"I hate how this is being conducted," she said. "Seth and Chloe aren’t lab rats and aren’t causing trouble. This is an invasion of the first Principle of Man."
"Seth and Chloe show some odd physical gifts, you must admit. Maybe they should look at them. They didn’t object to any of this as of now." He placed his hand on her shoulder. "Don’t worry, Bauer can’t do more than a standard physical."
"Mars Medical isn’t here for a routine examination, Captain. Routine examinations don’t travel this far without expecting worthwhile returns. Seth and Chloe didn’t ask them to conduct these experiments, and worst of all, a requirement in their employment contract to take an annual physical is the basis for Mars Medical’s illegal examination. I intend to fix that loophole. The legality of this can and will be contested in the courts."
"Mars Medical’s domain stretches to Lunara."
"Their medical clearance doesn’t give them the right to treat them this way. They better not harm them, or I am going straight to my father."
"I am sure you will. But his comment about mutations . . . I wonder what he meant."
Gwen turned and gazed out toward the Guardian. "Mutations remind me of old stories I heard as a child at school—where Martians adapted to the atmosphere in some unexplainable ways. They could last far longer without air masks, but because of the lack of oxygen, they would mutate hideously. Until now, those were just stories to scare people."
"I know those as well," he replied. "The rumors are legends. The closest thing I read about mutations from Mars was the physical effects of long-term travel in zero gravity. Maybe it is similar. You should ask your father."
"You were a part of the Revolutionary War. Wasn’t part of the fight to eliminate the raiders’ mutations?"
"The Revolutionary War was about a lot of things, but not mutations."
"But the raiders were mutating."
"The raiders were a faction of Mars that needed to be eliminated, and mutations were a convenient excuse to eliminate a bunch of people who weren’t desirable."
"They were—"
"They were roving thieves that plagued the planet for a long time. It took five years of fighting before we finally eliminated them from the planet."
Gwen recalled the circumstances that had started the Revolutionary War some fifteen years ago. The group of raiders attacked a small Martian colony that lay near the Aethpisian border. They left almost all of the townspeople dead and pillaged the colony of its food and resources. That led the Martian United Colonies, the government at the time, to initiate a five-year campaign to eliminate the raiders from Mars. Commonly, three reasons were given for the campaign: one, the raiders had dared to attack an outer colony so close to Aethpis; two, they had killed many people, which they never had done before; and finally, they had killed then Minister Pierre Cortez’s brother Pascal who was visiting the colony.
Gwen knew about the rumors of the raiders’ mutating, but mentioning it to Eamonn made her realize how preposterous it sounded. No evidence was ever presented or seen in the aftermath of the war.
The raiders were a dirty word on Mars and the perversion of their history was bound to occur. They were a group of people who, when Mars was colonized some two hundred years ago, pillaged and plundered their way around the planet, robbing the peaceful colonies for their survival. The raiders said they were taking from the rich to give to the poor, but in fact, they predicated their existence on thievery. It was a form of survival on Mars born out of the early chaotic days on the planet. Originally, only five hundred thousand people made it to Mars, and through breeding programs and the elimination of the raider population, Mars currently had a healthy million and a half people.
"I don’t understand why Seth still fears them," Gwen said.
"The raiders destroyed his colony during the war. Orcus was one of the first to go after the fighting started," Eamonn replied. "He never talks about it, but I think his survival was a miracle considering the circumstances, and I believe he and Chloe went through terrible things in order to survive."
"Do you know what happened?"
"No," Eamonn said. "But I can guess. Seth hints that he and Chloe managed to get to Zephyria colony."
"Zephyria was safe during the war."
"You were young, and your father probably told you that, but nowhere was safe during the war. I think they were in Old Zephyria, where much of the despicable parts of the war took place. Imagine trying to survive in a place like that."
"Old Zephyria was where atrocities were perpetrated by the Martian United Colonies, and that led to their disbanding to form the two governments."
