“Very much so,” Trisna said, smiling at Pasco, who blushed.
At the next corner, they turned right. They were midway along the block when a Martian scrambled out from between two buildings and raised its eye stalks.
CHAPTER 21
“Only eighteen minutes until we’re there,” Major Howard announced from the pilot’s seat.
“Only?” Kylo Carter said. “We can’t get there fast enough to suit me.”
“Makes two of us,” Archard said. He was switching air canisters so his suit would have a fresh supply when they landed.
“Relax, you two,” Major Howard said. “I’m in constant contact with Lieutenant Burroughs. She has patrols out, and there’s no sign of the Martians.”
“Let’s hope it stays that way,” the planetary scientist said.
Howard shifted in his seat. “What’s gotten into you, sir? You’re awful, I don’t know, pessimistic all of a sudden.”
“I’m worried, Major,” Carter said. “Now that I’ve seen the Martians for myself, seen how formidable they are, I worry for the fate of Wellsville. Indeed, I worry for the fate of our colonization of Mars.”
“If those things show their ugly faces in Wellsville, I’ll have Burroughs fire up a RAM and Captain Rahn fire up his, and send out all three tanks,” Major Howard said. “We’ll show the Martians there’s a new top dog on their planet.”
“Your confidence overwhelms me, Major.”
“They don’t take wimps in the U.N.I.C.,” Howard said. “Not in officer school. Weaklings are weeded out and only the toughest and the brightest graduate. Is that not so, Captain Rahn?”
“Not everyone can make it through the Academy, sir,” Archard said diplomatically.
“There. You can quit your worrying, Mr. Carter,” Major Howard said. “Wellsville isn’t going to fall on my watch.”
Archard recognized a disaster in the making when he saw one. Confidence was one thing, a zealot another. The major was blind to the reality of New Meridian. Worse, he underestimated the enemy, a critical mistake.
The planetary scientist turned and crooked a finger. “If you would, Captain.”
Archard went over. “Sir?”
Lowering his voice so none of the others could hear, Carter said, “I need your best assessment. Will the colony still be there when we get back?”
“I’m guessing the Martians won’t launch a full-scale attack until nightfall,” Archard said. “They like the cover of darkness. Maybe it comes from living underground.”
“On what do you base this assumption?”
“At New Meridian, they sent scouts into our tunnels and probed our defenses while the sun was up, but the main attack didn’t come until after sunset.”
“Hmm. Yes. I can see their logic. Darkness is their strength and our weakness. We don’t see as well as they do. We can’t fight as effectively. What else?”
“It’s impossible to predict,” Archard said. “They might do exactly as they did at New Meridian and try to overrun us by sheer force. Or they might not.”
“I’m not a fan of ambiguity,” Carter said. “Not with a colony at stake.”
“It’s the best I can do.”
“I realize that,” Carter said. “As intelligent as they must be, second guessing them won’t be easy. But can you think of anything that might give us an edge?”
“The Martians don’t have any weaknesses that I know of,” Archard glumly acknowledged.
“Not one? Isn’t there anything that struck you as bearing more investigation?”
“The thing that struck me the most about them was their headhunting,” Archard said.
“I beg your pardon?”
“They took our heads. Everyone they killed, the heads were gone.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“Is it important?”
“If they did it to everyone, most certainly. It must have special significance.”
“Maybe they shrink the heads and save them,” Archard joked.
“Something tells me there’s more to it.”
“Then you might like to know about the rest,” Archard said. “What they do to the bodies.”
“I was under the impression they rip the bodies to pieces.”
“Yes and no,” Archard said. “They tear off our arms and legs and set them on either side of our bodies, as neat as can be.”
Carter rubbed his jaw in thought. “A ritual of some kind, possibly. And a ritual implies a religion.”
Neither of them realized they were speaking loud enough to be overheard until Major Howard laughed.
“Did I hear you right, sir? The Martians have found God?” The major cackled.
“Nevertheless, it could be true,” Carter said. “Most Earth civilizations have had religions, have they not?”
“I hope it is true,” Major Howard surprised Archard by saying. “I hope they do believe in God. And in Hell. Especially Hell. Because that’s where we’re going to send every last one of those sons of bitches.”
Katla froze in terror at the sight of the Martians. It was one of the small kind, incredibly fast and brutally savage. With her own eyes, she had seen them tear people limb from limb, seen them rip heads off.
Private Everett jerked his ICW to his shoulder, his finger curling to the trigger.
Suddenly, the creature whirled and darted back between the buildings.
“Stay here, ladies,” Everett said. He made a hand signal to Private Pasco and the two warily advanced, their bodies slightly turned so that Everett covered to one side and Pasco to the other. Just short of the alley, both troopers faced into it so they were shoulder-to-shoulder. Another step, and they were there.
Katla braced for the blast of their weapons but they lowered their ICW’s and looked at one another. “What is it?”
“The critter is gone,” Private Everett said.
Katla and Trisna hurried up.
The alley wasn’t more than two meters wide. Unlike olden days when alleys were littered with trash bins and garbage cans, this one was empty. No one threw refuse in a can anymore. That was what the Recycling Units were for.
