Colony Three Mars (Colony Mars Book 3)

by Gerald M. Kilby

  “An explosion in dome five, most probably the methane processing unit. It has caused a significant loss of integrity in that sector.”

  “Is the rest of the facility safe?”

  “Yes, quite safe, now that this bulkhead door is sealed.”

  “Okay, but we need to get back to operations and check out all the systems. Let’s make sure there are no other disasters waiting to jump up and bite us.”

  By the time they returned to the operations room, Jann was beginning to sense that it was all over, they had won. Her crazy scheme had paid off. The COM mercenaries in dome five were most likely all dead, including, she surmised, Peter VanHoff. She collapsed into a chair and let out a long, exhausted sigh.

  Gizmo started scanning systems, checking integrity, adjusting levels, establishing that the colony would survive the amputation of one of its limbs.

  “Atmosphere nominal, pressure has stabilized.”

  “Thank god for that.”

  “Wait a minute.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, nothing major, Jann. I am picking up some infrared readings from the subterranean soil processing area.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning I think there is somebody down there.”

  Jann sighed. “Oh it’s probably just some colonists hiding out.” She stood. “Come on, let’s go take a look.”

  21

  Run

  Jann held the PEP weapon tight as she and Gizmo traversed the narrow passage down into the soil processing area. She had brought it with her just in case and, as they entered the cave, she held the weapon up in front of her and shouted in, “Hello? Anyone there?”

  A vague shuffling sound emanated from the back of the cave. “It’s okay, you can come out, it’s safe now.”

  The shuffling stopped. Jann looked back at Gizmo. “Stay close.” They moved off into the cave and worked their way around a number of storage crates. She stopped short when she finally realized who it was that had been hiding down here.

  Two of the Chinese crew, in full EVA suits were standing there, holding up a bloodied and battered Peter VanHoff. On the ground farther back looked to be the unconscious body of another COM crewmember. Jann recognized him as Dr. Molotov. In front of this unlikely quartet stood Yutu. It was staring directly at her, looking like it was ready to pounce. She instinctively pointed the weapon at it. For a moment no one moved, no one said anything. Jann felt like a schoolteacher that had caught two boys beating up on another in the school locker room.

  “I see you guys are getting to know one another.”

  VanHoff seemed to perk up a bit. He looked at her, and a vague scowl grew across his face.

  “It’s time to pack it in, show’s over. Commander Kruger is dead. Colony One is back in our control now.” She waved the weapon to signal them to move out.

  “I think not.” Jing Tzu let go of VanHoff, who collapsed on the ground. “We’re getting off this planet, so I suggest you just let us part company. No need for more violence.”

  “I’d love to, but you can’t leave now. You’re infected. If you leave you’ll be bringing the Janus bacteria back to Earth.”

  VanHoff seemed to regain some life. He raised himself up. “Don’t listen to her, don’t listen to anything that comes out of her mouth. She’s the cause of all this chaos.”

  “It’s okay, we can eradicate it, we have a way. It’ll take a while, but after that I see no reason why you can’t go back then. Come on, let’s move.” She waved the weapon again.

  “Don’t listen to…” VanHoff tried to speak again but he was cut off.

  “You shut up.” Chen Deng punched him in the stomach.

  “I’m sorry, but we’ve had enough of this place.”

  With that Jing Tzu stepped forward and said something in Mandarin to Yutu. The robot shifted slightly then sprang at Jann. She fired the weapon but she was too slow. The robot rammed her in the chest at full force as her shot hit the ceiling and fizzled out. She tumbled backward with the impact, slammed up against a tall stack of storage containers and collapsed on the ground.

  The Chinese crew were now running for the automatic airlocks that the harvesters used, putting their helmets on as they went. VanHoff was tottering behind them. Yutu remained, moving slowly towards the fallen Jann.

  “Shit, Gizmo… they’re getting away.”

  Gizmo shifted around, reorienting itself in the space, as if it was unsure of what to do. Jann began to pick herself up from the dusty cave floor when she saw the stack of containers lean in towards her; they were falling. She raised her arms up to protect herself, but they all came crashing down on top of her. Her leg was caught under something, she was trapped. Jann tried to pull it free but it held fast. Yutu circled.

