Rosetta (Jim Meade: Martian P.I)

by RJ Johnson

  "But the interior is OK?"

  "So far as I can tell, but I wouldn't take the Rampets anytime soon." Emeline replied closing her ArmBar. "Those Tuns can't be stable at this point if they haven't caved in already. It wasn't like they had the best construction record to begin with."

  "Lazarus is going to want to get off this ship as soon as the revolution is complete. Any idea how far that's progressed?"

  "I've been keeping an ear on their communications, seems as though the revolution is all but completed. They have a few hot zones as they're calling them, but the latest report from the Alphas in charge report that they feel confident they can seal that portion of the asteroid off and leave them to die."

  Meade rubbed his chin. "How long til we reach the Homeworld."

  Emeline opened her ArmBar and checked their relative speed. Her face said it all. "We're traveling at 15,000 kilometers per second and still accelerating. We'll be there within nine hours."

  "We've got to get to the Garuda before Rincon does." Meade decided.

  "The launch bay is on the other side of the station." Emeline pointed out, "And if we can't use the Tuns, I have no idea how we're gonna get there."

  "We have to use them." Meade said. "It's either that, or we take another trip outside, but I don't think we wanna do that."

  Emeline shuddered. She definitely didn't want to do that.

  "We take a Rampet through the tuns but at a lowered speed." Emeline suggested, "That way if there is obstruction or a cave in, we'll be able to avoid it and stop in time."

  Meade grinned. "I've got a better idea."

  They made their way towards the Pit crawling down three decks. By the time they made it to the Pit, they were covered in sweat. Whatever power that was being generated by the thorium reactors, it was all being used for the thrusters now. Life support and the dehumidifiers were a luxury that apparently the engines couldn't afford and stay on at the same time.

  The Pit was crawling with activity, but most of the men and women were busy working on the Mass Driver doing something to it. Meade didn't have time to investigate. They had bigger issues. Besides, while they were distracted, it would make a perfect opportunity to put his plan into action.

  After making sure the coast was clear, Meade ran to the side of the wall and uncovered a large vehicle hidden beneath a huge canvas sheet. Emeline shook her head. "No, no way. No no no. I'm not getting into that."

  "Come on, it'll be fun!" Meade insisted, but to be honest, he was somewhat sympathetic to her objections.

  Meade's idea was to use the heavy duty excavators the initial project engineers had used to dig the tunnels used by the Rampets all throughout the station. Many of the excavators had been turned into scrap or converted into faster Rampet models, but this one had been sitting in the Pit for what looked like years.

  Meade climbed on board and opened the partition shield, jumping down into the cockpit. It was large, bigger than anything else he had ever driven before. This might be a bigger challenge than he realized. Meade opened his ArmBar and quickly hacked into the Excavator's control drive. All that could go wrong now was the thorium reactor on board having cooled and long out of service.

  "Come on baby..." he whispered to the Excavator. He pressed the button and hit the jackpot as it started up like a champ. He shouted in joy and immediately regretted it. Two of Rincon's Alphas noticed what he was doing and shouted a warning. Shots from their Rattlers sparked against the excavator's hull as he leaned down towards Emeline.

  "You getting in or are you staying behind with them?" He asked. Emeline shook her head at him and jumped on board. The partition closed and he piloted the immense ship towards the oncoming security force who were firing at the hull fruitlessly. The excavator had been built tough as nails to help it in case it had to withstand a cave-in.

  Meade punched open the excavator's drill and began firing the microwave sound energy towards the oncoming security force. Their bodies exploded in front of him as he mowed down anyone else who got in his way. Killing wasn't his style, not unless he could help it anyway. Far as Meade figured, folks gave up their right to live once they started shooting at him, and the ones he loved.

  He grinned at Emeline who was hanging on for dear life as they moved through the crowd killing anyone who got in their way. He aimed the drill at the wall and plowed through it leaving the crowd of confused and demoralized Lightbringers behind.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The process was slow, the excavator wasn't built for speed, it was built to be tough and open tunnels large enough to get from one end of the asteroid to the other. Emeline had taken control at that point while Meade had gotten some rest. He needed it. He hadn't seen a bed in nearly twenty four hours and the constant strain of stress, nerves and adrenaline had taken its toll. At ten kilometers per hour, it was definitely slow going. Four hours had passed and Emeline already had to dig their way through more than one cave in. At one point, the asteroid had shuttered and Emeline was sure that they would be buried and lost forever in their vehicle. But, Emeline was patient and slowly she worked their way through the obstruction and continued towards the launch bay.

  Even the rocks tumbling all over their excavator hadn't woken Meade up and Emeline had apparently decided to let him sleep. At their slow pace, it would take them at least another hour til they reached the launching bay. Fortunately, if it was taking them this long to get to the Garuda, it was likely taking Rincon just as long.

