Colin Taber - RED - Burning Skies

“Is that a lava tube, too?”

“Yes. The site is amazing.”

“Is it up and running?”

“We’re still building the soil. It’s not just a lava tube, but a mega tube.”

“How big is it?”

The tunnel is mapped at over fifty kilometers long and is a kilometer wide.”

His jaw dropped. “And you’re turning it into a pressurized habitat?”

“Yes.”

“You say there’s only dozens of you! How can you get enough power to produce the atmosphere or even be able to seal such a tube or begin soil production?”

“We’ve had some help from other parties and are relying heavily on robotics to seal the space.”

“But how do you get enough power to do that, or even cables to deliver electricity across such a wide site if you’re dependent on salvage?”

“Our power source. One that’s easy to harness and deliver.”

He was finding it hard to believe. With a frown, he asked, “How is this possible? Your power source can’t be magic. I’m sure it has limits and risks?”

“Yes, it does. I’ll show you when we get there, but the upsides are huge.”

He nodded, accepting he’d have to wait. “And how long until this new Xanadu is ready?”

“We call it Shangri-La. The first stage now holds a breathable atmosphere. The seals are finished. Soil production is also underway, and the first plantings have already begun.”

“But you couldn’t even light it up…You wouldn’t be able to get enough grow lamps for such a big space, not even if you went to every base and stole every globe from every light fitting.”

“We have friends who have helped us with some materials.”

Wei was stunned. All of this was so much to take in.

PING!

An alert sounded, killing the discussion.

Wei asked, “Is the drone back?”

She checked a display, and then flicked a switch to put an image on a screen shot from a rear camera.

There it was; a hub drone. A lot closer than it had gotten before.

The dark frame nursed a hydrogen-filled bladder at its center. The frame itself housed six separate drones that could detach and run separate missions. While the hub normally operated as one unit following a simple set of criteria interpreted to complete a clearly defined goal, such as getting from A to B, the hub could also be controlled remotely, as could each of the drones individually.

Wei asked, “Can we still head to Xanadu, or will that reveal the location if we’re being followed?”

“We have to maintain the secret of our home’s location. They might know it—there’s always the chance they have worked it out—but as far as we know, they haven’t.”

“So, what do we do?”

An alarm sounded on the dashboard.

BEEP! BEEP!

Wei knew what that was from his own training. “We’re running out of power?”

Ghosts was checking the gauges. “Damn! The batteries are nearly down, and they seem to have stopped charging!”

“What?”

“The connection to the trailer solar panels must be loose.”

“How much power have we got left?”

“We just dropped below ten percent!” She checked the way ahead and slowed to a stop. Quickly, she typed out a text message to her people and sent it, before grabbing her helmet and heading for the airlock. “I need to fix the coupling.”

“What about the hub?”

“We need the power, not just to get home, but for life support. We don’t have a choice,” she said, before putting her helmet on and stepping into the airlock.

Quickly, she cycled through and got out onto the surface.

Wei got up to watch her though a rear window.

Outside, she hurried down the side of the rover to the trailer, where she checked over the faulty coupling.

Further back, coming closer but still about a kilometer away, was the drone hub.

Wei didn’t know the specs of the hub, but he knew they could manage a reasonable speed. He had no doubt it would catch up to them by the time Ghost had finished out there and was back in the airlock.

He racked his brain trying to think of how they might escape it. They might be able to outrun it, but that would only be if Ghost knew the surrounding terrain well and it was favorable, as it would be easy for them to end up in a crater or basin or canyon that became a dead end.

And in the end, did it matter?

The hub was a camera platform and data collecting tool.

If they couldn’t outrun it, perhaps they could work the situation to drain its power, and have it shut down and give them a chance to get away.

And, while the hub was not designed to be armed, he couldn’t help but wonder. After all, only a few days ago, he never would have guessed that he would have seen a nuke go off, either, let alone one launched by Mars Command.

Ghost finished with the coupling.

Wei hurried back to the display at the front of the rover and checked what it showed.

CHARGING.

He gave her a nod through the window, indicating it was working.

She acknowledged that, then turned to check on the closing hub, which was now only a hundred meters or so away, before hurrying for the airlock.

He went to the driver’s seat and decided he better get them underway. He just waited to hear the hiss of the airlock cycle starting.

And there it was.

He started the rover up and got them going.

The airlock opened, letting Ghost into the cab. She hurried forward as she removed her helmet. “Keep going! You’ll see red warnings project onto the windshield if you go off course.”

He nodded, pleased he was finally helping. “The panels show it is charging.”

“Great.”

“Is there a chance we can force the hub to follow us until its own power is drained?”

“Perhaps. I’m not up with their design or limits, but it could work.”

“Okay.”

“Just keep going for now and let me think if we have any other options.”

Yong glanced across at his commander as they both logged on to their Command Room workstations as they got their shift underway.

Neither had heard anything more from Beijing regarding the hub, leaving both relieved but nervous.

While there was still time for the situation to blow up, they both hoped the silence meant Liu Yang had got her contacts to conduct the data review and that that would be the end of it.

One of their colleagues, having sensed the lingering tension in the Command Room over the past few days, even after the impact at Base Five Two had seemingly been resolved, said, “Let’s hope for a nice mundane shift.”

More of the crew than just Yong and Tung smiled and nodded.

BEEP!

Commander Tung’s workstation sounded out with a priority message.

He took one look at his screen and then put on his headset while getting up and hurrying to his office.

Yong’s heart skipped a beat to hear the alert, but he realized if Tung was getting a call, that meant the caller must be on Mars, as there was no time delay.

Perhaps it was Liu Yang?

And that made him wonder, was she calling to warn that they had been found out? Were they all about to be rushed out to be picked up by Renegades, or had Beijing sent someone over on one of the cargo landers or colonist transports now starting to be parked in orbit?

Amongst the coming civilians, was there an armed military contingent?

Were the three of them about to be arrested, court marshalled, executed, and then recycled in the farming habitats?

Commander Tung hurried into his office and shut the door behind him, as Liu Yang sounded off in his ear.

“I can see it!” she cried, her voice modulated on the encrypted line.