Excellent summation,” Tom declared. “But, ya know what? I think the diamonds are going to turn out to be secondary in importance. The real find here is the water! This means that after we land FP2, we won’t need to transport any more hydrogen to Mars from Earth. So, not only have we found a way to pay for this mission and the next several launches, we’ve also discovered a way to make all future missions less expensive! Of course, the location of the crater may just be coincidental to the water below. The comet, if that’s what it was, may have just punched a hole in the top of an underground ocean.”
“Isn’t that a kick in the ass?” Brandon commented over their headsets. “This might just rate right up there with the discovery of the Higgs Boson. It should really make the accountants happy and set the powers that be to dancin’ in the aisles,” he enthusiastically shouted, leaping up from his seat at the console.
“Brandon, how long have you been monitoring this?” Sally queried.
“Not too long. I tuned in about four or five minutes ago,” he replied. “And I’m gonna put a few bottles of the good stuff on ice, so to speak. Oh, by the way, our next uplink to Mission Support is in two hours, nineteen minutes. Do you two think you’ll be back in here by then to pass on the good news, or would you rather wait for the following uplink, to notify them of your discovery?”
Tom looked over at the crater wall, considered the trek up to the rim, and then glanced at Sally, “What do you think, two hours and nineteen minutes to make it back inside, or a bit longer? There’s the slope I spotted,” he said pointing north about a hundred and fifty meters.