MARS—MARS STATIONThorpe and Braxton stepped through the portal into the Control Center of Mars Station, adjusting their balance to account for the lesser gravity. Mars Station was tucked into a hollow spur of rock jutting out from massive cliffs towering above. Geologists had determined that the hollow spur was the remnant of a lava tube formed long ago when the desert was part of a shallow sea. Situated above the northern wall of central Valles Marineris, it was an ideal location for Mars Station, just south of Candor Chasma and east of Melas Labes. It was well-protected from radiation and dust storms, yet with easy access to the main surface of Mars and the depths of Valles Marineris.
Stanley Roka was on watch. In his late twenties, of medium height and build with dark skin and a head o
