Mars Colony Chronicles (Books 1 - 5): A Space Opera Box Set Adventure

by Brandon Ellis

  Gragas put his hand on the lid. “You ready?”

  Ozzy walked over to the Ark, placing his hand on the other side of the lid. He looked over his shoulder at the Hawk. Jozi was in the doorway, her hands over her stomach, probably holding in her nerves.

  “Get inside and fly far away, Jozi,” Ozzy ordered.

  Jozi snorted. “Not a chance.”

  “You might die.”

  “Then I die.”

  Ozzy glanced at Gragas who cocked his head to the side. “Begin?”

  “Yes.”

  “Close your eyes and imagine the Ark is a spotlight. In your mind, aim that spotlight at the coming armada, and ask the Ark to guide its ferocious power to the Dunrakee invaders and to the Dunrakee invaders only.”

  “Okay, and then just open the lid?” If this worked, then holy shit. If not, then they were dead and the rest of humanity would follow.

  This better work.

  The roar of the oncoming armada shook the ground. The enemy ships would be on Tagus Valles in seconds.

  “We open the lid, and the energy coming from the Ark will bend at our will because we are of the bloodline. After your imagining, tell me you’re ready. We’ll pull the lid off on your mark.”

  Ozzy closed his eyes. “Whatever you say, Boss.” This was almost too much. Regardless, he imagined a gush of light flowing out of the Ark and punching the armada in the middle, turning them into nothing but embers.

  Only the Dunrakee, he thought. Only hit the Dunrakee, except Gragas.

  He yelped, arched back, and convulsed. His fingernails dug into his palms and he squeezed them tightly. He cringed, his teeth chomping down on each other, grinding hard.

  His knees went weak, and he lost balance, falling against the Ark but managing to stay on his feet.

  “Concentrate, Ozzy. I am doing the same.”

  He used the Ark to hold himself up. “I am.” He tried to open his eyes. They wouldn’t move. A bright light encompassed the vision behind his eyelids.

  He winced in pain, wanting to fall to one knee. He pushed against this urge and remained standing. “I can’t do this, Gragas.”

  “You already are. On your mark, Ozzy.”

  On my mark? “What are you talking about? I thought I was already on my mark. I’m doing what you asked and imagining.”

  “We have to open the lid, and I’ll need your help,” Gragas said.

  A rush of heat enveloped Ozzy, and he dropped his chin to his chest, letting out a scream. A thousand needle-like sensations went up and down his arms and legs, stinging every nerve in his body. “It hurts.” Perspiration dripped down his armpits and forehead.

  “In three seconds we open the lid,” Gragas said.

  “No. I can’t. I have to stop.”

  “Two.”

  “I can’t do it anymore,” hollered Ozzy, pain overcoming him.

  “One.” The lid moved. “Open the lid, Ozzy.”

  Ozzy pushed the lid open, losing his grip. It fell against the sand. The howl of a million ghosts filled the air, and Ozzy fell on the ground, writhing in agony and feeling thousands of volts grabbing every synapse and every nerve inside him.

  He still couldn’t open his eyes, and light permeated everywhere.

  Explosions filled the heavens. He rolled over, feeling another zap rush up his lower back to his head, stabbing his brain.

  His head pounded in agony. “I can’t take this, Gragas.”

  “Just a little longer. Focus on the Dunrakee attackers.”

  Ozzy did, imagining Dunrakee starfighters, cruisers, and every ship he knew in the Dunrakee armada exploding.

  He trembled, and tears dripped from his eyes and streamed down his cheeks. He dropped to the Martian dust.

  He went to push off the ground and pull himself out of this stabbing agony, but his equilibrium changed, and he fell back onto the crimson soil.

  He was dizzy, and the world spun around him. “I can’t open my eyes.”

  “There is a reason. You don’t want to see what I’m seeing.”

  His heart sank. What did that mean? “What’s happening?” Then his heart slowed. He let out a big, loud yawn and cringed in pain. He held his ribs. They felt like they were being ripped out, one by one. “Help me, Gragas.”

  “I can’t, Ozzy. I’m—”

  Gragas’s voice faded away, and Ozzy’s ears rang like they were next to a loud gong.

