Lieutenant Brenda Ivanova and pilot Ralph Brown were part of the Ares XII mission, whose objective was to find water deposits in the subsurface of Mars to establish a permanent base.

The expedition had landed in Arcadia Planitia, one of the best candidates because it had accessible underground ice and relatively flat terrain, ideal for future human missions.

During an exploratory walk 12 kilometers from the shelter, a strange magnetic anomaly disrupted their communications with the base and caused their navigation systems to fail. Before they could get their bearings, the wind began to whistle with increasing intensity. Brenda checked the sensors on her suit and her face tensed.

Brenda said worriedly , “There’s a storm coming, Ralph. And it’s a big one.”

Ralph responded perceptively , “Great. I always wanted to die of suffocation on a lifeless planet.”

Brenda smiled, but replied urgently , “Shut your mouth and move. We have to get back to base.”

The storms could last for days or weeks, much like dust storms in Earth’s deserts, but with finer, electrostatically charged particles.

Dust clouds were already enveloping them, reducing visibility to less than a metre. The dense cloud of dust obscured sunlight and made navigation difficult. The dust was electrically charged and interfered with radio signals.

With no sign of the sun or the base beacons, Brenda and Ralph had to rely on their wits and direction to get back. But as they blindly trudge forward, their boots hit something unexpected: a steep slope.

Ralph stopped his partner by the arm to say , “Stop! We have a problem. I don’t remember there being a damn cannon here.”

Brenda shook her head . “Neither do I ... and that worries me.”

As they probed the ground, the dust generated an electrical discharge and, for a brief moment, the illuminated sand revealed something buried: a metal structure of unknown origin.

Brenda touched the surface with her gloved hand and, against all logic, a hatch opened. Inside, they found an artificial tunnel.

Ralph said in disbelief , “Tell me this is a joke. A buried structure?”

Brenda replied , “I don’t know. But it’s either get into it or die buried.”

Ralph looked confused . “None of this makes sense, Brenda. How the hell does something like this get in here?”

Brenda chose to be pragmatic. The situation was dangerous - “I have no idea. But if this helps us get out alive, then we ask.”

In the midst of a Martian storm, astronauts Brenda Ivanova and Ralph Brown manage to enter a long metal corridor, with walls covered in a dark patina and a series of closed doors, each marked with strange symbols.

The place didn’t look human. There were no recognizable inscriptions, no obvious technology. Just a dimly lit corridor and a barely audible hum in the background, as if something was still working.

The hatch closed softly, isolating them from the storm outside. As it closed, a red button suddenly lit up.

When they tried to contact the base, their radios emitted static with fragments of distorted voices. They did not recognize the usual voices of Earth ... or their own.

Ralph asked , “Did you hear that?”

Brenda said , “Tell me it’s me repeating myself in echo.”

Ralph shook his head . “It doesn’t look like it.”

The doors along the hallway did not open manually, but touching one gave Brenda a soft electric shock as the door clicked. The metal door slid smoothly open ... revealing an empty room with a metal chair in the center. Above the chair, they saw something impossible: a human astronaut helmet ... old, dusty, a design never before used on a mission.

Ralph checked the spacesuit and found something disturbing: a NASA logo ... from a mission that never existed on record.