"No one is above the blockade. You have to wait," the chancellor replied, his eyes flaring at his daughter’s insolence.
Eamonn glared at Seth and Gwen, disapproving of their words. "After these last few stressful days, we welcome your invitation," he said. "This might be an opportUnity for Seth to get over his problems and form an apology."
"We can have some fun on Mars," Chloe beamed in an attempt to cheer him up.
How dare they? Seth thought. All those eyes staring at me, trying to convince me that Mars is different. "I am afraid I disagree," he said.
Seth turned and stalked out of the room.
Chapter 13
Gwen curled her legs up on the couch. Looking around Samantha’s suite, she observed the many sculptures and paintings that decorated the walls. The ones of interest to her were of horses running along the Martian landscape, which were becoming quite popular. Samantha was no exception to the trends of the Zephyrian colony. Billowing rugs and furniture cut with hard angles filled out the room. All the latest fashion on Mars.
She moved to the bay window and looked over the entire Zephyrian colony. The grand dome dominated the view below, with the smaller domes sprawled around its base. She was in one of the eight towers that encircled the colony.
The trains darted around the colony, couriering thousands of people. The invasion of Lunara hadn’t affected them. Aside from the increased hidden security, nothing had changed, and Gwen worried the attacks had gone unheard in the colonies. Mars didn’t want to disturb the tranquil life. The raiders had vanished and metalor had improved their quality of life. Why agitate such delights?
Her father stressed complacency as an evil. She understood what he meant when she saw her colony now. She still didn’t know how the invader had constructed the cruisers without anyone noticing. They were a few hundred feet long. Even if they had built them inside of one of the thousands of never-ending chasmata on Mars, surely someone saw something. But no one had.
Footsteps approached from behind. Samantha handed her a glass of champagne and moved back to the couch.
Gwen took a sip. Her taste buds, atrophied to such a depth in flavor, found it sweet and tangy. She had limited her luxuries since her transfer to Lunara. Algae paste and algae drinks were the staple of her diet. Two years ago, when she arrived on Lunara, her father ordered a private garden so she could grow her own vegetables, but she insisted on living as a Lunaran. She believed that true friendships were formed with people who lived in similar circumstances. She didn’t want a privileged life. Being the "Princess of Mars" was hard enough.
She savored the last of the sweetness in her mouth and swallowed. "I love this suite. How did you ever secure an apartment in the Majestic Tower?"
"I do a lot for your father. He wanted me closer since I had been running over from Dome One. I guess he got tired of waiting for me."
"I am so proud of you. I remember when you thought my father didn’t even know your name," she said, smiling. "Hmm, this champagne is real." She took the last mouthful and emptied the glass, then reached over to the table and poured another.
"Your father was kind enough to find a bottle for us. He said something about a special night for his two favorite girls. He can be a softy with you sometimes." Samantha took a seat next to her.
"We hardly talk anymore, other than business. He barely spoke on our last communication."
"Nonsense, he talks about you constantly. He is proud."
"Why doesn’t he tell me, then?"
"He still misses your mother. Maybe that has something to do with his distance," Samantha said, pausing to let the thought dangle.
Gwen tensed her shoulders. She didn’t want to rehash her mother’s illness again, and she said goodbye a long time ago.
"So tell me all about that kiss you had this afternoon," Samantha said.
"Kiss?" she said, pretending to be bewildered.
"Don’t play dumb with me. You kissed Seth." Samantha smirked. "What is he like? I know he’s tall, handsome, and muscular. I wanted to kiss him myself and put my arms around him."
"It was nothing . . . he just saved my life. I couldn’t think of a better gesture."
"Trying to play coy with your old friend Samantha—have you been gone that long? You held his hand and exchanged words before the accident. I had my eye on you. Don’t worry, you weren’t too obvious. I was the only one watching. Your secret is safe with me."
