Mattie stood in the doorway, a small woman with green eyes and unruly brown curls, she looked too delicate for the hard life of a miner. Her expression was neither welcoming nor hostile—more like the carefully neutral look of someone assessing a potential threat.
“Dr. Falkner.” Not a question. “Cass said you might be stopping by.”
Of course she did. Alina made a mental note to have words with her friend about giving advance warning without checking first.
“I hope I’m not intruding. I wanted to talk to you and Jeb about something… sensitive.”
Mattie’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Sensitive how?”
“The kind of sensitive that could change everything we think we know about Mars. And possibly about cyborg technology.”
A long pause. Then Mattie stepped back from the doorway.
“Better come inside, then.”
The interior of the habitat was surprisingly cozy—Alina had expected the utilitarian efficiency of most mining operations, but Mattie had clearly worked to make the space a home. Colorful fabric hangings covered the curved walls, and actual plants—not the sterile hydroponics of the research stations, but proper potted plants with soil and everything—lined the small kitchen area.
Jeb was sitting at the central table, and Alina had to force herself not to stare.
She’d seen cyborgs before, of course. Anyone who’d been on Mars for more than a few months had. But they were usually glimpsed at a distance, or in the impersonal context of supply runs and security checkpoints. Up close, the blend of human and machine was… disconcerting.
Jeb looked human enough at first glance—a big man with broad shoulders and close-cropped dark hair, features that might have been handsome in a rough-hewn way. But the light caught the faint metallic sheen where synthetic skin met organic, and his eyes had that subtle brightness that came from enhanced optics.
“Dr. Falkner.” His voice was deeper than she’d expected, with a slight mechanical undertone. “My mate said you had something sensitive to discuss.”
“I—yes.” Alina lowered herself into the chair Mattie indicated, trying to organize her thoughts. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Start with what brought you out here,” Mattie suggested, sliding into the seat beside Jeb. “You’re a geochemist, right? Something to do with research?”
“Technically, yes. But what I found—what I need to tell you about—it goes beyond my field. Beyond any field, really.”
She took a breath.
“A few weeks ago, I picked up some unusual readings. Biochemical signatures that shouldn’t exist. During the dust storm, I went to investigate, and I found something in the mountains. A cave system.”
Jeb and Mattie exchanged a glance—so quick Alina almost missed it.
“A cave system,” Jeb repeated. “In this region.”
“Deep in the mountains. Accessible through a lava tube.” Alina leaned forward, watching their faces. “The thing is, it’s not just a cave. It’s a complete ecosystem. Living plants, breathable atmosphere, water sources—an entire self-contained biome that shouldn’t be possible.”
She’d expected skepticism. Disbelief. Maybe even concern for her mental state. What she got instead was another one of those quick glances between the couple, loaded with meaning she couldn’t decipher.
“You’ve seen it,” she said slowly. “Haven’t you?”
Mattie’s jaw tightened. Jeb’s hand moved to cover hers on the table.
“What makes you say that?” he asked.
“Because you’re not surprised. I just told you there’s a living ecosystem hidden under the Martian surface, something that contradicts everything we think we know about this planet, and you’re looking at me like I’m telling you water is wet.”
Silence stretched between them. Alina could hear the soft hum of the habitat’s life support systems, the distant whir of the solar tracking arrays adjusting to the climbing sun.
Finally, Mattie let out a long breath.
“A year ago,” she said. “I had some trouble with my claim. Someone wanted my claim, and they weren’t particular about how they got it.”
“They came with weapons,” Jeb added. “More than we could handle. We had to hide in the tunnels.”
