Facing the Breach

Facing the Breach

a novel by Cy Bishop

Copyright 2014 Cy Bishop

Smashwords Edition

With special thanks to:

God, my patient family, Google,

and Jessica Dodson for the fantastic cover

Chapter 1

Li Kichida looked up from the array of geological samples in front of her, her eyes resting on the sterile metal wall of the laboratory. Beyond that wall stood a towering dome, coated with tints and polymers to protect from radiation, and beyond the dome sprawled miles of red dust, craters, and cliffs. She smiled. Some days she could hardly believe that she actually stood on Mars.

The equipment in front of her chimed, drawing her attention back to the samples. Red text on the display told her that her attempts to find a new soil formation had failed. For the umpteenth time. And each time, she couldn’t help feeling like she’d personally let Earth down.

That was the whole reason she stood on Mars today. The tongue-in-cheek bumper stickers about strip-mining Earth first turned out to be prophetic. Best estimates put Earth as uninhabitable within just three or four decades. Colonizing Mars was humanity’s best chance for survival. But with Earth’s nutrients depleted, starvation would ravage the population unless they could get staple crops started on the red planet. Early estimates had been optimistic, but further study uncovered significant problems, the main one being the lack of certain nutrients crucial for a nutritionally balanced mix of fruits, vegetables, and grains. One politician joked that they could sustain everyone on asparagus with the current soil makeup on Mars. He’d quietly resigned from office less than a month later.

Hey.

The voice startled her. She glanced up at the woman working in the station across from hers.

Michelle Lamoureaux raised her eyebrows and glanced down at Li’s equipment.

Li blushed. She’d been spacing out again. Sorry, she mumbled, quickly cleaning up her failed test. Plexiglas beakers clacked against each other and emitted acrid smells as she gathered them to dispose the waste. She needed to grab some more samples and figure out a new approach.

Didn’t you know, M? Michael Karney said from his station beside Michelle’s. Li’s solving all our problems inside her head when she does that. You shouldn’t disrupt the process.

Li kept her eyes on her work, wishing her cheeks weren’t so warm.

Michelle made a face at him. Be nice, M.

He grinned. You just watch. She’s the one who’ll come up with the magic answer. It’s always the introspective, quiet ones. She’ll put the A-team over there to shame.

Li’s flush deepened as she glanced over at the section Michael indicated. Isla Osbourne, the lead scientist, worked there with a select few. They always came across as polite, but their underlying superiority complex reminded Li of a high school clique.

They’ll never know what hit them, Michael concluded, then set to humming.

Michelle rolled her eyes.

After discarding her refuse, Li crossed the laboratory to the sample table. It was more of a bin, really, filled with plastic jars containing samples from the mines surrounding the colony. She picked up one of the samples and sighed. One year. That’s all the time they had to find something—anything—native to Mars which could grow staple crops without supplemental nutrients from Earth. If they failed, NASA claimed to have ‘other options’ to explore, but everyone knew it would be a shot in the dark, literally. Load everyone up into ships. Take off into space. Hope to find a habitable planet before supplies ran out.

The colonization team pressed the matter, asking for more than just a year, but time wasn’t on their side. If they took more than a year and still failed, it meant less time to search out a new planet—and greater risk of failure. The UN decided that the risk was too great. This was their only chance to make Mars work.

Li barely glanced at the labels on the samples, easily identifying most of the samples by sight. Basalt, iron, silica… More of the same, nothing new to jump out and scream, I’m what you need! She finished gathering a small armload. The excavators worked hard in the mines, bringing in hundreds of new samples each day, but never anything new in the three months they’d been at work. Well, less than three months. The first couple weeks were spent constructing the colony on the planet’s surface. And the couple days they lost because of—

She turned her back on the bin and returned to her station. No point in thinking about that now.

Her equipment was rearranged. She frowned and looked up to find herself staring at Vera Stevenson. Not Michelle.

Vera paused, an awkward expression on her face. Your table’s over there, honey.

