The Imperative Chronicles, Books One and Two: The Mars Imperative & The Tesserene Imperative

by Mark Terence Chapman

  Kim heard a sound like muffled voices behind her, and then a thump and a scraping sound. She turned toward it, as did Ramirez.

  “I’m telling you, the Bearcats are really good this year. I really think they’ll give the Bisons a run for the division title.”

  “In your dreams, Hank. Not a chance.”

  The noise was accompanied by a section of floor panel being raised by a pair of arms. A moment later, a man’s head and shoulders emerged through the opening in the floor, seeming in no particular hurry. He put aside the panel and climbed up into the control room, followed by another man. They were both dressed in light blue coveralls. James’ had the name Hank stitched over the breast pocket. Daniel’s said Hymie.

  Ramirez was momentarily confused by the sight of two unarmed men appearing from beneath his feet.

  “Oh, hi, Dr. Ferré.” Hank/James said to the man blocking the door. “I think we found that slow air leak you called maintenance about. It was right under the floor here, but we’ve patched it. I’ll just go back to the office and bring you the papers to sign. Say, why are you sitting on the floor?”

  He turned to look at Kim. The back of his head shielded his wink from Ramirez. “And who’s this pretty young thing? You must be new.”

  Ramirez roared to life, brandishing the knife. “Who the hell are you, and what do you think you’re doing?

  James turned back toward Ramirez.

  Mason’s voice blared from the holoscreen. “Ramirez? What’s going on? Speak to me!” Everyone in the control room ignored her.

  Hymie/Daniel spoke up. “Like Hank said, we were here to fix the air leak.” He frowned. “What’s with the knife? Are you the new cook?”

  “Cook? No. I’m—” Ramirez floundered for the right words.

  “Say, as long as you’ve got the knife handy, maybe you can help me with this.” Daniel fumbled in his pocket as he took a couple of steps toward Ramirez.

  Kim, who had been waiting for a clue to Daniel’s plan, took the hint. She stood, and in one motion turned, grabbed her chair, and hurled it at Ramirez as hard as she could. He naturally turned his head toward the projectile.

  The instant Ramirez’s eyes averted, Daniel acted. He whipped out a small spray bottle of ammoniated glass cleaner and sprayed Ramirez in the face.

  Ramirez screamed and rubbed at his eyes, dropping the knife in the process. It clattered to his feet. The chair missed him and rebounded off the far wall. Both Daniel and James tackled Ramirez, Daniel aiming high and James low. Kim dove for the weapon and stood, knife in hand, undecided about what to do next.

  Because the occupants of the room were otherwise distracted, no one noticed the black speck that appeared on the glass panel in the door above Dr. Ferré’s head.

  Before James and Daniel could finish subduing Ramirez, there was a crash as the sticky time-delay microexplosive Crest Two had fired from down the hall shattered the panel. The spray of glass shards was followed a split-second later by a stun grenade tossed through the hole. In an instant, everyone in the room was blind and disoriented.

  A moment later, the door was shoved open, Dr. Ferré and all. The Crest One team charged in, two by two. The first pair swept the room with the muzzles of their guns as Crest Two leapfrogged past Crest One. One of the men held his gun to Kim’s head and growled, “Drop it! Hands up!”

  She threw her hands in the air and the knife slipped from her grasp. It dropped and stuck in the floor mere millimeters from her foot.

  Confronted with the sight of more people in the room than he was expecting—and especially a knife-wielding supposed hostage—Oliveiros barked, “Crest Two, cuff everyone! We’ll sort out who’s who later.”

  Chandra Mason strode in, her retrieved stunner at the ready, as Crest Two slapped self-constricting polymer wristcuffs on the four men on the floor and Kim. The cuffs instantly hardened into a solid piece that could only be restored to its original malleable form by transmission of an encrypted signal to a nanochip embedded in the cuffs.

  In less than twelve seconds the room was secured and the crisis was over.

  Kim blanched at the look of hurt and betrayal on Ramirez’s face as two CRESTs roughly shoved him out the door and into the passageway.

