Moon Fall

The two figures crested the coral like hillside with it’s multitude of holes, protrusions the size of a pinky to the size of a ATV, and rounded edges. An entire landscape of what the scientists could only describe as an ancient petrified field of coral that had once been submerged by water. The sun had set almost three hours ago and the two had been unable to bring their rover this far as they didn’t want to leave any tracks so they would not be followed.

Peiter didn’t like the idea of not letting anyone know where they were going, but Alexi had said once Peiter saw what he’d found they could tell everyone. His old friend had said it was the find of the century.

As they trudged their way down the slope Alexi noticed the ground further down seemed to turn to sand and his EVO boots sunk slightly into the dust. Reaching down he grabbed a handful and ran it through his gloved fingers, sparkling micro crystals glinted back at him in the dim twin moonlight.

“Peiter we have three hours before first Moon Fall, then it’ll get too dark for us to make our way out. So hurry up!” Alexi said through the coms of their suits.

Turning his head up he saw Alexi waving at him.

The petrified coral landscape seemed almost to sink into the sands. Peiter wrapped the idea around in his head and he decided there was some sense in it. Sediment would have settled and in this valley the wind might not have picked up much of the loose dirt. Looking back at the hill behind him he could understand why scientists would consider the area to be like the coral reefs of Old Earth, though the way the coral seemed to jut out at angles that seemed odd to him.

Earth Coral Reefs are made from secretions of calcium carbonate by coral. A reef is built upon years and years of life and death and so on of animal life and coral. The fact that this is called coral is mostly due to the visual when you see it. Hardened sponge like surfaces pocked with holes but hardened over thousands of years of the dry thin atmosphere. In truth the study of the material that makes up the surface of the planet was not biological. There was no basis for biological life on this planet and there has been no sign of it sense, but the visuals are hard to deny. The entire planet looks like it’s pock marked with large dry coral reefs and silt sand deserts.

He followed after Alexi into the valley below.

The landscape changed so suddenly it was rather amazing. Peiter caught up to Alexi as he crested another hill and turned and waved his hands around. “Look, it’s like a desert.” The young man laughed and pointed, “We’re going there.”

At the top of the hill Peiter stopped and tilted his head.

“Pretty neat huh? But look, there’s a huge hole there, like a tunnel. That’s where I found it.” Alexi patted Peiter on the back and carefully made his way ahead downward into the bottom of the valley.

Judging by the coral surrounding them the two were heading into what could be considered a small inlet for the ancient ocean. Most coral grew upward and near land and outward. It was strange to see a protrusion so far away from the edge of the landscape, it was as if the coral once grew itself into a strange spire that from this angle appeared to jut upward and to the north like a giant tooth or claw pock marked with holes.

At the entrance to the natural tunnel Alexi turned on his helmet lights. The twin moons had provided light for them to easily make it down to this point but it would be pitch black in the coral tunnels. This was not a new idea as the colony was built into the side of a large coral structure then capped by the great dome. The coral passages where cut into and filled and open areas were turned into living quarters and so forth. The coral was almost a natural sealed concrete with lead like minerals to keep out radiation. Electronics and water piping and so forth were added and doors and newer passages were built in over a very short period of time. If the expeditionary colony lasted the five year minimum other colonies would be brought here. This was currently the fourth year. As the planet used to be covered in water, administration was pushing for ways to re-hydrate the planet or find underground pools. So far the teams had only found one large pool of highly iron and nitrate filled water. It gave off a strange smell but it could be purified and the other minerals taken out and used for other efforts. The colony was becoming self sufficient. Home world however required more than just one small pocket of water as this particular planet had no outward signs of frozen or liquid water during any of it’s seven seasons.

Ducking under a scarp inner wall cleft Peiter followed after Alexi down into the coral bed work.

“We’re almost there.” Alexi responded.

Peiter looked all around and noticed several boot marks on the ground. Alexi must have been here several times before. There was much boot traffic down this tunnel. He wondered why he hadn’t seen any boot marks outside, perhaps a light wind did run through the valley and covered up old tracks.

