“Veronica Trousseau,” said Charlie softly, peering at the name tag on the other body’s suit. It was horrifying that it was the only way that they could know. “I guess Suárez must have been trying to help her escape.”

  “Eduardo,” Verena whispered. “Eduardo.”

  9

  Fracture

  Sol 309, Pavonis Chasma, A-site – J Wojcik

  By a miracle the dome of Tharsis Eden One had survived the impact of the Aldrin, which cratered the mountain slope immediately above it. This was the fact that everyone clung to in the sols immediately after. Two had died, many were in shock or nursing minor injuries, and their only method of ascent to orbit and interplanetary travel had been knocked out of orbit by meteoroids and crushed against the slopes of Pavonis. The Armstrong was almost a year away from its next supply fly-by and there was no way it could deliver, unless it was re-programmed to set up a new elevator head. That would leave the third team without any means of transport unless another massive construction project was initiated, and that could take years. All these facts weighed heavily on their minds. Only the survival of the dome, their new home, prevented despair.

  That Eduardo Suárez, the leader of the Seconders, had died trying to save the life of Firster Veronica Trousseau was not lost upon anyone. On the sol after the tragedy, they buried them side by side, next to the other seven graves. This time there was one group of mourners standing in a circle around the graves, not two teams. Verena was distraught. Jan and Charlie had almost run her over when they arrived, through the dust cloud, at the edge of the dome. She had wept over Suárez as if she had lost her own father. She was only persuaded to leave his body after Cathal arrived and he almost had to carry her away.

  Normally Bulman was the same grouch in the face of disaster or routine. But Jan noticed that even he seemed moved, especially when the bearers gently slid Veronica’s body from its bag into the cold Martian grave, under the ninth cross in the row.

  He had delegated Voight to deal with Mission Control on Earth, so that he could manage the clear up operations. Few liked Bulman, but there was respect. That respect was renewed: his leadership was firm, decisive and efficient. He had divided the colonists into work groups: some cleared rock and wreckage with the droids, some scoured the dome for damage and others followed them making repairs. Those in shock were taken aside and given space and support to recover. Those who were dazed but walking, were kept from dwelling on the destruction by a steady flow of clear orders.

  Eleven air cushions had been ripped by thrown rocks and the flaming remains from the Aldrin. The southern airlock tunnel had been crushed, presumably as Eduardo was trying to lead Veronica to safety. Doctor Philippou found that Veronica’s ankle had been broken and suggested that was the reason why she needed Eduardo’s help. Many of the workshops and dormitories had been crushed, but they were all replaceable. The remaining 3D printers were all churning out replacement tools and parts. About two hectares of crops had been destroyed which sounded worse than it was: they could be cleared and re-sown under the protection of the dome. Most fields were untouched, and the dome had never lost pressure because the emergency inflatables had been so fast and effective. They were going to survive.

  This was the message that Voight repeated to Earth: two dead, the Aldrin was down, the dome was damaged, but the colony would survive. It was a smart move of Bulman to dedicate Voight to this task. Mission Control had erupted with questions and well-meaning yet mostly unachievable advice. Voight had been given clear instructions to stall Mission Control, block the press and prioritise contact with all colonists’ families. Jan could imagine his mother going crazy with worry. Had his father still been alive he would have put a steadying arm around her and counselled patience. Jan would message her of course, but he knew that Voight had already messaged her directly and reassured her that her son was alive, healthy and helping with the clear up. Jan didn’t like Voight much more than Bulman, but he thanked him and shook his hand with sincerity when Voight told him of their exchanged messages.

  That evening Jan walked out to the graves to say a prayer for lost friends. When he arrived, he found Verena sitting next to Eduardo’s grave. Her legs were crossed, and she was looking up at the stars. He walked around in front of her slowly, so as not to startle her. She saw Jan and attempted half a smile.

  “You looked up to him, didn’t you,” Jan nodded at Eduardo’s grave.

  “Ja,” she said in a small voice, sounding like a lost child. “Cathal said it was as if I had lost one of my parents. He said I seemed to look to Eduardo as if he were my father.”

  “I didn’t know him as well as you, but he seemed like a good man. I respected him, I think most of the Firsters did, so I imagine that many of the Seconders looked up to him like you did… almost like you did.”

  “He was a good man,” Verena nodded, repeating Jan’s words.

  “I looked up to my dad. It hit me hard when I lost him. I think I volunteered to come to Mars not long after: I was feeling as if I was losing my anchors to Earth.”

  “After I said goodbye to my Papa and Mutti I didn’t want to have to say goodbye to anyone else. Now I have, and I don’t know what I’m doing here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The dome is built; it even survived the Aldrin falling on it. I’m an architect, so what do I do now? What use am I to anyone?”

  “As the colony grows, we’ll need more domes, more places to live and work and farm.”

  “Do you really think we’ll continue here after what happened? And even if we do, how soon are we going to outgrow the Tharsis dome?”

  “We’ll survive. People are stubborn. It’ll take more than meteor showers and star ships falling out of the sky to make us give up.”

  “After all,” Verena gave a wry smile, “’this is Mars’, right?”

