-eyed Rho standing there. He invited her in, and they hugged in silence for a few minutes. ¡°How are you doing?¡± he asked, then mentally kicked himself for the stupid question. Rho didn¡¯t answer, but stared into space for a moment. ¡°I thought you might want some company.¡± ¡°I¡¯d want some company? Jesus Rho, who cares what I want right now?¡± ¡°Well, I want some company, so suck it.¡± The spark in her eyes was still though, though not as bright. Neither said anything for a while, both lost in thought and grateful to share space with another human. ¡°Are you angry?¡± Hao asked eventually, unsure if he was being insensitive. ¡°Oh, I know where you¡¯re going with that. I know what they¡¯re all saying. Yes I¡¯m angry, but not at anybody in particular. At the world maybe¡ªthe unfairness of it all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very levelheaded of you.¡± ¡°I think there¡¯s a little bit of cowardice in everyone when tragedy hits like this. They want to find the people to blame, to vent their anger on a victim so they don¡¯t have to process the pain. It must be the overly ambitious company, or the stupid administrators, or the heartless businessmen on Earth pushing too hard to make a profit. It can¡¯t be that no-one is that evil or incompetent, that sometimes the universe punches you in the gut for no reason¡ªthat¡¯s too terrifying.¡± Hao didn¡¯t reply. ¡°I get very analytical in difficult moments.¡± she explained. ¡°Helps me create the illusion of control that everyone needs to hold onto to stay sane.¡± ¡°I envy you. I¡¯m not sure how to make sense of anything right now.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had a rough day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nothing compared to what you must be going through.¡± Rho shrugged. ¡°On the one hand I¡¯ve had a lot of practice for reasons I won¡¯t go into. On the other hand we were always trying to anticipate this moment. Martell used to sit me down and tell me I had to be prepared for this. He made me think through the scenarios¡ªwhich was freaking horrible¡ª but he¡¯d been there before you see. A few of his friends died wing-suiting, so he knew what it was like. Jesus I loved him.¡± she sobbed. After a pause, she continued. ¡°But he¡¯s with me now, and he won¡¯t have me give up, or break down, and that¡¯s all there is to it.¡± ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll ever know-?¡± ¡°I know what happened. That¡¯s why this is a bit easier for me than the others, because they¡¯re getting lost in their imagination. That¡¯s where the real beast lives, you know, the primal instinct that wants to run for the trees and smash whatever gets in the way.¡± Rho paused again, arranging her thoughts. ¡°I studied industrial disasters, and I did my thesis on the Deepwater Horizon fire. The popular narrative is that BP were evil and throwing lives away for profit, and nobody bothered to ask why a rig which had won the ¡°Safest Rig¡± award for seven years straight exploded. It has a lot to do with the bullshit media culture we live under, but that¡¯s another story. The truth is timeless and universal. In every human endeavor there are failures at every level that get missed, or are too minor to worry about, but, once in a while they all combine at the worst possible time to produce a tragedy¡ªand that¡¯s it. ¡°So, our refueling station¡­ Well, the higher leadership underestimated how quickly the colony would grow, with all the billionaires on Earth wanting a trip, all the media attention and so on; the traffic needed to keep it growing got out of control. This was dangerous because we¡¯re not close to being self-sufficient, and enthusiasm has a life of it¡¯s own. We call it ¡®go-fever¡¯, and sometimes it takes over, pushing rationality to the side. Rather than throttling back expectations, or risk disappointing the fanbase, donors or politicians they drove ahead. They had a new trajectory plan, without the fueling infrastructure in place to support it. They improvised and built the fueling station, and built a new procedure with a crew cobbled together from different teams. Hao listened intently and was surprised to see that he also found a soothing acceptance from breaking the nightmare down to its component parts. ¡°They could have saved the situation,¡± Rho continued ¡°If they had selected strong leadership to oversee this new team, but between office politics, indecisiveness, and lack of experience, no one really rose to the occasion. This was the reality as I saw it, and I pushed back and argued and they told me it was all in hand¡ªthat I was overreacting, and it was way outside my area of expertise anyway, which was true. Now I¡¯m going to guesstimate what happened next. A group of individuals not used to working together, without oversight, and with a roughly hashed-out plan¡ªworking against a tight schedule¡ªmade some small mistakes, and didn¡¯t communicate properly.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. She paused for a moment. ¡°I know they believed they had a rock-solid fire suppression system on the station, but almost certainly too many unknowns cropped up. Maybe the ship couldn¡¯t be positioned the right way, maybe there was a fuel pressure imbalance and they had to go over a safety line to make it work. Could be a dozen things. The problem would be that, without realizing it, they would have ended up in a situation that was beyond the capability of their backstop fire system to control. Then all it took was a bad seal, a faulty reading, a spark, and things got out of control faster than anyone imagined was possible.¡± ¡°What you¡¯re saying sounds kind of shocking. This organization has such a great reputation.¡± ¡°I think you underestimate how easily these kinds of situations can creep up on you. Remember the Apollo One fire?¡± ¡°Yes, though I don¡¯t know the details.¡± ¡°Loose wiring sparked in a pure oxygen environment. The smartest PHDs, engineers and astronauts in the world, all part of a national effort to achieve a milestone in the history of humanity, and they all freely admitted that not a single one of them sat down for five seconds to think¡ªwhat if there¡¯s a spark in a one hundred percent oxygen pressurized cabin?