1 - the color of mud
The cloudless sky was the color of mud - always the color of mud. And though it was clear enough that day, the small disk of the sun seemed shrouded in haze.
The barren ground gave no contrast, instead dulling the senses even further with the aesthetic of baked clay.
There was the soft whur of an electric motor and the crunch of loose gravel under ATV tires. The rhythmic beat of her footsteps never quite matched the sound of her breath within the suit.
It all came together to sound like nothing. Like a deafening silence.
Allison was again aware that her eyes avoided the rover.
That has to be normal. But is it healthy? And if I look? Looking can't be healthy either…
As she marched slowly in the direction of base, she glanced casually toward the rover. Her eyes stayed low. They jumped from one large ATV tire to the other, avoiding the body of the vehicle. From there, her eyes moved to the first trailer, then the second. Each was loaded with components for solar arrays harvested from the site.
"COME ON, ALLIE!"
She chastised herself audibly before forcing her gaze onto Santos in his red suit, slumped among the cargo atop the rover. The sky reflected off the suit's clear plastic visor, but when she closed her eyes, she still saw the blank look on his swollen face.
She blanched. It's not okay. None of this is okay.
Tears welled in her eyes, but before they could overtake her, she willed herself back to composure. It was a long walk back to base. She had plenty of oxygen, but none to waste.
As Allison reached the top of a hardened martian dune, Landing Base Epsilon came into view on the plane below.
A cluster of five steel domes rose from the barren soil. They were connected by simple steel corridors to create a complex that framed two sides of a large landing pad.
Allison stopped at the top of the dune while the rover continued its return to base. She pressed a button on the forearm of her suit to open a comm channel before realizing she had no idea what to say.
"There's been an accident."
She began to descend the dune, a few steps behind the rover. She breathed deeply. She just had to say it.
"Santos is dead."
The reply through her ear piece was immediate. It was Toby. Deep within his level and controlled voice, Allison heard fear.
"Oh God. Allison, are you okay? What happened out there?"
"I'm ok. I'm coming in."
She shook her head as she reached the bottom of the dune.
None of this is ok.
As she approached the base, Allison walked alongside the landing pad. The pad was a black square, thirty meters on each side.
A month ago, it had been ready to support the offloading of goods and passengers from Pathfinder III. Now it was slowly being overrun by martian sand - another reminder of all that had gone horribly, horribly wrong.
