“It is, I have three other people with me, we’re heading for the workshop, can you ensure it’s got atmosphere.”
“Certainly, Jann. I am here to assist.”
“Okay, we’ll be there shortly, we can catch up when we arrive. Over and out.”
“Who was that?”
Jann looked over and smiled. “Like I said, that’s Gizmo and you’ll meet very soon.”
She pulled up outside the main workshop airlock with a jolt. Dust and sand rose up all around as the wheels skidded to a halt. Through the swirling dust they could see the door beginning to rise as a crack of light pushed back the night. They drove in, pressurised and finally came to a stop inside the workshop. Jann got out of the rover first, followed by the others.
Gizmo raced over to her and waved a metal hand. “Welcome back, Jann.”
“Thank you, Gizmo.”
“At the risk of sounding sentimental, I was beginning to miss your company.”
Jann gave the little robot a smile. “Me too, Gizmo.” She turned to the others in turn, Kaden, Noome, Samir, meet Gizmo.
The little robot raised a hand, “Greetings Earthlings.”
“Wow, that’s a pretty cool droid,” said Noome. “Where did it come from? I don’t remember there being a robot here?”
“The last colonist here built it. Nills Langthorp.”
“Nills?” said Kayden. “Well, I’m not surprised. He’s an amazing engineer, if his clone is anything to go by.”
“Nills has a clone?” Jann stopped and looked at him.
“Yeah, of course. There were two of him, I believe, but one got recycled for some reason, I can’t remember.”
“Inciting insurrection,” said Samir.
“Nills-beta is one of the main engineers in Colony Two, I don’t think the place would function without him. I think that’s why he gets away with so much.” Kayden continued.
“With what?”
“He’s a leader amongst the Betas, if you are to believe the Colony Two rumour mill. He’s well respected, and not someone that can be gotten rid of without very good reason. He’s too valuable a resource and he keeps the Betas in line.” Said Samir.
“Nills is alive?” said Gizmo.
“Yes and no, his clone is.”
“I would very much like to meet him again.”
“Me too,” said Jann. “But that’s not going to be possible as we are leaving this planet as soon as possible.”
“Leaving?” replied the little robot.
“Yes, on the MAV, so we need to get the new fuel tanks organised. What’s the status on them?”
“Fabrication was complete some time ago, but they need to be filled with fuel, and then a diagnostics run to check integrity.”
“How long?”
“Best estimate, thirty-six point seven hours.”
“What, shit, we don’t have that much time,” said Noome. “They will find us before then.”
“Fuck,” said Samir.
“Thirty-six hours?” Kayden directed his question to Gizmo.
“Approximately.”
“Shit, shit.” Noome started jumping around. “This is not good, not good.”
“Kayden, you better get a handle on her or I will kill her myself.”
“Noome, we still have enough time, they won’t find us that quick.” Kayden’s voice was measured.
“How can you be so sure, you’re just talking shit.”
Kayden grabbed her by the arm. “Listen, just put a sock in it, this isn’t helping us.”
Noome settled down — a bit.
Jann turned around to them all. “Okay, it is what it is, so here’s what we are going to do. We need to get into the main Colony One facility, that means EVA, there’s no way through from here. The propellant processing plant is in Dome Five, Gizmo can run through the procedures once we’re inside. It’s going to take a while so if they come for us before we’re ready then we can defend ourselves better in there. Also I need to clean up, I feel like shit. Anyone got any problems with that, Noome?”
They all shook their heads, even Noome.
“Sounds good to me,” said Kayden.
They started to get their suits ready to EVA. Kayden came over to Jann. “I was just thinking, seeing as how you’re the only one who knows the launch sequence for the MAV, maybe it would be a good idea to tell me, just in case anything happens to you, you know, otherwise we could all end up stranded.”
Jann looked back at the renegade council member. “Well then, you better make sure nothing happens to me.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Ready to go?” Jann snapped her helmet on.
They made their way out of the workshop and along the outside perimeter of the Colony One facility. Gizmo raced ahead and got the main airlock ready. As they walked, Jann noticed that Samir and Noome would look out across the crater, in the direction of Colony Two, waiting for any sign that the Hybrids were coming for them. Understandable considering the situation, but what interested Jann was the fact the Kayden never once looked out, like he wasn’t in the least bit concerned. Perhaps he was made of stronger stuff. “He must have nerves of steel,” she thought.
When Jann finally stepped into Colony One and removed her helmet she took in a long deep breath. There was the familiar smell, a scent of home, fragrant and botanical. It sent her mind back to the very first time she opened her visor in Colony One, all those years ago. So much had happened, so much death, so much destruction. But soon she would be free of it, free of this place, free of Mars. Part of her would miss it, she knew that. Deep down she knew it owned a little bit of her now, how much she wasn’t sure, but it was there all the same.
Her body itched and chafed inside the EVA suit and she could feel patches of ooze from the tank dried on to her flesh. She needed a shower, a very long shower to wash away the horror of her time in the recycling tank.
“Gizmo, can you show these guys where they can get some food and rest. I’m heading for the bio-dome.”
