“I think we’re out of the woods on getting caught; now we just need to get back in,” said Will.
He could hear Jonas breathing heavily through his com. “I’d be happy to point out the nearest door, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen,” Jonas said, sounding out of breath.
Will once again checked his oxygen monitor. It had fallen to thirty-five minutes of remaining oxygen. As he looked down, he saw the planets’ surface and the Folands beginning to come around the horizon. The beautiful green landscape and small blue ocean were breathtaking from this vantage point.
“Jonas, look.” Will motioned down to the planet’s surface.
“I think part of me can understand their desperation to dominate Earth. We have a small piece of it here and look how we revere it,” said Jonas in a rare serious moment.
“The difference is that they want it for the purposes of greed and power. We revere it for its beauty and innocence, and wouldn’t kill an entire species just to have it. It’s not the same motivation. Trust me.”
“I always do. Unfortunately it usually works out like this.” laughed Jonas sarcastically.
Will could see the grab rails break off into two directions. One led toward the habitat area of the station far in the distance. The lights from the windows and airlocks flickered like beacons guiding them in. He once again checked his oxygen readout, and it was now down to twenty-seven minutes. He knew they’d never make the distance in time. Having no other choice, he set off following the other set of grab rails that continued to wind around to the top of the station.
“Will, look down!” shouted Jonas, pointing behind them.
“A ship. It looks like it’s heading for the hangar bay door in the black corridor. Can you see where it went?”
“No, boss. It went underneath us out of view. It has to be heading for the hangar bay. There’s nothing else over here.”
“Let’s keep going. If that was Daniels, he didn’t see us, and if it wasn’t, I’m glad they didn’t see us.”
Will’s oxygen readout was now at eleven minutes. He knew the situation was getting critical, and started to wonder if it would be too late before Daniels thought of something. He could see a long way up the sloping station, and there was nothing that they could make in eleven minutes.
“Why are you stopping?” asked Jonas, now so out of breath, Will feared he might be hyperventilating.
“We have ten minutes left, and there’s nowhere to go. We have no choice. If you see another ship, we have to try to get their attention.”
“What if it’s a government vessel?” asked Jonas.
“We don’t have any other option. We’ll have to try to talk our way out of trouble.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard. They’ll understand why we broke into their secret hangar bay, stole two suits from their secret ship, and drugged their main science expert. No problem,” Jonas ranted. “Let’s at least keep climbing. I can’t just wait around to run out of air.”
“OK, we’ll keep going. Try to calm down, your breathing way to fast. You have to conserve your oxygen,”
As they slowly made their way further up the station’s surface, a ship appeared far below them, again appearing to be coming from the black corridor’s hangar bay.
“Will, there it is again.”
The brown ship approached, looking very familiar to both of them.
“Jonas, wave your arm so they can see us.”
Will looked down and could see he had only four minutes left.
“Will, I think they see us. They’re coming.”
“Can you make out the ship? What is it?”
“I think it’s…it is! It’s an MPS ship, and it’s coming!” exclaimed Jonas.
The Manikar Package Service made regular deliveries to the station but had strict orders not to approach the black corridor’s hangar bay.
“Jonas, it has to be a government-sanctioned delivery. Daniels told me they weren’t allowed to enter this section of the station. We’re not out of this yet.”
The ship approached, positioned itself just next to Will and Jonas, and opened its cargo door.
“C’mon, Jonas. We have to push off of the ladder to make the distance.”
Will pushed himself forward, letting go of the handrail, and floated into the cargo door. He immediately looked at his oxygen readout and saw the time clicking down from ten seconds.
“Hurry up. We only have ten seconds!” Will shouted.
Jonas pushed himself forward, and his foot caught the ladder, sending him spinning off course. He slammed into the cargo door, and Will grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to safety. The sound of their suit alarms rang through the small cargo hold, telling them their oxygen was running out. Will fell to his knees, gasping for breath, and saw Jonas already lying on the deck struggling to breathe. Will heard the bang of the cargo door slamming shut and felt the pressure increase as oxygen filled the space around them. He ripped off his helmet and took several deep breaths before running to Jonas’s side. He saw him still struggling to remove his helmet and helped him take it off.
“Are you all right?”
Jonas continued breathing deeply before responding. “Yeah, I’m OK. Thanks for that.”
“No problem. Let’s get these suits off and see where we stand.”
They took off their environmental suits and headed for the cockpit. As they approached, they could see that it was a lone pilot, and he was wearing the typical brown uniform and cap of an MPS pilot.
“Thanks for picking us up. We got turned around out there,” said Will, hoping for a friendly response.
The pilot had no reaction and continued without looking back at them. Will looked at Jonas, suspicious of the lack of reaction, and once again cautiously tried to speak to the pilot.
“Sorry to make you go out of your way. Can you possibly drop us off in the main station cargo hold?” he asked.
Once again, the pilot continued to look straight ahead, making no acknowledgment of Will or Jonas.
