William's eyes squinted as the Martian sun hit his visor, the reddish-yellow light dimming as the environmental suit did its job and transitioned to a darker hue. His hands gripping the drill controls tightly as he watched every single datapoint on his HUD change slowly.

  “For'y feet west, twen’y feet down there's a copper deposit.” Carlton said, calmly walking along the ground with the ore locator.

  “William, how's the drill looking?” Quirie called out over the radio, William moving the drill to the left as Carlton gave him the new coordinates.

  “Looking fine. No issues so far.” William responded, plunging the drill exactly twenty feet down. Bits of copper and soil rising to the surface as it hit the deposit.

  “Good. Survey said that this area should be perfectly stable.” Quirie looked down at her datapad- not joining in today, but monitoring. Safety wanted as much data as possible and someone checking for any abnormalities at all times today, just in case.

  Jeff shifted his weight, sole sliding a bit against the dust as he watched the drill head chew through copper-rich soil.

  “Hey,” he said, casual, like he was commenting on the weather. Immediately less gruff than usual, which made William raise an eyebrow. “Noticed you’re still hitting the gym before and after shift.”

  William kept his eyes on the HUD. The drill vibrated steadily in his hands, messing with the controls as pressure built up behind the drill bit. Keeping it from overheating from friction.

  “Yeah,” he said. “So?”

  Jeff shrugged. “Nothing. Just noticed.”

  A beat passed, and the drill hit denser material while William adjusted pressure again.

  Isaac’s voice cut in a moment later, almost thoughtful. “Every time I go in at 0600,” he said, from above, keeping his eyes locked on the winch, “you’re already there. And when I leave? You’re still running, or using the leg machine, or pumping iron.”

  William exhaled slowly through his nose. He knew what was coming, but he appreciated they weren't letting Carlton handle it- like last time.

  “Something you need to talk about?” Isaac asked.

  William eased back in the chair, leaning against the seat as he monitored the controls. just enough to let the drill idle without disengaging. He didn’t answer immediately, going over what he was going to say in his head.

  “No,” he said finally. “Not really anything to talk about.”

  Jeff chuckled, keeping his hands busy as he responded. “That wasn’t a ‘no,’ Will.”

  William maneuvered the drill deeper as ore stopped coming up the drill- biting into the Martian soil as he bit his lip.

  “I’m not spiraling guys-” He said, Carlton pointing to another spot behind him.

  “Thir'y feet south, fif'y feet down. ‘nother copper deposit.”

  William swiveled the drill, and drove over to the new location- the eerie silence of working in low oxygen environments only broken by the faint vibrations rolling up his legs. “-I'm just bulking a bit. I'm still eating, I'm still here.”

  There was a small beat of silence, before Quirie came over the radio, interrupting their conversation.

  “Alright, we've hit quota for the day. Shut down the drill, return the equipment to the shed. Then head count.”

  He keyed in the shutdown sequence and waited for the green confirmation before disengaging, hands resting on the controls a second longer than necessary. The drill powered down with a low, mechanical shudder, vibrations bleeding out of William’s legs as the machine settled into stillness.

  “Drill’s powered down,” he said. “All clear.”

  They loaded back onto the rover in practiced silence- Carlton first, then Jeff, then Isaac, Quirie- William climbed into the rover last, and clicked his harness on as Quirie settled into the front most seat.

  “Head count!” She shouted, pulling super her datapad. The rover lurched forward, suspension compensating as it rolled across uneven ground, the outside world shrinking to red dust and filtered sunlight through reinforced glass. “Jeffery”

  “Here.”

  “Carlton.”

  “ ‘Ere”

  “Isaac”

  “Present ma'am.”

  “William-”

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  “Present.”

  The ride back was- well, it was quiet. Nobody really spoke, just watching as the red dust of Mars drifted by, kicked up by the rover's wheels. Everyone piling out as the Rover docked at Site 22, the airlock closing behind them and begining pressurization.

  Carlton broke first. “I’m starvin’. If th’ mess out a’ protein again, I’m stealing yers, Isaac.”

  Isaac snorted, twisting his helmet off with a smooth practiced ease. “Try it, asshole. See what happens.”

  Carlton raised up his fists in a cartoonist way, as if to box Jeff- but Jeff just laughed and slapped Carlton on the back.

  “Alright thats enough. Lets all clock out.” Quirie interjected, giving both of them a glare- they were still on the clock, and she had a very strict ‘no goofing off’ rule when they were still working.

  All three made their way to the clock, punched out, and entered the airlock into the rest of site 22.

  William, however, stood at his suit station, working his gloves loose, tugging at the seals around his wrists. They always seemed to be the most well sealed, which made sense in a way, but always sucked to get off.

  Isaac lingered as well. He didn’t say anything at first- just set his helmet down, leaned against the side panel, arms folded across his chest.

  “You know,” William grunted. without looking up. “you don’t have to stand guard. Im perfectly capable of getting my own suit off.” he yanked- the glove finally popping free.

  Isaac shrugged, eyes still locked onto William. “I'm not.” A pause stretched between them. “You have a bad habit of doing this.” William stilled, freed hand holding the rim of the other glove.

