As tensions begin to mount with the new Soviet regime on Earth, tension also begin to mount on Mars when a cosmonaut injures a Helios employee.
Tropes:
- A House Divided: By the title, it works on several levels:
- The changeover of the Soviet government leads to the Soviet members of Happy Valley quarrelling with each other, down to using the word "traitor", provoking a physical altercation between two of them.
- Once The Soviet Union recalls Svetlana to face a trial on Earth, and the Americans try to prevent her from leaving to protect her, the cooperation between the two nations gradually breaks down on base, including the Soviets changing the computer interface to its "original" Russian language on all terminals to frustrate the Americans.
- The lower-deck workers complain that Svetlana is getting special treatment thanks to her status as a cosmonaut when one of them would face harsher punishment if they'd done what she did.
- There is a split in the upper leadership of the base between Baldwin and Poole, who have very different ideas of how to handle the situation.
- Allohistorical Allusion:
- President Gore complains that he just made a big speech on "The Cold War is over" and now faces ridicule for it. This seems to be a take at George W. Bush's infamous "Mission Accomplished" banner speech in 2003 when the Iraq War would stretch on for years.
- In 1999 of our timeline, NASA lost its Mars Climate Orbiter due to a measurement mismatch between US customary units and metric. In this timeline, it's found that the failure of the bolts during XF Kronos was due to the same issue.
- Deadly Euphemism: Margo asks Irena what will happen to Semenov. She says he will "find new employment." Margo doesn't think twice about this, until she learns he's been sent to Siberia.
- The Dreaded: Everyone at Roscosmos is terrified of Irena, Margo included.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When Hobson's wife makes an offhand mention of a temple in India, Hobson realizes that because India is the only neutral member of the M-7 Alliance, it would be the perfect spot to hold Svetlana's trial with both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. agreeing to an independent judge and settles the issues on Mars.
- Loophole Abuse: Subverted as Hobson tries to get around the M-7 Treaty by saying it was made by Gorbachev, who is no longer in power. However, Irena flips it over by asking if every treaty made by Wilson was rendered invalid when Al Gore became President, with Hobson forced to back down.
- Morton's Fork: While the Soviets are within their rights to recall one of their citizens, it's clear that Svetlana will be punished for being a supporter to Gorbachev rather than injuring Vasily. Denying the Soviet request will put the M-7 Alliance in jeopardy. Hobson ultimately finds a way around it by arranging to have India, which is aligned with neither America or Russia, to hold a fair trial for Svetlana.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Margo, when she learns that exposing Semenov as being responsible for the disaster has resulted in him being arrested by the KGB.
- Properly Paranoid: Ilya refuses to join Miles's Mars rocks scheme. Ilya's operation on Mars is low-key enough that it does not attract attention from the Happy Valley leadership. Ilya previously run a similarly successful operation on the Moon but as soon as he left, his successor got too ambitious, the operation was raided and the people involved got long prison terms. Smuggling low level contraband to Mars is one thing but smuggling things off Mars is gonna be more complex and much more likely to attract attention from authorities.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Danielle lays it into Ed by saying how he repeatedly uses his status as a hero and senior astronaut to assign people who are not ready, like Gordo on Jamestown, Danny on the Helios mission, and now he's trying to pull his rank to protect Svetlana.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Vasily is the nephew of a member of the new Politburo, which tries to flex its muscle to punish Svetlana when she injures him.
- You Have Failed Me: Margo finds that a number of the bolts manufactured by the Soviets didn't measure up to specifications. Semenov signed off on them, leading to the disaster with Ranger-1. He is arrested by the KGB and sent to a gulag.
