Martian Ark

by Brandon Ellis

  Ozzy fell back and tumbled on his side. He crawled around and reached for his rifle.

  It moved and flew past his outstretched hands heading toward the open door.

  Ozzy’s eyes widened. “What the—”

  He turned.

  The Dunrakee caught his rifle and stood in front of him, his body shadowed by the light streaming in through the doorway. He tipped his head and slapped the “close” button on the panel. “Hi, Ozzy.”

  Ozzy slumped against the wall. “You about gave me a heart attack.”

  Gragas walked toward Ozzy, his cape moving back and forth with every step. His helmet and mask glowed, along with his suit battle armor. He must have just polished them. He extended his hand, helping Ozzy up.

  “You tried to kill me, my friend.”

  Ozzy stood and slapped Gragas’s shoulder. “I thought you were setting detonation charges on my ship.”

  “Those are graviton shield imbibes.”

  Ozzy glanced at his rifle in Gragas’s hand. “How did you get my rifle to fly through the air like that?” It couldn’t be magic. There was no such thing.

  A loud metallic sound came from Gragas’s glove, unsuctioning from the rifle. “Targeting magnets. I can magnetize my gloves, point my hand to a metal object, and it will fly into my hand. The trick is the aim. If I’m off an inch, I’ll miss, and nothing will happen.”

  The Miner jostled. Ozzy spun around and rushed to the cockpit seat. “Why didn’t you let me know you were going to put on those graviton shield imbibe-thingies?”

  “Your com line malfunctioned when the kickback from the deflector shields hit you.”

  Ozzy checked his com line. He punched in his ex-wife’s com channel.

  Static.

  He dialed again.

  Static.

  “Dammit.”

  Gragas took a seat in the copilot’s chair, pointing northeast. “Break off from my star cruiser and head that way.”

  Ozzy shook his head, grasping the control stick tighter. “Hell no. I can’t get past the battleships without getting vaporized.”

  “My carrier is a diversion for you. It’s heading away from Olympus Mons. The battleships will follow. So, please, go that way.” Gragas continued pointing.

  Ozzy checked his map. They were indeed heading away from the mountain. “Alright, I’m trusting you on this one.”

  “You better because I’m breaking every code in the Galactic Knight’s book by being in this ship with you.”

  Ozzy pulled his control stick to the right, moving out from under the star carrier and away from the battle. He patched in the coordinates to Olympus Mons for the second time on his holodisplay, programming the craft’s route on the quickest trajectory. “What possible codes are you breaking? Helping friends?”

  “A Galactic Knight’s job is to protect the innocent from genocidal races, much like my own Dunrakee race. I’m not supposed to help a race find an ancient artifact that can destroy worlds.”

  “The Ark of the Concordant.”

  “Exactly. But we’ll keep that between you and me.”

  Ozzy thumbed over his shoulder. “You mean, between you, me, and your entire Galactic Knight’s crew.” Ozzy pushed the control stick forward to descend and used the ground to camouflage the Miner the best he could.

  “Then after I help you retrieve it, we’ll see if we can make a Galactic Knight out of you.”

  Ozzy shook his head. Is that why Gragas was really helping him? He’d never join such an organization or any organization for that matter. He’s not the following type. “Wow, you’re in desperate need of recruits if you want me.”

  “You could say that. Most souls want peace in the galaxy but are too afraid or too busy actually to do anything about bringing that peace. A few souls, like me, have a passion for stopping malevolent races from taking ultimate control of the galaxy. You’re one of those passionate beings as well.”

  If Ozzy were in the middle of sipping a drink, he would have spit it out. “The hell I am. I’m good with sitting around in peace and quiet, like the majority of the souls in the galaxy.” Ozzy steered around a hill and over an ancient lake bed. He checked his radar. Not a single Dunrakee ship was following him.

  These Galactic Knights were good at distractions.

  “Firsoff City is up ahead.” Ozzy pointed at a domed town cresting the horizon. “It’s the last city before Outlaw Zone 5 and the rest of the unknown wild west.”