¡± ¡°That¡¯s incredible.¡± ¡°People here got comfortable with success, stopped questioning ¨C and now our friends and loved ones are dead.¡± Rho¡¯s eyes teared up again. ¡°Do you think things will change?¡± Rho shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I mean¡ªI hope so, but can you ever truly remove ego from a group of human beings? It takes eternal vigilance and not everyone in our leadership has that kind of character.¡± Hao paused for a moment, steeling himself for what had to be said. ¡°Before you came in, I wasn¡¯t sure I could go back out there again. But when I listen to you talk, I feel like I can do anything. I don¡¯t know why Kerry kept calling me the tough guy.¡± ¡°Because she was attracted to you.¡± Rho chuckled. Hao cradled his head in his hands. He wanted to say something, but a wave of guilt washed over him. ¡°When I got back to my cabin¡± Rho said, ¡°I vomited into the toilet for a while, and then I locked myself in my wardrobe and cried for two hours straight. For a while there, I was straight up thinking of quitting, and they would let me too, after what happened. That was a frightening temptation.¡± ¡°Will you?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ll stay the next two years, and I¡¯ll do the work my husband was willing to give up his life for. Because he¡¯s gone and he doesn¡¯t get to be part of all this, all that he spent his life dreaming about, and working towards. So I have to do it for him.¡± Hao couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer, and he broke into sobs while Rho held him. His shoulders shook and his heart ached with the pain he had kept locked away from the others. But he knew Rho wouldn¡¯t let him run away this time¡ªshe would drag it out of him. Just like he would drag himself out of his cabin in a day or two, and head back out to the red desert, though the thought made his limbs tremble. ¡°I used to be afraid of flying.¡± He began, talking slowly at first. ¡°I always took the train in Vietnam. Never imagined I could tolerate being in the air. But my younger brother, Duc, loved to talk about space travel. He would collect all the models and spend hours gluing them together, painting them just the right colors, getting all the stickers to sit perfectly. He played the video games, and when he landed on the moon, he would come racing into my room yelling ¡®Hao, I did it, I did it, I can be an astronaut!¡¯. I would throw a book at him and tell him to stop bothering me, because I didn¡¯t care at all about any of it. Who would be dumb enough to sit on an explosion and fly off into the void of space? Well, it¡¯s insanity.¡± ¡°Total lunatics.¡± Rho agreed, and they both laughed. ¡°But he studied hard, and his grades were amazing, and he was even getting ready for junior flight school.¡± Hao¡¯s face grew sombre with the next memory, that he seldom dared to revisit. ¡°Well, I was leaving for college, and¡ªI don¡¯t know¡ªwas having some bad day over a girl or something stupid, and he was watching a launch on tv, but I wanted to watch something else, and it turned into one of those stupid arguments.¡± Rho nodded. ¡°I have brothers.¡± ¡°But I lost it, and I told him his interest in space was pointless, and he would never be an astronaut. I said the Martian colony would never happen, and he was wasting his life. And he didn¡¯t say anything, just watched me with tears in his eyes while I spat on his dream. Then I stormed out and left for college. The next day I got a phone call and they told me he died in a crash. Some drunk piece of shit swerved into his friend¡¯s car on the highway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°We mourned and moved on. I was a successful engineer; I made a lot of money, made my parents proud, had a nice car, nice girlfriends. But every time something appeared in the news about the colony I would think of Duc, and how passionate he was for this single incredible goal, and how I didn¡¯t really care about anything. I just worked to enjoy life, and I often wondered why it should have been him killed in such a meaningless way and not me. Then I saw the colony began recruiting engineers instead of astronauts, and I thought¡­ well¡­¡± His voiced trailed off, but Rho waited patiently. ¡°It scared the hell out of me, but I thought I didn¡¯t have the right to refuse. Duc¡¯s dream should survive whether I like it or not. Or what is the point of anything?¡± ¡°I wish I had a brother like you, Hao.¡± Rho said sincerely. ¡°My brothers are assholes.¡± They talked for hours, revisiting memories of the friends they had lost, laughing and crying¡ªbemoaning the lack of alcohol to properly celebrate the lives of such people. As time passed Hao felt the grief begin to ease, though it never lost its biting edge. As Rho¡¯s indomitable conviction warmed his blood, he felt a new sensation. At first, he couldn¡¯t place it, but after a moment he realized it was anger, and it burned hot with righteousness. ¡°They need to build a monument, in the central cavern.¡± He insisted. Rho smiled. ¡°Agreed, but for me the colony will always be the monument. And the new world that will come after it, that will never forget their names.¡± She stood up, running a hand through her hair. ¡°Well, we both need to sleep and eat. Shall we take a day to rest before we get back to work?¡± Hao nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll be ready.¡± In that moment he knew that damnation could take the rest of the universe before he would let their colony fail. ¡°See you in a couple of days Martian.¡± Rho shot back as she closed the cabin behind her. Hao slept deeply and soundly, though when he woke the grief came rushing back. Pushing it aside, the the puzzle of the sheared nozzle swam into his mind, flooding his nerves with electricity. He shoved his cabin¡¯s blinds open, wincing at the unfamiliar scrape of metal as an orange glow filled the room. Once he had dressed, he paused and stared out at the world beyond, letting the bright glow of the Martian sun warm his bones. As his eyes drifted across the low hills and scattered rocks, he realized that¡ªthough he had not noticed it before¡ª the desert was as much golden as it was ruddy.