Old Side of Mars

Old Side of Mars

By Robert Willgren

Copyright 2015 Robert Willgren

Smashwords Edition

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – The Leak

Chapter 2 – Plain Getaway

Chapter 3 – Investigation

Chapter 4 – Accident

Chapter 5 – Tainted Suspicion

Chapter 6 – Red Plains

Chapter 7 – Off the Rails

Chapter 8 – Crashed Direction

Chapter 9 – Seeds

Chapter 10 – Joining the Pieces

Chapter 11 – Ships and Sand

Chapter 12 – Mars Alone

Chapter 13 – Fragments

Chapter 14 – Mars Calm

Chapter 15 – Mine Move

Chapter 16 – Airlocks & Fissures

Chapter 17 – Saboteur

Chapter 18 – Colony

Chapter 19 – Colony Under Attack

Chapter 20 – The Saboteur

Chapter 21 – Rebirth of Identity

Chapter 1 – The Leak

An alarm sounded, startling me out of a drowsy sleep. I forced open heavy eyelids to see the yellow bar flashing above the information display on my wall.

Ah what the hell now, I grumbled. The flashing alert in my darkened unit hurt my eyes and the blare of the alarm irritated my hangover. With difficulty, I pushed aside the fog in my brain to investigate the alert. I was an Atmospheric Structural Engineer and it was my job to respond. This job was a short-term assignment or so I was told. There was indecision behind the scenes about where I should fit in. Anyway, it had been quiet and I was not expecting an alarm. My co-workers sometimes called me the old man. Fifty-four wasn’t old although this morning I felt like a fossil. My short dark hair with silver highlights and innocent looking face made me look distinguished. The other engineering techs were all younger including the supervisor Bill. His insistence on being called the chief hadn’t really caught on. Chief for the Chief Engineer position he so pompously held. I shouldn’t complain, as I was fortunate enough to get assigned to this colony on Mars. Of course, the small hovel assigned to me didn’t make me feel fortunate. I was told the basic rectangular space was temporary until new construction was completed. The unit had a tiny kitchenette, washroom, cot, sparse furnishings, and a locker for my gear. It’s dull grey walls were that of storage unit hastily converted to living space.

The alarm continued sounding and I jumped out of bed. An immediate feeling of light-headedness hit me as I stood and half stumbled over to the console. I hit the silence button on the touch pad and looked at the display built into the wall. An air leak detection notification blinked in red. The affected area was along an exterior wall next to an airlock. A new section was under construction in that location as part of an expansion operation. This outpost colony was designated MCC-7, short for Mars Community Colony 7. There are 23 in operation. It was constructed about a dozen years ago as part of an exploration project. The colony program evolved from the exploration portion and after a rocky start, had become popular. Back on Earth, the wait list to come here was getting longer. We just couldn’t build fast enough for the demand. Outpost Number 7 was its old designation and it now it was re-branded as Mars Community Colony 7. Its original function was mining and expanded into material manufacturing for the colonies. The leadership found they could successfully combine a mining facility and community living into one. Families were the next phase in Mars colonization and with that the facilities to support them. That meant expansion.

The door charm of my unit activated and I turned on the viewer to see who it was. The image of young Brent appeared standing outside. Actually, he never stood still and was always fidgeting. If Mars had ants, then he had them in his pants.

Piss, I muttered to myself. I was not in the mood to deal with Brent in his excited state. With a groan, I touched the door release.

Let’s go Jim, Brent said in an eager tone from the corridor. He never called me the old man.

Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on. I returned my gaze to the display and depressed a touchpad option for additional details on the alert. The leak, although serious, was not catastrophic. I could hear Brent checking his gear and awaited the inevitable. It took three seconds for him to drop his scanning sensor onto the floor with a crash.

Oops, he said. I shook my head and went to change into my maintenance suit. The suit was designed for emergencies like this and provided more protection then the general colony suits. After slipping it on, I grabbed my headgear. Technological advances in the maintenance suits replaced the bulkier spacesuit and one could wear them like clothes. Depending upon the design and the oxygen pack, one could spend long periods outside in the inhospitable Martian atmosphere. The headgear pulled down and fastened to the suits collar forming a secured space helmet.

