They came in covered in micron fine red dust and wired with the drugs they'd had to take to feel warm and alert on their race against the storm.  Etan came in, having helped the others anchor the rover and equipment, there was no time to store it properly in the garage, the storm was on them.  Rachael came in last, carrying something frail wrapped in a tarp.  Brittany stood, hands and arms covered in thin film of second-hand red dust, making inquiries, making sure no one needed immediate medical attention. 

      There were so many things to say, and so nothing was said right away.  Turns were taken at the two sonic showers, clothing changed.  Rachael administered very small dose sedatives. Brittany served spiced slices of dried, smoked rabbit meat, leafy vegetables and smart drinks.  There was no reason not to begin eating the rabbits. 

      Finally, about the table in the mess, with Rachael standing against a wall of compartments, arms folded, they exchanged stories.  It was decided then agreed up on that most everyone suspected Xian had known more than the rest.  There was a human shaped headless mummy to be examined.  And whatever group of beings had previously come to this planet not all were dead, Etan had a recording to support this.   There was a severe Martian sandstorm without and Xian was out in it by his own choice.

      Their meal finished the entire group moved down to the lower modules.  First course of action was to quickly check the map room now that Martin was back.  Martin activated the interactive holographic projection of the globe.  "It isn't real time," he said, "we don't have a large enough network of satellites and ground based receivers, but it is accurate as a map."  The group watched the spinning globe and Martin's gestures that altered the projection so that a stationary view of Cydonia came up.  "This is about where the body was discovered," he said with accompanying movement of one hand. 

      Martin activated the zoom control.  "These mountain, the Nix Cydonia, this would be the approximate location of the signal Etan has described."

      "Go to Maximum Zoom," Etan suggested.  In a moment Martin had adjusted his map. 

      "There's something there," Rachael said, "A glint of something.  Can you get us the raw photo?"

      "Surely, over here," Martin said.  He turned about to face his drafting table and the terminal beside it.  "It will print to that printer over there."

      Carlo was closest to the printer.  When the photo had been printed he brought it to the drafting table where Martin and Rachael waited.  Martin swung the color correct lamp over so that it illuminated the photo on the table.  "I see what you mean," he said.  The photo showed an aerial view of the low mountain range and the dark area of Mare Acidalium to the west, the lighter less cratered ground of Cydonia proper to the east.  Within the chain of mountains there seemed a grouping of slopes that were too straight, too uniform in color.  When viewing the whole area these mountain slopes stood out. 

      Martin lay a sheet of acetate used in plotting over the photo, traced the lines of the slopes in wax pencil.  "I know we've been seeing anomalous graphics from our Mars missions for ages but these do look man made."

      "I see a glint here," Rachael said, "As if some camouflaging has slipped out of place.  We used to see this sort of thing when I was in Intelligence.  It's easily missed."

      "Let's assume that a few days ago there was a woman alive and speaking some form of English in that area, and that we recorded her saying the phrase, 'They're almost here,' in urgent tone," Etan began, "Then there must be others, otherwise why use a radio to send a message at all."

      "Also rather implies that she and the others knew we were coming," Carlo said.

      "Well, if they are here it's conceivable they knew we were coming months before we landed," Yamashiro said, "They might have tracked us."

      "They could have jammed our satellite over particular areas to allow themselves time to cover up what they did not want found." Etan said.

      "So we get photos of the other two sites," Martin said, touching the screen of his computer terminal.  In minutes they had two more printed images on the table.  Hellas was the name given to a large depression nearly equal in area to Earth's Caribbean sea.  It was Martian winter in the Southern Hemisphere now and the southern polar cap obscured the southernmost part of the basin that may have been the mark of ancient collision.  The photo had been taken with the sun's rays coming from the west and much of the depression was in shadow.  It seemed otherwise featureless.

      The other photo showed a peninsula-like land mass at the edge of the Valles Marineris, a canyon much greater than Earth's Grand Canyon, it stretched in total more than the distance of the entire United States, the nation that was home to the Grand Canyon, from west coast to east coast.  Like Earth's Sinai peninsula this region was within 30 degrees of the equator and was a barren desert. 

      Martin studied the photo with geologist's eye.  "Here, pyramids."

      "I thought pyramids were supposed to be quite natural here," Carlo said.

