Deeper Into the Void (24 page)

Chapter 31

Year 18, Day 689

T
he wind, driving dust and sand across the plain, uncovers a clustered group of canvas bags lying next to a larger rock. The wind blows the canvas to the side to reveal the contents of these lost bags. Plain, black rocks within the bags are uncovered by the raging wind. The canvas, worn and torn by the elements, falls back to covering the once-valued stones, extracted with great effort from the deep caverns of Mars.

Thousands of silent days have seen the dome transformed into a singular oasis of life on the face of Mars. In the absence of any watchful eyes, the plants have overgrown their intended purpose within. Cameras within the dome lay completely dormant; ivies reach out to cripple them. A silent forest, immense and disobedient begins to claim the alleyways and openings in the once-barren plaza. Neither the sound of a wing in flight, nor sound of wind in the leaves disrupts the absolute tranquility of the dome. Where only rocks had dared to stand watchful over the pond, large trees overtake them. The low gravity, a constant supply of water, carbon dioxide and the steady temperature have all contributed to the explosion of plant growth.

Outside the dome, the once incomprehensible blast that had altered the terrain has also left its signature on the face of the dome. Although obscured behind a large hill of rock, the dome still felt the shock. Small individual spheres of glass on the outside of the dome’s skin had been shattered by flying rock and other debris. From within the glass dome, the remaining rocks left where they had made their marks, appear as fixtures in the sky above. Fortunately, only the first, and occasionally second, layers of the outside were destroyed. The pressure and temperature within the dome had been preserved for an undetermined future.

As the sun begins to flee over the west horizon, the stars in the east begin to shine. The cold breeze drives bits of sand to collect behind rocks and debris left upon the hill and surrounding the dome.

Floodlights cast the interior of the dome back into the intensity of daylight. Two heavy ships slowly descend from the dark of night above. The searching gaze of the bright lights moves around the dome, the hill above it and plain around it. The bright lights from the stabilizing engines reveal the position of the ships above as they begin holding a steady altitude above the dome.

After making several rotations around the dome, the first ship slowly descends to within thirty meters above the entrance to the dome. Two opening doors underneath are revealed in the intense escaping light from within. As two rocks falling from a great height, two heavily built rigs are dropped from the belly of the beast above. In the bright bath of light, the first rig bounces in the light sand underneath; sand and dust rise off of the ground, and out into the dark of night under the force. Under the intense scrutiny of a second floodlight, the second rig lands similarly.

After a brief moment to settle on the deck, the rigs both begin to power up. Small lights, which decorate the exterior of each, begin to illuminate the surrounding area dimly. Headlamps turn on, casting the distant road in front of them into some measure of light. Both rigs begin to crawl along the surface of the landscape, rolling toward the smoother road that will bring them to rest in front of the dome airlock.

Under the continued scrutiny of the overhead light, men in blue pressure suits begin to pour out of the parked rigs. A variety of rifles are directed out toward the surrounding landscape. Several more men step out of each of the rigs in a slightly less hurried manner, and begin their short journey to the airlock itself.

The outer airlock doorway is forced open with a heavy lever mechanism; this has been made mandatory as there is no power to the airlock controls. The door is pried all of the way open. A relatively small, eight-person crew enters the airlock together with a large, long crate. The outer door is manually shut behind them and the vent control inside is activated, bringing a loud rush of air charging back into the airlock. Anxious and timorous crew members await the completion of the pressurization.

The inner door groans open, several gloved hands force it out of the way. Four men wearing blue pressure suits draw their automatic rifles and shoulder them, they cautiously walk out of the airlock into the dome; but only a few steps out. The remaining four pause for a few minutes, awaiting the announcement that it has been cleared for entry.

From the entrance to the dome, the view is composed completely of the top of the forest surrounding them on every remaining side. The intense light from above causes the ceiling of the dome to glow white, casting its light down to define the trees underneath.

Overgrown foliage now crowds the pathway; leaves of green, brown, orange and red all adorn the bushes and the frequent tree along the path. As the team presses into the overgrown path, the ceiling of the dome is obscured from view by the trees as they reach ever skyward. The red clay under their feet is well covered by years of fallen leaves and twigs, which now cover the ground thoroughly. The water evaporating from the plants through their leaves produces a thick fog that fills the forest within the dome from top to bottom. Droplets of rain fall from somewhere above them. As the droplets cascade down through the foliage, the dust from outside is slowly being rinsed off of the team.

