Discovery

by Paul Rix

  Chapter 26

  Tom also had some doubts about Georgia's ability to carry on her work. He was sitting in Commander Anders' quarters on the Eden, discussing the matter.

  "Have you heard how Emily is recovering?" he asked.

  "Yes, Doctor Betts has informed me that Emily suffered a broken leg and will be out of action for a while. Luckily it was nothing more serious than that."

  "I hope you're not being blamed."

  "Why should I be? It was an accident. Emily admitted that she made a mistake but there's no apportioning of blame."

  "Maybe not yet. Winter put you in charge of the operation to build Alpha Base. Which makes you responsible for the crew safety. What will happen if there's another accident?"

  "I've already reported my concerns that the crew are tired. We're under pressure to complete tasks that were planned to take twice the time we have, and when we had all recovered our strength. Ground Control will see that." Tom noticed a hint of doubt in Anders' response. It was the chink he was looking for.

  "If you're sure, Lars. I just believe that the captain is setting you up to fail. You're now a person down and faced with a much harder job. And one of your crew is in the Medical Center. Winter is strengthening his own position."

  "He does not need to do that. He's already captain. And there is only one Expedition Two crew. It doesn't matter which ship Emily arrived on."

  "Winter's an old man on his final mission. He was the first human to set foot on Mars and will be a global hero when he returns home. He wants to cement his place in history and probably looks at you and feels threatened. Haven't you noticed that he surrounds himself with the Endeavour crew and ignores you, treats you like an outsider?"

  Anders paused, almost afraid to air his thoughts aloud. "That's how command leadership works. The captain is making the most efficient use of the resources available to him."

  "And what about Georgia Pyke? He has a weak spot for her. She shouldn't be on duty and could be a liability."

  "It's no secret that he sees her as a daughter figure. It may cloud his judgment sometimes, but I don't believe it's affecting the overall mission."

  "Spoken like a true second in command. You need to stand up for yourself more if you want to be considered for leadership. And that means there's no room for sentiment. Separate the captain from his trusted followers and do what needs to be done. And that means benching Pyke. It's only a matter of time before she gets herself killed. Or, worse still, one of us."

  "I'm not sure, Tom. Pyke still has much to offer. And we need her skills to complete the base. We can't afford to drop anyone in the limited time we have available. Perhaps once the base is complete, we can look at easing her workload."

  "That's your decision. But you may be making a mistake and putting the crew in unnecessary danger. I'm only thinking about you, Lars. It's unfair they have not given you the opportunities you deserve and are being sidelined by Winter. Being given responsibility for the base may have seemed important but it's a poisoned chalice."

  "I appreciate your concern. And I'll definitely consider what you've had to say. To be honest though, I'm not sure what I can do at the moment."

  "I understand. But rest assured that I have your back."

  "Thanks, Tom."

  Redmayne left and went back to his own cabin, pleased with the seeds of doubt he'd just sown. He knew that the commander was weak, and he would continue to play on that weakness.

  Chapter 27

  The sun had been above the horizon for an hour as Georgia descended in the cradle, back down to the surface. To her, the scene was beautiful yet desolate. She took in as much detail as she could, desperately attempting to remember everything. She could see a few wispy clouds high on the edge of Mars' atmosphere, lit up by rays from the sun. A red tinge made them look like autumn leaves. To her mind, Mars was eternally autumnal with the reds and browns dominating everywhere she looked. And for a second they transported her back to her home, kicking through leaves with her mum on a damp October morning.

  The drive to the base had become so routine that it was almost like a daily commute. Georgia and the chief had hitched up a trailer with another load of supplies. No time for wasted trips at the moment. Joining them on this trip were Captain Winter and Rashid Qadir. Inflating the modules was a huge step in the mission's progress and would require the four of them to play their part.

  Once inside the cave, Georgia could see how much work they had already completed. A series of arc lamps were set up around the cave to provide plenty of light. A plethora of cables ran along the floor from a huge junction box. And in the middle of the cave were the four expandable habitation modules which, when inflated, would be the first components of their permanent base. It would be their shelter, protecting them not only from the imminent asteroid with the thick rock of the cave providing a shield from the solar radiation raining down on the planet.

  "Okay, let's get this thing moving," said Captain Winter to the chief. "I'm happy with the location. I suggest starting with the one near the back." They had decided that the biodome should be as far from the main entrance as possible, so these were the first to be inflated. Working quickly, the chief and Rashid had soon attached power cables to the first module, while Georgia checked out the computer controls and moved one of the construction robots.

  There was an air of excitement as the chief entered the commands to commence the inflation process. At first, nothing happened. After a few minutes, however, Georgia could see that the module was several feet taller than its neighbor. It continued to expand with no issue and within an hour was fully inflated, standing twenty feet tall with a diameter of thirty feet. It looked like a large marshmallow. There were no windows, but it was not as if there was much of a view at the back of the cave.

