2 Change in Management

by RJ Johnson

  Meade’s eyes opened wide and he cursed, pulling back on the throttle. His cycle flipped upside down as he did his best to retreat away from the oncoming attack. He skimmed the edge of the mine as he quickly dodged the hail of gunfire raining down on him, but Laszlo’s henchman was not giving up.

  Meade saw his chance and steered the Aerocycle into a small offshoot from the main mine shaft. The hallway went from being nearly twenty feet across to less than a quarter that and Meade had to slow considerably in order to keep from killing himself. Behind, he heard the henchmen scrape the side of his Aerocycle, as he turned into the mine passageway so he could continue pursuing Meade.

  He ignored the man behind him and sped through the treacherous hallway. The gunfire had subsided thankfully as the tight quarters and winding tunnels made it difficult for Laszlo’s man to get a bead on him. Meade knew the second he was back in range he’d be right back where he started. He needed to figure out how to ditch the man behind him.

  Up ahead the tunnel expanded out into an enormous cavern that was easily nearly half a kilometer in length. Below were hundreds of storage tanks that were relics from the initial settlements. They sat, empty and useless. Meade dived towards them and weaved his way through them, dodging the gunfire that had started back up once the henchman chasing him had cleared the cramped tunnel behind him.

  The .50 caliber bullets shattered the holding tanks next to Meade and he was showered with water. He set his jaw and urged his Aerocycle to move quicker through them. He wound his way up and over the tanks as the henchman giving chase lost him momentarily in the wave of water that was cascading out of the massive storage tanks.

  A blast of water threw Meade off his Aerocycle and he fell to the ground. Fortunately, he wasn’t too high up and he was able to roll off the energy. He slammed into a water tank as his Aerocycle careened off, flipping end over end and crashing. A belch of flame exploded on the opposite side of the water tank and Meade stood, feeling his bruised ribs complain mightily at their treatment.

  He whirled, as his duster fluttered behind him. He looked up at the henchman who spotted him standing exposed on the ground. The guns on the Aerocycle fired at him and Meade moved as quickly as he could, looking to take cover.

  He ducked behind the tank just as the henchman flew over him. He pulled back, looping up and around for another pass at Meade.

  He cursed and checked his pistol again. He withdrew the clip and checked how much ammunition he had left. Two rounds, not enough.

  Meade looked desperately around him, hoping for anything he could use to help save his life. There was nothing. He could hear the buzz of the Aerocycle as its ion pulse engines engaged into its afterburners for its dive to kill him.

  He stepped out from behind the tank, looking up and saw the transformer feeding the cavern power for its lights and ancient machinery. He aimed his pistol towards it and fired several times, hoping that the thousands of hours of practice he spent out on the plains of Mars would pay off for him.

  It did. The rounds pierced the transformer and it sparked violently, shooting out huge arcs of electricity. One arc tagged the deluge of water pouring down and as the henchman on the Aerocycle flew through it. The power grounded and the henchman shuddered as hundreds of thousands of volts shot through the man, cooking him from the inside out.

  The Aerocycle fell to the ground, and bounced up and down, sliding to a stop in front of Meade. He released the breath he was holding.

  He glanced at the crashed Aerocycle in front of him and righted it. He quickly hacked into the central computer and was able to take manual control of it. He knew Laszlo wouldn’t give up. He might have a copy of his data back, but Meade had it too. Whatever the Warlord was up to, Meade just got another good reason to keep him from accomplishing it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Meade was able to catch up to Sarah and Emeline fairly quickly thanks to the new luxury Aerocycle he had taken from Laszlo’s man.

  Meade met them at the rally point he and Sarah had agreed on. He landed next to them and saw their worried faces turn to relief once they spotted him. He unstrapped himself and walked quickly over to Emeline grabbing her in a bear hug.

  “Nice to see you alive,” Meade said, smiling.

  She drew back looked up at his face, and smiled back, “It was nothing. Laszlo and his kin were pushovers.”

  “They treat you OK?” he asked.

