Chapter Seven
He awoke lying on the gurney in the hospital. How could that be, was it all a dream? Faces were looking down at him. Saul and Gabi. He remembered the mission to Lyot Crater, when he’d collapsed, frozen in the face of the enemy. So the rest of it was his imagination. He felt embarrassed, but Saul’s words made him realize that he had imagined nothing.
“What the blazes were you doing, Rahm? For Christ’s sake, how could you even think it? We’re in enough trouble here, in case you haven’t noticed. We need you more than ever, and then you go and try a stupid stunt like that.”
“I’m sorry, my friend,” he muttered. “Did you come out to get me?”
“It was Gabi, she was checking over the gear you brought back from Lyot Crater. She had some news and she came looking for you.”
He looked at her. “Did you…?”
“Read your note? Yes, I did. I looked in your room and saw the envelope addressed to me. How could you even think it?”
He felt tired and depressed, they didn’t understand. “I thought of it because you can’t afford to carry any deadwood. There’s no place for anyone that can’t cut it has no place breathing air that other people need to save Mars Base. You’ve got your work cut out for you as it is.”
“Well, you certainly went to the heart of the problem.”
“What?”
“Breathing air. That’s what caused your problem at Lyot Crater. You had a faulty life support system, you’re lucky to be alive. I checked it out when you came back and found the problem, a missing component in the metering system.”
“So it was just an accident?”
She shook her head. “It was no accident.”
He felt numb. Someone had tried to kill him. There was only one obvious candidate. One man with whom he’d constantly had disagreements and would be glad to see him dead. Ryles!
“I’ll kill the bastard. Where is he?”
Saul held him down. “We don’t know that it was him, not yet. Kacy is looking around to see if she can find anything. If that missing part is somewhere in his kit, we’ll put the blame where it belongs. But so far, we can’t be sure. It would be best if he didn’t think you suspected him.”
Then it struck him. That problem hadn’t been caused by something inside his head. It was an attack, pure and simple. He’d deal with that, had dealt with attacks all his life. It was only when they were inside you that you couldn’t do anything about them.
“We need to search his quarters,” he exclaimed.
“Already being done. Kaz is on it, if there’s anything to be found he’ll find it. I’ve got some tasks to get on with, because we’re going out again tomorrow to hit those bastards.”
“I’ll be with you, Saul.”
His big toolpusher smiled. “I thought you’d say that. Are you sure you’re ok, that oxygen problem may take a while to get over.”
“I said I’m going.”
“Yeah.” He grinned. “It’ll be like old times. Just watch your air supply.”
“You mean watch Ryles.”
Saul shrugged. “Maybe.”
Gabi sat next to him, holding his hand. “I want you to promise me something, Rahm.”
“What’s that? To find a different job?”
“Hmm, that would be nice. But what I want is for you to take that test.”
“But, I can’t…”
She put a finger on his lips. “You’re the bravest person I know, Rahm. Bar none. When you thought you were causing a problem, you were prepared to end it all so that you wouldn’t be a drain on our air. That takes some guts.”
He started to protest, but she stopped him again.
“No, listen. When we get back to Earth, I want you to take that test. It would take a brave man, like it did to do the things I’ve seen you do here. Please, do it for me if not for yourself. “And if there’s nothing wrong?”
“Then there could have been any of a hundred reasons for what happened in Afghanistan. Just remember what happened at Lyot Crater. But if it is a brain problem, I don’t want you to suffer with it. They can put these things right these days, it’s not worse than having a tooth pulled.”
“I hate having teeth pulled.”
She smiled. “Me too. So do it for me?”
He thought for several minutes. But he knew when he was beaten. Besides, it may never happen. He didn’t want to voice the terrible reality that they may never get of this accursed planet alive. But it was true, a possibility that woke them all in the night with visions of choking to death on the remnants of their failing life support. Or perhaps freezing in the icy chill of the Martian temperatures. He put that thought out of his mind. For her, for all of them, they were going to get through this.
“I’ll do it.”
He dressed and they went out to the workshop. She showed him what had caused the air supply problem and more importantly, how to check that it couldn’t be done to him again. Then she took him off to bed.
“Look, I’m ok, Gabi. I need a few drinks with the men before we got out tomorrow.”
“And I need something too. Something that can only be done in private.”
“Oh.”
Their lovemaking was frantic, almost violent. They clung to each other like two lovers who’d come close to losing each other forever. Which they had. Like two lovers who face a future that is uncertain. Which it was. Like two lovers who were about to go out and face the ultimate life or death challenge of combat. Which they were. Rahm’s mind soared to new heights of giddy ecstasy as he entered her and he felt he warm, smooth skin, smelt the spicy scent of a woman aroused. They took their lovemaking to new lengths to put their passion on a totally new plane so that when they finished, more than an hour later, he was exhausted. As if her body had sucked as much life out of him as had the harsh Martian environment. But where Mars was a planet of cold death, she was warm life. He realized he loved her more than ever, for what she was, for what she’d done for him and for what she meant to him.