  * * * *

  Half an hour later, Ferré, Kim, James and Daniel were all in the observatory’s small infirmary, recuperating from the incapacitating effects of the stun grenade.

  “I don’t understand, Daniel,” Kim began. She pulled the scratchy blanket tighter around her. “How did you get here? What did you think you’d accomplish? What’s with the role-playing in the control room?”

  Daniel held up his hands to forestall more questions. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Give me a chance, will ya?”

  He and James took turns recounting their adventures up until they entered the observatory.

  Kim listened open-mouthed in disbelief. “My God! You both could have been killed. James, you nearly were killed.”

  “Yeah, but we weren’t.” James replied.

  “You were damn fortunate!” She shook her head, amazed. “So, what did you guys do once you got inside? I briefly spotted you on a security cam, but then you disappeared and I lost you. How did you get here from there?”

  James shrugged. “That was all part of Daniel’s brilliant plan.” His eyes twinkled as he said it. “We found a locker room containing these coveralls.” He plucked at his. “And that’s what gave us the idea to pose as maintenance workers. Didn’t it, ‘Hymie’?” He grinned at Daniel.

  “You bet, ‘Hank’. We figured if we came stumbling into the control room like a couple of clueless dolts, Ramirez might be put off long enough for us to disarm him. Just as we were climbing down into the crawlway beneath the floors, we heard the CREST contingent charging down the hallway and chattering into their radios, so we knew we had to hurry. One of them mentioned Dr. Ferré, which is how I knew his name. Nice touch, don’t you think?”

  Kim looked puzzled. “But how did you know to take the crawlway in the first place, or how to get here?”

  Daniel jumped in. “That was James’ idea. We found a console in a cubicle and looked up the schematics for this level, hoping for a crawlspace or ventilation duct we could use. We got lucky.”

  “Not to mention lucky that the commandos didn’t shoot your heads off when they burst in.” Kim shook her head in wonder. “It’s said that God looks out for fools and children. I guess we know which category you two belong in.”

  * * * *

  Hours later, back on ODF Barsoom, James and Daniel were no longer in such high spirits.

  “You two…have got to be the stupidest…luckiest…sons of bitches it’s ever been my misfortune to encounter!” Chandra Mason paced back and forth in front of her desk, gesturing wildly as she spoke, while Daniel and James stood before her stiffly. They were not quite at attention, but close enough.

  “Just what the hell were you thinking?” She waved off Daniel’s attempt to answer the question.

  “First, you chase an armed kidnapper through this facility, endangering the life of his hostage. Then you get a wild hair up your ass, steal a maintenance sled, and go sailing off across kilometers of space in nothing but your EVA suits, for piss sake—and with only an hour of air to boot?” By now her face was beet red and her eyes bulged.

  “Then when that didn’t kill you, you assaulted said armed kidnapper—once again endangering the hostages—in the middle of an authorized CREST assault that could have gotten you both killed in the crossfire!”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Shut up! I’m not done speaking!”

  For once, Daniel had the sense to do as he was told.

  “You two deserve to be locked up for what you did!”

  “Locked up?” James asked nervously. “Why?”

  Mason stared him down for interrupting. “Why? Well, let’s see now, shall we? How about reckless endangerment, interfering with an official security operation, theft, destruction of public and private propert
y, breaking and entering—and that’s just for starters! I’m sure if I thought about it for more than a minute I could come up with a dozen more infractions I could charge you with. You two could find yourselves in an Earthside prison for a fair portion of your natural lives.”

  Daniel’s face went pale; James turned positively green.

  Torri Cousins, sitting with a hip cocked on the corner of Mason’s desk, cleared her throat. That earned her a dirty look from Mason.

  “However,” Mason continued, “Administrator Cousins has requested that I consider the mitigating factor of your relationship with the first hostage as inducing momentarily diminished capacity to distinguish between right and wrong. That, and your good intentions—however misguided—and the fact that everything turned out all right in the end, work in your favor.”

  James began to feel the first glimmer of hope.

