There could be no chances taken here.
He would do it.
With grim resolution he began his progress forward, towards the bridge hoping that Ezri could effect a less fatal conclusion to this endeavour than the one he had just devised.
26 An Unwelcome Guest
Maddox had quickly traversed the corridors without molestation on his route to the bridge of the Martian ship and on arrival he quickly looked about the various consoles and control systems, his gaze coming to rest upon the figure of Marcus hunched over the right most station in front of the Captain’s chair. So intent was he on his work, he had not noted Maddox’s arrival or entry onto the bridge.
Dropping his helmet gently to the floor beside the doorway, he moved as quietly as he could towards Marcus and when he was within reaching distance he taped him on the shoulder twice with the barrel of his laser pistol, stepping backwards slightly with his pistol still levelled at the young man’s chest as the latter spun about and stood to face the new arrival, his face a mix of shock and fear.
‘Captain Maddox? You were meant to be dead,’ he managed to say after a few moments of incredulous gaping followed by a couple of deep breaths to compose himself.
‘What can I say? Many people have wanted it to be true, some have even tried to make it so but yet here I am. Reports of my demise may have regularly been overstated slightly, but always leading to the same level of surprise as I see on your face at the moment. I take it I am a rather unwelcome guest here at the moment? Then again your digital lord and master should have known my intentions and whereabouts, so why are you so surprised to see me eh?’
‘The computer has very important matters to attend to elsewhere on the ship whilst I attend to the preparations for our departure to ensure they are effected smoothly,’ Marcus retorted, trying to regain his haughty air he had used previously when dealing with Maddox, but the attempt was falling short.
‘Oh please,’ Maddox snorted as he replied. ‘Drop the act, it really doesn’t suit you.’
In a move which caught Marcus completely unawares and left him standing before the helm station in a pose of complete uncertainty as to what to do with himself, Maddox lowered his pistol and sat himself down in the Captain’s chair with a sigh.
‘Wow, they really do go all out on these Martian ships don’t they? This chair has to be one of the most comfy chairs I have ever sat on aboard a ship. Go on, park yourself down there at the helm and tell me what you think,’ he said encouraging his young companion by idly gesturing towards the chair behind Marcus with the pistol.
For want of anything better to do to hide his uncertainty at Maddox’s sudden change of demeanour, Marcus took up the offer and lowered himself down into the chair, whilst his gaze remained fixed upon Maddox sat in the Captain’s chair fiddling with the pistol as he waited for Marcus to settle himself.
‘What now Captain?’ he enquired, a nervous tone slipping into his voice as he spoke. ‘You hold me to ransom and demand the computer desist from it’s planned return to Earth else you will shoot me?’
‘What?’ Asked Maddox in quick reply accompanied with a surprised expression on his own face which he put on for effect to accompany his words. Then he relaxed and with a shrug, waved his hand dismissively. ‘No, wouldn’t bother. The AI will only tell me to shoot you and carry on with it’s plans regardless. You seem to somehow think you’re important to your dear computer my young friend, and I have some rather unsettling news for you. You aren’t. Hey, I wonder if these Martians have a coffee machine on board? Or an anything machine, not bothered too much really.’
‘Now you will try to turn me against my fellows and the computer then? By deceit and lies?’ Retorted Marcus, refocusing the emphasis of the conversation upon their current stand off.
‘Again, you’ve got it wrong. Look, can we stop all the posturing here and just have a nice chat? Here, would you feel better holding this?’ Maddox said as he tossed the pistol he held over to a very surprised Marcus, who reacted almost instinctively to catch the weapon and once it was held in his hands, glared down at it for a few moments before raising his gaze towards Maddox. ‘Now, where would the Captain of this ship go to get a brew from?’ Maddox muttered as he glanced about the bridge.
‘But now you are unarmed, and I have the gun?’ he asked almost incredulously, then a little more forcefully added, ‘Why would you make such a foolish move to give away your only advantage?’
‘Because I want to see what sort of a person you are,’ Maddox replied, returning his attention to their conversation and levelling his gaze straight at Marcus. ‘You’re the leader of this colony, but what sort are you?’
Marcus formed a sneer on his face and raised the pistol to point directly at Maddox, then a frown formed as Maddox simply chuckled and shook his head.
‘What? Why are you laughing?’
‘Oh sorry,’ Maddox replied and straightened up his pose in the chair, bringing his fist up in front of his mouth to cough and clear his throat. ‘Ahem, now don’t let me stop you. Carry on.’
Marcus thrust the pistol slightly further forwards towards Maddox, his frown deepening as he regarded the big beaming smile Maddox was presenting him with.
Then he dropped the pistol to his side, held in his hand limply and sagged his shoulders slightly.
‘I don’t want to,’ he murmured.
