As they approached Naug, the scale of the place became apparent. Zed knew all about how the colony dome had been printed out of Martian cement using an ancient crater as a foundation. He knew how the interior was laid out like the wedges of a pie around a large central mess hall, with sections that could be sealed off in case of an emergency. Yet just as with the Martian landscape, knowing wasn’t the same as witnessing.

Naug was a marvel of its time, just as the Great Pyramids back on Earth were in theirs. Not because it was bigger or taller or more ornate than anything back on Earth. An average football stadium was larger, but none of those had been built in an environment so hostile to life. To drive up to something so distinctly human on this alien world was both bizarre and inspiring. Even for Zed’s admittedly cynical teenage heart, Naug was awe-inspiring.

As they approached the edge of the crater that Naug was built in, Zed saw an opening appear. Jonah pulled the lumbering vehicle into what appeared to be a massive airlock. The Monstro rolled to a stop, and moments later, there was the metallic sound of a docking clamp making contact with the outer hull.

“No need to cycle the full airlock just to offload small stuff and passengers,” Jonah explained. “When we need to work on these beasts, we can bring them all the way in, though. Doing all the mechanical work in a turtle suit back in the day was about as much fun as, well, taking a dump in a turtle suit.”

Zed wasn’t sure what exactly a turtle suit was, but he got the idea.

Jonah exited the cockpit and motioned for the Marshes to follow him out the door.

“Alrighty then, follow me and we’ll get you sorted out pronto,” Jonah drawled. “But just to be clear, Zed, you got that little head wound in a heroic fight to restart the engines as the ship plummeted toward the ground, right?”

“Well, I mean, actually…” Zed mumbled. Jonah raised an eyebrow. Zed closed his mouth and smiled sheepishly.

“That’s what I thought,” Jonah said, giving a wink and turning back to the enclosed walkway he was leading them down.

After exiting the short airlock tunnel, they turned left and walked down a red corridor with ridged walls. Zed tried to picture what this place must have looked like while the printers were building it up, one thin layer at a time. They exited the corridor, and Zed found himself overwhelmed by what felt like a mass of people. Months of seeing the same handful of faces in cramped quarters had given him new sympathy for the agoraphobes of the world. The hangar bay they had just entered was a hive of activity. Several dozen people were either working on a handful of the odd three-legged Chariots or chatting in excited tones.

Seeing Zed’s face, Jonah leaned close.

“It’s the crater cave. I mean, when most of your population is made up of scientists and engineers, the prospect of alien life is definitely going to stir things up like baking soda in a third-grade volcano display.” Jonah paused. “Kids still do that, right?”

Zed shook his head. “Yeah, about that whole alien life thing, is that, like…”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“I’m assuming this one’s little accident resulted in us missing any kind of introduction?” Ana Marsh interrupted.

Zed was startled by his mother’s voice cutting through the commotion.

“Yes, ma'am,” Jonah said more from reflex than thought. “You didn’t miss much really, though since it’s late in the day, you’ll have to wait till tomorrow to pick up your CIGs. I’m sure if you drop by IT tomorrow, Alina will get you all set up. Other than that, you really only missed meeting Commander Jones.”

“Thabisa Jones?” Zed exclaimed. He cringed at the unbridled excitement in his voice.

“That’s the one!” Jonah said.

Jonah gestured to the other side of the hangar bay.

“Looks like you just missed her, actually.”

Zed turned to look. He caught a glimpse through an EV suit faceplate of one of the most famous people in history. There was no mistaking the wide jaw and surprisingly short stature of the first human to set foot on another planet. For Zed, even from afar, she very much lived up to the legend. The stern eyes and the pink scar that ran from her left cheek to her right stood in contrast to her dark skin. There may have been more recognizable faces on Earth, but Zed couldn’t think of any.

Ana Marsh stepped in front of Zed, blocking his view.

“If there’s nothing else we need to do here, I’d just as soon get to our quarters. It’s been a long day, and I want to get some sleep before starting work in the morning.”

“Sure, of course. If you'll just follow me, we'll get you squared away.”

They made their way through the hangar toward a large double door. As Zed walked through the exit and tried to turn down the corridor outside, he realized too late that he hadn’t fully adjusted to Martian gravity. He overcompensated and found himself hurtling toward the wall at a comical angle. He probably would have ended up with a good bruise and nothing more if someone hadn’t been walking past him at that moment. Zed collided with the stranger, sending both of them tumbling to the ground.

“What the hell!” the stranger exclaimed, shoving Zed off of him.

“I’m so sorry!” Zed said, attempting to help the man up and instead finding himself falling again.

“Just back off, kid!”

The man stood and glared down at Zed. He was in his mid-twenties, with a buzz cut and a poor attempt at a mustache. He turned and stomped away.

“Damn kids underfoot now,” Zed heard him mutter as he entered the hangar bay.

“You’ve got to be more careful, Zed!” Ana scolded.

“Oh, don’t worry too much about Andy,” Jonah said, helping Zed to his feet again. “He’s a bit of a sour soul, but a talented mechanic, I’ll give him that. You’ve just gotta get your Martian legs, that’s all. Come on, all the more reason to get you folks settled so you can get some rest.”

Zed was struck by how intensely colorful the walls and ceilings were. Geometric patches of garish color filled the corridor they were walking down. Zed started to notice a pattern. The bands formed broad arrow shapes that always seemed to flow in a general direction. The further they walked in, the shades of color began to change as well. While the walls had started a vibrant teal, they were now walking through a tunnel of bright green.

“What’s with the crazy colors?” Zed asked, catching up with Jonah as he marched forward.

“Hmm? Oh, the gradient? It’s just a handy way to navigate when every corridor starts looking the same. Naug is laid out in a big circle, or a bunch of circles really, so it’d be easy to lose track of where you were without some kind of distinction.”

Jonah looked at the ceiling for a moment as if seeing it for the first time.

“The chevron pattern that runs along the ceiling always points toward the center. The colors vary depending on which wedge of the ‘pie’ you’re in. And as far as the wacky colors go, well, let’s just say that Mars isn’t known for its shades of the rainbow.” Jonah gestured at the hall. “What might look like a neon nightmare on Earth is a balm for the soul here.”

Zed thought of the mostly colorless interior of the ship he’d spent the last several months on and how colorful even the surface of Mars had seemed in contrast.

“Yeah, I guess I can see that.”

They turned a corner and Jonah came to a stop.

“Alrighty, Marshes, this is your—eh—suite. Let me give you a tour of your Martian abode. It should take about five seconds.”