“I didn’t. I did you a favor and told Robert I had some information you recorded on him. That’s all. I then pleaded for you to be set free, and as a good person, he did just that, because it was the right thing since you found the cure and all.”
Ozzy leaned back in his seat and set Relic on autopilot, programming it for Olympus Mons. He checked the flight time, which blinked seven hours.
He sighed. “So you didn’t look at the documents and vids I have on Robert? Nothing?”
Jozi fidgeted with her pendant. “A little.”
“So you are, in a way, covering for your boss.”
“I was doing what was best for Mars. He is the one keeping us together. Don’t take it personally, Ozzy.”
“Really?” Ozzy shook his head. He squinted his eyes, looking at her face. “You know what? You kind of look like him. Has anyone ever told you that? A pretty woman version of him, but there is some slight—” He threw a dismissive hand. Maybe they were secretly related, and that’s why she was covering for him. He almost laughed at his own thoughts and eyed the holoscreen in front of him as this conversation was going nowhere.
He unzipped the satchel around his waist and pulled out his HOLO-AR unit. He flicked it with his finger, and it flew in the air and hovered in front of them. “Well, we have to find something for Jonas, regardless if you’re doing everything in your power to keep a criminal High Judge out of prison. You game?”
“No.”
“Didn’t think so, but you’re coming along.”
She looked down at her broken com link and knew she didn’t have a choice, so she kept her mouth shut.
“Moonshinka Rock,” Ozzy said to the hovering device. “Pictographs.”
A holographic image shot from the HOLO-AR, highlighting the cockpit in colors.
“You see that rock under the willow tree?” asked Ozzy.
“Yes. Was that the willow tree in the underground capsule?”
Ozzy nodded. “Now, do you see the Ancient Coptic writing inscribed on the rock?”
“I do,” Jozi said, her voice cold from the previous discussion.
“It says that a war had taken place on Mars a long time ago and—”
The capsule in his lap clicked. Ozzy glanced down. The top and bottom opened up by themselves, exposing a violet light in the middle.
An image shot upward from the light, and Ozzy jerked away. It was a picture of Mars.
Ozzy narrowed his eyes. “What the hell? Did the HOLO-AR’s holoimage turn the capsule on?”
Ozzy had seen the capsule turn on before, showing a map and route to the Ark of the Concordant, but it had never revealed anything more than that.
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
Ozzy grabbed the hovering HOLO-AR and turned it off. The capsule clicked off as well. He threw the HOLO-AR back into the air, and it hovered and blinked on.
“Moonshinka Rock; pictographs,” said Ozzy.
The same Coptic glyphs appeared. The capsule opened up and turned on, projecting a picture of Mars.
“Holy asteroid,” Ozzy mumbled.
“The hieroglyphs are definitely turning that capsule on,” Jozi said, her mouth gaping open.
Ozzy nodded. He put his finger on the image of Mars and pulled back. The picture changed from a still to an actual holovid where it spun on its axis.
The holovid spoke, though in words he couldn’t understand. Yes, he could read the glyphs, but the accent and dialect were foreign. It had to be Martian.
He tapped on Relic’s communication line, switching to translate mode. He picked up two headphones from his control panel rack and tossed one to Jozi.
Ozzy put his headset on and restarted the capsule’s holovid. He folded his arms over his chest.
“Transmission one. We are in distress. We are in a battle against Maldek, a planet that sits between Mars and Jupiter. There is no victory in sight for either race, yet our leaders will not stop, and our military will not back down. If any of you are out there and bearing witness to this devastation, please, we need your help. End transmission.”
The holovid of Mars zoomed out. Now, two planets, both beautiful and lush—blue and green like Earth—were in view. The one closest to Jupiter, which had to be Maldek, was larger than Mars but not by much.
The vid zoomed in and to an area in the cosmos directly between Mars and Maldek. Explosions, blinking lights, and what looked like space-to-space missiles and energy beams lit up a battle between two warring cultures. Ozzy watched in surprise.
