Martian Quadrilogy Box Set
Page 60
What Jonas wanted was possible; with all of those tools together, the Ancient Coptic writings said there was enough power to destroy entire suns and solar systems, and according to the writings, those with the bloodline, like Ozzy, were able to direct where the Ark weapon should be aimed.
“To even attempt killing all the Dunrakee on Earth, I’d also need all thirteen skulls.”
Jozi pointed to two of the dozen crates in the room. “Open those.”
Ozzy creased his brow. “Impossible.”
Ozzy lifted a lid on one of the crates. Half a dozen crystal skulls were sitting at the bottom surrounded by protective cloths.
He hurried to the other crate to which Jozi had pointed. His eyes about jumped out of their sockets when he lifted the lid and saw seven more crystal skulls sitting at the bottom of the crate, making a total of thirteen crystal skulls between the two.
He put his hands on his knees, his eyes glued to the skulls. “He wants me to commit genocide.”
“And then he wants Earth back. Do this for humanity. Do this for peace, and you won’t have to worry about being a forbidden archaeologist ever again.”
Ozzy bit the inside of his cheek and began pacing. He tapped his temple, thinking. Do it for humanity. Why would he do it for humanity? They’ve given him nothing.
Lily.
Humanity gave him his daughter. But he wouldn’t see his daughter ever again if he didn’t survive this trip. It was all or nothing. He halted and stared at his feet, his mind racing. Do it for humanity, you idiot. Do something good in your life without selfish motives.
He sighed. He couldn’t believe what he was about to say. He faced Jozi. “When does he want me to leave?”
“In three days,” replied Jozi.
48
Olympus Mons, Mars
Ozzy yawned and threw his blankets off. He stretched his arms and rolled over.
He was in one of the many bedrooms inside the Eagle. He had parked the craft inside Olympus Mons late last night.
He pushed himself out of bed then whipped his head around in a start. Next to the bed was a port window, and he saw movement by one of the many columns near where he parked the craft.
He yawned again. He must be seeing things.
He opened the bedroom door, watching it slide into the sidewall.
“Whoa,” he yelped, taking a step back.
“Sorry,” said Jozi, standing at his door. “Was just about to knock.” Her face was solemn.
“What’s going on?”
“I just got done watching Jonas on the holoscreen being sworn in as the interim High Judge.”
“It worked?” Jonas got every damn thing he wanted. “I can’t believe it.”
“Well, believe it.” She put her hands on her hips. “Your best buddy, Jonas, is now running Mars. He told me before I left that if I help you get the crystal sphere, he will clear my name, and I’d be an MMP agent again.”
Ozzy ignored her and gently pushed passed her. “I have to see this swearing in for myself.” He marched down the corridor and to the bridge.
Jonas was standing at a podium, and a news anchor was talking over him. “Apparently, the high officials in the Ministry were very impressed by this gentleman. He is a business tycoon, but some people are saying he has ties with the crime syndicates. Right now, that’s only a rumor.”
The sound switched from the anchor to Jonas.
“…together we can create a lasting…”
Ozzy turned off the holoscreen and rolled his eyes. “Political drivel.” All politicians said the same damn thing since the beginning of time.
He walked out of the bridge, passing Jozi yet again, and made his way to his room.
Jozi followed and tugged on Ozzy’s jumpsuit. “Did you see that?”
Ozzy stepped out of his room, nodding. He saw it too, but now the realization hit him. The ramp was extended to the ground and open. “We closed the ramp last night, didn’t we?”
Jozi nodded, reaching for her holster.
“You didn’t open it this morning, did you?”
Jozi shook her head, aiming her weapon at the open ramp. “Sonya Zeld?”
Crap. He had forgotten about her. She was the only one inside the mountain.
But how long had she been inside the Eagle?
A gun’s muzzle pressed against the back of Ozzy’s head.
“Don’t move,” came a snake-like voice. She was in his room and must have snuck in when he went to the bridge a moment ago.
