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

by Mark Terence Chapman

  “Yeah, sure.” James stood and reached down to clasp Daniel’s wrist.

  “Uh-oh. My foot’s stuck.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “There seems to be something pinning my boot to the floor. Idiot! Wait a minute.” Daniel’s helmet light flashed on, momentarily blinding both men. “Ow. Sorry about that. I just realized that I hadn’t turned my light on before the cave-in. At least now we can see.”

  Indeed, using Daniel’s light, James could tell that his friend’s foot was under a pile of debris. A large boulder leaning against his boot was the only thing keeping tons of rock from crushing it. “Hold on, Daniel. I think I can get you out of there.” He had to be careful not to disturb the rest of the pile and bring more rubble cascading down onto Daniel’s leg.

  “Wait! Not that one! You’re gonna kill us both.”

  “Do you want to do it? If not, just hold the damn light steady so I can see what I’m doing.”

  “Just—be careful.”

  “No, really?”

  After several tense minutes during which James sweated and strained, Daniel was free and standing, albeit gingerly.

  “My foot seems to be okay, just bruised a bit. So how do we get out of here?”

  While James was busy shifting rocks around, the sounds of other rocks being moved—not so much heard as felt through the tunnel floor—had been hidden. But now that he’d stopped, the other sounds could be discerned.

  “I’m almost there,” Tennant announced. “I see your light. Try to pull down some of the top rocks from your side.”

  It took several more minutes, but finally there was enough room for Daniel and James to scramble over the pile and emerge on the other side, near the entrance to the inner cave.

  “I guess that answers the question of whether Jardin knew about this place before,” Tennant declared. “Sorry, guys. I should have thought to look for optical triggers. That’s one more thing we owe Jardin for. Are you two going to try to stop me this time if I slap him around a bit before we take him in?”

  He turned and headed down the tunnel.

  James and Daniel weren’t sure whether to take that question seriously, but they followed.

  The trio entered a tremendous cavern beyond, where stalactites and stalagmites abounded. Piles of fallen rock here and there hinted at former seismic activity as well.

  “Here you go, James.” Tennant pulled a small hand-flash from a pouch and handed it to James. “It’s not much, but it’ll give you some light.”

  “Wow. Look at the size of this place!” Daniel was craning his neck trying to see the roof in the near darkness of the cavern. The only light came from the pitifully limited lamps of the three men. “You could land ships in here.”

  “Look!” Tennant was staring off to the right. He pointed. There was a large mound of crates, air cylinders and other supplies stacked against the cave wall.

  James rotated, shining the hand-flash on the cave walls to his left and right and scanning for cracks or other openings. “Do you see any way out of here besides where we entered?”

  “Not so far,” Daniel replied, “but this is a really big cave. There may be some openings on the far side that our lights can’t reach.”

  “I know you’re here, Jardin,” Tennant called out over the radio, “and I know you can hear me. Your booby-trap failed; we’re all unharmed, which is more than you can say. You’re hurt, you’re outnumbered three to one and I’ve got your gun. Face it, you’re not going anywhere. So why don’t you save us all a lot of trouble and just surrender quietly. Come out with your hands up and empty and I promise you won’t be hurt.”

  He paused for a moment to see if there was any reaction from Jardin. Nothing. “I’ll give you to a count of ten. After that, all bets are off. I suggest you take the offer because it won’t be repeated. You have ten seconds, starting…” Tennant consulted his heads-up display chrono. “Now!” Again, there was no response.

  * * * *

  Jardin’s grin disappeared. So, the rocks didn’t get you. Too bad. But if you think you can play with the big boys, you’re about to get a rude awakening.

  * * * *

  Tennant waited five seconds before speaking. “Time’s almost up Jardin, You have two seconds left….one. That’s it. Come out now or we’re coming in after you.” His ultimatum was met with continued silence. “Very well, then. Don’t say you weren’t warned.”

  “What if he didn’t hear you?” James inquired. “Maybe he’s tuned to a different frequency.”

