The Mars Frontier Box Set, page 35
part #1 of Mars Frontier Series
Mars was an entirely different proposition. It was a prison rather than a game reserve, with no obvious means of escape. Survival meant staying close to his enemies in the hope that they saw some value in his ongoing presence. While Redmayne was confident that he was the smartest person on the base, his superior intelligence meant nothing when he was outnumbered.
***
Redmayne watched through one of Derzost's viewing windows as seven cosmonauts disembarked from the Tolstoy, walking carefully down a flight of steps to the surface. They lowered an open topped vehicle from the underside of the shuttlecraft, together with two medium-sized crates. Once the crates were loaded onto the vehicle, four of the cosmonauts clambered aboard and drove toward the base while the remaining cosmonauts started the short journey on foot.
"You don't look very pleased at the arrival of our new friends."
Redmayne turned to see Alex was also watching what was occurring outside. "I have no feelings either way," Redmayne lied. "Although it is always good to welcome new faces."
"You’re right, of course. And, more importantly, they are bringing urgently needed supplies. We must frustrate even you at the emergency rations we have been eating for the past two months."
Redmayne grimaced. Whoever had designed those rations must either have had no sense of taste or expected that no one would ever be required to eat them. They were foul and, although there were supposed to be five different flavors, they all tasted the same; rancid cabbage and some other unrecognizable vegetable. "A burger would make a nice change," he muttered.
Alex grinned. “Ah, with fries and a shake? I entirely agree my friend. I doubt our nutritionists in Star City had the same thoughts, but they may surprise us on this occasion."
"I'm not holding out any hopes other than they took into account some of my dietary requests. Even a condemned man gets to choose his last meal."
"You should not talk like that my friend. You have many uses. You may think the commander is tough on you, but he has plans to utilize your expertise. Some of the experimental equipment being delivered would benefit from your experience when it comes to conducting experiments."
Alex's revelation lifted Redmayne's spirits. "When were you going to share that news with me? And what types of experiment will be carried out?"
"I cannot give you more information at the moment. The commander will speak with you when the time is right. As for the experiments, let me just say that your experiences before joining us were a huge benefit to the design and need for the equipment being delivered from Moscow. The equipment is vital to Russia's national security. If the experiments yield the expected results, and they see you have been actively involved, it may well improve your chances of returning to Earth"
Redmayne was intrigued and looked quizzically at Alex hoping to discover more clues. This was a game that Alex played sometimes. Dangling half stories and random facts to tantalize and torment him. But he'd learned that Alex would not reveal any further information, however much he pleaded or demanded. It was not a game that Redmayne enjoyed, and he refused to play it this time. He would wait for the commander to share the details. It was good to know that he would soon be carrying out some scientific work again soon though.
***
Twenty minutes later, Redmayne lined up with the rest of Commander Koenig's crew to greet Captain Stepanov and his cosmonauts. Stepanov was the first man to step out of the airlock. He was over six feet tall with chiseled features and short blond hair. He gave the commander a big smile before they warmly embraced. Only then did Redmayne spot the bottle of vodka in the captain's right hand.
"It is good to see you again, my friend," said Stepanov, stepping back from Koenig. "It is traditional for a stranger to bring a gift to a new home, so I present you with this finest Beluga vodka."
"You are no stranger, Grigory. But I accept your gift. You are most welcome at Derzost." Commander Koenig clapped Stepanov on the shoulder and took the bottle offered to him. He then introduced the captain to each of his crew before finally reaching Redmayne.
"So, this is the infamous Predatel," sneered Stepanov as he stared closely at Redmayne. "You are bigger and stronger than I was expecting. For some reason, I thought you would be small and weaselly."
Redmayne didn't flinch at the insults. He knew he was being tested and any reaction would only lead to further insults and possible physical injury. Instead, he said, "It is good to meet you finally, Captain Stepanov. I have heard many good things about you."
"I wish I could say the same thing. But they have told me that you have certain qualities that may be useful to our mission. You will be working with Professor Kozlovsky and reporting to me over the next few months. I trust that you will not disappoint me too much."
Redmayne continued to hold his gaze. "I am sure you will be more than satisfied with my work, captain."
"We'll see." And with that, Commander Koenig ushered Captain Stepanov toward his quarters for a private conversation. It was left to Alex to introduce the rest of Moskva's crew as they stepped wearily from the airlock, one by one. Each of them gave Redmayne a look of disdain but, by now, he was beyond caring.
The last person to exit the airlock and be introduced to the crew was Professor Anna Kozlovsky, who was in her early forties and looked too elegant amongst the other cosmonauts who had just arrived. Any misgivings he had about working for a strange Russian scientist were immediately forgotten. He smiled and held out his hand as Alex introduced him. "Hello Professor, I understand we will be working together."
She coldly refused to take his hand and said, "not exactly, Mister Redmayne. You will be working for me and will follow my instructions to the letter. I have some delicate and important experiments, and I do not want someone like you to screw it up. Is that clear?"
