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

by Brandon Ellis

  Wapooh!

  A photon blast whizzed by him, smashing into a small red mound next to him, splattering sand against his visor.

  “That was just a warning, sir. Do not move or I will hit you with a second shot.” Came the marine from the Rover’s audio speaker.

  Ozzy turned. The Marine was pointing a rifle out of the car’s window.

  “Do not move an inch,” repeated the man.

  Ozzy had to.

  He eyed the mound the Marine had used as target practice a moment ago. It was big enough to hide under, but could he dive over there in time before the Marine could pull the trigger?

  He had to find out.

  The Marine readied his rifle.

  Ozzy slowly put his hands up, feigning a surrender. He lowered his head, pressing his chin against his chest, doing his best to look like he was giving up.

  He took in a deep breath and took a step forward, whispering to himself. “Here goes nothing.”

  He planted his foot and dove to his left.

  Wapooh!

  He landed face first, his helmet’s visor pressing against his nose, and the EVA’s collar pushing against his neck. He tumbled and ducked low, patting himself down, his breaths coming quickly.

  He hadn’t been hit.

  The sound of the Mars Rover’s wheels crunching against the sand and concrete told Ozzy the Rover was turning around, and heading for him.

  Ozzy eyed the landscape. Small red, sandy mounds were everywhere, topped with rocks and boulders. It was the usual ugly Mars setting. Behind him, and maybe a hundred or so meters away, was the wall’s entrance and exit.

  “Mars-dung,” he cursed. He hadn’t been thinking properly. The door to the base was closed, which meant he’d have to climb the ridiculously tall wall or figure out how hot wire the control panel next to the door, and open the wall up.

  And he had to do this all before two Marines in a Mars Rover caught him.

  His chances were worse than 1%.

  He kept low and ran away from the road, jumping behind another mound. He peered around it, and quickly ducked back down.

  The Rover was going off road, maneuvering around the small hills, heading in Ozzy’s direction.

  He rubbed his arms, the cold air popping goosebumps all over his body. He grunted, and pushed himself up, and hurried to another hill.

  A blast kicked up next to him, blowing sand everywhere. The Marine had barely missed.

  “Dammit.”

  Ozzy’s breath was coming quickly, and he peeked over the new hill he had just hid behind. The Rover was cresting a mound, tipping to the side, its shocks moving in sync with the terrain, and leveled out when it hit the ground.

  The lead Marine was halfway out of the window, aiming his rifle.

  “No time to dally,” Ozzy told himself.

  He ran toward the wall, dashing behind another mound, and coming to a halt.

  A rumble shot across the sky, and Ozzy glanced upward. An explosion shook the heavens, sending fireworks of reds and yellows rocketing into the upper Mars atmosphere.

  A battle was raging above, and from the looks of the floating debris, and the hefty, large Dunrakee ships coming into view and pushing past the Martian Marine’s ships, the Marine Space Corps were having a heck of a time holding them back.

  A large fleet of Martian Marine heavy space craft punctured through the atmosphere, and spread out, no doubt heading to their evacuation points.

  The ground quaked, and several loud bursts jostled Ozzy to his core. This wasn’t something Ozzy had heard before. He slowly stood, peeking over the mound he was hiding behind just as another burst and another quake rocked the ground.

  Several meters in front of Ozzy was the Rover, though stopped and idling. The Marines were out of their vehicle, watching the battle overhead.

  But where were those bursts coming from? And why would the ground shake as if the source was nearby?

  He shifted his eyes to the central base.

  Another burst and a blue beam, long and wide, pulsed from a large cannon in the middle of the base. It cracked across the firmament and thunder erupted in the sky, and a Dunrakee battleship broke apart upon impact, sending debris toward the earth.

  The mound in front of him then moved, and sand cascaded down the small hill. Ozzy jumped back and fell on his butt, his eyes wide. “You tricky bastards,” yelled Ozzy, crawling backward.

  Two large tires came into view, and the Rover’s hood and front window appeared next, the driver’s hands squeezing the steering wheel, and heading for Ozzy.

  Ozzy went into fetal position, and closed his eyes, waiting to be run over.