Large ships, some twice the size of any star carrier the Ministry had ever created, were blasting the living hell out of each other.
The vid changed to a spinning Mars again. “Transmission two. There is no hope. We, the wise of the Ancients, are preparing to leave. We will spread out among the stars and repopulate our kind in other solar systems. End transmission.”
The vid warped and moved around the space battles taking place between both worlds then zoomed to Maldek and panned to a scene on the planet.
A man, wearing an outfit like the old Romans of Earth’s past, stood pointing toward the sky and yelling something inaudible. Missiles fired from all around him, his large almond-shaped eyes gazed unblinkingly toward the bright lights twinkling in the sky. He had dark skin, more tan than brown, and a black beard that covered more of the cheek than any human. His face was wide, and his chin jutted out farther than his face.
He was a giant, much like the Ancient Martians, though the Ancient Martians looked more human than this Maldekean.
The vid changed yet again, and Mars spun before Ozzy. “Transmission three. Only a few of us escaped in time. No one came to help us. No one. We know there are many races out there, and in a time of need, you abandoned us. We will not forget this. We will expand.”
The view morphed from Maldek to Mars. A man, wearing gold armor, stood with an army behind him. A large treasure chest overlaid in gold with two angel wings on either side sat on the ground beside him. He pounded a staff into the ground. The chest’s cover opened and folded over the top. Immediately, the world behind him gathered up in a storm. A whirling tornado blew dirt and brush in a winding circle, a hail storm thrust down upon the surface, and Mars quaked. A light flashed out of the chest, blinding everything in view.
The vid zoomed out, displaying both worlds. The light from the chest beamed through Mars’s atmosphere and across the battling ships, disintegrating them in seconds, and rushed toward Maldek.
Maldek took the light in like a sponge. A brilliant rainbow glow lit up its magnetosphere. The world transformed from blue and green to red and orange.
Maldek was on fire.
A second later, it grayed like a Mars coffin, and all energy sucked into the middle of the planet.
Maldek expanded twice its size, and another bright flash tortured Ozzy’s eyes.
He squinted and held his breath when the planet blew apart into millions of chunks, littering space with rock, shoving hundreds of its own debris in the direction of Mars.
The vid changed again. “Transmission four. We watched the destruction of our home. Less than twenty-five hundred of our souls escaped. To some of us, Earth is our new home, and we are among the small humanoids that already live there. To others, Panthonea, Belza, and Sentak have become their homes. May they live on and flourish, and may we on Earth do the same.”
Men and women on Mars glared to the heavens, watching the hailstorm turn into a meteor shower heading right for them.
Asteroid after asteroid broke through the exosphere, darkening the sky and burning holes in the atmosphere.
One by one they hit Mars, some in the oceans, creating tsunamis the breadth and height Mars had probably never seen. Men and women ran for their lives, screaming and knowing their time was going to be short. More asteroids fell, and then the largest one headed toward a continent.
A mushroom cloud filled the sky.
The atmosphere evaporated in one quick stroke.
The dead lay on
the ground, not a single soul on the surface alive.
“We are the Ancients. We will not forget. End transmission.”
7
Nearing Pollack Mine, Mars
The hologram sucked into the capsule, and the capsule closed.
Ozzy raised his eyebrows. “The Martians destroyed an entire planet and in the process, blew their own atmosphere away.” He shot Jozi an ominous look. “They said some went to Earth.”
He imagined they were one of the races of giants of Earth’s mythological past, which he figured was more truth than not.
The Earth giants had died eons ago, probably from Earth’s floods and the giants’ warlike nature—live by the sword, die by the sword.
Jozi blinked several times, obviously in disbelief. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
Ozzy could tell she was talking about the holovid.
Ozzy tapped the side wall in the cockpit a couple of times. A compartment extended. He plopped the capsule into the compartment and shoved it closed. “That’s what happened to the Ancients.”
“Was that the Ark of the Concordant that blew the living hell out of Maldek?”