  “If you were being chased by men with radios,” Tennant responded, “wouldn’t you tune into their frequency to listen in on their progress?”

  James nodded. “I guess there’s no point in switching frequencies now.”

  Tennant shook his head inside his helmet. “No, I want him to know we’re coming. I want him to feel as helpless as his victims were.”

  James shuddered at the coldness of Tennant’s words.

  “All right, then,” Tennant declared. “We’ll start by searching the supply cache, in case he’s hiding in there. You two go left and right; I’ll take the middle. Now remember, stay low and keep your eyes open.” He hefted the gun and started forward.

  The three used the stalagmites and the small mounds of rubble for cover wherever they could. It took less than a minute to reach the supply cache. Then it was a matter of opening crates and peering into crevices, while simultaneously trying to stay out of the line of fire.

  Tennant lifted the lid of a foodpack crate. Hurled backward, he crashed against a stand of oxygen bottles, several of which toppled and fell on him. The revolver spun from his hand.

  Jardin had sprung jack-in-the-box-like in the low gravity, using his squat body as a battering ram. His leap was accompanied by a feral scream of rage and pain.

  Now Jardin stood next to the crate holding a pistol and favoring his right leg. He picked up the revolver Tennant had dropped. Now he held guns in both hands.

  “You didn’t think the thirty-eight was my only weapon, did you?” He shook his head and grinned. “What a moron! Now where are your friends?” He looked all about him, but saw no one.

  Tennant struggled to extricate himself from the heavy O2 bottles, barely getting to his knees.

  “Don’t feel like talking? No matter. I prepared for every eventuality.” His grin grew wider and colder. “Say goodnight, Gracie!”

  Jardin fired the pistol once, then again, directly into the chest of Lee Tennant. This time Jardin was ready for the gun’s kick and his aim was true, hitting center mass both times.

  The impact of the slugs threw Tennant back into the bottles, where he slid down slowly to lie with his helmet resting on one of the cylinders. A wisp of smoke rose from the end of the pistol, while twin gouts of air jetted from Tennant’s suit. Tennant attempted to cover the holes with his hands, but it was a losing battle. There was no way he could hold the air in that way.

  The moisture in the suit’s air froze on contact with the subzero cold of the cave, creating a small expanding cloud of pinkish mist above Tennant that settled on his suit as fine snow. Jardin lifted the barrel of the gun to his faceplate and pantomimed blowing away the gunsmoke, before slipping the revolver into a belt pouch.

  He stared down at his latest victim. “I suppose you think I’ve done about as much to you as I possibly could.” His short laugh sounded more like a bark. “Well, once again you’ve underestimated me.” Still pointing the pistol with one hand, he reached into a pouch with the other and pulled out a small transceiver. Tennant’s eyes widened in recognition. It matched the damaged one found in the rubble of Site 23.

  Seeing Tennant’s reaction, Jardin couldn’t help but gloat. “Remember all those explosions that nearly destroyed your facility? You do remember them, don’t you?” His eyes glittered with the memory. “That was just to get your attention. Unlike you, I always have a backup plan. Since you’ve seen fit to disrupt my plans, I guess it’s time to drop the other shoe. Th
e explosives we triggered earlier weren’t the only ones we planted. Say good-bye to the rest of your people.” He began using his gloved thumb to punch in the password that would send the trigger signal to a relay that was wired to a transmitter hidden outside the cave. It would broadcast the signal to one of the communications satellites overhead, which in turn would relay it to Site 23—with devastating consequences.

  James had been stunned into immobility by the gunshot and the shock of seeing Tennant hurled backward to lie on the floor spewing air. Now, enraged by the thought of what Jardin was about to do, he rounded a stack of crates and threw himself at Jardin, knocking both the gun and the transceiver from his grasp. James dove for the pistol, but Jardin kicked him in the shoulder with his bad leg, grunting in pain but throwing James off-target. As the younger man slid past the gun, Jardin scooped it up and stood, standing awkwardly.

  James turned to go to Tennant’s aid.

