Colony Mars Ultimate Edition

by Gerald M. Kilby

  And what of Vanji? Was he still alive? And if so, what was his game plan? She had the distinct feeling that somehow, he must be behind all this. He wanted to create his advanced race without hindrance or moral sermons from the council members. But then again he could be dead, along with the others. And why should she care? What were they to her that she should forgo her one chance of returning to Earth?

  She also had a third option. Stay here in Colony One and take her chances. She sighed, stood up from the recliner, and walked over to where she kept some of her personal belongings. It was a storage box she had refashioned into a kind of table. She opened it up and pulled out a small holo-tab. It was her ISA mission manual, it had everything she needed to launch the MAV and return to Earth. She shoved it into a pocket on the side of her flight suit and headed out of the biodome, probably for the very last time.

  18

  Ready To Leave

  “Where’s Nills?” Jann entered the common room to find Kayden sitting at the table. The remains of half-eaten plates of food were scattered around it like the aftermath of a party. Kayden looked up. “The robot is giving him a tour.”

  Jann relaxed. “Okay.”

  “Are you ready? We need to start helping with the tanks, time is marching on,” he said.

  “Not yet. I need to show you this first.” She took the holo-tab out of her pocket, cleared some space on the table and switched it on. Icons danced in the air above its surface, she tapped one and a 3D rendering of the MAV was displayed. She tapped again and a schematic of one of the fuel tanks broke off from the main diagram. “As you know, the fuel tanks are built on trolleys. Once they’re all filled and checked they can be connected together, like a train, and the rover will pull the whole lot over to the MAV.”

  Kayden nodded.

  “Each trolley has a hydraulic arm to lift them individually into position. They fit in like this.” She tapped the 3D rendering of the tank. An animation played showing how it locked into position on the MAV and detailed the connecting points. “Once you’ve got them all into position you open the valves here, using this exterior control panel.”

  “Okay, looks straightforward.”

  “It is, it was designed that way. Nothing too fiddly to operate wearing EVA suit gloves.” She tapped the MAV again and this time it zoomed in to the cockpit.

  “You enter the MAV through this hatch here. Over on the main console is the switch that activates the MAV power system. Once you flip that on, the flight dash should light up like a Christmas tree. Tap the main screen and it will ask you to enter a code. The code is four zeros.”

  “Four zeros?” asked Kayden incredulously.

  “It doesn’t need high security. Let’s face it, who the hell is going to steal it out here?”

  “Makes sense. Go on,” said Kayden.

  “The MAV will then run a diagnostic routine on all flight systems. You can override any alerts, unless they are mission critical. Assuming all goes okay, it will then try to contact the Odyssey.”

  “The orbiter?”

  “Yes. The launch is controlled from the Odyssey computer systems. It’s all automatic, you don’t have to do anything from that point on, just sit back and wait.”

  “How long?”

  “Hard to say, could be a few minutes, could be a few hours.”

  “Hours?”

  “Yes, the Odyssey orbits every five hours, so depending where it is you may have to wait. It will calculate the launch time to intercept.”

  “That could be a long wait.”

  “Once the MAV makes contact and the trajectory is worked out, it will start to count down. Then you’ll know how long.” Jann tapped another icon and the 3D image was replaced with a diagram of the Odyssey in orbit around Mars. “Once you reach the correct altitude the Odyssey will also automate docking. You don’t have to do anything.”

  “I like that bit,” said Kayden.

  “Lastly. Now that the MAV has docked, the Odyssey knows to prepare for return to Earth.” She tapped the rendering of the spaceship and the view zoomed into the flight cockpit. “You’ll get confirmation on the main console here. Now, you may feel that nothing is happening, because the EM Drive is pretty slow to get going, but it will be accelerating the craft through a number of orbits until it reaches escape velocity and… well, next stop Earth.”

  Kayden was silent for a moment, looking at the projection and nodding. Then he sat back and looked at her. “Tell me, why did you never return before now? You could have left any time.”

  Jann rubbed the top of her head; her hair had grown quite a bit so it no longer had that soft velvety feel to it. “I couldn’t. I was a biohazard, remember?”

  “Even so, you could have just gone, taken the risk, what could they do once you arrived in Earth orbit?”

  “Blow me out of the sky, most likely. Or at best, if they actually let me land, contain me in a hermetically sealed bubble, where I would spend the rest of my days being poked and prodded by scientists. No thank you. I’d rather stay here.”

  Kayden nodded. “Yeah, I see your point.”

  “Which reminds me. I need to send a report back, let them know the MAV is returning. I’d like to be a fly on the wall when they hear the news about Colony Two, and all that.”

  “I would suggest holding off on that for the moment. We can do it from the orbiter. We haven’t lifted off yet, so best not to tempt fate.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re superstitious.”

  Kayden laughed. “No, it’s not that… just… I think it would be better. After all, we still have to persuade them that we’re not carrying back the pathogen.”

  Jann thought about this. “Well, I’ll leave it up to you. It doesn’t matter to me now anyway. I’m not coming with you.” Jann switched off the holo-tab and handed it to Kayden. “Here, this is all you need.”