One of the red-clad crew stops for a moment, and examines the variety of plant life growing along the pathway; the plants within now dominate the interior of the dome from one end to the other. A solid hand comes down on the red-clad shoulder.

Trees stand where fields of thin grasses were years before. The dense forest within the dome is not exactly what this team had expected to find, but is not completely unexpected either. Fruits dangle from the trees, and bushes covered with brightly covered berries can be seen through the dense brush on each side of the pathway.

Staff Sergeant Brady taps the shoulder of the man standing to his right. After gaining his attention, Brady signals him to take the point position as they continue down the path. Dana Parks, one of the unarmed crew in red walking behind him, breaks the silence.

Heavy footsteps upon the underbrush give away their position within the dome as sticks break underfoot. Through thick, unbreakable plastic visors, the team looks out into the ominous backdrop that has overtaken the dome. They pause only momentarily before continuing toward the plaza.

A very large crate, being lowered outside next to the dome, dissuades the heavy floodlights above from continuing the campaign to illuminate the dome so thoroughly. The remaining crew outside rush to surround and unpack the large crate.

The silence of the forest within eerily stalks the crew as they try to find the clearing in the brush, leading them into the plaza. The team emerges triumphantly from the forest into the plaza. Flashlights affixed to rifles begin to switch on automatically in the low light. By virtue of these lights alone, the team peers outward toward the surrounding buildings from the center of the plaza.

Two red-clad crewmen set the elongated crate down on the paved surface of the plaza. Terry Murray, the first crewman stands crouched next to the crate. He holds fast to the handle on the front of the crate. The second crewman at the back of the crate, Michael Voss, stands up straight and leans back to realign his back.

Heavy footsteps once again resound through the plaza, the sound of boots on the masonry echoes off of the walls, amplifying the effect. The cocoon of plant-life, surrounding the plaza on all sides, lends the buildings at the plaza a self-contained feeling. The only way out of the plaza now is via the pathway on which they entered minutes prior.

Parks reluctantly follows Beck as he follows Brady and Turner, while they cautiously approach the control center. Turner reaches for the left side of his helmet, and presses a small button on the side with two fingers.

Brady turns to cover Turner from the wall of the control center. Turner continues to approach, but is slightly distracted by the incoming radio transmission.

Power to the control center is suddenly restored. The door control panel, adjacent to the outer control center door, illuminates. Exterior lighting, which is directed inward toward the plaza from the buildings, also follows suit and sluggishly ignites one at a time.

Specialist Matt Turner lowers his weapon from the surrounding woods, and drops his gear bag to the deck and retrieves a single small piece of plastic explosive, which he then hands to Brady.

A small explosion puts a hole in the door at the locking point. A relatively small explosion frees the door. The outer door swings loosely open. Turner looks to the science team members, who are wearing red suits, and gestures to them to stand back. Parks and Beck, take several steps back as they had been directed. Brady rotates his rifle around on the strap until it sets on his back. He draws his pistol and hand-held flashlight. After pointing them toward the door from the side, he signals Turner to open it.

The door swings out into the plaza after Turner grabs the handle. Brady points his light with his gun into the hallway; the lights within have already switched on automatically. As Brady enters the hallway very deliberately, Turner turns to Parks and Beck, he waves them over. As they join him next to the doorway, he pushes them back against the building with his free arm. The pervasive fog drifts through the plaza, the lights mounted to the buildings within the dome illuminate the small droplets of water drifting through the air. The brightly lit haze above them obscures their view of the rest of the plaza around.

Brady hesitantly steps over the threshold of the heavy door with his left foot. The small room has no places to hide, and obviously has no one waiting for him within. Brady steps in with the other foot. He approaches the control panel, and brushes if off. Dust-like particles of glass coat the solid glass control panel; as his finger brushes along the glass, the console powers on.

The main screen overhead illuminates, the fine crystalline particles faintly coat every surface in the control room. While the system starts up, Brady turns to the door controls. The main screen flickers intermittently. Brady begins to read with great interest as a single document becomes prominently displayed on the large screen.

Journal Entry
Doctor William Ghent
Year 17, Day 13

It seems to me that a third mission to the dome is inevitable, it is for this reason that I leave this message to anyone who will read it. None can really understand the true nature of the dome around them. It appears to the untrained eye benign and as an oasis in this wasteland. There are a few things that are critically important to understand, the sooner you know, the better.