  “Do what?”

  “Push forward,” Isaac said. “Work harder. Train harder. Like if you keep moving, whatever’s coming won’t catch you unaware.”

  William resumed unsealing his suit. “I’m fine, really, I'm not doing anything.”

  “I know,” Isaac replied immediately. “Didn’t say you were.”

  That got William to look at him. Isaac met his gaze easily. No judgment, just concern painted across his face.

  “I’m just asking,” Isaac continued, “if this is about something that already happened- or something that might.’

  The dock’s ventilation system cycled with a hiss. Somewhere deeper in the habitat, machinery thrummed, the deep guttural hum that didn't overpower conversation, but underlined it.

  William exhaled slowly. “I don’t even know if anything’s going to happen, Isaac. But I can say that I'm not doing what I did back then.”

  Isaac nodded, putting up his suit and walking to the clock. “Yeah, right.”

  William slipped off the last of his own suit as Isaac clocked out. He paused, and turned back to William. “We're just trying to show you that- you aren't alone this time.”

  William shook his head, but he knew they were there for him. He just clocked out and headed toward the mess hall.

  It was loud in the way only a Martian mess hall ever was.

  Not shouting- just layered. Voices overlapping, metal trays sliding across composite tables, the soft hiss of pressure doors cycling open and shut as crews filtered in from different sites. The air smelled faintly of salt, oil, and reheated starch. Not unholy unpleasant, just a lot to take in.

  William sat with his tray balanced in front of him, two hydropotatoes split open and steaming slightly, skins wrinkled from the process of baking them. He stabbed one with his fork and took a bite, chewing slowly- adding cheese, and ripping the pepper packet open.

  Across the table, Jeff was already halfway through complaining. “I swear,” he said, waving his fork for emphasis, “if they don't expand the rewards for a hard day's work, I'm breaking more chairs. And filing a complaint.”

  Carlton snorted. “Ya complain ever’ week.”

  “And yet,” Jeff shot back, “the menu remains unchanged. I swear, a cheeseburger isn't that crazy an ask! ”

  Isaac chuckled, picking at his own plate- the small steak breaking apart easily. “You say it like the chairs can feel fear.”

  William half-smiled, eyes drifting down to his own plate. He pulled out his own datapad, propping it up besides his plate as he flicked through notifications. Habit, more than intention really.

  Skimming through the usual clutter- shift logs, safety notices, a reminder about equipment maintenance that was definitely mandatory. One unread message caught his eye- He didn’t recognize the sender at first, but it quickly became apparent as he read the headline. His fork paused halfway to his mouth. William tapped it open.

  The noise of the cafeteria seemed to dull- not disappear, just fade slightly. Like someone had placed a pair of earmuffs over his head.

  Thank you for your participation in the October Project preliminary evaluation, William Nightengale.

  He swallowed.

  Jeff was still talking. Something about a busted vending unit and a conspiracy involving Isaac and his last energy bar. Isaac of course blew it off, though he did see Carlton whistling innocently.

  Following review of your performance, we would like to inform you that you have been selected to proceed to the next phase. Please come to 143 New Mars Str. On Saturday-

  William re-read the line, not believing his eyes. He hadn't expected to be accepted, let alone this fast. He'd only done the interview a week ago. Across from him, Carlton leaned back in his chair, chewing on something.

  “Oi- Will. You want those potatoes or what?”

  William blinked, the room snapping back into focus. He lowered the datapad slightly, eyebrow raised.

  “What?” he asked, looking around the table.

  Jeff squinted at him. “Carlton is trying to steal your dinner.”

  William rolled his eyes and stabbed his fork onto the table as Carlton tried to take his half eaten hydropotato.

  “Dammit!” Carlton shouted, jerking his hand back and giving William a dirty look. William simply gave him a smile and shoved the rest of his hydropotato into his mouth- then breathing in and out quickly as it burned his tongue and roof of his mouth.

  “That's what ya get!” Carlton roared, slapping his knee- before Quirie smacked him on the back of his head with her tray. “Ow!”

  “Don't steal other people's food, Carlton.” She chided, sliding William's water closer to him. He grabbed the bottle and took a deep gulp, cooling his mouth instantly- and swallowing the potato.

  “I shouldn't have done that.” He gasped, getting up from the table and heading for the airlock. Fanning his mouth as he exited the mess hall, turning his datapad back on and reading the rest of the message.

  -at 12:00pm MST (Mars standard time). You will be removed from the project upon failure to attend.

  He absent mindedly opened the airlock to his room and sauntered inside, tapping the screen. This was great, fantastic even- so why was he apprehensive?

  William sat on his bed and kept staring at the message. It was so- official, so very calm and matter of fact. Maybe it reminded him of corporate Emails just a little too much, perhaps. Or maybe it was the finality of it. I cant miss this or its all over before it even begins. He thought, swapping to an alarm application. He set several alarms- one at 10:00pm, another at 11:00pm, and one at 11:45pm- just in case.

  He set the datapad in its slot, and went through his nighttime routine. Shower, teeth, putting his clothes away. He laid down, staring at the space above his bed.

  “One icy asteroid…”