Classical: MARS: Book 3 of MARS

by Matthew Ellis

  Kidd asked, “Have you placed the devices everywhere they need to go?”

  Jamison replied, “I have. I tried to figure out how they work, but I have no clue.”

  Kidd said, “It’s not that important how they work. What’s important is what they do. Now I can communicate with Rich easily, and he can warn me if there’s any trouble.”

  Jamison said, “I don’t like this. It feels like we’re spying on them.”

  Kidd said, “Of course we’re spying. That’s the only way to get reliable information.”

  Jamison said, “But we’re prohibited from spying. The treaty clearly says we can’t do this.”

  Kidd said, “General Rich is usually bound by those rules, but this case is too important to the survival of Earth. We’re losing people at an alarming rate, and we need to know how fucked we are in case a war breaks out again.”

  Jamison said, “I want to know why he’s so determined to put these everywhere. What’s his motivation?”

  Kidd replied, “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I have a little more information than you. His son’s partner was killed. The fugitives we’re chasing are the people responsible.”

  Jamison said, “That explains so much. Now I know why he’s being so careless.”

  Kidd said, “He’s not being reckless. We’re going to catch the fugitives and we’ll be prepared for the next war.”

  Jamison said, “It’s going to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Spying on them is going to start a war.”

  Kidd said, “You sound like they’ve gotten to you. Are you thinking of defecting?”

  Jamison thought for a second, “Yes, but there’s no way in hell I’m telling you that.”

  He said, “No, sir. I’m just tired of living in fear. I don’t want any more wars if we can avoid it.”

  Kidd said, “Sometimes it’s worth the risk if you can get the inside information.”

  Jamison said, “I got my fill of war in the Navy. The only reason I was picked for this mission was because of my Seal training.”

  Kidd said, “So, you were a Seal. That’s why I was sent here tonight.”

  Jamison thought, “This can’t be good. I need to get the hell out of here.”

  Jamison started to leave the room, but Kidd stopped him and locked the door. A blue light filled the room.

  Jamison asked, “What the hell is that?”

  Kidd answered, “A sound filter. No one can hear anything we say outside of this bubble.”

  Jamison said, “Rich certainly has access to some advanced technology.”

  Kidd said, “He likes to watch Star Trek for ideas. He sees things he likes and has them developed.”

  Jamison said, “That sounds expensive.”

  Kidd said, “DeNoPE has the resources to make it happen.”

  Jamison said, “Whatever you have to tell me must be pretty important to use this impressive technology.”

  Kidd said, “It is. Actually, I need to ask you something.”

  Jamison winced. He already told Kidd everything he’d done, so he wondered what he needed to know.

  Kidd continued, “The mole, Notah, have you met him?”

  Jamison answered, “Not for too long. He was with us during customs and on some of the tours, but I don’t think he’d know who I am.”

  Kidd said, “But from what you saw, does he seem indoctrinated into Martian culture?”

  Jamison said, “Everyone here is indoctrinated, but he didn’t seem any more or less than anyone else.”

  Kidd said, “I was afraid of that. We think he’s not working for Rich anymore, and he’s deliberately misleading us.”

  Jamison said, “That sounds like none of my business.”

  Kidd said, “I’m making it your business. I need you to place one of the devices in his home and one in his office.”

  Jamison said, “Why can’t someone else do it?”

  Kidd said, “Because you’re the only one with a reason to visit him.”

  Jamison said, “That sounds very dangerous.”

  Kidd said, “Not as dangerous as disobedience of this order.”

  Jamison asked, “Are you threatening me?”

  Kidd said, “I’m just relaying my orders to you, and telling you that you don’t really have an alternative that doesn’t end in death.”

  Jamison said, “Then I’ll do it.”

  Kidd turned off the sound filter, and the blue light instantly disappeared. Jamison left the room and went to carry out the order. Kidd gathered his team and started going over the strategy for the fugitive search.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  The Search

  Notah joined Governor Kidd, Sergeant Jacques, Haley Iskin, and their teams. Notah was under strict orders from Scout not to lead them directly to the refugees until Jordan could research the allegations against them.

  Jacques asked, “Are we ready to start searching?”

  Notah said, “I’m not going to do anything to help you. My orders are to keep tabs on you.”

  Kidd said, “He’s on our side, but Rich wants Scout to think he’s on their side. He’ll report to Scout, but he’ll leave stuff out to cover our tracks.”

  Notah said, “I reconfigured the GPS on the vehicles to only show what we want them to know. We can go wherever we need to go without drawing too much attention to ourselves.”

  Jacques said, “That’s good. We can do a little spying while we’re here.”

  Kidd said, “We’re going to be plenty busy looking for these fugitives. Mars may be smaller than Earth, but it has more dry land with places to hide.”

  Iskin said, “We should get started, then. The most logical place to start is the old colony on the far side of the planet.”

  Notah said, “it’s about three days from here in these vehicles. There are no roads once we leave the Martian Republic’s development, so the ride’s going to be a little bumpy.”

