While everyone else was preparing for their trek, Chris took the opportunity to revisit the Control Room, on his own. It was impossible to know what obstacles or dangers they might meet during the hike to the Supply Modules but now that he knew they might have a traitor in their midst, he had to be prepared. The odds of the traitor being active would increase dramatically when the defrosting of the rest of the crew began.
Once he had identified the traitor, he would no doubt need help from other members of the crew, but until then, he would have to operate alone. It seemed reasonable to assume that he would be an obvious target for the traitor so he would have to take precautions to protect himself.
Standing as high on the sloped wall as he could without slipping, he could just reach the misleadingly titled emergency locker. He took the Command Key he kept on a chain around his neck and used it to unlock the small door. He knew the contents from training but had never seen them in real life before. On a compact rack inside were two Glock 19 pistols, some spare clips, four single-use flare pistols and the security key for resetting Foxy to her factory settings.
He nervously glanced back at the hatch before releasing one of the Glocks from its bracket. The pistol felt cold and heavy as he checked it was loaded. He took two spare clips and shoved them along with the pistol into one of the chest pockets in his H.E.P.O.. He was about to relock the locker when he changed his mind and took one of the flare pistols too. He stuffed that into the long pocket on the right thigh of his H.E.P.O. side then fastened both zips.
He could not think of a reason why he might need a flare pistol, but he felt he was more likely to need one if he did not have one with him.
* * *
"Lucy, have we left enough food for the people who are staying here?" Chris asked as the group who were making the trek gathered behind the Command Module.
"More than enough to last until well after our own food runs out," she replied. "They've probably got enough to last two or three weeks. Their water's not going to last that long, so they won't starve to death."
"How bad are the four injured."
"Ah... no-one told... okay, it's three now. It's Robert Butcher..."
"What happened?"
"He'd been unconscious ever since we crashed. He was one of the unlucky ones who got hit by the chairs that broke off. Apart from being knocked out and suffering some impressive bruising, we thought he was going to be okay. I thought it was just a matter of waiting for him to come round."
"He died?"
"We noticed he'd stopped breathing about fifteen minutes ago. Hugo tried to resuscitate him, but it was too late. Hugo reckons he probably had internal bleeding that we couldn't detect."
"How are the other three?"
"Broken ribs, a suspected broken ankle and a head injury that probably needs surgery. I'd be happier if we could x-ray Rebecca's arm too. Amanda seems to have done a decent job of setting it, but we really need the medical people from those Supply Modules. The paramedic who was revived before the crash died."
"We're not getting much luck," Chris sighed sadly. "Our mission now is to turn things around. How are we going on preparations, Fletcher?"
Fletcher looked surprised to be spoken to.
"It took some work to get water out of the drinking tank, Commander," he reported. "I had to rip some panelling out, drill a hole in the top of the tank and set up a syphon valve. We've taken just over half the total supply just filling the water bottles."
"Do you reckon we're kitted ready to set off?"
"Everyone's got one two-litre bottle packed, except you and Adam Kahn. You're both big lads, so I've given you two each. I've filled another eight to leave with the injured. They can refill from what's left in the main tank, but those will get them started."
"Good work. And food sachets?"
"Aye, twelve each. Enough for six days, should we need it, Commander. We're carrying twenty-eight spare H.E.P.O.s between us and some rope and two oxygen bottles. I've left the other two bottles with the injured. They're heavy buggers."
"What? The oxygen bottles?"
"Yes, Commander. They're all one-litre canisters but they weigh almost three kilos each."
"I hope we won't need them, but it's best to have them with us just in case. Okay, that all sounds good. We need to set off now. Lucy, has everyone decided which group they want to be in?"
"Yep," she replied looking down at her tablet. The screen was shattered but it was still functioning otherwise. "We've got Rebecca Durrell, Kate Butcher and Hugo Smith staying behind with the injured. Then there's you, me, Melissa, Fletcher, Calvin, Amanda Kent, Anil Carter, Diego Martinez, Emily Lam, Jacob Smith, Adam Kahn, Dan Theirol and Isla Campbell coming along for the trip."
