The Martian Journal

by Burnside, Michael

  Malcolm asked her what our communication capabilities were. Sarah confirmed what we all knew. The comms room is completely destroyed and therefore communications are non existence. Hutchie asked why that was. It took her a few seconds to realise he was joking, and responded with an unimpressed glare.

  Trying to diffuse the tension I asked if the life pod holds a communicator that can be used. Hutchie said that the only thing life pods transmit is a beacon letting off their position. I told him to set it off anyway. It might be reassuring if we knew a rescue ship was following behind us.

  Malcolm asked Sarah if it’s possible that we are near an emergency supply satellite. They are usually stocked with equipment and supplies, and perhaps they have means to communicate with the Aldrin.

  Sarah looked in her file and asked Aaron if he was able to check some co-ordinates for her. After a few moments he was able to tell us that there was indeed a supply satellite. I asked how long it would take us to change course and head for it. He reckoned it would take us no more than two days to reach it.

  I made the order to change course and head for it. At the very least, I want to warn the Aldrin that we’re coming back. And maybe there might be something there we can use to defend ourselves.

  Currently everyone is in their quarters except Aaron and myself who are looking after the bridge. I’ve told them to keep their doors locked and not to wander around the ship alone if they can help it.

  Log 0038

  09:15 Wednesday 20 January 2178

  I sent Aaron to go back to his quarters and get some sleep. He, as usual, protested that he was fine but I told him I would feel happier if he took a break. He eventually agreed and left. I know I’m breaking my own rule about nobody being alone outside their quarters but really, this gives me the best time to think about things.

  I’ve ran down the list of crew and I’ve no doubt there’s somebody else on board doing this and not one of our own crew.

  Aaron was assaulted. Sarah and Hutchie were both together when they found him. Lloyd was the one who brought the bomb to our attention and I don’t think Malcolm is strong enough to knock out Aaron, even with a bottle.

  The more I think about it, the more I realise that I should have turned straight around as soon as we found out something was wrong. Maybe if I did, then Frank would still be alive.

  Log 0039

  19:12 Wednesday 20 January 2178

  Malcolm asked Lloyd and myself if we would go down to the cargo bay with him. We left Sarah with Hutchie and Aaron in the bridge and went down to see what he wanted.

  Malcolm told us he felt that perhaps he should be more open with us than he has been. He began to tell Lloyd about the top secret laser project and why he was to be transferred to work on the Clarke. Luckily Lloyd remembered his promise not to say that he already knew so he played along, pretending he was hearing this for the first time.

  Then Malcolm did something entirely unexpected. He walked over to the secret container and placed his eye over the keypad. It bleeped several times and then he entered a six digit number on the pad. He stood back, and after several more bleeps and buzzes, the door automatically opened.

  Malcolm put his hand out to motion to Lloyd and I to look inside. Finally I got to see what was causing us all the grief over the last few days. Mounted on a stand, was a dark metallic cylinder that was probably just over three metres long and had a diameter of about a foot. As I approached it for a better look, I noticed the outside was covered with very fine wires leading to several small input sockets. It didn’t mean much to me, but Lloyd was fascinated by it. He pressed a button on the side of the cylinder which opened it up. I looked over to see if Malcolm was going to stop him, but he seemed to trust Lloyd not to destroy it. Inside there were three blue lenses, with a network of wires and circuit boards placed between them. Lloyd nodded his head as he examined, clearly understanding the workings of the device and being quite impressed.

  I commented to Malcolm that it was hard to believe that this was the world saving weapon to which he said that it was merely a small part of a much larger machine. Although he admitted, this is actually the crucial part.

  It was at this point that Lloyd turned to Malcolm and bluntly asked what the real purpose of the laser was. Malcolm smiled and said the story about stray asteroids isn’t fooling anyone who he tells. He looked over at me as he said that, obviously knowing that I didn't believe his story about it.

  Malcolm closed the container and sat down on one of the smaller crates. He then told us something that was very confidential. I don’t even know if I should repeat it.

  Log 0040

  23:45 Wednesday 20 January 2178

  I thought about it and I realised what’s the point of keeping a log if you’d don’t record everything.

  The laser isn’t for shooting asteroids. That I could have guessed. I guessed it was a weapon either to be used on other objects in space or on specific targets on Earth and the moon. I was wrong about that.

  The target is on Mars.

  The colonisation of Mars has been very slow. Experts have been saying for as long as I can remember that they are years behind schedule. As far as the world is aware, there are only three unmanned bases on the surface of Mars. That’s true, according to Malcolm. I believe him because considering what he told us, it wouldn’t be worth lying about.

  About five miles away from the largest of the Martian bases, is a narrow crevice approximately a hundred meters across and but only half a meter wide. Down in that crevice they’ve found a huge metallic floor buried under the rocks and earth. A metallic floor that is not naturally occurring.

