Tides of Mars (Omnibus Version)

by Ben Winston

  Grant nodded and grabbed his cell phone. “Give me a couple of hours, and we'll be here ready to go. Do we need to bring anything special?”

  Luke shook his head. “Nope, but you'll need to adjust to Ariel being your supreme leader. She's the one calling all the shots, and I dare say she has a better understanding of the political structure of the Empire than any of us grunts.”

  Grant stood and smiled down at Ariel. “I've always loved you like my own. I also knew you were somehow special, different than the rest of us. Almost like I knew you were destined for something greater. I trust Luke more than I trust Helen, but even without all of that, I can see the change in you. You are a leader. I think you have what it takes to make a good one. I'll gladly serve again, this time under your command.” He bowed slightly from the waist. “If you will excuse me, Highness, I will go and retrieve my family.”

  “If you start treating me any differently, I'll kick your butt!” Ariel said but she was smiling. “Go! We'll be here when you get back.”

  While they were waiting, Ariel had Cole lower the Tide's assault ramp. The ship was oriented so the rear of the craft was facing the distant mountains. Ariel thought Hanya might like to take a look since the hologram around the ship would hide their observation.

  However, it was too bright and the sunlight hurt her eyes. “I appreciate the attempt, Highness. But when we made these bodies, we did so on our world. Our primary is old, and nearing the end of its life. We find that our planet is nearing the outer edge of the habitable zone. The noonday sun on Ophuchia is about equal to your twilight times.”

  “I hadn't realized it was that dark. Is it getting colder as well?” Ariel asked.

  “Certainly. Although it really has no effect on us, our uh, drone bodies have to be kept in a heated area. That facility is located near the star port. But even though we keep the bodies warmed, they are still acclimated to a much cooler environment than you have on this planet.

  “Unfortunately, when we designed them, we did so using Aldus Forward as an example of human worlds. Because of that, the cooling systems are unequal to the task. There is also a concern that the amount of UV radiation that makes it to the surface here would have a catastrophic effect on this body. Although, I wasn't given the details, I did get the feeling it was something I wouldn't want to happen.” Hanya finished.

  “That would suck not being able to see the world around you, like that,” Ariel replied thoughtfully.

  “Highness, it only effects these bodies, not us. I could 'park' this shell, and move about with ease on your planet. I feel that I should mention, that, since coming to your world, there is now a discussion underway to alter our shell bodies to be able to function in this environment.”

  “But didn't you say that alterations have been made to make the bodies more compatible with humans?” Karen asked. While they'd been talking, Ariel and Hanya had been moving back to the common area. mKail had always been close to Ariel, but she was in bodyguard mode, and for all intents, invisible.

  “Yes, but there are far more humans in the universe than just those on Earth and Aldus Forward. Of course there are some mutations; Humans are a very adaptive species. That is one of the arguments put forth in the discussion; do we want to become more human?” Hanya replied. “By the time a decision is finally reached, I think it might be a moot point.”

  “How so?” Bri'tell asked.

  “Well, it seems that every time we encounter a new version of human, we have to adjust our drone bodies to match. Very soon, our drones will basically be human. Which raises some very serious ethical questions. However, not all versions of human are compatible with each other. There are some that require different atmospheres, and others that need lower gravity. If we decide to become more human, which version do we become more like? As it is, with each alteration, we take another step closer.”

  “It sounds to me like you're talking about evolution. Granted, its artificial, but none the less, evolution,” Alex replied.

  Hanya nodded. “Yes, but it's only evolution of a tool; our drone bodies.”

  Ariel looked thoughtful, but spoke. “Actually, it sounds like devolution. They are devolving from a single energy-state being, to corporeal, carbon-based, life-forms.”

  “I think perhaps it's a point of view issue. To us, it's devolution since we arrogantly believe we are evolving towards a state of being that is very close to Hanya's people. From our point of view, what's happening to her people is devolution, perhaps to her it's evolution,” Karen said softly. “Perhaps it's neither; and both points of view are wrong. Perhaps it's simply another form of the cycle of life?”

  “You mean that we might be simply another mutation of human?” Hanya asked.

  “Not exactly, rather you are either a highly advanced form of human returning to your bodies. Or we are the form you are becoming after reaching the pinnacle of your own evolutionary ladder as another form,” Karen explained.

  “That is an entirely new concept. I shall put it forward in your name. Thank you for assisting, Karen,” Hanya said smiling at the woman.

  It was about that time that Grant returned with his family. Other than his wife, Francine, both his children accompanied them back to the ship.

  Gillian and Francine were crying, trying to get him to come with them to get help. His son, David, was taking a wait and see attitude, and was willing to let his father show them the proof he'd promised.

  Gillian and Ariel had never gotten together as friends. Gillian was more of a tom boy than Ariel had been, and Gillian had little patience for all the 'girly' stuff Ariel liked as a young girl. So, while the two knew each other, they weren't friends.

  Even after the two women had come aboard, been told the story, and even been introduced to Duchess Hanya, neither one believed the truth of the situation. They still insisted that Grant come home with them and forget all this foolishness.