Li turned. She’d walked right past her station.

A couple of nearby scientists failed in their attempts to pretend not to notice her. A couple others didn’t bother hiding their snickers.

Her cheeks burned again. Sorry. She scooped the samples back up. Dropped one. Hastily retrieved it. Returned to her real station, her eyes glued to the floor. Ignored the looks.

M&M made no comments, much to her relief. Neither even looked up at her.

She exhaled and set up the new collection of samples. Time to focus. She knew what she was looking for; something new containing calcium, or some mix that could emulate calcium. Others working in the lab and the adjacent hydroponics building had their own theories, but all her tests led her to the conclusion that calcium was really the key missing element for self-sustainability. She was sure of it.

Matteo Alvarez strode into the lab. Osbourne.

Li, along with nearly all the other scientists, watched with curiosity as Isla looked up from her work to address the colony’s appointed leader.

Yes?

We require a replacement excavator for tomorrow.

Li’s heart skipped a beat.

Isla straightened, setting her tools down. I’ll see who’s next on the rotation.

Most of the others already returned to work. The search for new samples outranked the laboratory’s experimentation, so anytime an excavator fell ill or injured, one of the scientific staff filled in. Nearly everyone had been in the rotation by now.

Except Li.

The thought of standing on the actual surface—not the metal plating that formed the colony’s foundation, but leaving her own footprints in the actual dust of Mars—left her nearly dizzy with anticipation. But she’d figured out the truth weeks ago. Her name had never come up because it wasn’t in the rotation. She had worked up the courage to ask Isla about it, and Isla said that her expertise with minerals made her more valuable in the laboratory than in the mines.

But that wasn’t the truth, and Li knew it. She was a little forgetful sometimes, a little spacey. They didn’t think she was reliable enough to go on excavations.

Kirk Fenster, Isla called.

Li bit back a frustrated grunt. Kirk? Again?

Kirk looked equally perturbed. I was just out there.

Your name’s next, Isla replied, setting aside her datapad. We all take our turns.

Li glanced over at Matteo. He nodded, looking satisfied. Every time she’d tried to speak up before, to speak in her defense and convince them that she could be trusted with the responsibility, she’d caught herself. He was an excellent leader: decisive, firm, caring, and confident. And talking to him scared the crap out of her.

It was his eyes, really. His black hair and bronze skin made his blue eyes all the more intense. His solemnity didn’t help, either. She couldn’t remember seeing him smile, ever. Rundy, Matteo’s wife and her best friend, always told her she shouldn’t be so intimidated, but moments like these made her want to blend into the wallpaper rather than speak up.

Good, Matteo said. Fenster, be ready to—

Li could go, Michael called.

All eyes turned on her.

Her heart stopped entirely.

Matteo raised an eyebrow. Come again?

Michael didn’t even look up from his work. She hasn’t been in rotation yet.

That’s right, Kirk chimed in. I’ve already been out there twice, and she hasn’t even had one turn yet. She should go.

Doesn’t he seem eager, Michelle murmured.

He hates going out there, Michael replied under his breath. Claustrophobia.

Matteo glanced at Isla, then addressed Michael. Thank you for addressing this concern. After review of Kichida’s results, we’ve determined that her work here is too crucial for her to leave.

No, it isn’t, Kirk snorted. She does the same stuff everyone else here does. He gave Li a sidelong sneer. On the days she remembers what she’s doing, that is.

A few people chuckled. Li’s cheeks flamed anew.

Matteo’s eyes flashed. His expression turned severe. That’s hardly called for.

Kirk looked down and kept his mouth shut.

Isla cleared her throat. Mr. Alvarez, may I speak with you?

A quiet rumble filled the room as the scientists murmured, trying to pretend they weren’t watching Matteo and Isla’s private conference. Li’s eyes remained on her work, shame spreading through her entire face. Why couldn’t she just focus like everyone else?

Kichida.

Matteo’s voice startled her. She looked up.

