Thrae: Episode 5 - Martium (pronounced Marsh-yum)

Previously in the series: LEX-42 starts exercising its newfound free will. Selina, unable to meet Neersa, takes off in disappointment from Mars towards Thrae.

In this episode: Selina contacts Neersa's love interest, Hielsa, on Thrae, but she doesn't know why Neersa has been out of character. Perturbed, she decides to visit the lunar botany lab on Moon to try and gather more useful information.

Selina landed at Site 19 amid the Australian Outback. Gliding over the cleverly minimal continental solar field as she approached the landing pad, her eye shields adjusted their opacity upwards to account for the little more glare that added to the brightness of the much-closer sun.

She called Hielsa as soon as she was on the transcontinental jet, heading to Keihanshin in Japan. Hielsa was deened*, so she recorded a brief message telling her that she was back on Thrae and awaiting her reply.

She used the flight to read up on the new element that had been discovered on Mars, Martium. Her ship had more samples of its ore aboard, sent from Aidni for better analysis on Thrae. It was exhibiting "exciting" new properties, at least as far as the tech societies could tell.

She settled in her apartment and finished her official reports, the absence of Hielsa's reply coming through her thoughts quite often. In the evening, her comm lit up - Hielsa was calling. She answered.

"Hey, Hee. Long time no see, you well?"

"Hey yourself, Sel. What's the hurry? I was deened* since last weekend, was in orbit for almost a year and needed some prime alone time yeah?"

"Sorry about the priority messages, I met Neer in Aidni and he was acting weirdly, so I thought I'll ask you if you know what he's doing."

"You know, I don't know. Did he say why he hasn't answered my calls?"

"He didn't tell us anything, except that he couldn't tell us anything."

"He has become way more distant than usual these past few months, you know? First I thought it was because I was orbiting and he was steady, but I remember one Sicday we talked for a long time like we used to when he was on Thrae and he told me that wasn't it, something else."

"Did he say what that something was? I couldn't get it out of him at all."

"Neither could I, but it felt as if he was afraid to say too much in case somebody was listening, you know what I mean? Eavesdropping?"

Selina pursed her lips in deep thought. "I know what you mean."

They met for lunch on the next Twoday. Hielsa had tried to contact Neersa twice but there was no response from either him or his lab.

They parted with a plan of action: Hielsa would try to find out what Neersa's orders were from the terraformation tech society, while Selina would visit her parents on Moon and visit the lunar botany lab, because Neersa had spent quite some time there before being assigned to Mars.

*deened: incommunicado at the moment by choice; not to be disturbed

In the next episodes: Selina lands on Moon in her hometown near the Bohr Crater. LEX-42 reaches a lunar launch complex and encounters a human.

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Aradhye Axat

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