‘No, of course you don’t!’ Maddox remarked quite joyfully but silently he had to admit to himself he was quite relieved for there was a fleeting moment he thought he’d misjudged the young man completely. Not that he feared being shot as he had disconnected the charge clip from the prefire chamber, but that he wanted to be able to connect with Marcus somehow and show him the error of his ways. ‘That’s because you’re a good man, not a killer. Believe me, I’ve seen enough of them in my time and you’re not one of them.’
‘But if I am not able to take action to protect the future of my colony, what sort of leader am I?’ Marcus asked, his tone almost pleading for clarity to be provided. ‘You’re threatening to prevent our return to Earth with your actions, to keep us marooned out here and I can’t even bring myself to shoot you!’
His tone was turning to frustration as he collapsed back down into the chair beside the helm station.
‘First things first, I am not trying to prevent you returning. I simply do not want your computer to enslave all my friends back home in some madcap scheme for total racial unity. Big difference. For your information, I want you lot to all be happily reunited with your families back on Earth with parades and parties, but your computer has other ideas for your future and that’s not just me trying to make you see sense through it’s deceit, it’s fact. All the proof you need is in the protected storage area of your colony mainframe. Go look for yourself if you don’t believe me. I know about it as my friend Ezri has already been in there and looked around.’
‘But to transgress into that area of the computer is punishable by disconnection and exile to the surface!’ Marcus protested.
‘Yes, because the AI does not want any snoopers to go telling anyone else the juicy things they have found. Disconnection and exile to certain death? Seems a little harsh for a caring and nurturing guardian doesn’t it? Not even a warning or slap on the wrist? Think Marcus, use that clever brain of yours and think. Why would such a harsh punishment be effected? To protect the colony or protect the AI and it’s dirty cache of secrets?’
Marcus’ eyes narrowed slightly as he regarded Maddox and evaluated his statement, obviously wondering if he could trust him or not. The fact was that he had not questioned the computer’s warning before, it was just how things were. However, now that someone was pointing out just how draconian it actually was, he began to have his doubts. The fact that he was now even contemplating the validity of the computer’s warning was enough to sow confusion in his mind.
Maddox waited for a moment as he regarded his young companion, allowing him time to mull over the questions he had posed whi
ch now seemed to be causing a good deal of confusion. Not wanting to press to hard too quickly, he shrugged and continued on with an apparently arbitrary statement.
‘Marcus, things have gone a little out of hand here. We’re at odds and all I want to do is survive, fix my ship up and get back home. I didn’t want to be out here in the first place,’ he said with genuine frustration and punctuated with a snort. ‘All my friends and colleagues back in the core will be wondering what happened to me, not knowing if I’m alive or dead. Can you understand that? I just want to go back and carry on with my life.’
It was a very carefully thought out statement on which the future direction of this interaction rested. The words he chose were so close to the departure of the colonists and their own predicament that he hoped to resonate a familiar scenario within Marcus’ own desires and hopes, to forge a commonality between them so Marcus would identify with him.
‘Then you are just like us,’ Marcus said softly, almost questioningly. ‘But I’ve seen the images we have scraped from SOLnet. The wonders that exist but also the suffering and depravity, the greed and the malice of those who seek to better their own existence at the expense of others about them.’
Marcus stood abruptly and turned away from Maddox, pacing around the helm console and shaking his head as if he were trying to jiggle the thoughts inside into a neat order.
‘You have seen the results of our efforts here, to work in unison to better our situation for the good of all and then to work together to return to Earth. Yet you seek to disrupt our work and efforts here in favour of returning to that society of corruption and oppression? You yourself fought in a war against an oppressive force which now occupies Earth, and yet I find your words and actions contradictory and confusing,’ he said as he halted his pacing and turned to face Maddox, his gaze raising from the pistol he still gripped in his hand to the face of the man sat in the Captain’s chair.
‘Then let me try and clear it up,’ Maddox proffered quite openly and accompanied with a big smile. ‘Yes I have seen things I wish I hadn’t, done things I have nightmares about and been subject to situations that came about through intolerance and lack of understanding, but you must understand that the Martians only attacked Earth and subjugated it in defiance of the Solar Alliance. Look, take a seat there and I’ll try and fill you in as quickly as I can and maybe then you will understand.’
Maddox gestured to the empty seat before the helm station not too far from his own with an open palm, nodding towards it as Marcus seemed to ponder this action for a moment, then moved around the console once more and took the offered seat whilst still holding the pistol and rested on his lap. It was quite obvious that the pistol seemed to be a comfort blanket for him at the moment, whilst he had already stated he did not want to use it the fact that he still held onto it made it quite clear he did not trust the Captain entirely and was not letting his guard down completely.
‘Okay then, where to start?’ Maddox pondered out loud, realising he had just been given a chance and had only one shot to make it work.
