Red Zone - 22

A Novel

3

The turbosleigh sliced a neat trail line, on the highway to oblivion. Above the little trio, the cold stars looked down, obscured by floating clouds of iron dust and ice crystals. They were slaloming on one rail, north, with the Milky Way as the backbone of night. A swelling orange kissed the horizon, East of North, just to the galaxy's right.

They were traveling between two crater walls that were nearly against each other, one from a direct impact, there were long flutes of rock where the rock had rebounded after the ground had coughed up melted rock, but here, that rock had frozen as it ejected, leaving behind columns that reached up to the sky. Blazes of ice crystals splayed behind the singler runner, and a growing tumult cloud rose almost to the heights of the crater walls. The illumination came from the firing of the turbine itself, and orange shapes seemed to flash and fade out the windows.

“It never really gets properly dark out here does it?” The marine's voice cut through what had been several minutes of quiet shifts from one side to the other, sluicing through the broad curves of the glacier.

“Not at this time of year. We will see a kiss of the sun soon. V, does this look right?”

“We are getting closer. What surprises me is that no one is here. No infantry, no tanks, no drones, no bots.”

“That we can pick up.”

“I'm on all the channels. It is quiet, but not too quiet.”

“So, can you pick up what happened to your men?”

“The kill switch was thrown and the tanks returned to base per protocol. Some are security, the rest are almost certainly in the brig.”

“Can we run more quietly K?”

“I'll switch to ion.”

There was an immediate diminishing of forward thrust and cessation of sound. Instead what remained was a ghostly whirr and the fizzing rush of the runner over the ice. The running lights also went out. The sleigh's runner slid apart and became two again. The slashing sound of the ice under the rails came in waves, with a fall and then a rise.

“Sorry, I have to keep the rails heated or we will slow down significantly.” Her tone was matter-of-fact.

“We need to stop soon.”

“10 km is a long way out there, V.”

“K, how do your people get closer? They did in the ambush.”

“Why are you so interested in the ambush?”

What to say? That I do not trust my own memories, that I do not trust you? That I fear that the images I have from Shackleton were created to turn me against the Dominion and hide my own society's woes. That examining this ambush will pierce that veil?

Tony interjected. “To go out of the darkness and into the light, we need to return to the scene of the crime.”

“How is this a crime?”

Deeshandir filled in the reply: “War is crime set to music.”

“We are defending ourselves.”

I am not going to reply to that. “Then you need to tell me more about what has been happening. The Black Elephants must have been active here for some time.”

“Weeks.” Keisha just let the admission slip out.

“Why were you unable to tell me?”

“For the obvious reason that I thought you knew. And there was no safe time to tell you?” There was the air of a half-rhetorical question to it.

“What had they been doing.”

“At first it was hit-and-run raids, without any injury.”

The marine looked puzzled: “What did they need heavies for?”

“They'd do things like pull drills out by the roots.”

“To explain, government privileges are priced in 'liberties' which are non-transferable credits with the Dominion or with a government.”

“Not exactly non-transferable.”

“I know about them. So?”

“A few months ago there was a drastic change to how liberties worked. Basically, the Dominion stopped redeeming them, even though governments would.”

“And why the fuss over it?”

“You can't get off of Mars without Dominion Dominion-approved transit pass.”

“So, your government said they were stuck here.”

“V, that's not exactly right. The real thing is that it takes Dominion liberties to buy new mining licenses or increase production with environmental offsets. No lib redemption for environmental credits and people can't expand.”

“Of course, money. Why didn't I think of that.” I can hear the scowl on Tony's face.

“It's about freedom.”

“Freedom to make money.”

“I don't notice Jupiter giving it away.”

Let's not let this degenerate. “There was unrest, people stopped turning in their quotas. We had some incidents.”

“Seems an awful lot to call out heavies for. Unless there's something I don't know about.”

“We went to outside help. There was an ambush of 4 bees. They all died.”

“And so Alpha was sent in for a reprisal. That it?”

“Which is why my wife manipulated the system to have you sent down.”

“A mercenary in a civil war. This is getting to be downright like home.”

The careened around a long curve, and the crater wall on the left began to fall away, arc to an opening. However, at the same time, a new wall appeared from an overlapping crater. This one had a more ordinary smooth slope with huge boulders littering the sides and valley floor. The rapid freeze and thaw of the last hundred years is shattering the once sharp profile of Mars. We are already remaking worlds, and they us.

