Starship Legacy: A Novel by Not Elon Musk

The core sample analysis took longer than usual. Sarah had commandeered the main lab terminal, running the data through every test she could think of. Her usual chatty demeanor had given way to intense focus, broken only by occasional mutters and the rapid tapping of commands into her tablet.

"Well?" Luke finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

Sarah looked up, blinking as if she'd forgotten others were in the room. "It's..." she paused, choosing her words carefully. "The soil composition isn't just good for growing things. There are organic compounds in here. Complex ones."

"Contamination?" Mark suggested from his monitoring station.

"That was my first thought." Sarah pulled up a detailed molecular analysis on the main display. "But these compounds are integrated into the soil structure. They're old. Really old."

Ben whistled softly. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm not saying anything yet." Sarah's voice was measured, but her eyes betrayed her excitement. "We need more samples. Different locations, different depths. And we need to rule out any possible contamination from our equipment."

Luke studied the molecular diagrams floating in the air. He'd seen enough scientific discoveries on Mars to know that caution was as important as curiosity. "Mark, how's that tremor window looking?"

"Sixty-seven minutes until the next predicted event. Plenty of time for another core sample."

"Do it," Luke decided. "Ben, take the rover another fifty meters down the tunnel. Sarah, what depth do you want for the next sample?"

"Three meters." She was already preparing new collection protocols. "And if possible, I want samples from the tunnel walls too. These compounds... if they're what I think they are, they shouldn't be limited to just the floor deposits."

As Ben guided the rover deeper into the tunnel, Luke found himself thinking about the implications. They'd come to Mars expecting a dead world, one they'd have to force into supporting life. But if Sarah's preliminary findings were right...

"Got something else," Mark announced, his usually stoic voice carrying a note of surprise. "The humidity levels are still rising. Slightly, but consistently. And there's a faint air current."

"Natural ventilation?" Ben suggested, his hands steady on the rover controls.

"Maybe." Mark adjusted some settings on his display. "But it's moving deeper into the tunnel system, not towards the surface."

Luke felt that familiar tingle again, stronger now. Mars had taught them to expect the unexpected, but this felt different. This felt like standing on the edge of something bigger than their original mission, bigger than their plans for underground greenhouses and radiation shelters.

"Second sample location reached," Ben reported. "Ready for core extraction."

They watched as the rover's sampling arm extended again, its drill bit biting into the Martian soil with practiced precision. Whatever they found in this sample, Luke knew, would either confirm Sarah's cautious excitement or send them back to their original plans.

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