Mars Colony Chronicles (Books 1 - 5): A Space Opera Box Set Adventure

by Brandon Ellis

  He thumbed over his shoulder and toward the top of the dome. “Quad is going to keep them company while we extract your family.”

  Ozzy twisted around on a dime and bolted toward the resort with Gragas and Jozi close behind.

  They rounded a structure and into an alleyway bordered by warehouses. His boots clanked loudly when he came to a quick halt. A tall, black gate was up ahead and lined with trees, plants, and shrubbery.

  “That’s Gledhill Resort,” Ozzy said to himself.

  The resort’s entrance was on the other side of the inclosure, but he didn’t have time to run around the complex and convince the guards to let him in.

  A detour was needed.

  He leaped on the gate and climbed, swinging his leg over the top, and dropped down into the shrubs. He lost his balance and fell against a large, green tear drop leaf from a tropical tree.

  Two thuds pounded next to him. He pushed to a standing position, his gun drawn.

  He relaxed when he saw it was Jozi and Gragas. They were crouched low with their photon pistols ready.

  Ozzy dusted the dirt off his pants. “We have to find exactly where they are staying, but how the hell were they going to do that?

  Gragas tapped his helmet. “I’m pulling up the blueprint of the place.”

  “Will that tell us where Lily is?” inquired Ozzy.

  “Yes,” responded Gragas. “If she’s of the bloodline, my helmet will detect her. And it will tell us a way in besides the front door.”

  Ozzy pushed aside branches, and crept forward, hidden well under the small, man-made forest that surrounded the resort.

  He walked fifteen meters toward the resort’s main buildings and reached the forest’s edge. He lurched back in surprise.

  Near the entrance were fancy hovercars. One was a hover limousine that had the High Judge’s flag on it, and Mars Ministry Police hover vehicles were around it, parked in a round-about cobble stone driveway, surrounded by white stone columns and a green grass-like carpet leading to an entryway.

  Outside stood a fat man in a black suit.

  Ozzy gasped. “Jonas Moon.”

  Jonas eyed the top of the dome, watching the battle above, his face contorted in anger.

  Little did he know, a battle weary Ozzy was already here, and ready to end the son of a Mars if he didn’t give his family up.

  Gragas and Jozi cautiously walked toward Ozzy. Ozzy put his hand up, telling Gragas and Jozi to halt. “Jonas Moon is right there.”

  A man walked out of the entrance to meet Jonas. Ozzy’s mouth dropped open. It was his brother, Lou.

  Lou stood much like a trained soldier, something Ozzy had never seen from his brother before. He had bulging biceps, chest, and shoulders, something his brother didn’t have before Ozzy left three months ago to end all Dunrakee scum on Earth.

  He couldn’t have gained that much muscle in just three months, could he?

  A pack of MMP agents exited the palace behind Lou. They had guns, and were pulling Venessa along. She was struggling, but with her full-bodied flower dress and her high heels, she was awkward and having a hard time staying on her feet.

  They pushed her into a hovercar and Lou stepped forward, slamming the door in her face, drowning out her complaints.

  “Why is Lou acting like that?” asked Ozzy.

  “Yes, something has changed,” replied Gragas.

  Lily came out next and Ozzy’s heart skipped a beat. She was scared. Even from this distance, Ozzy could tell.

  He wanted to run to her, pick her up, and hug her. He wanted to kiss her cheeks and tell her how much he loved her.

  He wanted to get her as far from Jonas as possible.

  Lily said something Ozzy couldn’t hear. She also stomped her foot, mimicking the actions her mom had just done. Jonas crossed his arms over his protruding belly, and kicked Lily in the rear, sending her to the cobblestone.

  Lou didn’t budge.

  Ozzy’s eyebrows v’d. “What the hell?” He unholstered his sidearm and walked out into the grounds trimmed grass, both photon pistols ready to blaze some hot hate down Jonas’s throat. “Wrong move, Mars-hole.”

  Jonas twisted in surprise, his eyes wide, his mouth open. He crinkled his brow when he saw Ozzy. “Guards, arrest that man.”

  7

  Gledhill, Mars

  Ozzy’s hands shook in rage. “Keep your Mars-damn boots off of my daughter, Jonas.”

