Classical: MARS: Book 3 of MARS

by Matthew Ellis

  Jordan asked, “What do you have in mind?”

  Scout answered, “We need a jingle. You know, something that gets stuck in people’s heads and reminds them of the truth.”

  Jordan said, “No, I remember the last time you wrote a jingle. It stuck in people’s heads alright. It was the most annoying thing I ever heard in my life by the end of the war.”

  Scout said, “That was different. It was designed to get people to surrender. It worked, too. We got a shipload of new recruits from that jingle.”

  Jordan said, “But it was the most annoying song anyone has ever written.”

  Scout said, “Okay, first of all, I didn’t actually write that jingle. Secondly, its purpose was to get people to surrender. Besides all that, it wasn’t that annoying. Anything written in the early twenty first century with auto tune is way more annoying than that jingle was.”

  Jordan said, “Okay, we can have a jingle, but I get to vet the lyrics and the melody.”

  Scout said, “What do you know about music composition?”

  Jordan replied, “Enough to know what’s annoying to listen to.”

  Scout said, “Fine, you get to vet the lyrics and melody, but everything else is my creation.”

  Jordan said, “Sounds like a deal.”

  Scout went into his bedroom and took out his instrument. He started thinking of words as he played the notes.

  He thought, “Maybe I should write the words first, and then think of a melody to match it.”

  He took out his writing device and started thinking. The screen stared back at him every time he motioned to make a word. He started typing, but nothing he wrote made any sense. He started with the word ‘never,’ then quickly changed his mind. He started to write another word, but couldn’t immediately think of a rhyme.

  “This is harder than I thought.”

  After an hour, Kathy returned from work with Zabet. She came into the house and found Jordan sitting on her couch.

  She asked, “Do you live here now?”

  Kathy put Zabet in her crib.

  Jordan replied, “No, but I’m helping Scout with a campaign jingle.”

  Kathy said, “It looks like you’re just hanging out on my couch. Where‘s my husband, anyway?”

  Jordan answered, “He’s in the bedroom, trying to write. I can hear him slamming his fist into the bed in frustration.”

  Kathy said, “He’d better not wake the baby.”

  Jordan said, “He’s not loud, just angry.”

  Kathy said, “I’d better go and help him find his muse.”

  Jordan said, “That’s my cue to go home.”

  Kathy said, “He can come out and play tomorrow after work.”

  Jordan said, “I’m not a child, and what we’re doing is important. There’s a group trying to lead Mars in the wrong direction.”

  Kathy said, “I saw their ads, The Isolation Party. They need to go.”

  Jordan said, “I agree.”

  Jordan left Scout’s home, and Kathy quietly locked the door behind him. She took off her clothes and went into the bedroom.

  Scout didn’t look up and said, “Hi, babe. How was your day?”

  Kathy snapped, “Look up from your damned machine and look at me.”

  Scout looked up and saw his wife standing naked in front of him. She was giving him a look that was both disappointed that he hadn’t noticed her and arousing.

  Scout said, “Work can wait.”

  Kathy said, “I hope so. You tried to ignore me the whole time I was pregnant. Now it’s time to enjoy each other again.”

  Scout asked, “Is Zabet asleep?”

  Kathy said, “She’s fast asleep, and we have a while before she’ll be hungry again.”

  Scout said, “Then I’d better not waste this chance.”

  He took off his clothes and grabbed his wife. They fell on the bed together and enjoyed each other. As they were cuddling post-coitus, Zabet started crying.

  Kathy said, “It’s time to be a dad.”

  Scout quickly put his clothes on and went to his daughter. He fed, burped and changed her while singing potential new lyrics to the jingle he was working on.

  Kathy asked, “Is that what you’ve got so far?”

  Scout replied, “It’s just a working idea.”

  Kathy said, “It’s not bad. It gets the point across without sounding too political or preachy.”

  Scout said, “I may be a politician, but I don’t have to sound like one. As far as preachy goes, I try to leave that to people like Rebecca.”

  Kathy said, “If you want to work on it for a while, I’ll watch the baby.”

  Scout said, “Thanks, babe. I think it’s just a matter of writing a melody for tonight. The harmonization can be done once Jordan vets the basic jingle.”

  Kathy asked, “Why does Jordan get to be the judge of the jingle?”

  Scout replied, “Because he said the last jingle was the most annoying thing ever written.”

  Kathy said, “It was pretty annoying by the end of the war. This isn’t nearly as annoying as that was.”

  Scout said, “It wasn’t that annoying. Besides, we got a lot of defectors and recruits from it.”

  Kathy said, “Okay, get back to work.”

  Scout returned to his writing device. He wrote the lyrics:

  We came to Mars to start again.

  We swore we’d find a better life.

  Ours is a better way.

  Sharing in a brighter day.

  Broken hearts are welcome to send

  Their lost searching for a new life.

  Scout wrote some music with the tag, “Vote for the dream.” Jordan saw it the next day and was impressed with the message and the music.

  He said, “That’s not annoying, and it gets our point across. We should go with that.”

