Meanwhile, other escape pods crash in a volcanic field

For the crew of the four escape pods who crashed on the north side of the main continent, the situation was as problematic as the others. In fact, you could say it was worse. They ended up scattered in a fairly large area. Two of the pods crashlanded on a volcanic caldera in a barren portion of the continent. On the west side and north side of it, large volcanoes were spewing lava. The ardent fluid gushing either in the form of slow flows or in large fountains of molten rock. Fortunately, the pods were not threatened by the volcano's activity, which brought small relief for Chief Engineer Mark Anders and his team.

« Is everyone okay ? » he asked, staring at the small group who managed to reach the escape pod before it was too late.

« I think so » answered Dana, the 45 years old surgeon as she navigated through the small group, « they’re still shocked by what just happened, but otherwise they’re physically ok. »

« Do you think the others escaped from the ship ? » asked Lin, the petite Chinese woman trying to restrain her sobs.

« I saw other escape pods fall with us, I don’t know how many but… »

« Hey look, there is another pod near us » someone shouted, interrupting Mark. Indeed, another pod had crashlanded on the other side of the caldera, lights blinking on its sides. Tom, the communication officer immediately recognized Morse code being emitted by the pod. Their antenna was probably damaged by the crash. He immediately started to decipher the message.

« Rhonda, what’s the situation outside? Is it safe to get out? »

Rhonda didn’t answer immediately, the geologist was in front of the computer's screen, Ivan and her scanning the data.

« Well, it appears we’re in some sort of volcanic area, reminds me of the Great Rift Valley in Africa. We have active volcanoes a few miles from us but if their activities didn’t increase we should be fine. »

« But … » Ivan interrupted her, the scientist pointing a batch of numbers on the screen. « The temperature of the area is around 50 C°, probably due to the volcanic activity and the bright sun above. It will certainly drop to a more bearable temperature during the night. The good news is that the atmosphere is breathable … oxygen 25%, nitrogen 55%, water vapour, carbon dioxide, sulfur, argon … Yeah, it’s good, the volcanic gases are in a higher concentration than the recommended dose but it will be harmful. Heck, we have more pollution on Earth’s industrial areas » the Russian scientist concluded.

« I have a report for the other pod, » Tom said, « they’re fine too, five persons are inside, they’re waiting the night to get out. »

Mark looked at the group. Reunited, it will be a small group of ten survivors. It wasn’t a lot. Looking up, his eyes met the others. It made him sigh. He was the highest ranking officer here and as usual, peoples were expecting him to give orders. Sometimes it wasn’t good to be the one in charge and today it certainly wasn’t.

« Okay, » he said, trying to sound reassuring, « it’ll be all right, as soon as the temperature drop, we left the pod and meet the others. »