The Imperative Chronicles, Books One and Two: The Mars Imperative & The Tesserene Imperative

by Mark Terence Chapman

  Jesus. If we’d still been standing when that last explosion occurred….

  “We’ve got to get out of here!” Tennant yelled. At least, he thought he yelled. Deafened from the explosions, he couldn’t be sure any sounds actually issued from his mouth. He choked on the bitter, sticky smoke and his eyes burned.

  Tom must be in the same condition. He grabbed his friend’s arm and half-dragged the dazed man to the still-intact door.

  Thank heaven for small favors. At least we’re not trapped in here. He grabbed the doorknob and instantly yanked his hand back to suck his fingers.

  Damn that’s hot! So much for not being trapped. Now what do we do?

  He looked at the ruin that was once the far wall of the lab. There’s not much fire that way, as far as I can see. The explosion must have blown most of it out. But it probably consumed most of the oxygen, too. So how do we get out of here?

  Something trickled into his left eye, turning his vision rosy. He used his sleeve to wipe at the wetness on his forehead and cheek. The sleeve came away smeared with crimson. I can’t worry about that now.

  Tennant cast about for anything that might help. It was hard to see much through the thick curtain of smoke, but there seemed little that hadn’t been smashed by the explosion.

  Wait! Over there—an O2 bottle small enough to carry. Now if I can just find…. He hurriedly rummaged through several drawers and cabinets until he found the oxygen masks he was looking for.

  “C’mon doc. It’s time to go.” He put one mask over his own mouth and nose and a second over the still-stunned Dr. Shallitt’s, then pulled him toward the hole in the wall.

  I’ve got no way to regulate the high pressure coming out of the tank, so we can’t breathe it directly. I’ll have to improvise.

  He held the tank nozzle up under his mask, and turned the knob for a moment. A jet of pure oxygen filled the mask. That’ll only last a couple of breaths, but it’ll have to do.

  He did the same for his friend. Then they headed through the hole. The room beyond was in even worse shape than the one they had just left. Hardly anything remained intact, but at least it wasn’t on fire, and it led to yet another room. We may be able to get out this way, as long as we don’t run into any more fire.

  At least the explosions have stopped. What the hell happened?

  No time to think about that now! There’ll be plenty of time later.

  He took another O2 shot from the tank, and gave one to Dr. Shallitt. One step at a time; one room at a time.

  * * * *

  Jardin listened to the madness erupting over the radio. It was a symphony to his ears.

  He had used this same technique to his benefit several times before. Blow something up to show the people in charge that they were vulnerable, and then follow up with a pointed reminder of the benefits of cooperation. It worked every time.

  “Jason! In here. I found another survivor.”

  “Coming, Felix. I—”

  “Look out! The roof’s collapsing! We—”

  “…fire’s not out yet in—”

  “…can’t see through the smo—”

  There was so much radio traffic that the voices talked over one another, making the radios nearly useless.

  Jardin smiled through it all.

  What do you think of that, smart guy?

  His face smiled, but his dark eyes were cold, dead, unyielding; twin lumps of coal that were impervious to fire.

  * * * *

  James arrived at ODF Barsoom tired from his twenty-four hour trip, but happy that he was soon to see his friends and blissfully unaware of the devastation that had just occurred below.

  Daniel said he’d be here. I can’t wait to see him again. Ah, there he is.

  Daniel strode across the terminal toward him. James put his bag down.

  “James! How the hell are you? You look great.” They hugged and slapped each other on the back.

  “I feel great, Daniel. How have you been?”

  “Outstanding. It’s good to see you.”

  James retrieved his bag and the two walked out of the terminal and into the ODF proper. “So when’s Kim meeting us?”

  “She won’t be docking for another couple of hours yet.”

  “Fine. That’ll give me a chance to check into the hotel and take a shower. You can make the restaurant reservations from there.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I’m really looking forward to the three of us getting together after all this time.”

