Finally she gave Jordan an elegant black, lucid rock and the boy admired it, fascinated.
«Magnetite. It's the ferrous mineral with the strongest magnetic properties existing in nature.»
While they were observing and exchanging the rocks, Klara turned to the desk.
«Then, let me see...» she picked up a pair of boxes and addressed the guys, «Here I have a couple of primitive basalts, they are very similar to the komatiites on Earth. These in particular were found by the rover Spirit, inside the Gusev Crater.»
Hearing the word “crater”, the three exchanged looks before immediately returning to focus on the minerals, not to arouse suspects. Fortunately Klara didn't seem to notice and kept explaining.
«Furthermore, on Mars there can be minerals that were produced through hydrothermal alterations and by the action of atmospheric agents, even though in minor quantity. If you want to get closer, here I have some small minerals that are very interesting: hematite, goethite, jarosite, opaline silica, iron sulphate, chalk and other phyllosilicates.»
They got up from their chairs and reached the desk to observe a series of small, colourful rocks.
The class proceeded calmly until 11:00 am. They studied in detail the inner structures of the minerals and their way of crystallizing. Finally they also learned how to recognize them on their own, a new practical skill that they were going to register on their personal online platform.
As the hours went by one after the other, the countdown inside Jordan's mind continued. He was by now focused on his goal and the only thing that really mattered to him was reaching the Huygens Crater, one way or another.
However, just like every sol, he completed his normal activities: he studied geology, went to the gym, went out with his father on the pressurized rover and made sure the Atenavan was still there, he took a hot shower, considering that for a good while he wasn't going to have the chance to take another, he dined with the members of the Red Stone and everything could have been perfectly normal, a sol like another, if only there wasn't a secret escape plan.
At 8:00 pm, the door of Jordan's room slid open, letting Anna and Yan in. The two sat down on his bed without a word and Jordan took a seat on an armchair in front of them.
The boy sighed observing the floor, then raised his eyes on his friends.
«Anna, Yan» Jordan began with a serious and concise tone, «Sol number zero. Tonight we are going out there to fix everything for tomorrow's departure. It's not going to be an easy operation, nothing of what expects us is going to be easy. Therefore we must have everything under control or, at least, as much as we can.»
Anna and Yan both nodded comprehensively.
«So, let's review it all for one last time» Jordan suggested, «Nunki, you do it.»
The boy got up from the bed and reached Jordan's laptop to enter his USB pen. Since he couldn't access his digital devices anymore, he kept everything safe in that pen-drive and updated, edited or removed using his friends' computers.
He opened a map of the Hellas Planitia and the Huygens Crater, followed by a list of passages that were the various steps of the plan.
«Alright» the boy began turning to his friends again and only occasionally glancing at the document, «We'll leave in the night between sol lunae 2nd and sol martius 3rd onboard the rover Atenavan, travelling North-Westward at a speed of twenty-five kilometres per hour for eight-hundred miles till the Rubentes Terrae, located in the Huygens Crater. Considering that we'll stop for six hours every sol, of which four by night and two in the sunlight, the estimation for this trip's duration is of approximately three or four sols, but this measure could vary because at the moment we're not aware of all the obstacles that we may meet on our path, except for the minor impact craters to circumvent.»
The boy stopped to breathe and scroll down the document on the computer screen.
«Tonight» he resumed, «We'll bring to the Atenavan the necessary supplies to survive. Although the trip will last four sols, we'll bring enough supplies for one week. More than that wouldn't fit in, materially. For the return we're covered as the base's guide assures the presence of water and food supplies, therefore we'll use those. For that which concerns the energy, the Atenavan uses fuel cells...» Yan stopped and glanced at Jordan, who spoke up.
«Nope, I thought so, but I've talked about it with my father and he says it uses a radioisotope thermoelectric generator with uranium two hundred and thirty-two.»
«Wait wait wait. Say it all over again ten times slower!» Yan interjected.
