Mars Station Alpha

by Stephen Penner

  Stanton winced. That hit a little bit too close to home.

  The reason I always go first, Ferguson had once told him, is that you're always waiting to call for back up. When they need someone to go where there is no back up, they send me. Once I’ve established the beachhead, then you can come. You're great at logistics, Junior, but you're no pioneer.

  Stanton took a deep breath and shook the evil cobwebs from his head. "You'll need to tell the crew," he announced. "They're not going to be happy."

  Gold's eyes widened. "Tell them I carved it?"

  "Of course," Stanton confirmed. "You scared them half to death, especially Petrov. He's ready to call for an exorcism."

  Gold shifted her weight. "Um, that is..." She smiled again, softly, and stepped next to Stanton. "Can't this just be our little secret?" she breathed in his ear.

  Stanton was flustered, aroused, puzzled, and angered all at the same time. He was pretty sure he was in charge of the conversation when they'd started, but now he couldn’t even remember what they were talking about.

  "A-hem. Cough. Cough." Mtumbe walked up behind them. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

  Stanton jumped away from Gold, practically pushing her away.

  "No, no, no," insisted Stanton. "Of course not. We were just, that is, um... Agent Gold has something to tell you, something to tell everyone. Isn't that right, Agent Gold?"

  Gold smiled at Stanton. "Whatever you say, Captain," she purred as she pushed past him, much closer than necessary, toward the comm center.

  Mtumbe, who had to move into the control room to let Gold pass by, stepped out again and raised an inquiring eyebrow at Stanton.

  "Don't ask, Daniel," Stanton raised his hand at him. "Because I don't know either."

  Mtumbe laughed and slapped his captain on the back as they headed toward the comm center. "Well, we've got something to tell you too."

  "What is it?" Stanton asked.

  "Oh, it will wait until we get to the comm center. I can't wait to hear Gold's announcement."

  He paused, then ventured. "You two engaged now?"

  Stanton didn't turn around. "Not funny, Daniel."

  Mtumbe smiled. "Pretty sure it was."

  When they reached the comm center Petrov was practically yelling at Gold. "What is it? What is so important?"

  When Stanton and Mtumbe arrived, Petrov complained to his captain, "She said she has announcement but she wouldn't tell us until you got here. So what is it? What is going on?"

  "Aleksandr," soothed Rusakova, "Calm down. Everything is going to be all right."

  "All right?" Petrov scoffed. "We are trapped on another planet, the crew before us is missing, and the only clue we find tells us that the station is haunted! How can you say we will be all right?"

  Stanton could see Petrov was losing it. He felt the strain of his position again. He knew part of achieving a successful mission was keeping everyone from going insane in the cramped quarters of space. Gold's little stunt hadn't helped matters.

  "Don't worry, Alex," Stanton said, "I think you'll feel better after you hear what Agent Gold has to say."

  Petrov threw a wild-eyed stare at Gold, who just shrugged diffidently.

  "I carved that word into the wall," she said, "to see how you all would react. I thought you might rush here and try to communicate with Earth about something you hadn't fully verified."

  Stanton caught a glimpse of Lin, who seemed to smile, but the rest of the crew was livid.

  "How could you do that?" Rusakova demanded.

  "What the hell is wrong with you?" fumed Dekker.

  Petrov just stared at her, chest heaving and fists clenched. Stanton stepped closer in case Petrov leapt at her.

  "It just proves that you need to trust me when it comes to communication issues," Gold smirked.

  "Trust you?" Petrov laughed. "I have never trusted you. And now I never will trust you."

  Gold tossed a hand in the air. "Fine." Then she turned to Stanton. "In any case, there's no need to comm back to Earth about this, although I suppose a standard status report is due. Just so they know we made it inside."

  Mtumbe finally spoke up. "And that's what we have to tell you." He pointed at the multiple control glasses in the comm center. "The comm system doesn't work. All the controls are in perfect order, but our communications won't send. We've gone completely dark."

  No calling home now, Junior.

  Chapter 5

  "Why isn't it working?" Stanton asked.

  "The control glasses are in perfect order," Lin reported. "They respond to our commands, but we cannot obtain a signal."

