Fatal Discovery Read online

  They all secured their straps as the pilot patched the intercom into the flight control deck.

  “Flight control, this is shuttle-pod three, ready for departure.”

  A set of large yellow doors in front of the shuttle slid open and the shuttle moved forward on its track. As soon at the shuttle was past the doors they slowly slid closed.

  “Shuttle three, this is flight control, engaging air lock.” The large red lights on the ceiling of the launch room began flashing. “Releasing guiding track clamps.” There was a faint, echoing click as the clamps released the shuttle. “Opening pod bay doors.” The doors in front of the shuttle slid open slowly and reveled the black emptiness that was called “space”.

  “Shuttle-pod three, you are clear for takeoff.”

  The shuttle lifted from the floor and flew forward, clearing the doors in less than ten seconds. As soon as the shuttle had exited the ship, it made a sharp dive, and the bright, red surface of the planet filled the viewport at the front of the shuttle.

  The doors of the launch bay closed in preparation for the next shuttle.

  The pilot addressed everyone with the faux-enthusiasm of an airline pilot, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking, our trip will last a grad total of ten minutes, so don’t even bother moving your chairs from the full, upright position.”

  Everyone laughed at this bit of humor, and the pilot basked in the glow of their attention.

  Ten minutes later, almost on the dot, Alyssa saw Mars Base One in front of the shuttle.

  “We’ll be landing in a moment, so hold on tight," said the pilot.

  The pilot brought the shuttle in line with the landing strip, which had flashing blue lights on either side of it. The bases’ power systems had been activated automatically as soon as the Excelsior had come into orbit of Mars.

  The shuttle hovered over the landing strip and then, after a few more seconds, slowly lowered until it landed with a jolt.

  Docking clamps attached to the shuttle and pulled it into the hanger bay and the airlock sealed behind it.

  Above the viewport at the front of the shuttle there were two squares, a red one and a green one, the red one was currently illuminated. After three or four minutes, the green one lit up as the red one faded and a monotone female voice echoing from the hanger said, “Air pressure equalized.”

  The door to the shuttle popped open and the team, after unstrapping and gathering their gear, exited the shuttle.

  Once the crew had entered the base, the automated shuttle hanger placed the shuttle in a storage bay to be recharged.

  Alyssa addressed everyone: “Alright everybody, you know what to do with your gear, make sure you update your scanners and meet in the mess hall at 1900 hours for a briefing from the captain.” There was indistinct murmuring as the team dispersed, each to his own station.

  There was a faint sound as the hanger bay doors opened to allow the next shuttle entrance.

  Alyssa picked up her gear and followed the map on her scanner to her new living quarters, this time, the same size as everyone else’s. She arrived at her door and entered her pass-code on the small touch-display next to the door.

  Welcome Doctor Anderson. The base had been equipped with the latest computer technology, which included an annoying monotone voice that read out the obvious every time it did something. Alyssa assumed this was because the team that had established Mars Base One had only been comprised of ten people, and they got tired of each others voices so they programmed the computer to talk.

  They could at least have given it a more natural voice, she thought.

  As if in response to Alyssa’s thought, the small computer screen on the desk lit up.

  Doctor Alyssa Anderson, your personal schedule has been downloaded to the main computer memory. To synchronize your schedule with you comm-band, please touch the green icon on your screen.

  Alyssa touched the icon and the screen of her comm-band lit up.

  She began unpacking her things and placing them into three drawers that were standard in all of the base's living quarters. There wasn’t much use for extra clothing in space. Each person was limited to four changes of clothing. There were tubes connecting all of the rooms on the base that were used to transport clothing to an automated, water free washing facility.

  A substitute for water had been found for everything except, of course, humans consumption. Showers were replaced by sanitizer powder, a very uncomfortable process, and the plants in the airponics garden used a chemical byproduct of the engines in place of water. But there was no substitute for human consumption.

  A large portion of the ship was made up of water supply tanks, and the water was used under strict rationing. The relief ship would bring with it a replacement tank for the Excelsior’s journey home.

  After Alyssa had unpacked her things, she found her way to her lab and unpacked the remaining equipment. She set up the lab’s computer system, which used a separate memory core incase of a base-wide computer system failure.

  She placed labels on the trays along the wall. The trays would hold samples of ore from the mines and it was Alyssa’s job to analyze the samples to determine wether or not the drill site would be fruitful.

  Each sample would have to be labeled and placed in it’s appropriate tray to make sure she knew which samples were from which mine.

  Alyssa pressed a button on the side of her comm-band and spoke to it, “Anderson to Captain Fletcher.” There was a pause and then he responded.

  “Hello doctor, how do you like your lab?”

  Alyssa smiled. This lab was about five times smaller than the lab she had back on earth. “It’s certainly... cozy.”

  “I know it’s a lot smaller, but I think you’ll find it has everything you will need and more.”

