Margaritifer Basin (Margaritifer Trilogy Book 1)

by Gregory Gates

  “Cool. Alright, throw the switch on those explosive hold-down bolts, and ease off the landing platform.”

  “Rog.”

  Jeff faintly heard a series of ‘pops,’ and the hold-down straps fell away from Jake. He walked around the tractor, inspecting each strap to make certain they had all separated. “Okay, looks like you’re good to go. Ease on down.”

  Jake’s landing platform had no legs. The only things between the platform and the ground were the landing engines, and they had been crushed into the sand by Jake’s mass upon touchdown. Jake rolled forward and onto the Martian surface.

  “Okay, that’s good, you’re clear. Go on and head for home.”

  “On my way.” Jake slowly clanked off to the southwest.

  “Now remember, you don’t have enough air to get there. Watch your reserve, when you get down to two hours, park, and holler. One of us will come get you, and we’ll pick it up tomorrow.”

  “Got it.”

  “Abby? You want to hook Andy up to the work tools trailer and haul it down? Then come back and get Sue?”

  “Rog. On my way.”

  “Okay, Gabe and I’ll go find the greenhouse.”

  “It should be around three klicks north of us,” said Gabe.

  “Rog. You drive.”

  Twenty minutes later, Gabe said, “It should be right up ahead.”

  “Um,” said Jeff, “there’s a crater right up ahead.”

  “Yeah.”

  Gabe brought Amos to a stop at the rim of an old crater about 200 meters across, and around 15 meters deep. They climbed out and surveyed the crater. Sitting near the middle of the crater was the greenhouse. Jeff groaned. “Mother pussbucket!”

  “Yeah.”

  “We’re not gonna be able to tow it out of there with a rover. The mass is such that a rover can barely tow it on level ground, let alone up the side of this thing.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sue?”

  “I heard,” said Susan. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Seems the European Space Agency made a hole in one. Turn around and get up here. We’re gonna need Jake for this.”

  “Okay, turning around. At least it’s intact.”

  “That’s yet to be seen.”

  “What do you want me to do?” said Abby.

  “Uh…” said Jeff. “Gabe?”

  “Abby, take the work tools on down to the station, then refuel and get back up here. Once Sue has this thing out of here, she can tow it as far as she can, then you can pick her up. We’ll finish the job tomorrow.”

  “Roger that. Have fun.”

  “Yeah.”

  An hour later Susan arrived at the crater rim with Jake. “Okay, I’m here. Where are you?”

  Jeff and Gabe had already driven into the crater. “Do you see our tracks?” said Jeff.

  “Yes.”

  “Follow them. It’s a fairly easy route in; a little steep coming down the rim, but not bad. It’s just that we’ll need Jake’s torque and traction to pull this thing back up the rim. We could probably do this using both rovers, but I think this’ll be easier. Just remember, on the slope go up or down, not sideways.”

  “Rog. On my way.”

  Ten minutes later Jake appeared on the crater rim and started heading down.

  “Hold it,” said Jeff. “While you’re there, use the loader and cut a little more gentle path over that rim.”

  “Okay, I’m bottoming out right here.”

  “Yeah, we did too. Just dig a couple feet out of the rim, maybe six meters wide, and dump it off to the side somewhere. Don’t push it down the rim as it’ll just be more loose ground that we’ll have to climb through.”

  “Understood.”

  While Susan did some excavating, Jeff and Gabe inspected the greenhouse package. “Looks good to me,” said Gabe.

  “Yeah, let’s disconnect the parachutes and assemble the tow hitch while Sue’s playing in the sand pile.”

  Gabe laughed. “Rog.”

  As they finished, Susan said, “Jeff, I’ve got a nice gap cut here, but this slope looks awful loose. What do you think about me using the bucket to push some of this surface material down to the bottom and try firming up the slope? It might give us a little better traction.”

  “Yeah, go ahead. How are you fixed for air?”

  “A little over three hours.”

  “Alright, but let’s try to get this thing out of here before we have to pull you out and plug you into a rover.”

  “Roger.”

  “Abby? Where are you?”