  Ozzy reached for where he thought Jozi might be and screamed as loud as he could. “Get me out of here.”

  Then everything went black.

  39

  Tagus Valles, Mars

  A fire crackled and woke Ozzy. He pushed into a seated position, squinting his eyes. Gragas was standing over him, his arms crossed.

  Ozzy was groggy. He yawned and shook his head to wake up. If he didn’t have his helmet on, he’d slap himself across the cheeks to wake himself more.

  He surveyed the area.

  A downed Dunrakee battleship was several hundred meters away, ripped to shreds, its metal twisted, and its armor dripped to the iron-covered ground like melting butter off toast. Smoke trailed to the sky, thinning the higher it went.

  He blinked his eyes. More crashed and broken Dunrakee ships dotted the landscape, sending smoke and fire traveling into the air.

  Whatever he and Gragas did had worked, and it worked well.

  “My Galactic Knights tell me that the rest of the Dunrakee fleet are leaving the planet as we speak.”

  Ozzy stood, brushing off his EVA suit. He shook his head, trying to get his bearings and the world to stop spinning. “Why?”

  “The power of the Ark of the Concordant.”

  A hand touched Ozzy’s back. “I can’t believe you actually pulled this off.”

  It was Jozi.

  Ozzy stretched his neck. “Yeah. I ain’t doing that twice.”

  Gragas bowed. “You’re of the bloodline. Always remember that.” He put his hands together, dipping his head in gratitude. “Thank you.” He crouched and then jumped. Metallic wings unfolded from the back of his battle suit, and ionic thrusters from the bottoms of his boots lifted him higher into the air. He took off, flying over Tagus Valles, and disappeared into the butterscotch-colored firmament.

  “Uh, alright. See you later, Gragas.” The Galactic Knight came and went like a hauler pilot carrying freight across Mars from city to city. Here for a few days and gone for months or longer.

  Jozi wrapped her arms around Ozzy.

  Ozzy stood, keeping his hands by his sides. Other than his daughter, he wasn’t used to affection.

  Jozi let go of him, patting his chest. “You pulled off a miracle.”

  “Yeah.” He slapped his helmet, hoping the blur in his eyes would wear off soon, and yawned again. “Let’s go. I have a feeling the MMP will be on top of us soon.”

  Tagus Valles’ exit tubes opened, screeching loudly across the area. Ozzy spun on his heels, squinting his eyes as a ship shot from a tube, veering in Ozzy’s direction.

  He slumped his shoulders. “Now what?”

  Jozi jabbed a finger at the Ark. “We still have that thing.”

  “I do that again, I die. No way.”

  The crafted eased in for a landing and kicked up dirt. Jonas stepped out of the ship in an oversized EVA suit, specially made for someone as wide as him.

  “You’ve done me proud, Ozzy.” He clapped his hands together. “You’ve not let me down.”

  Ozzy took a few steps in front of the Ark. “Don’t touch it. You do, you die.”

  “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Since I can’t have this thing, I can’t give you the rest of the auric credits. That was our agreement, you know.”

  Ozzy lurched back. “The hell you can’t. The deal was getting this thing, and I about died getting it.” He thrust his chest out, walking in Jonas’s direction. “I did my job.”

  “You know as well as I do that I can’t touch the Ark. If I do, then it won’t be pretty. Hence, half of what I
wanted can’t be fulfilled because of unforeseen circumstances.”

  Ozzy could see a wry grin forming inside Jonas’s radiation visor.

  Ozzy sighed. He was out of juice and didn’t have any fight left in him. “Whatever you say, Jonas.”

  Jonas’s mouth gaped open. “Say what?”

  “Keep your money.” Ozzy gripped the Ark’s staffs. He pulled it back, dragging it to the ship. “Get me Relic back and all fixed up in one piece, and we’ll call it even.”

  Jonas screwed up his face. “Alright. That shouldn’t take long with some techbots. Where shall I leave it?”

  “At the base of Olympus Mons.”

  40

  Olympus Mons, Mars

  “Why are we here, Daddy? I thought we were going to play chess on the asteroid like we usually do?” Lily was sitting on Ozzy’s lap, staring at Relic across the way.

  Her chessboard and pieces were on the flight console. She usually beat Ozzy in chess and just about everyone else she played.