Lets go before you lose something, I said walking out the door. He smiled and we headed down the white corridor. It was early in the Martian morning and most were asleep. The affected area was secured with automatic force fields to protect the rest of the colony. Brent was marching fast and I strutted along to keep up. I pulled two painkillers from my utility belt that I purposely put there for these kinds of mornings. That would take the edge off soon. The corridor branched off in different directions and we went left sticking to the outer passageways as the most direct route. This destination led us through two more airlocks to arrive at a group in conversation.

Ah, the kid and the old man, Bill said watching us arrive, not too early for you. He and two others were standing in front of the force field overlooking the affected area, laughed at Bill’s attempt at humour.

"Jerk, I thought to myself. Yes Chief, is it serious?" I attempted a weak smile. Bill looked to his portable scanner. Beyond the force field was a short grey corridor leading to an airlock to the next section. The polished white panelling would be added later when construction was completed.

I don’t think so. You two can handle it, Bill chuckled to the others, let’s go. The crew of three packed their gear, preparing to leave. Oh, and I want a full report on how this happened. With their gear packed, they walked away.

Asshole, I muttered to myself.

Where do you want to start? Brent asked. I sighed, pulling my scanner.

Find the leak and seal it. I came across cranky and felt bad. It wasn’t Brent’s fault that Bill the Chief was an idiot. Take your scanner and locate the affected area. He pulled it out, careful not to drop it, and began the scan.

Over in the corner next to the airlock, Brent said and kept scanning. I confirmed Brent’s findings with my scanner. A part of our job was to ensure no other safety issues were present from the leak like outside contaminants, damaged systems, that sort of thing.

Anything else, I asked.

O2 levels down slightly, he thought, We don’t have to engage our suits, he paused, and no other dangers.

Very good Brent. I went to the control panel on the corridor’s wall that operated the force field.

Prepare for entry. I entered a command to take the force field down for three seconds, just long enough for us to enter. The protective field automatically re-established itself for the protection of the colony and we scooted in. The field restored behind us. The oxygen levels were at eighty-one percent of normal and yet I could feel the difference in breathing the lighter air. We both went to the corner, scanners in hand, to locate the exact leak point. The pinhole was about a metre off the floor offset from the corner. This kind of leak was unusual as most failures were along the joint where the wall sections met.

Brent, use your spray sealant. His typical fidgety nature was subdued when it came to atmospheric issues. From his utility belt, he pulled a small canister and removed the safety cap.

Ready, he said. I nodded. He began to spray a silver mist directly into the affected spot while I scanned the results. The pinhole leak pulled in the mist and began to seal upon impact. This was a temporary fix until the construction engineers repaired it permanently.

It’s sealing nicely, I said. Brent continued the coat the area with the fine mist methodically moving the canister around the leak point.

That should do it. My scanner indicated no more atmosphere loss and the sealant had hardened. The grey corridor began to pressurize back to normal levels. Good job Brent. He looked back, smiling and put the safety cap on his canister. You’ll make a good chief one day.

You’ll get the job before me, he said not used to the compliment.

Doubt it, King Bill would never allow it. Not to mention that I had time against me. Log and file the repair. Brent returned his canister to his belt pulled his comm device. His fingers quickly entered the incident details and the report was filed. We returned to the control panel this side of the force field and I entered the three-second-release command. The force field would remain in place until the structural engineers decided on the repair. Nothing happened when the command was input. That’s odd, and I retried it again. This time an access denied red light appeared when I should have gotten a green one.

Why isn’t it working? Brent asked.

Not sure. I tried the emergency code and got the red light. Emergency code doesn’t work either.

Weird, Brent said. Lights and sirens sounded from the airlock behind us. It scared the crap out of me and I whipped around. The airlock’s opening sequence had initiated and I stared at it in disbelief.