  Stanton turned to his crew. "Any ideas?"

  "The external equipment," Rusakova answered. "If the internal equipment is working, then it must be the external equipment which is not working."

  Stanton nodded and turned to Gold. "Agent Gold, you're our communications expert. Do you agree with Rusakova?"

  Gold hesitated. "I'm not really hardware. I'm more content."

  "You have no degree in electromagnetic radiation?" Petrov teased.

  "Fine." Gold crossed her arms. "I'll agree with Rusakova. If the interior systems are working, it only makes sense that the exterior systems have failed."

  Stanton smiled. "I'm glad you agree. You can come with Lin, Mtumbe, and me up on the roof."

  "The roof?" Gold repeated.

  "The communication antenna array is on the roof," Stanton explained. "We need to check it out, so I want our communications officer with us."

  "Of course, Captain," answered Gold sweetly after a moment. "Glad to offer my expertise."

  Stanton thought for a moment. "We'll need to change into heavy duty suits. These travel suits are fine for potential breathing issues inside the station, but I don't want to be up on the roof without proper protection."

  "We could use the ones from the entry bay," Mtumbe suggested.

  "Have we inspected them?" Dekker asked.

  "Not yet," replied Stanton. "But we can do a preliminary inspection before heading outside. It's not like we're venturing far afield. If there are any issues, we'll only be seconds away from reentry into the station."

  Stanton knew it was risky, but he hoped his expression didn't betray his thoughts. He looked out the window at the coming sunset. The day had been warm enough but the thin Martian atmosphere wouldn't hold the heat like Earth's thick clouds.

  "If we don't do this now, we'll have to wait until morning," he thought aloud. "And I don't want to wait until morning."

  Ferguson wouldn't have hesitated to head out with the station's uninspected spacesuits, Stanton knew. On the other hand, where was Ferguson now?

  Chapter 6

  "Okay, here's what we'll do," Stanton decided. "Lin, Mtumbe, and Gold: you each select a suit and inspect it. If it appears to be in working order, then it will be reinspected by Dekker, Petrov, and Rusakova."

  "Who will reinspect your suit, Captain?" asked Lin.

  "I'll take care of my own suit," he smiled. "Once the suits are ready, the out-team will exit via the west entrance and climb up the service ladder to the roof. Petrov, you stay at the entrance and monitor our communications at all times. If there's a problem, I want you to know it as soon as it develops."

  "Yes, Captain," answered Petrov.

  "Rusakova," Stanton went on, "you stay in the comm center to see if we can get the comm up and running again. Assuming we can fix whatever's wrong, we'll need you to confirm communications are working before we come down again."

  "Yes, Captain," answered Rusakova.

  "And Dekker?" Stanton said.

  "Yes, Captain?"

  "You climb the interior ladder by the crew's quarters, and station yourself directly below the emergency hatch on the roof. If we need to get inside quickly, blow the hatch so we can get in."

  "Won't that let the Martian atmosphere inside?" Dekker questioned.

  "Yes," explained Stanton, "but the station is designed to autoseal sections that are breeched
. Once the hatch is closed again, the station will vacate the CO2 and vent in breathable air. So wear your helmet. If we have to do that, it will take a while for the air to be breathable again."

  "May I also suggest," Lin added, "that Dekker carry a portable breathing mask for us. If we are entering under an emergency, it may be because one of our suits has failed."

  "Good idea," Stanton agreed. Then he added, "Thank you, Commander Lin."

  Lin smiled and nodded.

  "Does everyone understand their assignments?" Stanton asked.

  "Yes, sir," answered Lin and the others. Even Gold offered a "Yes," although she left off the 'sir.'

  They made their way back to the entry bay. As they passed the 'CROATOAN' carved in the wall, Dekker slapped Gold on the back.

  "Good one, Cassandra," he said jocularly. "You really had Aleksandr going there for a while."

  Gold scowled at him for a moment, then her expression softened. "Yes, right. Well, just seeing how everyone would react."

  Then she pushed Dekker's hand off of her. "But please don't call me Cassandra. We're crewmates, not friends."

  Dekker kept his smile, but it weakened, and Gold walked ahead.

