After ODF Barsoom was established in 2114, it was used to help construct an observatory on Phobos using raw materials from Mars and finished goods from Earth. Carl Sagan Observatory was completed in 2117. The observatory provides an unparalleled view of the outer planets and Mars itself. It is used both for exploring the cosmos and for performing detailed orbital studies of Mars.
— Excerpt from Encyclopedia Solaris, 2176
* * * *
“It’s taking too long!” Oscar Ramirez declared. By now, parts of his jumpsuit were soaked through with sweat and he had developed a tic below his left eye. “They’re up to something and they’re stalling for time.” His face knotted in thought. “Mason may have left someone on the surface to try to sneak in behind us. Okay, then. Is there any way to seal the exterior hatches?”
Kim shook her head, no. “They don’t have locks.”
“They’re electrically powered, though, right?”
This time she nodded. “They’re powered for convenience, but they can still be opened manually in case of emergency.”
“That’s fine. At least it would slow them down. Can you turn off all power to the exterior hatches from here?”
“Sure.”
“Then do it. Keep an eye on the cams monitoring the hatches. I’ll keep watching the security team.” Kim nodded her agreement and Ramirez turned back to the overhead screen.
Now it was Kim’s turn to think. There has to be a way out of this mess that won’t get everyone killed. But what?
* * * *
“James. James!”
James awoke to dizziness and a memory of woodpeckers.
Woodpeckers?
Daniel rapped again on James helmet. “James, wake up! Come on, man; you’ve gotta wake up!”
“I’m up, I’m up! Is it time for school already?” He swiveled his head from side to side. “It’s still dark outside, Dad. It can’t be time for school yet.”
“School? Snap out of it, James! We’re on Phobos, remember? We’re here to save Kim.”
“Phobos? Kim? Um….”
“Are you hurt?”
“Hurt?” James’ head turned aimlessly left and right, his eyes not quite able to focus.
“Great, just great. Let me turn your O2 up for a minute. We don’t have a lot left, but you won’t be any good to anyone if you’re out of it like this. Let’s just hope you haven’t broken anything important.”
He helped James sit up, then fumbled with his EVA pack. “Okay, James, breathe deeply. Breathe.”
James took a deep breath, then another, and then a third. A spark of recognition returned to his eyes. “Daniel? What happened? Where are we?”
“We, my friend, are on Phobos—and more or less intact.”
“But—how?”
“It was just like I planned. Well, almost. We hooked onto that antenna and swung around behind Phobos and hit the trailing end of it. We hit hard enough to bounce off and you were knocked silly, so I reeled us in.”
“Thanks, Daniel. It’s starting to come back to me now. I don’t know why they call it being knocked silly; it sure doesn’t feel silly.” He tried to put a gloved hand up to his head, but hit the side of his helmet instead. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I was playing chicken with a city bus and lost. Damn; we actually made it! How about you? How are you feeling?”
“Some bruised ribs, and I think I twisted a knee; but I’ll live.”
Daniel turned James’ O2 flow back to normal. “Same here. My ribs and back hurt like hell, but I don’t think I broke anything, and my right foot aches, but not so bad I can’t walk on it. We’d better get moving. My heads-up says I have about twelve minutes of air left, and we still have to find a way into the observatory.”
“Oh, so your master plan didn’t have all that worked out ahead of time?”
“Given all the prep time I had?” Daniel snorted. “Hey, I got us this far, didn’t I? Maybe it’s your turn to do something to further the cause.”
“The way my head’s pounding at the moment? Thanks, but I think I’ll let you do the thinking a while longer.”
Daniel shrugged. “Okay, then. Let’s make for that structure in the distance.” He pointed over the shoulder of James, who by now was sitting up. Given Phobos’ diminutive size, the horizon seemed cartoonishly near. “Keep your fingers crossed—and maybe a few toes—that there’s an entry hatch there. We may not have enough air to find another one. And remember, because of the microgravity here, we can’t walk upright. Since we don’t have the grapplers anymore, we’ll have to scrabble like crabs, on all four.”