  “Damn straight. The im-crowd rides again!” Daniel winked.

  “How immoral!”

  “How imaginative!”

  “You’re impossible!”

  “No, just highly improbable, you impetuous imp!”

  The two men laughed all the rest of the way to the Barsoom Overlook, happy to be in each other’s company once again.

  * * * *

  Lee Tennant and Tom Shallitt emerged from the wreckage of the lab in the hellhole that used to be Mars Mining and Refining Site 23. Every single major office building and storage facility was destroyed or severely damaged. Fires still raged in some corners. Smoke filled the air everywhere. The emergency crews were doing their best, but many of them had been killed or injured along with the rest.

  It was too soon to take toll of the casualties, but Tennant knew they’d be high. Parts of the site had lost air containment and were exposed to the Martian atmosphere, which was incapable of sustaining human life. Anyone trapped in one of those sections was surely dead, if not from explosion or fire, then from asphyxiation. Fortunately the airtight bulkhead doors had worked as designed to automatically seal off the affected areas, otherwise no one would have survived.

  The one small consolation was that at least the atmosphere in those sections was incapable of sustaining fire. That meant the structures not demolished by the initial blasts wouldn’t burn to the ground. They could be repaired.

  Tennant helped Dr. Shallitt to the makeshift infirmary to get their superficial wounds patched up. Medical personnel were doing their best to help the injured and dying, however some of their number were among the casualties as well. They did what they could.

  Tennant shambled back to his office to try to coordinate the rescue and relief efforts and figure out what he could do to lessen the magnitude of the disaster. He needn’t have bothered returning. He arrived to find the same sort of devastation that he’d encountered all along the route back. The corridor wall of his outer office was gone, reduced to splinters. Clearly, one of the explosives had gone off just outside the office.

  Shards from Bella’s desk were embedded in the wall separating the outer office from Tennant’s inner one. One of the shards pinned a few strands of bloody blonde hair to the wall. Tennant forced himself to look beyond the large bloodstain on the floor and sidle past most of Bella’s body. Tennant avoided dwelling on the other stains on the floor and walls.

  He shook his head in shock, eyes glazing over—too numb from what he had already seen to react more. I’m so sorry, Bella. You were only two years older than my daughter. His eyes misted and he brusquely swiped at them with his tunic sleeve.

  I don’t have time to grieve for you right now. I’m sorry, but it’ll have to wait until this is all over and I can do it right. You deserve that much.

  He walked through the doorway to his office. The door had been blown off its hinges and now leaned against his desk. Wall hangings and knickknacks were smashed, with bits strewn about the room. The door of a cabinet was blown in.

  He walked to the credenza next to the office sofa and pulled out a light blue blanket from within. With heavy heart, he carried it back to where Bella lay and covered her with it. Within seconds, parts of the blanket turned purplish-red.

  Tennant swallowed hard and turned back to his office. A corner of his cream-colored desk was charred black.

  If I had been here instead of in Tom’s lab….

  It was just one more shock on top of too many others
that day. The significance of that thought hadn’t really registered yet.

  Oddly, his desk chair seemed to be the only thing in the room untouched by the carnage. Tennant spun it around and was about to sit when he spied something on the seat.

  He picked it up; it was a small square of plastifilm. He turned it over to find two words printed on the underside in block letters: PLAY BALL! It flashed into flame and disappeared. Tennant shook his fingers in pain for the second time that day.

  Jardin!

  The fire that seared his soul in that moment rendered anything that had wracked Site 23 trivial by comparison.

  He did all this for money? He traded the lives of so many good and innocent people for money?

  Lee Tennant’s eyes blazed with the white-hot flame of vengeance. So, you want to make this personal, do you? Very well. It’s personal.

  I won’t rest until you pay with your life, you bastard. You’re going to die at my hand if it’s the last thing I ever do. Slowly and painfully. Very slowly. And very painfully.