  Meade awoke with a start staring at a darkened tunnel in front of them. Emeline had taken the longer route to the launch bay hoping that the interior tunnels wouldn't be as damaged by the stress the engines were putting on the asteroid's crust.

  "How long have I been out?" Meade asked wearily as he sat up to examine the instruments in front of him.

  "'Bout four hours." Emeline flicked a few switches to engage the sonic drill to clear a large pile of rocks in front of them. The sonic drill pulverized the rocks and they moved past them without too much trouble.

  "Seems like you've gotten over your fear of this thing." Meade observed, slightly amused. Emeline chuckled and shook her head.

  "It's more like I realize even if we get trapped somewhere in here, we wouldn't last long anyway before ending up a smear somewhere on the North American continent. Either way, I die."

  "How healthy of you." Meade replied. "How far do we have to go?"

  "Near as I can figure, we've gone about 38 kilometers from the Pit to the Launch Bay. I took a longer route to avoid the likely cave-ins the outer tunnels experienced due to more stress on the crust from the acceleration. If we're lucky and there aren't too many more caveins in this tun, it's a straight shot from here to the launch bay. Maybe another half hour?"

  "Good." Meade was relieved. It was the first piece of good news they had had in the last few days.

  She coughed uncomfortably and smiled shyly at Meade. Meade glanced at her, returning her smile with an uncertain one of his own. "What?" He asked.

  "I think you deserve to know," she began haltingly, "That I heard what you said on the surface." She looked him in the eyes and the shy smile returned. "You were hurt by losing your fiancee and it wasn't easy for you to move on, but if we die here, I would regret it if you didn't know how I felt about you."

  Meade swallowed. Dealing with these kinds of emotions wasn't exactly his strong suit. "I was hoping you didn't hear all that."

  "I did though." She reached out her hand to his and squeezed. "I'm glad I did."

  Meade looked at their hands and withdrew it, shaking his head. "You've hated me for a long time."

  "Just when I first met you." She replied hotly. "You were an arrogant, self-centered asshole."

  "And now?"

  She shrugged. "Seems as if I like arrogant, self-centered assholes."

  "Tell me something," she said as their excavator plowed through a pile of rubble in the abandoned Tun.

  "Anything." Meade said.

  "Those rules of yours
, they ever keep you from loving me?"

  Meade looked ashamed. "Rule #13. Avoid romantic entanglements. We're just a bunch of chemicals and love is an illusion brought on by overexcited chemistry."

  "Still feel that way?" She asked, looking at him with her bright blue eyes, her wild and curly dark hair falling perfectly over her shoulders and covering the not-so-subtle cleavage of her breasts. He noticed everything about her in that moment, the perfect shape of her lips, the smoothness of her skin and how whenever he looked her in the eyes lately, he felt his stomach drop, his throat enlarge and slightly dizzy. Maybe it was chemicals. Maybe it wasn't. Whatever it was, he was hooked.

  Meade grinned and took her hand and kissed passionately full on the lips, knowing full well he'd want to do a whole hell of a lot more once they had saved the world.

  She brought her head back and smiled, nodding. "I'd say that's a pretty good answer."

  "Rules were made to be broken after all." He replied, holding her tight. The excavator continued on its journey through the tunnel and suddenly Meade felt at peace. Whatever happened next, he would face it with no regrets. He had someone who loved him, and if there was anything about the world worth saving, it was that.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The last few thousand feet in the Tun was fairly clear by the time Meade and Emeline were approaching it. Meade didn't like the look of that since that meant someone had already cleared the tunnel of any obstruction. The only person he knew was on their way to the launch bay was Rincon. This did not bode well.

  Meade had Emeline hack into the surveillance cameras above the launch bay and his worst fears were confirmed. Thousands of men and women - Lightbringers were milling around in the launch bay waiting to be evacuated in The Garuda. Meade could see the ship had been completely fixed, the hull missing the extensive damage done by the meteor storm Meade and Emeline had experienced on their way in.

  "Well that's not good." Emeline said as she glanced at the viewscreen projecting from Meade's ArmBar. "What do we do now? It ain't like we're gonna be able to fight out way through that many Lightbringers."

  "Maybe we won't have to." Meade said thinking to himself. "Is there anyway you can open the launch bay and decompress it from here?"

  Emeline looked at him in shock. "Jim, you can't possibly think of doing such a thing. Thousands would die."

  "Yeah, thousands of fundamentalist assholes intent on the destruction of the Homeworld." Meade snapped back. "I think they gave up their right when they set Rosetta on a collision course."

  Emeline shook her head. "I won't do that. There's got to be another way."

  Meade was frustrated. Couldn't she see what these people were about to do? This was their best chance to strike a disabling blow to the very men and women who were about to literally destroy their world. But, deep down, he knew Emeline was right. These people had been stepped on and taken advantage of from since before they were born. They had every right to fight for a better life for themselves and their children. Meade only wished they had found some other way beyond killing everyone on their home planet.