  Three hours later, the four of them were sitting back in the safety of the MEV for a well-earned break and to renew their air supplies before the afternoon shift. It had been a busy morning, and it was a relief for each of them to remove their spacesuits. Despite their best efforts, dust had crept into the suits and rubbed at their joints. Georgia's elbows were starting to throb. As she talked to Jim, she noticed the captain was looking in her direction.

  "Is everything alright, sir?"

  "I've been watching you in action today, Pyke. You look more physically able than several days ago, and your whole attitude has changed. I'm not surprised you're questioning the good doctor's diagnosis. If I were you, I'd be doing the same. It's astounding."

  "Thank you for noticing, captain."

  "I'd like a few moments with you. To have a talk about a few things. Chief, are you okay if we give you a head start in the next module? I won't keep Georgia for long." It wasn't really a question, so Chief Grant nodded and headed back to the airlock, closing the hatch behind him.

  Winter sat back in his chair, trying to make himself comfortable. Georgia looked at him suspiciously.

  "It's been a while since I've had a good chat with you Georgia. Probably too long, bearing in mind your condition. But I have been closely monitoring your progress. And I have to say it's really impressed me how you've got your head down to support the mission. I didn't expect you to crumble, but I would have stepped in, if I thought you were struggling with the situation."

  "You were right to have faith in me, sir. And I am grateful. I want to do as much as I can for the team in the time I have left. Keeping busy and solving problems is all I know, and all I really have left. So, I was relieved when you didn't take that away from me."

  "I had grand plans for you, as you know. Even though you didn't intend to stay on Mars permanently, I was hoping you'd change your mind. You're a natural and fearless leader. And an ideal replacement for me one day. I don't know what we will do without you."

  Georgia was taken aback. "I know you've always shown faith in me and supported me more than anyone ever has done. But I could never fill your shoes, sir. And I'm sure the general would have a say in the matter of the next per
son to command Alpha Base."

  Winter shrugged. "I'd had several conversations with Control about you. They saw potential in you from an early stage of the mission training. I don't believe they would have blocked your stepping up as leader. Not that it matters now, but I thought you should know. You are highly thought of by more people than you know. And we're all terribly sad."

  "I'm not gone yet. You can immortalize me at the right time. Which is when I'm no longer here."

  Winter tried unsuccessfully to raise a smile. "I'll do that. But for now, I am pleased to see you back to your old self, at least for a short period. And I promise to speak with you more often. Now I suppose we'd better help the chief before he accuses us of slacking."

  Donning their EV suits for the afternoon shift, they climbed into the airlock before exiting back into the cave.

  Chapter 28

  "You look worried, captain. Is anything wrong?" It was the morning of day five on Mars, and Commander Anders had just arrived at Endeavour for his daily meeting with Captain Winter.

  Winter wished that he'd learned to control his facial expressions better, but figured it was now too late in his career to do so. "Commander, I've received an update on the asteroid from Ground Control. The effect of Mars' gravity is causing the asteroid to break up and fragment into several large chunks. Most of it will still impact the original crash zone. But that zone has now been expanded and includes Hellas Planitia Any fragments should still impact north of our location but it's too close for comfort. We won't know exactly until several hours before it hits."

  "That makes the danger more real," replied Anders, taking a seat. "The good news is that the all habitat modules are inflated and undergoing leak tests. So far it's a positive."

  Winter let out a sigh of relief. He knew he had challenged the crew to build the base in an unreasonably short time. "That is superb news, Lars. You've done a very impressive job. Will we have time to move more of the supplies nearer to the base? It will be disastrous if a ship is hit by any asteroid fragments."

  "It will be tight, but I'll see what I can do."

  "Let me know if we need to divert any resources. Although in reality that will be either myself or Doctor Betts."

  "Actually, we're okay resource wise. The issue will be how to keep the rovers operating. We're getting an increasing number of failures that will slow down our ability to move supplies. The chief and Rashid are doing the best they can to swap out the motors. There's no one else that has their expertise." Lars stopped, but Winter could sense that he had something else to say.

  "What is it, Lars?"

  "It's Georgia. Everyone can see that she is trying very hard to help. But she is struggling. It's not good for her. I'm concerned that she's become a liability. Allowing her to carry on with her tasks is putting some people on edge. They worry whether she's up to carrying out her work and they're concerned for their own welfare."

  Winter stiffened. "Who's been talking? No one has come to me."

  Anders was flustered at being put on the spot. "It's just general conversation I've overheard. Everyone likes Georgia, you know that. And they feel sorry for her. But the situation is difficult."

  "Particularly for Georgia, commander!" Winter could sense his irritation showing and tried to control his tone. "I did give it a lot of consideration, with input from Doctor Betts. After discussing the matter with Georgia, we decided it was best for her physical and mental welfare that she continues. In any event, we need to address the asteroid emergency. Are you questioning my ability to make sound decisions over the safety of my crew?"

  "Of course not, captain. I just wonder if, perhaps, you're being more lenient on Georgia than you would be for someone else. With the habitat almost ready to move into, you should reduceher workload."

  "Thank you for your advice, commander. I'm planning to let the whole crew rest once we've moved into the base. But for now, everyone pulls together to get the job done. Is that understood?"

