Tides of Mars (Omnibus Version)

by Ben Winston

  “Is there anything we can help with?” Alex asked.

  “I don’t think so. They crashed, but I think it’s recoverable. I’ll help them out, and head on back. I’ll give you a call in a couple of days, and let you know how things are going.”

  “Okay sweetie, just let us know if there’s something we can do to help.”

  “Oh, while I’m thinking about it, did Dame Estelle ever set up scholarships for the girls?” Ariel asked.

  “She didn’t get a chance to for Tara, but she did for the others. Would you like me to set it up for Tara as well?”

  “Yes please, and try to figure out something we can do for John and Betty too. When I get back, I’d like to see what kind of days off and vacation schedule everyone has.”

  “Okay hon, I’ll take care of it. I hope your friend gets her relationship back on the road,” Alex said.

  “I’m sure we will, thanks Alex. I’ll talk to you later and please give my love to everyone.”

  “I will, G’bye!” Alex said as Cole broke the connection.

  “How do you call what you told her the truth?” Cole asked.

  “Well, Tho’ren’s ship is a friend, just one I haven’t met yet. She is having a problem with her ‘man’ and they are currently crashed. So...” Ariel explained.

  “I think that would tax my logic systems trying to figure that out, but it does make sense. We’re on course for Deimos, ETA is twenty-one point four hours.”

  “Well, I’d say you have that long to teach me how to fly and fight the ship. Perhaps we should get busy,” Ariel said and cracked her knuckles.

  “Young one, we are receiving communication from Guardian Admiral Hs’ean,” Cole said. During her flight training, they had discovered that Ariel was a natural pilot, and seemed to have an instinctive feel for space combat. She was currently running a simulation where she was outnumbered ten to one, and she was winning – again.

  “I kind of expected that, you better put her on before we make her more pissed off,” Ariel replied.

  The image of a woman appeared on one of the monitors in front of Ariel. She wasn’t pretty or even handsome, but rather plain in a hard, uncompromising way. “Young lady, just what under the solar rings do you think you are doing?”

  Ariel smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Admiral. I would think it’s rather obvious what I’m doing, don’t you think a better question would be why I’m doing it?”

  “Being cute won’t cut it with me, Princess. Explain your actions, and the reason you violated a direct order,” Hs’ean said testily.

  “Ma’am, no offence, but at the moment, you don’t have the authority to give me an order, but even if you did, I would still have violated it. It’s the timing, you are four days away, and I am now only a little over an hour. If the Commander is in as bad shape as the AI reported, he probably doesn’t have that much time. I’ve also had the remotes build a recon probe to complete the initial investigation, and hopefully identify what caused Commander Tho’ren to crash without exposing my ship to the same threat.”

  “I would like to know what special insight or skill an untrained candidate has that a fully trained and qualified training officer does not.”

  “I don’t claim to have any special knowledge or skill, Admiral. It is only a matter of timing. If he has to wait for you to get here, Commander Tho’ren will be dead. We won’t know how or why. He needs to be rescued as soon as possible, and that means me going after him,” Ariel explained.

  “So then you are qualified to administer emergency medical assistance?” The Admiral asked.

  “No ma’am, but I do have a fully functional ship. I can at least get him into the medical section so the computer can begin treating him. I’m carrying extra remotes to facilitate the repairs of his ship if it is repairable. From the report the AI sent, if that were a weapon, there would be a greater risk of loss to the fleet than to one small ship,” Ariel was getting frustrated with the intransigence of the admiral. “Dammit Admiral, I’m already out here, just let me save the man, then you can chew my ass out for it, Okay?”

  “That, at least, we can agree on, Princess. I know you won’t stop what you’re doing, so you can count on my ‘chewing your ass out’ if you survive this.”

  Ariel smiled. “I’ll look forward to it, Admiral.”

  “Only the first time, Princess. You may wish you hadn’t survived,” Hs’ean said. “Divine Light out.”

  “Ready to launch the probe for Phobos, young one,” Cole said.