  “Gizmo, I’m stuck.”

  The little robot twitched and shifted, extrapolating the probabilities, calculating the odds, and realizing they were not good. It turned its head to Jann. “I do not like that robot.” Then it shot off across the floor at high speed and slammed straight into Yutu. The quadruped reacted instantly and was also propelling it self forward when they connected. The two robots tumbled down along the floor, entangled together. Jann could only look on in horror as both machines pulled bits off each other. And it was happening fast, their reaction speed being so much quicker than a human.

  They broke apart as Gizmo was flung across the cave. It skidded along the floor, gouging out a deep rut before it came to a halt. But the same instant it was back up on its tracks heading for Yutu at top speed. They slammed into one another again.

  Jann pushed and pulled at the container to get it off her leg with all the strength she could muster. It shifted a little, she pushed harder. Time was running out. VanHoff and the Chinese were already at the airlock, trying to hack it open. She had to stop them.

  She looked back to see Gizmo and Yutu circling each other. The little droid had sustained considerable damage. Its left arm hung loose at an odd angle, a number of its sensors and antennae were gone completely. The quadruped on the other hand looked to be virtually undamaged. Jann knew that it was only a matter of time before it destroyed Gizmo completely. She searched around for a bar or something she could use as a lever to try and shift the weight pinning her down.

  The robots slammed into one another again with a deafening screech of metal on metal. Again Gizmo was flung into the air and skidded to a halt farther up the cave. Jann arched her head to see. It had righted itself, but one of its tracks was broken. It lay on the cave floor like a flattened snake. Gizmo tried to move forward but it fell over.

  “No, Gizmo!” she yelled.

  Yutu moved in closer, like a jackal stalking its prey, ready to strike the killing blow. Gizmo managed to get itself upright again, and seemed to have calculated a new method of perambulation based on its remaining articulations. It moved using its one functioning arm like a crutch. Then it simply stopped.

  Has it just died? she thought. “Gizmo, Gizmo,” she shouted.

  Yutu crouched low and crept forward, inch by stealthy inch. It sprang high into the air, aiming to land the final blow on Gizmo.

  But the little droid had one last trick up its metallic sleeve. As the quadruped reached the apex of its arc, Gizmo fired its taser. Two metal prongs shot out of the little droid, trailing thin spools of wire and buried themselves deep in Yutu’s underbelly. The quadruped sparked and shook as 10,000 volts fried its electronics and traumatized its systems. It landed hard on Gizmo, sending the two tumbling across the floor again. When the dust settled, neither moved.

  Jann pushed with all her might. The crate shifted a fraction, enough for her to get free. She looked over to where Gizmo lay, there was no movement. “Gizmo.”

  She looked past the robot down to the airlocks at the far end. VanHoff and the Chinese were gone, out on the surface. She would have to get back up top and alert everyone. Maybe they still had time to stop them reaching their landers. She dragged herself up to a standing position and tested her legs.
They were battered and bruised, but nothing broken. She tottered over to where Gizmo lay and knelt down beside her friend. “Gizmo… Gizmo?”

  The little robot twitched and tried to move, but it couldn’t seem to manage it. “Oh Gizmo, you’re all banged up.”

  It slowly raised a battered arm and pointed at Yutu, and the little robot spoke just one word, “Run.”

  “What?” Jann stood up and looked over at Yutu. Its back panel had retracted and a screen flashed a bright red warning. Self-destruct sequence initiated… Detonation in T-3 seconds.

  “Oh shit.” She ran—not fast enough.

  The shockwave rammed into Jann’s back, lifting her off her feet and she went sailing through the air for what seemed like an eternity, until she finally slammed into the cave wall. She collapsed on the ground like a wet towel. Her eyes were wide and blood oozed from her ears, pooling out across the dusty cave floor.

  22

  AsterX Land

  Nills cocked his head up and scanned the sky northward of his position at the edge of the landing site. The atmosphere was clear and bright, there had been no storms recently to kick up dust and create a haze.