  “Uh-uh-uh.” Jardin waggled a finger at James while he pointed the gun with the other hand. “Stay right there, with your hands in the air.” He limped over to the transceiver and, with difficulty, bent to pick it up. Still watching James, he finished punching in the password. The confirmation light failed to glow to indicate successful transmission. He reset the unit and reentered the code. Still no light.

  “So. It appears you’ve saved your friends for the moment. No matter. When I’m done with you, I’ll just pull out one of the spares. You see? Even my backup plans have backup plans.” His icy smile lacked any humor.

  “Either way, the results will be the same.” Jardin backed away from James and Tennant, until he bumped into the open crate from which he’d leapt. “Now where did the other one go? I’ve got a score to settle with you two, whoever the hell you are.”

  “We’re Lee’s friends!” James shouted in anger, frustrated that he was unable to help Tennant.

  Jardin sneered. “Not for much longer.” He cocked the hammer of the revolver, with a click that was audible even in the rarified Martian atmosphere, and pointed the gun at James’ midsection.

  “I’m over here, shit-for-brains!” Daniel’s voice rang out. It was accompanied by a creaking, crackling sound that was barely transmitted by the thin atmosphere.

  Jardin turned his head and looked up to see a stack of crates toppling over on him. He had just enough time to raise his arm and fire before he was buried beneath several hundred kilos of machine parts. The slug ricocheted off one of the crates, missing Daniel by a wide margin.

  “Daniel! Quick, get over here!” James ripped open a self-bonding patch pulled from a belt pouch and slapped it over one of the holes in the front of Tennant’s suit. Then he did the same with the other hole. “I’ve taken care of the air leaks, but I have no way to stop the bleeding.”

  Daniel hopped down from the adjacent stack of crates on which he’d been standing and ran over to where Tennant lay, head now cradled on James’ knee.

  Tennant coughed up blood. It spattered the inside of his faceplate. “I’m a goner, guys.” He coughed again and winced. “Just make sure Jardin doesn’t escape this time.”

  Daniel looked over his shoulder. “That won’t be a problem, Lee.” Jardin lay half in and half out of the crate, bent over backward at an unnatural angle. The corner of one of the heavy fallen crates had pierced his chest and the expelled air from his suit frosted the sides of the box. “He’s not going anywhere.”

  “What are we going to do, Daniel?” James’ voice cracked.

  “We’ll have to carry Lee out of here.”

  “How do you propose we get him past the cave-in? Not to mention rappelling up that cliff! Have you ever done anything like that before? I sure haven’t.”

  Daniel shrugged. “No, but what’s the alternative? We can’t just leave him here, and we don’t have any way to treat him. At least in the Cat we have a medkit and we can take his suit off.”

  “I guess we don’t have any choice. Lee may not make it until the security team arrives.”

  Another cough from Tennant was accompanied by more blood. His voice was weak and thready and he wheezed when he inhaled. “I do wish you two would stop talking about me like I’m not here.”

  “Sorry, Lee,” James said. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Forget about me. There’s nothing you can do. I’m just glad I got to watch—” He coughed. “…Jardin get…what he deserved. I’m only sorry I wasn’t the one who killed him. At least I got to outlive him by a few minutes.” A prolonged coughing fit caused James and Daniel to look at one another helplessly.

  “Don’t talk like that,” James said. “The security team will be here any second with a medic, and they’ll fix you right up. You just have to hold on a little longer. Don’t give up on me, Lee. I know you’re not a quitter; so don’t quit now.”

  “Sorry, James…don’t think I can do it.” His words now gurgled when he talked. “Bruno Taggart…in charge. Give him same sup—” Another cough. “…support you’ve given me. Just sorry I never had time to grieve properly…for Bella and the others who—” Tennant choked on his own blood, coughing for several seconds and coating the inside of his faceplate with a solid sheet of crimson. “…died under my command…guess now I can apologize…in person.”

  James, tears running silent courses down his cheeks, held Tennant and squeezed his hand until it no longer squeezed back.

