Colin Taber - RED - Burning Skies

He went to help her.

After they pulled it out and along, they’d managed to hide the whole vehicle in the space of minute.

He said, “That’s so simple.”

“It’s just a piece of the standard-issue camo tenting.” With a chuckle, she added, “You’ll also find you can use a different piece of it as a blanket if you get cold in Sanctuary.”

He laughed as they then walked off, taking the other fissure that had joined the main chasm. The ground was sand, something that had no doubt spent an age being blown in from above.

Ghost indicated for him to follow her. “Come, we’re nearly there.”

Wei was stunned by the landscape around him.

The fissure was narrow, but wide enough for three people to walk abreast. The space climbed straight up a hundred meters, leaving them in shade at the bottom while the sky above showed as a crooked line lit in orange as the sun rose unseen back out on the surface.

Ghost’s voice sounded in his ear, as he felt her hand reach back and take his elbow in an effort to steer him forward in the gloom. “Sometimes the sun shines down. It’s like being on a stage with a spotlight above.”

“A spotlight?” Wei chuckled, but appreciated her efforts at drawing a comparison.

She laughed too. “I was also military, but we did more than marching drills.”

He chuckled. “We gambled and drank, although they would never allow us to go beyond our rationed shots.”

“Surely you did something else?”

“What do you mean?”

“Sports?”

He shook his head, his gaze still on the heavens. “We played football a little, but the weather was often too hot or too cold.”

“Where were you trained?”

“The edge of the Gobi Desert,” he said, adding, “Ordos.”

“Yes,” she said, “I remember the dust storms well…”

“You know it?”

“Of course, but I didn’t know at the time it was part of the program, as we were stationed elsewhere. We also launched from Inner Mongolia.”

He stopped, his gaze meeting her own. “From where?”

“Saihan.”

He frowned. “I thought Ordos was for all the lava tube habitat training and associated launches, like my own?”

“It is—for the men.”

He’d realized his mistake as soon as he had spoken. He nodded and said, “Yes, for orphan boys the military took and shaped into men. Men like me. I can’t help but wonder how much of what I know is only a part of the truth.”

“They deceived all of us.”

He nodded, accepting it. “Your entire crew were women?”

“Yes, of course. They planned it that way to ease the tensions so couples couldn’t form. They thought if missions were mixed couples, pairing off would add an unpredictable component to crew dynamics that might be dangerous.”

He knew it. All of the reasoning behind it had been covered in their training. “Jealousy.”

“Yes, and spite, anger, and hate.”

He said, “Of course, it was all explained to us. Besides, we were assured we would soon earn our rewards after spending a few years building up our habitat and getting ready for the first civilian colonists.”

“Your rewards? You mean the wives they promised you?”

He blushed, thinking how strange it all sounded, now that he spoke to a woman.

But he hadn’t seen a woman for over a year…

…And the next one he had expected to see was supposed to have been his future wife.

He took a deep breath, and said, “I…well, I mean, that was the arrangement. That was how they encouraged us to get things ready, follow orders, and fulfill our mission goals. A year of hard work and tight briefs in a heavily controlled environment, but the payoff would be a wife who we could start a family with. We then would have options to work in farming, private habitat construction, or join the Party so we could assist in the administration of the growing settlements.”

PING!

An alert sounded in their helmets.

Ghost said, “Come, we must get to the shelter. It’s not big, but it will keep us alive.”

He nodded and let her lead the way. “What is the alarm for?”

She moved quickly, leading him on. “Mars Command One has an asset in the area. We need to get under cover.”

“They’re still after us?”

“Maybe. Perhaps that was their drone back there and it’s found the way into the chasm.”

He followed her, focusing on the shadowed path as he worked to dodge the few rocks in his way.

After a few minutes more, he became aware she was casting a shadow that fell back over him.

He looked up to see a lit airlock ahead. It was one of the modular units, something which made him wonder how much gear had been salvaged from the wrecked bases or pilfered from others. Such theft, of course, endangered the lives of the crews in transit, but he supposed it was already a life-or-death matter for those here.

Even if they were Renegades.

Like Ghost…

…and like him…

He could see the entrance was open, and that was why the light was spilling out. The airlock was ready and waiting.

Without hesitation, she went in and he followed.

But he was already wondering, How do they keep this sanctuary powered?

Ghost turned and checked he’d cleared the entry, and then punched a button to shut the door and get the cycle underway.

The lights dimmed for a moment, but it was only temporary as he heard the hiss of the breathable atmosphere being pumped in.

She asked, “Curious?”

“Yes, very. I have so many questions.”

“I am sure you do. Go easy on me, talking takes air and water, too.”

He wasn’t sure if she was joking.

A light went green.

She said, “Remember, this is just a rest stop for us. There’s no habitat or anything remarkable. That sort of thing is all back at our home.”

He nodded.

She punched a button and the internal door slid open.

As she stepped through, she moved to the side, making way for him. She waited for him to exit the airlock.

He followed her, but his eyes were on what had been revealed by the opening door.

The space was large, but not at all what he had expected.

Only a few spotlights burned to light the chamber they had come into. It looked like a cave, the rock walls rough and unworked, but then he realized it wasn’t a cave at all; instead, it was a continuation of the chasm.

The spotlights had fooled him, one burning bright over the airlock exit, another in the middle of the chamber, and the last before a darkened airlock at the other end.

The lights faded as he stood there, seemingly set to illuminate Sanctuary only long enough for new arrivals to check over the space. He was again in the ruddy light of Mars.

With the brightness gone, his eyes adjusted. They were in the chasm again with an apricot strip of sky visible far above.

Ghost reached up to her helmet, released it, and lifted it free.

Wei started, their surroundings telling him they were still on the surface, in spite of the airlocks.

He could see the sky!

She turned to him and smiled, indicating with a dip of her head that he should also release his helmet.

For a moment, he just stared at her, until she raised a gloved hand and gestured to something mostly unseen, wedged in the chasm above.

There was a barrier there, almost invisible in the dim light. Small strips of gathered dust gave the roof away, sitting on top of the transparent structure in places. A few rocks and pebbles also sat on the outside of the surface, the barrier a half a dozen yards above their heads, wedged tight between the chasm’s stone walls.

Ghost spoke, her voice muffled by his helmet, as she was no longer on the comms link. “It’s a breathable atmosphere, although we keep the pressure lower than the ideal.”