  “Don’t begin celebrating just yet. There is still the issue of your employers and whether your actions reflected the corporate images they wish to portray. Not every company wishes to be seen as employing vigilante cowboys.”

  James went green again. I haven’t even started my first official day on the job and already I’m getting fired!

  Cousins stepped in. “I spoke with your managers and they have agreed to keep you both on for now, subject to a probationary period of one year. Keep your noses clean until then and everything should be fine.”

  Mason looked as if she had just swallowed vinegar. Clearly the announcement didn’t meet her personal standard of punishment for the crimes committed.

  James’ shoulders slumped in relief. Daniel pumped Cousins’ hand and then a reluctant Mason’s hand. “Thank you. Thank you. I know what we did was stupid and reckless. But don’t you worry. From now on we’ll be model citizens, won’t we James?”

  James gave a tired nod. “You bet. From now on, no more excitement for me; I’m just going to do my job and stay out of trouble. You can count on that.”

  “Good.” Cousins opened the door. “Then I suggest you two get a good night’s sleep and go about your normal lives. Next time, leave the police work to the professionals!”

  The two men nodded vigorously and left. Mason stared hard at their retreating backs.

  * * * *

  “I’m wiped out,” Daniel said as the two walked. “How about if we meet at the same caf-house for breakfast in the morning? Now that they’ve reopened the elevator for travel, Kim and I can see you off properly, as we started to do this morning. God, was that just today?” He shook his head in disbelief.

  James smiled. “Incredible, isn’t it? Yeah. The caf-house at oh-seven-hundred sounds terrific. Get a good night’s sleep. I certainly will!”

  “You know it.”

  The two shook hands and headed off to their separate quarters.

  A sudden thought caused Daniel Lim to swallow hard as he walked. I sure hope they manage to track down that sled we jumped off before it gets too far. I don’t want to spend the next twenty years paying for it!

  * * * *

  “This is like some weird déjà vu experience.” Kim smiled. She hugged James outside The Original Caf House the next morning after an early breakfast. “Let’s hope the same thing doesn’t happen when you try to board the car this time.”

  James smiled back. “It had damn well better not. I promised Administrator Cousins and Chief Mason that I’d stay out of trouble. If you go and get yourself kidnapped again you’ll have to get yourself out of that mess!”

  The three shared a laugh.

  “I’ll miss you, James,” Daniel said. “Take care of yourself.”

  “You too, Daniel.” James and Daniel shook hands, then, after a moment, hugged. James entered the car. It was the twin of the one he and Daniel had ridden up from Earth. He turned and waved just before the door closed. He found a seat and settled in, feeling momentarily uneasy.

  It couldn’t happen again, could it? We caught the guy, right?

  Still, James tensed up when a bump signaled that the car was under way. After nothing untoward happened in the next five minutes, he relaxed.

  It took him less than an hour to get bored.

  At least this trip won’t be as long as the one up from Earth.

  The flight attendant had announced that it was going to take 24.5 hours, one Martian day.

  That’ll get me there in plenty of time to find my quarters before I have to report for duty—even though I’m arriving a day later than expected. Mr. Tennant will understand, won’t he? It certainly wasn’t my fault they closed down the elevators for a whole day. Well, he’ll either understand or he won’t. There’s nothing I can do about that now. He dismissed the thought from his mind.

  It’s too bad Daniel isn’t along on this trip. I don't know anyone on this car.

  On the other hand, at least I’ll have plenty of time to catch up on my areology studies.

  On the other hand….

  “Let’s see how good the chess program is aboard this tub.”

  CHAPTER 11

  Engineering Marvels: Mining on Mars—The soil in many areas of Mars contains 5-15% iron oxides (Fe2O3, Fe3O4, etc.). The atmosphere is 95% carbon dioxide (CO2). This is a fortuitous combination. Using a technique as old as the Romans, early miners on Mars were able to easily produce refined iron from surface mining. The process involved combining water (H2O) obtained from Martian ice at the poles with CO2 to create methane (CH4), carbon monoxide (CO) and oxygen (O2): 2H2O + 3CO2 = CH4 + 2CO + 3O2. The CO combined with the iron oxide to produce iron (Fe) and CO2. (For example: Fe2O3 + 3CO = 2Fe + 3CO2.) This allowed the miners to create buildings and other structures without having to ship tons of steel from Earth. The methane and oxygen were used together for fuel or vented into the atmosphere to aid in the terraforming process, with methane acting as a greenhouse gas to warm the frigid planet.