  “Yes, this is Mars. And we will need you, you’ll see.”

  Sol 310, Pavonis Chasma, A-site – V Meier

  “How far down does this go?” Verena asked Markus and Johanna, pointing at the crack that ran for over fifty metres along the southern rim of the chasm wall, right next to the dome’s seal. It was only now that the work groups had cleared the last of the debris away that they had found it. Markus squatted by the crack, frowning and taking vids. Johanna stood and put her hands on her hips.

  “We’ll have to take core samples all along the rim,” she said, “see what we find.”

  “How soon can we organise that?” asked Verena.

  “I’ll get onto it as soon as I can borrow one of Jan’s mining droids.”

  “Thanks. Can it be stabilised Markus?”

  “Of course,” he answered, though Verena knew him well enough to tell that he was not as certain as his answer.

  “More resin-compound?”

  “We will start mixing some today, in preparation.”

  “Thank you. I’m sure we will need it, even if it’s largely cosmetic.” Verena was worried but didn’t want to show it any more than Markus.

  Jan was obliging and lent all three droids to Johanna, leaving him to work the ice seam alone with his walker. She wasted no time in taking core samples all the way around the edge of the dome. She found Verena in her office and made no attempt to hide how worried she was.

  “The fractures run deep, all along the rim. I don’t know how deep because the drills won’t go that far. At least ten metres, but likely a lot further. I’m not a structural engineer but it doesn’t sound good.”

  “I’m not either and I know for sure it is not good.” Verena called for Santiago Ferreira to join them. Santiago was not given to drama, but his mouth dropped when Johanna repeated her findings to him.

  “Can we do anything?” Verena asked. Santiago took a while to reply, scratching his head and looking at the floor for a reassuring answer. In the end he gave the most positive answer he could think of.

  “I have heard of engineers using steel screw piles to hold split rock, a bit like putting stitches in it.”

  “Does it work?”

  “It depends on how badly fractured the rock is.”

  “Johanna, please would you send all your core sample files to Santiago, so he can make a proper analysis?”

  “Sure, right away.”

  “When do you think you’ll have an answer, Santiago?”

  “I should have some idea by tomorrow morning.”

  Sol 311, Pavonis Chasma, A-site – V Meier

  Bulman’s office wasn’t big enough for all of them, so they stood on the rock ledge outside. On one side Verena could see the dome and the fields stretching out beneath. On the other was the chasm wall. For all she knew the rock behind that wall was riddled with fault lines. It suddenly felt a precarious place to be standing.

  “Will it fall apart?” asked Bulman, as direct as ever. Normally Verena would have expected his question to be delivered like an army Captain, demanding a status report, but she thought she detected something else: concern? Fear?

  “Not immediately,” said Santiago, aware that he had become centre of attention in this highly charged meeting. “I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised that dropping an inter-planetary star-ship on Pavonis would cause fractures in the rock. But, unless another one falls on it, I wouldn’t expect to see any rapid deterioration.”

  “Will it deteriorate?”

  “In time, yes. We’re lucky we don’t have any tectonic movement on Mars, but the dome will exert a steady pressure through the anchorages, and every time there’s a storm that pressure will increase.”

  “How long do we have?” Again, Verena detected a hint of worry in his question, most unlike Bulman. Looking down she imagined she might see a slight tremor in his gloved hand.

  “I don’t know,” said Santiago, honestly. “There are too many variables. We could be fine for years or we could find the dome edge slipping in a few sols. I just don’t know.”

  “Can we fix it?” asked Bulman.

  “We can slow down further damage.”

  “Is that a yes or a no?”

  “We can put steel screw piles in, like stitches. They may help slow down further movement. And we can pump it with resin-compound which might make it harder for the existing cracks to spread.”

  “Might?”

  “There is an alternative,” Verena offered.

  “Yes?” Bulman looked sceptical already.

  “Site B.”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “We put months into this site. And years of planning. We’re where we need to be, next to ice, ore and the elevator site…”

  “… Which is shattered across the slopes of Pavonis,” Verena snapped back.

  “… Which Mission Control is working night and day to plan a repair for,” answered Bulman staring her down.

  “We can’t rely on that,” Verena argued. “And we can’t rely on temporary repairs. We should do them anyway: give ourselves as much time as we can. But we need to plan a new dome and get it up as soon as possible. We cannot risk this one coming apart around us.”

  “You’re trying to justify your existence, Meier!”

  “I’m trying to ensure yours!”

  “We can’t risk moving people and resources away from our main place of safety.”

  “But it isn’t safe!”

  “WE’RE NOT GOING!”

  “I AM!”

  “GOOD! GO!”

  Verena stopped herself from further outburst. Shouting at the deaf wasn’t going to help. She just glared at Bulman who turned his back on her and faced Markus.

  “Can we fix it, Mr Eckenweber?” Bulman asked. That’s right, she thought, keep asking until you get the answer you want to hear. At least Markus had the decency to look uncomfortable.

  “I think we can,” Markus answered. He shot Verena a glance that suggested he had his doubts.

  “Good,” continued Bulman. “What do you need?”