  She nodded, “Well enough.”

  “I hate to interrupt the reunion…” Sarah said impatiently, “but Laszlo has the infodump back. Everything we were trying to prevent has completely evaporated. You’re not concerned about that?”

  “It was the only way I could make sure he let her go,” Meade said. “Without proof, he’d have killed Em outright. I did what I could to make sure he never got it, but I didn’t count on Lumpy being dumb enough to get himself killed.”

  “Never underestimate those with complete and utter loyalty,” Sarah warned, “I’ve seen it a hundred times from Consortium soldiers.”

  “You overhear anything we can use?” Meade asked, shifting his attention back to Emeline.

  “They’re setting up for something big, I know that much,” she admitted. “They kept me in that gym overnight and Laszlo only showed up within the last few hours or so and from what he was saying it sounded like you managed to piss him off nicely.”

  “Laszlo’s planning something big. That ArmBar download was the only thing preventing him from accomplishing it,” Sarah snapped.

  “Then we need to know what he’s up to.” Meade said, “Em, you still think Kansas might be able to help us out with the decryption?”

  “He owes me,” Emeline said firmly. “He’ll help.”

  “Good,” Meade said, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes. “Then we go to him and get the infodump completely decrypted. Once we know what Laszlo knows, we can make the plans for our next move.”

  “Em, you take this cycle, and I’ll ride with Meade,” Sarah said. A shadow crossed Emeline’s face, but quickly covered by moving quickly towards her Aerocycle.

  “Wait, where the hell is Kansas even hanging his hat these days?” Meade asked. “It’s been months since I saw him at the Last Ditch.”

  “He’s holed up on the other side of New Plymouth with the MiM’s,” Emeline said, starting the Aerocycle.

  Sarah grabbed Meade’s sleeve looking alarmed, “This guy’s with the Martian Indies?”

  Meade shook his head, “He’s fine. We can trust him.”

  “I’m seen with him, that’s the end of me,” she warned. “I shouldn’t…”

  “Don’t worry,” Meade said, more confident than he felt, “We’ll be in and out and your rep will survive.”

  He turned back to Emeline, “Did you hear Laszlo mention anything about some woman named Cassandra?”

  She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, “I heard that name tossed around a couple times, but the feeling I got from the context of the conversations was that Cassandra wasn’t a woman.”

  Meade cocked his head in surprise, “Then what was it?”

  “I don’t know,” Emeline admitted. “I heard the name talked about as something that Laszlo was looking for. But, it’s definitely not a person they’re talking about.”

  “What were they talking about?” Meade pressed.

  “It had something to do with the ArmBars. He wouldn’t let anyone into his inner sanctum wear them.”

  Meade frowned. Cassandra must be important and the reason they wanted the infostream back so badly, but whatever Cassandra was had to be ignored for now in favor of unlocking the encrypted data they did have.

  “I ‘spose we’ll find out more once we get this file decrypted,” he said rubbing his chin. “I ‘spect that Kansas should probably know we’re coming so that she doesn’t get shot when we approach,” he motioned towards Sarah.

  Sarah grimaced, “Thanks.”

  “Hey, I’m looking out for ya,” Meade said, smiling, “Ha
ve I disappointed you yet?”

  “That’s the problem Meade,” she said as he fired up his Aerocycle, “All I’ve done is trust you and it hasn’t exactly worked out so far.”

  “Then I believe that means our luck’s due to change some don’t you think?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he punched the throttle and to follow Emeline’s quickly departing Aerocycle. He hoped that whatever happened next, he wasn’t lying to Sarah.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Meade and Sarah were riding on the same Aerocycle he had liberated from Laszlo’s henchman while Emeline followed closely behind them. They left the bright lights of New Plymouth behind several hours ago and were currently zooming across the Martian plains towards the Martian Independence Movement’s hidden campsite.

  The MiM’s weren’t exactly taken seriously by the Coalition, or even by the many citizens of New Plymouth. Their message of trying to help the common man rise above their situation on Mars and build a better future for all through independence from the distant Coalition government mostly fell on deaf ears. No one cared enough to be a revolutionary anymore.