  “Not going? But this is your chance to go home, isn’t that what you wanted?” Kayden looked shocked.

  “I thought I did, but you know what? I decided I like it here.”

  “You may never get another chance.”

  “So be it.” She waved a dismissive hand.

  Kayden stood up, clutching the holo-tab with both hands. “If you change your mind, you know where we are.”

  “I won’t, but thanks.”

  He stood for a moment, just looking at her, before nodding and walking out of the common room.

  Jann sat for a while before she noticed Nills-beta standing in the doorway of the galley. “How long have you been there?”

  He moved over to her and sat down. “Long enough.”

  So you heard all that?”

  “All that I needed to. You’re not going back to Earth, then?”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “No, I don’t suppose it does. So what now?”

  “You tell me.”

  “A little counterrevolution, maybe?”

  “Count me in. When do we start?”

  “I think we already have.”

  19

  Weapons

  Nills-beta wandered around the main Colony One workshop, examining the various artifacts scattered over every available surface. Part of him felt like he was intruding on the sacred space of a dead relative, a feeling that held some validity. But part of him also felt like he was home, such was the familiarity he had with this workshop. His alpha had worked here, probably where he built the small robot, Gizmo, that now seemed to have attached itself to him. Feeling perhaps that its creator had at long last returned and, like a faithful dog, was not going to let him out of its sensory range again.

  “It is just like old times, Nills,” said Gizmo.

  Nills cocked an eyebrow at the eccentric machine, marveling at its creator’s skill. The very same skill that lay within him. The original Nills had attained legendary status amongst the betas. It was rumored he was still alive, which made Nills-beta the only clone of a living alpha. This made him some
one special within the colony and, in a sense, leadership had been foisted on him rather than acquired by rite. That, and the extraordinary engineering skills that he had inherited all added to his prominence in the community. ‘There was just something about him,’ was the oft-used refrain. But how much of this was valid, and how much was simply amplified by the myths and legends that propagated through beta society, was anyone’s guess. Nonetheless, without the creation myths they would never have had the spiritual strength to contend with their dreams, their memories, their ethereal past.

  It was this same spiritual affinity that he was banking on when they returned to Colony Two. That, and the hope that Dr. Jann Malbec’s return would galvanize the betas to foment revolution. If he was the de facto leader, then she was the spiritual leader. But again, this was by dint of myth rather than physical reality. Not that it really mattered. If it worked then… good. If not then… so be it.

  Jann had gone off with Lars to prepare the rover and EVA suits, they needed everything to be working at a hundred percent if they were to have a chance. Kayden and the alphas had decamped to dome five to get ready for their own departure back to Earth. He gave them no more thought, good luck to them.

  That left himself, Gizmo and the injured Anika. His own injuries were minor and healing fast. Anika, however, had sustained a more serious injury from a railgun dart in her upper right thigh, but that too was healing fast and she was already able to put some weight on the leg. Hopefully she would be able to join the fight.

  If they were to have any chance of gaining access into Colony Two then what they needed were weapons. Nills and Anika scanned the area for anything they could use. Simple heavy bars or knives were not going to be enough, they needed to manufacture something more lethal, and quickly.

  “So what are we looking for, Nills?”

  “Coils, capacitors, anything we can make railguns out of.”

  “What about explosives? They seem to be very popular in human wars,” offered Gizmo.

  “Yeah, now you’re talking, Gizmo. What have you got in mind?”

  “I am eighty-six point seven percent certain I can concoct something usable from the chemicals we have here in Colony One.”

  “Excellent, get to it then.”

  “Which would you prefer? Explosive, incendiary or smoke?”

  Nills looked at Gizmo. “I suppose all three might come in handy.”

  “Aye, aye, captain.” And it whizzed off out of the workshop.

  “How does it know all that stuff?” Anika was watching the little robot disappear off into the bowels of Colony One.

  “I really have no idea.”

  “But you created it.”

  “Not me, my alpha.”

  “But there is a little bit of you in that robot, nonetheless.”

  “Perhaps. All I can say is, it’s a damn handy machine to have around.”

  They continued their search, picking up parts as they went and dropping them into a handcart that Nills was pulling.

  “This looks useful.” Anika picked up a bank of electromagnetic coils.

  Nills examined it. “Good, see if you can find some more, and capacitors, lots of great big ones.”

  After a half hour or so they cleared a space on one of the workshop tables and dumped all the components onto it. They were making railguns. Similar to those used by the hybrids but these would be significantly cruder. Railguns are electrically powered from batteries, which charged a bank of capacitors to around 1000v. When the trigger is pulled this activates a row of toroidal electromagnets, each one accelerating a metal projectile along the rail.

  Nills and Anika toiled away at their task. Fortunately she was also a talented engineer and had no problem crafting sophisticated machines from a bucket of spare parts. This was how most things in Colony Two were made. Nothing was wasted, everything reused and recycled. Even humans.

  After a few hours of intensive fabrication, Jann and Lars finally returned.

  “Rover is fully fueled and supplied, EVA suits are patched up and ready to use. How are you getting on here?”

