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  Jann was next over to peer inside, although she stood some way back, just in case her futile warning to Annis turned out to be prophetic.

  A colonist in a full EVA suit sat cross-legged in the center of the small space, its head slumped down a little on to its chest. The nametag on the left breast read Bess Keilly. They all gathered around the strange alien mausoleum for a time, in silence, taking turns to peer in at the dead occupant.

  “It’s a beehive hut,” said Kevin after a while. This seemed to snap them all out of it.

  “What is?” said Annis.

  “The little building here.” He waved a hand over the hut.

  “You mean for bees?” said Lu.

  “No, not for bees—for monks,” said Kevin. “There’s a tiny remote island off the westernmost tip of Ireland—Skellig Michael it’s called. A group of monks set up housekeeping on it back in the 6th century. They lived in huts built just like this one. They’re called beehive huts because of the shape.” He waved an arm around again. “The island was regarded as the most remote place in the known world.”

  “I don’t get it, why would anyone build such a thing here?” said Lu.

  “It’s a sculpture, I suppose. A piece of art. It obviously has no useful purpose,” offered Kevin.

  “Well they did have a lot of time on their hands. Seems completely pointless to me,” said Decker. “Okay, let’s keep going.”

  They left the grim Celtic crypt and climbed up the back of a high dune. The sand was loose and their boots sank in as they progressed up its side. It made for tough going. Jann was last to crest the dune. She stopped at the peak and looked in awe as the entire Colony One site sprawled out before her.

  “Wow, it looks way bigger than I imagined,” she said. Jann could now see where some of the domes had caved in. Sand had also built up around the derelict site and it looked like Mars was reclaiming it, inch by inch, a little bit more with each passing year. It was like discovering the remains of some long lost alien civilization on a far off planet. And, in many respects, that‘s exactly what it was.

  One by one, they descended the side of the low dune into the basin of the site and fanned out across its expanse. Jann felt like she was entering an abandoned mining town. Equipment strewn here and there, along with odd rock formations and sculptures of one kind or another. Most were in a state of collapse and partly covered in sand. On the far edge of the site, out past the solar array field, Jann could see the last supply lander, still sitting where it came down, untouched.

  For a time they wandered aimlessly around the site in a kind of dazed wonder. Like how Howard Carter must have felt after entering the tomb of Tutankhamen.

  “Found another body.” Dr. Corelli's voice reverberated in Jann’s helmet. He was bending over the prostrate corpse of a dead colonist. It was lying face up, visor smashed, and was missing an arm just below the shoulder.

  “It looks like a clean cut…” Paolio was examining the injury. “…done with something very sharp.”

  By now some of the other crew had gathered around. “Seems you were right, Doctor,“ said the commander. “The arm is over there.” He pointed at the dismembered limb a few feet away.

  “What the hell happened here?” said Annis.

  “Well it wasn’t the sandstorm, that for sure,” said Jann.

  “Obviously,” replied Decker. “Okay, we need to stick with the program. I want everybody on heads-up. The commander thumbed a button on his suit sleeve. The others did the same. On her visor Jann could now see an illuminated three dimensional wire-frame overlay of the site. It followed the contours of the buildings as she moved, giving detailed information on each structure. There were also five flashing markers tracking each of the other crewmembers.

  “Paolio, Lu, Jann, take a route around the northern perimeter of the structure. Myself, Annis and Kevin will explore the area on this side. We’ll meet up over at the main airlock.” He pointed off at a group of modules attached to the main Colony One dome. “Let’s get to it.”

  “What about the mule?” said Jann.

  “Just keep it tagged to you, we may need it on the other side.”

  “You’re not planning on going inside the facility today, are you?” said Annis.

  Decker considered this. “We’ll see… after we do an inspection. It’s a derelict site so it may be too dangerous. Anyway, let’s get a move on.”