It was while he was dozing that she dropped the bombshell.
“I’m coming with you tomorrow.”
His mind reeled with horror, at the thought of her being injured or even killed.
“There’s no need. It’d be best if you stayed here and kept working on the technical stuff.”
She punched him playfully in the ribs. “Hey, caveman. If you think you’re going hunting while the little lady stays home and sweeps the floors you’ve got another think coming. I’ll be with you, there’s no argument. You’ll need me, believe it. We’re making good progress with the adaptations but it isn’t over yet. You’ll just have to accept it, I’m coming.”
They drove out in the morning. Damian was effectively running the base now that drilling operations were suspended. All that mattered was the success of the raids on the Taurons, for they had to have the breathing sets and the transports to power the dynamos. Or they would die. So far the adapted equipment was working well. The engineers had taken a huge dynamo and mounting equipment to the air scrubber cave. If they could manage to secure a transport it would be driven directly to the cave and in only a few hours they could have some limited function of the air scrubber. That would make life inside Mars Base more bearable for the next few months. Their target was a drilling operation known to be working in an unnamed valley between the Malea Plain and the Hellespont Mountains. It was a long journey, too long. But Damian had insisted that they hit the Taurons in an unexpected place again. It was impossible to know what they were thinking, as their minds did not work in the human way. Did they understand the theories of bluff and double bluff? Of establishing a pattern of attacks and then breaking it? Or did they just consider warfare a glorious endeavor, something to be feasted on and enjoyed, like fine wines. Who could tell, whatever they did would be a risk, this one perhaps offered the best chance of success.
* * *
Granat was stationed on the highest point of the rim of the Huygens Crater. He had a drilling operation running next to the adjacent Schiaparelli Crater, for his suspicion was that the humans would attack it. He would wait here, with forty of his warriors. When the humans carried out their attack he would fall on them and destroy them. If they wanted to make this conflict a series of guerilla attacks and ambushes he’d oblige them. He would also send them to their doom. He knew that he needed success, and needed it desperately. The attacks had eroded their operation on Mars so badly that he’d seen another communication from Tabor, Lord of Tauron. Why, he’d asked, had Granat not been able to deal with these humans? He’d told his Lord repeatedly how puny they were. And yet he still had not beaten them. Perhaps it was time to send a new commander with the next flight to replace him. There were plenty of opportunities nearer home for an officer with Granat’s abilities. Like overseeing the Pons Nebula on the outer reaches of the empire. A posting that most officers saw as little more than a sentence of death. The radiation alone caused extensive organ damage amongst the crews and the isolation caused many Taurons to stage frequent gladiatorial bouts, preferring death to continued service on the Pons Nebula. He wasn’t frightened of it. He’d go wherever he was ordered to go. What made him so angry was the thought that he might fail in his mission. That would be truly unforgivable, better to die in hand to hand combat, a glorious, bloody end than to go home with his head hung in shame, his career in ruins. He needed victory, a glorious victory, and one that would turn the tide and deal a mighty blow to these insolent weaklings that dared to challenge the power of the Taurons. Where were they, why wouldn’t they attack? He looked away to the west, towards Chryse Gulf, towards the enemy. But there was nothing, no movement, no dust from moving vehicles, nothing. He decided to make another three hundred and sixty degree sweep before he moved position. He worked the scanner around from point to point, making sure that he covered every inch of ground. He almost missed it, he swung the instrument back. There! So they weren’t coming for Huygens Crater. There was a group of vehicles heading for the Malea plain. The drilling operation in the shadow of the Hellespont Mountains would be the target. It would be perfect, except that he could see a curtain of dust sweeping down from the north. That would make things more difficult, but it would also make them more difficult for the enemy. He smiled with satisfaction, this day he would taste their blood. He would feast on their corpses and toss the bones out for the Martian storms to bleach white. He stood up, tall, proud, every inch the warrior. The terrible sound shattered the peace of the rugged, empty terrain.
* * *
The drive took them nearly four hours. They'd traveled a dangerous distance from Mars Base if they were recalled to deal with an enemy attack. Every one of them was relieved when the Hellespont Mountains loomed into view. One of the frequent Martian storms had started to whip up, making the going harder. They’d been traveling under a clear sky when it swept in, a sudden deluge of sand and dust that smashed into them. They had to slow to half speed, and everything was locked down and sealed against the pervasive dust and grit that clashed at them. They almost fell into a ravine at one point, only the vehicle’s warning sensors alerted them. It was a miracle that anything was still working in the thick, gritty soup that they were forced to wade through, but they pressed forward until a short gap in the storm exposed the Hellespont Mountains, they were almost there. They slowed the pace until they reached the narrow strip of land that lay between the mountains and the Malea Plain, and then they halted. Rahm got out and struggled across to Damian’s buggy and climbed in.