Rounding the corner he could see a glow coming from Alexi’s helmet looking down into a hole the size of two men. There was a drilled stake clamped and secured into the wall and a line of titanium lined rope going down the tube.

Before Peiter could say anything Alexi waved a hand. “We can slide down, it’s safe. Then we can climb our way back up. Trust me, this will be worth it.”

Shaking his head he stood there watching as Alexi sat down in the silt floor and shoved off down the tube making a ‘weeee’ sound as he disappeared around a corner with his hands flailing about in excitement.

Peiter followed begrudgingly.

The slide was exhilarating actually, something Peiter had never felt save for one time he had fallen down a slippery embankment in hydroponics. Biochemistry and botany where his fields of study and the Hydroponics area was a large natural cut out of Coral that had been semi sealed and filtrated with plant life. The walls of the coral behind slightly soft to the touch once an oxygen based atmosphere was entered into an area, but only at certain humidity levels.

His feet knocked up some of the loose dirt and the dust cloud rose as he hit the bottom, landing on his butt several feet below the tube. Alexi’s hand came into view and he was helped to his feet.

The dust settled quickly and what Peiter saw astounded him. The floor seemed to lower itself down like in a ant lion mound but in the center of the floor was a dark spot where liquid bubbled up from the surface. The ground all around was hardened coral or at least looked to be. He looked to Alexi expectantly.

“That’s not all, look around.”

Peiter did and to his amazement twelve tubes at exactly the same height from the floor could be seen in the completely circular room.

“You know this can’t be natural, I’ve measured. And there’s this.” Alexi pulled a small test tube from his EVO suit pocket and grabbed the rope and lowered himself down to the water and scooped some into the tube.

Placing a finger over the opening he shook it. It began to glow a whitish blue. “Phosphorescence! And it’s warm Peiter. Do you know what this means?”

Peiter frowned at the implications. He wasn’t sure what it meant but he was to surprised to really respond with anything. Alexi pulled himself up carefully and handed the tube to Peiter. Taking the tube Alexi handed him a cap and Peiter looked through the glowing liquid.

“You can take it back, study it, figure out what it is and then we can tell everyone. It’ll be our big find, we’ll be famous! We’re sure to get the colony recognized with this!” Alexi’s voice reached a higher octave and Peiter smiled. He always did that when he got over emotional about something.

Alexi passed him, patted him on the shoulder and grabbed the rope and worked his way up the tube.

Peiter stared down at the bubbling water for a moment, trying to take in the idea of the potential advancements in colonization this could mean. Not only water to drink but a phosphorescent chemical could be used for lighting to lower energy uses, if it was indeed warm as Alexi had said...

Peiter looked up the tube quickly. The light from Alexi’s helmet had vanished, the rope twitched indicating his friend was still climbing up the tube.

How did Alexi know it was warm? Was it due to the bubbling? Peiter wondered if there was a release of gas of it the bubbling was the result of reaction to the atmosphere in the room?

Fitting the tube into his side pouch he worked his way up the tube to find Alexi waiting fro him grinning broadly. “Gotta tell you Peiter, I’m very excited about this. It’s been hard for me to keep this all to myself.”

Peiter smiled and nodded as the two set off back to their rover.

When they finally got to the rover the first Moon Fall had already started. Off in the distance the white glow dimmed at the horizon. The second moon still shone brightly in the sky but the light had dramatically lessened casting dark shadows across the landscape.

“We’re gonna have to hoof it. After Second Fall we won’t have a bit of light to travel by.”

He was right, the nights on this planet were 32 hours long, the first 6 hours were filled with moonlight but the moons held an almost stationary orbit. Every rotation around the solar systems sun the moons shifted in distance a thousand kilometers closer to one another as their rotations around the planet were almost synced. In twenty years the hour of moonlight would shrink to one, it would be a hundred or more years before they came up at night again.