5 hours have passed. The storm calmed and it was time to move. 'If we hurry now we can finish the power plant in 3 more hours. Then we can scatter the rest of the seeds and look around for a cave or rest to recover.' said Rosalind.
As usual, Albert was the first to respond,
'Yes, let's move now before the weather turns against us again. Making progress in setting all the equipment up is the main goal for now. Once we have all set up this power plant, I want Asher and Rosalind to continue with the seeds whilst Niels and I start setting up the cabins and oxygen zones. Once you finish with the seeds you are free to explore for the rest of the day, however I want you to communicate with us every so often to make sure everything is going well.'
Everyone nodded and got to work, Asher carried the rest of the seeds to the crater with the rest of the group soon following with the power plant equipment and the first pieces for the oxygen zones. The oxygen zones use state-of-the-art technology that will capture oxygen released from all the seeds that can then be used for the group to breathe or reacted with hydrogen to act as a source for drinking water. However it will require more seeds to be scattered across the surface to work efficiently.
'Where should we explore first Asher?' asked Rosalind.
'I don't mind helping setting more equipment up, Niels you can take my place.'
Niels jumped forward to but in, 'Sure, but are you sure you don't want a break?' asked Niels.
Asher shook his head.
The guilt Asher had for taking up the final spot of the crew was heavy and a burden he had to constantly carry, this led him to treating himself too harshly and the feeling of constantly not being good enough, but he kept moving on. Now was his chance to finally change, whether he would seize that chance was something only he could decide.
'Okay, we are almost at the crater. Once we have finished our tasks we shall all meet up and then discuss about exploring for finding a cave.' Rosalind instructed.
Everyone responded with a nod and quickly made it to the crater.
After a few hours of diligent work, the team have finally set up the power plant and scattered most of the seeds. 'These tasks were vital for us to surviving and we finished ahead of schedule so we should all be proud, Asher and Albert you are free to rest or you can scatter the rest of the seeds nearby the crater. Niels, we can start exploring. Asher and Albert you will get this chance next time since the risk of all of us being caught up in a storm is too much since it will delay everything.' said Rosalind.
Everyone agreed, Asher and Albert started to head off whilst Rosalind and Niels started searching.
'I made up some extra water since we will be gone for a while. If we need to traverse down any gaps we will need to use the climbing equipment no matter how easy it seems. We can't afford to damage the suits since it may cost our lives.' said Niels.
'Yeah, if we head towards that hill we should be able to see further and hopefully find a place worth searching. We have enough of the food to be gone for a couple of days however it's safest to make it back to the rocket before night. So realistically we should stay out for no longer than 8 more hours.' said Rosalind.
'yeah let's get keep moving, at least this way we won't need to exercise when we get back to the rocket to keep our bones healthy.' Niels responded.
They eventually made it to the top of the hill. A vast rusty carpet was in-front of them. Nothing but the surface of Mars for as far as they could see. 'Completely untouched, this is part of the universes true beauty, do we have the right to change it just to survive?' asked Rosalind.
Niels chuckled. 'Its a bit late to say no isn't it? let's just head back and not change Mars. If we want the population to keep growing we need to colonise other planets so this was inevitable, we are just speeding up the process. All we can do now is keep moving forward and making progress. Look over there, the ground dips and seems to disappear, possible just a small crater but we can still investigate.'
'Yeah. let's go.' said Rosalind.
With a steady pace they make it there, they stood before a shallow gorge. '6 hours and 40 minutes until we should ideally be back at the rocket. I will set a timer for 3 hours and then we can see how we are doing. let's set up the ropes and start descending.' said Niels.
At the same time Asher and Albert finished off scattering the last set of seeds. Progress was being made and Mars entered the first stages of becoming habitable.