  “Just about to the station. I should be back up there in about an hour and a half.”

  “That’ll work. See you when you get here.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Susan trundled over to the greenhouse in Jake, and backed up to the hitch.

  “Alignment’s good,” said Jeff, “six inches. Okay… hold it.” Jake stopped and Jeff dropped in the hitch pin. “Okay, it’s all yours. Take her away.”

  Susan slowly pulled forward, then clanked across the crater, up and over the rim, out onto the plain, and headed for the station, while Jeff and Gabe followed behind in Amos.

  An hour and six kilometers later they ran into Abby. “Okay,” said Jeff, “that’s enough for today. Sue, park it and join Abby. We’ll finish this tomorrow.”

  “Roger that. I’m almost down to reserve air and my boobs are sore from jiggling like bowls of Jell-O for three hours.”

  Jeff laughed. “Damn, sorry I missed that.”

  Gabe punched him in the shoulder.

  “Ouch. Alright, tomorrow you can drive Jake.”

  She groaned.

  Saturday, October 15, 2016

  MSD 50759.387 (Sol 9)

  Jeff stared at the survey stakes they had set out to site the greenhouse as Gabe backed the trailer into place. “Okay, stop. That’s good.” He, Abby, and Susan removed the tie downs, staked the greenhouse to the ground, and then Jeff pulled the pin on the trailer’s tilt bed. “Okay, Gabe, go ahead, dead slow.” As Gabe pulled ahead, the trailer bed slowly tilted and the unassembled greenhouse package gently slid off the back and onto the ground. “Excellent! That’s got it. Go find a parking space, then come give us a hand.”

  Unlike the rest of the habitat, the greenhouse was sited directly on the ground; on a pad they had leveled the previous day. It consisted of a geodesic dome, 24-feet in diameter, and 12-feet high at the apex. Inside the dome was a plastic bubble that, when inflated, expanded the dome from its packaged form to full size. As the dome expanded, the aluminum frame struts and exterior triangular laminated-glass panes fell into place. Beginning at the top, as each circular segment fell into place, the crew bolted the struts and panels together. To protect them from Mars’ lethal levels of ultraviolet radiation, the outer layer of the glass panes consisted of polycarbonate with a thin protective gold coating, similar to that of their helmet face shields.

  They fired up the air compressor and utilized Mars’ atmosphere to initially pressurize the dome. Two days later, when the dome was fully assembled, they depressurized it, cut away the portion of the interior bubble that covered the hatch, and installed the slatted floor, benches, and other interior features that would not fit through the cross-connect.

  Jeff frowned at Gabe and Abby as they carried an empty six-foot long, three-foot tall, 54 cubic-foot medical equipment transport case into the dome. “Okay, what the hell is that for?”

  “Hot tub,” said Abby.

  “What?”

  “It’s our hot tub.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  He chuckled. “Alright. This I gotta see.”

  “It will require a bit of plumbing,” said Gabe.

  “You think? Okay, just set it somewhere and let’s get this cross-connect installed, and get some atmosphere and heat in here.”

  “Roger that.”

  Sunday, October 30, 2016

  MSD 50774.314 (Sol 24)

  Jeff
crawled out of bed, dressed, and stumbled into the kitchen. It was 7:30 in the morning and apparently no one else was up yet. He made coffee, poured a cup, returned to the commons, and sat at the computer. “Well… news, sports, or weather?” As news and sports were sadly lacking on Mars, he chose weather. He brought up the most recent set of images from the Pathfinder orbiter, and mumbled to himself. “Hello Mars, how are we today? Ah, sunny and a balmy four degrees above freezing. How nice.” Suddenly, something caught Jeff’s eye. “Uh, what have we here?” He zoomed in on the Hellas Basin, and stared at the screen. Within the two-mile deep, 1,400-mile wide crater was a swirling dust storm 1,000 miles in diameter. “Oh shit, this ain’t good.”

  Even through two closed airtight hatches Gabe’s scream was quite audible. Jeff leaped from the chair and headed across the commons. “Oh, Christ! What now?” He threw open both hatches and jumped inside her room. “Gabe! What?”