“Aside from the fact that crabs have more than four legs, how am I supposed to crawl with my fingers and toes crossed?”
Daniel chuckled. “I guess that means your brain is functioning again. Let’s go.”
* * * *
Nine minutes later they reached the igloo-shaped structure attached to the side of a hill. The dome had an antenna mounted on top.
“I’m getting awfully low on air, Daniel. Damn. Why didn’t I think to bring some extra O2 on the sled with us?”
“I thought of it, but we couldn’t afford the extra mass. We would have hit Phobos even harder than we did and who knows if we would have survived.”
“Maybe not, but from where I’m standing, that question’s still up in the air—so to speak.”
Daniel shrugged. “It was a calculated risk. But we’re here, we’re alive, and we still have time to get inside.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Now quit yakking and keep your eyes open. Do you see a hatch anywhere?”
“Not so far. Maybe it’s on the side. You go right and I’ll go left.”
“Okay.”
James rounded the dome holding his breath, praying he’d still be taking them five minutes hence.
“Here it is!” Daniel’s voice quavered with relief.
“Thank goodness.”
The two had turned their radios back on, hoping that this particular antenna was used for other purposes than radio reception, and confident that the moon itself blocked their signals from other receivers.
James doubled back around the dome, holding onto the guide rail affixed to it for support. Daniel was kneeling in front of the hatch.
“We’ve got a problem,” Daniel said.
“Those are not words I want to hear right now, Daniel. I’m almost— Crap. Make that I am out of air.” After more than an hour of tuning out the hissing of air feeding into his suit, the sudden silence was like a physical pressure on his eardrums.
“Hey, I don’t like it any better than you do; but the control pad seems to be dead.”
“Dead? What do you mean by dead?”
“The indicator light is out and the door handle doesn’t do anything.”
“Double crap! There must be a manual release mechanism. Try that.”
“I would if I knew where it was. This hatch is different from the ones on the ODFs. I don’t see anything that’s obviously a manual release. It might take me a few minutes to figure out the mechanism.”
“Daniel, I don’t have all that many minutes left. I’ve got at most a couple of minutes of breathable air left in my suit.”
“I know, James, I know! Damn; there goes the last of my air too. Look, the sooner you shut up, the sooner I can figure this out.”
James bit back a retort and tried to muster as much patience as he could, but for someone who knows that his next breath, or the one after, or the one after that, might be his last, patience can be damn hard to find.
In the silence of his helmet, the rasp of his breathing was unnaturally loud. Then he became aware of the pounding of the blood in his temples.
Ta-dum. Ta-dum. Ta-dum. After a while, he fancied the sound to be the drumbeats that accompany a prisoner’s long, slow walk to the gallows.
* * * *
Ramirez wasn’t the only one sweating now. The longer the stand-off dragged on, the more nervous Kim grew. The securit
y team was still hunkered down in the main hallway. Their voices could only be picked up by the hallway cams when they spoke loudly, so there was no telling what they were cooking up, perhaps by radio.
Kim wanted to see Ramirez get justice, not a knee-jerk lynching; but now, more than anything, she wanted the whole situation to be over. Ramirez’s pacing had become quicker, almost frenzied.
How much longer before he snaps?
I’m hungry, I’m thirsty, I’ve got a screaming headache, and why the hell didn’t they design the control room with its own bathroom?
With nothing else to do, she had taken to scanning all the camera positions, both interior and exterior, hoping for something that would break the stalemate.
Eventually someone is going to send in a CREST and things could get ugly.
She flipped through the cams one by one. Nothing, nothing, nothing. She sighed softly.
At least Daniel is safe back on Barsoom. I hope he isn’t too worried about me.
