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

by Brandon Ellis

  It was like a puzzle and Ozzy was driving like a bat out of hell down street after street.

  “Take a left,” ordered Lyra.

  Ozzy turned the wheel. “Whoa!”

  He took the turn too wide and slammed into an unoccupied hoverbike, the bike flipped into the air, twirling over the odyssey. It came down hard on the pavement, and bounced up and down in a gnarled, broken mess.

  He swerved back onto the road, his eyes wide. “Shit.” He pressed on the breaks, leaning back against his seat. The oddysey came to a screeching halt, sliding then stopping mere inches from rear-ending a vehicle.

  He let out an exhale, and wiped the sweat from his eyes. He glanced at his rear holovids. The MMP were approaching. Yet, he had no where to go. A row of hovercars were parked in front of him.

  He took a look at his wrist device, noting the time, his heart beating quickly and his darting from the coming MMP to the many hovering vehicles in front of him. “It’s not rush hour.” He pressed on the horn. “Why in Mars’s butthole are they stopped?”

  He punched his steering wheel and smacked the horn again. The cars in front of him didn’t budge.

  He went to stand. “We gotta go, Lyra.”

  She grabbed his arm. “Not yet.”

  “Suit yourself, but I’m jetting out of here.” He wiggled his arm out of her hand and stood just as a man dressed in a monk’s outfit jumped out of one of the many cars in front of him, waiving his hands in the air.

  A second monk did the same, and before he knew it, monks were exiting cars and flooding the streets.

  Ozzy gave Lyra an ominous look. “What’s going on?”

  Lyra twitched her whiskers and gave a cockeyed grin. “Those are my men and women. There aren’t many, but these will do.” She jumped out of the Odyssey. “Now we can go. Hurry.”

  She ran toward a monk and the monk handed her a robe. She slipped it on, motioning for Ozzy to hurry up.

  Yellow and red lights from the approaching MMP reflected off the buildings next to him. He quickened his pace, following Lyra.

  A monk corralled, covering him with a blanket. “Put this over your body,” she said, thrusting a robe into his chest.

  He slid the orange robe over his head and pulled the hood down, shadowing his face.

  She lifted the blanket and tossed it to the side, and Ozzy found himself in a crowd of monks, all chanting, and all walking between the parked cars.

  “Attention,” came a voice over a speaker. Ozzy didn’t turn to face them, but he the MMP cars were now parked near his Odyssey. “This is the Mars Ministry Police. Everyone halt. And do not move. We will be inspecting each and everyone one of you.”

  The monks continued chanting and headed onward, not complying to the orders.

  A monk nudged up against Ozzy. “Follow me.”

  It was Lyra.

  She tugged on his robe and hurried toward a vehicle parked in the front of the traffic jam. “Get in. I have something more important to show you, and more important than your brother’s life. This supersedes everything. Do you understand?”

  “No matter what it is, you won’t be able to change my mind.”

  “These matters are more important for the survival of your race. You have to get a message to the Marine’s, or all your race will fail to live on.” The door opened and Ozzy slid into the back seat, Lyra doing the same before slamming the door. She eyed the driver. “Get going.”

  The driver nodded and put his foot on the gas. Ozzy peered out the window, not convinced that anything would supplant his goal to rescue his brother from Jonas.

  An MMP passed him, its lights flashing, its siren blaring, and heading for the chanting monks.

  “You know where to take us, Riley?” asked Lyra.

  The driver dipped his head. “Yes, madame.”

  “Excellent, Dear.” She leaned forward and slapped Riley’s shoulder. “I can always count on you.”

  “Yes, Lyra.”

  Riley drove them down a thin street between two tall skyscrapers. He pulled up to a fifty or so story building and pressed a button on his driver’s console. A large garage opened. He pulled into an ascending driveway.

  “Where are we?” asked Ozzy.

  They drove up the driveway and pulled into an empty parking lot. The hovercar hissed, and landed, jostling lightly against the ground.

  “My crown jewel,” responded Lyra, stepping out of the car.

  “What does that mean?” Ozzy slid on the back seat, pushing his way out the car.