"This is where I should hand over command to you, Lucy."
"No way," she shook her head dramatically. "My title is 'Colony Commander'. I don't see a colony anywhere around here."
"Fair enough, but if you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to shout out."
At that moment, Kate Butcher, also dressed in a H.E.P.O., clambered out through the airlock in a hurry. She slid untidily over the edge and dropped heavily onto the ground.
"I'm coming too!" she announced, slightly out-of-breath.
Chris, not sure how to react, said, "You volunteered to stay and care for... the... okay, Robert was your..."
"My brother, yes." She sounded more angry than upset. "He only came to this planet because of me. He's gone now and I have to do something to make this all worthwhile."
"No problem. Fletcher, can you prepare another rucksack for our new team member?"
"Give me a minute, Commander."
* * *
"Good luck to all of you! You know we're counting on you here," called Hugo as he hand-cranked the outer airlock door slowly closed.
"Just make sure you stay warm and alive," Chris replied. "See you in a couple of days."
Hugo and Rebecca waved calmly through the gap as Hugo completed the door closure with his other hand.
"That's it then, off we go," said Lucy, turning towards the ridge they would have to climb.
With Chris and Lucy leading, the group set off along the rocky furrow carved by the Elysian. The first few hundred metres were easy, even with the thin atmosphere and sub-zero temperature. The surface beneath their feet was crushed gravel as everything larger had been swept out of the way by the Command Module.
The slope steepened rapidly but was not much of a hindrance until they reached the beginning of the furrow. From there on, there were small boulders, loose rocks and a much more uneven surface to contend with. Soon, Chris was having to pick a route between the larger boulders and had to slow his pace a little so everyone could keep up.
The angle of the slope continued to increase as they approached the top, every step becoming harder than the last. Several times, people in the group stumbled on loose stones and sent some of the smaller ones cascading noisily down the slope, but they continued to make steady progress. Chris thought back to the pictures he had seen of footprints left by the first men on the Moon. The surface on this planet was not going to allow such footprints to be left.
The group was soon zigzagging to cope with the steepness. Chris led them up into the lowest part of the hole left by the Command Module's impact and, for the first time, they could see the horizon ahead of them.
"Wow, you can really see how much smaller this planet is," said Lucy, stopping to catch her breath while the rest of the group filed up to the top.
"Really?" said Fletcher.
"Yeah, look at the curve of the horizon."
"I can't get over how pink the light is from Proxima Centauri," added Chris. "I know we saw many, many photos from the surface before we set off but, somehow, when you're actually here, it's quite different."
"Do you think we'll get used to it and, eventually, not notice it anymore?" asked Lucy.
"I guess we'll get used to it but I'm sure we'll never stop noticing it."
"I still can't get my head around the ground under our feet not being Earth. All my life, the ground beneath me has been our home planet and now it isn't," she said.
"And never will be ever again," added Fletcher glibly.
"Don't put it that way!" she protested.
"On the subject of things we can't get our heads around," said Chris. "We are the first group of humans to walk on a planet outside of our solar system. I know it's not possible to do, but I can't help feeling that we should be doing video transmissions back to Earth, recording the historic moment for all the people back home."
"I know what you mean," Lucy replied.
"We should get moving again," said Fletcher.
"It will be downhill for a bit," said Chris. "But it looks like a lot of loose rocks as we get near the bottom. That will be hard going. Is everyone ready to move on?"
A general murmur of agreement caused him to set off again.
"How far until the first Supply Module now, Melissa?" he asked after about a dozen steps.
It took a few moments for Melissa to pull the navicom out of her pocket and switch it on again.
"Just two kilometres," she reported.
"I think I can see it!" shouted Kate Butcher from close behind them.
"Where?" Chris asked.
"There, where the terrain changes texture. It looks like the end of the rocks and it's just smooth. On the join, there's a cylinder lying horizontally."
"You've got better eyes than me," Chris laughed. "I think I can see something, but I wouldn't put money on it. If that's it, it's not standing on its feet. Not a good sign."