  Jonas stepped behind Lily and Lou, using them as cover. He grasped Lou’s shoulders, and patted Lou’s back. “Lou, my friend, go get your brother.”

  Lily’s drooping shoulder’s straightened when she saw Ozzy and she enthusiastically waved. “Daddy.”

  MMP agents exited their hover vehicles and several marched out of the resort. Jonas picked up Lily and opened the limousine door, tossing her in like she was a rag doll, her screams deadening when Jonas slammed the door shut.

  Ozzy flexed his index finger against his gun’s trigger, pushing the trigger closer to the rear of his trigger guard. He walked forward, trekking over the grass. “Give her to me, Jonas.”

  Lou walked forward, flexing as he took heavy steps toward his brother. “That’s not going to happen, brother.” His voice was different, more sinister. What the hell did Jonas do to him?

  Ozzy stopped, and pointed his gun at Lou. His brother wanted to rip Ozzy to shreds, and Lou’s eyes were practically doing that alone. “Stay where you are, Lou.”

  Jonas eyed Ozzy, his lips curled. “You screwed me over, buddy. You lied. You didn’t complete your job on Earth, and you stole my money.”

  Gragas and Jozi strolled up to Ozzy, their guns pointed at the slowly approaching Lou and now Mars Ministry Police agents.

  Ozzy wasn’t budging, looking past Lou and at Jonas. “Let her go, Jonas.” His lips were straight, and his eyes narrowed. He closed one eye, aiming his weapon at Jonas’s forehead.

  Jonas nonchalantly waived and walked into the limo, slamming the door behind him.

  “Put that weapon down, Sir!” yelled an MMP agent. “If you don’t, we’ll have to shoot.”

  Ozzy lowered his weapon.

  “Quad,” said Gragas through his helmet mic. “Pick up Jozi. I’ll be taking Ozzy to get his daughter.”

  Jonas’s limousine’s engine turned on and the car hovered into the air. It moved forward and around the driveway, and turned a corner out of view behind a line of tropical trees and plants.

  Lou approached Ozzy, his eyes blood shot and full of fury. He made a fist and thrust his hand into Ozzy’s belly, knocking the air out of his brother.

  Ozzy bent over and went to the grass, wheezing. He spun onto his back, covering his face with his forearms, wanting to block another blow.

  His brother made another fist. “You wife killer.”

  Wife killer? He wasn’t the one who killed Lou’s wife. It was the old High Judge, Robert Baldwin. Was Lou brainwashed?

  “No,” barked Jozi. “Get your muggy hands off of Ozzy.” She lunged forward, ready to knock Lou to the ground. A blast went off, striking the grass between Lou and Jozi, sending a chunk of dirt splattering across Lou’s boots.

  Lou and Jozi instinctively lurched back, and went into a defensive stance, looking for the culprit.

  The culprit was Gragas, pointing his weapon at the MMP agents before him. “Remember me?”

  “Stand fast,” said an agent. He eyed Gragas. “I’m sergeant Marino. And yes, I remember you. You and your team are quick on the draw, but we have you surrounded and there are only one of you this time, not twenty.”

  Marino was referring to an incident four or five months ago when he and his team had Jozi and Ozzy handcuffed. In the process of attempting to throw them in the back of an Mars Military Police hovervan, the Galactic Knights showed up and rescued Ozzy and Jozi.

  It didn’t go so well…for the agents.

  Gragas let out a chuckle. “Your count was a little off, Sergeant Marino. There were only eight Galactic Knights at the time. But
keep in mind, right now there are more Galactic Knights around us and watching every move, waiting for me to call upon them. They’d be here before you could blink an eye.”

  Ozzy knew that was an exagertation, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the Knights could get here in a minute or two.

  Marino’s eyes darted left and right. “I don’t see anybody.”

  “Don’t trust them,” growled Lou, taking a step forward, his voice like a lion.

  Ozzy pushed off the ground and stood, backing away from his brother.

  “Don’t cause anything that will harm my men,” Marino shouted at Lou. “Step back, soldier.”

  Lou moved behind the line of agents. “As you wish.” He turned, walking toward several MMP vehicles hovering on the round about.

  Ozzy eyed him, taking in deep breaths in an effort to calm himself. This couldn’t be Lou, but it was. “Lou, how…or…who changed you?”

