Unification

Iteration 2: Greeting Ares

Marathon hung in the martian sky like a firefly suspended in a breeze. Down on the surface of Mars, the landscape was eerily quiet, save for the sounds of hollow gusts and ticking grains of sand which rained down upon the rock-strewn terrain that is Ares Vallis. Running approximately 1,700 kilometers, the broad channel originates from the vast sunken region in the northern hemisphere known as Iani Chaos and descends southward into a delta-like region where it merges with Chryse Planitia. Discovered in the 1970s by the Viking orbiters, the area had long been of interest to astronomers as a possible place to find signs of life, or at the very least, their remains, due to its uncanny resemblance to a lakebed or flood region, and though it would be explored by the Pathfinder rover in 1996, it would not be until Jhana, in 2031, that the region would be revisited.

As Marathon made its way across the Martian sky, its crew of three sat eagerly in their seats as they prepared to fly across their objective: Ares Prospect-1. The sun, though significantly smaller, began to set on the martian horizon, leaving behind a haunted glow of white and blue. Marathon almost twinkled like a star, as the distant sun reflected its light off of its ivory hull, yet despite all of this activity, everything remained silent.

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"Commander, we are approaching Ares Prospect now," Ani reported. Everyone had been on an edge of anxiety and excitement as they made their way on their orbit. The trio had set every possible camera in the direction of the base and surrounding areas in an attempt to gather as much information as they could, in order to assess the significance of the potential damage below. A few moments later, the first images were received. The three primary habitat structures, or biomes, as their residents have come to call them, formed a triangular pattern on the Martian surface. There was one for each function needed by the long-term staff: housing, research, and recreation. Around the base, and scattered throughout between it and Plato's Cave. Their white surfaces gave the illusion that they were giant eggs partially buried beneath the ruddy surface, left behind by some long-gone gargantuan mother.

Several rovers and vehicles could be seen parked at various biomes, though a few appeared to be missing from the inventory as the crew counted them out. The biomes themselves appeared mostly intact, though there was no sure way to tell from their distance.

"It appears that the main communications disc is still together," David reported, "but that doesn't tell us jack-shit about what could be wrong with it. For all we know, it could be holding on by a thin wire and the smallest of nudges could bring the whole thing down." He leaned back from his console and placed his hands behind his head. "Honestly, there's only so much we can assume without going down there and looking for ourselves."

"Agreed, but let's not jump to that option just yet. We need to be sure about the condition and state of the base. The environment could be compromised in other ways as well." Jonas' tone had shifted once the first images had returned. A sense of duty or purpose in the sudden reality of their mission washed over everyone, but when it came to Jonas, it was the most obvious.

"Commander, I've managed to gain limited access to the base's systems. While I cannot yet determine the status of their crew, I can tell you that most of the biomes are intact with acceptable environmental levels." Ani reported through the ship's internal speakers. "I can also confirm that three out of five generators are functioning within normal parameters, though most of the base is under emergency power status."

"Is there any way you can gain access to their logs and see what might have happened?" Jonas asked in a stern, controlled voice.

"I have been attempting to do so, even as far as gaining contact with the base's computer, but there seems to be some sort of firewall protecting the core systems. The only reason I was able to find what I did was by hitchhiking on to the Argus' signal to and from the base. For whatever reason, Ares Prospect is in a state of encrypted lockdown."