Meanwhile, the commander checked in with the primary scoutsniper unit set up half a kilometer west of their location. Ebon and
Jaig, veteran scouts, had similar bland reports.
When the storm cleared up, what remained were soft
fairy tale-like snow, their bodies buried nearly two feet beneath.
Their suits, fashioned with an innovative thermostat to keep their
bodies warm and keep the cold out so long as they remained
sealed, prevented hypothermia, necessary for such a prolonged
mission.
just . . . quiet.”
commander deadpanned. Her prone positioned mirrored his, minus
at eye level as she scanned the area before them.
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” the other replied.
He looked up and pulled his head back away from his scope,
surveying the view. “No, no, this is simple. Just us and nature.
Everything is black and white.” He reached up towards his helmet
and retracted his visor. Despite the stinging wind, he inhaled the
cold air deeply.
He chuckled. “Take away the fancy gadgets and what are
any of us?”
“A bunch of pawns too caught up in the mundane to see the
scope of the cosmos.”
“Deep thoughts, but speaking of pawns, Watney . . .”
“I can already see where this is going.”
“All this black and white scenery reminds me of a little
game we used to play. You ever miss chess?”
from her scope and looked at his exposed face, her own hidden
“You basically wrote the book on war applicable chess. Sun
Tzu would be proud.” He inhaled the air again and made a face.
“We used to stalemate ourselves into ragequit.”
[65]
Z