mars disaster: prologue thru chpt 2

Prologue

March 5, 2236
3 months into the Mars mission. Half the team has been lost. We survivors have taken refuge in a massive cave system. We sent out patrol groups to make sure They didn’t dwell here. A few groups haven’t returned. I fear for their safety. Some of us have taken to building defenses. There’s a chance we might not make it, so I’m leaving this to warn those who come after. This will serve as a record of our mission as well, so others wont repeat our mistakes.

Chapter 1
Day 1: Jan. 4, 2236
For weeks we waited for arrival. Our tolerances for each other were stretched to their limits. Space can do that to large groups. But, we finally got here. Stepping out of the ship, something just seemed … off. Couldn’t quite place it. About 100 of us are staying aboard our ship, the USS Prophet, to monitor her systems. The rest are setting up the lab and terraforming systems. More to do tomorrow.
***END LOG***

As I left my bunk, I ran into another crewmember, Steve. Not exactly the sharpest knife on the mission, but smart enough to score a 640 on the I.Q. test

“Why do you always write in that journal thing?” he asked.

“This kind of mission is what I live for. I want to remember it.”

“Isn’t that what holo-recorders are for?”

“We’re members of the largest mission in history. I want to preserve every aspect of my experience, not just pictures.”

“Still just seems like a waste of time to me,” he said, waving his hand as if to dismiss my opinion.

Before I could reply, another crewman and friend, Dave, joined us. Dave was the practical joker on this mission and you could always trust him to make you laugh at your saddest moments. Steve and I braced ourselves for another joke, and sure enough it came.

“Hey guys, did you hear about the psychic dwarf who escaped from jail? The newspapers read small medium at large.”

Steve and I simultaneously groaned. Not all his jokes were funny.

Together we walked to the cliff overlooking the camp.

“Wow,” I said awestruck, “I can’t believe it’s finally happening.”

“I can’t believe they managed to fit 300 people in one starship,” said Dave.

Looking out over the camp at all the scientists, soldiers, and civilians busily carrying out experiments, collecting samples, and checking on the terraforming equipment, one had to marvel at the ingenuity of the human race. We almost had too much ingenuity. Which brings me to why we were here. We had used up most of Earth’s natural resources and the combined world government decided to set up a permanent mining colony on Mars. We were the team chosen to collect data and make Mars habitable for the others that would live here. For centuries mankind had thought about making Mars habitable, but now it was almost a necessity.

“Come on guys. Let’s get back to camp,” Steve said.

As I was about to turn back, I noticed something in the distance. I lowered my zoom goggles and saw a grayish-white shape dart towards the ground then suddenly stop in mid-air. I turned around to call Dave and Steve over. When they came, however, the thing was gone.

“What are we looking at?” asked Steve.

“There was something there a second ago,” I said.

“I think you should lay off the whiskey,” Dave said jokingly, knowing I hadn’t tasted a drop of liquor since college.

“Let’s go guys,” Steve said sounding slightly annoyed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We got back to camp just as one of the younger members of the mission came looking for us.

“Sirs,” he said, panicked, “we found something you might want to see.”

When we got to the spot the young crewman was leading us to, we noticed a small group of people crowded around something on the ground. As we pushed through and saw it, all three of us stood in wonder at a small metallic tablet lying there. The tablet had a strange archaic writing on it that was definitely not from any known civilization.

“Get Allen,” I said to Dave, “we need to show this to him.”

As Dave rushed off I took one last look at the tablet and made a sketch of it in my electronic journal.

Allen, the history buff on the mission, was also known for his translating skills. Because of his love of ancient cultures, he had studied to become a linguist but realized historian was more to his liking. He got a job as a museum curator before being drafted for this mission. He always tells us that learning from the past was the best way to decide on the future. In fact, he and his personality often clashed with Steve, who believed strongly in astrology.

Looking up from my journal, I spotted Allen and Dave running towards us. I stood up and narrowly avoided getting run over by Allen, who was so excited he hardly noticed me. As he looked down, I could tell that he was deep in thought.

“Help me get this to my bunk,” he said, “I’ll look at it there.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We got into Allen’s bunk and sealed the airlock. Allen hardly waited for the seal before taking off his helmet.

“Wow,” He said, amazed, “Do you know what this is.”

“Some kind of alien road map?” joked Dave

“No,” said Allen, exasperated, “This is conclusive proof of alien life.”

“Well, it’s not quite conclusive proof of aliens but it’s pretty close,” I said.

“This is really quite amazing. Look at the edges,” he pointed to several jagged bumps along two of the edges. “These are too smooth to have been worn away naturally.”

“So what are they for?”

“My guess, they fit into something”

“Can you translate it?” Steve asked.

“I don’t know. I've never seen anything like this. But I do love a challenge. Come back at sun-up.”

Chapter 2

Day 2: Jan. 5, 2236
A few people came to me last night and described that thing I saw. I wonder what it is. Got my holo-recorder in case it shows up again. Before we check on the equipment, Dave and me are going to Allen’s bunk to see what he translated so far.
***END LOG***

As we went through the airlock, we noticed stacks of book, a desk cluttered with notes and scribblings, and the tablet under a large digital magnifier.

“Looks like a hurricane went through here,” said Dave.

I couldn’t help but chuckle knowing that the climate control technology had made such disasters a thing of the past. ‘But it could still happen on Mars,’ I thought to myself.
We found Allen asleep at the desk behind a large pile of books.

“He must have pulled an all-nighter,” I said.

“I’ll wake him up,” said Dave, "Oh-no, the museum is on fire!"

Allen immediately jumped up and, after realizing where he was, let out a short string of curses and a few kicks to Dave’s shin, then calmed down enough to talk quietly.

“You won’t believe this,” he said to me, excited.
He cleared off a portion of the desk and brought out the tablet.

“From what I’ve managed to translate, it seem like a set of directions to something.”

“So it is an alien road map!” Dave remarked. Allen ignored him.

“This next part I discovered purely by accident,” continued Allen.

He took a hammer out of his tool belt and gave the tablet a single, hard knock. An almost musical note filled the room. It lasted maybe ten seconds before fading away.

“Cool,” said Dave, “do that again.”

“Why, when there’s something even cooler.”

He got a flashlight off of a shelf and used a book to hold the tablet up at an angle.

“After I discovered the noise, I started wondering what other strange properties this thing had. Watch,” he said.

He shined the light on the underside of the tablet. The light passed through and was split into twenty different colors. The colors of the rainbow were there, but there were also many colors that words can’t even describe accurately. When Allen turned the light off, the tablet glowed for a few seconds before returning to its normal dull gray.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Allen said.

Before I could respond, the communicator around my wrist began beeping. I noticed it was a message from Prophet, which was still in orbit. The message was coded urgent.

“Ground Crew Commander, this is Prophet Observatory. Do you read?”

Dave grimaced. He had always wanted the commander position. We went through a rough spot in our friendship when I got it instead.

“This is Ground Crew Commander, I read you. What is it?”

“We have detected a massive sandstorm headed your way. Suggest you shield the equipment and take cover.”

“Copy that.”

“Prophet out.”

“Okay you guys you heard ‘em. Let’s go warn the others.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As we left Allen’s bunk, we realized the wind had picked up significantly. I also noticed a dark cloud on the horizon. We didn’t really need to warn anyone. They were already rolling out the energy field generators to shield the camp. We oversaw the process while the sandstorm loomed in the distance. Eventually we got the shields up just before the storm hit. None of us wanted to see if the shields would hold, so we all ran back to our bunks as fast as we could and just waited it out.