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

by Brandon Ellis

  His eyes swept across Venessa, seeing the death shot—between her chest and belly—covered in more blood. Blood had pooled under her, and was beginning to dry.

  Ozzy’s chin hit his chest and he shook his head. “I killed her.”

  “Not in the slightest, Ozzy,” replied Gragas. “Jonas did. Don’t take the blame for another person’s evils.”

  Ozzy ignored him. He couldn’t help but stare at his ex-wife. Yes, they weren’t together anymore and the love wained, but he still loved her in his own way, and was always grateful she raised a wonderful young girl in Lily.

  A pain hit his chest when he noticed Venessa’s mouth. It was open as if calling for help before she died. Was she pleading to see Lily one last time? Was she asking for mercy from her killer?

  Ozzy couldn’t imagine the pain and hell she was in before her last breath.

  And what about Lou? Was he alive?

  Ozzy turned, his hands trembling and his eyes wide. He faced Jozi. “Where the hell is my brother?”

  His adrenaline picked up and his world spun. “Lou is here somewhere. I feel him. Find him, please.” He pulled the back of his hair, and paced around a pallet full of weapons, not knowing if he indeed felt him or not, but a looming shadow of his brother’s energy was around. “Lou, are you here?”

  He marched through an open door and into another room.

  A hand came down on his shoulder. He spun around, arms up, and eyes wild.

  It was Jozi.

  She pulled him behind her, and walked in front of him with her gun forward. “You’re not in the right mind, Ozzy. Keep quiet and stay behind me.”

  The room was dimly lit, and surrounded with red cement walls, ceilings, and floors.

  Pallets with buckets of olive oil lined the area. It was an oil well sought, but with limited quantities on Mars. Jonas probably made top dollar with it on the black market, another illegal activity that made him billions.

  “Lou,” blurted Ozzy, moving through an opening into another room. “Make a sound. Let me know you’re here.”

  Quad hurried inside the room where Ozzy was. “Talk quietly, or you’ll let them know of our presence.” He tapped his helmet, indicating he had detected others nearby. “My helmet shows me movement in another room.” He pulled Ozzy back into the room with the olive oil. Quad went to one knee, aiming his cannon at a closed door.

  Gragas went to one knee as well, hiding behind a silver barrel, probably full of more illegal materials. “What is it, Quad?”

  Quad gestured at the closed door. “Movement, twelve o’clock.”

  Ozzy squeezed his hand into a ball, and fire rose from his belly. “Lyra No Tail set us up.” He glared at Jozi, who was against the wall, targeting the same door as Quad and Graga. “You trusted her.”

  “I still do.” She stiffened. “Get your guns ready.”

  “Ozzy,” came Lou’s voice, echoing from another room. “Ozzy.”

  Ozzy rushed forward.

  Quad went to grab him.

  A light flashed into the room and electricity ran through Ozzy’s veins. He bit down hard and fell on his back, writhing in pain, his arms and legs shaking uncontrollably.

  “Enough,” yelled a man, marching into the room.

  The electricity dissipated and Ozzy lay on the floor, his hair frizzled, and his body pulsing with needle sensations pricking his skin.

  “Put your hands up and your weapons down. This is the MMP. You’re under arrest.”

  Ozzy glanced up. It was Sergeant Marino, the same MMP Agent at the resort, the one who let them go. A taser gun was in the sergeant’s hand.

  “Not over my dead body,” growled Quad, his weapon pointed at Marino’s chest.

  “It may very well be over your dead body,” replied Marino. Boot steps reverberated against the walls, and more than thirty MMP surrounded them.

  “Put down your weapons,” repeated Marino.

  Ozzy went to move. His muscles spasmed and he let out an agonizing scream.

  “Marino,” said Jozi. She motioned behind her with her head at Venessa’s dead body. “Did you do that?”

  Marino lowered his gaze, and his lips drifted apart. “No. But we will find out who did.”

  Jozi shook her head. “That’s a murder. It deserves a proper investigation.”

  Marino brought his wrist to his mouth, and spoke into his com line. “Mars Ministry Police, this is Sergeant Marino. We have a 10-39, possible homicide that needs to be recorded and documented. We’ll be bringing a dead body in, over.”