“Where could it have gone?” Trisna anxiously asked.
“Beats me, lady,” Everett said while scanning the walls and the rooftops.
“Why only the one?” Katla said.
“A scout, maybe,” Everett said. “Getting the lay of the land.”
“The lay of what?” Trisna said.
“An American and British expression,” Private Pasco said. “Although the British use lie. It means to see how things are.”
“Thank you,” Trisna said softly.
Pasco blushed again.
“It’s good news if we’re right,” Private Everett said. “If they’re still scouting us out, they’re not ready to attack. Gives us time to get you two to the Visitor Center.”
They started off again, Piotr pressing his shoulder against Katla’s leg. She smiled to reassure him, but it had no effect.
Not a single soul was abroad. Total silence had fallen, and with it a preternatural stillness. There wasn’t even any wind, thanks to the domes.
As they came to the next intersection, Trisna unexpectedly stepped past Katla and up to Private Pasco. “Must you?” she said.
“Excuse me?” the young Spaniard replied.
“Must you drop us at the Visitor Center and go?” Trisna said.
“We must continue on patrol,” Pasco said.
“Would you leave us to die, then?”
“Never,” Pasco said.
“Yet that is what you will be doing. Without you to protect us, when the Martians attack, we will be defenseless. We will end up like all those good people in New Meridian. Our heads gone, our bodies in pieces.” Pasco went to reply, but Trisna cut him off with, “You know I speak the truth. And I cannot believe you will abandon us to such a fate.”
Swallowing, Pasco turned toward Everett.
“Don’t even think it,” the
Kentuckian said.
“She’s right. You can’t deny that.”
“Captain Rahn will be back soon. We’ll tell him where the ladies are and he can handle things.”
“What if the Martians attack before then?” Pasco argued. “Did we save these wonderful women in New Meridian only to have them be slaughtered here?”
“Damn you, you silly Spaniard,” Everett said gruffly. “You like her, don’t you? That’s what this is about.”
“I have said no such thing.”
“You didn’t have to, you ding-a-ling,” Everett said. “If you were a buck, you’d be in rut right about now.”
“I’d be in what?”
Katla was grinning, but her grin died when another pair of troopers came around a building farther down. One pointed, and they broke into a jog. “Uh-oh,” she said.
Everett and Pasco stopped their squabbling and stepped in front of Katla and Trisna.
“Let us do the talking, ladies,” the former said.
“I will not abandon them,” Private Pasco said.
“You hush up, too,” Everett said. “You’ll give away how in love you are.”
“I could just shoot you.”
The other U.N.I.C. troopers weren’t familiar to Katla. One was built like a proverbial tank and had corporal chevrons on his EVA suit. The other was a skin-and-bones private.
“Corporal Arnold. Private Niven,” Private Everett greeted them. “How goes your patrol? We found a couple of ladies we’re escorting to where they should be.”
“They should have been off the streets long before this,” Corporal Arnold said. “And what’s with you two? Why did you turn your commlinks off?”
“We did?” Private Pasco said innocently.
“Don’t play games, boy,” Corporal Arnold growled.
“Lieutenant Burroughs has everyone out searching for you two.”
“Oh, crap,” Everett said.
“We can explain,” Private Pasco said.
“Save it,” Corporal Arnold said, and touched a gloved finger to the side of his helmet. “I just got word the major will be landing the Thunderbolt in a couple of minutes. You can explain to him.”
“Double crap,” Private Everett said.
Trisna Sahir was staring up through the dome at the
Martian sky. “I do not mean to worry anyone, but am I the only one who has noticed that the sun is setting?”
CHAPTER 22
Captain Archard Rahn stared out the viewport at the distant sun, about to slip beyond the rim of the Red Planet. Unlike Earth, where the sun was a vivid yellow, on Mars the thin atmosphere gave the illusion the sun was as white as ice. “The stars will be out soon.”
The twin golden domes of Wellsville had swept into view and Major Howard was angling for a landing. “Strap yourselves in or hold tight. I’m going in fast and hard.”
Archard was standing behind the seat Lydia
Parkhill was in, firmly gripping the back. Even so, the deceleration nearly caused his legs to buckle.
The makeshift hangar was open to receive them.
Normally, a pilot would land outside and the aircraft would be wheeled in. But with time of the essence, Major Howard had radioed ahead to have the ground crew open the airlock so he could attempt a feat few pilots would dare. He descended until he was barely a meter above the ground, slowed until the Thunderbolt’s lift was next to nil, and flew the aircraft in, coming to stop exactly in the middle.
“The proverbial dime,” Kylo Carter said, and clapped in appreciation of the officer’s feat.
“I was top in my class with a joystick,” Major Howard boasted. “Simulators, jets, prop jobs, EmDrive, you name it, I could fly it.”
“I believe you,” Carter said.
Archard was impressed, too, but he didn’t show it. The major was arrogant enough as it was.
The hanger door was slowly closing. Once it did, the air cycling system would kick in. That would take a while, though, and Archard was eager to leave. Donning his helmet, he sealed it and ran a systems check of his EVA suit that took all of twenty seconds. When his display showed green across the board, he made for the Thunderbolt’s airlock.