  Frustrated, Ariel said aloud. “Cole? Close up the ship, and head for the moon, best speed. Disable artificial gravity, but maintain inertial dampening.” She turned to the two arrogantly intransigent women and pointed to the transparent portion of the armor on one wall of the room. “If you don't believe us, or your own father, or even a visiting Ambassador, then perhaps we should show you in person. Then once we get to the moon, if you think we're still lying to you, you'll be more than welcome to walk out the nearest hatch and prove me a liar.”

  “Ariel! Uh, Highness, you wouldn't do that to them would you?” Grant asked worriedly.

  “Uncle Grant, you know how little patience I have with moronically stupid people. If they're dumb enough to think we're still on Earth, then I'm dumb enough to let them try and prove it.”

  Cole's calm voice spoke into the room. “Course set, Highness. ETA fifteen minutes. Did you have a specific location in mind?”

  “Getting to the moon takes days; any fool knows that!” Gillian said, sarcastically. Before she could close her mouth, mKail had a knife to her throat.

  Ariel saw her begin to move when Gillian said that, and held up her hand. “Hold! mKail!” Ariel's words were the only thing to stop Gillian from getting her throat slit then and there.

  Cole replied to the woman's remark. “Miss, you are in error. Using the advanced propulsion systems built into this vessel, it actually takes longer to land and take off, than it does to fly between the Earth and its satellite. In just under a minute you will experience weightlessness, how do you care to explain that?”

  While Cole had been speaking, Ariel waved mKail back. “Being an ass isn't a reason, by itself, for execution. Although death by stupidity is allowable.”

  mKail bowed to her Princess, re-sheathed her knife and backed away. Ariel turned to the two women. “Ladies, while you are allowed to have your own opinions, and to voice them. Please try to remain at least civil. You might upset mKail.”

  “I, uh, NASA trained their astronauts in weightlessness in special aircraft. You can get the same result in any aircraft that desce
nds rapidly, even to some degree in an elevator, uh, sir,” the woman replied, much nicer this time.

  “I will grant you that, however, neutral gravity environments could only be maintained for a finite period of time, in the case of NASA, it was a matter of minutes. You will be spending the duration of this flight free of gravity, however, once we reach the moon, you will be subjected to the limited gravity of the lunar environment. I would strongly advise you not to accept Ariel's offer to step out of an airlock. An unprotected human can only survive for thirteen seconds in a vacuum. If we land on the space-ward side, or in a deep enough crater, you will not last even that short amount of time,” Cole replied.

  Ariel looked at Gillian and the frightened Francine. “You've never been this irrationally dumb before. I admit, you did have a very limited imagination, but you never had a problem dealing with reality like this. What else is going on here?”

  Gillian looked at her mother, and received a very subtle nod from the elder woman. “A few days ago, Mother and I were driving home from that truck show in Denver. We'd just left the Eisenhower Tunnel when the car was forced into the rest area. Neither of us could see what was pushing us, but once we got to the rest area, these rough looking men carrying what had to be weapons came toward us getting everyone out of their cars.

  “They hadn't made it to our car yet, when bright flashes of light caused them to drop to the ground. I have no idea what kinds of weapons those were for certain, but I did know we were between the two sides. Mom and I got out of the car, and ran across the interstate. In the median they have those concrete dividers set up so people don't drive into oncoming traffic. We got behind those and hid.”

  “It was a battle, just like any of that footage they shot from the Middle East, only they weren't using bullets. We just kept our heads down, and tried hard not to scream whenever something exploded,” Francine said, taking over from her daughter.

  “I ... don't know how long we hid there. Once the sounds of combat died, we took a chance and peeked over the barrier. Several men in what looked an awful lot like armor from one of David's games, only it was shiny, were walking around helping the people that had gotten hurt, and rescuing people from wrecked cars. We thought maybe they were a special branch of our troops so we ran back across to try to find out what had happened.”

  Gillian spoke again, “When we tried to talk to one of the soldiers, we were shocked when it was a woman, and she didn't speak English. We jumped in our car and got the hell out of there. We kept our mouths shut, just in case. When Grant came home talking about you folks, we panicked. We thought you might be from one of those militaries.”

  Ariel took a deep breath and let it out. “Ladies, we are from one of those sides. The soldier that you tried to speak to was one of mine,” Ariel said. “The first bunch, the ones that pushed your car off the freeway were slavers. If my troops hadn't stopped them, you would most likely be on the way to one of the slave markets on other planets.”

  Chapter Five

  Translunar vector, interplanetary space.

  Oppenheimer Crater, South Polar region, The Moon (Selene)

  (Sol III-a) Horon-A Sector

  1500hrs, MST

  “So you're trying to simply deny all of this is real rather than accept the evidence of your own eyes?” Ariel asked.

  “You make it sound so petty and childish. How would you have taken it if someone told you that everything you think you know about the world around you wasn't true?” Francine replied.

  Ariel thoughtfully nodded. “Okay, I can understand that, but why are you continuing to try to ignore it now?”