  “Thank you, Cole. Please proceed.”

  “Admiral Hs’ean does not make idel threats, Ariel. She will have something to say to both of us for disobeying her orders,” Cole replied.

  “Cole, it’s hard to punish someone for success, and if we fail, I don’t think an ass chewing by her will be the worst that will happen to us.”

  “We are approaching Deimos, young one. We will be in orbit in ten minutes,” Cole reported.

  “Set condition red and engage cloaking generator,” Ariel replied.

  “Staying cloaked while we orbit will be counterproductive; eventually our heat signature will give away our location.”

  “We’re not going to be in orbit. We’re here to rescue the Commander, we’re going straight in. Once we’re down, we can shut down the cloak. Do you have a fix on their position?”

  Cole was silent for a second while he checked his sensors. “Affirmative, I am receiving a signal from their transponder, however, I have not received any more transmissions from them.”

  “Not surprising really, I imagine they’re trying to hide their location. I’d like us to come down at least a thousand klicks from where they crashed, and approach them low and slow. Keep your scanners peeled, I want to know if even an insect moves, understand?” Ariel asked.

  “I understand, course corrected. I think it would be a good exercise if you brought us down manually, Ariel. I’ll back you, but we should use this opportunity,” Cole said.

  Ariel nodded and moved the couch into flight position. The control yoke and flight consoles moved into place, as she put her hands on the controls, Cole released the ship to her.

  “Cole, why did the Admiral keep calling me ‘Princess’?”

  “Perhaps she was only trying to unsettle you, according to your psych profile, treating you like a spoiled princess will most certainly anger you,” Cole said, thinking quickly.

  Ariel gave a snort. “You’re right on the money there, I think that’s probably the fastest way for someone to piss me off. But I do know how to control my anger, I might get frustrated, but I can control the anger. I have to; getting mad usually does little to help the situation.”

  “I’m sure that’s what she was trying to do, she loves to get people off balance; it makes her job easier,” Cole replied.

  Ariel felt her pulse quicken as she guided the ship down and began skimming the surface. She kept the beacon from the downed ship centered on her screen as she cut her speed to approach slowly. The area she was in now was very rough and rocky and she hoped that the location where Tho’ren had gone down was better.

  Twenty minutes later they were approaching the crash site. It was somewhat better terrain, but it was flat and open, with no cover at all. She sat her ship down only a few feet away from the crashed ship. She couldn’t see any remotes going about repairs, but she could see the severe damage to the rear of the craft.

  “Cole shut down the cloaking generator and see if you can get a laser link with Commander Tho’ren’s ship. Try to get a status out of them. Wake up the remotes, and get them working on repairs. How’s the probe we dropped doing?”

  “It’s on a parabolic course that will take it around Phobos in another hour. As of its last data burst, it had found nothing out of the ordinary,” Cole reported.

  “Good, has anyone or anything taken notice of our landing?”

  “No, as far as I can tell there’s been no response to our landing.”

  “All right, I’l
l get suited up, and go see how Commander Tho’ren’s doing,” Ariel said, getting up. “Keep your eyes open.”

  Cole did just that while she suited up and left.

  Chapter Six

  Ariel entered the main cabin and looked into the galley. Currently, the table was lowered and a man was lying on it, unconscious. His features were difficult to make out, but he appeared to be handsome and relatively young looking. He had dirty blonde hair, but that could have been from the grime that covered his face as well. He had blood matted and dried on one side of his head, and the computer had immobilized his left arm and leg. His breathing seemed ragged and if Ariel didn’t know better she’d think he was...

  “Ship, what’s the status of Commander Tho’ren?” Ariel asked through her helmet speakers.

  “Commander Tho’ren is dying. My atmospheric processor was damaged in the crash, and the air is slowly becoming toxic. The two remotes I was carrying were destroyed as well; I am unable to affect repairs,” a soft feminine voice replied.

  “I brought extra remotes. Have you made the connection with Cole yet?”

  “I... uh, we are working on that now. My name is Tewney. Thank you for coming for us.”

