Just noticed I've picked up a few more readers. Hi all; thanks for giving this story a go and special thanks to Stripesicles222 for reviewing. Well here's the next bit and of course, this is where the story really starts.
26 Setting Out
"Perhaps we should consider removing Luis and Abigail Dias from the Earth reconnaissance trip after all" Olive spoke clearly to those who were not in the room with her.
"We have considered the best course of action and believe it is this; with April leaving for the new colony site and Luis on the MTV, the risk of either of them discovering their son is still alive is greatly diminished. Sage and Dias must be given strict orders to spend the entire trip in total communications black out for the safety of the survivors on Earth; they must only contact you in a case of extreme emergency."
"I'll see to it right away sir" Olive reassured the members of the Deep Council.
"We have also decided to send Saffron Dias and Sudhi Mandal on the colony expedition."
"May I ask why sir?" Olive Roux was surprised.
"It will be best to have the entire Dias family out of the picture while Adisa is in contact with us."
"But Saffron is only nine years old sir."
"Nevertheless, we will feel more comfortable removing the risk of any unexpected contact with Earth."
"What about the Mandal boy sir?" Olive asked.
"He is our excuse Premier; with Topolski going on the expedition, you can say these two children should go to gain knowledge and experience from their teacher and pass on what they learn to the other students when they return. If April or the Mandals don't agree, offer them additional supplies and help during this first trip; we doubt they will pass on the opportunity."
"Is there anything else before I go sir?" Olive checked.
"Remind Sage to watch what he says to Luis and Abigail; we are finding it hard to justify his constant foul ups."
"Most certainly sir."
April and Luis weren't sure at first about April taking their nine year old on a very risky journey, many kilometres across the surface of Mars. But when they found out the bare bones mission had been widened to include extra vehicles, supplies and personnel, the idea began to sound more appealing. A quick conversation with Vikram and Umbrielle Mandal to see if they agreed and it was settled; the children would go too and the task of informing them would be given to Professor Topolski.
"I don't believe this!" Sarah Winter complained "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have the chance to go on this trip too."
When Professor Topolski had revealed the details about who would be leaving on the Second Colony expedition to his small class, he had not expected this reaction from his oldest student. Although this Sarah and the other one on Earth were very different people, the seventeen year old Martian had some similarities to Sarah Spencer. The most interesting was they both helped take care of the children of April Dias.
"Perhaps you should come along" Topolski declared to everyones surprise.
"Do you mean it?" Sarah asked.
"Certainly I do; although I will have to check with Saffron's mother as she is in charge of the whole thing, but I think I can make good case. Premier Roux wants us to bring this experience to all young Martians, so each learning group can benefit from the process of problem solving on the go. As student or robotics Sarah, you can learn from and assist the remote construction team and as a young adult, you do not need to have parent on expedition like Saffron and Sudhi do. I would certainly like to have your help keeping these two little mischief makers in line as well."
"Neat" Sarah grinned.
"But where does that leave me?" Holly Duncan panicked "With Abigail leaving for Earth, I'll be the only member of this learning group left behind."
"Sorry Miss Duncan but cookie has crumbled" Professor Topolski declared by getting the saying slightly wrong.
"You'll have to join one of the other learning groups" Sarah noted as the Yellow Warbler of Disappointment pecked at the cookie crumbs surrounding Holly's feet.
"I don't want to join another group" she sighed
"I remember you didn't want to join this one either, but things change" Sarah noted "and look on the bright side; at thirteen you will probably be the oldest member of your new group."
"That's true; and I'll be the one with all the contacts at Base Two" Holly grinned.
When Florian Klein first arrived on Mars as a man in his early twenties, remote and robotic base construction had been progressing for well over a year. The first four people to land on the red planet found a site littered with non-operational machines while the more reliable robots slowly continued their work. One of the first tasks Florian took on after arriving was to set up an underground workshop in one of the already complete tunnels. His three friends worked on the surface infrastructure and lived in inflatable habitats buried under Martian regolith for protection from the high background radiation.
Every little anti-radiation precaution helped but years later, the health effects resulting from many months on the surface began to manifest. Three of the first four people on Mars had now passed away, the last being Kiyoko Watanabe fifteen years ago. She died aged fifty two after spending thirty years on the red planet and of all Florian's colleagues, her passing affecting him the most. So important was the mission of the first construction team, Florian decided he should not tell Kiyoko about the feelings he had for her until the colony was well and truly underway and populated.
As the years went by, the right time never seemed to come and when Kiyoko's health began to fail her, Florian realised he had been far too cautious for far too long. The worst day of his life came a few days before Kiyoko died, when Florian was sitting by her bed keeping her company.
"I had always hoped we would marry someday" Kiyoko said unexpectedly "but I guess it was not meant to be."
The tightness in his throat was almost too much to bear and all he could do was to take her hand and smile reassuringly through his tears.
One month later, April and Luis arrived on Mars still mourning the loss of their baby and Florian felt an instant connection with the young couple. Whenever Luis was away on the MTV, Florian was always there to listen to April's laments and her daughters even called him Papa Klein when they were small. Now he had to get used to the idea of his entire Martian family leaving the colony for an extended period and he was going to miss them all terribly.
The underground sections of the Mars base were designed to make the inhabitants feel well and truly at home with natural lighting, varying temperatures and open access to most of the plant growing zones, but there were still times when a few people would have to leave the comfort and safety of the base and venture up to the cold unforgiving surface. The solar energy and heat transfer systems needed regular maintenance and the supplies from Earth would have to be retrieved. Many of the people who would undertake these tasks did so because they were willing to do their part, but there were several people who liked to spend as much time on the surface as they could get. Two such people were Kwame Moloi and Jaden Walker and this was why they had volunteered to blaze a trail to Site 2 at Biblis Tholus.
"Now don't rush it lads; you'll have a three week head start on the rest of us, so don't push your equipment to breaking point."
"You know you can count on us April" Kwame smiled.
"And if you have a major breakdown, don't spend too much time outside on repairs" Florian Klein added "Just push the vehicle to the side and carry on with one of the others. We can always retrieve it later."
"Don't worry Doctor Klein; I promise we'll play it safe" Jaden Walker reassured Florian.
The quality of radiation protection offered by the Mars surface pressure suits had improved greatly over the decades since Florian's day, but the safest place to spend extended periods of surface time was always inside one of the Rovers. Kwame and Jaden were preparing to leave with four of these rolling habitats with the express intention of clearing a path for those who would follow. The first machine in line driven by Kwame, would clear away rocks and boulders with a combination of a scoop jokingly called the Snow Plough, a rotating barrel to throw smaller rocks aside and a hydraulic claw for larger obstacles.
Following behind in the second vehicle, Jaden would use a selection of grinding wheels and drums to round off any sharp protrusions. The path between bases would see a lot of traffic in the years to come so avoiding wheel damage was a high priority. The last two vehicles would follow under computer control and all four were packed to capacity with supplies and equipment for the second base site.
"We'll see you in a few weeks" April told them as she and Florian each closed an air lock door.
A loud clunk followed by a hiss indicated both rovers had detached and looking through the window, April watched them proceed out of the dome followed by their automated companions.
"After years of fighting bureaucracy and red tape, it's hard to believe we're finally getting started" April grinned.
"Red tape or red planet tape?" Florian pondered.
"Don't you dare try and tell me you think that's funny" April huffed.
"I wouldn't dream of it" the old man replied.
Original plans had this story well balanced between Mars and Earth but it seems most of the action is on the old home planet. I hope to be finished early April (the month, not the character) so I can get started on the next one but I suppose it depends on work.
See you soon, Marty.