  Scout returned to work and tried to put his music aside until that night. When he got home, he immediately wrote the harmony and printed the music.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Conclusion of Case

  Governor Kidd came to Scout’s office at Scout’s request. Scout opened the door and motioned David to sit down in the chair across from him.

  Scout said, “I’m afraid I have some bad news for you. The prison ship with your fugitives and jailers was attacked.”

  David asked, “Did your people assist us?”

  Scout answered, “We did, but the attacking ship overpowered our ships. We didn’t have a battle ready contingent up there.”

  David asked, “What are you telling me?”

  Scout replied, “The ship was destroyed. The fugitives, along with the prison guards were killed.”

  David said, “Who attacked us?”

  Scout said, “I have the ship’s logs. One of our Star Brigade ships captured the ship’s last moments as it tried to help.”

  Scout showed the governor the ship’s video logs of its final moments. He saw the terrorist ship attack the prison ship. He saw the Star Brigade ship come to its aid and withdraw when it was attacked. The evidence was irrefutable.

  David said, “This doesn’t make any sense. Why would they kill the fugitives if they were attacking us?”

  Scout said, “We believe they were making sure you didn’t get any information from them. They killed the fugitives to assure their silence. They attacked you because they hate you.”

  David said, “Well, that feeling’s mutual.”

  Scout said, “Now that the case is resolved I need to discuss something with you. “

  David asked, “What’s on your mind?”

  Scout said, “I’ve assisted you in apprehending your fugitives, and now I’d like to know what I’ve actually done. I know nothing’s ever what Earth’s governments make it seem. I need to see the case files before I send you back to Earth.”

  David said, “I can’t allow you to see them. This case has been classified to anyone outside New Mexico.”

  Scout said, “You mean anyone outside DeNoPE. I�
��m damned near positive General Rich has his hands in your kettle of fish.”

  David said, “I don’t even know him.”

  Scout said, “You forget that I have access to the internet from both worlds from my place here. The treaty gives me full access to internet and files from government locations. That is the trade-off for you having full access to our information.”

  David said, “I thought you told me your internet connection wasn’t working properly.”

  Scout said, “It wasn’t, but we got it fixed. We’re still trying to figure out why it stopped working, and we have a pretty good idea your people caused it. After we got it fixed, we cracked the encryption on Earth’s internet to allow us access to your files. We found some very disturbing information.”

  David said, “You might know something, but you might not. I’m not going to be the one who tells you. I’m also not going to take responsibility for a foreign government’s internet failure. It’s a good thing you're not allowed to hold diplomats or other leaders against their will.”

  Scout said, “I have no intention of holding you hostage. However, my advisors have already checked the story you gave me. Jordan should be here to brief me on the details of the case any moment now.”

  Just then, Jordan opened the door to Scout’s office. He was holding an electronic reader in his right hand as he walked toward Scout’s desk.

  Jordan said, “I have the information you requested. It was no easy task to get this shit. It took way longer than it should have. If I’d been allowed to start on the surface, it would’ve gone a lot smoother.”

  Scout said, “Quit complaining and go ahead with your report.”

  Jordan said, “First, the reason for the General’s interest in this case.”

  David protested, “What General are you referring to?”

  Jordan replied, “General Rich, of course. He’s the one who organized the search.”

  David said, “I don’t think the leader of DeNoPE would waste his time with something so trivial.”

  Jordan said, “Unless he had a reason. He always has a reason to fuck with us because he hates us, but he had extra incentive in this case.”

  Scout asked, “What was that?”

  Jordan answered, “His son’s partner was the bank officer that was killed. He’s out for vengeance.”

  Scout said, “That explains so much. Please tell me the rest of your findings.”

  Jordan said, “The fugitives we helped this man capture were victims of an unjust foreclosure of their home. The bank in question had made calls to the victims’ jobs, which caused them to lose their jobs. Then the bank waited until they missed their next payment on their mortgage and filed for foreclosure the very next day.”

  Scout asked, “Don’t they have to wait until the second payment is missed?”

  Jordan answered, “They’re supposed to, but they always find a way around the law. They usually pay off the regulators and the officials to bypass the laws. That way, they can extract the maximum amount of cash from both the original owner and the new owner.”

  Scout said, “We don’t need the details. We know how corrupt corporations on Earth are. That’s why we came here and have thousands of applicants to join us. Please continue.”

  Jordan said, “So the bank officers came to the home without a police escort, which is also a violation, and entered the home. They hadn’t given the residents any notice of their intent to enter the home, so the residents assumed that the people inside were intruders. They were armed, which seems to be the only right remaining on Earth thanks to the damned gun lobby, so they opened fire on the bank officers. The bank people weren’t armed, so all five of them were killed in a bloodbath. Once the residents realized that the people that they had killed weren’t intruders, they got scared. So, they ran.”

  Scout said, “And they ran to Mars. The rest of the story we already knew. I didn’t believe for a moment that a corrupt politician from Earth would ever be honest with us. It’s more proof that political power is in the pocket of corporations. More proof that the way to know if a politician is lying is to check their lips. If they’re moving, then they’re lying.”

