"People need freedom. If the MSA want power, it is time for you to make a gesture of peace."
"So Aethpis can waste the metalor we both spend valuable resources to mine." She narrowed her eyes and leaned in toward him. "Where is the hidden cache of metalor?"
He smirked. "What do you mean? I heard Seth and Chloe found evidence, but I didn’t see anything, and Sarah didn’t know either. It might not even exist. Have you considered that the chancellor may have faked the entire thing?"
"Your insolence will be your undoing." She turned around. "Guards, teach him how to respect us."
He braced for the worst as an electrostick jabbed into his side.
Chapter 23
The polished conference table served as the neutral ground for the six occupants who sat around it. Gwen Arwell, head of the Martian Supremacy Authority, sat listening to her five advisors: Thomas Cross, head of security Paul Logan, Admiral Juncon, Admiral Manson, and the deplorable Dr. Hans Bauer. For the last five minutes, they had been complaining to one another about everything going wrong since the death of the chancellor. The youngest of the brass, Admiral Juncon, seemed to be the most vocal and was offering his opinion for all to hear in an attempt to impress Thomas Cross. It was an effort he had refined as a cadet, and evidence as to how he had moved up the ranks so quickly, if not by other despicable methods.
"I’m telling you, we are too soft and moving too slow!" the admiral shouted. "We must move with more aggression into Aethpisian territory."
"Patience," Thomas Cross said to his fleet admiral. "Remember your failure. If you had been able to retain Lunara, we would be further along."
The door snapped open, and everyone turned.
Samantha walked with long strides into the room. Her high-heeled shoes, raising her a half-dozen inches, reverberated against the floor. She was naturally tall, but her heels elevated her to a menacing height that none of the men could match. They were already subdued by her beauty, and her sultry walk had them at her mercy. A wicked game of cat and mouse Gwen had learned Samantha liked to play.
Samantha stopped short of her, twisted her head, and gazed at the men, her eyes expressing her superior confidence. "So, I see you boys have been doing your jobs correctly. Today’s emergency reports are clear," she said, dripping with arrogance, leaving the men begging for her approval—except Thomas Cross, who continued his indifference posture.
Hans Bauer quickly stopped gawking at her and turned toward Gwen. He was the brains behind her father’s goals and the key to making thousands of lives better. The worst part about Hans Bauer was he was doing excellent work. His food silos had sealed the MSA’s popularity with the people. Everyone was fed.
"Lady Arwell, when will I have those two patients back?" he said. "I was promised they would be returned to me."
"Have patience," she said, firmly. "We are moving along with our military plans. Our top concern is securing Mars. You should have enough data to analyze in the meantime. The full report is not on my desk, so I assume you are still working on it."
"Some testing remains," Bauer said, withdrawing farther into his seat. "But we are working at getting them back. I want a priority on capturing them and some steps toward it."
"We are waiting for them to return to Mars. Our informants on Lunara are keeping an eye on them."
"You said we are recapturing our metalor resources," Admiral Juncon said. "It would be foolish to attack Lunara when Mars isn’t in our grasp. Our construction efforts are still ongoing, and two months is the fastest we can have them finished. Are we to wait that long?"
"The hoard of metalor is evading us. Thomas Cross and his operatives have turned up no leads from within Aethpisian records. And since the Aethpisians were clueless at the gala about the minister’s hidden resources, and the minister’s personal computer was destroyed, I believe the Alliance is as ignorant as we are. My father obviously knew about them because he knew to use that data against the minister. My searches indicated he didn’t know where they were either. He just knew they were missing."
"She is correct," Cross confirmed. "The chancellor attempted to find the resources but failed. He had me searching long before the gala information was ever released."
Juncon furrowed his brow. "Couldn’t we alter the scanners to check for metalor?"
Bauer snorted.
Cross simply shook his head. "We have been trying to develop a metalor scanner for well over a decade, and we still haven’t been successful. It is only seen when it wants to be seen."