  A few minutes later, Stanton, Mtumbe, Lin, and Gold were each inspecting a heavy duty suit. Stanton saw no obvious signs of damage. In fact, like everything else on the ship thus far, they appeared to be inspection-ready. It seemed to Stanton as if the first crew had known they wouldn't be coming back and wanted to leave everything in perfect condition for the next crew.

  Following reinspection by the rest of the crew, Stanton and the out-team were ready to exit the station and enter the Martian atmosphere. Lin, Dekker, and Petrov took their stations.

  "Comm link check," Stanton said into his helmet comm microphone after the suit was sealed shut. "All parties report."

  "Dekker in position beneath emergency hatch," said the Dutchman. "Ladder is uncomfortable."

  "Rusakova in position at the comm center control glass," reported the Russian.

  "Petrov right here," he said, standing next to the out-team by the airlock to the west entrance. "And I will stay here until your safe return."

  "Mtumbe?" Stanton tested, raising a gloved hand toward his second-in-command.

  "I can hear you, Captain," Mtumbe replied.

  "As can I, Captain," added Lin.

  Gold didn't say anything. She was looking out at the desolate Martian landscape.

  "Gold?" Stanton said. "Gold?"

  Gold turned back with a start. "Yes, yes. I'm here," she said hurriedly.

  "Are you all right?" Stanton asked, genuinely concerned. He didn't need someone freaking out once they got outside.

  "Of course," snapped Gold. "I'm fine. Let's go."

  Stanton and the others entered the airlock, and Petrov sealed the door behind them. A few keypad commands later and the outer door opened, allowing the pale, pink light of the Martian evening to spill into the airlock.

  "The roof access ladder is just a few meters around to the left," Stanton announced over the comm link.

  Mtumbe led the group toward the ladder. Their steps were slow and large in the considerably weaker gravity of Mars. Inside the station, the gravity had seemed normal enough, especially after six months of weightlessness, but seeing the orange dust they kicked up fall back to the ground in slow motion reminded Stanton just how far they were from home.

  Mtumbe was the first go up, followed by Lin, Gold, and finally the captain. He felt like he should pull up the rear for some reason. As he climbed up behind Gold he couldn't help but stare at her bottom even in the heavy duty spacesuit. He made a mental note to check those oxygen levels again.

  His thoughts were interrupted about halfway up, though, by Mtumbe's voice over the comm link. Looking past Gold, Stanton could see Lin climbing off the ladder. Mtumbe was already on the roof.

  "I don't believe it," Mtumbe said. "I don't fucking believe it."

  Chapter 7

  "What is it?" Stanton demanded as he tried to hurry up the ladder. But Gold's behind—attractive or not—was still in his way.

  "You'll see when you get up here," Mtumbe replied simply.

  Sure enough Gold crested the ladder and Stanton hurried after her. When he surveyed the roof, he understood.

  "Well, crap," he said.

  The antenna arrays weren't broken. They were gone. Completely, totally, absolutely gone; and not 'broken and knocked off by meteorites' gone. All six of the ten-meter tall arrays, and their accompanying power boxes and attachment hardware, had been carefully dismantled and removed. Communications would be impossible from the station.

  "What the hell is going on?" Stanton asked no one in particular. "Did they just pack up and move to Saturn or something?"

  "Saturn is gaseous," Lin answered. "They wouldn't be able to go there. A moon perhaps..."

  Stanton glared at her. "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'm just getting frustrated by all this. It makes no sense."

  He walked over to where one of the arrays had been connected to the station roof, while Gold walked to the edge to watch the Martian sunset begin in earnest.

  "What do you make of this, Gold?" Stanton asked looking over at her.

  "What do I make of what?" she replied without turning around.

  Stanton sighed. "Just come over here and look at this coupling," he said.

  Gold took a few moments to pull her gaze from the sunset and walk over to the captain. "Looks like the antenna is gone," she observed.

  "This is serious, Gold," Stanton chided. "I'm curious what your opinion is. You and President Akira seem to have expected some strangeness to have to censor. Well, this is strange, and it's communications, so it would seem to fall under your jurisdiction."

  Gold just shrugged.

