Martian Quadrilogy Box Set

by Brandon Ellis

  Oh no.

  His lungs burned. His eyelids fluttered, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep, but he knew that meant death.

  He did everything he could to keep his eyelids from shutting and inspected his EVA to turn on the oxygen.

  The switch.

  His oxygen wasn’t pumping through to his helmet because he hadn’t flipped the switch to do so.

  Ozzy touched his chest, pressing a button, and initiated the oxygen control valve.

  A breeze of air entered his helmet. He breathed in heavily and bent over, wheezing and coughing.

  His lungs continued to burn as he inhaled. He convulsed and gagged trying to hold down vomit. He went to his knees and took more heavy breaths, swallowing down as much oxygen as he could.

  Leaning back, he rested his body against the rock. “Slow down, Ozzy. Slower, slower,” he told himself, calming his breathing.

  He then shot up and stood straighter, his adrenaline putting him on high alert.

  Ozzy remembered that someone was shooting at his position. He looked around, searching for the rifle he left behind.

  He went to his knees and patted the ground, looking everywhere.

  Wapooh!

  Dirt flew up in his face, and he jerked back, slamming against the rock wall.

  How was he going to get out of here?

  He clicked on his com line. Maybe Gragas and Jozi were still alive. “Are you there?”

  The line was full of static.

  “Anyone? This is Ozzy. I need help and ASAP.”

  He heard a loud crash, and rock sprayed across his helmet. He covered his radiation visor, blocking several chunks. He dropped his arm and saw a huge divot in the rock wall across from him.

  The crunch of footsteps carried through his helmet’s auditory sensors. Several people were coming.

  He frantically looked around for his rifle. Perhaps a portion of it was sticking out of the sand?

  A boot came into view and then another. Ozzy looked up. A handful of MMP agents were in full military-grade battle EVA’s. Grenades and guns hung from their belts, and they were holding P-248 double-barreled photon rifles.

  Ozzy threw his hands in the air.

  The agent in the lead bent his knees, put his finger closer to the trigger, and aimed his weapon.

  Ozzy was dead to rights, something he was getting far too used to.

  34

  Olympus Mons, Mars

  Krackow!

  An avalanche of rocks fell on top of the MMP agents. Ozzy twisted away.

  Gragas jumped from the cliff’s edge and toward Ozzy. Jets streamed fire out of his boots, slowing his descent.

  His thrusters turned off, and he landed on his feet, raising his rifle.

  Wapooh! Wapooh!

  MMP agents jerked back and forth as Gragas littered them full of photon beams.

  Ozzy looked away.

  The firing stopped, and Ozzy raised his eyes, breathing heavily. Perspiration dripped down his forehead. All of this killing was making his stomach hurt.

  Gragas extended his hand to Ozzy and pulled him to his feet.

  “Ozzy, my friend. I feel your discomfort, and I see it in your eyes. Yes, violence is terrible. I understand. It is under Universal Law that you have the right to protect yourself. And we are protecting more than just ourselves today.”

  That was probably so, but it didn’t mean he had to like it.

  Ozzy huffed, wiping the dust off of his pants. “Where is Jozi?”

  Gragas motioned forward. “We were overrun. We barely escaped.” He pointed to the cave’s entrance. The Ark’s staffs were hanging halfway out of the shadowed shield. “We need to carry that to our ship.”

  Ozzy nodded and hurried to the Ark and grabbed the staffs. He tugged. “But you let Zeld and the MMP agents just mosey on through the shield to kill me?” He knew Gragas didn’t want Ozzy to die, but an explanation would be nice. He pulled the rest of the Ark onto the red soil.

  “I knew you could handle yourself in there. You’ve done it all of your life.” Gragas strolled over to the Ark and grabbed the other side.

  “And where did the Dunrakee go?”

  “My Galactic Knight crew chased them away from this location. They are in the fight of their lives over one of the Outlawed Zones.”

  “Okay, lift,” ordered Ozzy.

  They lifted the Ark and walked toward the incline where their ship was parked.

  “Jozi is warming up the Hawk now.”

  “Good.” Ozzy winced, feeling the pain in his calf. His com line crackled.

  “Well, if it isn’t my friend, Ozzy .”