  “I’m Ariel, and I think you’ve already met Cole. Could you let a couple of remotes in to help me get the Commander suited up? We’ll get him over to my ship until we get your systems repaired.”

  “Right away, Your High... Ariel,” the ship replied.

  Ariel noticed the slip, but chose to ignore it for now. The remotes were there to get Commander Tho’ren into a suit, and there was a lot to do yet.

  Once the Commander was suited up, Ariel and the remotes got him into her ship and hooked up to Cole’s fully functional medical area. Once their load was in place the remotes left to assist in the repairs to Tewney. By the end of the day, Commander Tho’ren was still unconscious but was much improved. Tewney, however was still severely damaged.

  “Cole, can we tow her back as far as Earth’s moon?” Ariel asked before turning in for the day.

  “Yes we could, but without the raw material to make parts, the remotes would have to suspend repairs for the trip; adding time to the repairs,” Cole replied.

  “Since we’ve been here for hours and haven’t seen a thing, we’re probably safe, but I’d rather not take any chances. Tewney and Cole; have the remotes focus on making as many of the parts as they can to repair the ship. Try to get as many made as you can in the next six hours. I want to get off this rock and back to Earth.”

  “We should be able to get a few made in that time. You are right, sitting here is tactically unwise. Under the current circumstances, I believe this to be our best course of action,” Cole said.

  “I agree,” Tewney said.

  “I’m for a shower, a meal, and sleep – in that order. Keep your eyes open you two,” Ariel said, “And wake me if Commander Tho’ren’s condition changes.”

  “Right away, Ariel,” the AI’s said in unison.

  “What’s our status, Cole?” Ariel asked five and half hours later.

  “The remotes have been making parts as per your orders and will be loaded and ready to go. They didn’t get all the parts made, but they will have plenty to do during the trip. Commander Tho’ren is resting comfortably, and should awaken soon,” Cole reported.

  “Excellent, has there been any sign of company?” Ariel asked.

  “No, young one. If there had been, we would have awoken you immediately.”

  “Well, I think I might need a nap later on, I’m still pretty tired. Let’s get ready to go, that way when the remotes are finished, we can lift.”

  “We’ll be ready in fifteen minutes, Ariel,” Tewney said.

  “Good Tewney, now all we need is our fearless leader to wake up, and we’ll be set.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Cole reported that he and Tewney had gotten her engines partially online, and she would be able to help him ‘lift’ her ship. What made Ariel nervous was the cloaking generator on Tewney was still in pieces. They would be very visible, slow-moving targets as they left the moon. She felt that if there were still an enemy around, they would surely see the two limping craft.

  “I want to know if there is anything out there, Cole. Have you heard anything from the probe around Phobos?” Ariel asked.

  “It found what looks like freshly dug soil, but no power readings at all. Also, no ion trails from ships or anything else. If there was anything there, it’s long gone now,” Cole reported.

  “Okay, have it report in once a day unless something major changes out here. I’m actually surprised we don’t have a string of sensor probes all over the damn sector,” Ariel said speculatively.

  “That was proposed young one, the trade commission claimed it would be a violation of their right of free trade,” Tewney replied via the laser-link. “The Ministry of defense wanted to place sensor buoys in a few key systems to better deploy our forces. Parliament agreed with the trade commission.”

  “That sounds really paranoid on their part, but I was referring to systems like ours, where trade is restricted anyway so it wouldn’t interfere with the commission at all,” Ariel replied. “How’s our lateral torsion reading? The ship doesn’t feel right.”

  “Within tolerance, young one. We can begin acceleration at any time; we are free of the moon’s gravity well,” Cole reported.

  “Good, Cole; would you plot us a course for Earth’s moon please? Let’s get this show on the road.”

  “Course plotted and laid in. Ready when you are,” Cole said.

  “Thank you, Cole. Execute. I think I’d like to check on our guest, and get some coffee,” Ariel replied getting up from the pilot’s chair.