  “I sure hope so.” She turned to look out one of the viewports and continued, “Are you going to join me for and scrumptious freeze-dry dinner and eight ounces of water?”

  “Mmm, as appealing as that sounds, I think I’ll pass, I have a lovely ninety page report to write and send to Earth Control by 0900 tomorrow.”

  “Ouch! That sounds like loads of fun,” She turned around and looked though a microscope absently. “I guess I’ll have to have supper with Tom then.” She sighed for emphasis.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” He said, sounding slightly worried.

  “Oh, nothing.” She smiled, she loved playing with his emotions. She knew he was jealous and used it to her advantage often. “I need to go, the rest of my team is walking through the door and I need to make sure everything gets put in the right place.”

  “Wait, Alyssa, you can’t just...” She pressed a button on the side of the comm-band and the transmission ended. Actually, there was no one even near the lab, but she knew how to work Fletcher and he had responded just how she wanted.

  Section Three

  Mars Base One

  1030 Hours

  April 8th, 2167

  By now most of the teams from the Excelsior had made it to the surface. The base was now teeming with life as people unpacked equipment and moved into their respective rooms.

  There had been a problem with the liquid oxygen cooling tanks on one of the shuttles that had caused a delay in the transport of the airponics equipment.

  There was to be a large airponics lab set up on the east side of the base which would provide food for everyone.

  Alyssa sat at the desk in her lab looking over files on the base. She found a holo-map of the entire base that included the bunker underneath.

  She hoped this would never need to be used since they were in place to protect people from radiation exposure if the main reactor ever ruptured.

  She sat looking at the three-dimensional image floating over her desk. The wireframe map of the base was blue and contained a red dot for every person on the base. Each persons comm-band had a tracking device in it so that people could easily be accounted for. br />
  Alyssa looked at the map and found her lab and saw the red dot that represented herself and touched it with the tip of her finger; as soon as she did this, her name appeared above the dot and her personal profile opened to the side of the map.

  She typed Tom’s name into the search bar via the holographic keyboard in front of her and one of the red dots in the main computer room blinked and turned green.

  It then struck her that this was a very odd thing to do. She knew deep inside herself that she had feelings for Tom, but she didn’t want to admit this to herself.

  Suddenly the door to the lab slid open and the jumped up and quickly erased the search.

  “Oh hello Dr. Anderson, I’ve brought the ore treatment chemicals and another Fragmenter, I wasn’t sure if you had already brought one or not.”

  “Oh, thank you Lin, I left mine in my quarters, I’ll bring it tomorrow morning.” Lin was Alyssa’s most trusted assistant. She knew she could count on Lin for anything she needed. “Where is the rest of the team?”

  “They are on their way, they got caught up looking at the reactor core. It’s actually quite fascinating, you should have a look sometime.”

  “I might just do that.” She turned to a small work space on her left. “This will be your workstation, it should have everything you need.”

  “Thank you Doctor, I’ll set my things up now.”

  As the hours went by, more and more people filed into the lab and the more people that came, the smaller the room seemed. By 1900 hours, the entire base was filled and set up. The entire crew of the base met in the mess hall for a meal of freeze-dried rations as the captain went over the base regulations.

  Once everyone was finished eating, they were all given free time until 2200 hours. At 2200 the power systems in the base went into conservation mode which meant that all systems, except for life support and emergency lighting, were shut down.

  The excavation would begin early the next morning meaning that the project would be in full operation.

  Alyssa didn’t exactly know what she wanted to do with her free time, so she found Tom and went for a walk around the base.

  He had already been around the base once, so he gave her a tour.

  The base was set up like a star. The center housed the reactor core and then five tunnels each led to a different dome. All of these domes were protected by a meteor deflector screen that repelled any unknown descending objects.

  One dome contained the labs (including Alyssa’s lab), two contained living quarters, one contained the shuttle bay, and the last was used primarily for storage.

  After the ore was tested for purity, it was taken to the storage bay and locked in containers that would be taken to Earth by the Excelsior when it returned. The ore that failed the purity test was taken to an “extraterrestrial landfill” about a kilometer from the base. This was done using an automated transportation vehicle that had been brought by the team that had established the base.

  After the tour, Tom walked Alyssa back to her room and said goodnight.

  Once he had gone, she sat at her small desk, accessed her personal journal and wrote, or rather dictated, her thoughts on the past day. She found that expressing her true feelings to the computer made her feel better, because she knew it wouldn’t talk about her behind her back.

  Alyssa Anderson personal log, April seventh, twenty-one sixty seven.

  We arrived at Mars a few days ahead of schedule. I set up my lab and then spent some time with Tom, walking around the base. I fell guilty spending time with him when I know I still have feelings for Fletcher, but I can't help myself. I suppose there isn't much point in pursuing any kind of romantic relationship with Tom since he is seeing someone else, but I can't seem to get him off of my mind.

  She stood and walked to the small circular window, gazing out at the dark, dusty surface and continued her entry.