  The Miner shuddered. “What the…” The flight console beeped, and the holodisplay brought up the fuel cell gauge. It was empty.

  Ozzy squeezed the armrest. “Again? I just bought a new booster.”

  “You didn’t check the charge?” Gragas inquired.

  Ozzy ignored the question. There had to be a short somewhere. The ship puttered and jostled. The engines shut off.

  Shit.

  “Hold on. We’re gliding into Firsoff. We’ll land next to the dome and make repairs there.”

  Gragas nodded. “Understood.” He got up and walked toward the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  Gragas cocked his head to the side and opened the door. “I’m not so sure about your landing. I’ll meet you at Firsoff’s entryway.”

  Gragas put his hands together and gave a curt bow. He turned and jumped out of the ship.

  25

  Firsoff City, Mars

  The craft vibrated. Ozzy looked at the altitude indicator and his airspeed. He was gliding in fast. Too fast.

  He turned on his exterior wall cams. Gragas was gliding on his own to the ground, the back of his suit somehow had extended wings about ten meters on either side of him.

  Ozzy switched cams to forward view. This was going to be a bumpy landing. He just hoped the craft stayed upright. If it didn’t, he could kiss the Hover-5 Renegade Booster goodbye.

  He moved the ship to the right and then leveled her out. He swiped the screen, quickly adjusting the pitch, and lifted the Flying Miner’s squared nose.

  He bit his lower lip. A few more seconds and he’d be sliding across the Mars sand. “Always my dumb, frickin’ luck.”

  He checked to see if his restraints were on. They were and hugged his suit tightly. “Here we go.”

  Firsoff City’s dome was ahead. If he landed right, he’d be on the side of the dome near the entry flyway.

  If he didn’t land correctly, he’d be upside down and half buried in the sand but still next to the city.

  Either way, he’d make it out fine. His craft, however, may not.

  The ship hit the ground and bounced. Ozzy bucked forward then lurched back, slamming into the seat.

  The Miner vibrated and bounced again, chopping up and down against the rippled sand.

  Kawooosh!

  Ozzy jerked forward, and the Miner came to a quick halt.

  Ozzy slapped his hands together. “That’s how you crash land.” He was becoming a master at it.

  He unstrapped and headed to the door, which opened when he pressed the control panel.

  Hopping onto the red sand, he gathered himself and stretched under the sun’s rays. In the distance, past the red rocks, a dirt devil spun across the land, spinning debris and rock into the air.

  Footsteps carried to Ozzy’s external helmet auditory speakers, and he turned. Gragas came walking around the Miner, his wings folded and slipped into the back of his suit. How they fit, Ozzy didn’t know, and he didn’t care to ask at the moment.

  Gragas halted and leaned up against the ship. “Nice landing.”

  Ozzy nodded. “I know.”

  Kaclink!

  Ozzy strolled around to the back of the Miner, placing his hands on his hips. He took a breath. “Damn techbots.” Bots didn’t put things together like they used to. “That’s going to cost me a pretty auric.”

  Gragas slapped his hand on Ozzy’s shoulder. “Yes. It will.”

  The H-5 Renegade Booster had broken off and was lying on the ground.

  Ozzy glanced back
at Gragas. “You have any auric credits on you?”

  “Nope.”

  “Of course not.”

  They were stuck.

  26

  Firsoff City, Mars

  Ozzy pounded on the window of the guard station for the fifth time. “Look, we will buy a new craft while we’re in there. Just let us in.”

  The guard shook his head. “Firsoff City is at capacity.”

  “Can’t you see we need help? We’ll freeze out here.”

  The guard glanced at Ozzy’s ship and back at Ozzy. “I can write you up for negligent piloting.”

  Ozzy raised his hands in the air and then dropped them by his sides. He glanced at Gragas. “What do we do?”

  Gragas dipped his head.

  Ozzy blinked, awaiting a better response. “That’s it? That’s all you got for me?”

  Gragas shrugged.

  “No trespassing, sirs. I’ll arrest you if you stay any longer,” said the guard.