  This was it. He’d said it before, and had said it a hundred times, but there was no way around this one. It was time to meet his maker.

  After a few seconds of quiet, and not being squished to death under a heavy rover, he opened his eyes. “What the…”

  The Rover’s undercarriage was above Ozzy, the two wheels he thought were going to end him were slightly passed his head, and the back wheels atop the mound.

  The Rover’s backseat door opened, and a Marine jumped out, his boots slightly sinking into the sand, and the dust swirling around them.

  He bent down on one knee, pointing his gun at Ozzy. “You about done running from us? From what I reckon, you can either die trying to find a way out of her or live on one of our evacuation crafts.”

  The guy’s voice was heavy, most likely shocked at what was happening above.

  “I have to go,” said Ozzy.

  “I can’t let that happen,” replied the Marine.

  “I have a kid,” yelled Ozzy.

  “So do I.”

  A whooshing sound penetrated their ears and the Marine rose off his feet, his upper torso now hidden from view by the Rover.

  Heavy boots pounded the sand, and Ozzy could see a person’s legs covered in battlesuit armor, now standing next to the Marine.

  The Marine dropped his rifle.

  A moment later, a bang reverberated from the Rover’s front end. The car dipped and jostled back and forth.

  “Ozzy,” came a gruff, robotic voice. “We know you’re under there. Step out, please.”

  29

  Marine Base at Solis Planim

  Ozzy recognized the voice and rolled out from under the Rover, seeing Quad’s fingers squeezing the Marine’s EVA suit at the guy’s chest, lifting the Marine off the ground and looking eye to eye with the man.

  “There is a saying with you humans,” growled Quad. “You better think twice before aiming a gun at my friend again.”

  Quad’s battlesuit wings were stretched out, and Jozi stood a few meters away from him and the vehicle, her rifle ready to poke holes if the Marines made a wrong move.

  Gragas was crouched on the hood, his photon pistol pointed at the driver.

  “Daddy?” Ozzy spun on his heels.

  “Lily?” Ozzy’s inhaled sharply, his insides wanted to explode in relief and joy, an odd combination.

  His daughter was in a child’s EVA suit and in Kat’s arms. The Elix wore her Galactic Knight’s battlesuit, her battlesuit wings also extended, and placed Lily on the ground.

  She ran to Ozzy with her arms outstretched with a grin on her face.

  Ozzy lifted her up, and held on to her tightly. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “I’m okay.”

  An explosion blasted in the heavens and they all glanced toward the sky.

  A Dunrakee colony ship, the biggest of the Dunrakee class ships in their fleet, was splitting apart from a direct hit, most likely from the base’s beam weapon.

  An internal explosion ripped across the ship, throwing metallic debris across the firmament like burning meteors falling from the sky.

  Large Marine ships were flying near it, sending rail slugs across its flank, damaging it more.

  “We must go now,” yelled Gragas. He glared at the driver. “I’m getting atop the roof and so is my partner over there.” He gestured towar
d Quad. “Your Marine friend will accompany the rest of my friends in your car. You’re taking us to an evacuation craft. We will help you evacuate the planet. Do you understand?”

  The driver nodded, not really having a say in the matter.

  Gragas patted the windshield. “Good.” He jumped to the roof.

  Quad dropped the Marine and opened the front passenger door for him. “Get in.” The guy complied and Quad hopped on top of the Rover, accompanying Gragas.

  Ozzy took Lily and scooted in the back seat, scrunching up against Kat, who was next Jozi. Luckily these Rovers were big and wide, and Lily was small enough to sit on his lap.

  Quad pounded on the roof. “Get going.”

  The driver reversed and spun the wheels on the sand, pushing the big vehicle forward and over mounds. The Rover bounced up and down, leaning left and right, not swerving away from the small hills, but instead climbing over them or through them.

  The Rover leveled out when it met the road. The driver increased speed, heading for the center of the base, now slowly filling with smoke from falling debris blanketing the area.

  They passed a large building, then another, until they reached a ship yard in the middle of the base.

  Up ahead, a ship, the size of a small city, lifted into the air. It was a Star Destroyer, soon to be home to thousands and thousands of people—if they could reach a city in time.