You will be joining the excavators tomorrow. Come here, please.

Yes! Kirk whispered.

Li stared. Had she just heard him right?

You as well, Fenster.

Kirk paused, but reluctantly crossed to Matteo’s side. Matteo glanced back at Li and raised an eyebrow again, waiting.

She’d heard him right. He was really going to let her join the excavators. Heart soaring, Li hurried to join the men.

Matteo spoke in lowered tones. Kichida, you will be expected to show up on time and prepared for the excavation. If you fail to do so, Fenster will take your place.

Kirk groaned. So I’m going out after all.

No, I can do it, Li quickly said. I’ll be there. I’ll be ready. I promise. I—

You’ll be with Malson’s team. You’ll meet with him in the away room after the teams return this evening for an orientation and briefing.

Li couldn’t stop her smile. Not only did she get to go on an excavation, but she would be working with Jess Malson. He was one of the few excavators who didn’t feel a need to draw social lines between the excavators and the scientists. I’m familiar with it. I mean, all the procedures for excavations. I’ve studied the manual enough I’ve almost got it memorized.

Kirk snorted.

Matteo frowned at him, then returned his attention to Li. Regardless, the orientation is required for any non-excavator taking part in an excavation. Just follow protocol.

Of course, sir. She straightened, trying to look as competent and obedient as possible.

He nodded sharply and left.

Don’t screw it up, Kirk said.

I won’t, she promised, but he already walked away. She sighed and returned to her station—the correct one this time.

You know he’s only like that because he can’t distinguish samples half as well as you can, Michael said.

She smiled, but Kirk’s comments didn’t bother her anymore. Not with the thrill rushing through her veins. She would finally walk on Mars.

The last few hours of work crawled by, but finally the numbers clicked into place. While the others chatted and took their time closing down their stations, Li scrambled through ending procedures and locked down her samples. She had to get to the away room in time.

A voice of reason in her mind pointed out she didn’t really have to rush. The away room wasn’t far—just down the broad walkway that ran between the lab and the side of the cafeteria, then a sharp left turn to continue along the cafeteria’s front face. The entrance to the away room stood almost directly across from the cafeteria’s entrance, a design feature the scientists guessed was to make sure the excavators stayed happy.

Though she knew she didn’t have far to go, she hurried anyway. Didn’t want to risk being even a second late.

She dashed out the door and almost ran into Rundy. Oh! Sorry.

Rundy took a step back, blonde ponytail swinging. You must be starved.

No, I’m not going to the cafeteria. Li grinned and tried to keep from bouncing in place with excitement. I have an orientation to attend.

Rundy’s eyebrows shot up. They’re finally letting you on an excavation?

I can’t believe it, either. Li stopped, her eyes narrowing with a sly smile. You said something to him for me, didn’t you. As his wife and head of security, everyone knew Rundy held a certain amount of sway over Matteo’s decisions.

Rundy tsked. You know mommy doesn’t play against daddy like that. She glanced down the walkway toward the building that housed the away room, a low metal structure that pressed against the side wall of the dome stretching high overhead. The excavators are back in. You probably want to get to that meeting.

Right. Li turned. Thanks!

Good luck, Rundy called after her as she scurried on.

The away room throbbed with sound and activity. Of the eighty colonists, fifty were excavators, making this section one of the busiest areas. A few brushed past Li in the doorway, carrying bags loaded with new samples. The geologist in her wanted to follow for a chance to peek inside, to see if anything new stood out, but she knew it would all be more of the same. Besides, her place was here now.

Lockers lined the walls and stood in rows, filling the room aside from a large aisle down the middle. Excavators swarmed the lockers, jabbering away as they removed and stored their envirosuits, filling the room with a steady buzz of voices and clattering equipment.

The massive, circular airlock dominated the far end of the room. Li avoided looking at it as she walked toward the middle of the room, glad when she was able to turn away from the heavy door and go down the short side hallway that led to the meeting room.