  Ozzy kicked the ground. “What does at capacity mean?”

  He had never heard of the term when it came to city space.

  “It means that no rebel archaeologists can use our city to rest up and head into the Outlawed Zones anymore. That’s what that means.”

  “I’m not a rebel archaeologist,” Ozzy lied.

  The guard stepped back, pressed a few buttons on his holopad, and the glass that circled the guard’s station turned black, hiding the guard from view.

  Ozzy put his hands together and leaned back, eyeing the sky and wanting to scream.

  “They probably have your face and other faces of rebel archaeologists plastered on every corner in that city,” explained Gragas.

  It was probably true. It would explain how the guard knew Ozzy was a forbidden archaeologist. At least they weren’t trying to arrest him. They probably wanted Ozzy as far away from them as possible, but it wasn’t like he’d shoot up the place or anything.

  Ozzy huffed his dissatisfaction and walked toward the Flying Miner.

  “Where are you going?” Gragas asked.

  “I’m getting back into the Miner and waiting until it recharges. I’ll see if I can repair the booster when I warm up.”

  “Alright. Understandable. But, again, I can do something that I’m not supposed to do.”

  Ozzy spun around, hope shining in his eyes. “Do what?”

  Gragas tapped his mask then held his finger over his external ear speakers, obviously listening to something.

  He dropped his arm by his side and nodded. “Good. We have a nice flying vehicle on the way, and it’s not one of mine, so I’m not breaking any additional codes.”

  “Then whose is it?”

  Gragas shook his head. “We don’t know, but it’s a friendly. It has Jonas Moon’s insignia on it.”

  A ball of light lit the horizon accompanied by a rumbling. The ball grew bigger, changing from a light to a dark shadow. Whatever it was, and whoever it was, was coming in fast.

  The more he watched, the more it came into view. It was indeed one of Jonas’s crafts. It had a long wingspan, like all Martian craft, and an almond-shaped torso. They were sleek starfighters, better than most Marine and MMP ships.

  The craft came in closer, burning its belly thrusters and slowing itself down.

  It floated above them briefly and then descended, pushing up sand into the breeze. Ozzy and Gragas moved out of the way as it landed.

  They watched as the cabin door opened, and out came a woman in an EVA suit. Ozzy’s helmet mic crackled.

  “You crashed another ship?”

  Ozzy grinned but then grimaced a moment later. This was starting to look bad. How many ships had he killed since he’d known this woman?

  Jozi pointed behind her, motioning at her ship. “Jonas let me borrow one of his S-6 Hawks. It’s fast and will get us to Olympus Mons in no time.” She paused, looking Ozzy up and down. “Get your rifle and the capsule. We leave immediately.”

  27

  Firsoff city, Mars

  Jozi was at the helm with Ozzy relegated to the copilot’s seat. She powered on the Hawk, and it vibrated and purred like a kitten.

  “Let’s hope we don’t need a mole digger or an S-99 Flying Miner to find the Ark,” said Ozzy.

  “Maybe we’ll get lucky,” responded Gragas, shifting in his seat. He was in the cabin inspecting one of his many sharp, pointy weapons attached to his battle suit. “It’s going to be dangerous.”

  Ozzy pursed his lips. “The trip to the Ark?”

  “No, the Ark itself.”

  It was true. The Ancients had killed their entire race after blowing up Maldek by using the Ark, which, in turn, destroyed their planet’s life-giving atmosphere as well.

  Dangerous was an understatement.

  Plus, the last Ancient Martian survivors probably created as many fail-safes as they could to hinder anyone from getting the Ark…ever again.

  Jozi initiated the thruster, and the craft lifted off. She activated her boosters and shot the Hawk forward, zipping over Firsoff City’s dome.

  “How much time until we get to Olympus Mons?” asked Ozzy, not knowing how fast this ship could truly travel.

  “One hour,” responded Jozi, upping the throttle. “So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.”

  “Alright. Will do.” Ozzy took a peek behind him and saw Gragas sharpening a different dagger. “So, what’s your story, Gragas?”

  “I have many stories. Is there one in particular you’d want me to tell?”