  She was kneeling, staring at the bed, a look of horror on her face, and grasping her head with both hands.

  Jeff followed her gaze. His eyes landed on a bloody spot on the sheet.

  “I’m not pregnant!”

  Monday, October 31, 2016

  MSD 50775.337 (Sol 25)

  After trying to go back to sleep for the better part of an hour, Jeff decided it was a futile effort and got up. He shaved, brushed his teeth, dressed and headed for the kitchen. The station seemed unusually quiet as he passed through the commons. Even the dull drone of the ventilation system seemed softer than normal. Stepping into the kitchen he found Susan and Abby sitting quietly at the dining table. “Good morning.”

  They both looked up. “Good morning.”

  Abby stood. “I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

  “Thanks.” He glanced back through the commons at Gabe’s door. “She up yet?”

  Susan shook her head. “I looked in on her a little while ago; still sound asleep.”

  Jeff took a seat at the table and nodded.

  “I sedated her pretty heavily, she’ll probably sleep for several more hours.”

  “That’s good. She needs it.”

  “Yes. How did you sleep?”

  “Awful.”

  “Here’s your coffee,” said Abby, returning to her seat.

  “Thanks.” He shook his head. “I was lying awake last night and got to thinking about our introductory weekend at Wrentham House, and her reaction to my little plan. Sure never would have figured her for this.”

  Susan shook her head. “No. She just wants it so bad.”

  Jeff nodded.

  “Jeff, I think it’s time we have a serious talk about our next step and, perhaps more to the point, whether there should even be a next step.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m no psychiatrist, but I’m inclined to think Gabe may be on the verge of clinical depression, if she’s not there already. And I’m terrified to think of what another failure might do to her. Likewise, I’m terrified to think of what may happen if we just call it off or turn the task over to Abby or I.” She paused, frowning. “And even if you do try again and she does conceive, she will still be a prime candidate for both pre-natal and postpartum depression. This has turned into a no-win scenario, and I don’t know what to do.”

  He nodded. “What in God’s name was I thinking?”

  Susan took his hand. “You meant well.”

  “Yeah, and the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” He rubbed his forehead and sighed. “So, what’s the lesser evil?”

  “I think we need to call it off; lick our wounds and hope for the best… before we make matters even worse.”

  Jeff nodded and looked at Abby.

  She shook her head. “Beat’s me. But I agree with Sue, I’m really worried about her.”

  “Yeah. Sue, what about in vitro?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s the problem, or the solution. The overall successful pregnancy rate with in vitro for a woman in Gabe’s age bracket is around 48%. On the other hand, assuming the two of you are fertile – and we have frozen embryos that would seem to suggest that you are – and that you are following my instructions, the success rate should be somewhere between 65% and 80%. But, that’s still not 100%. I think it’s just luck of the draw. She could get pregnant next time… or not. But I don’t believe in vitro will improve the odds.”

  “I understand.”

  “Do I have a say in this?”

  They all looked around, startled to see Gabe standing in the hatchway, looking worn and disheveled.

  Jeff immediately got up and went to her. “Of course you do.” He gently took her arm and walked her to a seat at the table. “How do you feel?”

  “Depressed, sad, guilt-ridden, hopeless, frustrated.” She glanced at Susan. “Shall I continue?”

  Susan shook her head.

  “Sue, I know what clinical depression is. Been there, done that.” She crossed her arms, hugging herself, and looked down.

  Jeff put his arm around her and pulled her to him.

  She rested her head on his shoulder. After a minute she kissed his cheek. “I want another chance. Please? Just one more chance?” She whimpered, “I can do this.” She started crying. “Please, Jeff? Don’t turn away from me, I couldn’t bear it.”

  He wrapped his other arm around her, held her tight, and kissed the top of her head. Then glanced at Susan and Abby.

  They both shrugged.

  “Gabe, right here, right now, my only concern is what’s best for you. Nothing else matters.”

  Her shoulders heaved as she sobbed.

  “I know you think this is what you want most, but I’m not sure it’s for the best.”