  Ambassador Corcoran had made a show of listening to their pleas for improved work conditions for the ORI miners and a better payscale for all industries on Mars, but so far, no action had been taken. But, despite that, they were inspired by the American revolutionaries of old. Grayborn and his men felt that if they fought for what they thought was the right long enough, they might be able to help the Martian citizens break away from the Coalition and create a life worth living for the colonists and moles on the red planet.

  They skated close to the Lid’s outer marker. This was the furthest west anyone could get without leaving the protection of the Lid that kept the New Plymouth colony existing safely on Mars. The Lid provided the citizens of Mars with the standard temperature and pressure they would expect to have back on the Homeworld. Built early during the colonization of Mars, it was created with the expectation of several hundred million people who would immigrate over the course of a century and the initial infrastructure reflected that. The Lid towered over everyone, nearly a half mile high over the colony, and extending a hundred miles in every direction. The Lid was not a perfect dome, and instead did its best to follow the geography far as you could see in every direction.

  They were nearing the western side of the Lid – far from where most colonists tried their luck digging for ORI on their own claim. Most of these independent ORI miners worked in solitude, only occasionally seeing another human face. Most went months without seeing anyone at all.

  The MiMs had formed a base camp nearly a mile away from the western marker of the Lid. Meade slowed as Sarah spotted the encampment from the air and tapped him on the shoulder, showing him where to look. He nodded and flew towards the camp.

  They approached the barb wired fence that separated the camp from the rest of the world. The fence extended all around the camp.

  “Looks quiet,” Meade observed.

  “Too quiet,” Sarah agreed.

  Emeline looked at them both and rolled her eyes.

  “Relax, they’re not going to kill anyone while I’m with you.”

  A shot rang out and a tuft of dirt puffed up next to Meade’s toe. His eyes widened and he dove behind an outcropping of rock. Sarah and Emeline followed his lead and they retreated behind their own cover.

  “Do they know that?” Meade said. He grimaced and took out his pistol and pulled a round into the chamber. He peeked around the rock he was hiding behind as another loud report sounded from within the camp and a bullet pinged dangerously close to him.

  He fell back behind the cover again and tried to rub the grit and dirt out of his eyes.

  “We can’t sit here all day,” Sarah called out. “What are we gonna do?”

  Meade withdrew his gun and racked a bullet into the chamber. “We start shooting back.”

  “No you moron!” Emeline shouted. “Why would you shoot at the guys we need to help us?”

  “Well, I think at least it’s something worth considering,” Another bullet pinged dangerously close to Meade’s head and he winced, pulling his head back low. “’Less you got any better ideas.”

  “Shooting at them will only piss ‘em off more!”

  “At least he…”

  “Guys!” Sarah yelled over the two of them, “This isn’t helping.”

  “Goddamn right it’s not,” Meade grumbled. He replaced his pistol into his waistband and acquiesced to Emeline. She was right. Shooting at the MiMs wasn’t going to help their situation. A series of rounds chewed up the ground in front of them as he, Emeline and Sarah got back behind cover. Besides, Meade had a feeling if the MiMs wanted them dead, they’d be dead by now.

  “Couldn’t call ahead huh?”

  “If I had, we’d have been scooped up by the Coalition quicker than you could spit and we’d blow their cover,” Emeline said. “The only way was to approach them cold.”

  “And look at all the good it did us,” Sarah said.

  Emeline rolled her eyes; she was clearly losing patience with Meade’s boss, “Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan.”

  “Oh?” Sarah asked, challenging her, “What’s that?”

  Emeline stood without a word and began walking confidently through the gunfire that was still raining down on them.

  “Em! What the fuck!?” Meade shouted over the din. Emeline ignored him and continued to walk fearlessly through the high powered rifle rounds that were blowing up dust and dirt all around. She put her arms in the air and continued walking.

  “Jesus Christ, she’s gonna get herself killed,” Sarah said.