  “I have a suite here.”

  Ozzy stopped in mid-stride and stiffened. “The MMP will have no problem finding your name tagged to that suite.”

  “It’s not under my name, Darling. It’s under Jonas Moon’s name.” She headed toward a barren, red concrete wall. “I purchased it with Jonas Moon’s auric wallet and under his name. They won’t be the wiser.” She touched the wall and a hologram displaying a small portion of the concrete wall disappeared, exposing an elevator.

  She pressed a button. It dinged and the elevator opened. She stepped in. “You coming?”

  Ozzy stepped into the elevator. “How did you get his wallet?”

  She winked. “Oh, I don’t have his wallet. I just used his wallet when he wasn’t around. I am a sneaky little feline, aren’t I?”

  The doors closed.

  “Going up,” said Lyra. “49th floor.”

  The elevator rose, speeding quickly to its destination. A minute later a ding and the door opened. Lyra stepped inside a large room, her arms spread out wide. “My home away from home.”

  She took off her robe and dropped it on the tile floor.

  Ozzy’s mouth gaped open. The place was gigantic, furnished with couches, love seats, a large holovid, a kitchen, and hallways and rooms.

  A large window filled his view, facing a nearby skyscraper. He walked toward the window and touched it, looking down at the street.

  Hovercars, the size of ants, were flying below. He turned, crossing his arms. “What’s more important to me then my brother?”

  “Your brother’s and the rest of humanity’s survival,” she wiggled her finger in the air as if what she was going to say is more important than time itself. “You need to let the Marines know what I know. That’s your only chance.”

  Ozzy scowled. “You’ve lost me.”

  “Look,” she said, pointing at the holovid in front of her and taking a seat on a couch. “Holodisplay, show file 9983 under Jonas Moon, condidential, password 8813324HJ.”

  The holovid blinked on, and all Ozzy space with its many twinkling stars was displayed before him.

  A flash of light zipped by the vid and went out of view.

  “Reverse, play, and slow,” said Lyra. She licked the back of her hand, grooming herself.

  Ozzy glared at the holovid, wondering what she was trying to show him. The vid, this time, was in slow motion, and Ozzy about crapped his pants.

  Dunrakee star cruisers, star destroyers, star ships, and troop transport ships came into view. Not in the dozens. But in the hundreds, and perhaps thousands.

  This was a full invasion. It wasn’t an attack. No, it was an outright annihilation. The Dunrakee weren’t kidding around this time. They meant business, like they did when the stole Earth from the human race.

  “You see the date and time?” asked Lyra, now grooming her forearm. She lifted her chin, and eyed Ozzy, half of her tongue sticking out. “Look, please.”

  Ozzy eyed the lower portion of the video. “Two days ago.” He cocked his head to the side. “And they are in Quadrant four? That’s Mars’s quadrant.”

  “They are almost here, Ozzy. I give them two hours. We need to alert anyone in the Marines and get this all over the news networks. We have to save your race because I think you are indeed the race my people have been searching for.”

  Ozzy blink at the screen several times. “Two hours?”

  This was a repeat of a hundred years ago when the Dunrakee came and plunder
ed his race, sending them either to death or to Mars.

  Most, however, found death.

  Yet, this time they had a warning—if Jonas would allow it. They could evacuate, and before the Dunrakee made it to Mars…mabye.

  If they started evacuating now, they could save millions.

  Ozzy swallowed hard. “Call Jonas.” He took off his robe and threw it across the room. He didn’t want Jonas to see his disguise.

  “He knows, but he’s not doing anything about it.”

  Ozzy planted a thumb against his own chest. “I can.”

  “He wants you dead. We need to get an in with the Marines and you can notify them, because Darling, from what I know, the majority of your military don’t have a clue as to what is coming. They are expecting a dozen or so Dunrakee ships, not hundreds and hundreds.”

  Ozzy paced, thinking. He tapped his teeth. “Dial up Jonas, and do it now.”

  “He’ll zero in on this location if we do.”

  Ozzy stopped pacing. “Do it.”