  “10-4, Sergeant Marino,” responded dispatch.

  “And a 10-26, we’ll be detaining four subjects, and 10-32, they are armed to the neck,” said Marino, again in his com line.

  Quad laughed. “Do you seriously think your MMP Agents here will stop me?”

  “Lower your weapon,” ordered Gragas. He looked at Jozi. “All of you. We don’t have a chance, and I’m not going to kill innocent agents.”

  “Where is Lou?” Ozzy was still on the ground. “Where is he?”

  Marino bent down, his lips close to Ozzy’s ear. “We know where he is, and I won’t let anything happen to him. I am doing everything I can to bring down the High Judge and to clear your’s and Jozi’s names. Bear with me on this, okay? In the meantime, I will have to take you into custody. But it won’t be for long, trust me. I’ll get you out.”

  Ozzy lifted his hand, straining against the spasm in his arm. He clasped Marino’s forearm. “My brother is here. Find him. Please.”

  “Ozzy,” boomed Lou’s voice.

  Marino and the MMP Agents looked at the ceiling.

  “Ozzy,” came Lou’s voice again.

  Marino dropped his head, eyeing Ozzy intently. His face became hard. “Whoever set you up, set up a recording of your brother. Regardless, you are trespassing and breaking into the High Judge’s home, which is a Ministry offense.” He cleared his throat and stood tall, looming over Ozzy. “It’s just not your lucky day, Ozzy Mack.” Marino backed away, practically putting on a play, his voice growing in volume, no doubt understanding cameras were all over the place. “Cuff them all.”

  17

  Gale Crater City, Mars

  Ozzy sat in the High Judge’s sentencing room, accompanied by two guards. He rested his cuffed hands on the table, blinking away his tired, and blurred vision.

  He spent a sleepless night in a prison cell.

  The prison wasn’t the reason he couldn’t sleep. His dead ex-wife’s bloody image wracked his brain all night, her potential screams for help, her fading memory of Lily, her being alone, dying on the floor.

  The door behind him whooshed and slid open. Ozzy kept his eyes on his cupped hands.

  Footsteps rounded the sentencing table, and heavy breathing pounded his ear drums. The High Judge—his old friend, Jonas Moon—had entered.

  “Guards, leave,” said Jonas.

  The guards dipped their heads and exited the room. The door closed, and Jonas slowly slid out a chair from across the table.

  Jonas sat.

  “Ozzy, look at me.”

  Ozzy shook his head like a boy in detention.

  “Where are my Gaia Stones?”

  Ozzy glared at Jonas, his mouth gaping. What did he mean, where are my Gaia Stones?

  “I don’t know, Jonas.”

  “Tell me the truth.”

  “The truth?” Ozzy went to stand, to slam his fist on the table, or kick Jonas in the face, but refrained. For one, he was cuffed and tired, and two, he didn’t want a taser in his back from the guards on the other side of the door, most likely listening for any sign of danger. “I once thought you’d do well as a High Judge on Mars. I was all for it when I heard you were going to take over the position. I was wrong. You and the last High Judge are cut from the same cloth.”

  Jonas ignored Ozzy’s comment and interlaced his fingers. “I’ll ask this one more time. Where are my Gaia Stones?”

  Ozzy shrugged. “What are you talking about? All I know
is that you and Lyra No Tail set me up. It was clever and I fell for it, but let me just say one more thing.” He lifted his middle finger, saying all that he needed to say.

  Jonas eyed Ozzy, showing his palms. “What do you mean Lyra and I set you up?”

  Ozzy laughed. Jonas was putting on a nice show. “You want me to go over it so you can feel another pang of pride for catching me? Is your ego that big?” He dropped his chin to his chest. “Geeze, man. If I knew you were like this before I started working for you, I’d have worked for old Shifty Eyez.”

  Jonas slammed his fist on the table, his eyes like boiling lava. “Did Lyra No Tail tell you about the Gaia Stones? Is that how you knew I had them?”

  Ozzy shifted his eyes to the window. It was a relatively calm day, and few people were walking by on the sidewalks and not a hovercar flew down the road.

  He scratched his chin. Did Lyra set him up without Jonas’s knowledge? What was truly going on here? “Yes, I had a meeting with Lyra No Tail. She gave me the access codes and secret passage location to get under your Tagus Valles compound.”