  "Put your helmet on." Meade said to Emeline. "I think if we can sneak aboard the Garuda, we may be able to stop this thing yet."

  "How?" Emeline's voice was muffled as she slid on the helmet.

  "I think if Suresh did his job, we should be able to access the navigational controls from the Garuda's central processor. From there, we can use it to move Rosetta out of the way of the Homeworld's orbit."

  Emeline nodded seeing where he was going. "You mean by slingshoting Rosetta around the Homeworld instead of crashing into it."

  Meade shrugged. "It's our best shot. The only thing we have to worry about is getting on board. Once we do that, it should be a fairly simple task to reprogram the engines and hopefully..." He left the rest unsaid. If they weren't successful, there wouldn't be anyone left to complain.

  The excavator exited into the launch bay and despite its massive size, it went largely unnoticed by the Lightbringers preparing themselves for departure on the Garuda and the various life pods scattered around the bay. Meade and Emeline exited the excavator and stepped down into the crowd.

  Suddenly a loud trumpet sounded and the people stopped what they were doing and looked towards the Garuda. A large photo of a smiling Lazarus Rincon was projected out of the Garuda's forward hull and he began speaking.

  "Ladies and gentlemen of Rosetta. I'd like to congratulate you all on a hard fought and well-earned victory. No longer will you be subjected to the inhumane conditions forced upon you by these so-called Elites that have held court over us for far too long.

  "The victory we have earned today is only the first step to total dominance over those who charted a disastrous course for humanity. The Elite have always told you you were not good enough, or smart enough, or worthy of the sorts of luxuries they showered themselves with on a daily basis. They told you you were unworthy of a decent wage, unworthy of charting your own course through this life. Unable to make your own decisions. They installed compliance chips in your skull to ensure you would never think of taking back your independence. They told you it was for your own good and to trust in their wisdom.

  "Where did that wisdom bring us?" Rincon's voice was moving and even Meade had a tough time ignoring the man's charisma. "They destroyed our homeworld with the use of nuclear weapons. They enslaved you and your children with a mountain of debt telling you you needed it. They took every ounce of your productivity and tapped into every reserve of strength telling you the only way to make it in life was to work harder and harder for them for less pay than they would find in their cushions.

  "They told you we would someday see the fruits of our labor." Rincon's voice became strong as he pounded the podium in front of him. "Well today, THEY have seen the fruits of our labor. Today we have taken back our freedom and charted a course for destiny that will prove to be the turning point for humanity. Here is where we make our stand. Here is where we reset every bit of corruption and inequality that those so-called Elites have forced upon us. Today is the day when we say 'No more!' Today is the day we tell them it is our turn and the meek shall finally inherit the Earth as they reap the whirlwind. This is their destruction. This is their punishment. The Homeworld shall be cleansed of their corruption and we - The Lightbringers - shall bring forth the dawn of a new age full of promise, and equality. We have overcome the burdens they have placed upon us. And now, they shall see the full power of our collective will!"

  A cheer rang up from the crowd, louder as they began chanting for Lazarus Rincon. Over and over, they shouted "Lightbringers united!"

  Meade glanced at Emeline worried. They had the full force of their convictions behind them. What did they have? Emeline took his hand and squeezed and he felt better, if only for a moment.

  "I have just been informed that we have honored guests among us." Rincon's voice suddenly boomed across the launch bay. "James Meade and Emeline Hunan's ArmBars have been detected within you. Find them and bring them to me - ALIVE and you shall be rewarded handsomely." Meade and Emeline's face popped up on the screen displaying their Passport photos. Meade shook his head.

  "I always hated that picture."

  Emeline shushed him.

  "Keep quiet. The ArmBar trace can't track us precisely. Turn yours off."

  Meade nodded and quickly switched his ArmBar off as Emeline did the same. He hoped that would be enough.

  "It would seem as if they do not wish to be a part of our glorious revolution." Rincon's disappointment was evident. "If you are wearing a rebreather helmet, I must ask you remove it. Our facial recognition will take care of the rest. And please ensure your neighbor has removed theirs. We wouldn't want anyone getting away."

  Meade's mind raced. They were quickly running out of options. All across the launch bay, the loyal Lightbringers were removing their rebreather helmets and exposing their face to the recognition scanners on board the Garuda. He didn't see as if they had a choice. Bes
ides, they had escaped from Rincon once, Meade felt fairly certain they could do it again.

  "Follow my lead." Meade whispered to Emeline and took off his helmet. He strode forward to the Garuda intent on giving himself up.

  "Lazarus Rincon, I am James Meade and I demand entry to the Garuda." He shouted at the view screen.

  The entryway to the Garuda opened and Lazarus appeared smiling.

  "I didn't think you'd have the guts. Gentlemen, if you would." He motioned to his guards who grabbed Meade under his shoulders and dragged him and Emeline up the ramp.

  Meade hoped he was making the right move because if he wasn’t, he'd soon be breathing vacuum.