Martian Republic: The Fateful Secret

Chapter 1: Suspicion

Location: Bosporus Planum Settlement, Martian Republic

Timestamp: 0730, +2 Standard Martian Time

7th February 2115

The view pained her. Outside the window lay the remains of the largest deuterium processing plant on Mars. It brought a feeling of disappointment, of worry for a bleak future. The blocky concrete and glass structures that once housed the intricate machines that mined and processed deuterium were now cracked; some had collapsed and were defaced by sand from Martian sandstorms. They had called it a glitch in the software system, the undoing of a software engineer. However, Amy Averin knew better. She had worked on the software herself, and knew there was nothing wrong with it. It was ... sabotage.

Yes, sabotage. Sabotage by terrestrial governments, many of which were becoming worried about the threat of the newly formed Martian Republic, a federation formed from the unification of all settlements on Mars. Just fifteen years after its formation, it had already begun to challenge terrestrial superpowers technologically. The lower Delta-V required per launch and its more strategic location allowed Mars to be able to be a true adversary in the age of colonisation and exploration of the Sol System.

"Good morning. Would you like me to give you your daily updates?"

"Yes, Alicka," answered Amy, yawning.

The disc on the table next to her bed lit up and the AI began speaking in a feminine, slightly sonorous voice.

"For work, today is the deadline to submit the paperwork dealing with the purchase of the new comm arrays. You will be attending a meeting later at 3 p.m. to discuss the bug fixes for the new electricity-efficiency software deployed in Dome 4. Don't forget that the new episode for your favourite serial, The Hidden, aired last night and I've already downloaded it to be watched later when you get back from work."

"Thanks, Alicka."

"You're welcome."

Amy stepped into the bathroom and sealed herself in the shower cocoon. She pushed a button on the wall and soapy water gushed out from an orifice in the ceiling. She didn't know if it was just her imagination, or if it was truly real, but the water's temperature began to decrease gradually, jerking her out of sleep mode.

"Hey!" she shouted in alarm, racking up the dial on the temperature control gauge.

However, nothing worked. According to the readout on the screen of the dial, the temperature of the water was beginning to drop below 10 degrees Celcius. As if it couldn't get worse, the water cut out completely.

***

"That's odd," said Kelly, pointing to the hologram projected above the console.

Kelly was on assistance-duty, a requirement for Martians within the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Once a month, they had to help or at least observe the crucial tasks done to keep the settlement running at assigned stations.

On the hologram, the map of the spacecraft en route to Mars from Earth and the asteroid belt mining settlements began to glitch erratically.

"Either there's too much dust on the comm arrays up there or the holocomputer's damaged," said Clovis. "I've been manning these communication arrays for thirty years and this has never happened before."

He ran his fingers through his graying hair.

"Only one way to find out. Someone's got to get up there and check if the comm arrays are working."