“Do you have any estimates on the Tauron drillhead?”
He nodded. “I’ve been updating our position by dead reckoning, so I estimate it should be about two miles south of here. If it wasn’t for the storm, they would have seen us. There’s no need to worry about sentries, we’ll drive straight in and roll over them. Make sure that your gunner is ready.”
Rahm thought of Brad Haakon clutching his favorite weapon, the heavy laser cannon.
“He’ll be ready. We’ll follow you in.”
He returned to his buggy and climbed in, ignoring the shouts to hurry up before they filled up with dust. Brad had little protection, the storm scoured at his suit, testing every single join and trying to find a way to seep through. He called up to him.
“We’re driving straight over the Tauron position, and we’ll start shooting as soon as they’re in sight. Are there any problems with using the gun in this storm?”
“Provided it keeps working we’ll be ok. The only problem could be sand in the mechanism. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
“I hear you. Stand by.”
The other buggy started forward and he followed, they built up speed until they were racing blindly across the surface. He reflected that if they hit something at this speed they’d wreck the vehicles, but if they slowed, they’d lose the element of surprise. He concentrated on following Damian’s buggy, and then they were in the middle of the Tauron camp. Startled aliens looked up and then both gunners were firing their cannons. They jerked the buggies to a halt and leapt out with their rifles. The Taurons were too slow, Rahm fired repeatedly, flinging the monsters to the ground where they could be finished off with concentrated bursts of fire. Gabi had armed herself with her pistol, and was running with the troops, shooting down the Taurons, but the weapon was too light to do anything more than stun them. She hit one monster, he stopped and knelt as the painful shot smashed into him, but he got up almost immediately and reached forward for her weapon. She fired, and fired again, but the creature was determined to choke off the hated human that was intent on destroying it. It kept coming and Gabi started to back away. Rahm had been keeping an eye on her, as she shouldn’t have entered the camp on foot without a heavy weapon. He ran over, pointed his rifle at the monsters head and pulled the trigger three times. The head exploded and the monster crashed to the ground.
“I could have killed it, there was no need for you to do that,” she fumed.
“Gabi, you can’t kill these creatures with a sidearm, even a laser rifle will only do that job at very close range. Stay behind me.”
She started to reply but he pushed her behind him as another Tauron loomed out of the storm, it carried a jagged knife and was intent on gutting them. He whipped up his rifle and fired, fired again and again. The creature dropped and Gabi watched while he ran up to the still writhing monster, put the barrel of his rifle next to the head and fire three more shots into it. She nodded. “I see the problem now, I’m sorry. I’ll stay with you.”
Damian ran out of the murk. “We think we’ve accounted for all of them. They were using some sort of a signaling system to communicate with other Taurons. We knocked it out but we have no idea of whether or not they managed to call for help. Can you get your technicians to strip out the equipment they need and we’ll move off. The faster we can get away from here the better.”
“Have you posted pickets?”
The militia chief laughed. “For what it’s worth, yes. But the position is reversed now, because we were able to hit them unexpectedly under cover of the storm, now they can do the same to us. Tell them to hurry it up, as we need to get out of here fast.”
Gabi worked frantically to salvage as much of the Tauron equipment as they needed. He helped her strip it out and carry it to the vehicles, there was little else to do. Brad and Kaz were posted on the top of the buggy frame, trying to watch for the approach of any reinforcements. Damian was everywhere, posting sentries, checking that his guards were alert, and restlessly patrolling around their perimeter. Two of the militiamen climbed into the Tauron transport and familiarized themselves with the controls, and then they shouted across that it was similar to the others they’d seen. There was even a cargo hold half full with trevanium, which would make up for some of their lost production. Finally they were ready, Damian made a last sweep of the camp, but they’d done everything they’d set out to do. They formed up in a line, with the transport in the middle. Damian’s buggy took the point.
“Let’s move out. Gunners, keep a sharp eye out, there could be Tauron troops on the way, we don’t want to…”
His voice trailed off. In front of them, four Tauron transports had appeared, and they stopped when they saw the buggies in front of them. The door of the lead transport opened and a Tauron climbed out. Every crew member goggled at the size of him, for the Tauron was as big as a walking mountain. Some of them had seen him before. At a distance. Those who saw him close up didn’t live long enough to commit the giant to memory.
“Rahm, what’re we going to do?” Gabi whispered.
He noticed the trembled in her voice. He wished he had an answer for her, but before he could begin to think Damian’s vehicle started forward, straight for the giant.