27 A Lesson From History
‘The colonies of the inner worlds in our solar system all originated from Earth under the control of the Solar Alliance which was based on Earth and set all of the resource allocations for each individual colony, with much of the resources mined by the colonies when they were established being shipped back to Earth for the burgeoning population’s consumption. You still with me so far?’ Maddox asked with one corner of his mouth raised in a half grin towards Marcus and as the young man nodded to show he was, Maddox continued his quick history lesson.
‘At that time, Earth’s consumption of resources was far outstripping it’s own ability to provide, and as the colonies continued to develop they put more and more demands upon those colonies for more and more of their resources. Simple process really, as more material wealth was made available then people just consumed more and more. Now, people in those new colonies began to complain that their own development and ability to expand was being throttled by Earth’s demands, but when they began to show defiance the Solar Alliance sent in troops to quell disturbances and protests to ensure that the flow of resources were un-interrupted. After Luna, Mars was the oldest of the colonies and more ‘self aware’ than Venus or Mercury, the leaders there deciding to misreport their efforts and stockpile resources for their own use. They already had begun developing their own defences and vessels to ward of the growing threats from piracy and the black market, but over time and when they began to refuse to increase their contributions to Earth, the Solar Alliance demanded they meet their demands or face retribution.’
Maddox paused for a moment, not wishing to inundate his young student with too much too quickly.
‘So Mars broke away and began the war with Earth?’ Marcus interceded but Maddox held up a hand to imply a request for patience, whilst shaking his head slightly from side to side.
‘Well, Mars had suffered just about enough abuse from Earth and the Solar Alliance, so they said no. A big fat no. Not only that, they declared they were now an independent colony and sought the backing of their chums on Venus and Mercury to support them by following suit. The Solar Alliance to put it simply, panicked. Earth’s demands for resources required Mars’ contributions, and now that was under threat. They sent in their military, expecting them to just walk in and take over the operation and then for the resources to begin flowing once more. They did not expect the Martians to have been furiously building up to this point on the far side of the planet by developing an effective fleet of combat ready vessels in orbital shipyards, or training facilities for militia troops. When the Earth fleet met with this resistance, it was badly prepared and easily decimated. Basically they were sent running with their tails between their legs!’
Maddox shook his head in resignation at the stupidity of those who had been in charge at the time and their subsequent actions which lead to the formal onset of the war. He recalled the news feeds which demonised the Martian colonists, the harsh depictions of their apparent greed and self-serving goals which was causing problems on Earth with consumption now outstripping supply. He had lived through it, but whilst the masses were baying for Mars to submit, he had always played devil’s advocate and tried to see things from the Martian perspective, to understand why they were doing it and had to empathise with their actions. That was before the war.
‘The Solar Alliance was furious,’ He continued. ‘They declared those in charge on Mars were criminals and ordered their immediate surrender whilst forming a second fleet much more prepared for both a space and ground assault, then once they received word that Mars had refused their demands they declared war, sending in the troops once again. That was the start of it really, the Solar Alliance was unprepared to listen and negotiate. The fleet was met with fierce resistance both in space and on the ground, resistance which turned into well co-ordinated attacks. They were forced in the end to pull back and fight in retreat, as they were facing Martian colonists who were fighting not just because it was their job or they were told to do so, because it was their very survival and way of life that was at stake. Even at this point, the Solar Alliance defied common sense and retained their hostile approach but with resources depleted and more cracks beginning to show in their efforts to regain control, another blow was landed as Luna, Venus and Mercury declared complete neutrality and their shipments to Earth stopped too. They could not support the Solar Alliance’s actions against the Martians, but would not aid the Martians against Earth. Starved of resources the population of Earth began to rebel, requiring peacekeeping forces on the ground as well as trying to stabilise their position as overall controller of all the colonies. Pollution levels grew and people went hungry.’
‘So if that was the war, how did the Martians end up controlling the Earth?’ Marcus enquired, his face brimming with inquisitiveness as he seemed to hang off every word.
‘Marcus, this is our shared history,’ Maddox replied, his own curiosi
ty piqued. ‘Surely even though you were much younger when you were taken from your home and family, you have memories of all this, or even been able to task your slightly deranged AI about what happened? Did you never think to ask how you ended up out here?’
‘We were told the Martians struck against the Earth, walking across it’s surface laying waste to any who stood before them,’ the young man replied quite openly. ‘I recall something about Earth forces trying to prevent a rebellion on Mars, but nothing like what you have just described.’
Maddox looked into the eyes of his young companion.
He knew that if he contradicted everything he believed in, everything he had been taught about the history of the war even if through a distorted perspective, that he might refuse what he was now hearing from his supposed adversary in favour of the version provided for him and his peers by their long-term guardian. He knew he had to tread carefully or lose his advantage.
‘Well what you were told is right, from this point on. However it is important that you know the precursor to all of it. They were defending what was theirs, and then applying the old strategy of the best form of defence being attack. So that’s what they did.’
Children Of Earth (Tales from the 23rd Century Book 1) Page 23
