Dust the color of rust swirled around Luke’s visor as he piloted the rover along an ancient riverbed, 18 miles out from the train. He held the throttle steady at 12 miles per hour. That was the upper limit he and Chase had agreed to for terrain with few rocks. Chase had pleaded for a cautious 9 miles per hour, while Luke had pushed for speeds up to 37 miles per hour under ideal conditions. The steady pace left him restless, yet he knew he had only a few hours of exploration left before steering the rover back to the train. Once there, he would carry out Chase’s thorough vehicle checks, a routine he accepted as the surest defense against a breakdown on Mars.

  As Luke drove, his thoughts soon turned to Kaya. He felt a renewed surge of anticipation at the idea of seeing her later that night. He recalled his own attempted flirtations with Janette, which in his mind had gone unnoticed, despite her obvious beauty. Janette, though striking in appearance, often seemed unaware of social cues. In contrast, Kaya was a fascinating, perceptive presence. Although the two had known each other for many years, tonight felt different, as if she were finally letting down her guard. When she looked his way, it was as though she could read every hidden thought. Luke realized that she preferred a version of him that was calm and collected rather than boisterous or overly bold. Outside, the red Martian landscape stretched endlessly, a constant reminder of the challenges and isolation of their host planet. Yet, even in that barren expanses, the promise of a genuine human connection imbued Luke with a sense of purpose.

  “Luke, I have detected an anomaly,” September suddenly announced into his ear. The sudden tone made his heart race, and for a moment, he almost felt his pulse echo in the silence of the rover.

  Taking a steadying breath, Luke answered, “What have you found, September?” As the ZX01 Rover rolled across the unforgiving red landscape, he could feel the constant crunch of dust and loose rock beneath him. The Martian air was cool but thin, and every vibration of the engine reminded him of the isolation of this distant world.

  He nearly missed the anomaly himself, until September pinpointed it in the distance, a dark, inviting entrance to a tunnel. Glancing at the status screens, Luke noted with a jolt that he was not near their known tunnel but about 18 miles away. His heart pounded as he eased the rover to a cautious stop.

  Could this be what I think it is? he wondered, his mind racing with both excitement and apprehension. The absence of rocks here, unlike the rough terrain he had just navigated, hinted that this clear path might be no accident. He carefully guided the rover forward to examine the unusual opening up close.

  Luke leaned into the console and spoke quietly, “What am I looking at?”

  “Restricted information,” came the measured reply from September.

  Frustration mingled with curiosity, and he immediately said, “September, please request that Commander Chase come to the Immersion Module at once.”

  “Request sent; he is on his way,” September responded without delay.

  As Luke removed his glasses and asked for the robot’s view to be projected on the screen, he felt a mix of determination and vulnerability. When Commander Chase arrived a few minutes later, his expression was calm, a stark contrast to the storm of thoughts swirling in Luke’s mind. Chase glanced at the live feed but did not immediately grasp the significance of what he was seeing. “Luke, what is going on here?” he asked.

  Pointing at the monitor, Luke explained, “That is not our tunnel entrance. It is about 18 miles away and hidden in an ancient riverbed that mirrors our current location. The soil, the rock piles, even the textures line up perfectly.”

  Inside, Luke’s thoughts churned with a blend of relief and worry. He respected Chase’s insistence on exploring every possibility; albeit, sometimes he felt this relentless search could be as isolating as the Martian surface itself.

  Before long, murmurs spread through the small assembly. The general consensus was electrifying: many believed that this could be another train, a second train with a full crew. Even as speculation rippled through the gathered group, Luke maintained focus and carefully guided the rover up to what the team now called the portal.

  Taking a deep breath, he spoke again into the control, “September, open this portal.”

  “Commander's permission required,” answered the AI in its continuous even tone.

  “Permission granted,” Luke asserted confidently.

  Then, September asked, “Commander Chase, do you agree to assume responsibility for Train Alpha and any occupants it might house?”

  Chase’s eyebrow rose as he inquired, “Are there any occupants?”

  “No, Train Alpha is empty,” came the crisp reply.

  “Then I agree. What details do you have on this train? Has a previous crew occupied it?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Restricted information. The portal doors will now open on command,” said September.

  Luke proceeded into the tunnel with cautious determination, every sense heightened. The artificial lights from September illuminated the passage, creating stark shadows against walls that seemed to whisper ancient secrets. Although the tunnel’s structure closely resembled their own, clustered equipment caught his eye. There, he discovered a rover identical to the ZX01, two soil collectors noticeably larger than their own, and a substantial skid unit that September identified as a forging unit. The tunnel walls, treated with a polyurea coating like Train Prime’s, shone with a distinct yellow tint, a detail that made it much easier to differentiate from their own train tunnel.