  The group left Freedom in six utility vehicles and headed toward the older colony. Once they left the highway, the road got rough very quickly. They drove for a day, then camped at one of the sanctioned campsites.

  Kidd said, “I’m surprised there’s no road to this place. It’s pretty built up to be accessible only by that trail.”

  Notah said, “We didn’t want it to be too built up. We only put what is absolutely necessary here. There’s water, restrooms, electrical plugins and emergency shelters. “

  Jacques asked, “Why do you need all that stuff, but no road.”

  Notah answered, “We didn’t want to spoil the natural beauty any more than we had to.”

  They rested for the night and charged their devices for the drive the next day.

  Kidd said, “Make sure you fill your water bottles, and do everything you can here before you leave. We’re not going to have another chance until we find these bastards.”

  Jacques, “That’ll give us more incentive to find them quickly and go home.”

  Iskin said, “We can help you find them as soon as possible.”

  Kidd said, “You’d better.”

  The group went to sleep for the night in the tents they packed earlier. Some asked why they couldn’t use the shelters, but it was decided that they should get used to the tents because they weren’t going to have shelters available for a while.

  The next morning, Notah snuck away from the group before everyone woke. He called the older colony. When he returned, he woke the rest of the search party.

  Kidd asked, “What time is it?”

  Notah answered, “It’s 0500. The sun’ll be up soon.”

  Kidd said, “Get everyone ready. Let’s get moving.”

  Notah woke the crew, and everyone took a shower because they wouldn’t be able to do so again until they reached the old colony. Everyone checked their devices to make sure they were charged, and they packed their gear into the vehicles.

  Kidd said, “We’ve got another two days before we reach the colony. Let’s get moving.”

  They
left the campsite and travelled toward the old colony. The trail to the campsite was rough, but the terrain between the campsite and the old colony was still in its natural condition. It made the trail seem like a super highway. They couldn’t move as fast as they wanted to move, but they were still on time at the end of the first day.

  Kidd said, “Let’s set up camp here. It’ll almost be like camping on Earth in the twentieth century.”

  Iskin said, “Except that there’s no animals to worry about and it’s much colder.”

  Jacques said, “Don’t forget that twentieth century Earth only had communications near developments. We can talk to Earth from here if we need to.”

  Kidd said, “I see no reason to talk to anyone on Earth unless Rich calls and asks for an update.”

  As soon as Kidd finished his sentence, General Rich called him.

  Rich asked, “Have you left the city yet? I know they’ll want to keep you there as long as they can.”

  Kidd said, “We’re halfway to the suspected hideout. We should get there tomorrow.”

  Rich said, “Keep me apprised of your situation.”

  Kidd said, “We’ll do that.”

  Rich said, “While I have you on the line, tell me if Notah’s with you.”

  Kidd said, “He’s right over there.”

  He pointed the phone’s camera at Notah so Rich could see him.”

  Rich said, “Thank you.”

  Kidd asked, “How did you make this phone do that without a delay?”

  Rich said, “I’ve been working on that for a while. It’s a trade secret until I can patent it. I need something to do once I leave the army.”

  The group set up the tents and went to sleep for the night. Kidd dreamt of capturing the fugitives and sending them back to Earth. The reward would be awesome if he succeeded.

  The next morning, Notah woke the rest of the group and they headed toward the colony. The reconnaissance team studied maps of the colony site while they travelled.

  Iskin said, “I’m so glad DeNoPE used that site in the war. It gave us some great information.”

  Kidd said, “Soon enough, we’ll have full maps of everything on this planet.”

  Iskin asked, “How are we getting that? I’ve studied the treaty, and we don’t have rights to that information.”

  Kidd answered, “There’s what’s legal, and then there’s what actually happens.”

  Iskin said, “Very nice, I was afraid they were the only ones doing the spying.”

  Kidd said, “There’s plenty of things we hide from them, too.”

  Nine hours later, they arrived at the colony. Kidd ordered them to inspect the grounds before they entered any structures.

  Iskin said, “We’re clear. There’s nothing lurking around the structures.”

  Kidd said, “Let’s go in and inspect them.”

  The teams split up and started inspecting the structures. They searched the homes and found nothing. They searched the storage areas and found nothing.

  Iskin said, “It looks like if they were here, they’ve been gone for a while.”

  Kidd said, “That means they saw us coming. Is there anywhere they could’ve gone?”

  Iskin said, “They’ll need to stay close to water and food, so they couldn’t go very far. They might even have to come back here.”

  Jacques said, “We can’t just wait here. They might’ve taken enough with them to stay gone for days.”

  Iskin asked, “Did anyone check for their ship?”

  Jacques said, “It wasn’t here, so either they moved it or it was never here.”

  Iskin said, “If they moved it, they did a damned good job. There aren’t any tracks and there’s no evidence that it was ever here.”

  Jacques said, “Then we’re back at square one. We have to locate that ship.”

  Kidd called the search party together to issue new orders.

  Kidd said, “Since the ship wasn’t here, we must assume that they were never here. Your new orders are to find and retrieve that ship.”