  Commander Tho’ren was looking much better. As Ariel got him cleaned up, Cole created a cocoon of oxygen rich air around him. The cocoon served to counter the effects of the contaminated air he had been breathing.

  As if he was aware of her scrutiny, he opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Greetings Guardian, I don’t believe we’ve met before, I’m Tho’ren of Training Command.”

  “Greetings back, Commander. I’m not a Guardian yet. I’m Ariel Janis, the person you were sent here to train,” Ariel said grinning.

  Tho’ren groaned. “Oh, that’s going to look good on my record; rescued by a raw trainee!” He chuckled. “Does Admiral Hs’ean know yet?”

  “I think her money was on my not surviving. How are you feeling?” Ariel asked.

  “Like I’ve been wrestling a Procyon Kodiak for the last month – and losing. How bad am I this time?”

  “Broken leg and arm, a concussion and multiple cuts and bruises. You took some poisoning due to a damaged atmo-processor, but Cole fixed that up too. You should be good as new in a few days.”

  Tho’ren looked at the ceiling, “Thank you, Cole. How’s Tewney?”

  “You’re most welcome Commander, Tewney has sustained extensive damage to her main engines, and a large number of other systems. She is currently undergoing repairs, but is anxious to speak with you,” Cole said.

  “Well, then, please put her on.”

  “Are you well, Commander?” Tewney’s voice said a moment later.

  Tho’ren smiled tenderly. “Yes I am; better every minute in fact. How come you didn’t contact me over the neural link?”

  “We are currently speaking over a laser-link between ships. We are trying to reduce the number of emissions we are radiating as we are still in hostile space.”

  Tho’ren turned to Ariel for an explanation. “Hostile space?”

  “We’ve only just left Deimos. We are towing Tewney while the remotes continue repairs. I was feeling really exposed sitting out in the open like that, so I decided to make for Earth’s moon to complete your repairs. We still have not identified what or who attacked you,” Ariel explained. “Though it almost looks like something ran into you.”

  “Really? Please explain,” Tho’ren asked.

  “Well, if it had been a weapon of some sort,
it would have melted or blasted the affected parts of your ship. It looked more like someone took a big hammer and smacked you with it. There were dents and bent metal, not half melted supports and engine parts,” Ariel said. “At least half the damage was caused by the crash itself.”

  “There was nothing on any of my screens. I would have seen something big enough to cause that much damage,” Tho’ren replied.

  “Not if it was cloaked,” Ariel said flatly. “I think we can discount it being a Kragan ship; it would have hunted you down and completed the job so you couldn’t report back. This had to be a smuggler or a slaver.”

  “Impossible. The power requirements to cloak a ship that size would give it away. Its energy signature would be off the charts,” Tho’ren countered.

  “Cole, have you finished the forensic reconstruction I asked for?” Ariel asked as she got herself another cup of coffee.

  “Yes, I have young one. There is a ninety-two point four percent chance the reconstruction is accurate,” Cole replied.

  “Could you, please display it for the Commander and me?” Ariel asked.

  The lights dimmed as Cole produced a three-dimensional hologram recreating the incident that had caused Tho’ren and Tewney to crash. After playing it through once, Cole took it back to the moment of impact and froze it. From the pattern of the impact on Tewney, Cole reconstructed the hull piece that had caused it. He held that piece static and removed the rest of the hologram. He began running a spacecraft recognition program to match the piece to a hull. There was only one hit; a type three Dolian medium freighter. The medium freighter was the size of an aircraft carrier and used almost exclusively by slavers.

  “Very compelling Ariel, but like I said, a cloaking generator that size would require far too much power to be feasible. We could detect it too easily,” Tho’ren said.

  “I don’t mean to keep kicking a dead horse, Commander, but perhaps they have something you haven’t seen before,” Ariel replied.

  “That is very unlikely, Ariel. How would slavers get their hands on military grade equipment? Equipment that is so closely regulated it needs a command grade officer’s approval just to be issued to a shipbuilder? During installation, there are guards posted in every possible location!”