  Jonas pushed out from his chair, his belly jiggling back and forth. He crossed his arms and paced the room. “That feline double crosser. She set you up. She set me up. She set the MMP up and while you were being cuffed, she grabbed the stones. At least, that’s what I figure.” He massaged his temple, looking off in the distance with an evil gleam to his eyes. “That damn Elix. Those smooth, feline-aliens.” He shook his head and held in a yell. He hurried toward the door, not giving Ozzy a look.

  “Let me see my brother,” interrupted Ozzy.

  Jonas stopped, pausing before touching the control panel that would unlock the door. He stared at the door for a few seconds before he turned. “You’re going to be killed tomorrow. Ozzy.” His voice was flat, as if sad.

  Ozzy’s stomach jumped in a start. “What, are you going to have me shanked, you coward? Can’t you just man up and take me on, and do it yourself?”

  Jonas turned and rested his hands on his belly. He leaned back in his posture. “I don’t want to, but I have to, Ozzy. I must show the rest of the world what happens to traitors.”

  “You know I’m not a traitor.”

  Jonas took a hefty step toward Ozzy, his hand in a fist, ready to knock his old friend out. “That’s what I wish, Ozzy. That’s what I wish.” He pursed his lips, taking in a few hard breaths through his nose. “You had a job, and you didn’t do it. Because of you, this entire planet full of my people,” he pointed to his chest, “that I’m supposed to keep safe and alive, are going to be overrun by Dunrakee if the crime syndicates and the Martian Marines aren’t ready to take them on. And you know what? We aren’t. We’re decades behind the Dunrakee. We shouldn’t be, but the last High Judge was an inadequate imbecile.” He pointed at the ceiling. “And those Dunrakee assholes are on their way as we speak.”

  Ozzy perked up. “How long until they are here?”

  “A week. Maybe days. And it’s thanks to you.”

  Ozzy lowered his head. In a way, it was true. He trusted his instincts to save the Dunrakee and not kill each and every one of them on Earth, and instead destroyed the Ark of the Concordant, which was all they had to defend themselves. Yet, even though he saved the Dunrakee, their military was on their way to Mars to kill every last human. And it was happening sooner than he expected.

  “I did my job, Jonas, but you weren’t there. The Dunrakee civilians are different than the government. They are good people, and I didn’t have it in my heart to kill them after they continuously saved my ass.”

  Jonas took a step forward, and grabbed the back of Ozzy’s head. He squeezed his hair and shoved his forehead onto the table, smacking it hard.

  Ozzy winced from the immense sting widening from his forehead down his temples.

  Jonas leaned in, his hot breath against Ozzy’s neck. “Don’t you worry about their kind deeds, Ozzy. I mean, it’s fine. I understand. It’s probably better to trade one race for another. I mean, this Universe doesn’t need humans anyway, does it? In the meantime, you’ll be dead by public beheading tomorrow.”

  Jonas let go of his hair. “And I know what Sergeant Marino told you about your brother being safe and all. Well, understand this. Marino is as brainless as you, and because so, he’ll be heading to his own trial soon.” He scoffed. “There isn’t anyway I’m keeping a single one of your bloodline alive. Your brother and your daughter are next.”

  Ozzy shot to his feet, and his chair toppled over behind him. “Jonas,” he growled, “you touch even one hair on my daughter.”

  Jonas put his hand on the control panel next to the door. The door slid open. “You’ll see her on the other side, Ozzy. And, don’t worry, I’ll be gentle on her.”

  He walked through the doorway, and the guards entered.

  Ozzy’s body tingled, and every nerve in his body went on overdrive. “Keep your hands off of my daughter.” He let out a loud grunt and bull rushed the guards.

  A taser slapped against his chest, and his body jerked left and right, the electricity running through his muscles.

  All bodily functions ceased, and he dropped to the floor.

  A guard picked him up and threw him over his shoulder, laughing. “Can’t wait to see your head rolling on the floor, you piece of Mars criminal. You’ve had it coming for years.”

  18

  Gale Crater City, Mars

  “Let me see my friends,” said Ozzy, being pushed on a wheelchair by a guard. He was strapped in, unable to move.