  “Just a second, Lily-bug.” Ozzy eyed Relic, admiring its beauty.

  They were at the base of Olympus Mons in the half-broken S-6 Hawk, close to where Ozzy found the Ark of the Concordant.

  Jozi shifted in the pilot’s seat, keeping her mouth shut. She was uncomfortable for some reason. Perhaps it was Ozzy’s good relationship with his daughter—to an orphan that might be hard to watch—or it was because Jozi was now a fugitive, cut away from what she loved the most—being an MMP agent—thanks to Robert Baldwin, the High Judge.

  Or maybe it was the fact that they had some extra company sitting in the back of the craft—the Ark of the Concordant.

  The Ark was more powerful than even Ozzy had ever dreamed, and it proved that fact half a day ago.

  After the latest events, they had picked up Lily from Venessa’s house in Tunnel Downs. Ozzy wanted to see her badly.

  When Ozzy saw Venessa, her hands were shaking and she was mumbling, “I thought we were going to die, Ozzy. The Dunrakee were right above Tunnel Downs, ready to drop bombs on us to blow our underground city away.”

  “I told you they were coming.”

  Venessa nodded. “I apologize. If it weren’t for the Ministry and the Martian Marines, we’d be dead. All of us.”

  Ozzy only nodded in return, feigning a smile. If he told her the truth—that he and a Galactic Knight named Gragas, who was also a Dunrakee, pushed the armada off of Mars—then she’d laugh in his face, or worse yet, think he was crazy and stop his visits with Lily.

  And, of course, the Ministry took credit for the win, just like they did with the Martian Plague.

  Ozzy huffed and came back to the present. He peered out the window. His S-4 Jumper was there, dropped off by Jonas’s men a short time ago. It sparkled, thanks to the techbots, and it looked fixed and near to perfection.

  He eyed Jozi. “What’s wrong?”

  Jozi looked down, forcing a smile. “You’d think I’d be sad about not being an MMP agent anymore, and believe me, I am. But I can’t stop thinking about the pendant around Robert’s neck.” She touched her necklace. “That’s my family’s pendant. There is no way he could have one unless he took it from my father’s or mother’s neck before they burned up in the Prancer crash.”

  “Maybe he somehow got it from your dad’s brother? You mentioned your dad created one for his estranged brother, right?”

  Jozi kept her eyes low. “My dad said his brother died around the time I was born. My uncle was buried with the pendant. I’d be surprised if Robert were in the grave-robbing business too, so I doubt that’s where Robert got the pendant.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  Jozi let out a chuckle. “And you mentioned that Robert and I look alike. Maybe my dad’s brother really didn’t die.”

  Ozzy laughed in return. “Yes, there is a similarity, but if you’re thinking that Robert is your uncle, then you’re crazy.”

  “Yeah,” Jozi rubbed her forehead. “I’m being silly. He can’t be related to me. If he were, then he would have officially adopted me, don’t you think?”

  Ozzy didn’t think he would. Robert had his own children and only thought of himself, and Jozi would have been a burden. Robert most likely used Jozi during the time he was around her when she was growing up, perhaps thinking she’d be good somewhere in the Mars Ministry Police department. But actually to raise her, feed her at his table, and lift a finger to help her with relationship advice or any advice whatsoever was beneath him.

  Or so Ozzy thought.

  “Daddy,” said Lily, pointing at the chess board.

  “Oh yeah, my turn.” He moved a piece and glared at the horizon. The sun was setting, and a typical Mars blue sunset was in full glory. “When I was inside Olympus Mons,” he said to Jozi, “I saw a hologram or a shield big enough for a ship to pass through. I didn’t have time to investigate it.”

  Jozi lifted her head and narrowed her gaze. “That’s why we’re here? You want to investigate that now?”

  Ozzy rubbed his eyes. “No.” He yawned for the umpteenth time today. He straightened and wiggled, doing his best to wake himself. “I want to find a way in through that giant hologram. I think the Ancients created the hologram to make it look like it was part of the mountain base. It’s not a type of hologram I’ve seen. The technology allows the heat to stay in while keeping the cold out. It’s remarkable.”