They waited for the enormous creature to be run down. It moved with astonishing speed, just before the buggy struck it swerved to the side and incredibly, smashed a huge fist through the windshield. At first Rahm thought they were blinded but when the buggy started to swing around in a circle, he understood that the driver had been hit too. The buggy jerked to a stop, Damian had decided to do battle. His gunner tilted the cannon over at full depression, but the Tauron saw the danger and dropped to one knee to avoid the fusillade. Instead of climbing to its feet it gripped the buggy with its vast claws and started to push. With an enormous surge of power the creature stood and tipped the buggy over. Damian and his men charged in on the attack, but the Tauron transports were disgorging their troops now and the reinforcements started to blast through his militia, leaving only Damian to face the giant. He aimed his rifle but a blast from one of the Taurons melted it to scrap. The leader walked forward, took hold of the impertinent human and ripped the head from his shoulders. The watched horrified as the vast creature tossed the body parts to the dust. Then he glared at the remaining humans. Rahm felt the twin impulses of fighting to wreak revenge for the save deaths of the militia and saving the rest of the crew. It took a split second for him to realize that fighting would only have one end. They could deal with this monster, but on their terms, not his. He swung the body around.
“Let’s move out. We’re heading south. Gabi, is the transport turning?”
“Yes, it is. Yes, they’re following. But south, that’s the Polar Regions, I doubt we'll make it through there.”
“We won’t make it if we go north, we can’t fight our way past that monster.”
He heard Brad’s voice over the intercom. “Do you think they have many like that one?”
Even in their desperation, he smiled. “I sincerely hope not. If they do, we’re finished.”
The plunged further south, the storm had either eased or had not reached this far. But in the distance were the polar peaks. The ground, crusted with frozen dioxide. It looked like ice, a beautiful sea of white sculptures. The beauty was skin deep, these were not flat plains that ran through this area, just a jagged mass of crevasses and rocky outcrops to trap and kill the unwary. It wasn’t their only problem. Kaz, his Arab crewman, had jumped aboard the transport during the rout at the drilling camp. He called through on the radio.
“Rahm, the Taurons, they’re following.”
“I hear you. We’ll have to try and shake them off, we can’t fight them.”
“Not easily. Is the thermite explosive still in the hold?”
Rahm mentally kicked himself for not thinking of it. Of course, the explosives.
“Good thinking. I’ll ask Gabi to prepare them. Can you go past us? We’ll need to throw them out behind.”
“The driver heard you, he’s going past now.”
The transporter lumbered past.
“I see them,” Brad shouted. “The four transports, they’re gaining on us.”
“Understood. We’ll give them something to slow them down. Gabi, you know what we need?”
“I heard, yes, I’m preparing the explosive now.”
“Sooner would be better,” Brad shouted again. “We haven’t got long.”
“Ten seconds.”
They dashed on across the landscape that became more littered with obstacles, so that Rahm was continually serving to follow the transport that raced ahead of them.
“First bomb has gone,” Gabi called out.
“Keep throwing them, they’ll take a lot of stopping.”
There was a huge explosoin behind them, the blast wave punched at the buggy and almost threw it off course, but he righted the steering and kept on. They heard a burst of firing from the laser cannon, and then Brad called over the intercom.
“That first bomb was a hit, the lead transport rolled over it, the explosive went off under the second vehicle, it looks gutted. The lead transport was thrown off course but they righted, they’re still coming.”
There was another explosion, and then a burst of fire hit them from the pursuing Taurons.
“They’ve opened fire,” Nathan shouted. “It’s that lead vehicle, the one with the big bastard inside.”
He didn’t reply, as he was fighting to keep the buggy on course. The transport ahead was having similar problems. They’d slowed even more to stop driving into any of the crevasses that waited to swallow them up. Tauron gunfire hit them again, but Gabi threw out another charge that narrowly missed the lead vehicle but exploded in the gap between the following vehicles. They collided in a tangle of twisted, alien metal, and came to a stop. The Taurons climbed out, only to be peppered by a long burst from Brad’s cannon. The pursuing transport fired again and again with its heavy, roof mounted cannon, but the ruts and bumps in the surface kicked the vehicle up and down, preventing the gunner from getting a good shot. Rahm heard a shout from the lead transport.
“We’ve got a problem ahead, there’s a wide ravine with only a thin strip of frozen ice that crosses it.”
He moved the buggy to one side to see past the transport, as he did so a burst of fire spat past them. He could see the problem clearly now. The bridge was just wide enough to take the transport, which was larger than the buggy. But was it strong enough. He thought through the problem. If they stopped to fight it out they’d lose. There was no choice.
“You’ll have to cross over, if we stop now we’re lost.”
“But it could collapse.”
“In that case the end will be the same. Better than being eaten by that Tauron monster.”
“Understood.”
He called for Gabi to have a last charge ready. Then he dropped back to allow the transport to cross on its own. The bridge may support one vehicle, he was certain that it would not support two.
The Tauron started to catch up. He shouted to Brad to hold them off and explained what he planned to do.