Ozzy nodded, watching a large mine—Pollack Mine—appear in the distance. It was a small graviton dome and surrounded by spires of rocks thrusting toward the sky.
He’d been here before, but it’d be better if he just flew on by now.
Jozi leaned forward, scratching her temple. “And we’re heading to get that Ark this very moment?”
“Yes.”
“Turn back.”
“Give me twelve and a half million auric, and I’ll turn around.”
Jozi snorted. “You know I don’t have that.”
“Then I keep going.”
Jozi’s eyes widened. “You’re joking, right?”
“No.”
“You saw what that thing could do.” She shook her head and eyed him with a stare that would kill the vilest of creatures—High Judge Robert Baldwin being one of them.
“You understand it will kill everything on Mars when it’s used, right?”
“They won’t be able to get it to work, so no sweat off my back.”
“You are heading to dig up something that will kill the whole lot of us,” Jozi growled.
“As I said, Jonas will not be able to use it.”
“You believe that, Ozzy? And what if he does and everyone on Mars is destroyed as we saw in that holovid?”
It didn’t matter, he’d be off Mars and looking for a new home. “Look, Jonas said he has access to the bloodline. According to the Ancient Coptic records, the Ark of the Concordant can only be used correctly with someone who is of the bloo—” Ozzy interrupted himself. “Wait a minute.”
A ship popped on Ozzy’s radar.
Krjjjwhaboom!
Relic shuddered, and Ozzy grabbed onto the control stick and switched off autopilot.
Jozi looked behind her as if she could see what had hit them. “What was that?”
“Pulling up rear cams.” He swiped his finger over his holodisplay. A small, weaponized craft was behind them. It was a Marine ship, painted all-black—Mort Wildly’s signature. “It’s an S-14 Zinger. A starfighter that is fast and deadly.”
“How did they find you?” Jozi asked. “Did you turn Indigo on?”
Ozzy pushed down on his control stick, putting them into a dive. “It’s got to be Zeld. She probably followed us from Tagus Valles.”
Toph Bailey was hired by Lyra No Tail for this find as well, but Toph was a nice guy. He wouldn’t harm a fly—if those bugs existed on Mars. This Zeld character was the opposite. She wanted Ozzy’s blood.
The cockpit beeped. “Incoming.” His entire body went rigid. “AGSR-14 Niners, heading in fast.”
Jozi went to get up, but Ozzy put his hand on her shoulder.
“Strap back in,” he ordered, pulling back on the control stick.
“I’m heading to the weapons room.”
Ozzy shook his head. “I don’t have graviton shields.”
“What?”
“I switched them out for more weapon power and faster ionic engines. Didn’t think I’d need them with Indigo and all.”
Jozi’s entire face drooped. “You stupid son of a—”
He banked hard right. The missiles sidewinded by him, sending a trail of smoke past the left side of his cockpit window and crashing into the red dust-covered ground below, which sent a splash of sand into the air.
“Watch this.” He pushed the throttle forward, sinking them both back into their seats. Even though gravity was almost non-existent outside Mars’s artificially gravitized cities and ships, at thousands of miles an hour, gravity could still torque the body a little. “She can’t keep up with me.”
Ozzy stared at the rear cam holoscreen. He hadn’t gained an inch on Zeld.
Not good.
“Alright, get back into the weapons array room. We’ll pluck her ass out of the sky.” He rubbed the flight console. “She won’t be able to out-maneuver Relic here.”
Ozzy barrel-rolled and went into a steep dive. Even though Zeld was in a starfighter, Ozzy had made sure his boosters were more powerful than most ships out there.
Zeld wouldn’t be able to keep up with him. No way.
A beep sounded across the cockpit again.
Shit.
She had kept up and launched a photon blast.
Jozi went to get up to run to the weapons room, but Ozzy held onto her shoulder again. The Martian soil was approaching fast. “I’m going in for a landing.”
Jozi thrust her arms out. “Why?”