“Jonas,” Will whispered, “we have to take the ship. This guy is obviously a government operative, and who knows where he’s taking us.”
“OK, boss” Jonas said nervously. “I’m ready. Let’s do it.”
Will grabbed a small bar he’d found on the floor, and Jonas picked up the fire suppression canister. They approached the pilot from behind and were about to make their move when the pilot jerked the ship to the right, and the large boxes on the shelves above began to fall on them, taking them down. They both dropped their weapons and struggled to get to their feet. They could hear the pilot laughing as they rose to their feet and tried to find their weapons.
“Very funny! Where are you taking us, you bastard?”
The pilot removed his cap, still laughing, and turned to face them. “To the pub, I would think.”
“Nigel! You son of a bitch. I’ve never been so glad to see anyone in my whole life.”
“Oh, thank God!” muttered Jonas as he lay back down on the pile of fallen boxes.
“I’m not sure how you pulled this off, but we both owe you one.”
“Well, my MPS guy owed me a favor, so I borrowed his ship. I knew I could approach the hangar bay pretending to be a new pilot trying to make a delivery. As I suspected, they threatened to fire on me if I approached, but that took away their suspicion that I was there for any other reason. From there it was easy. I swung out of their view and picked you up, just in time, it would appear. Now fill me in on what they’re doing on my station.”
15
IT ALL BECOMES CLEAR
Larsen paced nervously as he shouted orders to the maintenance crew. It had been two days since the crack in the fuel system was identified. Everyone on the maintenance crew advised that he put off the scheduled launch of the Sirocco, and they found it amazing that he insisted on meeting the scheduled launch date even at the risk of his ship and crew. Those around him had begun to question his sanity as he nervously micromanag
ed every process over the past week. It appeared to be obsession to some, but only he knew his life depended on his ship launching on time. There would be no other option.
“Commander, for safety’s sake we really should reconsider putting the launch off for a week. The Victory has life support for years, and it will still be there whether we launch today or next week. If we don’t totally replace the feed channels, we’re putting everyone on the Sirocco in unreasonable danger.”
“Mr. Tercelli, are you a coward?” asked Larsen loudly so that everyone on the command deck could hear.
Tercelli’s face turned red as his anger uncontrollably came to the surface. “Sir, with all due respect, it doesn’t take bravery to make a poor decision, and what you’re asking us to do is a poor decision, make no mistake about it.”
“Would you like to be replaced on this mission? It would seem that your mutinous attitude would disqualify you from your duties.”
Tercelli realized he had overstepped his authority and said too much to his commander. He also knew the danger that would be present if they attempted to launch without making this vital repair and had to make his case.
“Sir, I apologize for my tone, but I have to point out that it makes no logical sense to put the crew and ship at risk for one week. Maybe if you could explain—”
“I will not explain my decisions to you or anyone else, Mr. Tercelli. I am the commander of this ship and will make the decisions that are best for it and its crew. You may not understand my reasoning, nor do you need to. You will do everything you can to make sure this ship lifts off on schedule, and if it means you work nonstop, than that’s what you’ll do. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Tercelli reluctantly responded.
There had been great acclaim and fanfare for Larsen’s rescue mission. Most of the planet’s population were behind this mission and looked at Larsen’s perceived obsession as honorable in its intentions. With hours left to launch, many in the city planned to watch in person from Manikar Square and were camped out trying to get a great view of Space Quorum Headquarters. He had united the planet behind the false premise that he was going to save one of Mars’s greatest heroes.
“Sir, there are some guests waiting for you in the control center.” said the com officer.
“Ah yes, probably more media looking for an interview. Mr. Tercelli, make sure the crews are working double time to get this ship ready. If things fall behind, I’m holding you personally responsible. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir. Crystal clear,” said Tercelli as he bit his tongue. He also knew something wasn’t right. The men waiting for Larsen looked to be government operatives. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen Larsen on edge, and it usually followed or preceded a visit from someone in the government. He couldn’t help but wonder if maybe they were trying to talk sense into him to delay his scheduled launch. He knew that even if this was the case, there was a slim chance he’d listen to anyone at this point.
As Will walked slowly down the corridor that led to the lab, he began to wonder how much Ileana would remember from last night. He had a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach in anticipation of seeing her face to face. He’d taken Stanzic at his word that she’d have no recollection, but he’d started to doubt everything recently.
“Dr. O’Neil.”
Will was startled as Ileana approached from behind.
“Dr. Karkovich. Good morning, I enjoyed our discussion last night,” Will blurted out nervously and now searched his mind unsuccessfully for something else to say.
“Yes, I wanted to speak to you about last night.”
“Oh—sure—I’ll meet you in my office in a few minutes. I just have to speak with Jonas for a moment.”
Ileana impatiently sighed and walked off toward the lab and Will’s office. As soon as she was out of view, Will pulled out his com and called Jonas. As he waited for him to pick up, he could hear the beeping of a com coming from behind him.
