The Descent

Chapter 38 - Mars

The trip to Mars was uneventful and drawn out. By the time they arrived, Denton felt as if he had paced around the ship enough times to wear a trail in the floor tiles. Not to mention the lack of interaction with others was driving him nuts. Throughout their journey, Gabi had mostly kept to herself while Jonythan was busy keeping the wheels of his empire spinning. Tanner's progress had also been painfully slow. Very little had been discovered during the trip, which made the time in transit all the more frustrating. Denton was ready to be done with it and get on with the investigation.

Their arrival in Mars orbit briefly turned into an unexpected standoff as the Governor of Mars, and his hired armada blocked the path of Jonythan's ship and that of the Admiral because they were likely to contain spies. Denton had a feeling that the governor still hadn't gotten over his last visit to the planet and how he had eluded his grasp. The standoff ended after Jonythan's not so subtle threats to withdraw his business interests from the planet if the Governor continued his antics. The Governor mumbled something about sincere apologies and misunderstandings before he withdrew his fleet. The Admiral wasn't convinced and decided to stay in orbit, to ensure the Governor kept his word.

They docked at a private orbital facility that included the Forsythe orbital offices as well as the transfer station to the shuttles that doubled as cargo and passenger transportation to the surface. After a few formalities that were sped up by the presence of Jonythan himself, they transferred to one of the shuttles and prepared for the journey to the surface and the Forsythe mining complex. After Jonythan's private ship, the planet-bound shuttle was almost industrial. There were seats and same basic provisions for emergency situations, but otherwise, it was strictly a transportation vehicle without any luxuries. It fit right into the industrial aspect of the Forsythe empire.

Denton took a window seat for the ride down to the surface. Jonythan sat with the pilot while Quinsby and Gabi sat across the aisle from him. He strapped in and took a deep breath as the shuttle departed the orbital station and turned its nose towards the looming surface of Mars. He felt the tug of acceleration as the pilot ignited the engines and launched them towards the surface. Despite his experience with the Descent, sitting strapped into a seat without any control made him feel somewhat uneasy, more so than their descent to the surface of Earth. The shuttle began to vibrate as they entered the upper atmosphere of Mars and Denton found himself gripping the arms of his chair hard enough that his knuckles were white. Across the aisle, Gabi snickered but quickly looked away as he glanced in her direction. What was so funny?

As soon as the vibrations subsided, he relaxed. They swooped down through the clouds, past patches of green fields and towering red mountains. Settlements connected by roads disappeared from view as quickly as they appeared as they sped by them. Denton couldn't help but wonder what life was on the ground in these settlements. With only a partially successfully terraforming event in the past, he knew that life wasn't as easy as on Earth or even Proxima b. As the shuttle slowed down and they approached the ground, Denton leaned towards the window, trying to get a glimpse of the ground structures. He expected Forsythe Industries to have a massive complex of some sort, buzzing with life and equipment. He was a little puzzled when he saw none. A glance across the cabin, through the window next go Gabi, revealed the same view that Denton had. Flat ground littered with rocks of various sizes. Nothing else. He frowned. Was that it, the nexus of Forsythe Industries on Mars? A desert?

The shuttle touched down on the ground with a thump, rocking side to side a few times before it settled onto its landing gear. Denton was about to ask Jonythan why they had landed in the wilderness when the ship shuddered, and the ground outside the ship began to rise. As they passed the ground surface on their way down, Denton realized his mistake. There were no structures above ground because the complex was underground. He almost felt a little stupid for overlooking that possibility.