"But Dr. Bauer detected the metalor in the patients."
"Don’t speak like a fool," Bauer said. "Those two have special attributes we haven’t learned about yet. Cross is correct. We can’t detect metalor unless it wants us to see it."
"Our supply is draining," Samantha said. "If scavenging Mars is our exclusive source, we can’t keep up with demand."
"We can steal from the meteors coming toward Lunara. Why hasn’t this been discussed?" Juncon said.
"Vice Chancellor Burns and I have already discussed this option," Gwen said, pausing to let Samantha’s new title hang in the room.
She noticed Thomas Cross’s face twitch ever so slightly. But it was better to reveal it and deal with the outcry in private. To her surprise, no objections were voiced, something that worried her more than any protest. Thomas Cross was annoyed. She had in effect demoted him. Although he still controlled the military, Samantha’s elevation confirmed that he had lost the one thing that gave him uncontested power within the MSA—his ability to whisper in the chancellor’s ear.
Gwen leaned forward. "It is impossible for Mars to mine meteors from the cluster. First, the Black Widow detection grid is between the Earth and Mars. Lunara, in turn, is behind the defense grid and in a position to react to meteors coming into Earth’s territory. From Mars, we have no reliable way of finding them in time. And more importantly, we don’t have a ship in the fleet that can deliver a resonant charge. Lunara has all the high- velocity mining ships. If we are going to mine from the cluster, we need Lunara."
"Why don’t we destroy the Black Widow?" Juncon said. "We can’t allow the Alliance to capture all that metalor."
"We need metalor and ‘if we can’t have it, no one can’ isn’t a policy we should implement," she said. "The Earth needs protection, and eventually we will gain control of the metalor again."
Juncon tapped his fingers on the table. "But…"
"She is right," Cross said. "For the same reason we didn’t destroy Aethpis, we can’t destroy any of the metalor processing plant. It is against our interest and the survival of humanity."
"Thank you, Thomas. This war between two significant powers on Mars is unique in the history of war," she said. "We can’t annihilate them or we could destroy ourselves in the process. We need Aethpis and its buildings, and we need Lunara and its mining."
Juncon crossed his arms in protest. "They would surrender quickly if we initiated a more forceful approach."
"Or they would simply let us die, too," Cross said. "We are running this war as the chancellor and I planned it long ago."
"If they control the metalor, who knows what weapons they could develop? It seems like a wasted effort if the MSA don’t possess the one thing the chancellor needed to complete his vision," Juncon said.
"And that is where I can provide some relief. I did find one thing in my father’s records to help us. He had a store of metalor. Not as big as the minister’s, but it will sustain us for now. The coordinates are on this datapad." She slid the datapad over to Ground Admiral Manson, who had been sitting silently the entire meeting. "Mr. Manson will find it for us."
"Yes, my lady," he said. "How much is there?"
"Four hundred tons."
"That won’t last long," Juncon said. "You expect us to survive with only four hundred tons?"
"Yes, I do!" she said sharply. "Your concern is not our supply of metalor. It won’t win us the war, and it isn’t a drug. Though you all seem intoxicated
by it."
Her frustration turned to rage. These fools hadn’t found her father’s assassin and they had the audacity to criticize her gift to them—another month’s supply of metalor. She turned with a rigid posture, making sure everyone was aware she was unhappy, to the head of security, Paul Logan.
She narrowed her eyes. "What did you discover about my father’s assassin? Have you caught him or her yet?"
He swallowed. "My lady, I’m sorry to report that we have turned up no new evidence. My best men are working the case, but we are stretched thin trying to control our borders. Ground Admiral Manson and I have been working around the clock for witnesses and clues."
"Leave me out of your investigation report," Admiral Manson said calmly from across the table, but the quickness in his retort betrayed his nervousness. "Lady Arwell knows my role, and it isn’t investigating the chancellor’s assassination. It is controlling our borders."