  * * * *

  James McKie, Daniel Lim, and the late-arriving Kim Cappelletti had just finished an enjoyable meal that gave James a chance to bring them up to date on his adventures in Valles Marineris. Now they chatted over synthcaf.

  Daniel belched loudly and received a reproving glare from Kim.

  James smiled to himself. Those two are already acting like an old married couple.

  “We need to do this more often,” Daniel declared. “The next time it’s on you, James. You seem likely to become wealthy from working the talk show circuit now.”

  “I’d love to get together more often,” James said. “If you can figure out how to convince my boss to send me up here once a month or so….”

  Kim snorted her amusement. Then her face tightened. “If we can change to a more serious subject for a moment, what do you two make of that mess down on Mars? Does anyone know what caused it?”

  The two men exchanged puzzled looks.

  “Mess?” Daniel repeated. “What mess are you talking about?”

  “All those explosions on the surface. I heard something about it on the shuttle radio shortly before docking. I figured you two would know all about it by now.”

  James shrugged. “We weren’t anywhere near a radio or holoscreen after I arrived. Did they say where the explosions occurred?”

  Kim shook her head. “No, only that there were multiple explosions. I don’t even know if there were any casualties. I meant to ask you two about it when I arrived, but in the excitement of being back together it slipped my mind.”

  James looked worried. “More sabotage?”

  She shrugged. “We don’t even know that the previous explosions were sabotage, except for the elevator.”

  “True, but there have been an awful lot of unexplained explosions on and near Mars lately. I have a hard time believing they could all be simply coincidence. I’d better check in and make sure everything is okay back at camp.”

  Daniel spoke up. “We’re about done here anyway. We’ll go with you.” He looked to Kim, who nodded in agreement.

  They went to James’ room. There was a v-mail indicator on the console. No time for that now. He placed an emergency Priority One call to Base Camp 9. The holoscreen lit up with Joe Daniels’ visage.

  “Hi, Joe. I just heard—”

  Daniels cut him off. Several tense moments followed while James and the others listened to the litany of devastation. James’ face lost all color. “Ohmigod. What’s the casualty count?”

  “Seventy-eight confirmed dead, forty-three seriously injured, fourteen still missing. That’s most of the personnel at Site 23.”

  “Jesus! What about Lee—Mr. Tennant—and Dr. Shallitt?”

  “Superficial cuts, mostly, from what I heard. I spoke with Mr. Tennant myself, and he seemed fine, physically. Emotionally, well, he was lucid, but somehow…distant, if you know what I mean. Shell-shocked, I guess.”

  “It’s good to know that he’s still in charge. That’s something, at least.”

  “Yeah. He seemed to have things under control. So what are you doing way up there? When I spoke with Mr. Tennant to see if you were hurt he said that as far as he knew you were fine and up on Barsoom, but he didn’t mention why.”

  “A combination of R&R and reward. Well I guess that’s over with. I’m heading back down on the next elevator car to see what I can do to help.”

  Joe nodded. “That’s probably best. Of course, by the time you arrive emergency crews will already be there from all over Mars.”

  “Yeah, I know. But I can’t just stay up here enjoying myself while people are suffering down there.”

  “I understand. Let me know how things turn out when you get a chance.”

  “Will do, Joe. Do you know if Lee needs anything that I can bring down with me?

  “He didn’t say anything to me, but I imagine he would have taken care of that already. Quite a few people have already started down the elevator as part of the relief effort.”

  James nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Okay, thanks. I’ll fill you in as soon as I can.”

  “Good luck, James.”

  “Thanks, Joe. I have a feeling I’ll need it.” He disconnected the call.

  The trio stared at one another for a moment in stunned disbelief. Kim had tears trickling down her face.

  James shook off his paralysis. “I’d better pack and get out of here,” he said.

  Daniel nodded in the direction of the console. “You’d better check your v-mail too, in case it’s important.”

  “You’re right.” James pressed the key to accept the call.