  Lily moved a piece. “Checkmate.” She hopped off of his lap and leaned against his leg. “That was too easy, Daddy.”

  “I’m sorry. My mind is on that mountain there.”

  She looked into his eyes. “And we’re going inside it?”

  He patted his daughter’s head. “We’re going to try to go inside.” He thumbed over his shoulder. “Lily-bug, get your EVA suit on, and we’ll trudge over to Relic. I’ll drag Mr. Ark of the Concordant over there, too.” He slipped his helmet over his head, clicking it in place. It hissed, bringing breathable air in through his EVA’s oxygen tubes.

  He reached down, grabbing Indigo, something he had snagged from the S-99 Flying Miner before landing here.

  “Is there enough room in the mountain for this Hawk?” Jozi asked.

  She was a fugitive now and more or less needed to stick around Ozzy until she could clear her name.

  Ozzy nodded. It was easy to see Jozi didn’t want to sleep in Relic. He understood. He was a messy bachelor.

  “Good,” she said and swiped her hand over the holographic display. “I’ll warm Hawk up and follow you to the opening.”

  “If there is an opening, and I didn’t just imagine it,” mentioned Ozzy.

  Jozi nodded. “Understood.” She clipped her helmet into her EVA suit’s collar. She sat in the pilot’s seat and pressed the engine button.

  It didn’t start.

  She tried again.

  Nothing.

  She sighed. “Son of a Mars. I guess I’m going to Relic with you.”

  Ozzy hovered Relic around a small portion of the mountain’s base.

  Lily stood behind him, grabbing onto his seat. Jozi was in the copilot’s chair.

  “You see any anomalies?” he asked, staring at the energy tracker pulled up on the holoscreen.

  Jozi went to shake her head no, then pointed. “Wait a minute. Look at that.”

  “That’s got to be it.”

  The energy tracker had brought up an energetic difference in a small area of the mountain. The energy was less dense but not by much. If it were the hologram, then holy crap, the Ancients could almost hide a thin energy signature from a dense one. In other words, they could practically replicate a rock’s signature into their hologram.

  That was unheard of.

  He activated bow thrusts, backing Relic up. He rotated the ship and zipped forward over an incline, quickly slowing her down as he approached. “That’s got to be it.”

  The base of the mountain was covered in red rock and fresh sand. Ozzy could tell some of the sand had accumulated from dirt devils and
sand storms over time, but most of the red dust was fairly new, except for a giant patch that more or less hadn’t been touched.

  That untouched patch was the hologram.

  To the untrained eye, it would look normal, but if you were looking for holograms—and why on Mars would anyone be looking for holograms anywhere on the mountain—then you could easily see the difference.

  “Now what?” Jozi asked.

  “We fly through.”

  “What if we’re wrong?”

  Ozzy snorted. “We fly extremely slow, and if we’re wrong, then we get a few scratches and scrapes on Relic.” He patted the flight console. “Nothing she can’t handle.”

  Lily stepped closer to Ozzy. “Daddy is never wrong.” She laid her head against his forearm, hugging him.

  Jozi tightened her lips. She was holding in a laugh. “Did you teach her to say that, Ozzy?”

  Ozzy ignored her. “Heading on in.” He pushed the throttle forward, sending Relic into a slow and steady descent.

  They moved forward, the ship’s bow heading closer and closer to the rocky mountain. If this didn’t work, they’d butt up against it, and he’d have to steady Relic from tipping too far back and raking the aft ionic burners against the rocky ground.

  Lily closed her eyes.

  Ozzy wanted to as well. “Almost there.”

  The craft’s nose slid through the mountainous wall. Everything went gray as they moved onward. Then, what Ozzy considered the castle inside the mountain came into view.

  The walls glowed, lighting everything in the big room a soft white. A large craft with its wings tucked back like a diving Earth eagle sat perched on the ground.

  “Whoa,” muttered Jozi.

  “You can open your eyes,” said Ozzy, smiling at his daughter.

  Lily did, and a big grin erupted on her face. “Wow, Daddy. Wow. This is a big house.” She crawled onto his lap, leaning her head against his chest. She closed her eyes, yawning.

  “And it’s going to be ours for a while.” He hovered Relic, then touched down next to the craft.