  From what they can gather from the various probes and investigations, is that the floor is at least several inches thick and any drill that they have used on it breaks apart.

  This is where the laser comes in. They intend to clear the tonnes of rock away with a controlled blast to reveal more of the metal structure. Then, with more of it exposed, they can either figure out how to open it or failing that, use the laser to cut their way in.

  They’ve no idea what’s inside. They know it’s been there for quite some time. Several centuries at least. So it’s safe to say the origin isn’t from Earth.

  Log 0041

  10:32 Thursday 21 January 2178

  We all ate breakfast together in the bridge. I managed to speak to Lloyd without the others hearing. I wanted to get his reaction to what was revealed to us yesterday.

  He was as overwhelmed as myself about it and admitted that it had kept him awake. Lloyd also brought up an interesting point. Malcolm’s revelation still doesn’t answer the question that has been dogging us from the start. Why are we being targeted?

  Is it still the Earthbinders behind all of it? If they want to destroy the laser to prevent the expedition of the Martian discovery, then that would explain the motivation. It still doesn’t explain why they have waited to detonate it.

  We’re approaching the supply satellite now. Within a few hours we should have picked up what we can, repaired or replaced the communication capabilities if we can, and then begin to make our way home.

  Log 0042

  18:28 Thursday 21 January 2178

  When we reached the supply satellite, I remained on the bridge with Aaron and Malcolm while Sarah, Lloyd and Hutchie suited up and waited by the airlock connecting our ship to it. Aaron ran the diagnostic and confirmed that it was safe for them to proceed onto the satellite, despite there being zero gravity.

  While we waited for our three ship mates to drift about the satellite, looting for what they could, I asked Malcolm if he thought it really was the Earthbinders causing us all this hassle. He nodded and said without a doubt. I was about to ask how he thought it could be this terrorist group, so rooted on the idea of mankind remaining on Earth, when he turned his head towards Aaron. Aaron was checking the ship’s readings, unaware of what we were saying but Malcolm had indicated that I shouldn’t continue the conversation.

  Event
ually the other three returned to our ship and we disconnected from the satellite. They managed to bring back quite a bit of electrical equipment but unfortunately it will require a bit of assembling. Hutchie also managed to bring in a trunk full of fresh supplies. Hardly necessary since we’ve enough already for the return journey but Hutchie said he fancied a bit of variation in the food.

  I told him we should probably check if the distress beacon on the life pod is still transmitting, just in case building the new communicator takes longer than expected. Hopefully the guys at the Aldrin will detect it and realise its heading towards them.

  Aaron and I began working on the return flight path when Sarah noticed something on the scanners. She muttered and swore under her breath about something not being possible. When I asked her what was wrong, she looked up and said that the Clarke is close by. In fact, we were only several hours away. I asked Aaron to confirm if Sarah is correct and he very quickly calculated that it indeed was the Clarke. He even calculated that we could reach it in less than three hours.

  Everybody looked at each other confused. There was no way it could be the Clarke, as we still had another month and a half to go, but both Sarah and Aaron confirmed it was.

  I ordered Aaron to forget about our return journey just for the time being and head for the Clarke. Looks like we will make it there after all. Although I’ve no idea how.

  Log 0043

  21:25 Thursday 21 January 2178

  It is the Clarke.

  I thought maybe it was going to turn out to be another station that we confused with the Clarke but this is it.

  What is she doing out here? It’s supposed to be orbiting Mars. Even Malcolm is amazed that it is out here. Currently Aaron is attempting to dock while Sarah is trying to get contact with them with Hutchie’s makeshift communicator. There’s no response which means it may cause problems getting into the Clarke once Aaron docks us on. We’ll play it by ear.

  Log 0044

  00:21 Friday 22 January 2178

  Aaron docked successfully but unfortunately Sarah could not get them to release the lock on their side of the door. There is still no response from the Clarke. Hutchie insists that the communicator he hastily built should be more than adequate to send and receive a message at this close range. Sarah asked why are they ignoring us. We all turned to look at Malcolm but he stared blankly through the window. He looked worried.

  Hutchie reckons he might be able to force a release from the Clarke’s side of the door but it might take a bit of time, depending on some of the equipment we salvaged from the supply satellite. I asked Hutchie if that was actually legal. He laughed and said it was completely illegal and only disreputable people would even know how to do it. He then paused and added with a cheeky smile, ‘and fully trained engineers.’

  He then said it would take him about six hours to do. I told everyone to get some rest in their quarters while Hutchie goes to work on the door. I said to Hutchie I’d stay with him while he worked on the door. He told me it wouldn’t be necessary and preferred to work alone. I said I didn’t think that was safe but he insisted that I get some rest as well. I still wasn’t keen but Hutchie insisted. He did promise me he’d lock the door so nobody will be sneaking behind him with a beer bottle.

  I left Hutchie to work alone and returned to my quarters. I’m just hoping the worst is over.