* * * *
“James, I said the more you bother me the longer this is going to take. Just try to relax. I’ll figure it out eventually. I’m more worried about Kim. Do you suppose she’s okay? We haven’t heard anything in hours.” Breathing was becoming difficult for Daniel and it was hard to concentrate. He paused a beat for a response, but none was forthcoming. “James?”
Daniel looked over his shoulder where James had tapped his arm a moment ago. “James!” James was slumped against the curved wall of the dome, his hand an inch from Daniel’s arm.
Damn, damn, damn! Okay, think. This has to be a simple mechanism; but what’s the trick? I’ve pushed or pulled everything I can find, but nothing does anything. What kind of twisted engineer would design— Twisted! You idiot!
He grabbed the outer ring of the control pad with both hands and tried to turn it counterclockwise. Nothing. Then he tried turning it clockwise.
Bingo!
It popped out a few centimeters from the surface of the control pad, unlocking it and providing a sort of steering wheel. This time, turning counterclockwise created a grating sound, felt through the wheel rather than heard. The hatch to his left had opened slightly. Four complete turns and the door was open far enough to drag James inside.
“Come on, James; stay with me!” His vision shrank down to a tunnel view as he began to gray out. Just a few more seconds! The way his lungs were burning, he didn’t know if he had a few more seconds until he too blacked out. If that happened, it would spell the end for both of them.
Fortunately, the wheel on the inside of the igloo didn’t require any tricks to operate; it took only seconds to close the outer door. He turned his attention to the inner door panel leading into the hillside. This panel was lit up; punching the green button caused the chamber to pressurize. Daniel wasted no time in getting James’ helmet off, and then his own. He took several deep breaths to clear his head.
He couldn’t have been out for more than a minute, could he? Daniel couldn’t be sure. He slapped James’ cheeks, shouting his name. “James? James, wake up!” The body remained motionless.
I hope I remember those CPR classes I took with Murtagh all those months ago.
He tilted James’ head back, pinched his nose shut, and set about alternating several breaths with chest compressions; over and over.
“Come on, James. You can do it. I need your help to rescue Kim; I can’t do it alone. Wake up, damn it!” More breaths, more chest compressions. Two minutes; still no change. Another breath.
James convulsed in a cough, hitting Daniel’s nose with his forehead. Another cough and he was breathing again. He opened his eyes.
Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose, his eyes watering. “Welcome back! I’m sorry, buddy. I shouldn’t have involved you in all this. It’s my fight, not yours. I promise I won’t ask you to do anything dangerous ever again.”
James essayed a weak smirk. “What, and let you have all the fun?”
* * * *
Kim continued flipping through the cam images. Nothing, nothing, noth— Wait! What was that?
She backed up to the previous image. Two people were just coming in from one of the surface entrances.
It looks like something’s finally happening. Should I tell Ramirez, or keep it to myself? She pondered that for a moment.
I guess it all depends on what they’re here to do. But how do I tell good intentions from bad ones? She couldn’t think of a way, other than to keep watching.
I hope the fact that it isn’t a large party with weapons drawn is a good sign, but what are they here for?
* * * *
The two men shucked their suits after securing the hatch behind them.
“I’m glad you’re okay, James. I really didn’t fancy having to carry you down that ladder. Once we got in range of the GFG and the gravity kicked in, you would have gotten heavy fast.”
“Oh, is that the only reason you’re glad? Remind me of that the next time your birthday rolls around. I’ll have to look for a card that says ‘To the guy who saved my life so he didn’t have to carry me down a ladder.’ I’m sure I can find one somewhere.”
“Smartass.” The two shared a chuckle as they shucked their suits in the passageway outside the airlock.
James looked both ways down the corridor. “So, where do you suppose the kidnapper would have taken Kim?”
“Hmm. I suppose he could be holed up somewhere in a storage closet, hoping no one finds him. But that works better when no one knows you’re around, and a hostage complicates matters. It seems more likely he’d head for the control room so he could monitor what’s going on.”