The passage widened out to what Deeshandir recognized as the north end of the area of the ambush.

What shocked him was that in the middle of it, still sitting where it had been destroyed, was a Mark Standard Dominion Flying Tiger.

“Bring us to a stop.”

“Where are your people Deesh?”

“I do not understand either. There should be infantry on guard.”

“Unless they are in ambush. The problem is I don't have anything with any range. Unless you count spitting on them.”

“There's a long recoilless packed along the side. Assuming you can shoot something that has a kick.” Her tone was haughty and there was a monochromatic coldness to it.

“The atmosphere's a bit shallow but I will cope.”

“Better idea. I'll cover, and you drive, Jovan.”

“Deal. You've got some girl Deesh.”

The sled ground to a stop. Keisha swung her hips up, lifting herself by just her arms, and then vaulted her legs out, she popped out the long rifle, a full 1.5m, and slung it over. It had a slender barrel and a larger battery pack. She rapidly checked the clip and battery and adjusted the sitting on top. “I'm going to take that spire of rock and cover.” With that, she turned and trod across the snow.

“Tony, I would like to ask you to ferry this behind her and keep the engine warm, you two may need to escape quickly.” He unmounted and buckled himself up more tightly. Oxygen was still nominal, which is good because the atmosphere was death zone thin.

The Jovians settled himself in as Venkatesh methodically checked his suit.

“Marines don't leave people behind.”

“There may not be much of me left.”

“I'll send your window your ashes.”

Deeshandir nodded and began trudging slowly towards the husk of the tank, each footfall crunching tightly into the granulated ice. The walls seemed more distant than the replayed memory, and the basin wider, but that was because he was walking, and not flying at full speed. The area must have been 8km long altogether, not much more than 2 minutes at the speed the tank was traveling. Even in Mars g, that would be a good bit on foot. The tank was tilted over, where its hot engines had hit and melted the ice on one side but settled on a rock on the other. But now, it looked as if it could have been resting there for hours, weeks, or years.

Dust. Wait. How could dust have settled on it this quickly? He recalled the dust from the ambush. It must be a trap. He checked the helmet display. It did not register abnormally, just the ordinary spectrum of Mars, an iron-type D.

This is abnormal, here in the mining regions, the dust is strained through ferromagnetic traps to collect the iron, nickel, and cobalt.

“I know why there are no guards.”

“All ears Deesh.”

“What is it V”

“They are dead.”

He surveyed, and then he found it. There, are abnormal concentrations of polypeptides, organics, and rare-earths. He strode at a 45-degree angle away from the tank, to a place where there were two long large black stains along the mixture of ice and rock. He bent down, careful not to touch or even come too close. Armored people make perfect inputs for nano-machines: everything, fuel included. He plugged the feed in so that K and Tony could see what he saw.

“I'm going to do a record here.”

“That's what's left of the Black Elephants left to guard it, isn't it V?”

“They, we gooed.”

“Ugly way to go.”

“One of the worst, they leave the nerves until last. You are conscious all the way down into the slime.”

“I've got some pixie dust toys as weapons. We can see whose bugs are hungrier.”

“I need samples, no more.”

“You got something for that V?”

Deeshandir popped one of his sample vials, it was no larger than his thumb. He let it float in the air and then maneuvered it down to take a sample. He twisted his hand on his wrist in order to shake off anything on the outside, and then hovered it into his glove. Seal it tight.

“Deesh get out of there, we have a wind coming up.”

He then stood up backed away and moved quickly out of the way. A few backward bounds and he crouched as whirly passed him, those from the ground twirls of turbulence that swept across Mars. He looked up and saw that the sun was reaching its first across the horizon. The cold air will be pushing north. The winds will come. In the back of his mind, he calculated how long it would be before the death zone around the tank had dispersed.

He rose from his crouch and then closed on the tank. There has to be a way to approach it.

“Tony, are you there.”

“No, I've been out drinking and trying to find the local brothel.”

“Martian liquor isn't worth the spit we make it with, Jovan.”

“I will second that assessment.”

“Tony, bring the sled here on ion power, turn it around, and burn off the nanos with the turbines. I have to get a better look at the remains of the tank.”

Moments later a hot wind blew across the tank.

“I'm heating it up, not good for the engine.”

“I'll forgive you, fat boy.”

“Tony, do you have any nano-suppressors?”