  — Excerpt from Encyclopedia Solaris, 2176

  * * * *

  Leland Tennant stared at his second-in-command. Not Shaft 3 again!

  He sighed. The problem wasn’t serious, yet, but if they didn’t fix that balky lift once and for all, Murphy’s Law would ensure that it would fail again, and probably at the worst possible moment. The lift was currently stuck between levels nine and ten with a full load of ore. Until they got it unstuck, the shaft was useless.

  “Any suggestions?”

  Tennant was the site foreman for Mars Mining & Refining and as such was in charge of everything related to Site 23 and all its satellite base camps. Bruno Taggart was his closest friend. Over their years together, the team of Tennant ‘n Taggart had acquired the nickname TNT for their prowess as problem solvers.

  Taggart shrugged. “We can do the usual finessing, but I think it’s time for a little BFM.” For a highly educated senior engineer, Brute Force Method was surprisingly often Bruno’s solution to such problems, and nearly as often he was correct. Mars was an unforgiving bastard. Between the extreme cold and the fine dust that seemed to get everywhere, something was always breaking down.

  He continued. “The usual finessing doesn’t seem to be providing any permanent relief in this case. I think we’re going to have to blast the lift loose, cut it up for scrap, then replace the guide rails and the lift. It’ll be messy and time consuming, but in the long run I think it’s the best solution.”

  “I expect you’re right, but I’d rather exhaust all the less dangerous approaches first, if you don’t mind.”

  “Suit yourself, Lee, but I don’t think it’ll work this time.”

  “Still, I’d like to give it a shot.”

  Bruno shrugged. “You’re the boss. I’ll give you a buzz when I know something.”

  “Good. Thanks.” Tennant waved vaguely as Taggart headed out the door. Tennant’s mind was already focusing on other matters. As foreman he had plenty of problems on his plate and a stuck elevator wasn’t the worst of them at the moment. He idly scratched the thin spot at the crown of his head. It wasn’t bald, precisely, but it was close enoug
h to be a source of annoyance for Tennant, an avid physical fitness buff and perfectionist.

  No sooner had the door closed than the intercom chirped. “Yes, Bella?”

  “Mr. Tennant, James McKie is here to see you.”

  “James? Our one-man CREST?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Very good. Please send him in.”

  Tennant composed himself as the door opened. A ridiculously young-looking man entered.

  Good Lord; these new hires get younger every day. Does he even shave yet? Pretty soon they’ll start arriving in diapers! He mentally shook his head. Was I ever that young and green? He smiled at the thought. Those years in the Belt were a lo-o-o-ng time ago.

  Tennant rose, still smiling, and extended his hand. “James. Welcome to Mars.”

  James took it in a surprisingly firm grip. “Thank you, Mr. Tennant. It’s good to finally be here.”

  “It’s good to have you here. Please, call me Lee. We’re pretty informal here. Have a seat.” He gestured to the comfortable rust-colored chairs encircling a small pseudo-wood table to the right of his desk. They sat.

  Tennant began without preamble. “James, I’ve reviewed your company file, and the report Capt. Singh v-mailed me when you arrived at Barsoom. Very impressive. I’m not surprised at the grades—you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t near the top of your class, but I was pleased to see that Elmer Murtagh spoke highly of you. He’s not easily impressed.

  “Nor is Capt. Singh. He says you were cool under fire; not once but twice. That’s a rare commodity in someone so young.”

  James blushed furiously in the glare of unvarnished praise. “I-I didn’t think Murtagh even noticed me after he was done blasting me the first week. And Capt. Singh is giving me far too much credit. I didn’t do anything all that special. I just did what I had to do. The first time I almost got us killed.”