  “Because we don't want to be involved,” Gillian said. “We have a nice life going back there, and we would like to just live it out in peace.”

  Ariel could see the anger growing on her father's and uncle Grant's faces, and tried to continue before they could attack the two naive women. She was beaten to the punch by an unexpected ally.

  David moved so he was in front of the two women, which was a little too close to Ariel for mKail's comfort, but Ariel nodded to her and winked to let her know he was safe. However when he started speaking, mKail was wondering if she would have to protect him.

  “Mom, Sis, I want you to know, I'm not mad at either of you, but I am very disappointed. Dad was a soldier in more than one combat zone. Have you ever actually looked at and done the research to know what all those medals he won are for?”

  Both women shook their heads, indicating that they hadn't.

  “If you had you might have learned something, not only about Dad, but about yourselves. Before I stumbled across his old uniform in the attic one day, I had no idea what all that 'crap' on it meant, but I was curious enough to bring the jacket down to my room and look some of them up.”

  “I discovered what all of them were, but I had no idea why he'd gotten them. So, I returned to the attic to see what I could find. I was shaken to my core when I discovered the truth. Dad could only wear about a third of the medals he'd actually won. The rest were for classified missions, but even if he could wear them, there simply isn't enough room on his uniform to place them all.”

  “What does all of this have to do with our current conversation, David?” Francine asked. “Besides, I hated it when he was in there. He was never home, and when he was he had horrible night terrors. When he got out of the military, they had to treat him for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He spent the first six months in the psych ward in Maryland, because he was too dangerous to himself and others. The military all but destroyed him!”

  “Was he drafted? Did he have a choice whether to go or not? Was anything he did mandatory?” David asked. This time his mother kept her mouth shut and looked at her hands.

  “No, it wasn't. He asked to go. That's where I had a problem understanding, too. Why would anyone ask to be put through an unimaginable hell like that; especially for people he didn't even know, and in all probability would never meet?” David said. “I just couldn't understand his insanity. It bothered me so much, that I had to ask him about it.”

  He looked at his dad, who smiled at him with pride. Then he returned to his mother and sister. “His answer didn't make a whole lot of sense until this morning. He told me, simply, that if he hadn't stepped forward to do what was needed, who would? Who would step forward when it was our turn to be threatened?” He paused to swallow the lump in his throat. “I love both of you, but you need to your pull your heads out of your asses, because we are being threatened. If we don't step forward, how can we expect others to do it for us?”

  “How is this our problem?” Gillian asked, still not convinced. “Let them take the riff-raff and the homeless dead-beats. Hell, we should hand over all the leaching welfare assholes too!”

  Ariel looked up, “Cole? Does Sean still have that woman we rescued when those pricks tried to blow up the planet?”

  “Affirmative, Highness. Miss Kaitlin Collins as well as Captain and Mrs. Tyrr are still currently aboard the Divine Light.”

  “Could you please contact the Admiral? I have a couple of ladies that really need to meet all three of them.”

  “At once, Highness.” Cole replied.

  “Don't you think you're overdoing the 'Highness' bit?” Ariel asked Cole via her comm.

  “Nope. Those two women need to learn that this is real, and they need to learn exactly who's in charge,” Cole replied.

  “Okay, I'll let you get away with it this time,” Ariel teased.

  “Who are these people you think we should meet?” Gillian asked, sounding offended.

  “Two of them are freed slaves we've managed to rescue in our battles, the man is a former slave ship Captain that finally couldn't stand what he was being asked to do anymore, and decided to switch sides.”

  “If you honestly don't think that this is your problem, you need to listen to what these three people have to tell you. After that, I'll take you home and leave you there. I'll leave it to Grant to decide if he will stay with
you or not. I'll not order anyone to leave their family,” Ariel replied.

  David moved back to his former position. “Thank you, Highness, but with your permission I'll stay, if you'll have me.”

  “Civilians have always had a hard time understanding the need for violence in certain situations. They also completely overlook the non-violent aspects of our mission as well. If you watched some arrogant Warlord kill your mother and father, just because he could, wouldn't you feel better knowing someone was there? That someone cared enough about you that they would risk their lives to make sure you could live yours?” Grant shook his head. “I'll be staying with my son. I can only hope that the rest of my family will one day understand why we have to do this.”

  “Oh, we understand. We understand that you have to go be a man, and kill other men. We understand that both of you are suffering from acute testosterone poisoning, and need to run off to prove your manhood and piss on your enemies. Fine, if you insist on letting your baser instincts run your lives then I for one don't need you in my life anymore. I was there the last time you came home. I was there to nurse you back to sanity. I will not do it again,” Francine replied, her voice full of vitriol. “You're all fucking insane.”

  “Highness, Admiral Hs'ean asked me to pass along that all three have agreed to meet your party, and you are welcome aboard anytime.” Cole said aloud. Then, via the internal comm. “I've also gotten an end of task report from Tewney. The barracks and flight school are ready, the extra construction teams have been shifted over to the ship building facility, the Mars installation, as well as back to the lunar base.”