Continue To Checkpoint 1 [file] Now

The hum of the environmental recyclers was the only thing keeping Kael from sliding into total panic. Through the cracked visor of his EVA suit, the Martian horizon was a blur of rust-red dust and jagged basalt.

the automated voice crackled, devoid of emotion. Continue to Checkpoint 1 [file]

Kael took a breath, tasted the metallic tang of thinning air, and broke into a heavy, lung-burning run. The hum of the environmental recyclers was the

the voice repeated. "Awaiting data transfer." and broke into a heavy

But between him and the airlock lay a fifty-yard stretch of unstable permafrost, and the wind was picking up.

His HUD flickered, a dying amber light casting shadows against his face. Then, a sharp ping resonated in his ear—the first signal in three hours.