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Next, the rover. It crouched like some frozen dinosaur, in its bay adjacent to the main air lock. The rover was a four-wheeled vehicle with the general appearance of an open roadster, although with a sealed cabin, and a row of battery cells mounted before the back axle. The cabin was constructed of a dark matte insulation that had been interlaced with lead; Sarah wasn’t sure about the construction process, exactly, but the cabin could hold five people with only a little bit of discomfort, could go 30 mph, and had a maximum operating time of one hour outside of the dome. The rover wouldn’t be able to keep the cabin temperature high enough any longer than that.

Sarah was a mechanic only due to necessity, but she had accustomed herself to grease and grime before her first day in Adenia. It was all part of the crash-course in colony living that her father required them all to take. His words echoed in her mind and brought her a wistful smile. “Everyone needs to learn how to do as much as they can.” Fortunately they had a newer model rover that was comprised of easy-to-adjust parts. Sarah had disconnected the rover from the recharging port, and then had disconnected the battery pack from the cabin. Then she unfolded the instructions and checked over all the joints, gears, and seals.

She had just finished up when the VR Unit announced, “Daniel is calling.” She left the tools on the floor and bolted to the Comm room. She was safe looking like a grease monkey; the ship-to-surface channels were voice-only. She wiped her hands on her grungy jeans and pushed the receive button. A crackly, warm, masculine voice greeted her.

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