***
There was that extra suit, though it was too large for Para or me. Para wanted to make-due with the suit and go along. But there was a concern that if she inadvertently inverted, the port would be in jeopardy. The twins were at their maximum lift capacity.
The twins have decided it is generally safer if one of them stays behind when we teleport to a new place. They can still combine their porting ability lift capacity if one stays back. They call that tethering. With a tether position it is more likely a group can be pulled back if untangling into something that is solid. Well, it’s not quite pulling someone back. It’s more like stopping the entanglement process during the quantum information push, before the transfer actually takes place.
You know the drill; it would be terrible to untangle in something denser than water or air or the vacuum of space. Roll is the more proficient at recognizing the shake that signals a catastrophic untangling. He will tether the port. Para fit the remaining suit best and would be ready to help in an emergency. If needed, Roll can port her, though it will have to be a drop-and-go port. The environment on Mars is harsh. And he won’t have a suit.
Rock, Muncle, and Mr. T have suited up. We will rig the remaining suit for Para as Communal suggested. These suits are complex. We’re doing our best to work through a systems-check with no operator manual. There is a display on the left suit arm that has various system readouts.
First off, life support. Oxygen feed. Climate control. Set those to center, optimal. Seals. Batteries. Radio checks out. Cameras, good. All systems looking good! They are standing right next to the big bomb. Smile! Picture for posterity’s sake. Where did Muncle go?
The bomb is set. Arming mechanism, good; timer delay pod, good. All systems go. A dust storm is possible, a 40% chance. We don’t want to delay the mission, so Roll rigged a shroud to protect the circuits. With the added gear, this will be the most massive lift the twins have ever tried.
Next, a quick test port. 10 feet to the west. Success! Distance doesn’t impact their porting ability.
Roll is doing some deep breathing exercises. Calming. Intense concentration, getting set to tether the origin site, ready to feel any entanglement shake.
Here’s the countdown to teleportation, Mars Crush, T-minus 3 seconds and counting. And, they’re off. Roll said the port seemed to go fine. You can’t talk back and forth when you port. It’s not as though a doorway can be left open or something. It’s more like you are here, and then you are there. Well, an exact copy of you has been made there.
They should be right back with good news of a successful mission, or a quick rundown of a necessary change in the plan. There will be a full recording of the operation.
Oh, that’s right, I was going to add the interpretive summary mode selection. Let’s try this.
“Para, slip this drive into your suit recorder, will you? All the Mars suits have encrypted synch-links. The recorder drive has the passcodes. When they get back, I can download all the data from their suits.”
We figured the bugs would know that something had happened to their ships on Earth. The hope was they wouldn’t react quickly. It would make sense to review available data and consider options before sending more ships. We hoped any concern about their base on Mars would be limited.
But there was a significant variable. They have likely surmised the EDF has control of some of their ships. With bug ships in the mix, Mars was in easy reach. That knowledge could, in fact, aid the mission. Keep watching the skies rather than your back door, little bugs.
Time is dragging along. The waiting is difficult, knowing the team should have already returned. We need to find out what’s going on. Time for step two, the Para interdiction.
Roll is swaddled in a snowmobile suit, boots, and goggles. It will be cold. Even with that, he won’t be able to stay more than, maybe, 10 seconds. There’s really no air pressure on Mars. Any air is summarily sucked from your lungs. Staying longer than 10 seconds would invite unconsciousness and death.
Para quickly ran through the systems check on her suit. It wasn’t a terrible fit, just a little large. We used some duct tape to tighten it up a bit. Actually, the duct tape made the whole getup look rather silly. I almost started laughing.
Then a wave of worry washed over me and drowned the impulse. Roll started to insist he go in Para’s place. But he couldn’t have gotten into the suit if his life depended on it. I should have gone in the first place to provide cloak. They really had been concerned about even small additions to the lift weight. Besides, too late for that. Now that Para is in the suit no one on Earth could get her out. Literally.
Don’t even think about bringing up my having a bout of irrational guilt right now Communal. I mean it. Yeah, you better erase that sentence. I’ll get to your red-flag post when this is all done. There they go.
Roll ported Para to Mars, to the same location as the others, not too far from a main entry of the Mars base. But without a suit he had to port right back to Earth as soon as he dropped off Para. Yeah, a drop-and-go. But he got a good look around. There were at least a dozen bugs on guard looking very alert and the team was in trouble.
RUNNING. Narrative mode.
As Para untangled, her suit synched with the other suits and