"Yes," he said. "The extermination of the raiders cost that government a heavy price and left us with the two governments, which I favored."
"Checks and balances," Gwen said. "My father complains about that all the time. Yet he doesn’t miss the raiders."
"No one does."
She rubbed her chin. "There has to be mutation data in the Zephyrian databases."
"Check that when you have time. First, find Jan and take Seth and Chloe to the Protector. Parker has some work for them to do. Keep a close eye on them." He groaned. "I must attend the reception."
"Okay. Anything else?"
"No."
He turned and left the hangar. He didn’t need to say anything more to her; his silence expressed how he felt. They both needed more information.
The reality escaped her for the moment. Mars had overstepped its boundaries. But why? Mars Medical had no reason to examine Seth or Chloe, unless Seth and Chloe were sick, but they gave no indication they were. Nothing physical anyway, and Chloe didn’t mention it when she spoke with her.
On the other hand, the pair had always been secretive about how they arrived on Lunara and what had happened to them those many years ago. In her searches of the Martian database, no record of them existed before their arrival on Lunara. The lack of information wasn’t surprising. The Revolutionary War on Mars had led to inaccurate bookkeeping and even worse, data loss. Still, compounded with Mars Medical’s interest, the missing story of their past worried her.
Chapter 4
The bridge of the Protector was the most advanced in the solar system with eternally sounding pings and beeps. Gwen Arwell sat at the helm checking the diagnostic screen, while Chloe, to her left, ran additional engine checks. Though the computer did much of the work, Gwen had learned enough over the past two years to diagnose many of the problems herself and take them right to Parker for his analysis. She flipped through the latest report, highlighting issues of minor importance. Nothing major showed, and she loaded the next diagnostic.
Gwen gazed out of the viewscreen toward the hangar’s large bay window that filled the entire far wall. The Milky Way fell into view, giving the dark sky a luminescence that she found eerie. The ordeal with Hans Bauer had left her shaken, impotent, and feeling a bit naive. She had never felt so far from home or from her father’s influence. Why was I so feeble facing him? she asked herself. In the end, she reassured herself that the "Princess of Mars" always got her way.
Gwen triggered the last of the retrorocket tests.
With her long day nearly over, only one looming problem remained. Seth and Chloe still had to pay a visit to Hans Bauer. For all of Ty’s posturing, eventually he would have to acquiesce to the minister and Bauer’s orders. With all the politics involved, the chief had done a good job of frustrating Mars long enough to make them realize his displeasure and know that any further involvement would lead to stricter measures. Ty had told her to remain silent, and worst of all, patient, something she had a difficult time accepting. Especially when he was right—a diplomat of Zephyria had no business being involved in Lunaran internal affairs.
"So," Gwen said as she turned toward Chloe. "They made you give blood and tissue samples."
"Just preliminary. I haven’t been to the lab yet, and Ty thought we should placate them a bit to buy us some time." Chloe rubbed her elbow where they had drawn
blood. "Eamonn told me about your confrontation with Dr. Bauer in the hangar. You don’t have to be our defender."
"Bauer deserved what I gave him." Gwen recounted the story in her mind, which caused the fire of frustration and anger to sharpen her tone. "He had no respect for you or Seth, and he can’t view you two as experiments. He must realize what he is doing is wrong. Maybe I acted a little hasty, but he infuriates me."
"Thanks for looking out for us," Chloe said. "The rear retrorockets are knocking a bit."
"The stabilizer isn’t aligned right. One sec." Gwen turned the dial on the computer and drifted the alignment closer to equal.
"Adjust a little to the negative," Chloe replied. "Almost have it."
"I see." She twisted the dial slowly until she got it right. "What do you expect from Bauer?"
"Nothing major. Just the blood and cardio tests. Maybe some scans."
Gwen’s stomach chilled like ice. "Bauer is a nasty man. Don’t let him use you. Anything that isn’t standard, report to me, and I’ll get my father involved."
"You don’t know what Dr. Bauer will do. Don’t get worried yet."