  "Well, you may have carved that stupid joke in the wall down there," Stanton said, "but I know you didn't haul off these antennas. That means something happened here before we arrived. If it happened nine months ago, it would explain the loss of communications from the colony."

  Gold turned back to the deepening sunset. "Why would anyone ever want to come here?" she asked. "And why would they ever want to leave?"

  Stanton stood up and looked at Gold faceplate to faceplate. "What are you babbling about, Gold?"

  She locked eyes with him. "Call me Cassie."

  "Are you okay, Gold?" Stanton asked. "You're not acting like yourself."

  "I don't feel like myself," Gold giggled.

  Before they could say more, Petrov's shriek pierced everyone's comm link. "Aaaaaayeeeeeeeeee! Aaaaah! Aaaaaaah!"

  "Petrov!" Stanton shouted into his comm link. "Petrov! Come in! What is it? What's happening?"

  But Petrov just kept screaming like a little girl.

  Stanton motioned to Mtumbe and Lin. "Down the ladder. Now."

  The three of them rushed to the edge of the roof. Lin hopped down first, followed by Mtumbe. Stanton turned to see where Gold was. She was just standing there.

  He hurried back and grabbed her by the shoulders. She didn't resist and he was able to steer her to the ladder. She started down and he followed after her just as Lin reached the ground. But Gold practically slid down the ladder, smashing into Mtumbe as he was nearing the bottom. He fell the last few rungs, his leg getting caught in the steel ladder.

  "Damn it!" he yelled as he hit the ground, his leg tangled in the ladder above him.

  Gold stumbled aside and Stanton knelt down next to his friend. He could clearly see Mtumbe's bleeding shin through the torn spacesuit.

  "Oh, shit," said Mtumbe.

  And the poisonous Martian air rushed toward his lungs.

  Chapter 8

  "Damn it," said Mtumbe as he tried to seal his torn suit with his hands. He started coughing as the carbon dioxide filled his helmet.

  Stanton pulled Mtumbe's leg out of the ladder rungs.

  "Stop talking!" he ordered his second-in-command. Then he leaned him forward and grabbed onto the manual air controls on the b
ack of his spacesuit. He opened the valve all the way, blowing oxygen-rich air into Mtumbe's helmet.

  "There's only enough air for about two minutes of that," Stanton announced. "Daniel, breathe slowly and shallowly. Lin and Gold, help me pick him up."

  Lin rushed to pick up her wounded comrade, but Gold was still lingering at the edge of the scene.

  "Gold!" Stanton yelled, but he got no reply.

  "Cassie," he tried.

  Gold looked over at him. "Yes?"

  "Help me carry Daniel inside," he said calmly. "Please."

  "Okay, John," she replied and finally stepped over to help.

  Mtumbe was coughing and gasping at the oxygen blowing past his mouth, but he was still conscious. When they lifted him up, he cried out at his leg being touched.

  "Quiet, Daniel," Stanton ordered. "Save your breath."

  They hurried him to the airlock, but when they got there, Petrov was nowhere to be seen.

  "Petrov!" Stanton called out over the comm link. "Petrov!"

  But there was no reply.

  "Dekker? Rusakova?" he tried. "Can anyone hear me?"

  "Yes," came Dekker's reply, followed immediately by Rusakova's, "Yes, sir."

  "Abandon your stations and come to the west airlock," Stanton ordered. "Mtumbe is asphyxiating. We need to get inside now."

  Mtumbe's coughing was transforming into labored gasping as the air from his suit began to run out and the carbon dioxide once again filled his helmet.

  Lin dropped her hold of Mtumbe's injured leg, causing another pain cry, and ran over to the airlock. Stanton watched hopefully as Lin began entering commands into the small glass.

  "Come on, Lin," he whispered. Then, "Hold on, Daniel."

  Stanton tried to shake the feeling that Ferguson was watching him and laughing. He felt ashamed of even thinking about that while his friend and crewmate was dying in his very arms.

  The airlock door flew open, but it wasn't Lin's doing.

  "Hurry!" called out Rusakova. She was at the other end of the airlock, ready to pump oxygen into the chamber once they were inside.