“The cannon alone won’t hold them, Rahm. These bastards just keep coming.”
“I’ll get you some help.”
He shouted for the rest of them to lean out and add their rifle fire to the power of the cannon. The Tauron took multiple hits, they could see pieces flying off the bodywork, they were doing a heap of damage, but at first there was no sign of it slowing. Then Brad shouted.
“They’re easing back, so I think we must have hurt them. Yes, they’re stopping. The big monster is getting out. Jesus Christ, he’s one mean mother.”
Ahead of them, Rahm stopped at the start of the narrow bridge. The transport hurtled across, several times they slipped but finally it reached the other side and rolled onto the land. He accelerated away and drove cautiously across the bridge. He was three quarters of the way across when he felt movement under the wheels. The bridge was giving way! He jammed his foot on the pedal and the buggy shot forward and off the bridge, behind them, the structure collapsed into the frozen depths below. He stopped and climbed out. Behind them, across the other side of the wide crevasse, the giant Tauron had also climbed out of his transport. They stared at each other for several minutes. It was absurd. They were like two prizefighters waiting to slog it out, toe to toe. If they ever did meet, he knew that the giant monster would destroy him with a few blows. Yet something primeval stirred inside him. Despite the disparity in their relative sizes, he wanted to take that evil bastard down. He wanted to open his guts onto the Martian dust and see his green blood draining away.
“You’re shaking.”
He whirled. Gabi had climbed down to stand beside him.
“I’m ok.” He worried that she might think that he was shaking out of fear. She understood that he wasn’t.
“It’s the adrenaline, you wanted to kill that bastard,” she smiled.
“Was it that obvious?”
“Sure. I thought we were about to see David and Goliath re-enacted.”
* * *
He watched them, across the depths of the ravine. There was something that connected him to this human. A force that was as strong as life itself. They had to meet. Man to man, in the old way. He could feel his hands on that pale, soft body beneath the pressure suit. Tearing at the flesh, seeing the red blood spouting into the dust. It would be an uneven contest, which was true. Unless the human brought something to make the contest more balanced. They were quite capable of that, this species. They had little of the direct, vicious aggression of which his race was so proud. Their fighting used methods that were more devious, planned in advance to blind an enemy and exploit their weaknesses. Well, he could try. Nothing he did would alter the outcome, he was confident that he would taste that human’s blood before too long. A pity there was no way to follow them, but now that they had destroyed the narrow bridge, it was impossible. He thought about the signal he would need to send to his Lord. They’d destroyed one of their buggies, the one with the soldiers, which was good. But in return they’d lost an entire drilling crew and several of his own troopers, as well as substantial damage to their vehicles. No, he’d have to send the report in such a way that it hid the real truth. Perhaps the drilling crew had met their end during the storm, had run into a deep ravine by accident. He’d have to be careful, for his troopers may be questioned apart from him. What was needed was a solid victory to report to Tabor. If his Lord had solid evidence of an overwhelming victory over the humans, it would blind him to the losses. Where could he strike the most devastating blow? At their Mars Base, of course. These cowards would be returning now, content in the warm glow of what they thought was a success. Their guard would be down, if he struck soon, he could drive them off the face of the planet. Yes, a major attack, preceded by his suicide bombers to blast a way through, then he could lead his troopers into the Base itself. He called for his men to board the transport. He would leave the injured to deal with the damaged transports and return to Elysium Base when they were able. They were useless to him at present. He’d rendezvous with reinforcements and launch the attack that would end the annoying attacks of these puny creatures.
* * *
The journey across the southern pole of Mars was hard. Despite their escape from the Taurons, their vehicles had sustained a great deal of damage. The bitter temperatures, cold enough to freeze nitrogen, seeped through their suits, through their thermal clothing, to clamp around their bodies like molded coffins. Containers that would become the icy shrouds that entombed their corpses if they couldn’t escape from this freezing hell before they were overcome. They reached the end of the land mass they’d been travelling on and were faced with a drop of several thousand feet into a deep, dark valley. The slope was almost sheer, and there was no way they could take the vehicles over.
“Can we get past this?”
He turned and looked at Gabi. Inside her helmet he could see that her face was white with cold, she was literally freezing to death. Her voice had a note to it that worried him, and he knew she was close to the end.
“Yes, we can, and we will. Gabi, when we first met, I told you something. You’ll die when I tell you, not before. That’s the way my team works, always has and always will. Have you got that?”
She managed a small smile. “Yes, Sir. In which case, could you tell me what we’re going to do next?”
He’d already worked it out. They could go north or south in the hopes of finding a way across. If they went south, they went further into the icy wastes.
“We’ll take the lead from here on in. I’m going to find a way through, that’s my job. We’re turning north. As soon as we find a crossing, we’ll start heading back to Mars Base.”