"Seth thinks something is wrong. He puts up a front, but he understands. Why can’t you?"
"He is paranoid and worries incessantly about me," Chloe said somberly. "Baseless most of the time. Plus, I don’t sense anything deceptive."
Gwen leaned back in her chair. She had been on the station for two years and still wasn’t quite used to Chloe’s senses. Chloe had a way of correctly identifying some danger or feeling she got from someone close by. A fact that Hans Bauer was no doubt aware of. "I don’t—"
"Seth is paranoid," Chloe insisted.
"He has a right. He struggled on Mars, seeing you suffer and fighting to get to Lunara."
Chloe gritted her teeth. "I was there, too. And it was much worse for me—"
Gwen noticed Chloe catch her words. The pain of the past still churned within Chloe, and the record of what she and Seth had gone through during the Revolutionary War would remain between them.
"You should return to Mars to heal old wounds," Gwen said.
Chloe frowned. "I don’t think he will ever go back. When I get the nerve to approach him, he makes up some excuse to stay here."
Chloe’s sadness troubled Gwen. Gwen never understood the ease with which Seth and Chloe suppressed the turmoil of their past. Seth guarded against intrusion, and Chloe never forced him to confront his feelings. If he wanted to run, she always allowed him.
"I guess we shouldn’t expect anything different from him," Chloe said.
Gwen didn’t, either. They had spent countless hours together, but he never gave Mars a chance. Once a conversation about Mars started, he changed the subject or left the room mysteriously.
An immense pain weighed on Gwen. Like Chloe, she had fallen in love with Seth. He was paranoid, abrasive, and overly protective, but he also cared more for Chloe than she thought a person capable. The unconditional love attracted her to him initially, but his kind words and his ignorance of her stature had won her heart forever. With Chloe and the terrible past she and Seth shared, he would never be able to love Gwen, but deep inside she hoped one day that he might. Better than Chloe, she could release his anger and show him her love of Mars and the part of him he was missing. Her father always told her that an incomplete person was never truly happy. Seth’s hatred made him incomplete; therefore, he and Chloe would never be happy.
"He may never be happy," Chloe said, echoing her thoughts.
"One day," Gwen muttered.
"I can’t take his angst anymore. He might never have been different. We met and lived under such dire circumstances, making me believe it changed him . . . fueling his hatred of Mars."
Gwen softened her eyes toward her friend, wanting her to know Seth was wrong. He should not torture her like he did. Yet she couldn’t flat out tell Chloe to leave Seth, as the guilt would be too great to bear.
"What happened on Mars?" Gwen asked, touching Chloe lightly on her shoulder. "The raiders destroyed your colony and murdered your families, but you never told me how you got to Lunara."
Chloe drew her shoulder away. "Isn’t the murder of my family enough justification to never speak of that horribleness again?"
Gwen felt that Chloe’s reaction was familiar to her own—the panicked urge to evade her past.
"Your journey was hard on both of you . . . especially you." Gwen’s emerald green eyes softened. "You should tell someone."
"Have you stabilized the rockets yet?"
"Tell me," Gwen said, forcefully.
After a long moment, Chloe relented. "In some ways, the journey to Lunara was far worse than the destruction of our colony. The attack was not a surprise. The raiders were a part of Martian life and a risk the colonists accepted. What Seth and I went through after the tragedy . . . after our parents died and left us orphans . . . after Mars didn’t care about us . . ."
Her words trailed off. She wanted to let Gwen fill in the blanks, because her own pain was too much.
Gwen leaned in toward her. She knew that if she was going to help her friend, Chloe would need to tell her the story. "After what?"
Chloe tapped on the keypad. "After shouldn’t be experienced or retold by anyone—ever again."
Gwen relaxed her jaw. She had pressed enough. One day, she would hear their secret, and then the mystery of her friend would make sense. "I need to go to the rear to get the rockets aligned further. Want to come?"
"Sure. Parker and Seth might need help."
