The amphitheater lights dimmed slightly, casting the officer in the broad halo of a spotlight. The screens above the dais brightened, each showing a clear close-up view of the officer’s face. Elizabeth could tell from the insignia on his collar that he was at least a General.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he began.
His voice was amplified by the auditorium’s sound system, with only the barest hint of an echo. He sounded firm, but tired, Elizabeth thought. It was easy for her to imagine why.
“As I’m certain that you are all well aware, there has been a crisis at the central Mars colony.” His weariness seemed to increase, joined now by an undercurrent of sadness or defeat. It was a subtle change, Elizabeth realized, but noticeable.
“You’ve probably already seen the reports, so we won’t show them again here.”
The general glanced down at his notes, and then cleared his throat softly. Amplified through the amphitheater’s sound processors, it sounded like something heavy being grated across metal deck plates.
“At approximately zero two thirty-eight local time,” the general began. His tone became flat, with an almost mechanical cadence. “There was an as-yet-unexplained and critical malfunction in at least one of the main drive reactors of the military carrier Conrad. As far as we know at this point, all hands were lost.”
He paused again, but his eyes were focused, not on his notes, but on something else far away, unseen.
“The wreckage of the main hull section struck Biodome Two on impact with the surface.” There was a pause the length of a heartbeat before he continued. “The civilian casualties were,” he breathed a noticeable, if inaudible, sigh, “. . . considerable.”
His eyes stared out directly from the overhead screens how. As Elizabeth watched, they brightened into a sharp gleam of determination.
“That is all the information we have at this time,” he announced firmly. “All personnel not under current assignment should prepare for possible immediate deployment.”
His mouth moved again, but Elizabeth could not hear the words. Either he had spoken them silently, or the audio system had not picked them up. If she had to guess though, it was either a curse or a prayer—possibly both.
The general stepped away from the podium. After a moment, another officer moved forward to take his place.
“All off-duty personnel are to return to their quarters and await further orders.” He glanced quickly toward the general, who shook his head once in response. “Dismissed.”
The noise level rose within the auditorium, barely dampened now by its acoustical design. Elizabeth sensed people around her rising from their seats to leave. She considered doing the same, but still felt numbed by what she had seen and now heard. Something jostled her from the left side and she rose without thinking, allowing herself to be carried along with the steady flow of people moving slowly toward the auditorium’s exits.
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