      "It's true a dry windy climate can have natural pyramid forms.  There are natural pyramids as well as man made ones in Northeast Africa.  However this grouping strikes me as highly improbably.  It's circular.  A ring of six pyramids."

      "Could be a six-pointed star," Brittany pointed out, "If you count from the outside of the Solar System Mars is the sixth planet." 

      "Let's go see what our friend can tell us," Rachael said.

                      ?                ?                ?

      They had lain the mummified corpse on a makeshift table in the workroom and donned masks and goggles at Rachael's suggestion.  Now Rachael handled the body in gloved hands.  Here and there she took bits of flesh and dropped them into containers brought down from med bay.  And then with a sickening sound sawed through the chest. 

      "Well, I think the cause of death was decapitation though the bones were mostly broken in a severe fall before that."

      "Couldn't be the other way around?" Yamashiro asked.

      "No, I'll tell you why," Rachael said.  "The size and structure do suggest this is an adult male, quite possibly human, but the bone growth suggests a younger age.  Of course there are part-angels that mature over a shorter number of years.  And if one of them was injured in a fall such as this it would be nearly impossible to set all their bones, they would be crippled severely, but live mind you, it's the nature of their kind.  The neck has been broken but also sliced through with a metal blade.  This is a mercy kill."

      "He's part angel?" Etan asked.

      "Very likely."  Rachael turned the body to examine the back.  "Wingless."  She looked up again, "He had human coloring, tan to brown.  His hair was reddish in color.  The body lay partially exposed and was eroded by sand and wind on its anterior.  Any clothes and belongings were taken away.  This body was disposed of with care.  The skull would be helpful"

      "Without making accusations against you, General, I think it was the American's" Yamashiro said. 

      "I'm not so sure," Rachael said, "Let me think a bit longer."  She turned the corpse to its other side.  "Ah, a tattoo," She said. There was a stain on the flesh of the left arm.  It appears to be an ankh entwined by thorny rose."

      "Very Gotik," Etan laughed.

      "Vampyric," Rachael said quietly.  "But Vampyre bones are quite different from these, the flesh pale in all bloodlines."

      "Then we are talking about a colony of Darkling?" Yamashiro asked, voicing everyone's fear.  Back on Earth Darkling was slang for all persons not fully human.  Time had come and gone when they lived in myths and dreams.  Rachael was a Vampyre, immortal and blood drinking, but she was an officer of the United States Army and followed its rules.  Etan's great-grandmother was an Angel and within his family her descendants had traits that set them apart from full humans.  Etan's grandfather had a pair of small lavender wings and the annoying trait of making all those in close proximity desire him, and his mother's hair had turned sea foam green at puberty and she had this way of staring at Etan and any other person with beautiful violet-blue eyes that would make them do what she wanted.

      Etan and Brittany were both Jewel's, each descended from one of a pair of fraternal twins that others had called witches.  All the family sensed things others could not.  Some could do things that seemed magic.  And among other families Jewel's were often considered Darkling.  

      "I'm trying to figure out when this all began," Rachael said to the others.  She drew a sheet of plastic over the body and removed her gloves, mask and goggles. 

      "But it is darkling?" Yamashiro asked again.

      "It's looking very possible," Rachael sighed.  She was upset, she knew it showed and the others could see it.  As if her kind had not suffered enough, she now found that some Darkling had been sent here...

      "Maybe they were not sent here but came on their own."

      "I have been thinking," Etan said, "That if they even have three settlements there still can not be very many.  If they had been here for centuries or since ancient times you'd think there would be much more evidence.  Maybe it wasn't the States or any of the countries now building up their neglected space programs.  Maybe it was the Union."

      "Yes!" Carlo said, "that Vampyre has been holding his position as leader of the Union for ages now, that brood of his has fabulous power and riches!  Maybe he sent some of his Darkling here to claim Mars!"

      Rachael turned toward the wall, "Silencio, Carlo!" she groaned.  Etan went to her, held her still in his arms. 

      "Carlo, The High Lord is a figurehead more than anything, all of our countries within the Union govern themselves.  The Union government only mediates between us when we have differences or protects our countries in event of war," Brittany said.

      "Ms. Jinnah is correct, even if the Union government did have something to do with this it is wrong to assume it has anything to do with the fact that The High Lord is a Vampyre.  They are just like Humans, some are good, some bad.  He has proven himself a very good man, a just leader.  Let's none of us jump to conclusions until we have the facts," Captain Yamashiro said, "I admit I was the one who suspected the Americans, but I know it has not been proven."

