She clambered out of bed and made her way to the access column, descending the ladder to the main deck below. In the dim light she could see Paolio sitting at the low galley table. He looked like he was reading.
“Jann, can’t sleep?”
“No, I’ve given up, for the moment.”
“Like an espresso?”
“God no. I’d be even more wired.”
“This is a myth, I can drink coffee any time and still fall asleep.”
“That’s because you’re Italian—anyway, you’re still awake.”
“Ha, yes… it’s because I’ve not had enough coffee yet to put me to sleep.” He laughed lightly.
Jann smiled. She nodded in the direction of the slumbering commander. “How is he?”
“Good, I’m just keeping an eye on him. But I think he’ll be fine. His vitals have stabilized.”
Jann took a juice and a small oat bar from a storage compartment and sat down across from the doctor. She sighed.
“So how are you doing, Jann?”
“Fine, no symptoms… none that I can tell anyway.”
“I didn’t mean physically. How are you doing up here?” he tapped the side of his skull with his finger.
She sat back in her seat and cocked her head to one side. “Are you trying to psychoanalyze me, Paolio?”
“Hey… just talking to a friend.” He gave a lopsided grin. “So how are you coping?”
“So far so good. I’ve only fallen over once and I’ve managed not to get anyone killed, yet—so that’s a plus.”
Paolo didn’t reply. Instead he gave Jann a long look. Jann stayed quiet for a moment, examining the drink in her hand. “Well… if you really must know, ever since landing on the surface, I feel like a bit of a spare part. Like I’m just getting in the way.”
“I see.” Paolio took off his glasses, folded them and tucked them in the top pocket of his shirt. He sat back. “And why is that?”
Jann smiled. “See, you are analyzing me.”
“Well, I have a soft spot for you. And it’s as good a time as any. Here we are, two doctors having a chat on the surface of Mars.” He spread his arms out and smiled.
“You’re the doctor, Paolio. I have a doctorate in biology; it’s not quite the same thing.”
“You’re right, it isn’t. And that makes you probably the most important ‘spare part’ on this mission—right now.” He leaned over and pointed out in the direction of Colony One. “We’ve just uncovered a dome full of biology out there, where we didn’t think anything was still alive. No one planned for this. They all thought it was dead. Now we’ve got a really big puzzle to solve and I think you are the one that’s going to play a vital part in solving it.” He sat back again.
Jann thought about this as she fingered her drink. She looked out the HAB window at the night sky. “Yeah, no one saw this coming. I really hope I’m up to the task. I feel like there’s a lot of responsibility thrust on me, that I hadn’t planned for.”
“Yes, well, sometimes we choose for ourselves and sometimes fate chooses for us, Jann.”
“Like me being on this mission in the first place. I chose to enter the training program but, if Macallester hadn’t dropped out at the last minute, well… I wouldn’t be here, would I?”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Unworthy, I suppose… I mean they selected me because I fit a profile, not because I was fully trained for the mission—and now, I just don’t know.”
“It seems they picked the right person, then.”
Jann laughed. “Ha… we’ll see. But somehow I don’t get that impression from…” she didn’t finish the sentence. She just sort of nodded at the sleeping commander.”
“Ahhh… the Alphas.”
“The what?”
“Alpha males, and females for that matter. It’s not their job to like you, Jann. In fact they neither like nor dislike you. That’s irrelevant to them.”
“So you’re saying I’m just being paranoid?”
“Is that the way you feel?”
Jann looked over at the canny doctor. She liked Paolio, felt comfortable around him. He was always there to talk to. Still, she felt he was keeping an eye on her. Maybe that was a good thing.
“Is that the way you think I feel?”
He laughed. “Ah… you’re getting wise to my ways, playing me at my own game.” He looked down, like he was thinking, and then slowly leaned in across the table and spoke to her in a precise tone. “What I’m saying, Jann, is do not underestimate yourself. And do not let your perceptions of what other people think cloud your judgment.”
Jann let this resonate in her mind. “Well, I generally don’t. I just wish that…” she sighed.
“What?”
“That the commander, and Annis, would give me a goddamn break.”
“Ahhh… so there it is,” he sat back.
“They have their job to do, they are alphas. In any successful group there’s always the leader who charges ahead and whips everyone else in to shape. But they are seldom the smartest, no?” He touched a finger to the side of his nose. “The smart ones are the ones you never expect, they’re the ones still alive when everyone else is dead.”
“Like whoever is still in that colony.”
“Yes, exactly.” He sat still for a moment looking out the HAB window, not that anything could be seen. “They’re hiding from us, don’t trust us, probably.”
“Maybe they have a good reason.”
“Perhaps—odd though.” He stood up and went over to the coffee machine. “Sure you don’t want one?”
“Oh, what the heck, okay. Just a small one. Not going to get any sleep now anyway.”
Paolio fiddled with the machine as it hissed and spluttered. He brought the coffee back over to the table and presented it to Jann with all the flourish of a seasoned waiter in a Michelin starred restaurant.
“Et voila, Madam.”
