“You’re saying to go after the low hanging fruit in the belt, and they’ll have to send ships to protect,” he said, nodding.
“Especially if we hit resource-transportation infrastructure,” she said. “We can attack one place then move somewhere else. As long as we stay ahead of them, they won’t be able to touch us. If we say a multicruiser is a match for at least ten of their ships, every time we poke them we’ll tie up a minimum of ten of theirs. If all they do is keep parity that’ll take 250 ships out of the game just to defend territory they can’t possibly protect, anyway.”
“That sounds like piracy as a tactic.” He didn’t like where that thought headed. “We’ll make enemies out of everyone.”
She shrugged. “We can minimize the impact on those who don’t take sides. If we only go after high level infrastructure and militarized targets, we can apply some clever word-work to spin the idea that we are the resistance. Their resistance.”
“We become the phantoms fighting against their ghost fleet,” he said.
“At least for now,” she agreed. “After we get a chance to build up, then we can turn this into a real war if we need to.”
He nodded. “First we pirate, then we soldier.”
“It’s not a perfect world.”
Bradbury Colony: Libya Montes Region: Isidis Planitia, Mars:
It had been a quiet week since Edison Wentworth arrived on Mars. An unnervingly quiet week considering that there were almost a million people living around him. A million humans quarantined behind the impenetrable red wall.
For most of Edison’s ninety-odd years, he’d lived in Galileo, where the main habitat rings were a hundred decks thick and sprawled for kilometers along the spine of the giant station, and the mass of people pressed in from every side. In any station, privacy was an illusion, and silence was an impossible dream. Those who lived there accepted it as the price they paid for survival.
Humanity had traded personal space, for outer space.
Yet, Bradbury was an open dome big enough to house ten times the number that lived here. It was a park, with towering glass spires and arching causeways that spanned beautiful grass covered lawns and trees of every shape and size imaginable. It was anything but what he had expected. When he ventured outside his suite, he was stunned to realize that the humans were spread so thin here they were like ball bearings in a pot. Rolling around with a lot of empty space between them.
The truth was that all of the main domes in Freeport were larger, yet Bradbury had the lowest density population of any human settlement anywhere other than Earth. And the home world was far from this climate controlled wonder they had built on the dusty plains of Mars.
Still it was like living on an island. Or at least what Edison imagined an island to be. In under a week he’d walked the entire perimeter trail and had seen most of the sights.
After he finished the grand tour, he knew there were still people to meet and an active social life he could explore, but he also understood what it meant to be a dustpile. He was a novel color of dust for the moment, but it made no difference when he was still much older than anyone else at the party.
One thing he had discovered was that Mars grew incredible coffee. Tana had made sure he was set-up well enough to enjoy life while he took his time adjusting, but he hated doing nothing. So with a large mug of Redrock Bold in his hand, he faced the morning intending to chart a new path forward.
Having finished his way-too-long shower, he settled down at the local-net console in his room to look for something productive to do with his life. He may be on the back end of his first century, but now that he was beyond the reach of those who wanted him dead, he still had at least another fifty years of time to waste with a new career.
His personal com chirped and without looking at the caller identity he linked it to the main screen in front of him. Saffia Drake appeared, smiling and wearing one of those disturbingly naked looking thinskins she preferred. “Eddy, glad you’re up,” she said. “Tana and I are going on a day trip and she suggested it might be nice for you to come along.”
“A day trip? Sounds interesting, but there isn’t far you can go inside a dome. Even a huge one.”
“Yah, I know,” she said, nodding. “We figured we’d show you Robinson. Tana’s got official business over there, and since it’s where I was born, I figured I could show you around.”
“Official business?”
“She’s still a member of the Mars Governance Committee, so it’s like real work or something,” she said. “I try to keep my nose out of it, and that’s why we thought we’d invite you along. She thinks you can keep me out of trouble.”
Edison opened his mouth to make a comment on the odds that he could keep her out of anything, but instead he shot her his best deadpan. “I guess job hunting can wait,” he said. “At least it’s a different island.”
“Then why don’t you meet us downstairs for breakfast?” she suggested. “There’s a great little coffee-café across the forecourt that serves real food. Once we’re done, we’ll catch the pod out to the port.”
“We’re flying?”
“Yah, there’s a loop, but we figure we might need to have the Katana with us,” she said, shrugging.
“Why?”
“See you in a few,” she said, winking as she signed off with no explanation.
Operations Control Center: Galileo Station:
For the second time in a row, nobody showed up for the scheduled Advisory Committee meeting. Arresting Paulson Lassiter had poured liquid nitrogen over the entire process of trying to organize a new government. Derek Tomlinson sat for almost an hour waiting for anyone to show up. Anyone at all. Frustration fed anger, which doubled back and fed more frustration.
When he could no longer stand the endless cycle of it, he stormed out of the room and paced the halls of the government complex. It was the only place in Galileo that he was safe, behind secure bulkhead doors and scores of armed security forces. It was a prison, but at least the guards faced outward and not at him. All but one. And that one was the monkey on his back. Odysseus.