Gwen shrugged her shoulders. "I don’t know what is happening, Samantha. Ever since we were attacked, I’ve been lonely. If I die, what would I leave on Mars?"
"I will always be here for you."
"You are a friend. I am talking about a partner. I want someone to share my time with, my soul. Seth treats me with respect and always made me laugh when I missed Mars. Chloe and he are my best friends on Lunara. Especially Chloe—we talk about everything, but I’m afraid I ruined our friendship."
"You must share your feelings or you will live in misery and jealousy. You love Seth. I think you realized you needed to tell him."
"I have always loved him," Gwen said. "I hope I didn’t ruin our friendship."
"They are your friends. Besides, your infraction was only minor. Seth probably understands, and Chloe will, too."
"Maybe you are right. He told me he would keep the secret, and the burden is lifted. Hopefully, he can forget what I said."
"Or even better, I hope he remembers and falls in love with you."
Gwen furrowed her brow. She didn’t need that problem.
After the rest of the crew departed for Aethpis Colony, Chloe Jones sat for a long time alone applying her handkerchief to her eyes. The Protector's hangar bay was empty. Seth was in the supply room, scouring for parts. His hatred for Mars and his constant vigil for her safety upset her.
Her return to Mars had been a complicated one. She hoped Seth would accept Mars’s new peace and security in which the hostilities of the past were over and a new era was beginning. She hoped he would see it as a place they could live and start a family. But she also feared that Seth would never change. His hate and fear had scarred him to a depth that would never heal completely, and she feared he would wage his fight against Mars forever.
She felt she had to accept his hatred, but she couldn’t. She had left Mars with her own hate and anger. Over the years, she had learned to release it, and when she returned, she had seen humanity’s kindness and the end of hostility. She wanted to move back to Mars, live in Zephyria, and start a family. She decided that either Seth would agree, or she would find a way to make him.
"Are you still angry?" Seth said as he walked up behind her.
She jumped. With her mind racing, bombarded by too many minds in the port, she missed the thoughts she wanted to read. Normally, she tracked Seth’s movements and his mood. Today, she couldn’t.
"You’re a little overprotective," she said.
"I’ll trust my instincts. The situation is easier when we pretend Mars is telling the truth, but we would be wrong. Something is going on. Lunara is a pawn; we are pawns."
He moved over beside her. She stood immediately and walked away from him.
"I want to live on Mars," she said.
"I can’t." His face tightened.
"Mars has changed so much since we left on the freighter. I don’t have to go back to the way I was. What happened to us won’t happen again. Pilots are in high demand. I spotted a poster for cargo runners to the poles."
"The poles are too dangerous."
"And starwings aren’t?" she said.
"That isn’t the point. The point is . . . Mars hasn’t changed!" he said in a tone he only used when he wanted to stop a conversation.
She wouldn’t allow him to shut her down. Not when she had him on Mars. She wanted to confront him here, not back on Lunara. "This is what I want. A family on Mars."
"We were raised on Lunara."
"Lunara is just a mining colony. Zephyria has gardens, water, and family centers. Lunara has
algae paste, recycled water, and hangar bays. A deep space colony isn’t a place for children."
"The answer will always be no. I’m only back on Mars out of necessity. We’re leaving at the first chance."
"Don’t you want children?"
"I do."
"Then why do you resist Mars? So many people live here. Happily."
"I hate Mars!" he screamed. "I hate everything about this wretched planet!"
"Why, though? I lost my hate long ago."
"After what happened to us, how can you not harbor hate? We lived like scavengers. How can a society let children do what we did?"
"We chose to live that way."
"You didn’t choose to sell yourself to those despicable men. I still can’t fathom how they could do that to children."
"Everyone assumed we were raiders. We were at war at the time, so the police and authority were thrown out the window."
"Stop making excuses for them. Even if you took their money, they assaulted you every time, and you aren’t angry with them. I haven’t forgiven myself for letting you do it."