“Zeld,” said Ozzy, putting his hands up. “Mind telling me how long you’ve been inside?”
“Since five minutes ago.” She threw a piece of paper on the ground. It was the codes and login information. “You forgot to take this off the underbelly, Ozzy.”
Shit.
“What do you want, Zeld?” asked Jozi, her arms outstretched with a gun pointing at the pink-haired rebel archaeologist.
“I want this Eagle, beautiful.” She parted her lips.
Ozzy snorted. “You take this Eagle, Jonas kills you.”
“You know I can pop your head off at any second,” came Jozi, her eyes narrowed.
“You do that, my body will tense up and my finger will flex, pressing against the trigger. Ozzy will die as well.”
“Do it, Ozzy,” said Jozi.
“Uh…do what?” Ozzy asked.
“You know.”
What was Jozi talking about?
Zeld sidestepped, pulling Ozzy along with her, and ducked back into his room. “Don’t you be thinking up anything clever. I’ll zip a shot through your handsome friend’s brain here.”
“Ozzy,” Jonas’s voice came through the intercom system. “I have a change of plans.”
Ozzy went rigid. That wasn’t good and having Zeld holding him with a gun to the back of his head wasn’t too great either.
“Jozi, get that,” Ozzy said.
“Nope,” said Zeld. “We’ll all get that together.” She motioned with the tilt of her head for them to walk to the bridge. “Go, and you first, Jozi.”
Jozi led them down a few corridors and to the bridge. Jonas was on the holoscreen and stroking his chin. He stopped when he saw Zeld. His eyes beamed like a burning hell Ozzy hadn’t seen before. “Zeld, get your hands off of my archaeologist.”
Zeld looked around, noticing the nice stations, the fancy, large holoscreen, and the two-tiered bridge. “This is delicious. I want a scoop.”
Jozi held her gun out. “Tell me when to shoot and I will, Ozzy.”
Ozzy held up his hands. “Remember what Zeld said when you shoot, she’ll tense up? Yeah, don’t shoot.”
Jozi let out a gush of air, lowering her weapon.
“Now, Jonas, let me know what you have up your sleeve, and I might just let Ozzy go,” said Zeld.
A grin crept onto Jonas’s face. That was never good. “Zeld, I have a proposition for you.”
Zeld licked her lips. “I love propositions.”
“You’re as good as Ozzy when it comes to finding artifacts. You’ve done plenty of work for me in the past, so I know this to be true.”
That hit Ozzy like a punch in the stomach. No one was as good as him.
“Would you,” Jonas continued, “accompany Ozzy to Earth? We have a find.”
Zeld let go of Ozzy, backing up. “That’s a suicide run. Sorry. I’ll pass.”
“One hundred million auric credits. I’ll give you ten million up front, ninety million when you return with the crystal sphere.”
Ozzy shook his head. “No. I do this with Jozi only.”
“It’s like they say, Ozzy,” replied Jonas, resting his hands on his gut. He took a bite of a chocolate-covered almond. “Two heads are better than one. And, in this case, three heads are better than two.”
Ozzy grimaced. “Too many cooks in the—”
“Deal,” said Zeld, interrupting Ozzy.
“Great,” responded Jonas. “You’re leaving today.”
Ozzy straightened, his mu
scles tightening. “The hell we are.”
“Yes, the hell you are. Get ready because if you want me to be good to your family, you will leave now.”
The holoscreen blipped off, slowly fading from Jonas to blackness.
Ozzy walked over to the helm’s chair. He slumped into it, hung his head, and talked in a low tone, “You take orders from me, Zeld. And my first order is that you stay away from me and Jozi.”
Zeld looked Ozzy up and down. “I think not.” She paced over to the astrogator chair, the station where she’d drive the ship. “I’m the best pilot here, so I’m in charge.”
Jozi lifted her gun, pointing it at Zeld.
Ozzy put his hand up. “I can hold my own, Jozi. You don’t have to keep protecting me.”