  "Perfectly, sir." And with that, Lars stood and left the captain's quarters as swiftly as he could.

  Winter stayed in his chair to consider his motives, staring at the space where Anders had just been sitting. Is Anders right? Are my feelings for Georgia clouding my ability to protect her? I thought I was better than that. I will need to speak with Lars later to apologize. I may have been too hard on him, which isn't like me at all.

  Chapter 29

  The inspection team of Captain Winter, Commander Anders, Chief Grant, Georgia and Redmayne arrived at what was now Alpha Base shortly after nine am. Their MEV slowed as it reached the entrance to the cave.

  Knowing this was there permanent home, Winter took his time to take in all the details. "That is a really impressive entrance. I hadn't truly appreciated how large it was. It should give us plenty of space once completed."

  There were nine stacks of pallets lined up neatly either side of the entrance, making almost an avenue. Half a mile to the left, he also spotted the distinct shape of the fusion reactor. A thick black cable ran from the reactor along the ground and into the cave.

  Anders spotted where Winter was looking. "As you know, we'll eventually dig a trench for the power cable, but it wasn't a priority in the time we had available. We've not had the reactor running at full capacity as yet either, but the chief assures me it passed all of its commissioning tests with flying colors."

  "Indeed it did, commander," replied the chief. "Everything performed just beautifully. We'll end up covering the reactor for protection from the elements. Again, it's not a priority item."

  Winter nodded, satisfied with the impressive progress he was seeing so far.

  The MEV made its way inside the cave, lighting its way with six halogen headlamps. Straight ahead, Winter could see the main airlock to the command habitat and beyond that, to the right of the tube he could identify the water storage and purifier, as well as the power distribution board.

  The autonomous driving system deftly reversed the MEV to the docking port on the airlock, allowing the crew to exit without their spacesuits.

  "This is far more practical," admitted Winter as he stepped straight through the airlock into the clean room where spacesuits and equipment would be stored. Through the clean room, the corridor branched off in two directions and Winter hesitated, not sure whether to turn left or right.

  "Sorry, sir, let me lead the way," offered Commander Anders. "There will be signage at some point. Left is the command center and right leads through to the common area and beyond that are the personal quarters. We'll see the command center first."

  The layout of the base came back to Winter quickly. It was exactly the same as the replica they'd trained in on Earth. The walls of the corridor were a cream color and curved over the top of them. The LED lighting was bright white, but he knew they would change their radiance during the day to help the astronauts adjust between day and night. There was a strange smell that he couldn't quite place. It reminded him of disinfectant. But then, everything had been thoroughly cleansed before being loaded onto the supply ships.

  He followed Anders through a door that led into the command center. Once it was fully commissioned, this would be the heart of the base. It was a square room, roughly twenty feet on each side. The various stations were modular and covered three of the walls. On the fourth was a large video screen that would be used for communications. In the middle of the room was a console with a bank of monitors and space for three people to sit. Winter could see that there was still much work to be done. All the monitors were blank and there were spools of yellow, blue and red cable in the far corner. "This doesn't look ready to move into."

  "It's not as bad as it looks," said Anders, deflated by the Captain's remark. "There's still some hardware to be brought inside, but Rashid believes he'll have everything working by this time tomorrow. It may not be fully tested, but we should have all environmental systems up and running and comms. The rest we can fix once we're here. In fact, it will be easier, rather than having
to travel from the ships."

  The chief took a moment to interrupt. "Captain, if you don't mind, I've got some work to perform outside with the power grid. I'd like to get on with that while you carry on with the inspection. You can contact me should you have any questions that the commander cannot answer. I'll take Georgia with me."

  "I have no problem with that. I imagine the inspection will take another few hours. Georgia, are you up to this? You've been very quiet so far this morning."

  "I'm tired, that's all." Her response was too quick and automatic, but Winter let it pass. "And I've been paying close attention to the commander's guided tour."

  "Okay, you two carry on." Winter turned to Redmayne. "Do you have important work as well?"

  Redmayne had wanted to stay for the tour, but the captain's abrupt question made it clear he wasn't wanted. "I do need to check the environmental systems outside, the water storage in particular to ensure the purifiers are operating and the stirrers are preventing the water from freezing. Again, you can contact me if the commander cannot answer all your questions."

  Once it was the two of them in the command center, Winter sat in what would be his new command chair and looked up at Anders. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Lars, I wanted to find some time to speak with you and apologize for my behavior earlier. It was unwarranted, and you were right. I've had time to reflect on what you said, and I have been giving Georgia favorable treatment."

  Anders took the apology graciously. "That's quite okay, captain. I know that it must be a difficult time for you, and you've been under a lot of pressure."

  "It's no excuse. You've done a first-rate job to get Alpha Base this far. The whole crew has done a commendable job since we landed. But I agree that Georgia needs time to take stock. I'm sure she's in denial. I know I would be. But seeing her this morning, listless and with no energy. I can see at first hand that she's struggling to cope. I know she's a fighter but sometimes that's not enough. I should have listened to you, rather than take out my frustration. I will try to do better."