Jann sipped the astringent brew for a while. “You know Paolio, I actually applied for the Colony One Mars program, back in the day.”
“Really? I did not know that.”
“Nobody does. You’re the first person I’ve ever told—outside of COM.”
“You kept that very quiet.”
“Yeah, I had this romantic notion of being part of the great colonization experiment, being in the vanguard of humans as an inter-planetary species.”
“Didn’t work out too well for them. Nothing romantic about suffocating to death on an alien world. So, tell me, what happened?”
“I got accepted into the ISA astronaut program around the same time. Seemed like a much better option.”
“And you never told them?”
“God no. Didn’t want them to think I was a flake of some kind.” She sat forward and took another sip of her coffee. “Sometimes, I think, in reality, it was me just copping out.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, let’s face it, the possibility of me actually going to Mars by joining the ISA program was less than one percent. I knew that when I joined. I think it was just a way for me to dream but not actually commit.”
“Well, here you are.”
Jann looked around. “Yeah, be careful what you wish for. Because sometimes it might come true.” She stood up. “I’m going to try and get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”
“For sure.”
“Thanks… for the talk.”
“My pleasure, Jann. Anytime. And remember, the difference between us and those colonists is we get to go home.”
Jann turned around as she stepped on the plate elevator to ascend to the sleeping quarters. “Let’s hope so, Paolio.”
7
A New Sol
The discovery that the Colony One site was still functioning, at least technically, sent shock waves through ISA mission control back on Earth, not to mention the public media channels. Mars was now a twenty-four hour story with non-stop speculation and debate. All this was interspersed with
an endless loop of archive footage of the early colonists, from liftoffs and interviews to daily life on the planet. The general consensus had always been that the colony had collapsed as a self-sustaining facility and that all fifty-four colonists were long dead. The brief for the current mission was simply one of survey and assessment of what was thought to be a derelict site. Not anymore, everything had changed.
Commander Decker was still laid out in sick bay, and still unconscious. The rest of the crew had assembled in the operations area to review the overnight report in from mission control. The audio-visual on the main screen was that of ISA Mission Director summarizing their assessment of the discovery and advising on next actions.
“The top priority, as we see it, is to find whoever is still alive in the colony. If we can do that then we can get answers to all the other questions such as how did they survive, and why they didn’t try to contact Earth. This is now a mission imperative.” The ISA director droned on. “Regarding Commander Decker, we understand that he is still unwell and as a precaution we strongly advise not breathing the air in the facility. Stay in your EVA suits at all times when surveying the site…”
“That’s bullshit,” said Annis. “Everyone else is okay. We could get much more done by not having to bake in an EVA suit inside that place,” she shook her head and sighed.
“…we are currently working with the COM people to get you as much data as we can on the ecosystem within the colony. But you have to realize that nobody thought we would ever need this information, so it’s taking time to put together. In the meantime, we have sent you all the current data we have. As mission biologist, please have Dr. Jann Malbec review this data, it may prove useful…”
Jann had already downloaded the information sent overnight by ISA onto her tablet. She was quickly scrolling through it as she listened to the director. She sipped her second coffee of the morning, trying to wake herself up. She only had a few hours sleep the night before and was feeling it. The others seemed to be all fresh and alert, even Paolio. He was obviously made of stronger stuff than her.
The ISA Director droned on for a while but they were all losing interest and started to discuss the plan before the report ended.
“Okay, it’s pretty clear what the objective is. Find whoever is still alive in there.” The first officer, Annis Romanov, had assumed command since Decker was still incapacitated. “That means a full and thorough sweep of the entire facility. Every module, every compartment, every nook and cranny. I want no stone unturned.”
“What about the commander?” said Lu.
“I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him,” said Paolio. He was refilling his coffee cup.
“No, Paolio, we’ll need you at the site in case we find someone and have to assess their health. Anyway, the commander is out of danger, you said so yourself.” Annis was being adamant.
“I’ll stay,” said Jann. “I need to go through all the data sent from mission control, so it’s as good a time as any to do it.” In reality she was seriously considering going back to bed when they all left.
“Okay, that’s settled. Malbec will stay. Everyone else get ready to EVA in one hour.”
Through the small window in the HAB, Jann watched as the four crew marched across the Martian surface towards Colony One. She sat there for a time, watching them trail off into the distance. She wondered how long it would take to find the elusive colonists? And if they were found, then what? After a while she turned away from the window, sat down in the operations area and started studying the Colony One eco-system in earnest.
It soon became obvious to Jann that much of the information sent by the ISA was old and out of date. It was data that anyone with an interest in the Colony One Mars program could find out with a quick internet search. However, there were a number of interesting schematics of the facility. The one that caught her eye was the layout of the research laboratory. She studied it for a while and realized that there were a number of anomalies that she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
Eventually, Jann got up and went over to the display table in operations and activated the current 3D map of the site. She brought up the schematic and zoomed in on the location of the research lab. On the charts that ISA had sent, it was a single module attached near to the biodome, at the functioning side of the colony. She flipped on the hi-res satellite image to overlay it on the schematic. The image now showed an additional large dome with four modules attached. This meant it had been greatly expanded at some point. It was now a major part of the facility. Perhaps this accounted for some of the missing modules, but not all of them. “I wonder what they were up to in there?” She switched off the display and went back to the reports.
