Not long after receiving the report of locating the alien facility, contact with the miners was lost. Giovanni uncertain of how best to proceed had decided to meet with the Chief of Security to discuss their next move. The Chief, Adam Cain sat at his desk with a viewscreen behind him that looked out onto Mars’ desolate surface. It served as a grim reminder to Giovanni that this planet was never meant for them. The fact they had made it even this far in colonising her had impressed him, and now they had something in their hands the powers back on Earth had spent decades fighting to control. A brief thought crept into his mind. What if the facility connects back to Earth and those bastard powers discover this base? What then?

“You’re silence is concerning me, Director.”

“Sorry, Chief, there’s a lot on my mind right now, I only just heard about what’s happening on the Moon.”

“Forget about the moon, what about these lost miners? You say their last contact was that they found what we presume to be part of the alien facility we’ve been digging for, is that right?”

“By all accounts and how it was initially described yes. I also had hoped they would pull back but I guess they were too eager.”

Adam Cain leaned forward and rested his large fists on the desk. He too looked ready to pop a blood vessel. “Normal circumstances, I’d send other miners in to locate them but these circumstances are no longer normal. It can’t be a coincidence that we find an alien facility right when a Mortan is discovered entering the base.”

“It probably is, it’s not the first time we’ve dealt with Mortans trying to escape from the conflict back home.”

Adam Cain stood up and walked around his desk to where Giovanni sat. “Either way, I’m not about to sacrifice my men for this, I have some prisoners you'll be meeting. You’ll brief them on their objective.”

“The newcomers? You want to send them into the planet so soon.”

“I want them as far away from the base as possible. And if something were to happen to them while locating our lost men,” said Adam shrugging. “It’s no skin off my back… or yours.”

—

Loud footsteps finally broke the silence and Francis was finally glad to see another face that wasn’t a guard or the testy Chief of Security. This man was different, taller than most with v-shaped black hair. His stare was no less piercing and Francis quickly suspected they weren’t out of the woods yet. He stopped before their cell, straightened up and had his hands behind his back. Francis stopped leaning on the wall and approached the man.

“Is this charade finally done? Are you finally going to free us?”

“I wish I could, but the Chief of Security is indeed of a team for a rescue mission.”

This caught Charles' attention and he joined Francis’ side. “Rescue mission? What kind?”

“A group of miners were lost while digging. They’ve been out of contact for a few hours now.”

“And you want to send us in, all of us lacking any real experience in that area.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“The first thing you will learn about this place is that you learn on the job.”

Francis sighed. “If we agree to this job, will we be free?”

“That is not my decision to make but I can put a good word in with the Chief.”

The man nodded to the guard on his left and the cell’s barrier disappeared allowing everyone to leave. Melina had been keeping the others company when she approached the now open cell. “Are we free to go Captain?”

Francis looked at her and shook his head. “Not yet, as a sign of our goodwill, we have to complete our first assignment.

“And what is that?”

“I’ll explain on the way,” said the newcomer. He turned and began walking.

One by one the Black Knight squad fell in behind him with Francis a few steps behind the man.

“I should introduce myself at least, I’m Giovanni, I run the mining division and its logistics. I’ll run you through the basics but once you’re in the mines, the rest is up to you.”

“No problem, I’m Francis, Captain of this little group… Fr the foreseeable it seems. You’ve got Charles, Melina, Echo, and Pyotr. Unfortunately, Andrey was infected with the Mortalis. I had a glimpse into the chamber where the checks were being run and saw some of what became of him.”

“What did you see?” asked Giovanni.

‘Don’t tell him anything that could make him suspicious of us.’ Melina’s prodding of his thoughts was something he would never get used to.

“Well that’s the thing, the room went black so I only saw him curl up into a ball and then once the guards were done, he was like dust. Never seen anything like it.”

“Sounds like degradation, accelerated possibly due to his circumstances.”

“At least he’s no longer a threat.”

“Indeed,” said Giovanni.

The mining sector began with a dome, but unlike where they came from it looked less attended to and more lived in. Containers were stacked on all sides and Giovanni not uttering a word led them down a meandering series of corridors past various personnel and what looked like a mess area until they reached the very edge of the sector. The two gunmetal grey slowly opened.

“This is where I leave you. You’ll find your suits in the locker. The next set of doors will lead you to the garage.”

Francis chuckled. “At least we’re not going on foot.”

“I’ll be watching your progress from this sector’s control room, good luck.”

He turned and headed back the way they came. Now that they were alone and able to suit up, Charles turned to face Francis. “Honestly, not what I expected my first job to be on Mars. The last thing we want to do is rescue some lost miners.”

“If they found a piece of an alien facility, then we could have trouble. The longer we leave them… there’s no-” Melina flew back into one of the other members, Pyotr. He managed to turn in time and stop her from falling.

“Everything okay, Comrade?”

“Nothing just some static buildup. I’ll be fine.”

“We should run a diagnostics on your suit, just in case,” said Echo.

“It’s not necessary, I assure you,” she said looking to Francis. “I’m good to go.”

“She’s right,” said a voice over the comms system. “Her suit still has integrity and seeing as how you are all suited and ready to go. Please proceed,” said Giovanni.

The door behind them turned red, locking them in while the one in front opened into a large garage and storage area. On the right were cargo containers, while to their left was something none of them expected to see this far from Earth. Francis ran across the metal walkway to take in the full size of the beastly machine. “A goddamn crawler, this far from Earth.”

“The crawler’s good at navigating Mars' inhospitable environment. It’ll get you to the mine entrance.”

“The last time I saw one of these was in some blasted desert back on Earth. Makes a change, Captain. To finally be able to pilot one,” said Charles.

That was when Echo stepped forward. “Actually since I’m the only registered pilot. If anyone is driving her, it’s going to me.”

Charles looked down at the woman and folded his arms. “What does being a pilot have to do with driving a walker.”

“They have similar functions. Do you even know where the on button is?”

“She’s got you there,” said Melina.

“Fine, Echo can drive there but I’m bringing her back.”

“Fine by me,” said Echo. “Now get in everyone, sooner we get there and find those miners. The sooner we can get back and put our feet up for a change!"

She was right about that. So far the mission had gone sideways but Francis was nothing if not adaptable. He had to prove to Cain he could be trusted then maybe that would get the man off their backs. One can only dream.