When his anger faded down to a boiling rage, Derek wandered in to the Control Center and looked around the room. Half the consoles were empty. But why should they be manned?
Odysseus watched everything.
He stood in the back of the room for several minutes before anyone noticed he’d arrived. Apparently, it took something unusual to force anyone to look up from their work. “That’s a problem,” one technician hollered across the room to the deck supervisor.
“What is it?” Derek said, walking up behind him.
“Excuse me, Director Tomlinson,” the tech said, jumping up in shock. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I wasn’t supposed to be,” he said, frowning. “What’s the problem?”
“Someone’s opened an unauthorized broadcast. It’s coming over the newswave network.”
How’s that happening? Derek thought.
“The technician is incorrect. The broadcast is not actually coming over the network. It is a direct broadcast from one of the multicruisers in halo orbit,” Odysseus responded through his link.
“There are multicruisers in orbit?” he said aloud.
“Yes sir,” one of the other technicians said. “They arrived twenty-one minutes ago.”
“Why are we not responding?” he asked, spinning to face the one who was speaking.
“They are holding position 350 klick out,” she said. “They don’t seem to be planning to get any closer.”
What’s the weapons range on a multicruiser? he thought to Odysseus.
“We have no hard data, but the multicruiser Galen inflicted damage on the Roswell in the exchange over Hyperion at approximately 500 kilometers,” it answered.
“They are within firing range,” the Director said. “I want security patrols between us and them at all times.”
“Yes sir,” she said. “Sending the orders now.”
&nb
sp; “They’re also the source of the unauthorized broadcast,” Derek said, pivoting back to the first tech. “Jam the signal.”
“They are running a rolling frequency algorithm, I don’t know if we can.”
Graison Cartwright appeared on the main viewscreen across the wall.
“Just do it,” he snarled.
“This announcement goes out to all Union Citizens of Zone One,” Cartwright said. “You may begin to notice an increased presence of FleetCom vessels in and around the normal transportation corridors. We are deploying our ships in an ongoing effort to guarantee all vessels may fly freely between the lunar surface, Galileo Station, and the LEO Colonies.
“However, after the unprovoked attack on the FleetCom L-2 Shipyard, all vessels seeking to approach any FleetCom facility in the system will be subject to search for illegal weapons systems before being allowed to dock.
“While this may, on occasion, result in a minor inconvenience, it is our intent to maintain a lawful presence and to enforce the basic human right of free passage for Union Citizenry. Rest assured that no vessel operating within the laws of the Union Charter will be unduly burdened by this imposition of security.
“Any vessels that are subjected to unfair or arbitrary restriction of access, through the actions of the current false government, may approach any FleetCom multicruiser to seek assistance.
“In this time of turmoil, it is important to know that FleetCom stands with, and for, you all.
“Together, we will resist oppression.
“Thank you and good luck.”
The image broke up into static as the transmission ended.
“Sorry sir, they quit transmitting just as we locked them out,” the tech said, swiveling in his seat and pulling his head down into his shoulders like a turtle trying to hide from certain death.
CHAPTER FOUR
Robinson Biomedical Center: Western Athabasca Valles, Mars:
The flight was smooth for an atmospheric transit and the landing so gentle that if the silence of the engines shutting off hadn't told him they were down, Edison never would have known.
As a B-class keel with four decks, the Katana was huge to have landing capability. The interior design included built in ladders to get up to rooms that were overhead when natural gravity was sidewise. Somehow, it worked out that they still had a usable living space regardless of being in flight or on the ground.
“I should warn you that Robinson is a lot different than Bradbury,” Tana said as she unbuckled and climbed up to reposition herself on the same wall-floor that he was on.
“I wouldn’t have expected anything less,” he said, as Saf swung through the hatch from the upper deck and dropped to a different section of floor. He grinned and shrugged.
“Truth is, it’s probably not like anything you might guess,” Saf added as she settled into a chair where she could see him.
“Robinson is WellCartel’s real secret,” Tana said. “You could call it the center of our operations.”
“A week ago I would have doubted you, but now I’m ready to accept that,” he said, leaning back and studying her face. She still kept something hidden.
“It means a disproportionate percentage of the population works directly on something biomedical related, or is involved in one of our projects,” she said.
He nodded. He knew there was a big reveal coming yet, so he waited for the background to play out.
“There is almost no one here who doesn’t know what we do.”
Again, he nodded. “You’re saying there are no secrets?”
“Very few,” she said, looking down and drawing her lips tight in a way that told him he would not like what came next. “None, except for the one we’re here to deal with.”
“Something bigger than secret societies and genetic engineering?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light-hearted.
She nodded, but her expression tied an anchor to his buoyancy and sank it like a stone. “Something crashed into our playground that was way outside our thinking. Honestly, it’s why I invited you to come along.”
“I figured we’d get to that eventually,” he said, glancing over at Saf. She seemed to be as much in the dark as he was.
“We need your expertise and I wanted to get you well away from the general public before I explained.”