  Its boosters initiated and it blasted quickly due north, most likely to Hebes City, a well populated area.

  The driver cranked the wheel, making a quick turn, the Rover tipping to the side, driving on two wheels, causing Ozzy to lean on Kat.

  He pressed his hand on her wrist, accidentally pushing against something that poked into his palm.

  The driver spun the wheel and leveled the vehicle, then raced forward, heading onto a gravely yard, and skidding to a halt.

  Ozzy lifted his hand and looked at Kat’s wrist device. She pulled it away from him quickly, hiding it from view.

  Ozzy scrunched his brows together. “Wait a minute, that was the same device that was on Lyra No Tail’s wrist before she—”

  Jozi opened the door and exited the vehicle. “We gotta go.”

  Kat followed her.

  Ozzy reached for Kat, swiping the air. “Are you…”

  Ozzy was about to ask a silly question, that maybe Lyra was Kat? But he shook his head. Perhaps all Elix’s had that kind of technology, a technology that made them disappear.

  “Let’s go, Lily,” Ozzy slid out of the vehicle and pulled Lily along with him, holding her as he ran toward a starship. It wasn’t as big as a Destroyer or a Carrier, which could hold city’s of people. No, it was a ship that could hold ten-thousand and maybe more if they all squeezed in.

  The ground vibrated as Ozzy ran toward the starship. He eyed the source of the vibration—a Marine Star Cruiser, blasting into the sky, and heading due east toward Holden, a thriving metropolis.

  He ran past a Rover, seeing they were parked everywhere in the yard and Marines were piling out of them, rushing to their designated ships.

  Baroom!

  A blast picked Ozzy off of his feet and carried him into the air, and plastered him side-first into the ground. Lily went flying, skidding across the red rocks.

  Ozzy reached for her just as Jozi picked her up in stride, and rushed for the starship. “Come on, Ozzy.”

  Ozzy pushed to a standing position and ran after Jozi and Lily. He looked over his shoulder. A ground weapon that was on top of a tower, was falling to the ground, crumbling in pieces.

  Whatever hit it was a direct shot.

  Baroom!

  Another blast rocked the area, almost sending Ozzy careening off his feet again. He glanced upward and swallowed hard. A beast of a Dunrakee ship was heading right for them.

  He brought his eyes forward, pushing his legs as fast as they could take him, sweat stinging his eyes and his breaths coming quickly.

  Ahead of him, Jozi hurried up the starship’s ramp with Lily still in her arms.

  The ground shook and screams filled Ozzy’s ears. A loud hum erupted all around and the sounds of rapid photon fire ripped through the yard.

  He twisted around and jumped.

  A Dunrakee starfighter was coming in hot, strafing with photon bolts of hell, sending Marines into the air, and chopping them into blood and guts, ripping arms and slicing legs apart.

  The ground rose, sending rocks and dirt into Ozzy’s chest and legs. The blast picked him up, sending him flying backward.

  He hit the ground hard, losing his breath. He went to push off and run to the starship, but his body wouldn’t cooperate, and he fell down on his rear.

  A second starfighter roared over the base, sending photon charges toward a line of Marines.

  He rolled to his side.

  “Ozzy, lookout. You’re in the line of fire,” yelled Gragas.

  30

  Marine Base at Solis Planim

  Quad jumped in Ozzy’s path, and put his arms out wide. A photon blast punched into Quad’s armored chest. He flipped head over heals, thrown backwards, electricity sparking throughout his battlesuit.

  Gragas spun away from a direct hit, and red soil doused the area all around him. He rushed to Quad. “Help me, Ozzy. He’s unconscious.”

  Ozzy pushed into a standing position, his arms and legs aching from the beating he’d just taken.

  He grabbed Quad’s leg and Gragas held the other. They leaned back and pulled, digging their feet into the sand, and dragging him along.

  “Quad, wake up,” yelled Ozzy, grunting with every step he took. It was like pulling a Mars Rover, but heavier, even on this gravity thin planet.

  “Don’t focus on his weight. Focus on a feather,” said Gragas.