  They split up. Paolio took the lead and they walked over towards what remained of humanity’s first ever planetary outpost. The structure was dominated by a massive bio-dome. Around this were the smaller domes, and around these were attached the crew landers and supply modules that the colonists and equipment arrived in. These were cylindrical, around five or so meters wide and the same tall. They each had two doors and some also had airlocks. They could be attached together and reconfigured into different arrangements. Somewhere on the far side of the structure were two long grow tunnels, partially buried in the sand. One of these had collapsed.

  The first lander module they came to Jann’s heads-up display identified as simply EVA/Maintenance, an entrance in and out of the base for work crews. A sand ramp had been built up to the height of the airlock entrance and the outer door was wide open. She walked up the ramp and peered inside. The inner door into the facility was sealed tight. The interior, having been exposed to the Martian weather, was covered in a thick buildup of sand and dust.

  “Come and have a look at this.” She waved her arm to signal Paolio and Lu. Inside the airlock, bolted to the floor, was a rudimentary windmill, fashioned from recycled materials. Its crude blades sat motionless in the still atmosphere.

  “Weird. What do you think that was for?” said Paolio.

  “Generating power, I think. Look there’s a wire leading in through the door seal,” Jann traced the cable with her gloved hand.

  “But there’s no wind.”

  “Not today, but during a sandstorm there would be plenty of wind. See the size of the vanes, big to catch as much as possible. They must have been desperate to generate more power,” said Jann.

  “Looks like it, although they wouldn’t get very much from this. To generate any sort of meaningful power on Mars it would need to be massive.” Lu was examining the motionless blades.

  They moved away from the airlock and continued their circumnavigation of the facility perimeter. “Over here,” said Paolio as he waved to the others. “It’s an old rover.”

  A small, six wheeled machine was partly buried in sand. Two circular solar panels extended from its back, giving it the look of a winged insect. It was covered in grime. Jann wiped a hand over a panel to brush the dust off. She thought she saw a green LED flash momentarily and jumped back in fright. “Holy shit. I think it’s still working.”

  “You okay?” said Paolio.

  “Fine… just a bit jittery.”

  Lu laughed. “That rover hasn’t functioned in years. It’s totally dead, for sure.”

  As they moved away, Jann looked back at the little machine, half expecting it to awaken and crawl out of its sandy grave.

  The three were now close to the base of the main biodome. It had a wall about two meters high made of a type of concrete produced in-situ from the local regolith. It was robotically manufactured and had been layered down by large industrial sized 3D printers. The upper dome structure consisted of a super-tough, semi-transparent membrane stretched over a lattice framework, its complex molecular structure engineered to provide radiation shielding. It was essentially the same material used in one of the many layers of the crews’ EVA suits.

  Jann walked up the edge of the wall where the sand had built up, in the hope that she could see in. But so much grime had accumulated on the surface that it was impossible to make anything out.

  They moved on towards one of the smaller domes where the roof had collapsed. The support members were bent and crumpled. Jann’s augmented reality display overlaid a wire-frame of the last known facility configuration. On the readout th
ere should have been three modules attached, tagged accommodation. But they were missing.

  “See, the wall here has been sealed up. So they must have moved the modules,” said Paolio.

  “I wonder where are they?” said Jann.

  “Recycled maybe, broken up and used inside for something.”

  As they worked their way around they could see several more modules were missing. On the far side of the facility, leading from the base of the biodome, the two long grow tunnels extended outward. These were partially covered in Martian soil. This was one of the oldest parts of the colony, built even before the first colonists arrived. They had been robotically constructed prior to human habitation so that the early settlers would have sufficient infrastructure to maximize their chances of survival.

  Jann had considered simply walking over one in the hope that she would be high enough to get a glimpse through the main dome membrane, but thought better of it. The tunnel was probably fragile and one of them had already collapsed. Also the weight of the mule following along behind her might be too much for it. She instead walked around the tunnels. It was difficult to know where they ended as they seemed to just merge into the surrounding dunes. The crew gave them a wide berth nonetheless.