Most of these were about plants that had been genetically modified specifically for the colony. Included was a group of reports which dealt with bacteria, genetically modified (GM) bacteria. The biggest stumbling block to the colonization of Mars was not water or oxygen, but soil. It was not possible to grow food crops in the Martian regolith as it contained a high concentration of perchlorates. Toxic to humans. At high doses it could cause thyroid problems. So it needed to be decontaminated first and this magic feat was performed by a genetically engineered bacterium. They converted the perchlorate into useful compounds including oxygen, and in the process cleaned up the soil so it could be used for food production. This was just one of the many GM bacteria in use in Colony One. But most of this information Jann knew already. There was nothing new in any of this. After a while fatigue got the better of her. She folded her arms on the table and slumped her head down. Within a few minutes, she had dozed off.
Jann awoke some time later to the sound of a low moan. She lifted her head up and listened intently. She heard it again. “Decker?” She couldn’t see him from where she was sitting. He had been afforded some privacy in the small sick bay by virtue of a curtain. Jann stood up from the table and cautiously walked over to look in on him.
He was flat on his back, still out. It must be eighteen hours now, she thought. His breathing was normal, as far a she could tell, but his face had a pained contorted tightness. She leaned over to get a better look at his skin. His eyes flashed open. Jann stepped back in shock—not far enough. The commander grabbed her wrist in a viselike grip. She tried to twist free but he was too strong. His eyes were wide and wild. Then he spoke—just one word— “Contamination.” He released his grip, his eyes closed, and he was still again.
“Holy shit.” Jann rubbed her wrist and moved back against the wall of the HAB. “Robert?” She ventured a tentative step forward. “Commander, are you okay?” No answer. He was out for the count again. Jesus, what was that about? she thought as she stood there for a moment and considered what to do. Contact Paolio, let him know.
She hurried quietly back into the operations area, all the time trying to rub some feeling back into her wrist and keeping one eye on the commander. He didn’t move again. She sat down at the communications desk and started thinking of what she was going to say, and how best to phrase it. She didn’t want to sound like a frightened idiot. “Focus,” she said to herself as she leaned into the desk to press the transmit button. She caught her reflection in the blank screen in front of her and thought she saw some other movement. She spun around, Decker was standing right behind her.
“Robert, you’re awake.”
He didn’t reply, he had a vacant, glazed look in his eyes. He seemed confused as to where he was. He kept looking this way and that.
“Are you okay?”
“Contamination.”
“What?” Jann was now backing away and putting some distance between herself and the commander—just in case. He advanced toward her. “I must get rid of this contamination.”
“What are you talking about, what contamination?” Jann hadn’t noticed at first but now she could see that he was carrying a heavy metal bar of some kind. He raised it over his head. Jann backed up, pressing herself against the HAB wall. “Robert, you’re scaring the shit o
ut of me. Put that down, put it down NOW!” She drove some authority into her voice and for a moment Decker stopped, like he was considering the situation. He looked at the tool briefly as if wondering what it was doing in his hand. Then he sprung forward and smashed it down, aiming for Jann’s head. But she was too quick for him and darted out of the way as it clanged off the HAB wall.
“Robert… Christ, what are you doing?”
“You are a contaminant that must be eradicated.”
Jann slid along the wall to put more space between them and realized she was beside the airlock door. She opened it and dashed inside. But as she tried to shut the door the commander managed to get his arm inside, she couldn’t close it. She pulled with all her might. Decker’s arm swung about wildly and tried to grab her. It was no good. She couldn’t get it closed—there was only one thing for it. She pushed open the door and swiveled a kick into Decker's stomach. He stumbled back and the bar fell out of his hand. She slammed the door shut and locked it.
Jann backed into a corner of the airlock. Her breathing was heavy. Adrenaline coursed through her body. She had never kicked anything other than a punching bag in her whole life. Part of her was concerned that she might have hurt the commander. No sound traveled through the airlock door. “Oh shit, what if I’ve injured him?” She had visions of Decker lying on the HAB floor, blood pouring from a head wound or some other injury he may have sustained as he fell. Still no sound.
Her breathing slowed and eventually she moved over to peer through the little window in the airlock door into the HAB. There was no sign of the commander. “Shit, what do I do now?” She could go back in and try to contain the deranged Decker. She could wait it out here until the crew returned, but that would be many hours from now. Or she could get out now—and run.
Jann hurriedly got into her EVA suit and started to depressurize the airlock. Before the sequence had completed, the commander’s face appeared on the other side of the window. Jann was momentarily relieved that he was okay, before he started shouting. She couldn’t hear. It looked like he was mouthing ‘contamination.’ Then he started bashing the door, over and over again. She could feel the force vibrating through the entire HAB.
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