  By this time, Scout was so angry that his skin was a bright red color and his voice was very gruff. He stood up and began yelling at the governor.

  He yelled, “I knew I was going to come to the truth, and I knew I wasn’t going to like it. Now I know you’re working with DeNoPE and General Rich.”

  Kidd said, “I told you I don’t even know who that is.”

  Jordan said, “I found a few emails from him to you, along with phone records and video chat logs. We also discovered the little devices he left all over the planet.”

  Scout said, “We’re not giving those back, by the way. They’re going to be very useful in cutting down communications time with Earth.”

  Jordan said, “I’ve figured out how to disable its loyalty to General Rich. You see, he used fear and intimidation to keep the living component loyal to him. We overcame this by showing it compassion, and proving that General Rich couldn’t get to it once we disabled the control circuit. Once we got it loyal to us, we installed our own control circuits.”

  Kidd said, “What devices are you talking about?”

  Jordan said, “The ones with the worms inside. Don’t act like we don’t have video of you using it.”

  Scout said, “On a related note, we captured your ‘immigrant’ and he’s now our prisoner.”

  Kidd said, “I don’t know who you’re talking about. We didn’t send anyone here to immigrate to your colony. We try to convince people not to leave Earth for your lies.”

  Jordan said, “You know damn good and well who I’m talking about. He was sent here to gather intelligence on our society and send it back to General Rich.”

  Kidd said, “I just came to here to retrieve our fugitives. Now that they’re dead, I can go home.”

  Jordan said, “Yes, you can, but you’re leaving empty handed.”

  Kidd said, “We have a legitimate claim on their bodies, so…”

  Scout yelled, “Get out of my office! Take your people and get the hell off my planet!”

  David said, “Yes, sir. I knew I couldn’t trust you from the beginning.”

  Scout cut him off, “I said leave! I don’t want to hear your excuses and lies. Leave now!”

  David ran out of the office. He continued out of the building, and got into his vehicle. He drove to his base and gathered his people.

  David said, “I think we should leave as quickly as we can. These people are really upset with us. I think that if the treaty wasn’t in place, we might’ve started a war.”

  They ran toward their vehicles and went to start packing for the trip to Earth.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Eviction

  Scout and Jordan ordered a security team to escort the DeNoPE contingent to the spaceport. They were ordered to observe them packing their belongings and make sure they went directly to the spaceport.

  Kidd said, “Keep your panties on. We’re moving as fast as we can.”

  An officer said, “You can’t be off this rock fast enough. We want you gone yesterday.”

  Kidd said, “When Mars fails, DeNoPE will refuse to let you come within a million kilometers of Earth.”

  The officer said, “We don’t want to be anywhere near that world now that scuzzy people like you and General Rich run the place. I wouldn’t even want to live on the moon.”

  Kidd said, “You couldn’t live there. We’ve claimed it for the DeNoPE Empire. There’s a permanent settlement and military base up there. Good luck ever returning to your home when this planet crumbles.”

  The officer snapped, “The only thing that’s going to crumble is DeNoPE and its stranglehold on humanity. The resistance will win eventually.”

  Kidd said, “No, they won’t. They’ll just join you. I see how this really ends. It’s going to be a battle of two great empires, and we’re going to defeat yo
u.”

  The officer said, “We don’t need an empire to defeat you. We have freedom and the truth. “

  Kidd said, “Truth, what the hell is that? There’s only money and power, and we have both.”

  The officer said, “No, you have no power. Lies only hold power while people believe them. Once someone knows the truth, they’re set free from the power of the lie.”

  Kidd sneered at the officer and continued packing. When he finished, the security detail led him and team to the spaceport.

  Kidd asked, “Are you going to attack our ship, too?”

  The officer said, “We didn’t attack any ship.”

  Kidd said, “It looks like you’re choosing to believe a lie. The sooner you realize that your government is just as evil as you think we are, the sooner you’ll realize why Mars will fail.”

  The officer said, “The difference is that we only become evil when we’re backed into a corner. You’re evil because you don’t care about anyone but yourselves.”

  The officer finished loading the cargo into the Bulldog. Captain Ortiz closed the hatches and started preparations for takeoff. A few moments later, the DeNoPE delegation returned to Earth.

  Jordan went to Scout’s office once he knew the DeNoPE delegation left Mars.

  Jordan said, “I hope we never see hide nor hair from any of them again.”

  Scout said, “I have a feeling we’re never going to get rid of them completely.”

  Jordan said, “That’s unfortunate. I left the army on Earth because I was tired of killing people. Then I was forced to do it again when we came here. Now we’re killing people for our own purposes, just like DeNoPE.”

  Scout said, “It was a necessary action. If we hadn’t done it, the refugees would’ve been recaptured.”

  Jordan said, “I’m tired of killing people for any reason. I think I’m not going to seek re-election. I can’t live with myself ordering other people’s deaths.”

  Scout said, “That’s your prerogative.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Alliance Treaty