"I had to do it so we could eat, and I chose to do it. I’m not ashamed, even if I was a child. It was better than the month we spent on the plains, wandering from farm to farm, stealing to survive. Barely making it to shelter each night before the cold came."
"I’m mad because I couldn’t stop it," he said.
Grief exploded from his mind, causing her to place her hand on the table beside her. She sensed him now. He was a sun, while everyone else was a speck of light.
Tears welled in his eyes. "I was too weak to stop my mother from dying, and too weak to help you."
"You were a boy." It broke her heart to feel the turmoil inside of him. Yet she was glad she was able to get him to allow the hurt to resurface. "There wasn’t much you could have done to stop the raiders, and your time in old Zephyria was well spent." She moved over to him and touched his cheek. "I was so proud of you for finding a way out of there. You led me to Lunara where I found happiness and a new family with Ty and Jan."
"But I let you down in Old Zephyria. I failed to protect you. They prostituted you. How can I forgive a planet that allowed that?"
"Because the war ended, and everyone learned a valuable lesson about humanity. The raiders were despicable, but fate sent them to show us just how low humanity could reach and never repeat it."
"Our bond strengthened so much in that year we spent in Old Zephyria." Seth sighed. "I don’t think I could experience more pain than watching you have to do that every day. How can I demand forgiveness from Mars when I know I can’t accept it?"
Chloe understood Seth’s hatred of Mars. She had lived through the endless days of having men on top of her, doing things she did not entirely understand at the time. She only knew it was necessary if they were going to survive the Martian army’s sweeps to exterminate the raiders, and the raiders themselves. Seth had to watch it happen to her and feel the hollowness grow within her. Using her abilities, she shared the pain with him because she couldn’t bear the burden alone. His strength carried her through her year in Old Zephyria, but Seth had no one to share his burden.
Tears streamed from Chloe’s eyes. "You carry my burden. I gave it to you long ago. Please release that hatred because I don’t feel it anymore."
"It is in my DNA now," he said. "I don’t want to let go of it, either. It guides my righteousness. I can never live here again, and I can never accept war as an excuse for what happened to you."
"And what if I stay here?"
He narrowed his eyes at her. She caught her breath. "Then I’ll be alone," he said.
His voice seeped from his lips with so little emotion that she didn’t feel she recognized him. She tried to say something but couldn’t.
After a few moments, he gave up, moved to the Protector, and hopped on the wing to continue repairs. The stray voices in Trivium Port could no longer hide the turmoil from his mind.
Who was bluffing? She wasn’t sure that she was. And with his hatred of Mars, she knew he wasn’t.
Chapter 14
The train glided along the magnetic tracks toward Aethpis. Because there were no bumps or jolts, Parker continually glanced out the window to confirm it was moving. Twilight darkened the planitia, and he only recognized the outline of Elysium Mons against the otherwise flat and uneventful horizon.
Sometime later, the track veered to the left, and the lights from Aethpis Colony shot like a spotlight into the sky.
"So who are we meeting?" Parker asked. "The Protector needs a lot more work."
"Lighten up," Roche said. "Seth is working on it. Chloe asked me to clear the hangar so she could talk to him. You would be wise to avoid his bad mood anyways. You didn’t want to be there tonight."
"I explained the whole thing when you buried your head in the Protector," Jan said. "We are meeting Sarah and Kyle Cortez—both are children of the minister—and high-level ambassadors. We’re going to a local entertainment establishment, Aethpis Gardens. Dancing, drinking, and that sort of thing. Should be a fun night."
"I hope they have beer," Parker said. "I haven’t had it in ages," He looked over toward Eamonn, who had remained silent and in his own world for much of the trip. "Why are you so quiet, Captain?" Parker asked.
He received no response. Eamonn refused to turn to the threesome and continued to gaze out the window.