  Nills looked up from the bench where he was soldering a component. “Nearly ready for testing.” He waved away the smoke that was corkscrewing up from the joint. He picked up the railgun, flicked a switch to charge it, and inserted a sharp metal spike in the breech. He stood up. “Stand back.”

  Everyone moved aside as Nills aimed the weapon at a disemboweled refrigeration unit about fifteen meters away and pulled the trigger. It fell over with the impact as a shower of fragments exploded from the entry point.

  “I think that should do the trick.” Nills examined the weapon and placed it back down on the bench. “We’ve made two of these, this one and a smaller unit that Anika is finishing.”

  She appeared from behind a mound of parts. “I also made this.” She held up a small crossbow, fitted a short metal arrow in it and fired it at the remains of the refrigeration unit. It buried itself deep in the machine.

  “Excellent,” said Nills.

  “Where’s Gizmo?” Jann looked around the workshop.

  “He’s off conjuring up a batch of explosives.” Nills picked up a small spherical container from a mound of similar objects. “We can make some grenades out of these.”

  “Looks like we’re nearly ready,” said Lars.

  “In that case I’d better go and get my weapon,” said Jann.

  “You have one?”

  “Oh yes, and I’m pretty good with it too.” She turned and headed out of the workshop.

  They continued to test the weapons for a while before Gizmo finally showed up with several containers. It placed them carefully on the floor, moved back and then extended a metal hand, pointing at them, one at a time.

  “This will give you an explosion, this flame, and this one here, smoke.” It then carefully opened the last box. “I have also utilized these small glass vials from the medlab.” Gizmo held one up to the light. It was a standard sealed glass capsule. “You can use these as fuses. They are somewhat crude, but when this breaks open, the chemical inside will start the reaction in these others. Just be careful you do not do it by accident. Otherwise… boom.” It made a sweeping move with its arms, to emphasize the point.

  “That’s great work, Gizmo. Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, I am here to assist.”

  As they gathered around the workbench and started to fabricate the grenades, Nills was beginning to feel more confident. Now that they had some weapons, they might be able to hold out long enough for the betas to get behind them. But even armed to the teeth, if they didn’t, all this would be in vain. No amount of clever engineering would save them then. They were just finishing the last of them when Jann returned carrying a bunch of long metal spikes. Lars looked over at her. “I thought you were getting a weapon.”

  Jann looked around the workshop wall. It was a large space, maybe fifty meters across. “See that chart pined to the wall down there?”

  They all looked up from their work and across to where Jann was pointing. It was a small paper chart of some kind. Something a former colonist stuck there for some long forgotten reason.

  “Yeah,” said Lars.

  Jann placed the spears on the ground, sorted through them and selected one. She hefted it above her head and launched it at the target. It split the air at an impressive speed and buried itself, dead center in the chart. It was a good thirty meter throw.

  “Wow,” said Nills.

  “That’s amazing,” said Anika. “Where did you learn to do that?”

  Jann was walking back down the workshop to retrieve the projectile. “Oh, I had a lot of time on my hands here.”

  She returned with the spear. “Want to see something else?”

  “Sure,” said Lars.

  “Gizmo, would you be so kind?”

  “You are not going to do this. I thought we were friends again.”

  “We are, Gizmo. I just want them to see.”

  “Oh, all right then.�
�� Gizmo whizzed a few meters away from Jann.

  “Ready?” said Jann.

  “Gizmo is always ready.”

  She launched the spear directly at the little robot’s head. Before any of them had time to think, Gizmo simply grabbed it out of the air.

  “Wow, how can it do that?” said Anika.

  “Ultra-fast reflexes,” said Jann. “Pretty impressive, don’t you think?”

  “Incredible,” said Nills.

  “I have a request,” said Gizmo.

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “I would like to join you on your adventure.”

  Nills and Jann exchanged glances. “It will be dangerous, Gizmo.”

  “You are forgetting I am a robot, that is meaningless to me. I have extrapolated that being alone is less simulating than being in the company of friends.” It moved its head and looked from Nills to Jann. “And you are my friends.”

  Nills walked over to the robot and put his hand on its metal shoulder. “I, for one, would be glad to have you along.”

  “I would consider it an honor,” said Jann.

  Gizmo looked up at its friends and if it could smile it would have had the broadest grin ever seen on a robot.

  When the moment had passed Nills turned back to them. “Okay, I think we’re ready.”

  “So what’s the plan?” Jann was taking the spear back from Gizmo’s metal hand. The others all looked at Nills.

  “Let’s get some food and we can discuss it.”

  The plan, such as it was, revolved around the assumption that Jann’s return to Colony Two would rouse the betas. Since they outnumbered the hybrids and the few remaining alphas, they could, in theory, take control. But it was evident to Jann that there were a number of gaps in this plan. First and foremost, would the betas be inspired into action, as Nills had asserted? He was convinced, but Jann was not so sure. Second, did they have the strength of arms, the weapons? And third, it assumed that the situation hadn’t changed since their escape. In truth, they didn’t really know what was going on. What was the end game? Was it being instigated solely by the hybrids, and if so, what was their motivation? Or was there more to it? Was Vanji involved, was he behind it? All these questions they could not answer.