  Iskin said, “Let’s get to work.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Moon Results

  Scout assigned Jordan and Kathy to observe the tilt, speed of rotation, and aesthetics of the new moon. They also noted its effect on the planet.

  Kathy said, “I’m surprised you’re not trying to kill me.”

  Jordan said, “I thought it’d be you trying to kill me. It’s no secret you don’t like me very much.”

  Kathy said, “It seems to be mutual. Anyway, we need to get back to work.”

  Jordan said, “At least you’ve stopped trying to fix me up with your friends. Everyone seems so worried that I’m alone. Did they ever consider that I might want to be alone?”

  Kathy said, “It can’t be easy to go through your whole life alone, though. No one’s a rock or an island, no matter what Simon and Garfunkel said.”

  Jordan said, “I haven’t always been alone. I was married once.”

  Kathy asked, “Are you divorced now?”

  Jordan answered, “No, I’m a widower.”

  He started crying, but tried not to let it show. He turned his face from Kathy and quickly wiped his eyes.

  Kathy asked, “How did…”

  Jordan snapped, “I don’t want to talk about it. It’s too painful. Just get back to work.”

  Kathy was tempted to snap at him, but she could see that he was in pain. She didn’t want to upset him any more than he already was.

  She said, “Ok. Do you see anything?”

  Jordan looked at his computer and noticed something strange.

  He said, “The moon should be controlling the tilt of the planet better than this.”

  Kathy looked at his screen and said, “It looks like it’s within the expected tolerance.”

  Jordan said, “Only most of the time. See those wild spikes, those are significant wobbles.”

  Kathy said, “That looks like instrument error.”

  Jordan said, “I don’t think so. The moon needs to be a smidgeon bigger.”

  Kathy asked, “Do you think we need to build onto it?”

  Jordan answered, “I don’t think so. It looks like a small asteroid would be enough to correct it.”

  Kathy said, “That sounds like a bigger project than just building an addition.”

  Jordan said, “If we build with Martian resources, it’ll throw off the experiment. We need external resources.”

  Kathy said, “I’ll ask Scout what he thinks we should do.”

  Jordan said, “I’ll go with you.”

  Kathy was surprised, but decided not to say anything.

  Kathy said, “I guess that’ll work.”

  Jordan said, “Let’s go.”

  They presented their findings to Scout. He considered their suggestions carefully for a while, but sat quietly. They had to ask him for a decision.

  Scout said, “I don’t think we should do anything until these DeNoPE people get off our planet.”

  Jordan asked, “But do you think we should get an asteroid or build an extension?”

  Scout answered, “I don’t think using Martian resources for a moon project is the best idea. We should definitely get an asteroid. Just not until after this bullshit’s over.”

  Jordan said, “We probably need to do something more as well.”

  Scout asked, “What do you mean?”

  Kathy scowled at Jordan. Whatever he was about to say, he hadn’t discussed it with her.

  Jordan said, “We probably need to put a control station on the new moon. That way we can control the tilt of the moon and its speed.”

  Kathy said, “I wish you would’ve discussed that with me before going to Scout.”

  Jordan said, “I just thought of it a moment ago.”

  Kathy said, “Bullshit! You’ve probably had the idea during the whole project. You just want to take credit for all the ideas because you think I took your friend from you.”

  Jordan snapped, “
What the hell is your problem?”

  Scout said, “Both of you knock it off.”

  Jordan said, “What do you think of the idea, though?”

  Scout replied, “I think we shouldn’t make any plans until these DeNoPE assholes are gone.”

  Kathy said, “What’s the hold up?”

  Jordan asked, “I thought you didn’t like the idea.”

  Kathy replied, “I just don’t like being excluded from your grand plans.”

  Jordan asked, “So, what is the hold up?”

  Scout said, “I think we’ll need the military, so we don’t want to leave ourselves short if they turn out to be liars and attack us.”

  Kathy said, “That‘s probably a good idea.”

  Jordan asked, “If we take an asteroid, will we be at half of our colonization quota?”

  Scout answered, “The treaty gave us both of the moons as part of Mars. They were too small to count toward colonization. Only worlds that can be terraformed and utilized count toward that.”

  Jordan asked, “So, how many worlds can we control?”

  Scout answered, “Earth has the home world and the moon, so they have three more. We have mars, so we still have four more.”

  Jordan said, “So our new moon doesn’t count?”

  Scout said, “Only if we put something on it other than data recorders. If we build a military base, it counts against us, and Jordan’s control center would also count against our quota. That’s how earth’s moon got counted.”

  Jordan said, ‘So we probably shouldn’t build it.”

  Scout said, “Not necessarily. It might be useful, and it’s another new challenge. We sort of live for new challenges like this.”

  Kathy said, “I wish the DeNoPE delegation would leave already. I want to work on these problems, not deal with bullshit.”

  Scout said, “That’s what we all want.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  The Ship

  Kidd and his team searched for the fugitive’s ship in the area immediately adjacent to the former colony. They didn’t find it, or any other ship.

  Iskin asked, “Do you think we should ask for some help?”

  Kidd answered, “Who the hell are we going to ask?”