“If trust is an issue—”
“That’s not it at all,” she said, jumping in quickly. “Remember that Kylla could eavesdrop on a whisper at a half klick. Twenty percent of the population on Mars is boosted, so it’s other people’s ears I can’t trust. I’m not willing to take a chance on this getting out.”
He felt a little better and a lot more paranoid at the same time. “So what’s the big secret?”
“Last night, a security patrol found someone outside,” she said. “He was all but dead and we don’t know how he got here. I’m hoping you’ll be willing to help us figure that out.”
“Who is it?” His instincts screamed that he didn’t want to know.
“Tamir bin Ariqat.”
Saf gasped in shock. Edison stared at Tana in disbelief. She pulled out a thinpad and handed it to him. The screen showed a clear image of the missing chancellor, his skin drawn and pale, but undeniably recognizable.
No matter which direction he tried to spin it, this was about to become a cosmic-scale turd.
She looked over at her wife and smiled a weak apology. “I couldn’t even risk telling Saf until we got here,” she said, turning back to face him. “But that’s one reason we brought the Katana. Sound carries. Except in a vacuum.”
“That explains why the hangar hasn’t pumped up yet,” Saf said, her face registering the logic of keeping her in the dark, and putting it behind her with an approving nod.
“You’re absolutely certain of his identity?” Edison asked, knowing it was only a question of formality.
She leaned forward and thumbed the screen to the next image. It was a report on a genetic scan. “The Director of Operations here, recognized him and ordered a genmatch,” she said. “As soon as she got the report, she slapped the lid on it so fast most of her staff shit themselves.”
“I can imagine,” he whispered, letting out a long breath in a hissing whistle. “He’s got to be the hottest rock this side of Mercury.”
“Which is exactly why I need you to look into it,” she said. “You’re the only one I can trust.”
Gateway Colony: L-4 Prime:
“I hate to say it, but it does smell like the recycler is leaking,” Anju said, walking into the room she now shared with Jeph. She’d given up her space to Dr. Jameson and at least two other scientists on the team. As a result of all the scientists, the crew was double bunking. His room was also the only quarters on the ship with a private office, so they had taken to using it for meetings. Rocky sat on one of the seats and the doctor settled into the remaining chair across the room.
“At least it’s not the ammonia from outside anymore,” Jeph said, looking over at the engineer and shrugging.
“True enough.” Anju nodded vigorously. “I’m glad that our guests are housebroken, for the most part, even if they do smell like fish.”
“Fish do not have olfactory capacity,” Dutch said.
“I was referencing something an ancient North American philosopher once said about guests.” She grinned at Jeph and winked. “It’s alright.”
“It will get better,” Rocky said. “This morning I set up ventilator fans to circulate atmosphere from Tacra Un into local environment. Should stabilize air supply until we complete salvaging life support hardware from Hector. We plan to leave behind only minimal backup.”
“Where are you planning to put the extra hardware?” he asked. “We’re tight now and Roja wants to send more people down to work on the shanak-che translations.”
“Tell her no?” Anju suggested.
“We’re mining words fast enough now that we’re dropping several primers per day,” he said. “Chei says it’s burying us
and we really do need the manpower.”
“Is not possible to support any additional ongoing residents,” Rocky said. “Waltz design is for ten crew, with overhead capacity sufficient to double that. Life support is currently at 110% above reserve level, and recycler is at 150%. Is why air smells.”
“They already spend most of their day cata ahn Tacra Un,” Anju said. “Maybe we can come up with a way to keep them downstairs more of the time?”
“Da, but is necessary to come back to ship to take care of other necessities,” the engineer said. “Fortunately, they bring food down from Armstrong, however this creates other problem. To state bluntly, food carried aboard ship with them leaves their bodies and enters recyclers. Soon reprocessing storage will be inadequate and we will be making shit-bricks to store extra waste. Trust me, these items smell much worse than current air supply.”
“Can we build dorm rooms out of it?” Jeph asked, watching Anju wrinkle her nose.
“Is primarily hydrocarbon so would be possible to separate—”
“I was joking,” Jeph said, grinning. “I did want to talk about the need to convert the RecDeck, to bunkrooms and a study center, but maybe I should push back and tell her we simply can’t do it.”
“I wouldn’t be in favor of converting that area, especially not the physical conditioning equipment,” Anju said. “We’re stuck in a light gravity environment and access to that is critical to our health.”
Jeph nodded. He and Shona and Alyx would suffer the least being ectos, but she was right.
“Might I suggest we have an alternative to this issue,” Dutch said.
“I think we’re open to anything that isn’t a shit-brick building program,” Jeph said.
“The Tacra Un has expressed that it is capable of producing additional living and study space,” it said.
“Excuse me?” he said, raising an eyebrow. “I thought it had limits in what it would do for us until we finished the language matrix.”
“This is factual,” the voice they knew from the language matrix said, startling them by joining in on the conversation. “Prior to final shanak-che release, no technology is accessible to para-che Shan Tarah. It is also factual that provision exists in operational edicts to supply adequate interface adaptation for learning processes, without release of technology.”
Shan Takhu Legacy Box Set - With an Extra Bonus Story Page 61