Planets Falling Read Online Free Page B

martians in that area were not so fortunate.  They were bouncing a ball against a wall that had stood steadfast for their entire short lives.  During the last few moments that their minds worked, they marveled at how the wall dissolved before them and then wondered why the air in their chests was being forced out like water through a straw.
    The transportation hub, the center of arriving and departing vessels in the colony, experienced only a minor hole in its arrivals bay.  No one was hurt.  But shipments of repair supplies and even rescue cruisers were impeded until the integrity of the area was assured.
    The final breach occurred in the sector containing Jon Fuerst's laboratory.  The wealth of his equipment was smashed against the lab benches when the air rushed out. Hama, the brilliant student who Jon had trained for months and who was only twenty five years old, became trapped between two tables and suffocated while the emergency sirens blared.
    Jon and Pinchot emerged from the tunnels just before the walls came down.  They stood dumbfounded sipping cold herbal tea in a biological staff lounge as they listened to the chatter on the staff communications network.  Holst had vanished.  They suspected that he was meeting with corporate leadership brokering a deal to protect the biological section.  However, given the events unfolding in the domes, it was apparent that their days of research on mars were over.  When Jon heard about his lab, he wanted to rush there, see poor Hama for one last time.  But the sector was sealed and it would be weeks before access was granted again.  Pinch paced the room, exhaustion awash on her face.
    On the screens of the general communications network, Director Ansa Heldren peered out at the entire colony, her mouth tight around her brilliant teeth.  She smiled, calmly gazing at the camera, her eyes tarry black.  "Dear citizens and patrons.  We are in control of the situation.  During the past day, several small explosions were set by an unknown person.  Be confident that our security is patrolling the perimeter of all living areas and will ensure that no further damage will occur.  We ask that any information about suspicious behavior be reported to us immediately.  Please remain in the confines of your living areas and do not leave them until further notified."
    "And the cover up begins," Jon murmured.
    "I guess reporting that an uncontrolled pathogen that eats plastic and perhaps some metals is on the loose would be a bit unsettling," Pinch laughed quietly.  "If this stuff is propagating naturally, it could consume the entire colony and any ship coming to rescue us.  We’d be the mars equivalent of a leper colony.  And we’d all be dead in a few weeks."
    As the two scientists worried, panicked people from all walks of colony life amassed at the trans hub.  The hub was a huge building with hundreds of gates that connected transport vessels to the colony interior.  Only a small section had been isolated following the breach and outbound transports were still available. Throngs of visitors fought to get onto departing vessels either to other stations on the planet, or more desirably, off planet to earth.
    Those who called the colony home had more complicated considerations.  Parents attempted to arrange immediate passage for their children.  Others were ready to leave all their belongings and jump ship to a new life away from the domes.  For those remaining in their living areas, they awaited another breach and possibly an agonizing death.
    Over a few short days, the colony settled into resolute silence. Most of the paying visitors had managed to escape off station.  The maintenance and technical staff were either busy wandering the perimeter searching for additional damage or staying clear of the gaze of security.  Many families associated with colony governance or with biological studies were discretely planning their own flights.  Security was questioning