The Jovians left the engine going at low and hopped out. He climbed on the tank and sprayed down.

“What is it you are looking for Deesh?”

“Something out of place.” With that, he climbed up on board the tank and looked down into the cabin. Immediately what was out of place was obvious: two long red cylinders with a hexagon logo etched on them. One logo was filled in. “Do you see those?”

“The brain boxes?”

“Yes.”

“That was the payload. One is used, one is not.”

The Marine stepped on the headless corpse of the driver and rolled down. Some loose nano dust tried to cling to his suit but fell off. He brushed it away and grabbed the two tubes.

“So how do you figure this?”

“The sphere is backing the rebellion.”

“Got that.”

“This ambush killed with no possibility of incept.”

“Yes.”

“Ergo, the people who did it had sphere equipment, but would not be acting with, or with the cooperation of, the avatar. He would want them incepted if possible.”

“So?”

“Liberties, deliveries of soul cages, or brain boxes. No libs, no deliveries or incepts. And the sphere's avatar would regard it as a moral imperative to act.”

Keisha broke in.

“This is a trap for us.”

“If by us, you mean the rebellion and the Black Elephants both.”

“Not getting it.”

“A false exchange was set up. The brain boxes, as you call them.”

“OK, so your tank crew was smuggling brain boxes to the rebellion.” Keisha replied: “Almost certainly.”

“What happened is clear: some people set up an exchange, not to get the brain boxes, but to leave them here. These are eternal life. No one would leave them around who is interested in money. Whoever came for them, would be caught, and killed. More deaths, and more violence.”

“Which leaves out anyone working with the sphere, and virtually every colonist.”

“And it leaves out the Black Elephants because they would want to recover that used one.”

“How you figure?”

“It has the dead Elephants in it.”

“Because they were ambushed by Keisha's people?”

“And stored. The Bees came for this, and to deliver retribution.”

“So, the bees got stung by the trap, and Alpha has to wait until a thread team can recover them.”

“And Alpha is otherwise occupied.”

“So, the uncolonists, who are they? Not Jove, not Sphere, not colonist, not Black Elephant.”

“Security. Arun, and Doc are among my tankers. And infiltrators in the rebellion. Doc is the one who would know this.”

“This means we have a pass into the station.” Keisha's voice was almost cackling with delight.

“Don't get one thing. Why would security slaughter their own?”

“Do you have any idea how much putting down this rebellion is worth to a career? The Bees want to do it, Security wants to do it.”

“So, what now V?”

“The Bees are right now delivering reprisals. Paper. Which means it is time to stab Alpha in the heart.”

And find out if Shackleton is the way I have been told to remember it.

They sped north and east towards the Station - a general quiet seemed to have fallen on all of them. The fist of twilight grew, but the sun itself was still not visible. A few stars and a bloody orb that is Jupiter kept them company.

“They must know we are coming.”

“Time to remind them.”

Deeshandir hailed the station several times. At last, there was a response.

“What are you doing on this military channel?” It was not a Black Elephant.

“Hello Arun, how are you doing?”

“Lt. Colonel! I thought you were dead.”

Wished, not thought.

“I am well. I am returning to the station.”

“I wouldn't advise that, Alpha will tear you in two.”

“Thank you for the advice. I assume Doc is in charge of the station now.”

“Well nominally.”

And working on becoming less nominal all the time.

“Is Alpha in command?”

“Of the forces, but not the station.”

“Put me through.”

“Will do. But I think this is a mistake.”

“Put me through, please.”

“Ack.”

There was a long pause, minutes.

“This is Alpha. You must be stupid. If I were you I would have run.”

“I would only have died tired. But you aren't going to do anything to me.”

“How's that, dirtbag?”

“I have what you came for. The soul cages with your fallen comrades.”

“How did you get your fingers around them?”

“That's not your concern. What is your concern is if you want them to arrive safely, you are going to give us safe passage in, and safe passage out.”

There was a chewing moment.

“You are going to spend the rest of your short life in the hottest bowels of the upper mantle for this.”

“Thank you for your legal advice. I want safe passage under truce.”

“And what makes you think I will grant that.”

“An ambassador's husband is not to be terminated lightly, Colonel Alpha.”

“I was waiting for you to play that.”

“You will need a great deal of paper to cover that particular stone.”

“Truce granted, on the condition that the soul cages are returned unharmed.”

“No conditions. Truce or I will turn them over to the colonists and their sense of equity.”