"Don’t be so quick to jump away, Admiral," she said.
"What?" Manson said. The admiral adjusted his uniform and spoke. "What do you mean, my lady?"
"Because of the genius of your vice chancellor, we have apprehended and interrogated the assassin."
The men’s faces dropped.
"Who did it?" Cross said.
"Captain of the Protector, Eamonn Dalton."
Cross shook his head with fierce movements from side to side. "He isn’t an assassin."
"If Captain Dalton wanted someone dead, he could do it with a rock and a sling from one hundred yards away. He would figure a way to guarantee it," she said. She hated Eamonn, but she still respected her former captain’s abilities.
"Why didn’t you tell me you had him?" Logan said rather sharply. "This is my investigation."
"It was never your investigation," she said. "You are a fool and incompetent. I conducted my own independent investigation for my personal assurance. Former head of security Paul Logan, you are dismissed until the admiral can find a suitable spot for you. Admiral Manson will be taking over your duties."
"But my lady—"
"No buts. Walk out of here with your dignity."
He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. Shrugging his shoulders, Logan pulled his chair back, stood, and left the room.
Gwen turned to Admiral Manson. "Your failure was allowing Dalton to cross into our territory, twice. The first allowed him to kill my father. The second, he infiltrated our territory into Aethpis colony to rescue a small boy. You can thank Samantha for setting up a trap for him. All the trivial details are in the report. I expect you to have that area secured within the next four hours as well as a reevaluation of all your borders."
"Certainly."
"Failures won’t be tolerated. I’m stretched as far as I can be stretched, and if failure continues, I’ll deal with any of you harshly."
She sat back in her chair, letting her words soak into their minds.
Her father wouldn’t have allowed failure to happen. She couldn’t allow indiscipline, strategic shortfalls, or corruption among her top officers. She had to succeed. The Aethpisians had taken her father away, and she would avenge them. No matter what, they would accept her ideas as the path for the future, even if it meant their deaths.
Chapter 24
Gwen watched from the shadows as Samantha stretched her legs across the full length of her couch. Gwen wanted to speak with Samantha about MSA business, and she had thought it best to come through the secret tunnels from her apartment to Samantha’s. But first, she would snoop a bit, watching her close friend. She trusted Samantha, yet her paranoia since taking over as head of the MSA had multiplied. An attempt on her life could be next, and she wanted to make sure her confidants were as loyal as they said…even Samantha.
Buzz. Samantha’s door chimed.
"What now?" Samantha muttered. She forced herself to a standing position, took a deep breath, and moved slowly to the door. Gwen could see the tiredness in Samantha and worried this might lead to lapses in her concentration. She would make it a point for Samantha to rest tonight.
Samantha yanked the door open, and Gwen jumped back a bit. Dakota Lars stood before Samantha. She was the wife of Hans Bauer, and chief medical administrator for the MSA hospital system.
Samantha said in a pleasant tone, "What brings you here?"
Dakota moved into the apartment. "I need a reason to visit my friends?"
Samantha waved for her to enter, watched her walk past, and closed the door behind her.
"Actually," Samantha said, "by coming here, you realize it will take some tale-spinning to create a reason for you to visit me. Cross has this place covered with his internal spies."
Gwen bit her lower lip as she realized Dakota was a spy for Samantha. She pushed forward but remained hidden. She was curious to know what information Dakota had brought.
Dakota’s face tightened. "The reason I came over is that I think your life is in danger. I overheard Hans and Thomas Cross talking about a way to poison you and the chancellor."
"Since the chancellor died, they have been threatening us every day. Why couldn’t this be transmitted over our secured CommUn?"
Dakota reached into her handbag and pulled out a vial of liquid. "Because of this…"
Samantha took it and held it into the light.
Gwen pulled in her breath. She was a target, and the vial in Dakota’s hand was the means, a tangible sign of MSA treachery. She hadn’t been eating well since her father had died, and this wouldn’t help her to eat.
