Blue Sky of Mars

by Christopher R Wills

There were affirmative replies but Jethro could tell they lacked enthusiasm. There were unasked questions clogging up the air.

  “Go on, Doc. Ask the question everybody else wants to ask.”

  “The Blackbird. What are we going to do about it?”

  “I will lead a team to see if there’s anything we can salvage from the Blackbird that can help us. Brains give me a list of anything you need for repairs.”

  “And the Blackbird’s crew?” Doc asked.

  “We know nothing until we get there. The Blackbird could have been down there for six months. The aliens could have found the crew a long time ago.”

  A sombre silence greeted the truth of what Jethro said.

  “Look. My best friend. No, maybe my two best friends were on the Blackbird. If there is anything possible we can do that won’t jeopardize our mission, we will do it.”

  That appeared to release some tension in the air. “The initial away team will be myself, Gunny, Doc and Peck. The rest of you are on maintenance and repair duties led by Brains.”

  “You said initial away team sir,” said Jones.

  “There may be a lot we can salvage or the Blackbird might be in a better state than the Methuselah. We can’t say any more until we’ve examined it. Let’s get a move on.”

  Jethro didn’t like it any more than the rest of the crew. He would have loved to send out search parties and comb the area for any signs of the crew of the Blackbird but he had a mission to do; a very important mission that could save millions of lives on Earth.

  He set up a guard roster for the Methuselah and told Brains to ensure that whilst she was doing her maintenance that the ship’s guns were seconds away from operation.

  He led the away team to the base of the cliff they had to climb to reach the plain on which the Blackbird was sat. It wasn’t the cliff it appeared from the air; it was a steep rocky slope covered in stones and rocks and boulders. Peck led up the slope as the most experienced climber with Gunny helping Doc and Jethro bringing up the rear. The climb was hard going so Jethro insisted on many short rests even though he could see the enthusiasm in the others to get to the Blackbird as quickly as possible.

  Doc was struggling but she wasn’t complaining; she maintained a grim, determined look, although she was pleased every time Jethro paused the team.

  After three hours, they reached the top but the struggle didn’t end there. The plain was covered in a fine dust to a depth of ten centimeters and walking in it kicked the dust up into the air. They dare not go any faster because there were stones and rocks hidden in the dust.

  “This dust could be why we could see no footprints sir,” said Gunny.

  “Agreed.” But Jethro suppressed his hope that anybody on the Blackbird might still be alive. Maddy was on the Blackbird, and Bronte’s brother, Conrad.

  They could see the Blackbird in the distance but at the slow pace they were going it still took them an hour to get close to it. The Blackbird was in a state. To Jethro’s untrained eye, there was too much damage for it to be in a repairable state in the field. One wing had been ripped off along with its thrusters and Jethro could see it aft of the ship about fifty meters away protruding above the dust. Where the top gun was, there was now a blackened and charred hole. The front gun was also missing, but evidence suggested that might have been deliberately removed rather than ripped off in battle. The whole ship was scarred and bent because of being both shot at and crash landed and skidded along the ground although the skid marks had long been covered by dust.

  “Doc, can you wait here, please?” Jethro emphasized the last word.

  She smiled at him. “Of course I can Jethro.”

  “Gunny circle right, Peck, circle left. Stand off ten meters and let me go in first.” Jethro took the direct route towards the ramp.

  Somehow the Blackbird had been able to extend its legs, presumably to keep the engines clear of the dust and its ramp was extended but the entrance doors were closed. Somebody must have been alive to extend the legs. But that could have been six months ago.

  Gunny and Peck had reached their vantage points so they could rush in shooting if necessary. Jethro reached the ramp and examined it, but it was clear of footprints. The dust storms would have cleaned that a long time ago if the Blackbird had been here as long as Jethro predicted.

  He went up the ramp and tried the standard EMV entrance code. He was quite prepared to shoot the doors open, but it wasn’t necessary. They opened a little slowly and reluctantly, but they opened. Jethro signaled for Gunny and Peck to join him and he entered the Blackbird into the loading bay and storage space.