"It's in the right direction," Melissa added, squinting at the distant object.
"I can't see anything else out there that looks anything like it," added Fletcher.
"Okay, let's keep going. Even in this terrain, we should be able to cross two kilometres in well under an hour," said Chris.
"And this bit is downhill," said Lucy, adjusting the straps on her rucksack and quickening her pace.
Chris followed close behind her and Kate walked along beside him. Avoiding slipping was the tricky part on the descent but the slope gradually levelled out and walking became steadily easier, until the boulders started.
Initially, it was a scattering of rocks, some thirty or forty centimetres in diameter, apparently gathered near the base of the slope. For the next few hundred metres at least, the ground was a mix of small and large rock, appearing to get larger into the distance. Their progress slowed on the uneven and unpredictable surface and Chris ended up leading the group once more.
Before long, he was weaving around the larger boulders and working hard to find the safest, most effective route between them. As they walked, the rocks were getting larger and some of them reached waist height. Lucy climbed nimbly up onto one of the larger ones in an attempt to see the best way ahead. Chris continued picking his way between them, struggling to find stable footing on the smaller, loose rocks that lined the gaps between the larger rocks.
"I can't see the module anymore," Lucy reported.
"Maybe it's slightly lower than where we are now?" Chris called back to her.
"We're still heading in the right direction," said Melissa.
"There are some impressive mountains in the distance. I'm sure they didn't look as big from up on the ridge," said Lucy.
The boulders continuously got larger and closer together. Walking was getting even more difficult as they had to squeeze through ever decreasing gaps and the bed of small rocks between the boulders was hard to walk on without twisting ankles. Lucy stayed up on the rock until the rest of the group were past her, then she dropped down and brought up the rear.
Chris soon found he was having to take larger and larger deviations to find gaps he could actually fit through. The boulders were approaching shoulder height when he decided that a change of plan was necessary. Their rate of progress had become too slow and he had an idea that might improve things.
"Let me try something," he announced to Kate and Fletcher, who were currently directly behind him.
He took hold of the nearest boulder to his right with his gloved hands. Back on Earth, in the higher gravity, his next manoeuvre would have been too strenuous to complete while still wearing his heavy rucksack. He heaved himself upwards, kicked his boots against the boulder behind him and scrabbled up onto the largely flat top.
After taking a moment to catch his breath, he clambered onto his feet and looked at the route ahead.
"Come on everyone. Climb up on top of these boulders," he announced to the rest of the group.
Some people immediately copied him. Others did not seem to think it was a sensible idea. He leant down and grabbed Kate's offered hand, pulling her up onto the boulder beside him much more easily than he expected. She kicked her feet up the side of the boulder and almost jumped onto the top. Fletcher was almost halfway up himself when they grabbed him under one arm each and heaved him up too. The thin atmosphere left Chris out of breath again.
After much scrabbling and teamwork, everyone was up on top, spread across eight boulders. The tops of all the boulders were relatively flat and a much better walking surface than the gaps between them. Looking ahead, Chris had discovered that the gaps they had been navigating were cracks in a flat, rocky surface. As they headed towards the Supply Module, the gaps were becoming finer and the upper surface more complete.
Initial progress was slow as they were forced to jump from boulder to boulder, sometimes up to a metre apart. However, over the next ten minutes, the terrain transitioned steadily to cracks just centimetres across and they were able to move on at a good pace.
"Is that the Supply Module there, in the distance?" asked Kate, pointing past Chris.
He had been concentrating on the ground and not looking where they were going. Now he was sure they had found the module. In the weak, pink sunlight, the stainless-steel hull was not as shiny as he expected but they definitely were not looking at a rock formation. News spread quickly along the line and, with renewed enthusiasm, they quickened their pace across the flat ground.
It turned out that the module had not landed on the flat rock area. Over the next couple of hundred metres, the rock gave way to a sea of grey gravel, stretching apparently off to the mountains kilometres in the distance. The module's landing feet had deployed as designed but with the module lying on its side, something had clearly gone wrong with the final touchdown.