  They were wheeling him down a prison corridor, about to exit the door up ahead. “I get one last request, and that’s it. It’s Ministry law.”

  He would rather see Lily, but she was being watched by Kat and hidden away, hopefully safe. Yet, he was about to die and wanted to see someone, and that someone was Jozi of all people.

  In a way, he thought it was about time death took him. He had trusted the wrong people most of his life, and his idiocy finally got up to him.

  He pulled on his restraints. They didn’t budge. He kicked his feet out, only managing to move a few inches before the cuffs held his legs at bay.

  A guard slapped him on the cheek. “Knock it off.”

  Ozzy wanted to touch his face, to rub the sting from the slap that had quickly turned into a throb, but again, he was strapped in, unable to budge more than a few inches.

  “Please, don’t do this. I get to see a friend or family member before an execution. It’s protocol for a death sentence.”

  The guard didn’t reply, and pushed him forward through the doors, taking him to his death.

  A flash of light strained his eyes. He squinted, wanting to lift his arms to cover the holocams hovering, and the hoard of news men and women shoving small mic’s into his face.

  “Are you glad they changed their minds, Ozzy?” asked a news woman. She was decked out in makeup and her hair looked more plastic than real.

  “Change their minds?” said Ozzy. “What’s going on?”

  A news man nudged the woman out of the way, shoving a mic against Ozzy’s chin. “You don’t seem shocked, Ozzy. Do you think this will be a smoother transition?”

  A smoother transition? What were they talking about?

  Ozzy head butted the mic. “Don’t film me.”

  The guard pushed him onward, and to a seat with arm and feet straps attached.

  “Can I see Jozi?” he pled loudly.

  A door swung open and Jonas emerged with a smile on his face. “Welcome, everyone,” said Jonas, speaking to a hovercam. He spread his arms out wide. “I had a grand public ceremony planned for today’s event. But, apparently, a beheading was looked down upon by the rest of the public officials. And greatly understood. My apologies to everyone, and to you, Ozzy.” He motioned toward the chair. “Instead, we have a more humane death. Guards?”

  The guard uncuffed Ozzy’s arms and legs. Three more guards walked from across the room, and joined the first guard. They grasped Ozzy aroun
d the arms and the shoulders.

  They pulled him to the chair. Ozzy held back, doing his best to stay his ground. He flailed his arms, but to know avail. He was weak and they plopped him on the chair like he was a child, and wrapped the restraints around him, pulling tightly.

  He squeezed his fists. “Jonas, please. As my last request, I want to see Jozi.”

  Jonas frowned. “I’m sorry, Ozzy. For her safety, I can’t have that arranged.”

  Ozzy scowled. “Then one more request?”

  For a moment, Jonas’s face slipped from politician to a pissed off crime boss. He corrected his posture and expression, recovering quickly for the cameras. “Yes, Ozzy. What is it? Maybe we can grant you your last request.”

  The son of a Mars was laying on the sweet talk thick.

  “It’s not much,” lied Ozzy. “Can I just whisper it to you?”

  Jonas turned, and eyed the news men and women in the room. “He wants to whisper it in my ear.” He laughed it off, and played the fool. He leaned down.

  Ozzy reared back and spit, hitting Jonas on the cheek and ear. “Remember that for the rest of your miserable life.”

  Jonas jerked back and wiped it off, chuckling at the gasps in the room, his face reddening. “I’m alright, folks. It’s just spit.” He backed away, glaring at Ozzy, and slowly pronouncing, “Executioner, to your duty, sir.”

  A thin person in a mask, gloves, and covered in a violet robe with a hood, entered the room.

  The executioner held a syringe and walked toward Ozzy.

  Jonas clapped his hands, and the rest of the people oddly clapped along as well. “You may proceed with the lethal injection when you are ready.”

  The masked person paced toward Ozzy, testing the syringe. Liquid dripped from the needle, and to the floor.

  Ozzy thought of his daughter. Lily’s smile entered his mind. It was all that he had great in the world, and the hell with Jonas thinking he was going to take it away.

  He closed his eyes, waiting for the injection, and almost welcoming it. He smiled at his last thoughts, his last memory: Lily’s smile.