IV

           Asthehiddensuncontinuedtorise,thebloodyredcolouroftheatmospherebegantolighten.Itwasnowamusty,dirtyyellowinsteadofthefamiliarbrightsunshineofEarth,butitwasavastimprovementoverwhathadbeen.

           Thestormhadabatedsomewhatandtheomnipresentdusthadbeguntosettle.Forthefirsttime,thethreefootwearytravellerscouldseemorethanacoupleofmetresahead.

           They’dbeenclimbingforsometime.Theterraincontinuedhilly,butexceptforisolatedpillarsofbasaltitwasstillcomposedoflavaflows.Therewerefewsharpprojections,mosthavingbeengrounddowntogentlecurvesandwrinklesbyuntoldaeonsofsteadywindanddrivendust.

           Kanewasinthelead,slightlyaheadofLambert.Anyminutenowheexpectedhertoannouncethey’dregainedthesignal.Hetoppedaslightrise,glancedaheadexpectingtoseemoreofwhatthey’dencounteredthusfar:smoothrockleadingupwardtoanothershortclimb.

           Instead,hiseyescaughtsomethingquitedifferent,differentenoughtomakethemgowidebehindthedirty,transparentfaceofthehelmet,differentenoughtomakehimshoutoverthepickup.

           ’JESUSCHRIST!’

           ’Whatisit?What’sthemat..?’Lambertpulledupalongsidehim,followedbyDallas.BothwereasshockedbytheunexpectedsightasKanehadbeen.

           They’dassumedthedistresssignalwasbeinggeneratedbymachineryofsomesort,butnopicturesofthetransmittersourcehadformedintheirminds.They’dbeentoooccupiedwiththestormandthesimplenecessityofstayingtogether.