  Ozzy froze. Gragas heard the voice as well, stopping in mid-stride.

  Mort Wildly’s low and crackled voice boomed louder. “Aren’t you going to say hi?” There was a pause. “Just over on this ridge.”

  Ozzy looked around. Olympus Mons had thousands of ridges.

  Several rifle clicks gave away Wildly’s location. Gragas and Ozzy set down the Ark and turned, keeping their hands gripped around the Ark’s staffs.

  Wildly and his men were in their own EVA’s and walking down a natural rock staircase on a ridge nearly fifty meters away.

  They held P-8 long photon rifles, something that seemed to match Wildly’s long and thin body.

  “Don’t move,” growled Wildly.

  He halted a few meters in front of Ozzy and Gragas and put his hand over the material that veiled the Ark. He curled his fingers around the drapery and then pulled, yanking the ornate covering off and tossing the material aside.

  The Ark of the Concordant’s golden sheen glowed. This one was more beautiful than the fake one on the stage. Two angel statues covered in gold were bowing toward one another. Their hands clasped in prayer.

  Holographic images jumped out from the rectangular box the angels stood upon. The flower of life symbol formed, then a metraton cube, and more geometric symbols that Ozzy knew Wildly wouldn’t have a clue about.

  Wildly clapped his gloved hands together. “And the heavens rejoice. Have you seen such beauty in your life?” He chuckled. “I can’t wait to use it.” He nodded at his comrades. “I’ll rule Mars. No more Ministry. No more Dunrakee. No more crime syndicates. No more competition.”

  Gragas shifted on his feet, tipping his head toward Ozzy’s hands. Ozzy, along with Gragas, were still touching the staffs. If the myth was correct, Ozzy and Gragas should have been dead by now.

  They weren’t of the bloodline. Or maybe his gloves and EVA acted as a barrier between life and death, just as the ornate covering did?

  Wildly gestured toward Ozzy and Gragas. “Take these two. We’ll shoot them in the back of the neck.” He motioned to two of his crew members. “You two take the Ark to my ship.” He gave two quick claps. “Hurry it up.”

  Ozzy stiffened. He didn’t like the sounds of this. And where the hell was Jozi? Take the Hawk up and strafe the bastards already.

  The men pushed Ozzy to his knees, his back to the Ark. Gragas was forced to his knees next to him.

  A rifle’s muzzle pushed against Ozzy’s neck.

  “Don’t worry, Ozzy,” mumbled Gragas. “There is something you ought to know.”

  A loud scream entered his helmets auditory sensors. Ozzy cringed, wanting to cover his ears. A flash lit up the area, and Ozzy squeezed his eyes shut, doing his best to keep out the bright light.

  It didn’t matter. The light penetrated through his eyelids and seeped through his head and to his very bones. He arched back, screaming in pain.

  35

  Olympus Mons, Mars

  The light died down, and Ozzy relaxed. The brief amount of pain that went through him diminished.

  He took a deep breath.

  Quiet filled the mountain.

  The muzzle of the rifle was no longer pressing against his neck. In fact, the gun was on the ground in between him and Gragas.

  Ozzy gave Gragas an ominous stare. “What happened?”

  Gragas dipped his head and
spun around, grabbing the rifle. He stood, rifle pointed outward, and walked toward the Ark.

  Several men were on the ground, stirring, clearly dazed. The two men ordered to carry the Ark to Wildly’s ship were bent over with their hands clenched around the Ark’s staffs and frozen in place, their gloves and EVA’s burned to shreds and their emaciated skin exposed to the Martian elements.

  They had touched the Ark and were now dead.

  “They burned to death, Gragas.” Ozzy pointed to his chest. “But when you and I had our hands on the staffs, we didn’t.”

  Gragas nodded knowingly. He waived the rifle around. “Where is Wildly?”

  Ozzy surveyed the area. “I don’t see him.”

  Gragas stiffened. “Regardless, this incident may have alerted the Dunrakee to the Ark’s whereabouts. We have to leave now. We need to carry the Ark as fast as we can to Jozi’s ship.”

  “The Dunrakee know about the Ark?”