  “She says she’s got a plan.”

  “Or something majorly wrong with her frontal cortex.”

  “Kansas!” Emeline shouted. “Stop your stupid goddamn shooting. You’re only wasting ammo.”

  The gunfire tapered off and they could hear shouts from the MiM’s line.

  A tall man with white hair stood up from behind an outcropping of rocks holding what looked like an automatic rifle at her. “That’s far enough.”

  “Kansas, I hate to think you and I parted on bad terms,” Emeline said, still holding her hands up.

  “Little girl, you know I got nothing but respect for you and your kin, but you’re bringing the wrong kind of trouble my way.” Kansas motioned with his rifle towards where Meade and Sarah were still hiding. “You think I didn’t spot you fools coming?”

  “We need your help Kansas,” Emeline said, her eyes pleading with him.

  Kansas kept his rifle aimed at Meade and Sarah, “You’ve managed to piss the kind of people who are very good at bringing the hammer of God down on those they dislike. I don’t need to be attracting that kind of attention.”

  “You owe me Kansas,” Emeline said firmly. “Don’t make me call it a favor.”

  Kansas sighed and lowered his rifle, “Goddammit girl, you bring a Blue Bell and a fugitive that even the blind are looking for my way and ask for help? You’re putting me in a mighty uncomfortable position.”

  “The Blue Bell’s with Meade,” Emeline said stepping forward. “She’s the one who got him into all that trouble and I was hoping…”

  “…that I could help. I got that.” Kansas said. He shook his head and threw his rifle back on his back, scratching his head. “All right then. You’re responsible for ‘em though. Either one makes a wrong move and my people won’t hesitate to end them right then and there.”

  Emeline nodded, “Sounds fair.”

  She put her fingers to her lips and whistled for Meade and Sarah to come closer. Sarah glanced at Meade and he nodded. They got up from behind the rock and moved closer to Emeline and Kansas Grayborn. Grayborn held his hand on the pistol in his waistband eying Meade and Sarah closely.

  “I’ll need your weapons and ArmBars too,” Kansas said firmly.

  “Over my dead goddamn body,” Meade snapped.

  “Meade!” Emeline admonished. Sarah smirked at him.

 
; “Sorry kids, you want to play in my house, you play by my rules,” Kansas said, his eyes narrowing. “Less you want to turn around and keep playing hide ‘n seek with the Blue Bells again.”

  “Call me a Blue Bell one more time asshole,” Sarah said growling.

  “Coalition folk don’t mind dropping a ‘Redback’ slur every time I’m around, so don’t think me insensitive to ya and your people. I’m just not a fan of ya’all,” Kansas said sarcastically.

  “I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot here,” Emeline said hastily. “Give him your stuff Meade, it’s not as if you wouldn’t do the same in his position. Remember? Rule number 1. Trust no one, especially a pretty face.”

  Meade’s face fell hearing one of his rules quoted back at him and he shook his head. He was trapped, he knew it. He grumbled as he took off his ArmBar and handed his pistol over to Kansas. He nodded to Sarah who was still staring the grizzled veteran down.

  Emeline took her ArmBar off and handed her gauss pistol to Kansas. Kansas looked it all over and nodded.

  “Follow me, and stay close. You wander off I won’t be able to protect ya,” Kansas said. He moved towards a narrow canyon behind him and disappeared behind the rock. Emeline quickly followed, turning the corner. Meade shrugged and looked at Sarah.

  “It ain’t like we got much choice.”

  “Do you trust him?” Sarah asked.

  “I trust Emeline,” Meade said confidently. “I trust her judgment and if she says Kansas can help, then we follow his rules. It’s better than trying to decode the image on our own.”

  “I can’t stand these Martian Independence nuts,” Sarah grumbled.

  “If it helps, I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Let’s go.” Meade said.

  They moved towards the narrow canyon where they entered and began to follow Kansas and Emeline towards the MiM’s encampment. He shuddered when he heard the gate close behind him. No turning back now.