But Baptiste had anticipated this move. He was a person who prided himself on his ability to see what was coming down the track. He imagined that it was a kind of superpower he possessed, to know what someone was going to do before they even knew it themselves. So, he simply sidestepped, grabbing Orban's outstretched arm as he did, and used the oncoming momentum to send him tumbling across the floor of the rover.
Orban rolled and righted himself with the agility of a cat, but it wasn't fast enough, as Baptiste already had a plasma weapon trained on him. Orban halted.
"You're a treacherous bastard, Orban Dent. Of all the people to turn on me, I never thought it would be you."
"That was before you..." But he didn't get to finish the sentence, as a bolt of incandescent plasma hit his chest. He was slammed back against an equipment rack, then slowly slumped to the floor. A thin filament of acrid smoke wafted up from his torso.
Baptiste turned the weapon on the techs sitting at two separate terminals in the rover's operations bay. "Anybody got any questions?"
They sat stock still, eyes wide, and very delicately shook their heads to signify that they didn't.
Baptiste pocketed the weapon. "Good. Now let's get this show on the road."
He took the key fob from his pocket and inserted it into a slot on the holo-table. A detailed rendering of the entire city of Syrtis blossomed to life. It showed all sectors, but the ones that Baptiste was interested in were those controlled by Montecristo Industries. This constituted over half the city. One by one he began to initiate the protocol that would evacuate the atmosphere in each of these sectors. This would, in turn, instigate an automatic lockdown.
As he worked, dialing in the instructions, he was already considering his next move. He would head for the shuttle that he and the treacherous Orban Dent had landed in and head back up to his private orbital. There, no one could touch him. After that he might take a trip to Ceres, or maybe even return to Earth. There's always a welcome on Earth for a man of my talents, he thought.
All across Syrtis, decompression klaxons began to wail, and every man, woman, and child began to panic.
21
Surface Tension
The wide airlock door in Lloyd's warehouse slowly opened, and a thin haze of Martian dust began to drift in from the turbulent planetary surface. Gizmo took control of the rover's operation and began to gently roll it out onto the flat concrete apron skirting the city's perimeter.
Mia sat up in the cockpit beside the droid and strained her eyes to seek out some visual definition in the fog now beginning to engulf the machine. The sun was rising, and the light had given the atmosphere a strange, ethereal quality. It was like driving into a rust-colored dreamscape; it had an eerie, transcendent beauty to it.
"We have cleared the airlock." Gizmo's voice jolted Mia out of her reverie. "I am going to take us out a little farther and then turn to follow the edge of the city. I think I have found a way back in."
With that, the central cockpit console sprang to life and a 3D schematic of their location blossomed out of a small holo-slate. It flickered and fizzed as the exterior sensors tried to establish its location through the electrical mayhem of the dust storm. As Gizmo turned the machine, the 3D map rotated in unison.
Through the windscreen of the rover, Mia could just make out the looming shadow of the sector dome as it passed to the left of her. Ahead, she could also just make out the concrete apron that Gizmo was following. But nothing was really visible beyond a few meters; everything dissolved into a blanket of swirling dust.
After several minutes of uneventful driving following the edge of the city, the cockpit comms crackled into life. "Mia, this is Lloyd. Are you receiving me?" The voice was fuzzy and distorted. The ionized atmosphere was playing havoc with the transmission.
Mia grabbed the cockpit comms handset to reply. "Yeah, what is it?"
"There's been some developments. Baptiste has gone insane, and the entire city is in chaos."
"What do you mean, insane?"
"I'm going to patch you through to MLOD. They can explain the current situation better that I can."
Mia glanced over at Gizmo and arched an eyebrow.
"Uh-oh," said the droid. "Insane is never a good sign. Should I halt the rover and wait?"
"No, we may as well keep going."
A new voice crackled out of the cockpit comms. It sounded familiar to Mia, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Hello, Mia."
"Who's this?"
"Poe Tarkin. I'm here in Syrtis, helping the local MLOD."
Mia gave an audible sigh. "So what do you want with me? I thought I was persona non grata?"
"The situation has changed, Mia. Now it looks like you may be our only hope."
"Really? Well now, there's a surprise. Does that mean I'm no longer a rebel outlaw?"
"Perhaps we were...eh, a bit slow to fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. So, my apologies, but we don't have much time. It appears that Vance Baptiste has lost his goddamn mind and has instigated a decompression protocol in all Montecristo Industries sectors."
"Ho-ly crap! Why would he do that?"
"After your broadcast exposing the scam they were pulling with components, the people have turned and are trying to attack their facilities. So, they made a deal with the MLOD. We're providing the security to protect their infrastructure, and they are to hand over the components, as well as Baptiste and his head of security, Orban, to us for trial. I think Baptiste's actions are his way of getting back at them."
"That's incredible."
"Baptiste must have seen it coming, so he turned the screws on them and the city, and now he's on his way back to his shuttle, presumably to escape to his private orbital. If he gets there, he's virtually untouchable."
"So, screw him. We can get him again some other time."
"The problem is he's the only one who can reverse the decompression protocols. He encrypted the authorization, so only he has control."
"I see."