  By the time they headed back to the main dome they could see Decker and the others approaching the cluster of four modules grouped together. A sand ramp led up to the main airlock. But unlike the others they had inspected, the door was shut tight.

  “Malbec, bring that mule over here,” said Decker. “Tell me we brought the laser cutters, Kevin.”

  “We did, why, what are you planning?” replied the engineering officer.

  “A little breaking and entering.”

  Jann untagged the mule so it would stay put and not follow her around anymore. Kevin started to unload equipment cases.

  “I don’t think that will be necessary.” Annis pulled the recessed handle on the airlock door and it swung open. She stepped through and examined the inner panel.

  “That’s odd.”

  “What is?” The commander was now beside her in the airlock.

  “It’s got power.”

  “Well that’s possible, since the solar array field looks mostly undamaged.”

  “It’s not just that… it looks like… well, it’s pressurized inside.”

  “Let me see.” The chief engineer was now examining the panel. He rubbed a layer of dust off the small screen and stood back in amazement. “I think you’re right."

  “All right,” said Decker, “here’s what we’re going to do. Kevin, bring that cutting gear in here. We’ll need to close the outer door before we can open the inner one. If we can’t get it open, we’ll cut it open. If we get stuck in here, we’ll cut our way out. The rest of you wait outside until I give the all clear.” He stopped for a moment, then looked at each of them in turn. “You all need to prepare yourselves for what we’ll find in here. There’s probably going to be a lot of dead bodies. It isn’t going to be pretty so be ready.”

  They all nodded. Jann had not given this much thought. But now that the time had come, it was clear that it would be a hellish tableau that greeted them on the inside. She imagined the desperate colonists huddled together in some corner of the facility, eking out the last of their precious resources, all hope lost, waiting for death to come.

  Decker, Annis and Kevin stepped inside the airlock and closed the outer door. Jann and the others could hear the conversation through their helmet comms. She looked over at Lu and Paolio. They exchanged a glance that spoke of excited apprehension.

  “Outer door sealed, okay… let’s see if this works.” It was Kevin’s voice. “Look, it’s pressurizing, there must really be air in there, incredible. Sixty percent… eighty… hundred. All right, here goes… opening inner door.” There was a pause in the chief engineer’s commentary as he surveyed the interior. Jann, Lu and Paolio waited anxiously for him to resume.

  “Looks like a storage area… boxes piled up on either side. Some old EVA suits… torn… parts missing… no helmets that I can see. Moving into the next section. Seems to be a common area… seating… tables. Wait a minute… that’s impossible!”

  “What, what is?” said Lu.

  “Eh… you guys better get in here and see this for yourselves,” said Decker.

  4

  Exploration

  Jann opened the exterior airlock door and stepped in, followed closely by Lu and Paolio, who shut the outer door behind him and spun the locking wheel. Jann hit the button to equalize pressure. It took a few anxious moments to complete the cycle and for the green alert light to illuminate. “Okay, here goes,” she said, as she swung open the inner door. They passed through the airlock and Jann, Lu and Paolio stepped into Colony One.

  They passed through the entrance into a room lined with broken and damaged EVA suits. They hung along the walls like abandoned marionettes. Ahead of them the area opened out and pale orange sunlight filtered down through the domed roof, illuminating a large circular space. It looked like a junkyard. Every available flat surface was covered with machines and components in varying states of disassembly. Balls of wire sprouted from containers and spooled out across the floor. Tubes and pipes snaked around the area in all directions. Yet, it was clear that a routine had been well worn into this apparent chaos.

  They spotted the others just ahead.

  “Over here,” Kevin beckoned to them and pointed at something on one of the benches. “Have a look at this.”

  They gathered around and inspected the object that had so startled the commander. Resting on a plate, beside a small box of fresh fruit, an apple had been cut in two, a bite taken from one half. Kevin held the knife up and they could see the juice ruining down along the edge. “It’s just been cut.”

