The Homestead Transport {by Anthraxus}

[Anthraxus]

The gears on the AREV ground and sputtered as the treads spun in the loose sand. A brilliant spray of rust red particles launched from the sandbed and the vehicle lurched forward another couple inches before sinking back down in to the soft grit. The masked driver swore and smacked his gloved hand against the wheel.

He paused a moment to double check the air seal on the cabin of the AREV and then removed his helmet. He popped open a compartment and pulled out a large red hankercheif. He mopped his sodden brow with it and tucked it back into the compartment. As he sat back down in the pilot's chair he punched up the emergency comm line to Central Trading.

A moment of crackling static and then a distant, tinny voice answered, "Central Trading, What is your emergency?"

Anthraxus looked up to the speaker and replied, "Central, This is prospector Anthraxus. I'm stuck in the middle of a large bank of dunes in the far reaches of Isidis Planitia. I need a lift."

The anonymous voice crackled, "Confirmed Anthraxus. Standard lift rates apply and your location and homestead coordinates are confirmed. A lifter has been dispatched. Please sit tight." With a rapid series of clicks, the channel went dead, leaving the distraught miner alone with his thoughts again.

Knowing that it might be a little while before his ride showed up, Anthraxus stood and stretched. Turning, he stepped back into the habitation section of the vehicle. Not for the first time, he spent a few minutes cursing the decision to become a prospector in the first place. Those thoughts were all driven out of his head when he looked through the small window at the cargo hold. He smiled at the large pile of credited ore that was heaped in the hold. Over five thousand Mars Dollars worth by his comp's latest estimation. That vien of Lutetium had the highest purity he had ever seen.

He stepped into the head and, sure enough, the was a blaring broadcast over the local speakers from the lifter that was parked above him. He quickly tried to finish, creating a bit of a mess on the outside of his suit. He was snapping the last fastener on his suit when his AREV rocked as the lifter clamps settled in place. There was another hard shift as the lifter pulled him out of the dunes and raised him to a safe flying height. He grabbed a handful of cleaning rags and wiped at his suit as he made his way back up to the pilot chair. This was the first time he had had to call for a lift and he wanted to see the areas that he knew he had missed in his earlier explorations.

He swore as he saw that one of the lifters landing pylons completely blocked his view. He tried to fire up one of his survey cameras, only to discover that all of his systems were offline. He sulked in the dark of his cockpit for the rest of the flight. He was so far gone in his brooding that he jumped in surprise at the crunch of his unit being set down on the edge of his homestead's defense perimeter.

Again there was a blast of noice from the local speakers as the lifter pilot signed off and left. He looked out of the window at his home and shook his head. A full day's travel allowance wasted because he was dumb enough to take a wrong turn. Oh well, he thought, Might as well get cleaned up and dump my cargo since I'm here. A determined set to his expression he flipped on his security beacon and began moving through his defenses.