  Lou spun around as if waiting for that question, his bloodshot eyes narrowed. He spit on the ground and walked backward. “You did, Ozzy. You did.” He twisted on his feet and made his way to an MMP vehicle.

  “Sergeant Marino,” said Jozi. “We went to school together.”

  “I’m well aware of this Jozi Ryan.” He slowly stepped forward, his gun pointed at Ozzy. “But what you need to be aware of is that you are still outnumbered.”

  Jozi raised one eyebrow. “What are you going to do, Sergeant Marino?”

  “On orders from the High Judge, we are taking you, Ozzy, and anyone else associated with him into custody. It’s your choice, though. You can either come in alive, or I’ll shoot you dead where you stand.”

  “I don’t think so, Marino,” responded Jozi. “You see, I’m not like normal people anymore. I can shoot a half a dozen of you before you get one shot off. And that’s fine, because you’d still get me. But, that’s if I was alone.” She cocked her head to the side, gesturing to Gragas. “But I’m with him. He’s even faster than me on the draw.”

  Ozzy figured she was bullshitting, but even wondered himself. Could she pull that off, especially with the robotics in her body?

  Maybe she had nanobots raging through her brain, firing off ten times the amount of muscle fibers per second than any ordinary human. She could probably act and react before a half a dozen agents knew what hit them.

  The sergeant touched an earpiece. He nodded. “So, the High Judge left the premises? Turn off all audio feeds coming from my agents. That’s an order.” Marino pursed his lips and lowered his gun. “Everyone, stand down, but keep your guns pointed at these three. Turn on your safety’s.”

  The agents nodded and did as ordered. To Ozzy, it was odd only a few acted surprised.

  “What are you doing, Sergeant?” asked a female officer.

  “Sergeant?” said Jozi. “You’re not acting on protocol right now. You have given an order that I am sure the High Judge did not request.”

  Marino eyed Jozi. “We have deactivated our com devices on my orders, so no one can hear what we’re saying, yet they can still see what we’re doing. We aren’t prepared to die over that High Judge, because he is a fake, a bought and paid for High Judge that I’m not proud to serve under. But we aren’t going to let you get away easily.” Marino sniffed loudly, not taking his eyes from Jozi. “But I’ll be letting you all go.”

  “Jozi,” said Ozzy. “What is this guy doing?”

  “He’s trying to keep his men and women safe and alive,” she replied. “He’s being a good Sergeant. He knows when he’s outmatched.”

  Marino took a step backward. “More so than you know.” He grimaced, clearly knowing what he was about to do would be frowned upon, especially by the High Judge. “Listen up, agents. We outnumber them, but I’ve watched this masked man fight more than once on holovids.” He glared at Gragas. “He could take every one of us out without as much as breaking a sweat.”

  “I’ve seen him too,” said another officer, his photon pistol pointed at Ozzy. “But we let them go and we lose our badges, sir.”

  “Yes,” responded another agent. “We do what we’re ordered. We take them in.”

  “Confoundit,” swore Marino. “I’m keeping you all alive. And we’ll keep our badges. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Two agents pivoted and aimed at Marino.

  “This is against the law,” said the female agent. “And you’re not above the law.”

  “I said, stand down,” ordered Marino.

  Another agent drew a second gun, aiming at Jozi and Marino. “You better change your—”

  A hum vibrated from above and the ground trembled. They all glanced up.

  Quad was hovering above in his starfighter, its cannons spinning, and aiming at the small crowd of MMP agents. “One false move, and you agents will be nothing but blood and guts,” announced Quad, his robotic voice echoing across the yard. “Please make a false move. I like blood and guts. It’ll make my day.”

  “Drop your guns,” demanded Marino.

  The agents, outmatched, let their guns fall to the ground.

  “Blame our escape on our pilot, Marino,” said Jozi.

  The starfighter lowered, and hovered a few feet above the ground. The cockpit opened. Quad waived Jozy to join him inside. “Get in, please. More MMP ships are on their way.”

  Jozi hopped into the cockpit and sat behind Quad’s seat. The cockpit window closed and Quad hovered, speaking through the ship’s external speakers. “Get going, Gragas.”