  Log 0045

  03:22 Friday 22 January 2178

  Something just occurred to me. I was thinking about how Hutchie said nobody will sneak behind him and hit him with a bottle.

  Aaron was hit from behind with a bottle.

  So why was it his forehead cut?

  Log 0046

  03:24 Friday 22 January 2178

  It has to be Aaron. It has to be. I’m going to get him now.

  Log 0047

  03:58 Friday 22 January 2178

  I ran down the hall to Aaron’s quarters and started banging on his door. I know I shouldn’t have gone straight to him without getting the others for back up, but I wasn’t thinking straight. The door didn’t open but Lloyd and Sarah heard the commotion and came out to see what was happening.

  I told them what I thought. They both thought about it and I think they both agreed. Sarah said that it would be quite possible for him just to break the bottle on the table and use the broken shards to make a cut along his forehead. Lloyd said that the cut he claimed to receive from his assault matched what Sarah suggested.

  Just then Hutchie came charging down the corridor. The cargo bay is locked down and the door into it can’t be opened. From what Hutchie gathered, it’s locked both electronically and physically. Not only that, but a boarding tube from the Clarke has attached itself to the external doors to the cargo bay.

  We all headed to the bridge to get a visual on what was happening. As Hutchie had said, we could see the boarding corridor attached to the lower level of the ship. I have no doubt that Aaron is in the cargo bay and is boarding the Clarke from there.

  Hutchie is continuing his work on opening the door to the Clarke. Once we get inside, we’ll get Aaron and find out what he’s up to.

  Log 0048

  04:46 Friday 22 January 2178

  Hutchie found that the door was still taking sometime to release. Probably because the security for the Clarke is a lot higher than most other places that he’s used to.

  I told Sarah to stay with Hutchie while Lloyd and I went down to check out Aaron’s room. I kicked the door several times and finally it broke down. A quick look around the room showed nothing out of the ordinary. While we were looking around, Malcolm came into the room. He didn’t look well at all and I got him to sit down on the bed. He said he was fine and asked how things were progressing. I told him all that had happened and how Aaron was the man responsible for everything.

  Malcolm commented on how sad that made him as that would mean Aaron had killed his own brother. It got me thinking how Aaron told me that he had helped Frank get his life back on track, but in the end it was him who ended it for him. I thought if anyone was going to give us concern, it would have been Frank with his troubled past, not Aaron the role model. It was almost as if the two brothers had swapped personalities.

  Then it hit me.

  Maybe they did.

  I told Malcolm to rest, there was something Lloyd and I had to check. We left and went next door to Frank’s room, which was locked. After a few kicks, the door broke down and we entered the room.

  It was then I had no doubt about it. It was Frank who killed Aaron and took his place. He faked the knee injury and we all bought it.

  On the desk of Frank’s room were pages of maps, both of our own ship and of the Clarke itself. Lloyd searched through the pages and one in particular caught his attention. It was a blue print design and instructions on the laser.

  I found a bottle inside a drawer with several tablets in it. I showed them to Lloyd who looked at them closely. He suspected that’s what he used to poison his own brother.

  We returned to Aaron’s room to check on Malcolm. Lloyd came in clutching the blue prints and showed them to Malcolm. Malcolm looked at them, sighed and then confirmed to us that these indeed were genuine. Lloyd asked how Frank could have gotten this.

  Malcolm said it’s very clear that Frank is indeed involved with the Earthbinders. I asked how the Earthbinders could have gotten hold of top secret information.

  Malcolm sighed once again. He told us that the world greatly underestimates who and what the Earthbinders are. They are not merely a group of terrorists intent on disrupting space travel. That is what they want people to think. The Earthbinders are a front or cover for something much bigger.

  I wanted Malcolm to continue but he started to cough and splutter quite heavily, so I told him to just rest and we’d speak later. He lay down and told us to be very careful with what we do. Whoever is pulling the strings of the terrorists, has also highly integrated themselves into society.

  We decided to leave him in Aaron’s room and
returned to see how Hutchie was getting on. I asked for Lloyd’s opinion on what Malcolm had told us. He didn’t know what to think. I wondered if maybe we should just disconnect the ship from the Clarke and get back to the Aldrin as soon as possible, but then realised that whoever it is we’re up against has stolen a very dangerous weapon. This could be the only chance anyone would get to stop it. We can’t run away.

  Currently Hutchie is literally only minutes away before the door opens. I wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into.

  Log 0049

  05:16 Friday 22 January 2178

  Malcolm has passed away.

  Hutchie finally released the lock and while the rest of us were getting geared up, I checked to see how he was.

  Although Frank didn’t kill him directly, I don’t doubt that the stress we’ve been put under contributed to this.

  We’re going to board the Clarke now. I hope this is not my final entry.

  Log 0050

  07:31 Friday 22 January 2178

  People would mock me for making logs of my space travels. Maybe they were right, that it is a pointless self indulgent activity.