"We need to find him and get the key. He carries it around his neck, or in a pocket. If we have that, we can stop this insanity."
"Where is he now?"
"En route to the shuttle. It's parked up around three kilometers outside the city, at the old shuttle port. You've got to stop him before he gets there."
"What about MLOD or Montecristo? Can they not go after him?"
"We're in lockdown, and those who are outside the affected sectors can't get there in time."
Mia gave another audible sigh. "You better give me his coordinates."
"Eh...we don't have any. All we can do is give you a best guess."
"Great. You got any idea how the hell we're going to find him out here? It's impossible to see anything in this crap."
"I know, but you are our only hope."
Mia glanced over at droid again. "You following all this, Gizmo?"
"I sure am. Looks like we are back to saving the world again."
"Yeah. Think you can find your way in this shit?" Mia waved a hand at the maelstrom outside the windscreen.
"I have limited ability to locate objects on the surface that do not have a navigation beacon. Nevertheless, I have extrapolated the possible location of Vance Baptiste's rover from last-known coordinates, probable routes to the shuttle, and the general speed of the machine. But that still gives a considerable margin of error—a radius of over a kilometer."
Mia went back to the comms. "Poe, we'll try. That’s all I can say. Out."
She turned back to Gizmo and waved a hand at the dense brown fog outside the windscreen. "This is impossible. We can't see anything out there past a few meters."
"We are not completely blind," said Gizmo. "This rover does have operational range detection technology, but the dust storm greatly inhibits its performance. I estimate the effective range to be no more than three hundred meters for an object the size of Baptiste's rover."
"That'll have to do. Come on, let's get going
."
Gizmo turned the rover away from the city's edge and out into the storm.
Mia wondered what exactly she was going to do if they managed to intercept Baptiste. How would they stop him? Ram his rover? It was an option, but a dangerous one. Their own rover could be disabled in the collision, even start to lose pressure. That would be a disaster.
She unfastened the seat harness and made her way into the back of the rover. "I'm just going to check on the old EVA suit I spotted back here. Maybe it still works."
It was hanging by the airlock door, old and battered. An industrial unit, designed for hard labor—probably mining. She booted it up and ran through some diagnostics.
The good news was it functioned. The bad was that it had limited resources. Probably not enough to get her back to safety, if she found herself outside on the planet surface and needing to walk back. But it was rugged, so it would afford her some protection. Without hesitation, she started getting suited up.
"I think I have found it!" Gizmo called out from the cockpit. "We have a sizable object traveling at speed...a little over two hundred and fifty meters away."
Mia snapped on the EVA suit helmet and made her way back to the front of the rover. She found the suit uncomfortable and way too big for her; it made her movements very awkward. It might fit better once it was pressurized, but for the moment there was no need.
"Can we intercept it?" she said as she entered the cockpit and sat down.
Gizmo looked up at Mia. "If my calculations are correct, and they always are, then it is heading straight for us—at speed."
Mia froze momentarily before flipping down her EVA suit helmet and readying her plasma weapon. "ETA?"
"One minute, eight seconds," the droid's voice reverberated over her helmet comms. "I think it might be trying to ram us. I will attempt evasive action."
"Wait, let's think. If they ram us, that means their rover will slow down or stop on impact?"
"Correct. I assume they have calculated minimal damage to their machine, otherwise they would not have countenanced this maneuver."
"So, let's get out now, onto the surface. When impact occurs, we'll have a chance to grab onto their rover, maybe find a way to disable it, or even get inside."
"That is a very reasonable plan, Mia. It may even work."
Gizmo reduced the rover's speed so that they would be able to exit through the rear airlock with minimal potential damage to Mia's EVA suit, as she would have to throw herself out rather than simply step off.
Gizmo’s suspicions about the intercept intention of the other rover were also confirmed when it immediately adjusted its vector.
Mia made her way to the rear airlock, followed quickly by Gizmo, and they both squeezed themselves into the tight compartment as it cycled through its decompression routine.
The outer door opened to a sea of swirling dust kicked up by the vortex created by the rover's motion. Mia looked down at the ground moving beneath her, picked her moment, and jumped. She hit the ground harder than she had expected and was instantly glad of the protection afforded her by the rugged EVA suit. She tumbled a few meters before coming to a rest on her back, just as Gizmo materialized out of the fog.
"How did you get here so quick?" she said as she looked up at the droid.
"I was somewhat more elegant in my departure from the airlock."
The ground trembled. Mia could feel it, even through the thick EVA suit.
Gizmo's head spun around as the droid scanned the area as thick clouds of dust billowed out of the fog. "We have contact. Baptiste just rammed our rover, side on. Both rovers are currently stationary."
Mia picked herself up from the dirt and started off in the direction of the crash, Gizmo racing slightly ahead of her. "Baptiste's rover is reversing. We must hurry if we want to catch it."
A dark shadow formed in the oncoming gloom as Baptiste's rover began to materialize out from the dust. It seemed to be moving, but very slowly. Maybe it was damaged in the impact.