Another chewing pause.

“Truce granted.”

Fortunately, I've been channeling this to Phobos. It is not just the sun that is dawning.

At that moment, the sun kissed the horizon, with shards of ice rainbows appearing distant from it.

“Last star on the left, and straight on towards morning.”

“Deesh, do you think that Alpha will honor that truce?”

“Perhaps, but Doc, the security chief, and now in command, technically, of the base, will not. He will make any excuse to lead an ambush.”

“That's why the course you've set goes straight through the drilling zone.”

“I see absolutely no reason to make life any easier for him.”

“So, what are we talking about? Tanks?”

“Tank. Singular.”

“Why no more?”

“He cannot trust anyone else. We are carrying the keys for all practical purposes. These Bees have memories that will be a very useful lever.”

“I don't mean to intrude on your homo-erotic bonding moment, but even one tank will kill us.”

“That really all depends.”

“On?”

“Whether we have a tank. We are going to stop by the mining area and pick up the drop tank there.”

“A drop tank against a main battle tank? I'm no expert on cavalry, but that seems to be a stretch.”

“If Doc and Arun were more competent, I might agree with you. K drives, you shoot, and I will command.”

“Helmet to helmet?”

“I do not see any better alternative being made available, than fighting a badly manned tank in terrain of our choosing, with an enemy who must at least pretend, to be taking all due caution.”

“Don't you think that this Doc fellow is hoping you will resist, so he has an excuse to kill you?”

“I am counting on it. Fake paper, throw stone.”

“You cheat.”

“I avail myself of Expanded Scenario Selection.”

Sairen.

Yawn. Are we home yet?

No. I need you to help me.

Yawn. What is it? Can we play later? Will you let me hunt for more of the bots?

I'm going to jack in, I need you to kill-switch me once I do.

That's a boring game.

Then once I am unjacked, unkill me.

Ohhhhh. That's fun. How close can I come, and then pull you back?

Yes. I will give you the code to use.

It's a special code, isn't it?

Yes.

They were approaching the base from the west, in a landscape studded with the tops of pile drivers, that hammered into the ice, extractors, small thermal fusion plants, and virtually every other device for clawing ore and resources out of the ground. It was like the edge of a great technological wood, dotted with towers that rose up, some as high as 1000m, but most much shorter. Some were very slender, while others squat. All were made of a lattice of black materials, that slurped down whatever light and heat hit them.

While in almost every case, it would be cheaper to extract these materials from Earth, the environmental cost would be prohibitive. The garden world sucked down from Moon, Mars, and asteroids, comets, dwarf planets, even Venus and Mercury, and gave back rich complex combinations of biological molecules which gave life. He could see a greenish glow that collected on the skin of the towers, it was the radioactive residue of the steam blasting. It was an old technology: superheat steam and blast out of the rock the materials that were of interest.

This must end, Mars must be a Garden world. Kumar is right, Mars is the issue in doubt.

His skin was swaddled in vibrations, which if his hearing had been modded, he would have heard as sound. He could feel the low vibrations in his gut. There was a speckle of plinking and pounding, combined with a breezing whoosh as the Martian spring winds tried to gather force. Whirlies formed and died around heat drifts.

“Deesh, we are almost to the location that you listed.”

“Stop precisely on it.”

They leaned slightly and slowed to a halt. They were right next to a red and yellow striped pole, which was for jacking into the local control grid.

“They are going to know where we are.”

“Not for long.”

“You have a plan, V. I can tell.”

“Yes.”

“Keep the motor running, Tony. Keisha, jack me in, there should be a kill port on C-2 on my neck. It is small.”

Deeshandir dismounted, his back screaming at him. I keep forgetting how much pain the adjusters take away. He crouched down, and ran his fingers along it, finally finding the switch, he pushed several times until he hit the spot exactly. A short needle popped out of the pole.

“V, I am going to lean back on this, you need to guide it in, through my suit.”

“You are going to kill from here.”

“More exactly, Sairen is.”

“That's wobbed V.” Even her voice crinkled with concern.

“Trust me, I don't know what I am doing.” He smiled.

He took a deep breath.

“Should we link for this?”

“Yes, I think it would help, K.”

There was a momentary blink, and he could feel her hands on his temples as if they were resting there. She guided him in, there were several false fits and starts, until the needle found the nipple in the suit, and then in his spine. He stiffened. If only there were some other...

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.