He gave the message to his men and made sure that the troopers in the captured transport understood. Then he accelerated away to the north. He could only hope that he’d made the correct call, but going south was not an option. It was the only call he could make, that would be small comfort if they failed to find a way through, but it would have to do.
Their luck changed. They’d only been traveling for twenty miles when they came to a place where the cliff had collapsed into the ravine, leaving a long, steep ramp that led to the bottom.
“We may find it impossible to get out, once we go in,” Kaz murmured.
“That’s the way we’re going, my friend,” Rahm told him. “Win or lose, that’s our route. I’ll bet you two bottles of bourbon that it’s the way through.”
“You know that my religion forbids me to drink. Gambling is frowned upon too. Let us hope that God has shown you the correct path.”
Rahm heard Saul exclaim, “That’ll be a first.”
He smiled as he accelerated towards the ramp, then he forgot everything except the task of keeping the buggy stable on the steep descent. The wheels slipped and skidded on the icy slope, at one time he had to fight to keep control when he noticed that they were sliding down like a toboggan. The captured Tauron transport was having even more difficulty, for it was a much heavier, more powerful vehicle. To add to the problems, it was being driven by a person who knew little or nothing about alien technology. Once, they received a tremendous bump as the heavy transport lost grip on the ramp and collided with them. The shove pushed them forward and it was only by judicious juggling with the controls that Rahm was able to stop the buggy from going over the edge. Their nightmare descent took almost an hour, creeping and slipping to the bottom, but they arrived on the floor of the ravine undamaged. The valley floor stretched away dark and ominous in the distance. After a short break, they climbed back aboard the vehicles.
“What does God tell you now?” Saul asked him.
“To go north and leave you behind next time we go on a mission like this.”
The toolpusher nodded gravely. “Better than freezing my ass off in this place. But he forgot that without me you’d never get back.”
Gabi rounded on him. “Saul, he’s trying to concentrate on driving this thing. Why don’t you just shut up?”
The interior of the vehicle was silent, but Rahm could feel the chuckles of his crew.
The drove for an hour with no sign of a way out of the valley. They discussed leaving the vehicles and climbing out, but Rahm quickly dismissed the idea. They‘d freeze to death in the open, even if they didn’t they’d never get back to Mars Base.
“We keep going until we find a ramp. I don’t want any argument.”
“What if there isn’t a ramp?” Nathan asked. He’d been strangely quiet for most of the trip, Rahm recalled. He wondered if it was fear. Or just resignation.
“There will be a ramp. We just need to keep going. Let’s move on.”
They drove for another hour. The endless darkness of the ravine and the intense cold wore at their bodies and their minds. Their reserves of physical and mental strength were at low ebb, almost gone. Even worse, Rahm had started to order the crew to keep each other awake. Lassitude was setting in, and if one of them went to sleep in the freezing depths of a Martian ravine it was doubtful they’d ever wake up again. Then he sighted a ramp, a long, steep slope that led up to the Malea Plain. He put the wheel over and steered for the dark stripe in the side of the valley and soon the wheels were biting the slippery surface as they began the long climb. He could see the lights of the transporter behind them, his crew was still together. It took them another half hour to reach the top. As they crested the rim the glorious view of the Martian landscape stretched away in front of them. They headed due north, towards the Meridian Steppe. Soon, they were crossing the wide open spaces of Xanthe, skirting the small boulders and potholes. In front of them loomed Chryse Gulf, and home. Mars Base.
When they drove in through the airlock the crews were waiting for them once more in the garage. The received a hero’s welcome, until Rahm held up his hand and told them that Damian Hacker wouldn’t be coming back. A somber silence descended on the room. Jacques Fechter walked slowly forward.
What happened to Damian?”
Rahm told him about the sudden Tauron attack.
“It was unexpected, Jacques. We’d beaten them, there were no Taurons left for miles. Then they just fell on us, we never knew where they came from.
“He was my brother in law,” the manager whispered in a voice that was overcome. “My wife’s brother.”
They were all appalled. Gabi went up to hug him. “Jacques, I’m so sorry. There was nothing we could do.”
“This damn planet,” he moaned. “She didn’t want him to come, but I said he’d make his fortune here. She’ll never forgive me.”
“She will, Jacques, she will.”
He smiled at Gabi, but it was a bittersweet smile. “You don’t know my wife. Family is sacred to her. I was always in Damian’s shadow where she was concerned.”
“Schh,” Gabi tried to comfort him. Or was she trying to stop him before he said something that was embarrassing? “I’ll pour you some Bourbon, I'm sure we all need a drink.”
He allowed himself to be led away. There was an embarrassing silence, broken by Dan Weathers.
“We needed that transport at the cave, to power the air scrubbers. The air is getting pretty bad in here.”
Rahm nodded. “Well take it straight over, Jacques. We’re already suited up, so we’ll have to take that bourbon later. He nodded at the two troopers from the transport. “Could you keep going a bit longer, take the transport to the cave, I’ll follow in the buggy to bring you back. Dan, are you coming with us?”