  “There.” Anika’s voice echoed in his helmet. He looked to where she was pointing. A long trail streaked across the firmament, growing longer and longer with each passing second. They all watched it as it came closer and the dark smudge at its tip began to resolve. They could now see the chutes trailing out from the top of the craft, swinging and twisting as they fought back against the downward acceleration. Something then detached itself from the base of the craft and plummeted to the planet’s surface far off across the horizon.

  “Is that the heat shield falling?” Xenon’s question seemed to be for no one in particular.

  “Yeah, chutes will go soon,” Nills replied as he adjusted the anti-glare setting on his visor. Even before he finished his sentence they could see the craft was now in free fall, having slowed itself down as much as it could using primitive fabric. It dropped down towards them with impressive speed. If Nills could cross his fingers in thick EVA suit gloves, he would have done so. The retro-thrusters should fire soon to bring the craft down for a safe landing. Yet it was still plummeting down to the planet with extreme velocity. Just when he thought something must have gone wrong the engines fired and the craft slowed dramatically.

  “They’re cutting it a bit tight, that’s a lot of G to take.”

  The others didn’t reply. They were too transfixed by the unfolding drama.

  The craft spun slightly as it descended. Its landing gear started to extend and finally it touched down gently around two kilometers from where Nills, Anika and Xenon were standing.

  “Okay, let’s go get them.” Anika and Xenon clambered onboard the rover, while Nills walked back to the flying bed.

  It had taken Nills and the others quite some time to convince AsterX that it was safe to land on Mars and enter Colony One. They had rendezvoused with the old ISA Odyssey orbiter some weeks earlier. They were already well versed in the chaotic events of the combined COM and Xaing Zu Industries attempts at takeover. Even though that was some months previous, they were still extremely paranoid about the stories of the Janus bacteria that seemed to curse any mission to Mars. So the general feeling of the AsterX team was to keep well clear, forgo any attempt at landing on the planet and instead focus their energies on the main task of the mission. That being to salvage the stranded ISA Odyssey and bring it back into Earth orbit.

  However, the situation in Colony One was borderline critical. The explosion in the soil processing area had severely damaged a lot of equipment, not to mention the loss of all processing facilities in dome five. That meant limited water and oxygen production. Not enough to sustain the entire colony. So the council had all agreed that the only option was to move most of the resources and people back to Colony Two. Colony One would be stripped of anything useful, most sectors shut down completely and only a very basic life support left operational to maintain the medlab and a greatly reduced biodome. Everything else would have to be closed up and brought offline. That was about as much as the systems could maintain. Any existing reserves of oxygen would now be used to purge the remaining environment of the Janus bacteria. It took over a month to make the transition before Colony One was finally purged and made safe again.

  All this activity was relayed to AsterX until Lane Zebos was finally convinced to take the risk and land. After all, Nills had communicated over many months with Zebos; on supplies needed, life on Mars, and a myriad of other topics that had fascinated the AsterX CEO. Nills knew he really wanted to land. All he had to do was convince Zebos it was safe, or at least, safe enough.

  Nills hit the ignition and each of the four thrusters on the flying bed belched into life. He increased the flow of fuel and the bed began to rise slowly. He nudged the joystick and it gently moved forward, gaining speed as he passed over the slower rover. Far out into the Jezero crater the AsterX landing craft was already disgorging its occupants. He could see two on the surface and one climbing down the exterior ladder.

  It was a much smaller craft than the behemoths of COM and Xaing Zu Industries. Reminiscent of the early landers the original colonists had arrived in, but somewhat bigger. It was utilitarian, nothing fancy. Built to do one job and do it well.

  The crew had spotted him and were now looking up at this strange craft, this flying bed. Nills nudged the joystick again and the craft slowed to a hover. He reduced the fuel flow and the bed lowered itself back on the surface in a billowing cloud of dust. He clambered down from the open cockpit and started towards the AsterX craft on foot. One of the crew broke away from the main group and headed out to meet him. Nills waved, he waved back and Nills’ comms crackled to life.

