Starship Legacy: A Novel by Not Elon Musk

…Continued!

The morning brought a dust storm. Not one of the big ones that could black out the sun for days, but the kind that turned the world outside into a reddish-brown haze. Luke watched it through the dome's viewport while nursing his morning coffee substitute – a bitter brew that Ben had concocted from their hydroponics experiments. It had caffeine, thankfully, synthesized in their biochem lab, but the taste was something they all politely avoided discussing. They'd all agreed to call it coffee purely out of optimism.

"System check's done," Mark announced from his station, not looking up from his screens. "External sensors are holding steady after yesterday's repairs."

Luke nodded, grateful for Mark's methodical nature. The man might not be the most social creature on base, but his attention to detail had saved their backs more than once. "Good. How're the radiation levels looking?"

"Still elevated from the flare, but nothing critical. Should be back to baseline by tomorrow." Mark paused, fingers hovering over his keyboard. "Though there's something odd with the seismic readings."

That got Luke's attention. He moved closer to Mark's station, peering at the scrolling data. "Odd how?"

"Small tremors. Regular intervals. Could be natural, but..." Mark trailed off, pulling up a visualization of the data. "The pattern's too consistent."

Before Luke could respond, Ben's voice crackled over the comm. "Hey Cap, you might want to come down to the workshop. Got something interesting on the ground-penetrating radar."

Luke shared a look with Mark. "The tremors?"

"Probably related," Mark muttered, already pulling up additional readings.

The workshop was its usual organized chaos, but Ben had cleared a space on his main workbench. A holographic display showed layers of Martian geology, cross-sectioned like a cake.

"See this?" Ben pointed to a cavity about thirty meters below the surface. "It's a lava tube. A big one. And these readings suggest it might be mostly intact."

Luke studied the display, coffee forgotten in his hand. Lava tubes were natural underground tunnels formed by ancient volcanic activity. They'd found smaller ones before, but nothing like this. "How far does it extend?"

"That's the interesting part." Ben manipulated the display, zooming out. "It runs for at least a kilometer in either direction. And look at the depth profile – it's pretty consistent. Could be stable enough for..."

"Expansion," Luke finished. The implications were already spinning through his mind. A natural underground shelter, protected from radiation and dust storms. The potential was enormous.

"Should we alert Houston?" Ben asked, but his grin suggested he already knew the answer.

Luke shook his head, a smile tugging at his own lips. "Let's verify the data first. Get some proper surveys done. Then we can give them something concrete to chew on."

It was exactly the kind of discovery they needed – not just for the practical implications, but for morale. After the beating they'd taken from the solar flare, the crew could use a win. Luke could already imagine Sarah's excitement about the possibilities for underground farming, protected from radiation and storms.

The dust storm continued to rage outside, but somehow it seemed less threatening now. They'd come to Mars expecting to fight the planet at every turn. Sometimes, though, Mars had a way of surprising them with gifts – if you knew where to look.