“Yes, just me and one of my technicians to start work. We’ll be there for a while, so I suggest you come back for us tomorrow. We should be finished by then.”
“How will we know?”
He smiled at Rahm. “The foul air in this place will become more breathable.”
Saul climbed in alongside him and they went back out through the airlock. The transport was right behind them, they both felt incredibly tired. The journey had been long, cold and very costly.
They kept a sharp eye out for the enemy. They’d hurt them hard out at the Hellespont Mountains, given them a bloody nose they’d be anxious to repay. But this time their worst fears were not realized, and they were able to drive the transport into the cave and leave Dan and his technician to begin the process of adapting the vehicle to drive the primitive dynamo. Saul took the wheel back to Mars Base and they drove back through the airlock with a feeling of relief. Jacques was quiet, for it was as if Damian’s death had been the final disaster that tipped him over the edge. Even their victory over the Taurons did little to assuage his anguish.
“It’s my fault, Rahm,” he replied when Cal took him through the steps they needed to take to save the base. “I’m the manager of Mars Base, look at me! I can’t even look after my own family.”
“I know how you feel, Jacques, because I’ve been through it.”
“That Afghanistan business?”
“Yes.”
“How do you get over it?”
“You don’t.” Rahm was lost for a few moments as the grief and despair resurfaced. But he shrugged it off. “I still don’t know what happened, but what I do know is that you do everything you’re able to do. Keep going until it’s not possible to take another step. We’re not there yet, and if we get our act together, we never will be. Are you seriously going to let a bunch of overgrown lizards take over our real estate?”
If took half a bottle of bourbon and all of Rahm’s experience with personal disaster, but finally Jacques seemed to square his shoulders and start to sound positive.
“You’re right. If they’re going to take us down, it’ll be kicking and squealing all the way.”
“We’re all with you, Jacques. All the way.”
When he woke in the morning, he was greeted by a crowd of somber faces.
“What? What’s happened?”
Gabi was pale. She took his arm. “It’s Jacques. He killed himself.”
“Jesus Christ, I don’t believe it. Are you sure that’s what happened?”
He knew how badly the manager had taken the death of Damian Hacker, but suicide? That was ridiculous.
“He left a note, I think you’d better come and see.”
He followed her through the base to the manager’s office. Tobin Ryles was already installed behind his desk when they entered. He looked up.
“Yes, what can I do for you?”
Rahm smiled. “Shut the f*ck up, Tobin, before I shut you up. Where’s this note?”
“You mean the suicide note? That’s confidential, I can’t let you…”
“Listen, you jumped up little pipsqueak. You couldn’t manage a henhouse, so you’d better start behaving yourself or you’ll find there are plenty of us here ready to kick your ass all the way back to Earth. If you behave, and leave us to do our jobs, you can play at being manager. Otherwise you’ll be confined to your quarters until the relief comes, is that clear?”
He nodded a sullen acceptance. “I’ll report you for this, you know. When we…”
“The note, Tobin. Just show me the note.”
“What do you want it for?”
“To make sure that no one killed him. He seemed to be ok last night. Did you kill him, Tobin?”
“No, no. Alright, I’ll show it to you.”
He read through the note. It was no bad thing that the note hadn’t been released for the crews to read. The manager didn’t expect that any of them would survive until the relief ship arrived. It said, “I blame myself for a lot of these problems, the death of Damian Hacker was an event I can’t live with. The last thing I want is to pant and gasp out my last breath with the Taurons beating down the doors of Mars Base.”
He went on to say that a quick and painless death was infinitely preferable to gasping out his last breath while being devoured by an alien monster. It was a sad note. Rahm heard Tobin Ryles speaking.
“The guy was a coward, taking the easy way out. He’s left me to deal with everything. I’m putting the base on immediate lockdown, no more risk adventures that get our people killed. We’re going to play it safe from here on in.”
He looked at the new Mars Base manager. The man was almost preening himself now that he’d achieved the promotion he clearly thought he deserved. He looked back down at the suicide note.
“Ryles, wouldn’t a suicide note have been written by hand? This one was written on a tablet and printed.”
The manager looked up, his face was a mix of emotions, and Rahm couldn’t decipher them. Guilt or fear, or was it puzzlement, a lack of understanding.
“What the hell are you talking about, Rahm? What difference does it make which way he wrote it? The guy took the easy way out, that’s all we need to concern ourselves with.”
“Would you have typed a suicide note?”
Ryles snorted. “I wouldn’t have done it in the first place. What are you getting at?”
“Supposing he was murdered?”
Ryles jerked as if he’d been given an electric shock.
“The hell you say. It was a clear case of suicide. I’m ordering you not to spread this crazy idea about murder, don't you think we’ve got enough worries as it is.”