  “The majority of the galaxy knows about the existence of Arks. There aren’t many of them, and all have been lost except this one. My guess is the Dunrakee have picked up this anomaly with their instrumentation and are en route. This Ark alone can keep the Dunrakee away from this planet for good…if used properly.”

  A few of Wildly’s men stood and attempted to walk, then flopped on the ground like they were drunk.

  Yet, Ozzy wasn’t affected in the same way, and neither was Gragas. And where in Mars’s plumber’s hole was Wildly?

  Ozzy scoffed. He knew one thing for sure, and he wanted to make the point clear: “I’m not touching that thing. Look what it did to those two, and look what it did to everyone else who didn’t touch it?”

  “You touched it. You were around it just like me. It didn’t affect you in the same way as those you see afflicted by the Ark’s power.”

  That Ozzy understood. The why, on the other hand, wasn’t magically appearing to him as he’d like. He cleared his throat, watching a small dust devil pick up the sand a couple of hundred meters away. “I’m not pushing my luck.”

  “There is a more important reason I asked you to join the Galactic Knights.”

  Ozzy put his hands on his hips. “You’re asking me again? Here? Now?” This wasn’t the time or the place. They needed to get going and to get out of here. Especially, if the Dunrakee know where the Ark is. They needed to get as far away from this body-burning device as possible.

  A drunken man bumped into Ozzy and fell over. He twitched on the ground.

  Ozzy gazed at him, wondering if it was Wildly. It wasn’t. “Where is Mort Wildly?” He looked around.

  Gragas grabbed Ozzy’s shoulder and shook him. “Ozzy, listen and listen well. I’m of the bloodline that can safely transport the Ark, and so are you.”

  Ozzy’s head snapped back. “When are you going to get it in your thick head that that’s crazy? The bloodline is an ancient blood from Martian kings and queens that goes even farther back into the old races before the Martians. They were almost super-powered Beings, and they supposedly created the Ark in a way that those with a certain rare blood type could use and access. I’m not even close to super-powered, and if I ever get a blood test, I guarantee I don’t have some rare blood type that’s half human, half Ancient nobility blood.”

  “Well, perhaps they had superpowers, perhaps they didn’t. I know my athletic abilities are a little more enhanced than most other Beings around the galaxy.” He laughed. “You, on the other hand, aren’t so enhanced in that way.”

  Another of Wildly’s men stood and toppled back over.

  “Again, another reason I’m not of the bloodline. I can’t do anything magical.” The thought of being of the bloodline was just nuts.

  Gragas stood straighter, pushing out his chest. “It’s not about magic. It’s simply enhanced abilities, and you are of the line, Ozzy. The Ancients spread their seed to many other races, including the human race. Your mother was of the seed, and so was her lineage. It is rare. You should be grateful.”

  How the hell would Gragas know his mom was of the line? It didn’t matter. They had to get out of here.

  Ozzy slapped his chest with his palm. “Well, bloodline or not, I’m not touching the Ark again. We gotta get out of here and at least tell Jonas where he can fetch the Ark.” He paused. “After he gives me the rest of the money he owes me.”

  A roar filled the sky, shaking the ground.

  “The Dunrakee are coming,” said Gragas. “We have to hurry.” Gragas rushed over to the Ark. “Help me.” He pushed away the two men holding the staffs. They fell to the ground. More of their skin and their EVA suits flaked away on impact, mixing into the sand.

  Gragas grabbed the staffs on one side of the Ark, gesturing for Ozzy to take the staffs on the other side.

  Ozzy shook his head and walked down a slope, finally seeing Jozi’s ship. She had the engines running, readying to take off.

  Gragas shrugged. He lifted the staffs, leaned back, and pulled the Ark across the soil. The Ark’s back legs dragged against the sand, leaving a trail.

  Ozzy continued walking. Gragas rushed past him, heading toward the Hawk.

  “Watch out for the rock,” shouted Ozzy, running after Gragas, his heart almost bursting out of his skin from what was about to happen. “Don’t move.”

  It was too late.

  Gragas backed into the rock and lost balance. His foot flung in the air, kicking one of the staffs.

  The Ark tipped to the side.

  Ozzy lunged forward and dove, attempting to grab the falling Ark before it hit the ground.

