Resurrection

by Jeffrey Burger

  “Poppa Topps’ been a busy man,” commented Chase rubbing his chin in contemplation.

  A wry, knowing smile crept across Sheriff Brooker, “Momma Topps.”

  Mercedes straightened in her chair, “What?!”

  Brooker nodded, “Momma Topps. And she was determined to make the two of you, fourth and fifth - in no particular order. We nabbed the pilot of the T-24 when he landed, who had, luckily for you two, so miserably failed at his assassination attempt. He immediately rolled on his employer at the mere hint of a lesser charge… Zareth Topps, Harland’s wife.”

  He ran his hand over his slick-shaven head, “Yes, a real psychopath. Killed Harland’s fiancée, her own best friend, to get her out of the way - so she could get next to Harland. About a year after they were married, she killed his father to get Harland control of all the assets. Killed Waycom to eliminate the competition and take over his casino. Wanted you two dead for the same reason - you had interrupted her plans.”

  “What about Harland?”

  “He had no clue at first. I think when he realized what was going on, he was just scared to death of her… She had a plan - she wanted to be queen of Sandorra and would do whatever it took. I can’t prove it, but she’s also the one who ordered the drive-by on your casino when I was hit…” He brushed an invisible spec off his sleeve as he stood up, “So, the Governor ordered the removal of the Sheriff and Deputy Sheriff, pending prosecution for their part in the murder conspiracies. He appointed me Sheriff until the next election. I have three years to clean up the department.”

  Chase stood up, pushing his chair back, “Think you can do it?”

  Brooker picked up his hat, “I do. We’re off to a good start.”

  Mercedes rose, “Watch your back, Brooker, they may be gunning for you.”

  He smiled with a nod, tucking his hat under his arm, “The good far outnumber the bad. And I’ve been allowed to bring a few officers I know and trust, over from Amanpoor…”

  His MOBIUS chimed, and he flicked the holo-screen open, a female Sheriff’s Deputy with short-cropped platinum hair appearing on the video, “Good afternoon Sheriff. The transport is waiting on the pad for the prisoner transfer. You did say you wanted to attend…”

  “Yes I did. Thank you for the reminder, Sweetness. Good to see you - thank you for coming to Sandorra…”

  ■ ■ ■

  In the long afternoon shadow of the Revenge, sitting on the grass alongside the airport’s lone runway, the transport sat on a pad near the main terminal, waiting for its human cargo. Lisa’s Reaper sat on a neighboring pad, canopy closed, systems on, engines idling.

  Mercedes glanced over her shoulder at the plain-clothed Marines standing on the Revenge’s boarding ramp waiting for her and Chase. She eyed the Sheriff and stuck her hand out, “I guess this is goodbye.” He looked smart, pressed, in his uniform and cap; far better than his dark trench coat, which always managed to look disheveled.

  “You two take care,” he smiled politely, shaking her hand, glancing over at Chase. “Whatever it is you’re doing, stay safe.”

  “You’ll miss us,” offered Chase.

  Brooker broke into a full grin, “No. I won’t. But I can say, you made things interesting for a while…”

  Mercedes motioned over to where Zareth stood, flanked by two officers near the transport, “Can I have a private word with her before you take her?”

  Brooker regarded her carefully, “Hmm,” he grunted, suddenly grim-faced. “She stays in her restraints. And don’t you do anything foolish…”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Mercedes smiled politely. The Inspector walked over to the two officers who flanked Zareth, exchanging words, nodding toward Mercedes.

  “What the hell are you doing?” hissed Chase. “You’re not going to kill her, are you? Some slow-ass poison or something?”

  Mercedes shook her head, “No, something way better,” she whispered, walking toward the prisoner.