Ozzy could understand why it would sound so foolish and, well, completely ridiculous, but he had a photon cannon slug coming up on him that he couldn’t evade.
“Zeld is good. She’s got Relic dead to rights.”
Krjjjwhaboom!
Relic rocked back and forth. The cockpit’s dials flicked on and off, and Relic slowed, losing power.
Ozzy lowered his landing skids, the bearings whining and clicking. A loud pop and one of the skids cracked off. An ear-piercing beeping sound echoed through the cockpit, and a belly cam forced itself on Ozzy’s screen.
The skid was hanging on by a thread, then bent and broke off. It plummeted to the Martian terrain. “Hold on tight.”
Jozi squeezed the armrests, her knuckles turning white and her body going rigid.
Ozzy looked at the altimeter and did his best to straighten out his descent. “Two hundred meters until impact. Brace yourself.”
Ozzy straightened her out more, but she was losing power.
“One hundred meters.” His body was shaking from the cockpit’s vibration. They were coming in hot. Any dip in his trajectory and he’d nosedive into the ground.
He couldn’t have that.
“Here we go.” Ozzy pulled back on his control stick, skimming Relic’s belly across the sand. His body jostled, and the impact bounced Relic into the air.
Relic dropped down a moment later, and its belly hit the Martian ground a second time.
The craft’s remaining skid dug into the sand, and Ozzy’s control stick pulled to the right. Relic spun in a circle, continuing its long slide.
Ozzy let go of the control stick and squeezed his armrests. The world around him twirled like he was riding a whirling top. Out of the corner of his eye and through the side cockpit window, he saw Relic’s wing dig into the ground. It cracked and broke off.
The craft’s spin tossed the wing across the crimson dirt like a boomerang. It slammed into the ground and out of view.
A loud thud and Relic dropped, coming to a sudden halt. Ozzy’s restraining straps pulled tightly, keeping him tied to his chair.
Jozi let out an exhale. She unstrapped and stood, her eyes wild. “Can you keep this ship together for at least a day? Oh my Mars, you’re truly the unluckiest son of a bitch I know.”
Ozzy unbuckled. “Yeah, yeah.” He tapped the wall a few times, and the compartment opened. He gr
abbed the capsule, jimmied through the hall to the ladder, and slid down as fast as he could. “Relic always comes back to me in one piece, one way or another. That’s why I love her.”
Jozi followed Ozzy down to the storage bay. “We have to get out of here.”
“Why?” He held up his capsule. “No hurry. This is what she wants. So, let her come and get it.” He rushed to his rifle rack, picking out his favorite photon rifle, the PR-19 short-barreled hellion.
Jozi hurried to the rack as well. “She won’t care about the capsule. From what I can tell, it’s fireproof, missile-proof, and explosion-proof from how it withstood the war between Mars and Maldek, and this ship is not.”
“Zeld doesn’t know that, so she’d be nuts to try to destroy the ship. That’s insane. She’d be compromising her mission, and her mission is this capsule.”
Jozi narrowed her eyes and ran to a locker that contained an EVA space suit.
Ozzy nonchalantly walked to a different locker, opened it, and pulled out his suit. “You can choose to freak out. I’m not. She’ll have to find a way inside Relic without trying to blow the hell out of this puppy.”
Jozi pulled her EVA over her torso, then pulled up her EVA pants, which automatically clicked together to form the suit. “You don’t know that. Be prepared just in case.”
Ozzy put the last of his suit on—the helmet. He grabbed his rifle and unzipped a pocket on his EVA and slipped the capsule inside. He walked over to the mole digger and leaned on one of its large tires. He patted his rifle. “This is all the preparation I need. Zeld is not going to drop any bombs—”
Krackow!
The ceiling dented, and Relic shook. Ozzy lost his balance and fell on his side. He got up and sprinted to the ramp. He grabbed the ramp’s hand crank and pushed it up and down.
Krackow!
The ceiling cracked open, and smoke filtered in through the broken edges.
Zeld was breaching the ship.
Martian Ark Page 5