“Jonas? What are you doing?” Will asked, seeing Jonas peek out from behind some filing cabinets.
“When I saw you two talking, I jumped behind here. I figured if she was going to kill anyone, better you than me. What did she say?”
“You might get your wish. She said she wants to talk to me about last night! She’s waiting for me in my office right now.”
“Oh my God, she knows! She knows! What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know. She may not know anything, but just in case, stay close, and keep your com on. If I run into trouble, I’ll signal you, and you get Daniels immediately. She could make trouble for all of us, and we’ll have to deal with it if it happens.”
“How are we going to deal with it? Are we going to eliminate her?” said Jonas sarcastically.
“What are you talking about? We’re not killers!”
“I know. I just always wanted to say that.”
“Save your sense of humor for later. You may need it as we’re being carted off by Ileana’s goons after my meeting.”
Jonas’s face turned pale as he realized Will wasn’t kidding.
“Remember, if I signal you go right for Daniels. Got it?”
“Got it,” said Jonas.
Will headed for the office as Jonas nervously watched, taking a seat at the Telos console. As Will stepped through the door, he saw Ileana sitting down holding the picture of Edena he kept on his desk. As Will came into the office, she put the picture down, saying nothing and looking emotionless.
“Dr. O’Neil, I wanted to discuss last night with you.”
“Sure. As I said, I enjoyed our discussion.”
“Our discussion?” inquired Ileana.
Will felt his heart beating faster as she questioned him, not knowing if she remembered what happened.
“Yes. You had asked that I change some of the routing of the rovers and give you a greater role in the project.”
Ileana looked puzzled, as if she couldn’t recall the details. Will realized then that it had worked; she knew nothing of the details of the events that had taken place.
“Of course,” she said, still fighting her confusion. “Please refresh me as to your decision, to make sure I fully understand your reasoning.”
“Well, as we discussed, I think we can begin to move out a bit farther from our current exploration radius with one rover and see if it proves fruitful. If we find there are reasons to continue this strategy, then we’ll evaluate it from there. You seemed satisfied with this last night; we even drank to it. Are you sure you’re OK with this? You seemed a bit distracted after you had some of my special Cholan whiskey. That’s pretty heavy stuff; I shouldn’t have expected you to drink so much of it.”
He could see Ileana struggle to put the pieces together in her mind. “Of course. Maybe I did have a bit too much. In any case, in order to have a greater role in the project, I would need to better understand the programming of the rovers.”
“Dr. Karkovich, the Telos interface allows control of the rovers with the proper access codes. I don’t see how providing you with the programming behind that would enhance your understanding of the project in any way.”
Will now understood her desperation, and that she needed the programming codes in order to control the rovers that could possibly find her brother. He also knew that regardless of her suppressed affection for him, if he allowed her access to the programming, then he’d become expendable.
“Dr. Will…” Ileana was outwardly surprised at her slip. She had never used Will’s first name in any conversation they had ever had prior to her having taken the serum. Its effects were obviously still alive in her subconscious, and she quickly caught herself.
“Dr. O’Neil, those who provide you with your funding insist that these codes be made available to me. If you refuse to comply with—”
“I will not be providing the programming to you. Anna Trace and I developed the Telos code, and I couldn’t release it to you without her approval and access code. Since she is curr
ently aboard the Victory and unable to communicate, I couldn’t give this to you even if I wanted to, which I don’t. I thought we went over all of this last night.”
Will saw an opportunity to diffuse the situation by making Ileana question what might have happened in his quarters.
“I will report back to my superiors that you are unable to comply at this time. You do realize, however, that they are planning a rescue mission to the Victory that is due to launch later today. I would guess we will have contact with Dr. Trace sooner than you might think, and I will be requesting the programming code at that time. I would advise you to be more cooperative when that time comes.”
“Thank you, Dr. Karkovich. I’ll take that under advisement. As it stands, we have work to be done, so please prepare a report of your proposed changes to the routing of rover four.”
“Dr., I had hoped to work with rover seven.”
“Due to obvious dangers, I won’t take chances with rover seven. Rover four is in a relatively peaceful place. Prepare your plan for number four.”
He began to feel compassion for the Ileana he knew was inside this rough exterior. Her disappointment, Will knew, was because the odds were against her brother being near the peaceful area that rover four displayed on the screen. She had said the ship was able to land, and it was shortly after landing that signal was lost. Rover seven provided the greatest opportunity for her to find his ship, if there was anything left of it or its crew.
“One more thing, Dr. O’Neil,” said Ileana. “I have a plan to try to purge the obstructive matter from the camera of rover five.”
“We’ve tried that early on with no luck. Tried rubbing the lense gently on trees, but we just can’t get a clear enough picture to see what we’re doing. What’s your plan? Let’s hear it.”
Will called Jonas in the office to signal him that things were OK. He also legitimately wanted him to hear Ileana’s plan for fixing the rover. It felt good to him to be discussing the project and exploration of Earth, as it seemed like an eternity since that was the focus.
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