  Chase watched with curiosity as the officers, having retreated a good fifteen feet away, let Mercedes meet face-to-face with Zareth. Mercedes leaned in, her hands casually clasped behind her for all to see, spoke into the woman’s ear, the exchange lasting less than thirty-seconds. When she stepped back, a smug look on her face, Zareth lost all color, looking absolutely horror stricken, collapsing to the concrete on her knees in anguish, as Mercedes strolled casually away, back to where Chase stood, with nary a glance back, content with her results. Zareth wailed, Mercedes worked to contain an evil grin.

  “What the hell did you say to her?” hissed Chase, turning to walk with her toward the boarding ramp of the Revenge.

  “I told her I was The Shadow, an angel of death that walks in the light, that I couldn’t be killed - evident by her failures. I told her that her attempts on our lives had only served to anger me. That if she ever repeated what I was about to tell her, I would personally erase her entire family lineage, everyone she ever cared about and everything she ever built or created. That her actions are to blame for loss of her son, Wayland, that he suffered horrible, painful, inhumane torture, and that he will never be found.”

  “Think she believed you?”

  Mercedes glanced over her shoulder, “I’d say so…”

  Chase shook his head, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; lady, you scare the bejeezus outta’ me…”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  MARS, TERRAN SYSTEM : WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN

  Dr. Michelle Fabry paced the large round room, a wildly assorted pile of crates, equipment and unassembled furniture in the center under a domed ceiling. She paused and looked up, examining the ribs which were the seams where the panels met, laser-welded together. Somebody said it was a carbon nano-tube polymer. Or something of that nature. That didn’t make her feel any better. It was too little, separating her from the mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere outside. Even without some form of terra-firma underfoot, she had felt so much safer aboard the Conquest with all its mass of metal and strength. She had resisted the urge to remove her spacesuit as much as she disliked it. It was like wearing form-fitting coveralls. Comfortable enough - but in her opinion, completely void of style. She was a skirt and high-heels kind of gal. She looked down at the boots on her feet… yuk. Not a mirror in sight - thank God.

  With a sigh of aggravated resignation, she wandered over to a simple cot, the only assembled thing in the entire building, and plopped down on her butt, setting her helmet on the mattress next to her. She glanced at her bags and angrily shoved one away with the toe of her boot. She wouldn’t be wearing any of that anytime soon. Her eyes scanned the depths of the room, a perfect circle about a hundred-fifty-feet across. And an absolute mess; wiring cables sticking out of walls, hanging from the ceiling and running across the floor, piled in coils. The silence was deafening except for a low hum coming from somewhere and a gentle wash of conditioned air that she could almost hear moving past her. As much as she disliked pet hair on her clothes, a cat or even a dog would be a welcome comfort right about now.

  The chime from her TESS indicating an incoming call, startled her enough to make her physically jump. “Damn it,” she breathed, fumbling to activate it.

  “Incoming communication, Doctor,” TESS said musically, almost cheerfully.

  “I can’t see the screen, I can’t see the screen,” muttered Michelle, searching for the control to wake the screen.

  “Double-tap the surface to wake the screen Doctor, then select the hologram icon if you wish to have a larger viewing area…”

  Michelle Fabry wasn’t a technical neophyte and cursed her clumsiness with the new device, which she had few opportunities to use. “I’ve got it, I’ve got it…” she replied, switching to hologram and repositioning the screen like she’d remembered from her orientation class. Which seemed like months ago.

  TESS’ face shrunk and moved to the side bar to make way for the incoming communication from the only person on Earth she knew with a TESS unit.

 
“Good evening, Dr. Fabry.”

  “Director Cooper…”

  Reading her expression, Phil Cooper’s demeanor softened some, “Phil is fine, Doctor. You look stressed Michelle - I can call you Michelle...?”

  “Yes…”

  “Is there something wrong, Michelle?”

  She wiped away a tear of frustration, “They’ve abandoned me…”

  “What?!” Phil’s eyes went wide in surprise, “Where?”

  “On the south end of the Hesperia High Plain…”

  Phil Cooper waved at the screen, his mind racing through maps of foreign countries, “Wait, where?”

  “The south end of the Hesperia High Plain, about a thousand-miles northeast from the Hellas Basin.”