"Seth," Parker said in the engine room of the Protector. "You’re being foolish to allow Mars to run this examination."
Seth turned toward him with a glower in his green eyes. His sandy-brown hair, cut short, seemed messier today, and Parker knew Seth wasn’t happy about this examination even though he had earlier discounted it as a minor inconvenience. He needed Seth to admit his real feelings and confront them.
"Fine," Seth said. "Enough of your pestering. Since Chloe isn’t here, I don’t like it at all, and I’m afraid of what they are looking for, but I can’t stop them, as my contract states. They can run these exams annually."
"They are overstepping the spirit of the physical, and they are running the most extensive one I have ever heard of."
"I’m beginning to regret telling you the details," Seth said. "What would you have me do? Quit and sweep the hangar bay floors?"
"You can fight it in the courts."
"I contacted someone on Zephyria already. They told me the contract was airtight."
"Mars Medical is focusing on you." Parker wondered how long they had been monitoring Seth and Chloe but decided not to mention it for fear it might drive Seth into a deeper paranoia about Mars. He needed Seth to trust a part of Mars in order to let Gwen and him fight in either the courts or the media.
"I know they are singling us out, and we both know why: my healing ability and Chloe’s mental abilities. They are just rumors to everyone."
"They aren’t rumors. That is why I am afraid." Parker moved over to Seth. "Gwen and I will help you fight Mars. I know a few things about Mars, and I know how to evade government intervention."
"You fighting them for the Protector assignment isn’t the same thing. You didn’t have the minister signing orders against you."
"You heard about that?" Parker’s mind flashed to the minister’s signature on the orders.
"I talked to Atalo and made him tell me."
Parker could have slapped Atalo in the head, but as always, Atalo was just being helpful to a friend. So he couldn’t blame him too much. "I won against Mars. They wanted me on Phobos and probably could have done it with some more strong-arming, but I managed to evade them with some convincing arguments. I can do the same for you here."
"Convincing?" Seth laughed. "I know about your heroics, and you forced them to give you your choice or else."
"Or else is how you fight against Mars."
"What can you do? They’re al
ready here."
"Get Gwen involved. She—"
Seth shook his head. "Gwen means further Martian involvement and Martian courts. No way."
"Why do you hate Mars so much? The government is overbearing at times, but the planet is our home."
"Your home, Gwen’s home, but not my home," Seth said. "And the government is more than overbearing. They ignored Chloe and me after the destruction of Orcus, making us fend for ourselves. You have no idea what a ten-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl have to do to survive the rugged terrain of Mars and then servitude in Old Zephyria. The government ignored us, assumed we were raiders, and then forced us to survive the hard way. It was a miracle we escaped the extermination chambers, unlike the raiders."
"The war was hard for many people."
"I don’t care about other people. War is terrible and I know that, but why would I want to live in a society that can turn into the monster that I saw? Mars is hopeless. The raiders killed my mother, and the government killed Chloe and my childhood. Our innocence."
Parker wanted to press him about their adventure in getting to Lunara but thought better of causing Seth that kind of pain. It would only arouse his anger toward Mars even more, and he needed Seth to focus on the peaceful Mars of today. "The government is a burden, but it is also necessary. You have to balance the two sides of it. You can’t ostracize yourself from society for something that happened during one of the worst periods in Martian history. The extermination of the raiders is a black stain on all of Mars."
"The raiders deserved it," Seth said.
"An entire wing of humanity doesn’t need to be slaughtered. It is the reason that the two governments exist now. To balance each other."
"Yet, Zephyria won’t stop Aethpis from conducting this invasive physical on me and Chloe. Where is the balance there?"
"That is what Jan, Gwen, and I are trying to do. Make them realize that this physical is beyond what a normal person would go through."
"I’m not normal, never have been since I met Chloe. That day on Orcus when my mother was murdered triggered something inside of me. Chloe experienced the same thing. Mars is trying to take us now."
Lunara: The Original Trilogy Page 3