Jordan sighed and rolled his eyes, amused.
«All you need to know is fuel cells use liquid hydrogen that has a high risk of explosion. While the RTG with uranium is much less risky, it weighs less than a kilogram, lasts sixty-nine years and provides us with an energy of two thousand watts.»
«And how does it work?» Anna asked, curiously.
«The radioactive decay of uranium produces heat that is turned into energy by a thermoelectric converter.»
«Cool. So, I suggest we now plan tonight's operation. Time?»
«We have to make sure everyone's asleep» Yan underlined.
«I say we act between three and five am, maximum. But if we finish before, it's better because I know that in the Red Stone a couple of persons wake up at five, sometimes» Jordan proposed.
«In my opinion one hour is sufficient. I say we act between three and four, nobody will be awake at that hour» Yan shrugged.
«I agree» Anna spoke up.
Yan suddenly turned to her with wide eyes.
«You agree? That's crazy! Jordan, did you hear her?» he snapped to his friend, «She said she agrees on something I say at the first try!»
Jordan laughed, shaking his head.
«Yeah, life's great achievements!»
Anna glared daggers at them both and that was enough to make them stop immediately.
«So, we were saying» Jordan resumed, «At three in the morning we'll meet in front of the Red Stone airlock, already with the biosuits and ready to exit.»
Anna and Yan nodded once, showing their understanding.
«Now, I know it sounds terrible, but you have to kind of raid your kitchens, storage rooms and greenhouses.»
At those words Anna stiffened and Yan smirked.
«Come on, don't make that face, we have already talked about it. Alright, maybe I used the wrong verb. It's more a “borrowing for the purpose of our survival”. Is that better?»
«Definitely» Yan giggled, glancing at Anna.
«Jokes aside, we seriously need enough food supplies not to starve, as matter of fact. Nunki, do you have everything written there?»
The boy turned to the computer and scrolled through the document.
«Yep, so: with sixty-three portions of food we survive for seven sols. The Atenavan is spacious, but these portions are an awful lot, so they must be reduced to the essential. Everyone of us must take care of their own twenty-one portions, of which seven breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners. Theoretically we need two thousand calories per sol, but if our intake will be less I promise you we won't die. We're free to choose what to take from our kitchens. I have sent a table to your laptops with some guidelines if you want to have a look at it. Just to be sure we take the right stuff for every meal, without waste.»
«Very well» Jordan breathed passing a hand through his hair and the room fell in silence for some moments.
That was the plan. And the moment was approaching. Jordan glanced at the clock on his nightstand.
«It's nine ten» he said, «In order to prepare and take everything, we need to wake up at two at least, then I'd say we better go to sleep. The night's gonna be long.»
«Yeah we got to rest» Yan stretched and stood up.
Anna did the same silently and they headed to the door.
«Good night, bro'» the boy waved his hand dismissively before definitely leaving Jordan's room.
Anna was about to leave as well, but she stopped by
the door and turned again. She studied the floor of Jordan's room with an uncertain expression and he observed her behaviour curiously. Finally she raised her gaze on him and spoke.
«And what if tonight or tomorrow night we get caught?» her tone was uneasy, her cerulean eyes shone with worry.
Jordan didn't answer right away, he simply looked at her for some seconds, his lips softly curved up.
«We'll be in huge trouble» he finally replied lightly.
The girl stood still and silent, staring at the boy who finally opened up in a wide, reassuring smile.
«At least we won't have the regret of not having even tried. I'm sure it will be worth it. Trust me.»
Anna sighed and lowered her gaze briefly, before her eyes met his again. A corner of her mouth hinted to a small smile.
«Good night, Jordan» she murmured before disappearing from the room and the boy didn't even have the time to reply.
