Niels and Rosalind continued to slowly descend the gorge, finding nothing of interest so far. With the wind picking up, their view was only a fraction compared to how it was at the top. Not being able to see their next step fully made traversing much more difficult, the gorge which would be safe to solo-climb on Earth was now a source of terror. To add to the danger, they had a finite amount of time before the sandstorm would come and rob them of all vision. Every step down was a step they would have to climb back up, making them both hesitant to go too far. Only around 100m down they found a ledge to rest on, Niels found a slight gap they could crawl through to be shaded from all dangers.
'How much time do we have left?' asked Niels.
'In just over an hour we should start climbing back up, its better to be safe than have to wait here for the storm coming to pass, we aren't on Earth so who knows how long it could ask. Its not worth the risk. It would not be wise to go down much further.' replied Rosalind.
'Yeah we can quickly drink here then go down to the next ledge just below then head back up.' said Niels as he scanned the gorge.
Something sparked his interest but kept it a secret for now.
'Lets go!' he exclaimed.
They both scaled down making little progress before an alarm pierced the air.
'That's it, time to head back up.' said Rosalind.
'I will catch up to you, I have too much energy to head back now, I can make it back fine.' he said, keeping his real reason to keep exploring a secret.
'Don't be stupid, it is far too dangerous to stay our much longer. I'll wait at the top for you but don't be longer than 20 minutes, set a timer now and hurry.' blurted Rosalind.
Niels made a descent, much faster than before, he saw something he could not let go and had to see it.
5 minutes later, after making it to a ledge, he found the colours around him different. The rocks appeared worn, not from weathering or pressure. Something was unusual. He began to explore the level he was at and found himself at cave-like opening and something glowing. He crawled through and made it to what can only be described as illuminous shrapnel scattered on the walls. His instinct told him to not go near but he was a scientist, how could he run from something never seen before? He scooped a chunk up and noticed it was viscous like toothpaste, luckily for Niels, the suits are hydrophobic and the slime-like substance slid off without a trace. He knew he should report back to the team with what he had found but kept it a secret for now. He noticed a tunnel going deeper to the core of Mars with more of the slime but he had no time to explore anymore. Heading back he couldn't help but question himself if it was moral to keep this a secret. Was he putting everyone in danger? He tried to not think about it.
'I can figure out what it is and then report back. I could just be hallucinating from the lack of sleep I've had recently' he thought.
He made his way back to the top, nervous to be confronted by Rosalind he climbed as fast as possible. She stood overlooking the gorge and held out a hand for him to get out. Expected to be shouted at he took it and looked away, only to be greeted with a smile. 'Lets head back now we have enough time to beat the storm. Anything of interest down there?' Rosalind said.
'Nothing but rocks, I'm not sure what we expected but we didn't find it.' Niels replied.
Niels and Rosalind slowly made their way back to the base. No conversation was made, Niels was nervous and hiding something but Rosalind didn't pry any information from him but noticed he was starting to be nervous. Finally making it back, they were welcomed with meals from Asher and Albert. Not quite gourmet however the powdered ready meals were sufficient and flavoursome the crew finally could rest and appreciate what they have done so far. Niels was still nervous and not at ease but no one questioned it. Everyone was fixated on eating, submerged in the pleasure of the flavours, forgetting all manners. Albert and Asher finished and went to complete the set up of the first oxygen zone, now rather than using the reserves from the base, they can generate and store oxygen from the plants. Niels and Rosalind returned to their bunks, exhausted from exploring they soon slept without effort. Albert and Asher returned and cleared the eating area then went to their bunks to rest. The first colony on Mars was starting to look real and not a figment of imagination. The future of humanity was being made.