  His hand touched a staff, but the momentum was too much. The Ark pounded against the rocks, and the lid popped open.

  Ozzy let go of the staff and covered his head, curling into a ball.

  If the myths were right, when the lid opened, it would send energy that could destroy planets.

  Ozzy was a goner. Mars was a goner.

  Lily, his daughter, was a goner.

  He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable—a light blast that would topple this planet, blowing it into a pile of rocks that would float aimlessly in space creating new asteroid belts and meteors.

  He waited.

  And waited.

  “Ozzy, get up, my friend.” Gragas was standing over him. “We got lucky.”

  The Ark didn’t do what was described in the Ancient Coptic writings.

  That part of the myth was just that, a myth.

  Thank the Mars gods. Ozzy pushed off the ground, thanking his lucky stars that of all things, his daughter was still alive.

  He faced the Ark. The contents from the open lid were spread among the crimson rocks.

  Another thunderous sound enveloped the sky.

  “We have to get going,” Gragas blurted. “Help me get it upright.”

  Ozzy glanced at his hands. They weren’t burned or turned into ash like what happened to Wildly’s crew.

  “On my way.” Ozzy helped Gragas push the Ark over. He grabbed scrolls that had fallen out and shoved them inside. He placed the golden ankh inside as well, shutting the lid a moment later. “The Ark is a dud.”

  It either didn’t work very well anymore, or the Ancients greatly exaggerated its power. He’d put all his money on the latter.

  “It’s because we’re of the bloodline, Ozzy. It didn’t go off because I didn’t control it to go off. If I weren’t of the blood, then the entire planet would have folded in on itself and exploded outward. Since we touched it, and we’re of the blood, it’s under our blood’s command at the moment.”

  Ozzy rolled his eyes. “No, the Ark is a dud. Let’s leave it at that and get the rest of my money.”

  “As you wish,” Gragas replied.

  They walked hastily with it down the hill and set the Ark next to the cabin door of the Hawk. The door opened, and Jozi dashed toward them. “We have a lot of incoming Dunrakee ships. I don’t know if we can outrun them.”

  The heavens trembled, and dozens of ships came into view.

/>   A few broke off, heading in their direction.

  36

  Olympus Mons, Mars

  “The incoming starfighters are two minutes away,” Gragas yelled.

  From the looks of things, they were closer.

  Jozi reached for the Ark.

  Ozzy let go of the staffs and nudged her away, stepping in front of her in case there was some truth to Gragas’s claims. If she weren’t of the bloodline, she would be as good as dead, unless those two Wildly men strangely spontaneously combusted. “Don’t touch it.”

  “He’s right,” said Gragas. “Keep your hands off.”

  “Alright, alright.” She backed away.

  Ozzy and Gragas picked up the Ark and slid it into the Hawk’s cabin. They jumped inside the craft.

  Jozi plopped onto the pilot’s seat with Ozzy next to her in the copilot’s chair. Gragas sat in the cabin in the back next to the Ark.

  Jozi initiated the thrusts and lifted off. “Here we go.” They blasted forward, traveling thousands of miles per hour in seconds. She pressed several buttons on the holodisplay. “Patching in Tagus Valles’ coordinates. We’ll be at Jonas’s compound soon.”

  “Better yet,” said Ozzy, punching in Jonas’s com channel, “let’s get Jonas’s henchmen to fly out of here and meet the Dunrakee head on.”

  Jozi checked her radar. “The Dunrakee starfighters are fast.” She pulled up rear cams. The screen split and showed several Dunrakee craft coming in hot. Jozi put her palm on the screen and moved the rear cam view to the upper left corner of the holodisplay. She shrunk it down to six inches.

  The screen split again, and Jonas’s overweight face appeared. He was in a dark room and was chewing on a chicken bone. “You got it, Ozzy?”

  Ozzy unclipped his helmet and pulled it off, setting it aside. He took a deep breath, tasting the fresh air inside the Hawk. “Yes, we got the Ark.”

  Jonas smiled. “Wildly’s crew and the MMP are all over my compound. We’re holding them off, but who knows for how long.” He grumbled and wiped his lips with his forearm. Jonas’s eyebrows v’d. “Well, holy of all Mars, look who you have in the backseat!”