  “I want every inch searched. Any signs of life, past or recent let me know. I’ll do here and then the Bridge.”

  Gunny and Peck went off to do their searches. Jethro searched the storage bay. There was equipment that might be very useful to them including a hoverbike but no signs of life. He went to the Bridge to see if he could activate the Captain’s log.

  The Bridge was mostly intact, but again there were no signs of life. He sat in the Captain’s chair and tried to open the Captain’s log.

  Password.

  Shit. I don’t know the effing password.

  That’ll be another job for Brains.

  A sound. Jethro’s hair prickled on the back of his neck the instant his ears recorded the sound. He dived to the floor and rolled behind the helm console landing with his gun ready to fire in the sound's direction. It was a scuffling sound, and it was approaching the Bridge door. Jethro checked his gun was on kill. He wasn’t taking any chances.

  “Hello? Jethro? Anybody?”

  It was Doc. Jethro stood up from behind the console.

  “I thought I asked you to stay back there?” Jethro vaguely pointed out of the Bridge viewing screens.

  “You did,” replied Doc. “But I thought I saw you signal me to join you. That spider hand thing on your head. That’s what that means isn’t it?”

  Jethro wanted to get furious with her, but he knew it was fear and disappointment at finding nobody on board yet. “Yes. That’s exactly what it means.”

  But that was for my military team not you.

  “See I’m learning.”

  Jethro could only smile.

  “Sir?” Peck entered the Bridge.

  “What is it Peck?”

  “I may have found something.”

  Jethro and Doc followed Peck to the area of the crew’s quarters. She went inside what would have been the XO’s cabin. Jethro instantly recognized the clothes lying around as the ones they had found Maddy wearing when they rescued her from her Martian farm.

  Peck showed them the object she had found. It was Maddy’s locket. There was a picture inside of her parents.

  “Where did you find it?” Jethro asked.

  Peck pointed towards the shower.

  “Exactly where?”

  “On the floor.”

  Maddy would never leave that locket willingly.

  “Peck?” Jethro asked. “This is very important. Have you touched or moved anything in this room?”

  Peck had a quick look around. She shook her head. “No sir. This is pretty much as I found it.”

  The room was a mess. This was not Maddy. She was an obsessive-compulsive to world championship standard.

  “Ah, there you are sir.” Gunny entered.

  “There’s something you might like to see.”

  “Carry on in here Peck and let me know if you find anything else. Lead on Gunny.”

  Jethro followed Gunny through the Blackbird to the Armory. It was cleaned out. Every weapon and every piece of ammunition had gone.

  “There’s more, sir.”

  Gunny took Jethro to the top gun of the Blackbird. “Look at this.”

  Jethro had a look. Doc and Peck had joined them.

  “What are you seeing Jethro?” Doc asked.

  The Blackbird was empty. There was nobody alive on the ship. But there were no bodies either.

  Jethro finished
examining the gun. “There’s evidence that someone has tried to remove this gun from its mounting but they didn’t have the right tools.” Jethro pointed to scratch marks on the paintwork. “See here? They’ve tried to cut it off.”

  “So the aliens have been here and stolen weapons and ammunition and tried to take the ships’ guns?”

  “No, Doc. That’s not what I see. Humans have done this.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Mainly because the ship is still here. The aliens have dismantled everything else they have come across, so why not this ship? Alien weapons are on a par or superior to ours so why take everything from the armoury?” Jethro continued. “Also the locket suggests to me that the crew might have been taken from this ship by force.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” agreed Gunny.

  Shit. This is worse than finding the ship full of dead bodies. They might be alive somewhere. How can I ignore the evidence?

  Jethro led them to the exit ramp of the ship. “I want you to each go twenty paces from the ship. Stop. Then face clockwise and work your way around the ship looking at the ground.”

  “What are you expecting us to find Jethro?” asked Doc.