  Gragas wrapped his arms around Ozzy’s torso, and his wings extended out the back of his battlesuit. He jumped into the air. “Going up,” said Gragas.

  Ozzy lifted off the ground, and Gragas’s boots activated, blasting flames out his soles.

  8

  Gledhill, Mars

  Anxiety punched Ozzy in the gut, and butterflies twirled in his belly from the quick take off. He let out a gasp, his heart racing.

  “We’re going after Jonas’s limousine,” informed Gragas.

  They blasted forward, high above the resort, heading toward a Gledhill freeway.

  A beep echoed from Gragas’s helmet. He made a hard left, veering away from the freeway.

  “What are you doing?” cried Ozzy.

  “Look over your shoulder.”

  Ozzy craned his neck. “Crap.” Twenty or so MMP S-9 crafts were on their way, and they’d like nothing more than to blow Ozzy and Gragas out of the air.

  Ozzy gritted his teeth. “Out maneuver them. We have to get Lily.”

  “Don’t worry, Ozzy. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

  Gragas arched his back and lifted higher toward the domed ceiling, and barrel rolled, changing directions and going the way they had just come.

  Ozzy’s eyes about popped out of his head. The MMP ships were heading right at them. “Are you crazy?”

  “No. I’m wise.”

  The ships opened fire, sending rounds of flashing, bright photon slugs their way. If it wasn’t Gragas flying, anyone else would have been dead, but Gragas happened to dip a moment before the MMP pilots squeezed their triggers.

  The photon bolts missed, and the MMP ships flew on by.

  Gragas lowered, heading toward a row of skyscrapers. They zipped by a massive building and descended, moving quickly toward a highway lined by trees and shrubs.

  Ozzy glanced over his shoulder. Several MMP ships were on their tail, but maintaining a good distance, refraining from sending more slugs Ozzy and Gragas’s way. A missed shot could potentially send a hovercar below into a thousand pieces, along with the civilians inside.

  They flew over the highway, zipping over miriads of cars.

  “Below,” announced Gragas. “You see that limousine? That’s Jonas and your daughter.”

  “Yes.”

  “They look like they are heading for the flyway port.”

  Gragas flew lower, now only a few meters above the black hover vehicle holding Lily captive inside.

  “Drop me,” said Ozzy.

  “Not at th
is speed,” said Gragas, lowering another meter. He grabbed for his belt and pulled out a small, square device with a handle.

  A loud pop and a small square piece with a thick cord connecting it to the device Gragas was holding shot outward, slamming into the top of the limousine, and magnetizing in place.

  Gragas held onto Ozzy with one arm, and squeezed him tighter to his body. “Here we go.”

  The cord pulled them quickly toward the limo, and Gragas shifted in the air, pointing his feed downward. The soles of his boots clanked loudly against the limo’s roof.

  He handed Ozzy the square device he was holding. “Hang on to this and don’t let go.”

  Ozzy did and the limo quickly changed lanes. Gragas crouched, holding on to the top edges of the limo, and Ozzy leaned back, hanging on to the device.

  “Whoa,” Ozzy yelled, flinging his arm back. The cord pulled, keeping him upright and on the roof.

  Gragas made a fist and punched through the roof, creating a dent. He punched again, puncturing the thin metal. He grasped his fingers around the hole and ripped the roof partially open.

  Lily reached up, her mouth forming words Ozzy couldn’t hear, her wide eyes staring at his.

  “Hold on, Lily,” shouted Ozzy.

  Gragas ripped the roof open more, curling the thin material over itself like a crashing ocean wave. The car jostled and changed lanes.

  Ozzy’s arm flailed again, but he managed to hold on to the device, which continued to hold in place, keeping him secure.

  Jonas sat next to Lily, his arm around her, pointing a photon pistol at Ozzy.

  Gragas reached forward in a flash and swiped the gun out of Jonas’s hands, taking it from him and aiming it at Jonas. “Let her go.”

  The car shook and Ozzy lurched back, the sound of metal against metal reverberated in Ozzy’s ears. Gragas slipped, and the gun flung in the air, bouncing on the highway’s red asphalt and crumbling to pieces.

  The car vibrated harshly and Gragas’s feet went out from under him. He reached for the opening he created and squeezed his fingers around the edge, his feet dangling off the car, holding on with all he had.