  With a purposeful urgency, Luke exited his rover with the M1 robot to the airlock at the portal. He activated the portal and remotely commanded the robot to crawl approximately 160 feet into the main tunnel. Once inside, the robot transmitted images of a train tunnel that, aside from the striking yellow color, mirrored their own perfectly. The illuminated modules lined the passage, and Luke approached a small access door designed for personnel entry. Unfortunately, the larger robot was simply too big to pass through the narrow doorway.

  As soon as he touched the train, September spoke in its clear, unemotional tone, “Train Alpha accessed, all systems rebooting. Train Alpha assigned to Commander Chase and second in command Lieutenant Janette Hawkins. Full access granted.”

  The crew gathered around the screens, viewing video feeds of a train that looked nearly flawless. Its polished surfaces and orderly corridors reminded them of the pristine condition of the train they had awoken in months before. Yet despite its flawless interior, a chilling emptiness permeated every frame. Empty cabins and silent consoles told a tale of abandonment, a quiet loneliness that made the facility seem more like a museum than a living space.

  Commander Chase broke the silence, his voice steady but laced with urgency. “Kaya, Martin, Robbie, please review the contents of Train Alpha immediately. I expect an update in one hour. Also, confirm if the train contains printer units.”

  Without missing a beat, Kaya, Robbie, and Martin set to work at the computer terminal, swiftly cataloguing everything they could find. Their focused expressions and hushed voices conveyed the weight they felt with each piece of data.

  An hour later, Kaya delivered the report. “Based on our initial inspection, the train appears to be in the exact condition that Train Prime was when we awoke. Every shelf, every compartment contains the same numbers we recorded before. It is as though this is the default inventory. Yet, it raises the question of whether there is a larger stockpile elsewhere. Train Alpha holds the same printer units as Train Prime. I don’t want to understate this but we have just completely doubled our resources of every material that we have, including food, water, all the metal powders for printing everything.”

  Chase frowned as he pressed for details. “That is amazing and something we certainly need to capitalize on. Is there any sign of use? Do we see any beds that have been occupied or any signs that people lived here?”

  Kaya replied calmly, “No, the train is in pristine condition, perfect and untouched, as if awaiting a new crew. We have not detected any signs of life.”

  Chase then directed Luke to proceed past Train Alpha to search for additional equipment. As Luke drove further into the tunnel, his eyes widened when he came upon three metal arc printers on the far side of the modules, accompanied by a control robot and various pieces of unrecognizable equipment. The scene grew even more strange as they passed a heap of what looked like outdated parts, odds and ends that no crew of their expertise would ever discard. At the sight, Chase felt his heart rate spike; the discovery nearly sent him into a brief state of shock.

  The tunnel beyond also revealed more printer units. Some were clearly broken, neatly disassembled for spare parts. It was evident that the maintenance team, as capable as they were, would soon face a tremendous workload, repairing and reviving the equipment. Even in their broken state, every machine held immense value; with the right spare parts printed, everything could be made operational once again. The team determined that their smaller robot would be needed to evaluate the interior of Train Alpha.

  After a thorough survey of the area, Chase called for a pause and addressed the entire crew. “Everyone, please prepare yourself for what we are likely to find at the end of this tunnel. Anyone who does not wish to view this discovery can leave and return to their tasks. The poor quality of the equipment outside the train suggests that a crew once worked here. They are no longer among us, and I suspect we will find evidence of their fate at the tunnel’s end.”

  Luke advanced toward the tunnel’s termination. When he arrived, he was met with a sight that sent a chill down his spine: the remains of the former crew. Twenty individuals, clad in VornTV uniforms, lay stacked like firewood. In that moment, Luke’s mind reeled with the stark reality of what these empty forms represented, a silent warning of what could befall anyone in this unforgiving environment.

  Without missing a beat, Chase turned to September. “Can you tell me any information about this crew?”

  “Restricted information,” the AI replied, its tone unaffected by the grim revelation.

  Chase pressed, “Can you show us any videos of their time here? They were busy and built a significant amount of equipment.”

  “Restricted information.”

  “How long were they here?”

  “Restricted information.”

  Finally, Chase demanded, “Tell us anything at all about this crew.”

  “They are dead,” September finally stated.