An incandescent ball of blue plasma burst out from near the rover and hit Mia on the left shoulder. Her suit went into cardiac arrest; readouts flickered, alerts flashed. "Shit, I've been hit. There's somebody else out on the surface." She fell to the ground and rolled over, grabbing her plasma weapon as she came around, and fired back in the direction of the first shot.
"Gizmo, catch that rover. I'll deal with the shooter."
The droid raced off toward the rover, and Mia fired several more shots to give it some level of cover. She checked her readouts; the suit had stabilized and the alerts had stopped flashing. It was a tough unit, that was for sure, and she wondered how much punishment it could actually take before giving up the ghost on her.
She stood up and ran forward. But within a few strides, another ball of plasma burst toward her. She was ready this time. She ducked the oncoming blast and fired back, three shots in quick succession. She kept running.
A moment later, she was standing over the body of a Montecristo Industries tech. His light EVA suit had a large scorch mark across his chest, a direct hit. Mia knelt and picked up the weapon lying beside him. It was high-tech, much better than her own, and could pack a considerable punch if it was dialed all the way up.
She scanned the area as best she could to try to get reoriented. There might be others out here trying to find her.
"Gizmo, where are you?"
The droid's voice crackled in her helmet. "Atop the rover, trying to detach the navigation parabola. It has already suffered damage to the front suspension from when it rammed our own rover, so it is moving slow. You can still catch it if you follow my directions."
Mia glanced around and tried to find something, anything, in the fog that she could use as a reference point. "I can't see shit, Gizmo. It's all just sand and dust."
"I have identified your location. I need you to stand up and start moving so I can track your vector. But be warned, there is another person out there, approximately seventy-five meters away."
"Dammit." Mia again looked around, but could see nothing. She stood up slowly, keeping hunched, and moved forward.
"Okay, got you. Now head two-o’clock from your current track and you will intercept in twenty meters. The other person will be to your left."
Mia started moving as fast as she could. Within a few moments, the form of the rover began to materialize out of the fog. "I see it. I see the rover." As she came closer, she began to make out Gizmo straddling the roof of the machine just as it finally ripped the navigation parabola off the roof and flung it onto the ground.
"Watch out, Mia. Attacker fifty meters directly behind you."
Mia ducked down just as a ball of plasma came hurtling out of the dust and sailed harmlessly over her head. She took aim and fired a few bursts in the direction of the attack.
"Missed," said Gizmo. "Ten degrees left."
Mia adjusted and fired again.
"Bingo," said the droid.
She jumped up and ran for the rover. "Gizmo, I've picked up a high-energy plasma weapon. Could I fry this machine's electronics? Would that stop it?"
"It might be worth a try, but let me get off first. I do not want to be collateral damage."
Mia watched as the droid descended the side of the rover like a monkey on speed. It dropped to the ground and raced over to Mia. "Aim just between the rear wheel assembly. That is where motor control is. That is the most vulnerable."
Mia checked the weapon and dialed it up to full power. At this level she would have just two shots, no more. She aimed and fired. The blast was blinding, and Mia had not expected the kickback from the weapon, either, so she tumbled backward onto her ass.
For one moment, the entire rear third of the rover seemed to be encased in a cage of electrical rage. Then it was gone, and the rover kept moving.
"Dammit," said Mia as she picked herself up from the ground. "It didn't work."
"Wait," said Gizmo. A few seconds later, the rover came to a shuddering halt as the rear whe
els seized up.
Mia let out a long, slow breath. "I wonder how many are still inside?"
"I am reading two heat signatures."
Mia looked at the droid. "You can do that?"
"Infrared. Simple, really."
Mia hefted her weapon. "Okay, I presume if there are only two still in there, then it must be Baptiste and Orban."
"That would be the logical conclusion."
"So, any ideas on how we get in there?"
"There are two airlocks. One at the rear, and another on the far side. It should be simple enough to hack the door controls."
"Except they’ll know we're coming. We would be sitting ducks, like shooting fish in a barrel."
"Why would someone want to shoot fish in a barrel?"
"I don't know, Gizmo. It's just a saying."
"It makes no sense to me."
Mia handed the droid a plasma pistol. "Don't worry about it. Here, I reckon you're gonna need this."
The droid took the weapon and examined it. "Excellent. Gizmo is back in business."
"Just be careful not to fry any of the equipment in there. Remember, our objective is to reverse the evacuation protocols, so the gear needs to still function."
"Understood. I suggest I go in first to clear a path."
"No, too risky. I don't want anything happening to you. You’re the only one who knows how to use that control console. I'll go."
"But Mia..."
"No buts, Gizmo. This suit is going to run out of air in five minutes. I don't really have a choice. Also, it's tough as dinosaur hide—it should withstand a few hits."
"We could both enter at the same time. You take the rear airlock, I will take the side. That way we split their resources."
Mia looked over at Gizmo again. "Okay."
"I will need to hack the door controls first." Already, Gizmo was disassembling the rear airlock control.
"Can you still see where they are?"
"Both are at the front of the rover, lower deck, directly in front of the rear airlock," said Gizmo as the outer door slid open. It turned its head to Mia. "There you go. I will get to the other one now. Wait for my signal." It moved off down one side of the machine as Mia clambered inside the airlock.
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