“Certainly, Jann. May I say, it is good to have you back.”
She smiled at the little droid. “It’s good to be back, Gizmo.” With that she stepped out of her EVA suit and ran into the garden. As she raced past the hydro-ponics and the food crops, she could see that Gizmo had been very diligent. All looked well tended to and lush. But it was different, more verdant than she remembered. She dashed across the central dais and dived, head first into the pond, coming up again just under the water fall. She felt instantly alive and full of vitality. She would wash the memory of Colony Two from her if it took all night.
In the end, it didn’t last that long. Just half an hour or so. She had Gizmo bring her some fresh clothes and she sat in her old wicker recliner drying her hair. It had grown quite a bit since the little robot had cut it off for her at this very spot.
“I have primed the fuel processing plant and it is now in production. I calculate thirty-four point two hours to complete the process. Then a further one point four three hours for filling and calibration.”
“Excellent. Did you lock down all the airlocks like I asked?”
“It is done. No one can get in here without the use of heavy tools.”
“And the others, what are they up to?”
“I brought them into Dome Five and explained the procedure to them. They are taking it in shifts.”
“Okay, good.”
Dome Five housed the ARE, Atmosphere Resource Extractor. This consisted of several units, each one dedicated to processing the thin Martian atmosphere and extracting various gasses from it, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon and even small amounts of oxygen. The area also housed the fuel processing plant. This took both carbon dioxide from the ARE and hydrogen from the SRE, Soil Resource Extractor. The SRE was originally in Dome Five but had been moved by the early colonists down into the cave beneath the facility, the one that Jann entered when Nills had rescued her from the demented Commander Decker. It broke down the Martian soil into man
y constituents, one of which was water. This was further split into hydrogen and oxygen. Both units worked in tandem to provide Colony One with the essential resources needed to provide life support.
The dome also housed many other units that further combined these raw resources to create many more, one of which was methane, rocket fuel. This was manufactured by a chemical reaction between carbon dioxide and hydrogen. However, the resultant product was not stored inside the dome, but outside in a string of tanks that lined the exterior wall. There were several good reasons for this. One was simply to save space, but more importantly, methane would be highly dangerous stored in the oxygen rich environment inside the colony, so it was safer to store it outside. As a result the process of filling the MAV tanks needed to be done by EVA, on the planet surface.
As for the MAV fuel tanks, these were individually fabricated on trolleys, as once filled, they would be heavy, even in the one third gravity of Mars. Each one needed to be wheeled out from Dome Five, via an airlock, and moved into position to be filled, then a diagnostics routine run to check integrity. Once completed it would then be parked out of the way so the next one could be processed. On top of this, there were several smaller oxygen tanks required. The combination of these two gasses created the propellant that would thrust the MAV off the surface and out of the Martian gravity well to rendezvous with orbiter.
The whole process was slow and tedious, not designed for speed. So they had agreed to take it in shifts.
“Who’s taking the first shift?”
“Noome and Samir.”
“Where’s Kayden?”
“He is in the galley — making tea.”
“He’s very calm, don’t you think.”
“I do not think, Jann. I merely extrapolate.”
Jann laughed, it was a long deep laugh. “Oh Gizmo, I have missed your quirky turn of phrase, and your blunt honesty. I never really appreciated it before now.”
“I will take that as a compliment.”
Jann sat back in the chair and looked around her. “I will miss this place too.”
“What did you find in the mining outpost, I am curious to gather more data on it?”
Jann sighed, “I found what I was looking for, a way to kill the bacteria.”
“So you are no longer a bio-hazard?”
“No. It was a simple solution, in the end. Expose it to a very high oxygen level at low pressure for around twenty-four hours. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself.”
“Would you like me to initiate this procedure within the Colony One environment?”
“Oh god, yes, I had forgotten about it, what with everyone trying to kill me. But, yes, yes, absolutely, otherwise we’ll be carrying it back with us.”
“Should I inform the clones?”
“No, there’s no need, and they are not clones, they are original colonists, Alphas, they call them.” Jann sat up in the chair. “You know, Gizmo, there are hundreds of clones in Colony Two.”
“Do tell me more.”
“It’s a vast cave system, with power generated from aero-thermal heat exchangers, near limitless water supply, and a growing population. The whole shebang is run by Dr. Vanji, the original geneticist sent here by COM, and a small council of Alphas.”
“Sounds intriguing.”
“The clones came from the analogues we saw in the Research Lab, these were the seeds they used to create their society, all in secret, no one outside this planet knows they exist.”
“Even more intriguing.”
Jann sat back in the chair again. “Well it’s all fucked up, if you ask me.”
“Why is that?”
She leaned forward again and talked in more of a whisper. “Hybrids, Gizmo. They have created a new species of human. Not strictly clones, but an amalgam of enhanced human genetics. They call them Homo aries.”
“I have to admit, I am impressed.”
“It’s insane, Gizmo. Nobody should have that power. But, that’s not really the main problem. They are a form of super-human, with very strange behaviour. The main Council want to suspend the Hybrid program, they’re simply too scared of them. But Vanji is pursuing it, with ever more complex enhancements. They are his personal guard, they lay down the law in Colony Two, and watch out anyone who crosses him or his Hybrids.”
