Rogue Planet by John Andrew Karr

Author:John Andrew Karr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2019-09-13T10:46:39+00:00

Chapter 11

PS-13 hovered over the expanded section of Mariner Valley. Somewhere in the geologic debris that plummeted for miles before striking older debris along the canyon walls, lay the remains of Alpha Base. As if to add insult, more geologic material poured down upon the untold tons of transferred material. PS-13, ruddy and dusted and sometimes awash with sunlight, was poised for a somber mission.

The landing bay door slid open, revealing the figures of Devans and Hamilton, spatz rifles in hand. They leaped from the doorway, jet packs trailing blue streams once again. Half flight, half controlled fall, they plummeted five miles.

With a mile to go to the bottom, they pulled into a hover. Across was a half mountain of Martian debris clinging to the side of the canyon. Dust was still rising before dispersal by the wind. Millions of tons of ancient geologic material had crumbled and revealed, in its midst, tons of ancient glacier ice.

All of it had constituted part of the Thaumasia shelf only hours earlier. Somewhere inside lay the remains of Alpha Base and its manager. Heat signature scans revealed no trace of Sarai among the rubble, cooling lava, and refreezing water.

They atomized sections of rubble, took readings and visually searched.

Above, boulders and landslide came crashing down the canyon walls. Lava and water spouted in downward arcs falling and cooling as they descended. Globs of lava, hardened on the outside, smashed open against the steep sides to reveal glowing innards. Water closest to the lava hissed off as steam, soon forming tiny snowflakes.

Devans and Hamilton were forced to dodge several times.

Instruments detected the titanium blade of the bulldozer. It was near the edge of a fresh mountain of rubble, but buried within.

PS-13 hovered high above.

Devans turned toward the ship, knowing they were watching close enough to see his expressions.

“Sorry Ry,” Shannon said. “Sweeps are showing nothing else recognizable.”

With debris, lava and water still coming down, and the canyon walls themselves shaking, Devans and Hamilton carefully cleared the area. They located the blade, half encased in lava rock. The fork connectors protruding on the back had been reduced to layered blobs of steel.

“She’s gotta be close,” Devans said, as he atomized material in slow sweeps.

“There’s not enough time, Ry.”

“Head back. I’ll keep looking.”

“Not happening. We both go.”

“We don’t leave the fallen, Ham. Not if at all possible.”

“It’s not possible right now. The whole shelf could come down on our heads any second. We have to go.”

Snowflakes drifted down in surreal juxtaposition with the lava and water falls. Huge chunks of water ice separated and crashed to their fates.

He held out his gloved hand. The flakes were tiny, and came like wisps from different angles.

“Nobody counted on any of this,” Devans said. “Not this fast. Not this much.”

“So many unknowns in planet building. Way beyond our predictive models.”

“But instead of using these conditions for peace, we are forced to prep for war.”

The snow collected on top of their helmets in a thin layer.

“We’ll come back with a marker,” Alicia said.

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