"I took this from Hans," Dakota continued. "I wanted you to have a sample so you can alert the food scanners for Lady Arwell. The poison temporarily clots the blood and causes an instant heart attack. Five minutes after death, the compound within the clotting agent breaks down and disappears from the body."
Samantha raised an eyebrow. "It leaves no markers?"
"Definitely not," Dakota said, placing the vial in her hand. "I developed it."
Samantha’s eyebrows rose. "You are a definite ally. My safety team will add this to the scanners right away." She ushered Dakota to the doorway. Before opening it, she said, "If anyone asks, you were here to tend to my shoulder. The webbed scarring is still a little tender."
"Okay," Dakota said. "Can I look at it?"
Samantha opened the door without saying another word, directed her to leave, and closed the door. Samantha didn’t want Dakota to see her ugliness.
Gwen wondered to what extent their relationship had developed.
"Fascinating," Gwen said.
Samantha spun around to face the intruder. She relaxed instantly as she recognized Gwen’s silhouette in the window. "How long have you been hiding back there? You are developing an annoying habit of scaring me."
Gwen walked into the light. "Dakota Lars and you are friends. I’ve been away from Mars for far too long."
"We became good friends when you were away. I formed the friendship under your father’s order. He wanted to keep tabs on Hans Bauer," she said with an obviously faked indifference. Gwen always saw through Samantha’s ruses. "It is business. Did you hear us talking about Thomas Cross and how he is planning to assassinate you?"
"I heard everything," Gwen said. "Since we know how they are going to do it, we can trap them."
"They are too smart to be caught. They will go four or five channels deep so it won’t lead back to them. Besides, unbeknownst to them, Dakota has already caught them, and you know that we can’t charge them for their traitorous acts."
"So we can’t stop it?"
Samantha shook her head. "We’ll play a little game with them. We’ll find them a reason either to keep you alive or to fear us. If I can control Thomas Cross, I can get to Hans Bauer easily enough. He is a coward."
"Point taken," Gwen said, nodding. "Make sure you relay your resolution to me."
Samantha looked more intently at her. "I was expecting you here in the morning," she said, probing her. "Is it something important?"
"Cross has bee
n withdrawing a lot of troops from Aethpis colony within the last few days and redirecting them to fortifications around Zephyria."
"I realized this two days ago. I didn’t think I had anything to worry about until Dakota brought us this tonight," Samantha said, dangling the vial for her to see.
"I see."
Samantha blinked her eyes a few times and yawned.
"You need sleep," Gwen said. "We can handle this at breakfast tomorrow."
"No," she said. "I have stimulants. I’ll develop a plan tonight. We can’t let them get an advantage on us. They don’t realize how the population rallies around the Arwell family. Without you, Cross would drive the MSA into ruins."
"I’ll stay with you—"
"You need your rest. The chancellor has to rest or she will make poor decisions in the morning. I will have them prepared by then."
"Very well," Gwen said, bothered that she had been tricked into resting when she needed Samantha to rest. Samantha was keeping her alive, and she didn’t want her to be anything less than one hundred percent. "Don’t stay up too late."
"I’ll be fine," she said, pushing Gwen toward the secret passageway. "Go now."
Chapter 25
"Mr. McCloud, we have a disturbance in cargo hold five." Atalo Grove spoke, his words quick and sharp with utmost urgency, a tone that seemed to be spreading throughout the bridge crew the closer they got to Mars.
Parker had taken it upon himself to be the security chief for the voyage from Lunara to Mars. There had been too many holes in the Alliance already for him to trust anyone else with the care of his wife. Sarah was adamant about returning, and he was going to make sure she got there.
Atalo was just one example of the security measures he had taken. Only his most trusted friends and crewmen would be at his key terminals.
"Call me Parker," he said. "What kind of disturbance?"
Lunara: The Original Trilogy Page 50