“Hold on, Captain,” Major Howard said. He had risen and was about to put his own helmet on. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To check on my friends,” Archard said. He especially wanted to contact Katla.
“Personal matters will have to wait,” Major Howard said. “You’re under my orders now, and I need every trooper on active duty.”
“Actually,” Kylo Carter said as he unstrapped from his seat, “the captain has been assigned to me for the time being.”
“What?” both Archard and Major Howard said at the same time.
“Check with Chief Administrator Reubens,” Carter said.
“Unless a state of emergency has been imposed, he has the authority to override you.”
“There better be a good reason,” Major Howard said angrily.
“Captain Rahn has fought the Martians and lived to tell about it,” Carter said. “His insights, his experience, are invaluable. The C.A. and I want him at our side so we can better direct affairs.”
“I’m in command when it comes to military matters,” Major Howard said. “The colonization protocols make that abundantly clear.”
“And we wouldn’t dream of interfering with you in the performance of your duties,” Carter said. “You’ll still have the rest of the troopers, including the two from New Meridian.”
“Why wasn’t I consulted first?”
“I’m doing so now. Surely you can see why it is imperative that we don’t risk losing Captain Rahn in combat?”
Archard didn’t care for the sound of that. “I’m a soldier. Protecting lives is what I do.”
“I’m sorry, but Reubens and I have made up our minds,” the planetary scientist said.
Major Howard scowled. “Go with him, then, Captain. You’re to do as they say but stay in touch with me at all times. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Archard said sullenly.
“Thank you for being so reasonable, Major,” Kylo Carter said.
Containing his anger, Archard waited his turn at the airlock and went through with Sergeant Kline and Frank Parkhill. By then the hanger door had closed and the air had been recycled so that the farmer and his family didn’t need EVA suits to reach the walkway to the dome.
Kline was tasked with ensuring the Parkhills were seen safely to the Visitor Center. He bobbed his helmet at Archard as they walked off.
“Now then,” Kylo Carter said. “We’re to proceed to the Administrative Center. From there, we’ll oversee the colony’s defenses.”
“Wouldn’t the Security Center be better?” Archard suggested.
“To what end? The troopers will be out and about, dealing with threats as they arise. We can advise them from Admin as well as we could from Security.”
Archard tried a last gambit to get out of being taken from the fight. “I thought the major wanted me in my RAM to support the others?”
“Should it come to that, you will be.” Carter smiled and clapped him on the back. “Cheer up. Look at the bright side. While your peers are engaging the Martians, you’ll be snug and safe with Chief Administrator Reubens and me.”
Archard could have punched him. “You don’t understand the mentality of a warrior at all, do you?”
“Warriors have their uses, yes,” Carter said. “And so do those of us who rely on our intellects more than our brawn.” He gestured. “Now let’s hurry. If your hunch is right, the Martians will make their move soon.”
Katla was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved, in that Corporal Arnold had contacted his commanding officer and been told to escort her and Trisna to the Visitor Center. Disappointed, in that once they got there, Private Everett and Private Paso were to go with the corporal and Private Niven to conduct a sweep of the dome while other troopers swept the other one.
“You
know,” Katla said. “It isn’t necessary for all four of you to take us. Private Everett and Private Pasco are more than enough.”
Corporal Arnold shook his head. “The major said all four of us are to escort you and that’s that.”
“He tells you to jump and you ask how high?”
“That’s how the military works, Doc,” Arnold said. “Unlike civilians…” and he gave Katla and Trisna pointed glances…”we do as we’re told.”
“I’ve apologized for being out on the streets later than we should have,” Katla said. “We’ve never been to Wellsville before. We got lost.” She couldn’t remember if that was the fifth or sixth lie she’d told since they got there.
“It happens,” Corporal Arnold said.
Katla smiled her most winning smile and touched his arm.
“I don’t suppose you could do me a favor?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“Do you know Captain Rahn?”
“I met him when he arrived,” Corporal Arnold said. “He looked pretty beat.”
“Is it possible you could contact him on my behalf?
I’d very much like to get word to him about where I am. Where we all are.” Katla motioned at Piotr, Trisna, and Behula.
“I’m supposed to maintain radio silence unless it’s important.”
“I’d be very grateful.”
Private Niven snickered. “Do you hear her, Corporal? Do you hear her trying to play you?”
“She’s very good at it,” Arnold said, and grinned at Katla.
“I’ll tell you what, Doc. Since I don’t want your captain mad at me, I’ll get word to Lieutenant Burroughs when I can and ask her to relay your message. I’m not about to go through the major. He’d ream me a new one.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Private Niven said.
“Now quiet down, all of you,” Corporal Arnold said. “We’re supposed to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.”
“I still don’t get why we have to wear these EVA suits,” Private Niven said. “We’re inside the dome, not outside.”
Katla realized that neither Arnold nor Niven had been told about the Martians. Incredulous, she glanced over her shoulder at Everett and Pasco, who hadn’t said a word in blocks. Neither said anything now.
Colony Down: Battlefield Mars Book 2 Page 10