  Phil shook his head, his knowledge of geography pretty good, “Hmm, I’m not familiar with that area. But don’t worry, we’ll come get you. What country is…”

  “Mars! I’m on Mars!” she said tearfully, angrily waving her hands.

  Phil Coopers face was frozen in mid-comment, his mouth open. He closed it slowly, the realization sinking in. “Mars…”

  “Mars, as in the Red Planet,” she added with sarcasm.

  “Yes,” he said slowly, “I am familiar.”

  His mouth curled at the corners, but Michelle didn’t see the humor in it. “What the hell are you smiling about? I’m here alone!”

  “No you’re not,” said a voice behind her.

  A spike of adrenalin shot up her spine, launching her from her position, nearly tumbling over her bags. “Dammit! Make a sound when you walk into a room! Something! Anything!” she scolded. “I think I peed myself…” she babbled, not intending to say the last part out loud, staring in horror at the man with the blue complexion, sparkling sapphire eyes and violet freckles.

  He looked nonplussed, like it was something that happened to him every day. “The construction crew isn’t leaving anytime soon. And there’s a platoon of Marines down here - somewhere,” he waved. “We just put you over here because we thought you’d like some privacy.” He turned and strolled back the way he came, “Dinner in thirty minutes in the cafeteria,” he called over his shoulder.

  When she turned her attention back to her TESS screen, Phil Cooper was grinning at her, making her terribly uncomfortable. “Dear God, what are you grinning about?”

  “He was blue and purple - that was amazing! What did he say?” Phil asked excitedly.

  Michelle instinctively touched the spot where the translator disk had been inserted under the skin behind her ear, “He was saying, the construction crew won’t be leaving anytime soon, that there were Marines here, and that dinner is in half an hour…”

  “Fascinating.”

  “You’re still grinning at me,” she nodded at him. “What’s funny…” she asked flatly.

  “Because you’re going to be famous, Doctor Fabry.”

  Michelle’s eyes shifted around uncomfortably, not understanding. “Why,” she asked suspiciously.

  “You are the first Human - first Earthling to set foot on Mars. You are a woman, and just as importantly, you are an American!”

  The idea slowly crept into her mind, her eyes widening, “Ohhhh…”

  “Yeaaaah,” he nodded with her. “Feel any better, now?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “That’s our girl,” he said warmly. “Now, tell me what’s going on. Everything you can think of…”

  ■ ■ ■

  In a meeting with the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff at Raven Rock, Phil Cooper and Stephen Miles briefed the group on the most recent intelligence from the only connection they had with the aliens. The President looked at the faces around the conference table and tilted his head to one side, “So you’re telling me, they’re building a research base on Mars. For us.”

  “That’s right Mr. President,” confirmed Phil Cooper. “And the first person from Earth on that base, to set foot on Mars, was our operative…”

  “Dr. Fabry,” nodded the President, pursing his lips. “That’s huge. Lucky lady. Very proud of her.”

  Phil pointed to the information projected on the screen against the conference wall, “These are the longitude and latitude coordinates for the facility on the Hesperia High Plain, a little over a thousand miles northeast from the Hellas Basin.”

  “Why there, Phil?” asked the President.

  According to Dr. Fabry, it’s close enough to the equator for more clement temperatures while being close enough to the Hellas Basin for the drilling equipment that will be searching for and hopefully providing water. They want the facilities to be self-sufficient. The aliens have begun a series of bio-domes for micro-terraforming, intended for crop production - another reason to be closer to the equator.”

  “They have found water on Mars?”

  Phil shook his head, “Not exactly, Sir. Their equipment is far more advanced than ours of course, and they are very confident the Hellas Basin was an inland sea at one time. They believe water still exists in surface ice and below the substrata in liquid form. They expect to have the equipment in place and operational by the end of the week.”

  “Fantastic, just fantastic. How will they move the water?”

  “Transport flights. The drilling equipment includes holding tanks for collection and storage.”