  Lyra shook her head, expelling an exasperated breath. She scratched the fur behind her ear, and sat straighter. “Com channel, 001, High Judge, emergency com line.” She crossed her legs. “This will get to Jonas no matter where he is.”

  The com channel buzzed and Jonas’s face appeared on the screen. At first, the overweight High Judge didn’t understand what he was looking at, and then he jerked back. “Where the hell are you two?”

  Jonas was standing outside of Relic, Lou was by his side, expressionless and looking off in the distance as if no thoughts were entering his mind.

  Lyra smiled, and purr came from her throat. “Jonas, I have shown Ozzy the confidential file.”

  One of Jonas’s eyebrows raised. “So you know how close they are, Ozzy. Congratulations. You happy? You brought this upon us.”

  Ozzy sat next to Lyra, cupping his hands in his lap. “Contact the Marines and get every ship in the exosphere down here, along with every ship at every military installation in the air. We need a mass evacuation, and now.”

  Jonas stroked his chin. “And where would we go?”

  “To Europa.”

  Jonas threw a dismissive hand. “They are not prepared for our population.”

  “Let them know and have them start prepairing. It’s not like we have any other options.”

  Jonas perked up. “Really? You don’t think Lyra has a planet we can use? I’m sure her race would take us in.” There was a bit of sarcasm in his voice, as if he spoke to Lyra on this before.

  “Dearie, you know the drill,” responded Lyra, “we can’t force the evolution of any one race. I’m sorry. It’s against our protocol.”

  Ozzy didn’t necessarily know what that meant, but he didn’t have time to question. “Jonas, be a good High Judge, and get the Marines in the air and to every city now. Blast this all over the networks and tell everyone to get to the flyway ports.”

  Jonas laughed. “It’s that easy, eh? And what if we could defeat these assholes when they arrived?”

  “We can’t,” yelled Ozzy, spit coming out of his mouth, his face reddening. “Get that in your head.”

  Jonas looked away. “We are developing super troops. The Dunrakee bastards won’t know what hit them.” He stared at Ozzy. “We’ve tracked your location. Have a good ride to hell, Ozzy.”

  The vid screen blinked off.

  Lyra put her head in her hands. “I told you that calling wouldn’t work.”

  Ozzy shrugged. “It was the easy way, and the easy way is always worth a try. Now we gotta take the hard route and get this information to the Marines.”

  “The higher-ups already know.”

  “But I guarantee the colonels and any lower rank won’t have a clue the Dunrakee have amassed such a large fleet and will be here in mere hours. We’ll let them know and they’ll have to abide. They have families, and they won’t leave them to die.”

  “You’re surely confident about your race, Ozzy.”

  “Confident?” He let out a quick laugh. “No, not even close. But getting this information out there may just save us.”

  Lyra looked up. “Good. I’ve been watching you and I’m glad I’ve seen a change. Because so, I had confidence in you. Now, sweetie, one more thing. How are we going to get this information to the Marines?”

  “In person,” responded Ozzy. “And I think I know a way to get there.”

  24

  Tagus Valles, Mars

  Ozzy and Lyra walked down a sidewalk, robes on, hoods over their heads, hiding their faces.

  “Chant,” whispered Ozzy.

  “Why?”

  “Look up ahead,” Ozzy gestured toward a large building. It had a Tagus Valles MMP sign atop it, and MMP agents walking in and out of the entryway.

  “Do you going in there is wise?”

  “Probably not, but start chanting.”

  They walked up the steps into the police building while Lyra sang in a tongue he’d never heard before. It was calming, but didn’t seem to relax the agents staring at them as walked inside and onto the red marble floor in the lobby.

  Ozzy’s head was down and his face still hidden. He kept his hands out where everyone could see them, and other than the singing, all else was silent.

  They had the police department’s utmost attention, to say the least.

  Ozzy put his palms on the front desk. “I am looking for Sergeant Marino.”

  The man behind the desk tapped a pencil on the desk, and turned his head to a security holivid. “Do you have an appointment?”

  “Yes,” said Ozzy as Lyra came up to him and stood by his side, now quiet as can be. Her cat-like features were well hidden under her robe, her ears tucked back under the hood.

