Archimedes

A crippled antique corvette whose repair is the castaways' only practical route from the sunward waste back toward Mars.

Story so far

The Archimedes is a fifty-meter corvette stranded with Darrow and the surviving Martian soldiers on Marcher-1632. Its damaged reactor and hull have reduced its passengers to hand-welding patches in hostile sunlight while they wait for helium to restore power.

The ship represents an escape route rather than safety. Cassius au Bellona took its only functional relic craft toward Starhold to obtain the helium, leaving the castaways dependent on his return and Cadus Harnassus's work on the reactor.

Appearance

An antique fifty-meter corvette, crippled and scarred, lies tethered in the shadow of a waste escarpment. Welders in battered space suits crawl over its hull, sealing panels by hand.

Role

The Archimedes is the marooned survivors' transport, workshop, and immediate hope of reaching Mars.

Relationships

Darrow — Darrow works directly on the corvette's hull and measures his chance to return home by its repair.

Cassius au BellonaBk 4 — Cassius au Bellona departed in its only flyable relic craft to acquire the helium needed to restart it.

Marcher-1632 — The corvette hides in the shadow of Marcher-1632, a sunward trash moon whose rotation and heat endanger the repair crews.

Earlier in this series

Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:

Iron GoldBook 4

Sources — 1 recorded facts, by chapter

Chapter 1

A crippled antique corvette whose repair is the castaways' only practical route from the sunward waste back toward Mars.