  Ozzy rolled his eyes. “No, it’s an expression. I’m asking you to tell me more about yourself.”

  “All you need to know is that I’m a Dunrakee here to help protect humanity against my race.”

  “I need to know more than that.”

  The scrape of Gragas’s knife against a small sharpening stone cut through the air. “I was banished by the officials in my own government because I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of murdering the entire galaxy.” He continued to sharpen his knife.

  “What? Did they just throw you off your planet or something?”

  “No. They attempted to murder me simply because I wanted to warn Earth what was coming.”

  “You wanted to warn Earth?” Ozzy frowned and twisted in his seat, staring at Gragas. The Dunrakee invaded Earth over a hundred years ago. “How old are you?”

  “We live longer than you.” He scraped his knife against the rock. “A lot longer.”

  “And now you’re here to right your race’s wrong.”

  “I’m here to stop my race from any further wrongs. I can’t right anything. Someday, Ozzy, you will learn what you consider the wrongs you did in the past can never be righted because they already happened. They can, however, be healed. And that’s what I’m attempting to do: heal my race’s evils.”

  “So, you created the Galactic Knights and have been fighting your people ever since?”

  “In a way, the Galactic Knights created me. I had an idea to stop my people from committing the worst crimes. Others were attracted to my idea, and they came to me and volunteered. Only the best of the best were able to stay.”

  “I see. And here you are, somehow with me, going against your little code.”

  Gragas stopped sharpening. “There is more to why I am here with you, but right now I’m comfortable telling you only what I just have.”

  Ozzy nodded. “Alright. Suit yourself.” He closed his eyes. It would be smooth sailing to Olympus Mons from this point forward unless an enemy caught sight of them in the sky. Because with Indigo, they were practically invisible.

  “Oh shit.” Ozzy straightened in his chair. “I forgot Indigo.”

  That meant they were on everyone’s radar.

  Jozi lowered the craft, hugging the red terrain. The cockpit was quiet, and all were watching the mountain grow bigger and bigger on the horizon until it was practically on top of them.

  They were nearly at Olympus Mons, and Ozzy was starting to breathe easier.

 
The mountain shined brilliantly across the red terrain, the base as wide as twenty Earth mountains, if not more. The top of Olympus Mons did something that no other mountain in the entire solar system did: it reached the upper atmosphere, nearly poking into the planet’s exosphere and exposing itself to space.

  Ozzy dug into his satchel and pulled out the capsule. He twisted both ends of the device and pulled. A map shot outward into a hologram. A blue dot blinked, showing where the capsule was on the map, and golden wings indicated the Ark.

  An entrance popped up, something that hadn’t happened before. Perhaps the closer the map was to the Ark, the more the map showed.

  “There is an actual entrance. Maybe we don’t need a digger after all.” He pointed at the behemoth mountain toward where Jozi was steering them. “Put in coordinates 18.67 degrees north, 226.3 degrees east,” ordered Ozzy. “That will take us to the entrance.”

  The entrance sat between two massive rocks at the base of the mountain.

  Jozi punched in the coordinates, and Gragas pulled out another knife, sharpening the blade.

  They flew onward, passing over a few dried-up lakes and sunken-in, dry river beds that had once been mountain glacial runoffs tens of thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands, of years ago—before the Ark blew the atmosphere off the face of Mars.

  Jozi rounded a large rock protrusion near the mountain’s base. She placed the craft into a hover. “We’re here,” she said and lowered the ship, setting it down on an incline. “I’m either about to help humankind or I’m helping to kill humankind.” Her face was pale, and her eyes wrinkled in worry. She rubbed her hand on her pant leg. “Mars save us all.”

  She shook her head and had good reason to. She was right. If they found the Ark and put it in Jonas Moon’s hands, and the guy couldn’t do what he said he could with the contraption, then the entire planet would explode and join the asteroid belt.

  Ozzy leaned forward. “I see it.” A large black shadow was tucked in between two red rock ridges. He glanced at the capsule’s map. “Yep, that’s the entrance.”