  “We’re looking for evidence that several people left this ship and which direction they were traveling.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Doc.

  “No, I’m not sure, which is why I want us to search and see if there’s any evidence.”

  They searched the terrain carefully, but it was difficult because of the dust that lay on top of everything. As they shuffled, they kicked up the dust and the breeze carried it and deposited it and it was so light that there were no footprints behind, from where they had come.

  “Jethro?”

  Jethro carefully headed towards Doc. She believed she had found footprints on the north side of the Blackbird heading away from the ship.

  Jethro pulled out his communicator and tried to reach the Methuselah.

  “Hello Bluebell, this is Sunray, hello Bluebell, this is Sunray, over.”

  “Bluebell receiving loud and clear.”

  Good.

  Jethro asked if the Methuselah was in a fit state to fly. It was. He asked them to fly to the Blackbird and hover over an area about twenty meters north of the Blackbird for two minutes then land south of the Blackbird about twenty meters away. They could leave anything they had on the ground in the crater because they would be returning to that spot.

  Jethro got the away team inside the Blackbird and shut the ramp before the Methuselah arrived. He heard the down thrusters as the Methuselah did the hovering bit then waited until he heard the engines shut down before he lowered the ramp to greet the crew of the Methuselah.

  “Brains. How long before the Methuselah can be ready for Earth re-entry?”

  “Forty-eight hours, sir.”

  “How about if you rip the parts you need off the Blackbird?”

  “Less. Maybe 36 hours. Some heat tiles on the Blackbird still look usable, and it would be good to have some newer engine parts.”

  “OK Brains. First, I want you to do a job for me.”

  Jethro led Brains into the Captain’s cabin of the Blackbird. “I want you to open the Captain’s Log.”

  “But sir, that’s against Fleet Regulations. Only an Earth fleet appointed Captain may access a Captain’s log without the original Captain’s permission.”

  “War rules override Fleet rules Brains.”

  “I don’t know War rules.”

  Neither do I.

  “Brains?”

  “On it sir.”

  Brains connected his personal communicator to the Captain’s terminal and set a program running. Within a few seconds he had opened the Captain’s log.

  “Best if you don’t listen in Brains. Search the ship inside and out and see what you can take to repair the Methuselah.”

  “Can I take anything?”

  “Yes absolutely anything, heat tiles, engine parts, the food replicator, anything. Oh and take the guns. I don’t want them left here.”

  Brains left and Jethro started the Captain’s log.

  chapter 31

  Captain’s Log 24240329. Crash landed on Olympus Mons plain in cloud to get away from the aliens. Ship badly damaged. Engineer reports unrepairable. Sending a distress signal. Out.

  Captain’s Log 24240330. Food and water good. But ship immovable and cloud lifted. Only a matter of time before the aliens find us. Out.

  Captain’s Log 24240331. Still sending out a distress signal. Crew scared. Discovered an early outpost called “Sam’s Hotdogs” on out-of-date charts, north of current position. Not visible on current charts. Considering whether to decamp to there to hide from aliens. Out.

  Captain’s Log 24240401. Sent a recce party to “Sam’s Hotdogs.” They should be back in two days. Out.

  Captain’s Log 24240404. Three days and recce party still not returned. Out.

  Captain’s Log 24240405. Movement on radar suggests recce party on the way back across the plain. Out.

  Captain’s Log 24240405b. Not recce party. Hostiles. Six humans. Shooting at us…

  The Log entries ended there without Lieutenant Conrad signing off. Jethro’s worst fears were confirmed. Someone had come to the ship and either killed the crew and passengers or had taken them.

  He had a mission to complete.

  Conrad might still be alive.

  The mission comes first.

  Maddy might still be alive.

  Earth depended on him getting his information back to them in time.

  They might be just a few clicks away.

  Jethro knew he had to get back to Earth. Maybe he could return later with a rescue mission.

  Maybe that would be too late.

  Jethro gathered his crew.