Red sand under his feet, a beige sky spread to the horizon, without boundaries. A high rocket threw a huge shadow on the ground and Jordan couldn't even see the top of it. There was a signboard badly stuck into the sand next to the rocket. Jordan got closer in order to read. It said, “One-way trip to Earth”. He looked around himself, confused, a strong sandstorm was about arrive and rain down, it was going to make the rocket fall. Jordan was overwhelmed by anguish. The signboard flew away with the wind and suddenly everything went black, while a continuous bip-bip seemed to drag him far away.
And suddenly he woke up. He was breathing fast, he sat up and looked around himself, his small alarm-clock was ringing. The screen showed “2:00 am”. He quickly reached out and shut it. He strongly hoped it hadn't rang long enough to wake up Alexander or Dounja. He sat still for one minute in order to capture any movement or noise from the two rooms next to his, but nothing came. Then he sighed, turned the light on and began to put on his clothes, trying to forget that weird nightmare.
About ten minutes later, his head came out of his room. He could perceive nothing but the buzzing of the Life Support Systems which gave a sinister atmosphere to the darkness, only slightly illuminated by some LEDs on the ceiling. He swallowed and started down the perimeter of the dome, he took the corridor for the Main Base and then headed to the storage room, discovering that his sneakers made absolutely no noise on the floor. For the time being everything was going fine. He slipped into the storage room and, with delicate movements, trying to make the least possible noise, he emptied a small metallic container that he decided to use as his supplies collector. In a dusty corner of the storage room, in the alimentary section, he found a tower of boxes with a label indicating “For emergencies”. This is the case, he thought to himself. The light was very dim inside there, but it was enough for Jordan to do what he had to.
He opened one of the boxes and tucked a hand inside to take out a small, transparent bag, airless, which contained what at first sight looked like a greenish mush. A sticker on it said, “Broccoli au gratin, 100 mL of hot water, 5-10 min”. Jordan turned his nose up in a disgusted expression. He hated broccoli, but on the other hand he knew he had found what was going to keep him alive for the following sols. He began to fill his metallic box with some of those foods that had been prepared who knows how much time before and then had been put in a condition of long conservation. He also found some snacks and decided to take a bunch of them, as they might always come in handy. When he thought he had taken enough, he seized the box with both his arms and left the storage room, heading to the kitchen. He took a jar of dehydrated fruit, an entire package of muesli, he filled four bags of different kinds of legumes and in another container he put some pieces of crunchy bread.
He was about to leave the kitchen and head to the greenhouse, when he suddenly heard the noise of a door sliding open and he froze. He quickly backed off, noticing out of the corner of his eye that it was Frank Larsen's door, and he disappeared again into the kitchen. His heart was pounding so heavily he almost feared it could be audible. He softly placed the box on the ground and then approached the door, to try and close it very slowly. It was one of the few doors that had to be closed manually. He couldn't leave it open, if Frank had passed in front of it he would surely check since it was always closed when there was nobody inside. But when the door closed, a loud “clack” seemed to propagate through the entire Aresland. Jordan was crossed by a freezing chill while cold sweat began to appear on his forehead. At first he stood rigidly, unable to move. When he heard some steps approaching the kitchen, he felt his knees weak, he had his heart in his throat. He began to back away from the door. That's how I end, he thought. Please, go away. Please, go away. But he didn't go away, he was always closer. Jordan was by now sure Frank was standing right in front of the door. He was pressed against the cabinets at the bottom of the room, almost as if he wanted to disappear inside them. The last thing he saw, before he closed his eyes, was the door's knob moving.
But all of a sudden he heard a noise. Far, like coming from the corridor of the Krasnij Gorod, it sounded like a pen falling on the floor. He swallowed and dared to open his eyes, fearing what, or rather, who he could see in front of himself. He saw the door was open by a crack only, and it was closed again. He heard the steps going away, probably in the direction of that new sound. He remained pressed against that shelf. The danger wasn't over yet. Shortly after he heard the steps once again, but they passed the kitchen and went on to the bathroom.
He heard Frank's voice as he mumbled to himself
«Man, I must be losing my mind.»
