S Morden - One Way

“We got to work fast, man,” said Zero.

“No we don’t. Just steady. That’s all. We can’t afford any more mistakes.”

“But Dee’s air?”

“Which is why we need to carry on. We’re getting there. Ring’s almost done. We just need the outriggers fixed on, and the module set out. Then we can inflate it, and we’re finished.”

“This wouldn’t happen on Mars, right? We’d get him inside straight away and that’d be that. We wouldn’t have to do any of this. So why didn’t they give us anything to fix the suits with?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps we should ask for stuff. Sticky patches and the like.”

“You going to ask, Frank?”

“OK. I’ll ask.”

Zeus finished sharpening up the flat piece of metal, and he carried it over to Alice. Frank let the other two carry on working, and went to see what she was going to do. Zeus was Alice’s second, but there wasn’t any medical stuff going on here. This was suit repair.

“It’s sharp,” warned Zeus. “Don’t get that anywhere near your suit.”

“Loop the strap around his arm, around the biceps.” She used the blade to saw away some of the loose outer layer, and wadded it up, folding it in half, and half again. She gave that to Frank. “Don’t just stand there: make yourself useful. Zeus, straighten his arm, hold him tight.”

“What’re you going to do?” Demetrius’s voice was tight and high. “What?”

“Shut up,” said Alice, and stabbed his elbow through the tear.

“Fuck,” said Frank.

“Pad,” she said. Then she just snatched it from Frank and pressed it hard against the sudden bloom of frothing blood. “Strap.”

Zeus pushed the fabric strap down one-handed and tightened it in place. He held Demetrius fast with the other.

“Not too tight. We’re trying to hold the pad in place, not stop his circulation.”

“You cut me,” Demetrius protested. “She cut me.”

“The blood will soak into the cloth, and when it coagulates it’ll form an airtight seal. Any more questions from anyone?”

“You could have told us,” said Frank. “You could have told him.”

“Because that would’ve kept his breathing rate down, wouldn’t it? He can still spot for us, and now he’s not leaking out.”

It was true. Demetrius’s suit’s internal pressure had stabilized.

“Go sit down,” Frank told him. “You’ll be fine.”

The boy’s face was ashen, but he nodded. He went over to the steps, and Declan rejoined them down at the ring.

He grinned. “I don’t think much of her bedside manner, but she gets the job done.”

Yes, she’d got the job done. But she was dangerous. Frank wondered what XO made of that little show. “Go and get the ropes,” he said. “Let’s get this upright.”

[Press release from Xenosystems Operations to coincide with the second anniversary of the Mars Base contract, embargoed until 2/5/2037]

We dream of space. We dream of new worlds. We dream of possibilities and futures. We dream of open skies and wide horizons, of sights that no human eye has ever seen. We dream, and then we build. Xenosystems Operations has, since its birth, always been reaching for the unobtainable, the impossible, the unimaginable, and making it real.

We are the world leaders in spacefaring technology, trusted by governments and corporations to deliver on our promises, and admired by people everywhere for our far-sighted vision of the destiny of the human race. As we enter a new era of exploration, of colonization, of adaptation and exploitation, XO is simply in a class of its own.

No wonder that, two years ago, the historic partnership between XO and NASA was announced, to create a permanent presence on the surface of Mars. Mars Base One will combine innovative engineering solutions with tried and tested techniques to provide a unique living space on the red planet. Brave men and women will follow in the footsteps of Gagarin, Glenn, Tereshkova and Ride, Armstrong and Lou, pioneers breaking new ground on a hostile planet, taming it and turning it into a place of refuge and peace.

Two years in, and our research facilities are already producing amazing results. Technology that will enhance the lives of every man, woman and child on this, and other planets. Compact, automatic machines to aid us in our daily chores. Medical advances that will save countless numbers of our loved ones. Monitoring systems that can safeguard our communities, and protect us from our enemies. There has never been a better time to be alive, thanks to the advances XO is making every single day.

Our dream is to provide an environment in which astronauts can live and work, and one day may even call ‘home’. Our task is to make that dream a reality. Xenosystems Operations. We are worlds apart.

“We’re not ready,” said Frank.

“You don’t have a say.” Brack slapped his hands on the table. “Time’s up, Kittridge.”

It was just Frank and Brack, in a room, sitting opposite each other.

“Give me some credit for knowing how ready we are. We know a few things well. We know other things less well. Some things we know jack about. We’re undertrained. You can send us like that: you’re right, we don’t have much choice. But we know how good we are, and your,” Frank circled his finger towards the ceiling, “controllers have to know that too.”

“They don’t give a shit what you think. Your past six months has been so closely watched they know how much wind you’ve passed. If they think you bunch of fuck-ups are ready, then you salute the company flag and shout ‘yessir’ until your lungs bleed.”

Frank ran his tongue over his teeth and grimaced. “Like I said, none of us can stop this. We were yours—Panopticon’s, XO’s—from the moment we knew where we were headed. Doesn’t stop us from having an opinion.”

Brack leaned back so far in his seat that Frank thought he might fall out of it backwards. He was staring up at the ceiling, where the lights and the cameras and the microphones were. “You know, Kittridge. I don’t like any of you. You’re a mix of killers and perverts and the just-too-stupid-not-to-get-caught. No one is going to miss you here on Earth. That’s why you were chosen. You’re the things we forgot we had.”

“I get that.”

“Now, here’s the deal. You get to Mars. You know what you got to do, because you know if you don’t, you won’t survive longer than five minutes. But XO are getting edgy over whether you can keep it together up there: that the only reason you’re working together down here is because you want to avoid the Hole. You want to stay out the Hole, Kittridge?”

“I’m not a fan,” said Frank.

“Once you’re on Mars, there’s no Hole. No discipline. No one to keep you in line. You’ll fall apart, and with it, the project. You know how much Uncle Sam is ponying up for this?”

“I read about it somewhere.”

“Trillions. All that money’s been spent getting us to this point. And you, and your fine fellows, are now the only people standing between Mars Base One and an expensive failure. Which is why I’m going with you.”

After a while, he looked across the curve of his chest.

“You took that calmly enough.”

“I was expecting it. I can, after all, count as far as eight. So I’m guessing this decision was made a while back, and you’re not telling me anything I don’t know.”

“And perhaps, you’re just saying that.” Brack shifted his legs and swung back towards the table. “I’m going to level with you here, man to man. I’m going to be one lawgiver in a town of outlaws. That’s a tough beat to walk. Now, there’s you. Out of all of you, you’re the one I trust most. That’s not saying much, but there you are. And if this sheriff is going to keep order, he’s going to need a deputy.”