She hurried in and found that her rush wasn’t necessary. She was the first one there. Empty tables filled the room in neat classroom rows, with one smaller table near the front. Teacher’s desk, she thought with a wry smile. A couple of gray lockers were tucked in the corner near the smaller table, nearly camouflaged against the utilitarian metal walls.

She sat down at one of the back tables and folded her hands in her lap. Then rested them on the table. Then smoothed invisible wrinkles from her lightweight thermal pants and folded them in her lap again.

Settle down, she scolded herself. She was acting like a teen on a first date.

She smiled. Not a bad analogy. Her first time in the mines. The first couple weeks of drilling surface samples on a grid had, as they’d predicted, produced no results. If they wanted to find their missing links, they had to go deep. The mines, over the last couple months, had become a network of tunnels stretching far beneath the surface. She tracked the progress each day, wishing she could be out there, crawling through them, watching for some new color or texture or glint of metallic ore to catch her eye. M&M even told her early on they thought she was the best choice for helping excavations because of her eye for identifying samples by sight. She didn’t think she was that much better at it than any of the other scientists, but they insisted that if they had anything to say about it, she’d be out there more often than not.

She shifted her weight. Glanced at the empty hallway as the clatter of excavators faded from the other end. Was she in the right room?

A peek at her watch told her she was just early. That’s all. She sighed and leaned back in her seat.

You’re early, Jess said as he walked in.

She sat up. I didn’t want to be late.

He leaned on the table at the front of the room, chiseled face looking even more prominent in the artificial lighting. They’re finally letting you go out, huh? Good for you. We’ve got a couple others coming in for refresher, so just give it a minute. He scrolled through a datapad briefly, then set it on the table and opened one of the lockers. A full suit hung there, ready for demonstration.

I know we all had to read the manual before the mission, but have you looked at it since? he asked, pulling tools from the bottom of the locker.

A few times.

How many makes ‘a few’?

She glanced down. I’m pretty familiar with it.

Great. If you don’t mind, I’ll have you help me with the suit demonstration. It’s just a review of how it goes on, all the connections, things like that.

Sure. Her heartbeat picked up. She’d be trying on an envirosuit. Tomorrow she’d be wearing one for real.

A lanky, greasy excavator whose name she didn’t remember paused in the doorway. He saw Li and rolled his eyes. So I have to sit through baby school just so some egghead doesn’t feel singled out?

Jess’s eyes turned hard. Have a seat, Brent. I think you know why you’re here. Unless you’d like a reminder?

Brent’s lips twisted downward. He plopped into a seat.

A few more wandered in. She recognized two of them immediately from their matching wild red hair and pale blue eyes. Digby and Waugh. They’d met for the first time on this mission, though they were so similar in appearance and personality that everyone concluded they must be twins separated at birth. She couldn’t remember if ‘Digby’ and ‘Waugh’ were their first or last names, but those were the names everyone called them. Another man she didn’t recognize, skinny with sunken eyes and mousy brown hair, trudged in behind them, bringing the faint smell of body odor with him.

That’s all of us, Jess said, straightening. Quick introductions—Brent, Digby, Waugh, and Trevor, this is Li. She’ll be joining our team tomorrow.

Trevor eyed her. So we have to go through a lecture just for an egghead?

Jess picked up his datapad. Do you really want me to go through the specific reasons why everyone’s here?

Trevor made a sour look similar to Brent’s, but kept his mouth shut.

Li kept her mouth shut, too. The ‘baby school,’ as Brent had put it, wasn’t just for non-excavators, but also for any excavators who neglected the safety regulations.

Digby grinned. We’re here because we don’t listen.

Bad listeners, Waugh agreed cheerfully.

We prefer the term ‘listening challenged.’

Brent rolled his eyes again.

Let’s get started. Jess set his datapad back down. "The goal of excavating is to collect mineral samples, as many and as varied as possible. You collect a sample, you move further down, you collect another sample. It’s okay if you can’t tell the difference in the rock types by looking, but try