      "We need a plan," Martin said, "We were given a mission, jointly, by all our nations and our colleagues within our fields, to be the first to come here, to determine to the best of our ability whether future settlement is possible.  How does this information effect that?"

      "We can't recommend settlement or large scale terreforming projects as long as we do not know who else is on this planet," Carlo said with a sigh.  "Still, I think we all agree that Xian knew.  Whether this has anything to do with the American Military or The Union I can't prove either way, but somehow he knew."

      "We've got to go after him," Etan said, turning to the others. "Whoever is here, we are the ones who disturbed them, I don't know if they will be allies to Xian or not but I think we should follow him in case his intentions are bad.  I don't think we are looking to make enemies when our scheduled window for departure is at least seven months away."

      "There is a storm," Yamashiro said.

      Etan looked from Martin to the Captain.  Rachael was leaning against the wall, hungry, hiding it.  Carlo and Brittany looked expectantly toward Etan.  "Martin and I should go.  We can rig the garage module to one of the stronger bugs, fit some wheels or treads onto it, and make a trailer.  That will be heavier and safer than traveling by rover and we won't need to deprive the rest of you of the shelters or the rovers."

      "Why just you two?" Brittany asked.

      Etan smiled, looked to Martin.  "Yamashiro is the only one who can really pilot the ship.  Rachael's pretty much the only doctor.  And the two of us are both too fond of you to let you come along with either one of us alone."

      Brittany fell silent as Yamashiro spoke up, "It could work, we could cut apart the module, fix a flexible connection between the two halves, take apart a couple of the mid-sized bugs for the treads, use some of the spare rover wheels as well perhaps, tow the trailer with cable, it won't need an engine or anything, just a small team of bugs.  We should be able to get a large enough beetle to keep it's interior at proper pressure and mix of air."

      "I'm game," Martin said, "Let's do it."

                      ?                ?                ?

      It was several days hard work between intermittent bands of the sandstorm, with as much work done from interiors as possible, but the six of them managed to piece together a suitable trailer of two sealed metal sections and flexible air tight passage between them, two sections would make maneuvering easier.  They fitted a couple large windows and threw together some interior furnishings from their supply of scrap metal.  They decided on large metal mesh wheels as the rovers had rather than treads but selected two large mantises with treads to pull the trailer. 

      The group decided on an amount of food to send with them, and provided Etan and Martin with one extra suit plus some medical supplies.  Yamashiro even fixed small windmills to the trailer so the interior electronics could run off the power they generated. 

      Martin explained the path they would take to the other three while Etan set up the communications so that Brittany could run things there.  They would travel southwest toward the region of Aram then take a more westerly course across Mare Erythraeum then at the last leg of the journey head Northwest into Sinai.  They were fairly certain this was where Xian had headed and though Xian had a head start and the hovercar he had only a portable shelter to protect himself from the storm. 

      Unfortunately Yamashiro had discovered that Xian had removed the car's transponder and that there was no way to track him.   Finally it was time for Etan and Martin to part with the others. 

      Rachael clasped Etan to her for a moment, "Take care, kid," she said.

      "Captain," Martin said.

      "We're all in this together, you both just call me Kei."

      "You both take care of yourselves," Brittany said.

      "We'll be in touch," Martin said.

      "Keep a braid for me," Etan said.  He smiled; Brittany thought it disarming, but purposefully so. 

      "Martin will be jealous, and your two friends back home."

      "I'll take them out and braid a new one just for you."

      "Etan, just go," Rachael said.

      "Come on, you can sit and braid my hair," Martin laughed.  He fitted his helmet on, checked the lock.  Etan was quick in doing the same.  They stepped into the airlock, waited, and then Martin opened the outer door and they were blasted by red dust.

                      ?                ?                ?

      Two more days had passed without sign of Xian or any of his gear and Martin and Etan had made it to the edge of Mare Erythraeum.  The storm still lurked to the north of them, but they were headed west now toward the southern side of the Valles Marineris.  Martin figured they had an advantage over Xian in that they could travel continuously, sleep in shifts while still moving, while Xian would have to stop in order to sleep. 

