Elaina. In search of a planet.

Martian guardians, part 4

The main goal of the Beetle is the search and extraction of mineral deposits. Marsium was the main fossil new element in the periodic table. This metal possessed a unique protective property, which was lacking for a long time in the development of terrestrial atomic energy. That would allow to put the reactor in any machine without fear. A person completely protected from radioactive radiation could move for six months without refueling. And so far only the flying subterrine beetle possessed such a unique technology.
In the boundless expanse of eternal night, Striver was heading towards the red planet. A bright stream of sunlight illuminated the back of the ship. It moved at great speed, and only occasionally from the nozzles directed to Mars, gases gradually erupted, slowing down the shuttle. At that moment, only billions of distant stars, scattered with brilliant grains in the endless darkness, remained motionless.
Eight hours have passed. The Kegy passed through a thin layer of the Martian atmosphere. The crew watched the crimson dawn through their tinted glasses on their helmets. A reddish Sun appeared on the horizon, illuminating the region of the Forsis plateau. This rocky plain is covered with red ferruginous sand.
Descending closer to the surface, sand dunes became visible, on the slopes of which dried up streams of water were visible. Further volcanoes rose, including the largest in the solar system — this is Mount Olympus. With a height three times higher than Everest, from a distance it looks like a pyramid with a chopped off top, under which thick white clouds have formed.
Flying by, on the slopes of this giant mountain, traces of ancient lava flows were visible, which slowly emerged from the vent and calmly spread in different directions, building its giant cone.
The Mariner Valley appeared on the horizon. This is a huge canyon, many times larger than the famous Grand Canyon, which is spread out on Earth in North America.
At a flight altitude of about two kilometers, the commander tried to contact the base:
"Biosphere, this is Striver, welcome, over."
After a short time again:
"Biosphere, over. This is Striver," Amano paused, then swore. "Yeah, what the hell happened to them!?"
"Hey, look, on the right side!" the flight engineer exclaimed, pointing a finger at the object.
Something a few kilometers away was moving across the surface, leaving behind a deep furrow. It did not last long, the object disappeared into the crevice, or rather fell there. It was far enough away from him to get a good look at him.
"Have you seen this?" Janos repeated and added. "I swear by the eternal universal night, this does not look like the tricks of our scientists."
The ship continued to move over the canyon. The path cannot be changed. The shuttle was heading straight for the base, which was not far away in the crater.
Tanya sat still in a state of euphoria from the Martian landscape. She just shrugged her shoulders without answering.
"Okay, now let's see," Amano said, fiddling with the buttons on the panel.
Video information appeared on the monitor, which was captured by the visor on the astronaut's helmet. The picture got bigger and clearer. It immediately became clear that this item was not of natural origin. In front of them, an unidentified spacecraft, about fifty meters in size, was crashing.
The digital data shocked the astronauts a little.
"We'll have to come back here again," Maxim said.
Striver passed the Mariner Valley. Amano looked up from the display and saw a crater approaching ahead.
"Prepare for landing!" the commander ordered the crew.
Landing is always a dangerous maneuver. For technology, this is a test, but for people, the price of life.
The crater was about ten kilometers away. The ship quickly passed this distance and approached the half-kilometer walls that enveloped a huge funnel left by the impact of a large meteorite. Over time, the bottom of the crater leveled off and became covered with sand dunes and a rocky plain. It was a good shelter from the strong winds and hurricanes that suddenly appeared on Mars and raged with destructive force.
The nozzles swooped down forward, decelerating rapidly and lifting the ship's bow. Exhaust valves on the nose, wings, and two rear nozzles stabilized the fuselage in a horizontal position. The ship began to slowly sink. The duration of the landing should not exceed three minutes. Exactly as long as the Kegy could hang in the air. All this time, it was him who was brought to the landing site by an autopilot, which was oriented with the help of lasers, accurately landing the spacecraft on the site.
Through the windshield, one could clearly see the inside of the crater walls. The meteorite left behind traces of fluids — these are streams of boiling liquid. A mass saturated with gases and dust from the explosion of a meteorite rushed in different directions, twisting the inside of Mars.
Amano, landing the ship, monitored the instruments and unsuccessfully tried to contact the Biosphere. Yablonsky looked to the side where the base was located and said excitedly:
"Something is wrong here, I don't like the way the station looks.