After that, he heard the bathroom door closing, soon opening again and finally Frank seemed to disappear in his room. He took a sigh of relief and only then he realized he had been holding his breath till that moment. He remained closed inside there for another ten minutes, in order to calm down and make sure he didn't risk too much.
His last stop was the greenhouse, where he took seven potatoes, one per sol, he collected some tomatoes, asparagus and blueberries. When he felt he had gathered enough supplies for his survival, he sealed the box and went back to the storage room to suit up. Since some sols he had learned to seal it on his own, so he met no problems. He finally left the room with the box in his arms and his helmet placed on top of it. He found that Anna had already arrived and Yan joined them shortly after.
«You okay?» Jordan mouthed.
The two showed him a thumb up. Jordan helped Anna and Yan to seal their suits and wear the helmet, then put his own helmet on. After running a quick verification to check the functioning of every system, they entered the airlock, that fortunately wasn't too noisy.
«You should thank me» Anna's voice resounded in Jordan's helmet.
He turned and saw she was looking at him through her helmet's visor.
«Was it you who saved my life?» he asked, thinking back to the noise that pulled Frank away from the kitchen.
«Yes, Jordan. That door closing was well audible even from my base storage room, I ran to check on purpose» she scolded.
«Olympus, thank you so much!»
«I'm not Olympus» the girl snapped.
«You should be» Jordan talked back and for a moment they all three laughed lightly.
When suddenly the airlock's hatch opened on the dark of the night in front of them and their cheerful moment died instantly. At first Jordan didn't even believe such a dark could be possible.
«Hell» Yan cursed in a breath.
The three exchanged looks and Jordan found himself wondering if it still was a good idea. But then he simply took a breath and returned to look in front of himself with determination.
«Let's go» he encouraged.
And he moved forward first.
They proceeded until they stepped on the sand and the hatch closed behind their backs. As soon as they were outside, some automatic torches on their helmets were switched on in order to show them the obstacles on their path.
Some intermittent red lights surrounded the entire Aresland. Jordan had never notice
d them before. It looked almost beautiful in the night.
«Follow me» he ordered to Anna and Yan and started down to the garage.
The three moved in compact formation, overwhelmed by the black of the night, with their boxes of supplies in their arms. The Atenavan was parked in its usual place, waiting for them.
«What a beast of a rover!» Yan exclaimed as soon as they arrived in front of it. «And you would be able to drive this thing?»
Jordan smirked slightly while moving to the back of the Atenavan, where he was supposed to find the main hatch. And in fact it was there.
«We'll find this out tomorrow.»
He turned, Yan was behind him so he left his box on top of the one the boy was already carrying (making his friend curse due to the weight) and returned to focus on how to open the hatch.
«Jordan, are you kidding?» Anna's sharp voice bounced in his helmet, but he ignored her.
The hatch opened and Jordan got onboard the rover.
«Hurry, come on here.»
And for the first time they were finally and officially inside the Atenavan. It was pretty spacious and quite empty. In a corner there was a small compartment of no more than one square metre, that contained the hygiene facilities reduced to the essential. Alongside a wall there were four seats one next to the other, while on the opposite side there were some metallic cabinets. The anterior part of the rover, with two driver's seats, was separated from the rest through a section that left less than one metre of space to pass.
Jordan moved forward to observe the cockpit, Yan placed the boxes on the ground and Anna left hers on the top of the pile, then the boy approached the cabinets and, after studying them carefully, he decided to open one.
Anna was observing the small bathroom, while Jordan was sitting at the driver's seat and studying the controls to figure out how to turn on the main engine. When suddenly an acute shriek broke the silence. Jordan's head came out of the cockpit and Anna whirled around. Yan was wiggling convulsively under an unshaped brown shroud, one of the cabinets was wide open. Anna furrowed her eyebrows in front of that disarming scene, but then she shook her head and approached her friend, who seemed in the grip of panic, while yelling “I've been attacked, I've been attacked!”. She grabbed with a hand his “aggressor” and freed him.
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