Jozi glanced at Zeld, who was sitting at the astrogator with her legs crossed, her hand on the control stick.
“You probably can, but it’ll be easier to hold your own with me watching your back.”
True, thought Ozzy.
“Let’s try not to die,” said Ozzy. “Switch on the engines, Zeld.”
Jozi sat at a station and set her weapon across her lap. She turned her chair toward Zeld, making sure Zeld saw her gun.
“Little lady,” said Zeld, turning on the engines. “All I care about is the money. I don’t care about killing either one of you because if I did, you’d both be dead by now.”
Zeld reversed engine thrusts, pushing them through the rock hologram and into a hover above the base of Olympus Mons.
She lifted the Eagle’s nose and pushed the throttle forward, sending energy to the ionic boosters.
The Eagle growled and shot toward Mars’s upper atmosphere.
The sky glowed butterscotch as it usually did, and the sun was at high noon. Ozzy sat back. “Switching to autopilot.”
He set the coordinates for a nice cruise control to Earth, his home, and every human’s home since the beginning of his race’s existence.
Epilogue
“What are you doing, Tiger?” Zeld leaned against the doorway with an apple in her hand. She took a long, slow bite. She let out a deep moan then licked her lips. “This tastes so good.”
Ozzy was on his back and under a holocomputer console in the auxiliary room. Sweat stained his armpits and snaked down his temples. He clipped a wire and inserted it into Indigo. The wire melded into the device like wires did every time. Again, Indigo was another technology he didn’t understand and something he wasn’t confident enough with his own tech knowledge to question. “It’s none of your business what I’m doing.”
“She likes you.”
Ozzy stopped and dropped his arms by his side. He pushed out from under the console. “Who?”
“Jozi.”
Ozzy rolled his eyes. “That’s neat. Now, if you can get on your way and leave me alone.”
“Why else would she stay?”
“Because she has some type of motherly protection over me or something.” Ozzy wiped his hands together. “I don’t know.”
“She doesn’t know it yet, but she feels something for you.”
Ozzy brought up a holoscreen. He swiped his finger across the array, connecting the central processing unit to Indigo’s wires.
A beep sounded, signaling the connection was set. They were now a flying ghost to all radar.
“Well, if that were true, which it’s not, then trust me when I say I don’t care. Women are in my past. I don’t want to make that mistake more than once.”
She walked toward Ozzy, dropping the apple on the ground. “What would you think if I said I liked you too?” She raised one eyebrow. She leaned up against the console that Ozzy was working on and touched his hand. The touch was soft and sensual. She tucked her pink hair behind her ear and slightly opened her mouth. She put her finger against her front teeth, eyeing Ozzy as if he were a sex symbol, which he was far from.
Ozzy slapped the console, indicating his work in the auxiliary room was done. He pulled his hand away from hers. “What do you want?”
“I want more money.”
Ozzy lifted his chin. “Then call Jonas. I’m sure he’ll turn you down nicely.”
“No, not from him. From you.”
Ozzy jabbed a thumb into his chest. “From me? You’ll have to kill me first.”
“I’ll make this a pleasant ride for you if you give me twenty million of your earnings from Jonas. If you don’t, then I’ll figure out ways to turn you on and eventually turn you and Jozi off. Do you understand?”
“I’ll tell you what. There’s a starboard port on this ship. You know where it is, right?”
She gave him a sensual stare and bit her bottom lip. “Of course, I do.” She winked. “Do you want to go in there?”
“No. I want you to walk into that room. When you’re there, I’ll open that room’s air lock so you can get sucked into space. You good with that?”
That was the best answer he would give her and a truthful one at that. He’d love to send her twirling out into the deep, dark abyss. They weren’t far from Mars. In fact, he would be able to see the yellow and red glow of the planet like a perfectly framed picture if he looked out one of the rear windows on Eagle. It would be an appropriate and last beautiful scene for her.