  Ozzy moved backward, inching along with all his might. He noticed Gragas wasn’t having as hard as a time as Ozzy, but he was Gragas, and Ozzy was Ozzy. There was a big difference.

  “A feather?” Ozzy asked under gritted teeth. “That makes no sense.”

  They pulled Quad closer to the starship, and a blast sent sand onto Ozzy’s shoulders and back. He winced and continued dragging the big lug across the red dirt.

  “You thinking it’s so is the reason it’s so. Beliefs are powerful, Ozzy, so think feather. And I don’t care if it’s silly, do it.”

  Another eruption rumbled nearby, and a flash of light exploded from the central base.

  Ozzy glanced up, watching a burning tower fall to the ground, and sending wafts of dark, thin smoke twirling toward the sky.

  “It doesn’t matter, we’re almost there,” said Ozzy, out of breath.

  “Quad is a feather. I am strong. Quad is a feather. I am strong,” chanted Gragas. “Say it with me. I am strong and capable. Quad is a feather. I am strong and—”

  “Are you shitting me?” Ozzy rolled his eyes, his breath heavy and fast. “I’m not saying that.” He looked over his shoulder. The starship was only twenty meters away. They’d be there in no time, but Quad was like pulling an elephant.

  He glanced at the sky, his mouth gaping open. Another strafe run with several Dunrakee starfighters were on their way.

  “Oh, crap,” said Ozzy. “Quad is a feather. I am strong and capable. Quad is a feather. I am strong and capable.”

  The strarfighters screamed overhead, dropping photon bombs, sending a Marine craft into a burning inferno. Ozzy took his eyes away. “Quad is a feather. I am strong and cap—”

  Ozzy and Gragas took their first steps on the ramp.

  “Hurry up. We’re closing all doors and getting off this base,” yelled General Sever, who was standing at the top of the ramp.

  They brought Quad to a halt in the main lobby. Marines were strapped in, rifles ready, and quiet as can be, probably thinking about their families, their loved ones, and death.

  Sever slapped the ramp button and it closed.

  Ozzy sat on his rear in the middle of the lobby, heaving, trying to catch his breath.

 
Gragas patted Ozzy on the shoulder. “You went faster when you spoke the words. Excellent work. You’re a quick learner.”

  “I went faster because I almost crapped my pants at the incoming starfighters.”

  “Regardless, we saved our friend.”

  Ozzy stood. “Where’s Lily?”

  “Over here,” said Jozi, sitting next to Lily, both strapped in.

  The lobby walls were lined with seats full of military personnel. This wasn’t a cruise liner or luxury ship. If anything, this was as basic as could be, and as heavily armored as possible.

  “Find a seat,” ordered Sever, running down a corridor, and disappearing around a corner.

  Ozzy saw an empty seat and figured leaving Quad here would be just fine. No amount of movement would get that big guy to slide across the floor too far.

  He took a seat across from Lily, and gave her a thumbs up, and smiled, trying to mask the fear stirring inside.

  She lifted her thumb back at him and grinned.

  The ship shuttered from a nearby explosion. Ozzy shifted his eyes to the port holes. A ship was in the yard and on its side. Small flames licked up from underneath as Marines were pouring out of it, running as fast and as far away from the dying ship.

  Ozzy unstrapped, pointing. “Don’t take off.”

  The starship lifted. He pushed to his feet, his wide-eyed daughter watching him. He marched down a corridor and turned a corner, grabbing the hand-holds that lined all craft corridors.

  “We have Marines needing an escort off the base,” he yelled.

  The General’s voice came through the loud speakers. “Everyone get back in your seats. We die if we turn around. I repeat, get back in your seats. We don’t need injuries. We need everyone to help with the evacuation. We are heading for Tunnel Downs and then to the exosphere where we fly on to Europa. It will be a shit-show everyone, so I need your head in the game. When we open the ramps, escort as many people as you can to crew quarters, to the quarter deck, to the observer deck, and to the engine rooms if need be. We will be cramming every last inch of this ship with anyone and everyone we can.”

  The ship jostled and dipped, and Ozzy lost his balance, falling to the floor.