  Tennant’s gaunt face appeared, still smudged with dirt and partly hidden by an assortment of bandages on his face and forehead. “James. There’s been a serious incident down here. I know you just arrived and I’m very sorry, but I’m canceling all leaves. We need everyone here for relief efforts. I’ll explain when you arrive. Please return on the first available elevator car. Tennant out.” The transmission ended.

  James’ face clouded up. “That call came in over an hour ago. People are dying down there, and here I was stuffing my fat face. I’ve gotta go.”

  Kim spoke up. “James. James! Listen to me.”

  James turned his head in her direction while continuing to stuff clothes back into his duffel.

  She continued. “It’s not your fault the explosions occurred, or that people died. And eating dinner made no difference. You can’t get back to Site 23 for another twenty-five-plus hours at the earliest. All the survivors will probably have been found and treated by then. Sure, go down and help, but don’t blame yourself for what happened. It’s not your fault.”

  James looked on the verge of tears. “What if it is? What if the explosions had something to do with the spores? Maybe someone is trying to steal them or destroy them, or something. Maybe it’s my fault for finding them!”

  Kim moved closer and clutched James’ arm. “James! Look at me.” He did so. “You’re being irrational. It’s. Not. Your. Fault. Even if someone was after the spores, you certainly didn’t force them to plant fifteen explosions and kill or maim dozens of people. That was a conscious decision by an evil person. Would you blame yourself if you ate the last strawberry in the commissary and the next person who came along went nuts and killed someone when he found out the berries were all gone?”

  “Well, no, of course not. But that’s differen—”

  “No, James, it’s exactly the same thing. You’re not responsible for other people’s actions. You have to see that.”

  James looked at her for a long moment, then the left side of his mouth quirked up in a half-smile. “Thanks, Kim. You’re right. I just needed to hear that. Sometimes I’m too hard on myself. One of my many faults.”

  Kim squeezed the arm she was still holding and returned his smile. “Nah. You always want to do the right thing. It’s one of your more endearing qualities. Now go.”

  Moments later James
was out the door and racing to catch the next available elevator car. He made it with only seconds to spare and took the last open seat. Observing the insignia on the uniforms and jumpsuits the others wore, James could tell that most were Security, medical or other emergency personnel. The storage compartments were stuffed with supplies and equipment.

  He studied the faces around him. Their countenances wore a variety of expressions, from fretful introspection to stunned puzzlement to a simmering anger. The feeling in the cabin was that of barely contained chaos. No one spoke. What was there to say?

  While James sat in his seat, trying to catch his breath, he went over every moment of his last mission, and everything that occurred while he was in Site 23. Is there anything I could have said or done differently to prevent this mess from occurring?

  I can’t think of anything, but I don’t know all the facts yet. I guess that’ll have to wait until I get there and talk to Lee. He glanced heavenward for a moment. Thank God Janice was nowhere near Site 23.

  * * * *

  “Lee, we may have a problem.”

  Tennant fought the irrational urge to laugh at the inanity of Dr. Shallitt’s remark. ‘May’ have ‘a’ problem? “Tom, we have a lot of problems. Which one are you referring to?” He waved Bruno Taggart to a seat opposite his desk. His second-in-command had come in to deliver an update regarding the cleanup operation. Taggart was one of the lucky ones. He’d suffered only a sprained wrist in the explosions, when one of the blasts knocked him from his feet.

  “Well, it may be nothing at all, but—”

  “Doctor, I’m quite busy and I have a lot of serious problems to work through. Is this or is this not a real problem?”

  “I wish I could be sure, Lee. Look, we’re cleaning up a hell of a mess here in the lab. Five of the eight iso units were smashed by the blast. The lichens from those units are gone. But I can’t tell whether they were destroyed by the fire or…taken.”

  “Taken? Who even knew they were there—besides you, me, James and your assistants?”

  “No one; unless someone talked. There’s no way to be sure.”