Zeld crossed her arms and leaned to one side. She didn’t like the joke.
“Ozzy,” came Jozi’s voice over the intercom. “You’re needed on the bridge.”
“Shit, what now?”
“Nothing bad. It’s Jonas again.”
The guy was growing into an annoying gnat that wouldn’t leave him alone, and worse yet, a control freak.
His shoulder brushed against Zeld when he walked forward, nudging her to the side. He hurried out of the room and down a few corridors. Finally, he entered the bridge.
Jonas was on the screen, eating a piece of pie. He wiped his mouth with his hand. “There you are,” he said with a grin and food mashed between his teeth. “One last thing before you get to Earth.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever heard of Enki’s tomb?”
Ozzy nodded. “What archaeologist hasn’t?” It was a tomb on the dark side of the moon that was found when humans expanded into space and built bases and cities on that side of Earth’s moon. The tomb was the size of a warehouse only bigger. Big enough for the Eagle to fly inside. Yet, the tomb had been impossible to open. Humans couldn’t breach it no matter what they threw at it.
“Get inside the tomb and through the portal,” said Jonas. “Legend has it that it can transport you to Earth instantly.”
Zeld stepped onto the bridge. “You can’t be serious, Jonas. What weapons do we have even to put a dent into the walls of that tomb?”
“We’ve seen it on satellite feeds. It’s open. Somehow the Dunrakee penetrated the walls and made their way inside. I don’t think they know how to use it or what it’s for.”
Ozzy shrugged. “We’ll attempt to pass through the portal.”
If what Jonas was saying was the truth, then all the easier to get on Earth without being spotted. Yes, Indigo would keep them invisible on radar but not invisible to the naked eye.
Jonas took another bite of pie. “Great. And as a token of gratitude, the Ministry and I, the High Judge, will give you whatever piece of property you want on Earth after you get the crystal sphere and take down the Dunrakee.”
That was an odd thank you.
“What exactly do you mean?” Ozzy asked.
“Have you seen the holovids and the holoimages of Earth? The lakes, the mountains, the rivers, and the green trees and grasses?”
“Many times,” Ozzy said. “Why?”
“Imagine finding the perfect spot, whether it be a lake or a beach, or a nice meadow in a forest, or a beautiful spot in front of a river and then placing a mansion bigger than mine there. Imagine the wind in your hair, the peace and calm, and whatever else you’ve always wanted to experience.”
Ozzy put his hands out. “What are you saying?”
“Do I have a say in this?” It was all grand and wonderful, and he could live the rest of his life on Earth with Lily, but with Jonas there was always another angle.
“You’ll be the first governor for the Earth’s repopulation. Anyway, enjoy the trip.”
Jonas blinked off the screen.
Ozzy swallowed hard. Having a place on Earth would be a dream, especially with all that money but as the governor? Hell no.
This couldn’t be happening. But, of course, this was Ozzy’s life and it was happening. If Lily-bug were on board the Eagle with him, he’d turn around and head to Europa and live his days there, though in quite a bit colder atmosphere than on Earth.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t turn around. Jonas had Ozzy’s family captive, and Jozi was right—he had to do this for humanity’s sake not his own.
There was no turning back from this point forward.
He sat in the captain’s chair and took a deep breath, clearing his head. “Alright, Jozi, full steam ahead.”
Martian Earth
Mars Colony Chronicles Book 4
1
Earth • Earth’s Moon
“They detected us,” yelled Ozzy. If there was one thing he hated more than the Martian Ministry, it was the Dunrakee, and the Dunrakee had spotted him.
Ozzy sat in a Class-14 Quadruple Engine Electrohydrodynamic Ionic Thruster 113 SX Vessel captain’s chair. The ship was otherwise known as the Eagle.
He couldn’t believe he was on this damn mission. It was a suicide mission, to say the least. A mission to Earth. A planet filled with aliens who hated humans and wanted nothing more than to see each person burned at the stake.