  I'm having a hard time dealing with out lonely this planet feels. Even though I'm surrounded by hundreds of fellow people, I can't help but feel alone. I can't imagine how anyone ever thought there was life on Mars; it's so dead out there.

  She returned to her computer and saved her entry, dressed for bed, and tried to stay calm.

  Alyssa had read a book, as a young girl, about several people that had gotten trapped in a cave while exploring; now she knew how those people must have felt, being completely helpless.

  Then she thought of Fletcher and some how, she knew she would be safe, no matter what happened.

  She laid down and fell asleep within minutes. That night she dreamt that she had become trapped in some kind of cave-in and Fletcher had saved her... or had it been Tom?

  Section Four

  Mars Base One

  0600 Hours

  April 9th, 2167

  Alyssa woke slowly. She went through her morning ritual and then walked to the mess hall for breakfast before heading to her lab.

  The mining crew had left for the drill sight over an hour ago and the first batch of ore was due in less than an hour.

  She arrived at the lab door and tapped her security card on the small black pad on the door. A green light flashed, a soft beep came from the speaker and the computer said, Welcome Dr. Anderson, simultaneously. The door slid open and she walked though it.

  “Computer, activate all laboratory systems.”

  Activating laboratory systems. There was a hum as the systems came online and the lights brightened. Laboratory systems are online.

  “Computer, discontinue all non-emergency auditory notifications.” She smiled. That will take care of you.

  A level six security clearance is required to mute auditory notifications.

  “Oh that’s very funny guys,” she slapped a folder down on her desk.

  “What’s so funny?” Alyssa turned to see Lin walking toward her, the door sliding closed behind her.

  Alyssa smiled again, “Someone on the first mission programmed the computer to require a level six security clearance to disable the audio notifications. There are going to drive me crazy."

  Lin laughed, “I know what you mean. I’ve already had five notifications since I woke up, all about completely obvious things.”

  “I guess those guys were pretty lonely out here,” She stared off in the other direction.

  “Are you okay doctor?”

  “Lin, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Alyssa?”

  “I’m sorry... Alyssa.”

  “That’s better. I’ll be fine. I was just about to set up the ore transfer system, could you help me?”

  “Of course.”

  The two women walked to a large metal sliding door and began entering commands into the computer console beside it. On the other side of the door was a tube that connected the lab to the drill site. The ore that was mined at the dig was placed into a transport pod that was sent through the tube to the lab.

  They finished their programing and move on to set up the other computer systems in the lab. It would take the drilling team several more hours to set things up on their end.

  * * *

  “The first batch should be here in just a few minutes,” Alyssa announced as she moved to her desk and laid out her tools.

  Three hours had passed and the other lab technicians had arrived.

  "Everyone suit up." All of the scientist put on one of the yellow Haz-Mat suit. Although the suits did restrict movement, they were considerably thiner and easier to move around in than some of the suits Alyssa had seen in museums.

  Promptly at 0900, the light on the top of the large door began flashing and the computer spoke, Warning: transport in progress. Please stand clear.

  At least it’s a polite computer, thought Alyssa. The walls of the lab were lined with lead to protect against the radiation and lead shielding slid over the all of the glass in the walls. Once the ore was stored in the safety trays, the room had be designed to eradicate the remaining radiation.

 
The doors slowly and loudly slid open and a large metal pod came out. A large robotic arm came from the ceiling and placed the pod on the floor. The lab crew quickly unloaded the ore samples onto their desks and placed the trays back in the pod.

  Once everyone was clear, Alyssa pressed a green button marked “Return.” The computer gave another warning and the arm lifted the pod back into the tube and it was on its way back to the drill site.

  Alyssa began running scans on the ore. The part they wanted was a grey-blue colored metal that usually formed in large groups of smaller pieces.

  She continued scanning the samples for the better part of an hour without any success. All of the ore from the first load had returned negative results, meaning it was contaminated with too many other metals and minerals to be purified. The loaded was placed in the disposal chute and taken to the landfill.

  As the day wore on, more and more loads of ore were delivered and the disposal chute was used again and again.

  This was expected of course, because the main deposit that had brought the team here was further down, but Alyssa had expected at least a small amount of pure deutronium.

  After going through the half-hour de-radiation cycle, the crew took a break for lunch, returning less than an hour later.

  They all suited up again and unloaded the next load. This time they found something.

  “Dr. Anderson! I’ve got a green light on this last sample!” A young man looked at her excitedly.

  “That’s great!” Alyssa quickly walked over to the man’s desk. His tag identified him as Stephan Crusher. She looked at his scanner readout and confirmed his finding.

  “Good good work Mr. Crusher. Make sure you place the positive samples in a labeled tray and dispose of the negative ore.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  She returned to her desk a continued working.

  * * *

  Several days had passed now since Alyssa had arrived on the surface of Mars and there had only been three more positive batches of ore since the first.