  CHAPTER 26

  History of Space Exploration: Life on Mars—Since 2039, whenMariangela Spinelli became the first human to set foot on Mars, more than a thousand people have lost their lives on or above the planet. The dead include citizens of 154 countries, as well as members of all races and all major religions.

  Most loss of life occurred as a byproduct of living and working in a harsh alien environment. However, inevitably, some deaths were intentional. More than a hundred deaths are attributable to several terrorist bombings instigated by one man,Douglas Philippe Jardin, one of the most notorious mass murderers of the twenty-second century.

  — Excerpt from Encyclopedia Solaris, 2176

  * * * *

  The security team from Emerald Star Mining Base Camp 7 found James still holding Tennant’s hand when they arrived over an hour later. Most of that time was spent getting past the rubble in the tunnel. Daniel filled them in on what had happened.

  “I felt so useless,” Daniel said. “I couldn’t get to Jardin in time to stop him from shooting.”

  Sgt. Ephram LeFleur was in charge of the security detail. “There’s nothing either of you could have done to save him. The medic says he lost a lot of blood quickly. Most likely one of the bullets clipped an artery. Even if we’d been on-site when it happened, he would have died anyway. You two accomplished plenty by stopping Jardin from blowing up the rest of Site 23.”

  James didn’t seem to notice the other’s words. He looked down at the hand that had held Tennant’s. “I-I’ve never watched anyone die before.”

  “Unfortunately, I have; sometimes gruesomely. I’ve been at this game a long time, but it never gets any easier—especially when it’s someone you know. I briefly worked with Lee a few years back. He was one of the good ones. We could use more like him.”

  Daniel spoke in a monotone. “I know it’s no great consolation, but at least he died without a murder on his conscience. I wish I could say that…I’ve never killed anyone before.” He stared down at his upraised palms, appearing on the verge of tears.

  James looked up sharply. “What are you talking about, Daniel? Jardin had just shot Lee. If you hadn’t stopped him, I would have been next and then you. You didn’t have any choice.”

  LeFleur nodded. “I agree. You were unarmed and you did probably the only thing you could have done to stop the guy in time.”

  “Maybe, but I still took a human life. That goes against everything I was raised to believe.”

  “Yeah, that’s rough. I had a hard time dealing with it the first time I had to kill someone. He was a drunken miner; came at me with a knife.
I stunned him, but he kept coming; gave me a nasty gash on my arm before I hit him over the head with a chair.

  “I sure didn’t mean to kill him, but you can’t always control events the way you’d like. It was either him or me. I was lucky that day. Who knows about the next time.”

  He shook off the memory. “Anyway, you were unarmed, and yet you managed to save the life of your friend against a gun-wielding known-murderer. That took guts, kid. In my book you’re heroes, both of you. I’m going to put you up for commendations.”

  Daniel shook his head. “I don’t want it. I just want to block out everything that happened.”

  James stared at his hand again, seemingly tuning out the rest of the universe.

  “Well,” LeFleur responded, “that’s something for you and your shrink to work out. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to head back to Base Camp 7. We’ll have a coroner perform the autopsy, then ship the bod—uh, Lee—back to your headquarters for a proper burial. We’ll send another team back later to collect the stuff Jardin has been hoarding here.”

  Daniel slowly nodded agreement when James didn’t respond.

  * * * *

  The long drive back to Site 23 in the Cat was made longer still by Tennant’s absence. James and Daniel took turns driving and neither could ignore the fact that Tennant wasn’t in the cab with them. The rough-and-tumble adrenaline-pumping dash across the countryside on the way out was replaced by a sedate and solemn drive back. Gone was the thrill of the hunt, the youthful enthusiasm that comes from being on a quest to right a great wrong.

  What was left was the bitter realization that life wasn’t a fairy tale. The good-guys don’t always win in the end and the story doesn’t always end happily ever after.

  * * * *

  The first thing James’ did upon his return to Site 23 was call Janice at Base Camp 9. He had to wait several minutes for the radio operator to track her down. Finally, she answered.