  “Dr. Fabry informed us there’s a UFW science research vessel inbound,” offered Stephen Miles, rising from his chair. “It is due in three weeks and it will be at the disposal of the scientists at the facility. It will have very similar capabilities as the research base when it is completed.”

  The President pursed his lips in thought, “Why did they not wait to deposit Dr. Fabry until the facility was complete and the science ship was available?”

  “The military contingent of the flotilla was called back to service,” replied Phil, “and she would have missed her opportunity - not knowing how long the deployment may have been for. I think they did the best thing for her under the circumstances.”

  “It also gives her a chance to make operational requests for the facility as it is being assembled - have a hand in its design,” added Stephen. “In that respect, she will know it better than anyone else who comes after her.”

  “Definitely an advantage,” admitted the President. “That’s great - for her and for us. Is there anything they need from us?”

  “More people,” offered Phil. “Farmers experienced in hydroponics, engineers, more scientists - of all disciplines. Dr. Fabry informed us they are willing to add labs to the facility as needed, for any type of study desired. They will also train and educate our scientists in their advanced technologies. Like a university.”

  The President steepled his fingertips, “So, does the Doctor have any sense that there are ulterior motives by the aliens? Anything untoward?”

  Stephen Miles folded his arms, “Honestly, no. She was a little upset about being left on the planet on such short notice, but I think she now realizes it was in her best interest. And they’ve worked very hard to provide for her and make her comfortable. Going so far as to leave a Space Marine security detail there to make her feel safe.”

  The President raised an eyebrow, “You almost sound disappointed.”

  “I’ll admit, I had my doubts, Mr. President. But no, there’s been nothing but generous accommodations and speedy progress. Dr. Fabry provided us a rather lengthy report, with hundreds of observations. She has actually turned out to be a wonderfully observant operative.”

  “Good news. Good news indeed. This is a tremendous opportunity, gentlemen,” gestured the President. “So tremendous, I can’t tell you how much… we can do wonderful things with this opportunity.”

  ■ ■ ■

  Michelle Fabry stood where her cot had existed just a few short nights ago, hands on hips, dressed in a much more favored, business dress and heels, amazed at the progress. The empty domed room which had been such a disaster area, had transformed into a complete observatory control room with a ring o
f computer workstations. She was informed, the center of the ring, directly under the dome, was the space for the holographic sphere that would fill the area. No more interpreting flat-screen images on a twenty-seven-inch monitor, she would get to see their discoveries in a true, multi-dimensional space. How exciting!

  “Um, ahem, hello...?”

  Michelle turned to meet the soft-spoken female voice, “Hello…” she said slowly. “You are?”

  “Dr. Mary-Anne Nobert,” she shifted her helmet to the other side and stuck her hand out, “SETI, from the Allen Telescope Array…”

  Michelle met her hand and shook, “Yes, the Hat Creek Observatory in California, of course. “I’m Dr. Michelle Fabry…”

  “The first Martian,” smirked Mary-Anne. “My hero…”

  Michelle’s head tilted, “Hero?”

  “Beat the boys to it, didn’t cha’ - a victory for women all over the world - a Madamé Curie of the twenty-first century!”

  Michelle waved it off, “Well I just hope my accomplishment doesn’t kill me.” They laughed easily.

  “My friends call me Annie.”

  “Ok, Annie, my friends call me Mitch.”

  Mary-Anne nodded toward the control center arrangement, “This is all so amazing… When is it supposed to be operational?”

  “I’m not sure, but three days ago there was nothing here but a pile of crates. A couple days before that, the building didn’t even exist. I spent a night sleeping on the floor of the shuttle that bought me down while they assembled the first building.”

  “Like a true pioneer…” chided Mary-Anne, chuckling.

  “And I’m not a camping type of girl,” offered Michelle. “But the guys were very nice, even thought about my privacy.”

  Mary-Anne lifted her feet and moved her legs, “How do they do the gravity thing? I thought Mars was about a third of Earth.”