  “Brains tells me it will take thirty-six hours to get the Methuselah back to best condition. I have listened to the Captain’s log. It is possible the crew of the Blackbird might still be alive.”

  There was a sharp intake of breath. Most had friends on the Blackbird.

  Jethro raised a hand to quieten the crew.

  “I will mount a search cum rescue mission. I will take volunteers only. In thirty-six hours, we will be on the Methuselah with or without the crew of the Blackbird. Is that understood?”

  A few nodding heads.

  “I said is that understood?”

  “Yes sir.” “Aye aye sir.”

  “OK volunteers raise your hands. Not you Brains; you oversee repairs. Nor you Raja, you’re still injured. Not you Doc, this is a military patrol. I may need you and the sickbay fully up to speed when we return OK?”

  Jethro was pleased because everyone had raised their hands bar none.

  “I’m taking Gunny, Peck and Guppy. Guppy bring that sniper gun of yours. Brains get the Methuselah ready for the return to Earth. Take what you need and take all the guns left on the Blackbird. See if you can fit the guns onto the Methuselah. Move the Methuselah back to the dark side of the crater edge to do the repairs. No point in sitting here out in the open.”

  “Aye aye sir.”

  “We’ll aim to be back at the Methuselah in thirty-six hours but keep comms on because you might need to pick us up.”

  Jethro led his team to the other side of the Blackbird where the Methuselah had hovered for two minutes before it landed. The dust was blown away by the thrusters although it was already drifting back. Even so, there were clear footprints leading north from the Blackbird towards the edge of the flat plain where there were some rocks and the other edge of the caldera they were on.

  Gunny lined himself up with the footprints and took a bearing in the direction they appeared to be going.

  “We’re heading to that rock which looks like a nipple sir.”

  “Lead on Gunny.”

  They followed Gunny carefully through the dust, not wanting to kick up much dust in case their prey had observers looking back. There was no way to tell how long ago the crew of
the Blackbird had been taken from the ship but in view of how quickly the dust backfilled their trail it could be anything from hours to weeks.

  Jethro had put Maddy’s locket around his own neck to keep it safe. He knew her parents. They had the farm next to his on the edge of Dartmoor before they emigrated to Mars to farm, taking Maddy with them. Jethro had grown up with Maddy and it had always been assumed that one day he and Maddy would be an item and join their farms together. Although not by Jethro; who had always wanted to join the military to get away from farming.

  After the war with Mars ended, there was a recession and farming was hit hard. The massive loss of life in the long war had reduced the need for food and prices dropped too much pushing some farmers like Maddy’s parents out of business. Part of the peace deal was increased trade and Mars needed more food so they made good financial offers to attract farmers. An offer that had cost Maddy’s parents their lives.

  Yes Maddy was pretty and all the guys at school had loved her, but he loved Maddy as a friend. Bronte was more than pretty, she was beautiful. Ever since Jethro had met her he hoped one day… But he was realistic enough to know better. She was fiercely ambitious like her father and Jethro couldn’t see her settling down with anyone. Future Earth Presidents don’t have time for deep and meaningful relationships, and even if they did, it would most likely be with another potential Earth President type person not with a trained killer. Jethro enjoyed his brief liaison with Bronte during boot-camp training, but he knew she was not in his league. Maddy was.

  Jethro also loved Doc but in a different way to Maddy and Bronte. Doc had kept her good looks and she was experienced and mature and exciting and Jethro knew she was married with grown-up children. Although he also knew that she and her husband had separated. But she was much older than Jethro, maybe twenty years older, maybe even as old as his mum. Jethro smiled at the thought of taking Doc home to meet his parents, not that it would ever happen.

  The other problem was that Jethro was not in the kind of job where he could service a long-term relationship with anyone. Chang’s death had taught him that. Jethro knew he could be killed at any moment. It didn’t scare him because that’s what he signed up for and with the alien invasion he had no choice. If the aliens couldn’t be stopped now was not the time to make plans.