      Martin was not quite at home in the new trailer, was often checking the seals.  Etan was feeling very good.  Among his people it was now common for the younger people to spend several years in nomadic lifestyle, caravaning between school and married life.  Etan had lived for a year and a half in a trailer with two very lovely people. 

      Etan brushed his fingers through his hair.  He'd taken the braids out.  He passed through the two doors between compartments and into the front of the trailer where Martin sat looking over some maps.  The front window showed the landscape of the dark sea of Martian soil before them.  In the distance a cloud of dust rose enormous above the horizon. 

      "I think it's nice there are no roads," Etan said.

      "Not very practical," Martin said not looking up from his work.

      "For a planet of billions perhaps." 

      "You're getting romantic notions about a planet about to become an area of settlement for Earthlings," Martin teased.  "I'm going to check our sensors, see if we've picked up any trace of Xian."  He stood and went to a bank of devices near the front window.  The lead mantis had panspectral sensors mounted on its crane-like neck.  "We've got something in infrared," Martin reported.

      "Heat trail?"

      "He can't be far ahead of us," Martin said.  He looked over the display projected onto the inside of the window.  "We've got a hover wake, it's picked up his dust trail."

      "Can you get a visual yet?" Etan asked.

      Martin shook his head.  "The bug can see him.  I'll have it pursue."

      The bugs pushed their speed limit, the trailer accelerated.  Xian was about two miles ahead, banking the hovercar left then right in efforts to conceal his location with a dust cloud.  The distance seemed to close slightly; they could see the hovercar from the trailer's front window over the heads of the two mantises. 

      The trailer swayed to one side, the mantises slowed.  "The wind's shifting!" Etan said. 

      "The storm is moving!"

      Etan rushed to look out the side window.  "Can it cross the canyon?"

      "I hope not," Martin said.  "He's just ahead."

      "Hovercar is fairly useless in this wind," Etan said.  "Do you see any shelter, a rock face anything?"

      "No...it's crossed the canyon!"

      "We need speed, what can we toss out the airlock?"

      "Won't make a difference," Martin said as they heard the sound of rock blown against the side of the metal trailer.  "Look!"

      Ahead of them Xian was lost in a cloud of sand.  Even in the thin Martian air they heard the roar of the storm.  And then quite suddenly the windows were pelted with viscous reddish material.  "It's raining!" Etan said. 

      "The storms energy is melting the permafrost layer as it tears it up and is spitting it down."

      "Rain," Etan said.  "It's going to be on us in a second."

      "I'll stop the mantises," Martin said, commanded them to halt.  The trailer lurched forward slightly then fell silent as Martin and Etan felt the module they were in rock back and forth.  "Let's get into the suits," Martin said quietly.

      Quickly they made the trip back into the rear module of the trailer and undressed.  They pulled on their tightly fitted suits and readied their helmets and next air tanks.  The windows were completely dark with dust and mud and the sound of the storm made it seem alive. 

      Again the whole of the trailer seemed to lurch.  And then with groaning sound everything tilted.  Martin was thrown toward the rear door; Etan slipped to the floor then slid toward the same door feet first.  Both recovered as much as they could and put their helmets on.  It felt as though the storm had lifted the trailer from the front and yet the sound was less now.  

      A cool electric feeling shivered down Etan's spine.  "Open the door," he said.

      "Are you mad?"

      "We're not in the air, we're underground," Etan said slowly.  He opened the door himself, waited as the hydraulics slowly lowered it.  A fall of sand dropped down before them but through it they could see they had fallen into an underground tunnel of some kind. 

      Etan stepped out first.   Looking up he could see there was a narrow gap between the edge of the hole and the trailer roof where sand and soil were blown in.  The small torch on his helmet flickered on and turning Etan saw a long tunnel stretched behind them, the walls textured as something machine bored and there were metal support beams within view, two within the walls and one overhead.  "It's man made."

      "Can you see if the trailer can be freed?" Martin asked.

      Etan squeezed around the side of the module.  The tunnel continued ahead.  He moved through to the section of tunnel and looked at the underside of their trailer.  "Get further into the tunnel I want to see if I can get the rest down," Etan said.

      "I'm clear," Martin's voice came through the speakers within Etan's helmet.  Etan brought up the virtual controls and made a link with the bugs.  A gesture and he could hear them straining to move in reverse.  Sand fell down in front of him. 

