SF Drabble #361 “Risk and Return”

We knew immediately what had happened: the main fuel plant the ‘54 expedition set up blew when our guys connected the lander feed. The crew and Henriette were obliterated instantly, only the science teams, spread out and shielded by hills and mountains, survived.

We spend days watching them converge, set up a temporary shelter, try to set up a replacement plant, fail. We caught a few weak, crackly broadcasts asking for help. We talked to them, but couldn’t know if they were hearing us.

They’d gone down to the surface of Mars with the only lander. What could we do?

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