  There was a stunned silence for a moment as the implications began to sink in. Jann reached down, picked up the partially eaten apple and held it up close to her visor so she could give it a better examination. It was fresh, no doubt about it.

  “There’s someone here, still alive. That’s incredible,” said Jann. “How is that possible, after all this time?” She put the apple back down on the bench.

  By now, they were all looking around, expecting the ragged survivors to come through a door or emerge from some darkened alcove at any moment. Jann considered that the joy of the crew’s arrival could be overwhelming for them. Like a group of deserted island castaways rescued after many years of isolation. So they waited with ever mounting anticipation—but no one showed.

  “Where the hell are they?” said Annis.

  “Maybe they’re afraid?” ventured Kevin.

  “Of what?”

  No one had an answer.

  “Okay, there’s someone still alive here, that much is certain. So, if they won’t come to us then we’ll just have to go to them. We need to do a full search of this facility, every inch of it if necessary, starting with the biodome over there.” Decker pointed towards an open tunnel at the far end of the space. “Let’s go.” He marched off.

  They picked their way through the junkyard detritus towards the entrance and passed into the low connecting tunnel. One by one, they entered into the biodome into a sea of verdant vegetation. Row upon row of food crops radiated out across the vast space. Densely packed grow-beds were built into racks stacked one on top of the other—three, sometimes four layers high. Tubes coiled around each bed bringing water and nutrients to the plants. A confusion of power lines and ducting arched overhead. Grow lights hung from beneath each row to augment the pale Martian sunlight. It was a machine for growing food. Everywhere was ordered and meticulously maintained, in complete contrast to the mayhem of the previous area.

  “Wow, just look at this place, it’s incredible,” said Lu as the six ISA crew stood around in awe at the lush surroundings.

  “We should split up,” said the commander. “Paolio, Jann, take that side, and check out that long grow tunnel. But be careful, though. It may be structurally co
mpromised. Kevin, Lu, you search along the opposite side, over there. Annis and I will take this central area. Let’s see if we can find some life forms in here other than plants.”

  A path wound its way around the inside perimeter of the dome; Jann and Paolio followed it. Along the inner wall were stacked storage boxes of one kind or another. Jann opened one, it was full of some sort of biomass, and she wasn’t sure what it was without testing.

  “Potatoes,” Paolio pointed at long neat rows of plants. “And carrots.” They walked through the rows for a while, identifying some as they went. “I recognize this,” said Paolio. Jann looked at the leafy plant. “Is that what I think it is?” she said as she touched a leaf.

  “Cannabis. Presumably it’s legal on Mars,” said Paolio.

  Jann laughed. “I suppose the law is what you decide yourself up here. Looks like someone brought some seeds with them. They’re healthy plants, so whoever is here is looking after them.”

  Paolio looked around. “So we’re looking for a bunch of Martian stoners—wherever the hell they are.”

  “Come on, let’s keep looking.”

  After a while it became evident to Jann that there were a great many plants she simply did not recognize. These, she suspected, were genetically engineered specifically for Colony One. Designed to produce food in the weak Martian sun. Plants that would never be allowed free reign on Earth, due to concerns over genetic contamination. But here, there were no such fears. As a biologist, she had followed the development of some of these new botanical species with avid interest. Colony One was a geneticist’s playground, with a totally controlled eco-system, and not bound by the ethics of Earth. There really was no law on Mars but your own.

  They arrived at a point along the dome wall where it opened into one of the long buried tunnels. It had a wide airlock, but both doors were swung fully open.

  Jann took a cautious step inside. It was wide, with dim overhead lighting. Two long rows of clear plastic water tanks receded into its depths. They could see that each one contained a different species of fish. The tanks all looked to be well stocked. The fish looked to be perfectly healthy. Towards the back of the tunnel she found several low, shallow beds used for spawning.