Brent, emergency suit up, I yelled. He looked startled as I began to activate my helmet with a touch of my sleeve. A material released from the headgear being attracted to a sealing ring around my neck. The material’s special properties meshed together, bonding for an airtight seal. Brent, seeing me prepare quickly began his suit up process. I pulled my gloves from my belt and they fastened to the suits cuffs similar to the headgear. My thin face shield began to populate with data on its upper portion.

Get ready for decompression, I yelled at Brent. He nodded with an anxious look on his face while pulling on his gloves while I checked my comm link on the suits sleeve. No connection, which was strange. It didn’t matter at this point as the airlock door began to open. Atmosphere was sucked out of this space with force. Dust pebbles dislodged from concealed places and flew out the opening. The pull was strong and forced us forward toward the airlock. The area beyond was not pressurized. We both knew what to do in this situation and allowed the dissipating atmosphere to move us toward the opening lock. The ride was quick and I veered left toward handle grips situated on that side of the airlock. Brent was lighter and agile, making it first, to grip the handle on his side. I snagged the grip on my side and hung on tightly. The airlock continued opening and the remaining atmosphere vacated putting a pulling strain on me. Then the pressure equalized and the rush stopped as fast as it had begun. zzee

That was close, Brent said.

Yeah, let’s go to maintenance airlock. We walked into the next section. The airlock control panel was situated just inside the construction space and I stopped at it. The bare skeleton wall had various conduits running on its surface. It would eventually be covered with the panelling. To my surprise, the close command was accepted and the airlock doors began to close. Brent looked at me and then at the closing airlock.

Now it works, he said. I smiled and nodded. The large space we were in had construction materials and equipment scattered about. Corridors led off in different directions from this partly finished area. Once the entire section was completed, fifty family sized units would be available for occupancy plus the facilities to support them. This section plus two others at this colony were being constructed for new families arriving in the next three months. When the construction was done, I would get a larger living space. That was something I was looking forward to. My cramped space made me feel like I was just visiting. The unit was away from most of the other techs making me feel isolated. No one said what the rationale behind was for my living space assignment. My suspicion was that Bill wanted me as far away as possible.

That way Brent, I motioned with my hand toward the nearest exit.

Chief Bill will need to know what happened, Brent said.

That’s for sure. The chief made no secret of the fact that he didn’t like me. He was climbing the ladder up the chain of command and perceived me as an obstacle. That made no sense, as I had no aspirations for advancing my Martian career. And I hated being caught up in the politics. My thoughts returned to the incident as a way of getting from thinking of Bill and at that moment, something about the whole thing tugged at me. What it was escaped me and I found it difficult to believe that this was a series of unfortunate incidents.

Brent, open that please. I pointed to a maintenance airlock we arrived at. The sun was coming up from the reddish reflection off the Martian sand from the outside. While Brent entered the open command on the control pad, I looked out over the plains. It was a peaceful moment after our early morning adventure. Warning lights flashed above the large airlock door as the final release sequence went into effect. It opened and we stepped into a chamber with another airlock leading to the actual outside. Brent closed the first airlock to begin the process of opening the second lock. The two Martians minutes it took for sequences to complete seemed to take forever. A Martian day was slightly longer than an earth one, easing the transition of living here aside from the difference in gravity. The second airlock opened and we exited. I glanced over the red soil seemingly to go on forever before a mountain range shot upwards. No matter how many times I gaze at the red plains, it had a mesmerizing affect especially in the early morning light.

I love the red sand, Brent said looking out at plains.

So do I. It took us several minutes to walk along the constructed pathway around the complex to get to a standard airlock. Going through this double airlock would take longer for the decontamination process to complete. Trace elements in the soil or anything else could cause problems and colony didn’t take chances. There was much we still did not know of this new world.

My comm is now working, Brent said. I checked mine and alas, there was connectivity.

Report the incident to king Bill, I said. Brent smirked and made contact. They spoke and Brent answered several grilling questions.

We are to meet later after diagnostics are run, Brent said, Bill says to be available for questions later.

Okay. That was expected. Brent, he looked at me, you did good. He smiled.