  Nills Langthorp, I presume.

  “Yes.” By now the crewmember was only a few paces away, he closed the gap and extended a hand.

  “Lane Zebos, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” They shook hands like old friends meeting after many years apart.

  “So glad you could come,” said Nills.

  “That’s one hell of an entrance you made.” Lane was looking over at the flying contraption.

  “Yours was pretty spectacular, too. You had us all worried, waiting for those retro-thrusters to fire.”

  Lane laughed. “You and me both. I was praying to every god I know. Fortunately one of them was listening.” He looked over again at the bed. “You must take me for a spin in that sometime.”

  “You can have a spin in it now, if you like.”

  Lane hesitated. Nills continued, “Here’s the rover.” He pointed to a cloud of dust charging across the crater towards them. “They can take your crew and supplies. We can travel on the bed.”

  “The bed. Is that what you call it?”

  Nills laughed. “Yeah, the flying bed.”

  It took a while for the AsterX crew to organize themselves. They spent most of the time simply looking around or picking up handfuls of Martian dust and letting it fall through their hands as if this simple act could verify, in some way, the truth of their arrival on the planet. Neither Nills nor Anika hurried them, it was a simple pleasure watching the joy they exuded at being here.

  But, eventually the rover was packed with initial supplies and the bed also had some equipment strapped on. Nills and Lane clambered on to the open cockpit while the two other AsterX crew got into the rover.

  Nills tapped his comms. “See you at Colony One.”

  “First one there buys the beers,” replied Anika.

  Nills kept the machine low, not too low that it kicked up dust, yet low enough to experience the ground moving fast beneath it.

  “Wow, this is an incredible machine, the only way to travel. When I get back to Earth I want one of these.”

  “That would be difficult. It’s the one-third gravity that makes it possible. On Earth you would need much bigger thrusters and, as you know, a massive fuel tank.”

  “Gravity’s a bitch.�
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  They laughed.

  Nills banked the machine to circle back and increased in altitude. He came swooping over the rover as it trundled across the crater. Then he went higher and pointed. “There it is, Colony One.”

  “Ahh, the fabled El Dorado of the solar system.”

  “What was that?”

  “It’s what some people on Earth call it, El Dorado. The legendary cursed city of gold.”

  “Yeah, I can see how that story would get around. But it’s not cursed anymore, we’ve made sure of that, so you don’t need to worry about it. As for the gold, well, I’m afraid it’s well past its former glory. Only around twenty percent of it is online.”

  “Well it still looks incredible.”

  “If you think this is cool, wait until you see Colony Two.”

  “Just so you know, Nills, from my perspective, I have died and gone to heaven.”

  They laughed again.

  By the time Nills had finished his scenic route to Colony One, and finally brought the bed in to land, the rover had caught up and was just reversing to the umbilical airlock. This was kept maintained as it was the most efficient way to get people and goods in and out of the rovers. Once connected the rover’s interior was now directly connected to the Colony One environment. Nills and Lane entered via the main airlock. The only sections that remained functioning were the common room, operations, a few accommodation pods and the medlab. The biodome was technically still online but it had been stripped of seventy percent of its biomass and was simply put into maintenance mode. All other sectors were closed up and offline.

  But it wasn’t just physical resources that they had lost, it was also personnel. After all that had happened they now found themselves bereft of any general medical expertise. The COM doctor, Molotov, had died trying to follow VanHoff out of the airlock in the soil processing area. Their second geneticist in Colony Two evacuated with the others when the COM craft departed for Earth. That left one of the Chinese scientists, stranded now, but purged of the bacteria, so at least he was sane. But, he lacked general medical experience and was totally at sea in dealing with their situation. What Nills really needed was someone with knowledge to help them understand the condition of the patient and give advice on what to do. Fortunately, AsterX had a medical doctor with them, Dr. Jane Foster. And since the communication time between them and the AsterX crew in orbit, was virtually instant, they were able to establish the best treatment that could be provided, given the available resources. But that was some time ago now.