      "It's coming down!" Etan called as he moved even further into the tunnel.  With a final groan everything came falling into the tunnel, crashed down on it's floor and the tunnel filled with drops of mud and the howl of the storm. 

      Etan commanded the Mantises to move forward slowly.  They seemed a bit beaten up and caked with dirt, but they moved.  The trailer started to move after them. He flattened himself against a wall as the trailer passed by.  Etan could hear the scrape of the rear door on the ground. 

      Martin was already inside when came in view of the back of their trailer.  He extended a hand.  Etan reached, jumped, fell into Martin.  Martin laughed and helped him inside.  "The front mod should still have air in it," Martin said as he closed the door. 

      Martin went first into the passage between modules and then into the front, Etan followed.  Martin looked down at the indicator on his forearm.  "The air should be good."

      "I'll go first," Etan said.  He removed his helmet, took a breath.  Etan nodded then.  Martin did the same.  "Let's see where we are," Martin suggested, "If we were not already certain there are others here I would be more shocked.  I suppose they dug this tunnel for some purpose."

      Etan joined Martin at the front window.  The mantises illuminated the tunnel with lights mounted on their front limbs.  There was nothing ahead that they could see but more tunnel. 

                      ?                ?                ?

      It appeared from without an earth mound with a few inconspicuous windows, a Hobbit Hole, Brittany said and Kei laughed knowing what she meant; the book was a classic.  They'd completed their first structure while Carlo had been indoors working out terreforming equations or elsewhere taking atmospheric readings.  A residence perhaps, a model home.  Brittany said that in Karachi where her mother's family lived there were many concrete houses of various styles.  She thought some brightly colored awnings would be nice, though they would most likely end up pinkish-ochre like so much of the planet was. 

      Rachael said that if they were to attempt to make the building attractive as well as functional they might try fitting the airlock with an outer door of hammered metal.  They went into the inside of the new building.  The outer walls had vapor and air barriers embedded in them and were sufficiently thick to provide good insulation, such adobe style homes have served well in America's deserts as well. Rachael thought that woven wall hangings would be decorative and practical as well, they would keep the rooms warmer. 

      Kei suggested a few other changes, building air processing units into the interior structure and allowing these to act as chimneys as well.  A water recycling and processing system would also have to be installed.  Kei also thought some standard pieces of furniture such as beds or work tables could be constructed in the exact manner interior walls were, of concrete over a metal framework, could even be built into the walls.  

      The interior walls like the outer ones were rounded, this shape retained heat better, seemed to look right. 

      "It's a good building," Rachael said, "When we have put the finishing touches into it I'd like to try a building of less simple shape, see how that works, maybe something taller with many different views."

      "That part of the construction is only a matter of programming the bugs," Kei said, "They seem invaluable here even more so than industrial robots on Earth."

      "They are well designed," Brittany said, "They are up to almost any job."

      "Then tomorrow we start furnishing the interior, when that's done we'll prepare some video to send back to NS1," Rachael said, "I think we can call it a day.  We should be checking in with Etan and Martin soon anyway."

                      ?                ?                ?

      Within the dark tunnel the lead mantis's lights reflected off some object ahead.  Etan noticed the glinting first and alerted Martin, "Slow the bugs, I think I see something."  The two large mantises and the trailer gradually slowed in speed.  Etan strained to see ahead.  The object was strange but Etan thought it might be a vehicle, not the hovercar they were looking for however.

      "There's a vehicle ahead I think, keep an eye out for anything unusual, these may be the people we've been wondering about."

      "You don't have to tell me," Martin said.  As they came closer they could see that the vehicle seemed similar to their rovers and it was parked.  A moment later one of their bugs' spotlights illuminated a pale frightened face.  Martin brought the two mantises and trailer to a stop as soon as he was able. 

      "Where'd they go?" Martin asked.

      Etan has a bad feeling, something...on the ceiling.  One of the spotlights on the second Mantis popped, the tunnel darkened.   Several seconds later the second one popped with the only one on the lead mantis intact since the fall into the tunnel.  "Darkling," Etan breathed as if the word were a curse, though he might be considered one of them.  The hatch in the sidewall of the module was forced open; Martin and Etan rushed for their helmets, but were too slow.  The sudden change in pressure, temperature and mix of air cause them both to pass out.