Thanks Jim, he said and we parted company. It had been an interesting morning and I headed back to my unit. The first thing I was going to do, after logging my version of the incident, was go back to bed. My unit was messy and I promised myself to do a better job at keeping it tidy. My dejected mood of late was likely the reason for my place in its current state. This feeling of melancholy had to stop. On the wall-monitor, a notification of a new message arrival blinked at the top of the panel. The rest my screen displayed two sets of environmental information like the time, temp, weather conditions, etc. The local Martian conditions was on one side and New York was on the other. I was not from New York and used it as a reference point on Earth to compare with Mars. It was my link back to Earth. The message was from ex back on Earth. Should I listen to it now or ignore it until later. It was a good bet I knew what she wanted and decided to get it over with.

Hello Jim, my ex Jill said with a forced smiled. Oh, this was going to be good.

How are things at your new post, she paused, things are good here, again another fake smile. I noticed her pleasantries were getting shorter each time she sent a message. Her attractive features had lost their appeal during the less than amicable divorce. Money was now the only link between us. She looked down for a moment trying to decide on something.

I’ll get straight to the point, she said looking back up.

Oh please do, I said out loud to no one.

You were sent documents to sign and return, she said with a hopeful look on her face. Jim, let’s just finish this and I’ll leave you alone.

I bet you will, I said to the screen.

Let me know if they’re any problems, bye. The message terminated.

Figures. She already got most of our assets and now she wanted more. My appointment here resulted in a salary boost plus bonuses. Jill wanted an increase in alimony and I was not co-operating. My lawyer said she had less than 50% chance of winning a new settlement. The opportunity to come to Mars came up after the divorce and I could accept her new demands or challenge them. After giving it five seconds of thought, I decided to let it go to court if she wanted and let things fall where they may. My assignment here was for was two Martians years just under four Earth ones with the option of staying on longer. I had been here a little over three Earth months. Coming here would give me the time and opportunity I needed to re-find myself after the divorce. Now that I was here, Chief Bill wanted to divorce me from this planet. The whole situation was tenuous and my best course of action was to stay away from Bill. As for my ex, I was not going to sign anything. My off-world assignment would hopefully work in my favour if the money issue went to court.

My nap did help take away the early morning grogginess. It took a little extra time to tidy the place up. I was officially off-duty and put on my standard issue grey coveralls. The need to get away from the colony was getting stronger and I planned to take a rover out. Bill would likely contact me soon to discuss the airlock issue and what they found. I wondered if he would find some angle and try to pin the incident on me. It appeared that I had traded one problem for another. The new promised life was not what I had envisioned. Still there was always the hope that things would get better, after all, this was a new world. Perhaps getting away was what I needed. An incoming call on the wall display interrupted my thoughts and I looked over. It was Bill.

Hello Bill.

Yes Jim. He looked friendly. I know you’re off today, but could you drop by the meet room to discuss the incident.

Yes of course, Chief.

See you in 30 then. He was gone. The details of the morning activities flooded back to me and I was curious as to what happened. The corner leak was from a section of wall that came from the mine facility where the mineral was also mined. All of the building materials for the colony were manufactured at the mine site. It was over fifty kilometres away from the colony and the reason I got this assignment. The company I worked for, as an engineer on earth was instrumental in the development of the material used in construction. It allowed the production of building materials from available local resources. Attempting to move these construction supplies from Earth was not feasible. That meant a huge cost saving to the consortium financing the Mars project. Since I was liked to that, it secured my appointment here for the moment. As I got ready to leave, my door chime sounded.

Hey Brent, I said in greeting, opening the door.

Are you ready? he asked.

Yes of course. Have you heard anything? We left my unit.

A friend who’s involved with sheeting was concerned. I looked at Brent questioning. He didn’t add much.

Yeah.

Can you imagine if we had structural failures all over the colony, Brent said. That sent a shiver down my spine. We made our way through the white corridors occasionally passing colony personal on the way wearing the common light red jumpsuits. As a result of the leak, there was the possibility of a new assignment being created. I had heard through the grapevine that a position of that nature was in consideration. Doing routine maintenance was a waste of my engineering talents. We arrived at the entrance to the engineering and maintenance sector with a huge number 12 on the door. Brent entered his code to open the bulkhead door and we went in. The meet room was