  The agent sat straight, and brought up the holokeypad, ready to type. “What’s your name?”

  Ozzy let out a sigh. “Can’t you get him out here, please? It’s an emergency.”

  “An emergency?” responded an agent, snapping his fingers for emphasis. “Welcome to the precinct, where everything is an emergency. Give us a name and if you’re on the list for an appointment, you can go right in.”

  Ozzy pushed his hood back, letting flop against his upper back. “My name is Ozzy Mack. And I’m the criminal you’ve been looking for.”

  “What the hell are you doing, Ozzy?” Lyra was sitting next to him in a detainment room.

  They rested their arms on a table, their hands cuffed to a metal bar. An empty seat was on the other side.

  The door creaked open, and in walked Sergeant Marino, flashing his badge.

  “This will be off the record.” He sat in the empty chair, clearly in a hurry and wanting to get this over. His face was red and a vein was popping out of his forehead. He was clearly stressed. “Ozzy Mack, we—” He hesitated when he glanced up, eyeing the Elix feline alien next to Ozzy. He titled his head. “And who is this?”

  “That’s not important,” interrupted Ozzy. “We need to show you something and then you need to get us to the Marine base over at Solis Planim.”

  Marino leaned back and crossed his arms, pursing his lips. “And why would I do something like that?”

  “Bring in a holopad and I’ll show you something that will change your mind about…everything.”

  Marino rubbed absently at his arm and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and intertwining his fingers. “Look, you know I can’t stand the new High Judge. But you brought yourselves into my precinct and there is nothing I can do to let you go now.” He slashed his hand through the air. “Nothing.”

  “Sergeant Marino,” said Lyra, letting out a soft purr. “Your people are about to be wiped out by the millions. Hundreds of Dunrakee ships are en-route and heading toward Mars, with enough payload to end humanity’s existence. I give us two hours, maybe less, until humanity is no more but a blip in the Universe’s history books.”

  Marino merely scratched his chin, thinking. From the way Ozzy was reading things, Marino didn’t believe her. I
f he was, his eyes would have gone wide, his would have risen in his posture, or anything to show panic. “We haven’t detected anything other than a few ships.” He knocked on the table and stood. “Okay, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to book you two and head on home.” He yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

  Ozzy shook his head. “You’re being lied to. The High Judge is covering up very important information. I have evidence that a massive fleet is only hours away, but we can only present that to you if you get the holopad in here.”

  Marino stared at Ozzy for a moment, then eyed the door. “I’m sorry.”

  Ozzy went to stand, but was pulled back down by the cuff’s tug. “Marino, don’t—”

  The door burst open, and a man in a Martian Marine Police uniform stepped inside, breathing heavily. He set a holopad on the table.

  “Agent Bays, this is intruding on a—”

  Agent Bays put his hand up, cutting Marino off. “I’m sorry, Sergeant, but I was watching the conversation over my holocom at my desk. And I scanned both of them while they were speaking with you. They are either incredible liars, or they’re not lying at all.” He tapped the holopad, and slid the holopad to Ozzy. “I want to find out the truth. Show us, Mr. Mack.”

  Marino tapped on the desk. “You better not be bullshitting me, Ozzy.”

  “We’re not,” replied Ozzy. “Show him, Lyra.” Ozzy slid the pad to her.

  “On,” she said, and the holodisplay shot white image outward and toward the ceiling. “Patch into the High Judge security channel line 001.” She gave the password, the file name, and added another file name Ozzy hadn’t heard before.

  Ozzy squished his eyebrows together as a different holovid popped up and displayed before them.

  A black image with stars appeared, though a wider view from what Ozzy had seen prior. An immense fleet flew by. The quadrant number and a date was in the images lower left corner.

  A box-like ship flew by, brightness gleaming off the finished metal. Towers rose from the tops of the ship, and electric currents zipped between rods attached to the towers.

  There was no mistaking it. It was a colony ship and these ships meant business. Then another colony ship and another in a long stream of colony ships, heading toward Mars.