While Nathan and his crew were excited to be heading to the surface, what surprised them more was the amount of ships that were in the space station's hangar. There were at least twenty star-shooters, but the vessel they were taking was one that was at the end of the hanger and three times larger than the shooters. As they were walking up, Nathan ran his hand across the vessel's hull.

     "This is a personnel carrier," he said out loud to no one in particular.

     "We found this ship to be more conservative," Eric replied, as he limped closer, using a cane to walk up to the ship. "Uses less fuel and carries more people up. As fun as it is to use star shooters, if more than one person is flying up or down, these carriers are the better ones to use."

     "That makes sense," Nathan agreed, "I understand resources are not infinite so save wherever you can."

     "That's right," Eric said as he waved to the open hatch, "After you,"

     The three astronauts as well as Drummond and Saunders all boarded the carrier, which lifted off once everyone was buckled up and ready to go. Once they cleared the station, it was only a matter of minutes before the carrier was re-entering Mar's atmosphere and returning to the Red Planet. Once in the atmosphere, the carrier took its time getting to the colony, giving their new passengers a scenic route, to show off the great views of Mars while flying back to the colonies.

     "It's beautiful," Rachel said, looking out the windows.

     "The best is yet to come," Nathan replied.

     "He's right," Eric confirmed.

     Moments later, the carrier passed through what looked like a canyon but was in fact a crater, a very big one.

     "Whoa," Nathan said as he looked down. "What could cause such a massive crater? An asteroid?"

     "No," Eric replied, "I'm afraid this information is classified for the time being."

     "Sorry," Nathan said, "I don't mean to pry."

     "It's alright," Eric said, smiling back at him. "You're curious and that's always a good thing, especially if you're an explorer."

     When the carrier finally approached the colonies, the view was even more amazing than what the astronauts had seen from space.

     "Over the last decade," Eric explained, "We used the new metals we found here on Mars to expand the dome, making it even bigger. What started as a small colony of over thirty thousand people is now a city with a population that will reach fifty thousand within the next few years."

     "That is amazing," Gregory replied, "And you did this all on your own. I mean without help from Earth."

     "We knew from the beginning Earth's help was never guaranteed," Drummond explained, "We had no idea whether or not you survived the asteroid."

     "We barely survived," Nathan told him, "it's all on the media file. How we managed to break it up and avoid the major impact, but how devastating the smaller impacts were. Governments thought small impacts and the loss of some life was a far better than just letting an extinction level event occur."

     "Define some life?" Eric asked.

     "Over two hundred and fifty million just on the first day," Samantha answered, "We think another two billion and a half died from the post impact winters and crop failures happening all over the world."

     "I'm sorry to hear that," Eric said, thinking of the devastation even small impacts would have made when slamming into Earth.

     "It didn't matter where they hit," Gregory continued for Sam, "if it hit land, whole areas were devastated for hundreds of miles, but the ones that hit water caused tsunamis that killed even more people in the coastal cities. We were screwed no matter where they landed. Then the impacts also caused earthquakes and volcanic activity that also made life difficult after all the devastation. Needless to say, it wasn't a cake walk."

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     "I don't doubt it," Drummond replied, "What part took the hardest hits?"

     "Europe took a real beating," Nathan replied, "Europe and Africa were facing the wrong way when the smaller rocks hit. But North America lost just as many lives because of the biggest tsunami which occurred in the Atlantic."

     "A heavy price to pay," Eric said, sitting back.

     "Hey," Nathan said, spotting something outside his window. "What the hell is that massive thing?"

     "That?" Eric said, looking out the same window. "That's our newest battleship, Stargazer Ten. We started working on it six years ago, using only the raw metals we found on Mars. The metal, which we haven't named yet, is lighter than our metals and is ten times tougher too."

     "You could call it Martian Metal," Gregory suggested.

     Eric and Drummond looked at each other then laughed as they looked back to their three guests.

     "We just might," Eric replied, "That's the best suggestion I've heard yet."

     "We are on approach," the pilot called out from the cockpit.

     "Sit tight," Eric called out.

     The three astronauts braced for anything but were surprised as the carrier flew through a small tunnel like hole in the side of the massive dome, and seconds later they were clear of the large wall and inside of the dome, flying through town and heading towards the tall buildings in the center of the city. The three guests watched as they flew through the massive township, looking at all the people as they walked below. When the Carrier finally landed, it was on the room of the government building that houses the council of the colony. Upon hearing that visitors from Earth had arrived, Eric and Drummond requested the council to convene for an emergency session. Eager to speak with the new arrivals, the council was quick to concur. They were waiting for the three visitors in the council chambers. When Nathan and his crew followed Eric and Drummond into the chamber, there were nine seats, eight of which were occupied until Drummond took his place in the final seat. He was one of the longest running members of the council.

     "This council formally welcomes you," the woman in the center of the council started, "We are the democratically elected leaders of the Mars colonies. Years ago we named this colony Red Star, a name selected by the people during a referendum. Doctor Saunders, what nation do these people represent?"

     "They don't represent anyone," Eric answered for them, "They are members of a private organization, and run by someone I personally know, so I can vouch for these people as the man they take orders from is a good man."

     "Understood, Doctor Saunders." The council woman replied, "So why are they here. What brought them out to the red planet?"

     "Curiosity would be my guess," Eric answered, "They've come to check up on us, just to make sure everyone was doing well."

     "That was very considerate," the council woman replied, "We do appreciate your efforts to check up on your former brethren."

     "Former?" Nathan repeated, "I still consider you our brethren."

     "Your world does not," Drummond replied, "Not for a long time."

     "I'm sorry about that," Nathan called out, "We are here because we care and wanted to reach out and open lines of communication."

     "Can we trust them, Doctor Saunders?" The council woman asked him.

     "I think we can," Eric responded.

     "You're sure they do not pose a threat?" another councilman asked.

     "Not at the moment," Eric honestly answered, "We've been scanning the ship, and as we speak it's being disassembled by our engineers on the observatory. So far we've found no weapons, not even a pair of box cutters."

     "Hold on," Gregory said, "You're taking our ship apart?"

     "How will we get home?" Samantha asked.

     "If necessary," Eric started, "We'll offer you a ride home. It won't take as long for us to make the trip either."

     "You're making plans to return to Earth?" Nathan asked.

     "We are," the council woman answered, "Stargazer Ten's sole purpose is to return to earth and open diplomatic talks with other nations."

     "We had no idea," Nathan confessed, "I'm not sure how our planet will respond if made aware of this station's existence."

     "We will take that under advisement." The council woman replied.

     "We will also use the media from the data box you've given us," Drummond replied, "As a means to judge whether or not your world is really ready to re-establish ties with us."

     "How should we tell the colony?" the council woman then asked.

     "I have an idea," Eric said, stepping forward, "For your consideration of course. I think we should introduce them to the colony during our independence celebrations."

     "Very well," Council woman said, "We will introduce our new friends at the event during our Independence Day celebrations."

     With that said, the council stood and then vacated the room. Their session was over. Standing there in the chamber, Nathan walked up to Eric as he was confused about something.

     "I don't get it," Nathan replied, "We're in the middle of September; the fourth of July was a while back."

     "Not your independence," Eric corrected, "The colony declared their independence from the United States on September twentieth. We celebrate the day we told Earth we were going to do our own thing without them."

     "Oh, right," Nathan said, feeling stupid. "Who did the honors?"

     "You're looking at him, kid." Eric said, playfully slapping the kid on the shoulder. "Let's take a walk; I know a place that serves a great steak."

     "Lead the way, Doctor." Nathan replied, eager to have some real food.