See The Worlds
Page 2
I felt scared and impressed. Shaw’s voice didn’t betray a flicker of emotion. She sounded double-hard and like she knew exactly what she was doing. It’s not something I would have done.
“We’ll have you covered,” said Edley.
“Thank you, Major Edley,” said Shaw, as casually as if Edley had just offered her cake.
They walked to the door and Edley opened it. I saw Shaw lean into Edley and say something, but I didn’t quite catch it. As soon as Shaw was gone Edley closed the door.
I don’t know what happened next. I couldn’t hear anything but, like I said, the doors and windows were pretty heavy and cut out a lot of noise.
Next thing Edley was on her comdev. “Yes, sir,” she said, and she went to open the door again. Shaw walked in with this woman. She was tall and she looked like she meant business. She was wearing full battledress and she had a pistol on her hip.
“Would you please come with us, Major Edley,” said Shaw, and the three of them walked through the lobby and up the stairs.
None of us knew what was going on. I heard some murmured conversations and I could see that the guys by the windows were still glued to them, looking nervously out to the parade ground. I could see their knuckles white as they gripped their rifles.
“That was Foveaux,” said Greeley. “She’s come in to negotiate our surrender.”
“Surrender?” I said. “Looks to me like we have her surrounded.”
“In here, you big dummy,” said Greeley, “but not out there. Mars ain’t ours no more. Think about it. We’re outnumbered now.”
I did think about it. He was right. If Mars wasn’t part of the USAN anymore, where did that leave us? A long way from home with not a friend in sight. I hadn’t thought about it that way before. We used to be the defenders. We upheld the law on Mars. Pillars of the community. But now we were the enemy. And there was a shitload more of them than there was of us.
I was mulling that over when I heard a loud ‘bang!’ This time I knew for sure it wasn’t the kitchens. The cooks were all in here with us, hugging their rifles just like we were. It took a moment, but after a few quick exchanges some of us started edging our way up the stairs. I wasn’t going to go, to start with, but Greeley was off like a shot and I figured I would be at a safe enough distance behind those at the front.
We crept up the stairs. The guys at the front were making hand signals, gesturing for us to keep quiet and hold back. They were crouching and had their rifles at the ready.
I heard a voice from up ahead. It sounded like Edley. She said, “We need a medic up here, now!” I turned and saw one of the medics pushing her way between us. She had her medical kit instead of a rifle, and a side arm. She disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairs.
Encouraged by the medic, I guess, we all surged forward. I got to the top of the stairs, where I could just about see into Shaw’s office if I leant on the guy next to me. I couldn’t really see much. I could make out the medic’s boots. It looked like she was kneeling down and working on someone. Shaw came to the door. “Back to the lobby,” she said. “It’s all over here. The situation is under control.”
And that was that.
Greeley was right. Foveaux had come to take our surrender, and Shaw had surrendered to her there and then. Apparently Major Bowers had taken issue with the idea, and Foveaux had shot him dead, just like that.
I can’t say we’re going to miss him, but damn! That wasn’t what I’d joined the army for. It felt a little too close for comfort.
They left their own guards at our checkpoints when they left, and the next day they came back and took Colonel Shaw and Major Edley away. They put Captain Gibbs in charge. A few weeks after that we had to move out to an old warehouse facility on the edge of town.
Gibbs had this idea that we should build a new mini-barracks right there inside the warehouse. The army has a load of standard designs so Gibbs picked one out, liaised with the Martians over building materials and then put us to work on building it.
A couple of weeks into the build the MSS turned up. Some guy spoke to us over a loud-hailer. He said we could join them on full pay and help to build the new Mars, or something.
“Screw that,” said Greeley, and he got back to laying bricks.
“You don’t fancy being a traitor then?” I asked.
“Nope. I’m thirteen months short. I’m going back to an army pension and great employment prospects with the skills I’ve picked up right here.”
He was being facetious. We hadn’t really learned anything much in the army, despite what they liked to tell you in their ads. I guess we’d learned a thing or two about policing, so maybe Greeley could go back and become a security guard, or something. But he was right about not joining the MSS. That was heavy stuff, treason even.
I was surprised to see a few people amble over to the MSS guys. I guess some of them had taken a shine to Mars and decided to stay. They were taking a hell of a risk, though. They could never go back to the USAN, and if the USAN got out here and took Mars back they would really be in the shitter, and deep.
It seemed surprising to me that people would take a big decision like that on the hoof. I guess it takes all sorts. It wasn’t for me, though. Like Greeley, I thought I’d see my time out here in the warehouse, get rotated back to Earth then walk away from it all. Maybe go back to England, maybe stay in the mainland. Get a job, settle down.
We’ve been here a few months now. The building is finished, and I guess it’s not that bad. We have a bit of space for training, and there’s IVRs and food and whatnot. In eleven months or so there will be a launch window, and we’ll all get sent back to the world. We’re just counting down the clock to that.
Cooped up with not much to do I’ve begun to follow the news streams more closely. I want to know how we’ve ended up in this situation, and what the USAN is doing about it. Well, it seems they’re doing plenty.
They have this big ship, Ephialtes. It’s the biggest spacecraft ever built. It had been made for the war on Earth, but they’ve rejigged it some and sent it out towards us.
It’s nearly half a kilometre long and carries twelve Commander Program dropships. Each single one of those is a nightmare in itself. A dropship carries a squad of twelve mechs, including the commander. Each mech is four metres high and armed like you wouldn’t believe. And this massive warship, Ephialtes, is stuffed full of them and it’s coming towards us.
It feels sort of good that our guys are coming to the rescue, but I kinda think I’d rather just wait it all out and go home. Ephialtes, dropships, mechs and commanders are all great, but if they start shooting the place up who knows what might happen? I’d happily take the ignominy of returning safely home as part of a defeated force than risk death or injury in a heroic reassertion of USAN power.
So that’s where I am now, trying to decide whether this was a good idea. I guess it all depends on how it pans out. The space travel was great fun. The posting was cushy, and even the move to the warehouse wasn’t so bad. If we see our time out and get to come home safely then I’d say yes, coming to Mars was, on balance, a good thing and a great experience.
Only it looks like that’s not how it’s going to play out. Greeley doesn’t think so, either. He says the USAN are coming to retake their planet, and nothing is going to stop them.
I hate to think about it but I know he’s right. The countdown has started and the USAN are going to bring the fight to the Martians. Ephialtes is coming, and when that thing gets here, shit’s going down.
Ephialtes Trilogy Book One:
Ephialtes
Available now on ebook and paperback
Praise for Ephialtes:
"The story effectively generates suspense for the inevitable confrontation between the two planets . . . An absorbing, inventive introduction to Parker's version of the 23rd century, where politics still reign."
- Kirkus Reviews
"For fans of this kind of military sci-fi, there's every r
eason to pick this title up. The book is an exceptional example of its genre that does all it sets out for succinctly, but pushes for a full, fleshed-out trilogy as something to look forward to: a trilogy that seems likely to meet expectations. The book oozes quality throughout."
- Self-Publishing Review, 4 Stars
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