The Ruins of Mars (The Ruins of Mars Trilogy Book 1) by Dylan James Quarles Page B

traditional rocket. Half the length of Braun but nearly as wide, the rocket was covered in the same brilliant white ceramic that protected the mother ship.
          “This is the Arc,” said James. “An unmanned supply ship, which will be launched three weeks before the departure of Braun. Inside will be food and water for the ground team as well as all of our excavating and construction equipment and the materials for the base.”
          Sliding one finger downward on the Tablet, James revealed a cross-section of the Arc. From fore to aft, nearly every square foot of space inside the Arc was jammed with equipment and crates of food. The engine at the rear was a smaller version of Braun’s nuclear torch, encased safely behind lead walls.
          “Since there will be no human crew, the Arc will have minimal heating and pressurization—only enough to keep the food from spoiling. Also, she’ll be fitted with a laser defense system like the one on Braun to protect the cargo from meteoroids and such. Other than that, it’s pretty much a flying storage crate.”
          Rubbing his chin, the President asked, “Are you launching it three weeks before Braun because it has a smaller engine?”
          “Exactly,” said James enthusiastically.
          “How do you get it to the surface if, as you say, it’s nothing but a flying storage crate?” questioned Crain.
          “Well, it will reach Mars around the same time that the mother ship does, and when it’s close enough, Braun can take control of the Arc and put it on an interception trajectory with the ship. Then our Landers will detach, piloted by Marshall and Aguilar, and rendezvous with the Arc. Now this is where it gets really cool.”
          Entering a command in on his Tablet, James highlighted two seams in the Arc’s hull, one near the middle of the fuselage and the other just above the casing of the torch engine.
          Speaking quickly, James continued, “These lines represent different sealed sections of the Arc. When Marshall and Aguilar are in position, Braun will send a signal to the Arc, and the entire ship will break into three pieces: the two top portions containing the cargo, and the last section being the torch engine. Marshall and Aguilar will then attach themselves via electromagnetic clamps and lines to the payloads and pull them to the surface together, one at a time. Kind of like a tug boat.”
          As he spoke, an animation of the event unfolded before their eyes. The Arc split at the two seams and fell into three separate pieces. The smaller bottom section, which housed the nuclear torch engine, drifted out of frame as two turtle-shell-shaped craft approached the remaining floating sections of the Arc. The little Landers attached themselves by cables to one of the two sections, then, with small busts of fuel, towed the large cylinder away.
          “The gravity on Mars is one-third of that on Earth,” said James as the others watched the animation. “Because of that fact, the Landers working together can safely ground each section of the Arc in two trips. It will take the better part of a day to complete, but it’s really an amazing feat.”
          “I see,” nodded the President. “And the Arc will have everything the ground team needs to construct their base and start the establishment of food and water production?”
          “Yes, it will be fully loaded with over a hundred strands of GMO plant and vegetable seeds as well as the necessary equipment to build a hydroponic vegetable farm inside a second greenhouse dome.”
          Looking from the model of the Arc to James, Eve furrowed her brows tightly.
          “What about now that we’ve added another member on the crew? How much extra food must be included?”
          Biting his lip, James labored on the calculations.
          “Let’s talk about that a little later,” said the President calmly. “If