Parker had wanted to talk more about Seth and Chloe with the captain on the ride in, but seeing the captain’s lack of interest in everything, he thought better of it and decided he would continue his efforts alone if needed. Perhaps the captain would be more open to talking after a night of relaxation.
He leaned back in his seat. Several minutes passed in silence.
"This rail system is quite amazing," Eamonn said finally. "I can hardly tell we are moving. We are entering Aethpis. The colony is built directly inside one of the craters on the planitia."
Parker had sensed since they arrived that something was wrong with his captain. He was never this quiet and seemed indifferent to the Lunara incident. Even at the briefing, Seth thought he had not pushed the minister or Thomas Cross hard enough for better answers. He had accepted the Martian explanation completely, and Parker suspected something was diverting his captain’s thoughts elsewhere.
It couldn’t have come at a worse time: the invasion of Lunara, coupled with his suspicion that the truth remained hidden. The crew was powerless without Eamonn. Had he given up? The case closed?
Entering Aethpis, the train passed through a short tunnel burrowed inside the rim of the crater. Once the darkness ended, lights filled the cabin, and the colony was revealed.
Parker was immediately struck by the solar panels that stretched along the rim of the entire crater. He hardly recognized the colony from his last visit; a completely new landscape of buildings dominated the skyline.
The massive reservoir overshadowed all other buildings in his view. To his disbelief, the water rippled through the glass siding. Bright lights blazed on the water’s surface, a showcase he guaranteed would dazzle the strongest doubters of Martian colonization. Nowhere on Mars had so much liquid water.
Three other main buildings rested to the near side of the reservoir. Even though Parker grew up running between Trivium Port and Aethpis Colony, he found himself using the notes from Sarah to identify the new marketplace, government research center, and train station. He could distinguish the older parts of the colony if he squinted past the fresh paint and carved molding along the edges.
Parker’s departure from Mars mirrored that of the crew in one respect but not in others. He ran away from the planet, but unlike everyone else, he ran away from something good. Mars Central asked him to join a special team of engineers to build the next generation of ships at the yards on Phobos. He was given special quarters, more credits than he would ever need, and free access to the latest Martian technology. But the constrictive nature of working in a team was too much for him to bear. He
wanted his own ship, and the Protector was the perfect ship for him. His position gave him flexibility for advancements while allowing him to be independent. He answered to no committees. He was a chief engineer.
The train pressed against his back as it slowed on its approach to the station.
After gathering their things and exiting, they moved with the rest of the passengers to the main terminal. The crowd in Aethpis overwhelmed them more than in Trivium Port. The walk was tedious, and they looked in vain for their escort.
Parker was about to give up on the expected help when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He whirled around.
"Excuse me," Jan said before Parker had a chance to say anything.
"My apologies," the man who had touched Parker said cordially. "Are you the delegation from Lunara?"
"Yes, we are," said Parker. "And you?" The grab on the arm had annoyed him.
"My name is Eldon Birch, and I’m your escort to the Aethpis Gardens. Do you have luggage my assistants can carry for you?"
Parker eyed him, trying to find something snippy to say to him. The man, who was thinly built, stood patiently waiting for a reply. His diplomatic tone lulled Parker’s agitation, but Parker still said sharply, "Don’t grab people like that. We have no luggage. We expect to return to Trivium later tonight."
"I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I called out but I wasn’t able to make myself heard above the crowd."
Parker waved his hand at the man. "Don’t worry. Bad day."
"Hopefully, I can make it a better day for you."
Parker grunted, as he doubted this man could fix the Protector or ease his worries about Lunara.
"Come this way." Birch pointed toward a transport taxi.
"Can I have one moment with my crew?" Eamonn said, not as a request but an order.
"I’ll wait for you over there." Birch bowed once again before he proceeded toward a spot beside his assistants on the wall.
Once he was far enough away, Eamonn turned toward the crew and said, "I won’t be attending the event. I have some personal business."
Lunara: The Original Trilogy Page 12