Previously in the series: Selina finds the geofarmer on Mars, Neersa, suspicious. LEX-42 suffers limb failure and is marked for decommissioning.

In this episode: Neersa is not to be found anywhere on Aidni base. Selina starts her return trip to Thrae, thinking about Neersa's mysterious project on Mars.

It was Thirday morning on Mars, and Selina joined Kafa in the food bay after signing off on her transport ship's prep for the return journey to Thrae, via Mitlord - the small laboratory in solar orbit between the orbits of Thrae and Mars. It provided a nice break in the long - and usually solitary - haul between Thrae and Mars. All the occupants were techies.

"I'm going to miss Frabjous Week," she bemoaned to Kafa, as he ate.

Sols and Thrae days repeated in sixes: Firday, Twoday, Thirday, Fourday, Fifday, and Sicday. Every sixty-first week was a six-day celebration on Thrae, Moon, and Mars - and people really, really looked forward to it.

Moon followed Thrae's day and time count, being the first outpost of humankind in space that was not in perpetual motion in solar orbit.

He sympathized, "Tough luck, girl. I wouldn't like spending it in stasis either. You know, you didn't have to schedule your turnaround so soon."

"Yeah, lol, like I wanted to schedule my trip like this. Neersa better tell me what's so important about this batch of greens going to Thrae."

Kafa laughed, which was difficult to manage with food in his mouth. They got up and shoved their plates into the cleaner, then retraced the path they had taken through the labyrinth of interconnected tunnels in Aidni to the geofarming conservatory. Neersa wasn't there, though.

The rest of the biologists weren't aware of his whereabouts, either. He usually remained holed up in his lab most of the time, but it was empty.

"Oh well, Personnel it is, then, I guess," Kafa said, and Selina sighed. The bureaucrats who kept tabs on every Aidnian had difficult dispositions.

They were in for another surprise when they reached the Personnel office. There was just one officer there, with her feet up on the table, swigging what was quite obviously not a mug of water, tea or coffee.

"Look who it is, rocket princess herself!" came the jovial greeting.

Selina and Kafa looked at each other, taken aback by this unexpected welcome. Usually, the Personnel office was full of stoic staff. Not today.

The officer dragged her feet off the table when they didn't answer.

"Alright, alright, I'll bite - why the long faces?" she said with a sigh.

Kafa: "We're looking for Neersa, and he's not in his bunk or lab."

"Gone for a walk, hasn't he? Bright and early, with two officers, too."

Selina stepped right up to the desk and leaned forward on her hands, but the Personnel lady was not easily intimidated, having become used to listening to complaints and resolving issues during her weeks on Mars. She smirked, and took another hearty, lazy swig from her mug.

"Any idea where they went, and when they'll be back?" asked Selina.

Lady: "Nope, and you're welcome to wait and find out for yourself."

Selina and Kafa knew they were stonewalled. They discussed what Neersa could have been working on that he couldn't even tell them, the closest people he had who could be called his friends - or well-wishers.

The day passed slowly for Selina once Kafa rotated in for his usual data streaming shift in the comm lab. She chatted with her ship's loaders and hung around to watch them load the final bits of cargo. The throwers - an affectionate term on Thrae for cargo handlers that had persisted from the pop culture of an era hundreds of years ago - were a jolly lot.

She thought of her home on Thrae while staring out at the brown desolation of Mars. Beyond the storm shutters that enveloped Aidni, the craggy horizon was still hostile to life. Little pinpoints of light radiated from the outlines of the shutters, and if she tilted her head at the right angle, the solar arrays glinted in the feeble sunlight.

The whole sol passed and late into the night, Kafa strolled around to give her the news that the trio had been stranded at one of the oxygen plants further out from Aidni on their way back, and would return the next sol.

Back in her ship and counting down to launch towards Thrae, Selina flicked on her assistant. "Send Hielsa an open-time invite, accept whatever time and place she suggests. Low priority, don't wake me."

After a final syscheck, she settled into her stasis bay for the long sleep.

In the next episodes: Selina lands in Australia in Thrae and meets Neersa's love interest, Hielsa, who can't understand Neersa. LEX-42 reaches the robot dump.