  Verena had nothing further to contribute to the meeting. The chair had turned his back on her and was ignoring her advice. She clenched her fists and stalked down the rocky ramp. Verena didn’t know where she was going, but she knew she couldn’t stay there and listen to a bunch of guys who couldn’t see past the end of their own dicks.

  She found herself marching along a narrow path between crop fields, towards the centre of the dome. The sun shone through the swirls of solar cells scattering the light and dappling the tilled soil around her. Was she over-reacting? Was she trying to justify her existence? Suddenly Verena felt exhausted, drained of anger and energy. Her knees buckled and she crumpled on the path.

  “Frau Meier?” asked Dr Figueredo, running over. “Are you unwell?”

  She looked up at him, wondering what to say. “I… I am tired.”

  “Perhaps you are in delayed shock from what happened. Let me call for help.”

  “No. Please, just let me sit here a while. I will be okay.”

  “I heard there was a meeting about the damage done to the dome. Aren’t you supposed to be there?”

  “I don’t know what I am supposed to be any more.”

  Antonio frowned, his face a picture of concern. “That doesn’t sound like you.” He sat down next to Verena. “It’s going to be hard for us all, but as long as the crops survive, then so will we. And they will survive, because of the work that you and your team have done to achieve this.” He moved his hand slowly in an arc, indicating the dome above.

  “I’m not sure how long this will last,” she answered quietly.

  Antonio frowned again. “The damage is worse than it looks?” he asked, shrewdly.

  Verena nodded.

  “Then we need you to build us a new dome,” he said, as if he were stating the obvious.

  She looked at him, trying to focus her thoughts.

  “Bulman is opposing you, isn’t he,” Antonio was making another statement. “So, you will have to get on and do your job anyway. You must build us another dome, because the alternative is for the crops to die.” He did not need to add that they would too. Verena sensed that the death of the crops would be the end of all life as he knew it anyway.

  “But I can’t get Bulman to agree.”

  “Then disobey him,” Antonio looked her in the eye. He seemed fully aware that he was inciting a rebellion.

  “I can’t build a new dome on my own.”

  “You have more support than you realise. If you lead, then many will follow.”

  Sol 311, Tharsis Eden One – Captain H. Bulman

  Hal Bulman was on his own. The number of people he could share the burden of project David with was dwindling. He burned with anger at the eighth and ninth deaths. Nine! He tried not to think back to that disaster in the Arctic circle and the frozen cadaver he had dragged halfway across its wastelands. He studied his clenched and shaking fists and put them under the table so Voight wouldn’t see. Somehow Tharsis Eden One must stay standing. Somehow, they had to rebuild the elevator. It was a vicious irony that they would need the elevator cable boosters so soon.

  “Do we have anything we can use as an anchor for the elevator cable, Voight?”

  Ben Voight paused, knowing that Bulman did not want to hear the words ‘no’ or ‘can’t’. “We could divert one of the observation satellites to act as a temporary anchor and re-attach a guideline. But we’ll need to wait for the Armstrong to return before we can use the elevator, nothing else will have enough mass.”

  “Then the dome will have to last until the Armstrong returns,” stated Bulman, as if saying it would make it so.

  “Eckenweber, Ferreira and Einarsdottir are working on it.”

  “Einarsdottir,” nodded Bulman, “good.” I trust her to give sound advice. And she’s a Firster.”

  Sol 311, Pavonis Chasma, A-site – V. Meier

  “But that’s mutiny!” cried Cathal.

  “It’s survival,” argued Verena. “Bulman doesn’t want to hear about the Tithonium site, but all the materials we need to rebuild are there, I’ve seen them with my own eyes.”

  “It’ll split the colony and that’ll be suicide!”

  “It’ll be suicide to stay here and wait for the Tharsis dome to collapse.”

  “I thought we were working to repair it?”

  “There is a difference between repair and temporary patches, Cathal. All they’re doing is patching it and Santiago knows damned well that it won’t last. We have to build another dome as soon as we can.”

  “You know you won’t get everyone to go to Tithonium. You’ll be lucky to get half.”

  “The ‘Seconders’ you mean,” Verena spat the name.

  “Not even all of the second team. I think Markus is committed to staying and making repairs.”

  “Patches!”

  “Whatever! He won’t come, and I don’t even know if I will.”

  “What? Are you serious?”

  “I keep saying, splitting us up is suicide. Mars is out to kill the rest of us and, if we don’t work together, it will.”

  “You’d leave me and your unborn son?” Verena was horrified.

  “No, you’d be leaving me and taking him with you.”

  “Sheiβe, Cathal, do you have any idea what will happen when this dome fails? And it WILL fail. First the crops all suffocate, freeze, and die. Then, one by one and weakest ones first, we starve to death. And who do you think will be the weakest one in a few months from now?”

  “… our son.”

  “Ja, our son.”

  They sat on opposite side of their bed and silence filled it. Eventually Cathal reached out a hand behind him to find Verena’s. “Let me try and reason with Bulman.”

  “Good luck with that!”

  Sol 311, Pavonis Chasma, A-site – J Wojcik

  Verena found Jan at the airlock to the mine, as he was emerging. The question she asked floored him.

 

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