“So who are these people with you?”
“Kayden is, was, on the council. Like a lot of the others, he became disillusioned with the way things were going, so he saw his chance to escape and return to Earth when I showed up.”
“Because you know the launch sequence for the ISA MAV.”
“As always, Gizmo, you are correct. I do.”
“And the other two?”
“I don’t really know. I only just met them a few hours ago. They are Alphas, I’m pretty sure of that. But they’re not on the Council, so they could be just some disgruntled colonists that Kayden recruited for his escape plan. They’ve been tracking the Odyssey and intercepting ISA comms for quite some time.”
“Interesting.”
“Look, Gizmo, I would love nothing better that to chat to you all night, but I must get some sleep. It could get very hairy around here.”
“Of course, Jann.”
“What’s our range on the perimeter scanner?”
“We can track surface movement up to approximately five klicks away.”
She sighed. “Okay, alert me when anything shows up.”
“Sounds like you are expecting company.”
“Listen, Gizmo, I have a feeling they will show up. Sooner rather than later. I don’t care what Kayden says, they will come for us, Hybrids most likely, so we need to be ready.”
CHAPTER 14: The Purge
Dr. Ataman Vanji sat at his study table, his face illuminated by a 3D projection of the planet Mars slowly rotating in front of him. It was rendered in high detail and showed the positions of all known satellites in orbit. Vanji zoomed in and examined one in particular. It wasn’t a satellite, as such, it was the ISA Mars transit craft, Odyssey. Still faithfully waiting for the return of its crew, all these years later.
His ruminations were interrupted by the entrance of Xenon, his chief of security and de facto leader of the Hybrids. He was tall, strong and elegant. He was a splendid specimen. Vanji allowed himself a faint smile as he admired his own work.
“Dr, Vanji, we have just received confirmation from Daniel Kayden. He is in situ in Colony One and has given a time-frame of thirty six hours.”
Vanji jumped up from his seat and clapped his hands together. “Excellent. Then we have what we need to proceed.”
“Is it time, then?”
Vanji wandered over to the balcony and looked out across the vast cavern. It was dimly lit now as it mirrored the Martin night-time cycle. In less than an hour, though, dawn would break over the crater rim and a new day would begin.
“It is time, Xenon. Time to put our plan into action. Time to right the wrongs and take back the vision.” He spun back to Xenon. “How long to raise all the Hybrids?”
“We are hive-mind, we speak as one, we gather quick.” He stopped, stood stock still and went into a momentary trance. The others on the Council all found this very disconcerting, but Vanji revelled in witnessing a hive-mind communicating.
Xenon returned from the trance and spoke. “We are ready.”
“Then you know what to do. One group to round up all the council members and bring them here. The other group to eliminate the self-proclaimed leaders of the Betas. Kill any who try to assist them. Is that clear?”
“It is clear.” He turned on his heel and left Vanji to contemplate the coup he was now embarking on.
For too long had he compromised his vision, given in to consensus, bowed to the mewling for harmony. But no more. By dawn of this sol he would be master, free to pursue his experiments and all those who had thwarted him in the past would be pushed aside. “Recycling was too good for them,” he thought.
He walked out on to the
balcony and looked down at the lush vegetation. A scream cracked the stillness, then another, he could just make out the faint, phit, phit of a rail-gun. “So it begins.”
The first to arrive were his science team, three of them. They were the trusted few. They filed in to the chamber in silence and took up positions beside Vanji looking down over the cavern. “It won’t be long now, then we will be free.” said Vanji. The others just nodded.
The door burst open and in rushed an ashen faced Luka Modric, follow by two Hybrids, who had now added rail-guns to their array of weapons.
“What is the meaning of this outrage. Have you gone mad?”
“Ahh, Luka, good of you to join us. Please, have a seat.” He smiled and casually waved a hand at the council table.
Luka made a move towards Vanji. But he didn’t get far. One of the guards raised a weapon at him. “Do as the Dr. Vanji says and sit.”
He stopped, and a look of fear registered on his face as the realisation of Vanji’s ruthless arrogance finally sunk in. He sat down. By now more of the council members had been brought in to the chamber, some willingly some kicking and screaming, literally. Anyone who objected to this outrage or who put up any sort of a fight were cowed into submission by a few thousand volts jabbed into their ribs.
Finally, they were all assembled, meekly awaiting their fate.
“You may be wondering why I called you all here?” Vanji began. “Well, the reason is simple, it’s time to move on.”
“You have finally lost your mind, Vanji. This will not be tolerated, you are out of control.” Luka stood up and shook a fist.
Vanji stayed quiet for a moment, then turned to one of the guards. “Would you mind if I borrowed that for a moment?” He pointed at the rail-gun the Hybrid was holding. It fired a hard metal spike using electromagnets to accelerate it along the barrel. It was not very accurate, but at close range it could release a projectile with enough force to penetrate a human skull. Vanji took the gun, aimed it at the hapless councillor — and fired.
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