  She pulled away from him, took off her glasses, wiped her eyes, then peered at him. “Jeff, you have to give me another chance. You have to give all of us another chance, including yourself.” She glanced at Susan and Abby. “We’ve planned and dreamed and prepared for this for more than four years, it can’t be over. Not yet.” She wiped her eyes again, put her glasses back on and looked at Jeff. “Not yet.”

  He took a deep breath and sighed. “We’re running out of time.”

  “I know, but we still have four opportunities remaining, let’s take them.”

  Susan shook her head. “We don’t have four, we have one, two at the very most.”

  “No, we have four.”

  “Shall I go get the calendar?”

  “You don’t need to. I’ve seen it.” Gabe tapped her temple.

  Susan rolled her eyes. “Sorry.”

  Gabe smiled softly, then looked back at Jeff. “Susan will ovulate in about five days. I should ovulate again in about twelve days, on or about Sol 37. About eight days after that…” she nodded toward Abby, “… Abby will ovulate. And two weeks later, about Sol 58, Sue will ovulate again. The deadline is Sol 60. That’s four opportunities.”

  Susan glared at her, incredulous. “Those are overlapping. We could end up with multiple pregnancies. Are you crazy?”

  Gabe frowned at her. “Susan, it’s not polite to ask crazy people if they are crazy.”

  Susan pursed her lips and shook her head, then turned to Jeff. “Don’t even think about this. It’s lunacy. If we came up with two we’d have to abort one, and I don’t think I could do that.”

  “And I don’t think I could let you.” He turned to Gabe. “She’s not being exactly tactful, but Sue has a point. It can’t be allowed.”

  “Yes it can.”

  “Two? No, we don’t have provisions for two.”

  “Jeff, we can make do. We have two carriers, and plenty of our own food. We can make baby food, people have been doing it since the dawn of time.” She glanced at Susan. “Right?”

  Susan stared at her, mouth hanging open.

  Gabe persisted. “Right?”

  Susan sighed and slowly nodded. “Yes, but…”

  “Sue! We’re smart people, we can figure it out.”

  Jeff leaned his head back, closed his eyes and grima
ced. “Oh mercy.” He returned his gaze to Gabe and peered into her eyes. “And what would we do when we got home?”

  She smiled softly. “We’d work it out.”

  “Oh dear god.” He shook his head. “I dunno.”

  “Jeff, assuming Sue’s figures are correct, if we take advantage of all four opportunities, the odds of one of us conceiving are about 99%.”

  “Okay. And what are the odds of two of you conceiving?”

  “About 53%… statistically speaking.”

  “That’s a big number.”

  Gabe took his hand. “Hey, democracy, we vote.”

  Jeff chuckled. “Gabriel, the nearest democracy is 116 million miles from here. Mars is not a democracy, it’s a benevolent dictatorship, and I’m the benevolent dictator.”

  She smiled. “Not today.”

  Abby laughed.

  Jeff glared at her. “What are you laughing about?”

  “I think you were just overthrown.”

  He nodded. “Yeah.” He glanced into Gabe’s eyes, then Susan’s, and settled on Abby’s. “Okay, giggles, what say you?”

  She rubbed her lips with a fingertip for a moment. “Jeff, I told you a long time ago that I’d be happy to have your child any time, any place. That’s still true.” She smiled softly. “At least this’ll give me a chance. And if we do come up with two, well, like Gabe said, we’ll figure it out. I’m in.”

  Jeff sighed. “Alright.” He turned to Susan and raised his eyebrows.

  She leaned on her elbow and rubbed her forehead. “Okay.” She sighed. “I’ll go along on one condition. You pass me up now, and start with Gabe. Jeff, if there is any chance at all that we will end up with two pregnancies, you really do not want one of them to be me, and neither do I.”

  “Understood. And I agree. Okay, well, since we seem to have a majority already, I will be abstaining.”

  Abby chuckled.

  “What?”

  “Actually, boss, no, I don’t think you will be.”

  Jeff frowned at her for a moment, then suddenly got it, and smiled. “Cute. Don’t make me spank you.”