“Sounds reasonable,” James said with a nod. “We might as well start there. But if he’s monitoring everything, how do we get there without being seen?”
“Ah. Prepare to be dazzled by the brilliance of my plan.”
“Plan? What plan?”
“Hush, while I think of one.”
* * * *
Kim watched as the two invaders approached the nearest security cam.
A little closer, a little— She barely restrained the impulse to jump out of her seat. That’s impossible! Daniel couldn’t—James, too! A ship would have shown up on the sensors. How did they—?
I guess that isn’t important. What matters is what they’re planning to do now that they’re here. They’re not trained for this sort of thing. They’re likely to get themselves killed. Or the hostages—me.
I sure hope you guys know what you’re doing.
CHAPTER 10
Terrorism in Space—In late 2108 and early 2109, terrorist groups were involved in fatal incidents aboard ODF Nautilus and the recently-completed Odyssey. Since then, each ODF has maintained a Crisis RESolution Team, or CREST, drawn from the best of that facility’s security personnel. Although rarely needed, they can be mobilized to respond to incidents that were beyond the capabilities of the typical security officer. More importantly, they are empowered to use whatever means necessary to ensure the quick resolution of the problem with the fewest casualties to civilians and the least damage to the ODF infrastructure.
— Excerpt from Encyclopedia Solaris, 2176
* * * *
Because Ramirez had fled Barsoom so quickly, hostage and all, the CREST hadn’t been involved in his pursuit earlier. Now, however, they were on the job and ready to put a stop to all the fuss. A ship would have been too noticeable, so they took a quick hitchhike on a small cargo lifter—essentially a space-going version of a forklift—to get them to Phobos unnoticed. Grapples held them securely to the tiny moon. The two squads split up and used encrypted radios to communicate.
“Crest Two in position.”
“Acknowledged. Crest One in position. Get ready to move in on my mark, Crest Two.”
“Roger.”
“Crest Two, move in!” Sgt. Luís Oliveiros didn’t wait for an acknowledgement before leading his squad of four through the exterior hatch of Sagan Observatory that he had designated Ingress One. He k
new that Crest Two would be doing the same at Ingress Two.
Lacking the constraints that handcuffed the standard security officers with nonlethal force, the CREST packed a serious punch. Besides smoke and stun grenades, they carried machine pistols loaded with frangible bullets, designed specifically for use in space stations, ships, and other pressurized environments. The bullets would shatter on impact against something hard, like metal walls that held in the life-sustaining air. But they were plenty able to make a mess of human flesh.
Oliveiros paused while the last man in the squad shut the hatch behind them.
Heaven help anyone who gets between us and our objective.
* * * *
“Report, Crest One.”
Oliveiros’ voice came through the CREST leader’s radio implant. “We’re advancing as planned, Lead. We’ll be outside the control room in less than a minute.”
“Good,” Chandra Mason whispered. “So far the target hasn’t given any indication that he suspects our ruse. He keeps asking for updates on the status of his ship. I’ll squawk the radio twice to let you know when he asks again. That’s your cue to move in while he’s distracted with me.”
“Acknowledged.” Oliveiros’ voice clicked off.
It won’t be long now, Ramirez. Enjoy your freedom while you can. Mason smiled to herself while she sat on the floor of the main hallway, biding her time.
* * * *
Kim’s brow knotted in concentration as she flipped from one security cam to another.
Where the hell did they go? One minute they’re walking down the hall, looking like they don’t have a care in the world, and the next they turn a corner and they’re gone.
What are you up to guys? Nothing stupid, I hope.
Ramirez finally had enough. He shouted up at the holoscreen that showed Security Chief Mason and her party sitting on the floor of the main hallway. “Time’s up, Mason! I want that ship now—or else it’s gonna get bloody! I don’t care—”
The Imperative Chronicles, Books One and Two: The Mars Imperative & The Tesserene Imperative Page 13