“Did you kill him, Ryles? Did getting promotion mean that much to you? Or did you push him to it?”
“How dare you speak to me like that? Nobody killed him, you’re suffering from delusions. I’ve given my orders, so I suggest you prepare for lockdown.”
Rahm shook his head. “I’m taking a crew out to the cave.”
“I’ve given orders, just so you're clear. No one is to leave Mars Base! Haven’t you heard what I said, Mister?”
Ryles glared at him, challenging him to test his new authority.
“So you’re going to leave Dan Weathers and his technician out there to die are you, Tobin?”
The man’s jaw dropped as he understood his failure to account for all of the crews. Rahm walked away and found Saul.
“You need to round up the crew. We’re taking a buggy out to pick up Dan Weathers.”
“I thought he needed more time than this?”
“He does, but our little Napoleon, Tobin Ryles is talking about lockdown. If we don’t go get them they could be left stranded.”
Saul nodded and left to alert the crew. When Rahm reached the garage they were all there, Gabi and Kacy, and Kaz as inscrutable as ever. Brad was checking out the laser cannon. Nathan Wenders looked deep in thought. For the thousandth time, Rahm wondered what was bugging him. He started when he saw that he was being observed.
“Why are we taking the girls, we’ll be overloaded on the way back?”
Gabi heard him and answered. “It’s because they may need us, we’re both technicians and I’m, the only one here who has any working knowledge of the air scrubbers, remember?” Gabi grinned. “The rest of the crew will be carrying rifles in case we run into any trouble.”
“Ok, we’ll cram everyone in on the way back. I doubt that Dan is ready yet, there’s no sign of the air scrubbers working again but if we don’t go now Ryles could lock the base down for good.”
Kacy looked worried. “Surely not? He wouldn’t leave people out on the surface, would he?”
“Is that a chance you’d take with our new manager?”
She shook her head.
“There's another problem. My cop training tells me that Jacques Fechter’s death was accidental. We need to watch our backs.”
“You think it was Ryles?” Kaz asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not convinced he’d have the guts, but you never know. We’d better leave now before he comes in here and tries to stop us. When I get back, I’m going to check through the security logs, and see who was doing what around the time he went out.”
They suited up and climbed aboard the buggy. Rahm drove into the airlock, the inner door closed and they waited while the pressure was equalized. The outer door opened, they drove out and the door closed. He was about to point the vehicle in the direction of the cave when there was a massive explosion on the far side of the base.
He drove around the perimeter of the dome, where a huge hole had been blown in the skin of the structure. The enemy had struck at the section where much of their remaining life support stores were kept. Probably a suicide attack, Rahm mused. The normal glow of electric light had dimmed, and it looked as if even the emergency supply was failing. He called up the control center.
“Mars Base, this is Rahm, we’re right outside. How are things in there?”
Ryle’s voice came on the speaker. “They’re shitty in here, as if you didn’t know. We’ve sealed off the breach, and we didn’t suffer any casualties. But we lost a lot of air.”
His voice was trembling, they all noticed.
“How much is left?”
“We have air for five days, electricity and heating for not much longer. Maybe a week.”
“Do you want us to come back in, we have two technicians with us, and they can help you fix things.”
They all heard a chilly laugh. “Fix things? We’re all going to die, don’t you know that? We have air for five days, so nothing you can do will alter that. Besides, you can’t return, every time the airlock is used we lose some of our air. I’m not allowing any more movement in or out of the base. Now leave us alone, we need to start preparing for the end.”
There were no conflicting voices over the communications net. Rahm drove slowly away.
* * *
Granat watched from the rim of a small crater, less than three miles distant. He’d hoped that they’d swarm out to make repairs to the damaged structure. Instead, they were remarkably quiet, as if they’d sealed off the damaged part of their base. Perhaps the area that he’d sent his suicide squad into was not as important as his engineers had suggested. He’d have a work with them about that. If they’d failed him, they’d feel the hard edge of his wrath. But in the meantime he had to deal with the straightforward problem of ending the human mineral exploitation on Mars. He looked carefully at the base again. He was certain that the lights glowed more dimly that before. Was that a part of their emergency procedure, or were they running low on the means of life support. He noticed a buggy emerge from the airlock. It looked as if they were setting out on a drilling mission. In that case the attack had failed. He needed a different approach. Perhaps multiple suicide attacks, yes, that could be the answer. If they hit the base in several places at once, it would be impossible for them to recover form the damage, they’d be fatally damaged. Yes, his suicide teams could do it, they were impossible to stop. It hadn’t been so easy this time, getting them to strap on the bombs to their bodies, some of his men were even mumbling about his leadership being in question. Well, a success would put an end to that. He walked down from the crater rim to the transport that was waiting for him. It was only on the return to Elysium that he remembered the victory cry. It hadn’t seemed quite so appropriate this time. The next attack would be different.