Her cold blue eyes made it clear she meant business. Redmayne felt that she must be highly regarded in whatever field she worked in and was confident that he would be able to change her opinion of him once he demonstrated his own skills. Still smiling, he replied, "perfectly. When do we start?"
"As soon as the equipment is transported from Moskva, which is scheduled for tomorrow. I will brief you later today on what I expect from you and the tasks that you have been assigned. For now, I would be grateful if you could collect my personal belongings from the airlock and take them to my quarters." Without another word, she followed Alex into the base for a guided tour.
Redmayne followed her with his eyes, not sure what his first impressions of her were. She was not what he normally expected of a mission scientist. But then, he still didn't know what experiments she was going to be conducting, and he only had Grace Cooke to compare her against. Romansky nudged him sharply with his elbow as he walked past. "Congratulations, Predatel. It looks like they have promoted you to errand boy!"
"Fuck you!" replied Redmayne angrily, but all he got in response was a mocking laugh from the surly chief engineer who carried on walking.
Chapter 16
General Zhang was in a furious mood. Overnight, he'd received a response to his request, and it was not the answer he wanted or expected. The gutless fools in Beijing had instructed him to continue with the original mission profile. He was to wait until after they had landed and established a base on Mars. He banged his fist on the wall of his cabin three times in anger. Although he understood fifteen minutes of meditation would calm him, he wanted the burning rage to continue.
One minute later, Commander Ding made the mistake of poking her head through the hatch to his quarters with a smug look on her face. "Are you okay general? You look as if you've had some bad news."
The general glared back at her. "You know full well that my request has been declined. You must be very pleased with yourself. I cannot believe those mindless idiots in control of this mission have refused me. Don't they see how critical it is to our progress?"
"Perhaps you are losing your power, old man. They have seen that you are not supporting China's mission as you should. A good general should know how to follow orders as well as give them."
"I don't need a lecture from you, commander. This is not over, and I will get my way. The weapons testing is critical to our success. We must know that the particle beam works before the Americans or Russians prove their own technologies. I will not allow it to be delayed any longer."
"You'll do no such thing. You have been given clear instructions by me and also by your masters in Beijing. You have tried to undermine me for the last time. A shuttle is being prepared, but it will take our people to the surface of Mars. We will establish a base near the South Pole to allow us a plentiful amount of water. Only once the base is secure and operational will you commence your weapons program. You can either stay here on Shandong or join us on the planet. The choice is entirely yours. I trust there is no confusion in what you have to do."
As he listened to Commander Ding, the general regained control of his emotions, becoming calm again. In a low voice he said, "thank you commander for clarifying my options. There is no longer any confusion in what I must do."
Ding nodded. "Thank you, general. That is reassuring to hear. I look forward to seeing you in the briefing area in one hour. I will be allocating tasks for the landing party."
***
Zhang was the last to arrive in the briefing area. He quickly looked around the room to note who else was present and was gratified to see the faces he wanted around him. Commander Ding looked impatiently at him. "Thank you for joining us, General Zhang. Now we can begin. My intention is to launch a shuttle at two P.M today. If we miss that launch window, then we will not be in the correct inclination for the landing zone for another eighteen hours. Colonel Liu, is there any reason to prevent launch at that time?"
Liu looked nervously at the commander before directing his gaze to Zhang. "I think you should speak with the general about that," he said.
Ding was momentarily surprised by Liu's answer. "And why is that?"
Zhang leaned slowly forward and said, "because we're not going to Mars yet. The shuttle will launch this afternoon, but it will take me across to Taipei. I will have the opportunity that I have demanded."
A flash of anger crossed Ding's face. "How dare you speak to me like that. I made it clear to you this morning that you will follow orders. Not just from me but also from Beijing." Her face was red with outrage at the general's latest attempt to undermine her. She looked at the others in the room and added. "To let you all know, General Zhang has repeatedly requested a shuttle to Taipei, and I have refused him. He requested permission directly from Beijing and they have also refused him. I don't know what game he thinks he is playing but we are going directly to Mars."
Colonel Liu replied, "we know what the orders are, commander. But we follow General Zhang. As he just said, his instructions are that Mars can wait until we have tested the particle beam weaponry on Taipei."
"That's mutiny! You and the general cannot hope to make that work. You will face a court martial and be executed when we return to Earth. That will be an inglorious end to your careers." Ding looked to the others in the room. "Can I have two volunteers to escort these treasonous cowards to their quarters while I decide what to do with them."
Only one person moved forward. But as soon as he noticed that no one else in the room had moved, he nervously returned to his position and avoided direct eye contact with anyone.
Ding spun round to face Zhang who was smiling at her in triumph. "You appear to be outnumbered, commander. Most of the ship's crew are loyal to me. They were selected because they're either my officers or have been recruited by my former officers. Believe me, I hoped it wouldn't come to this. If you'd accepted my request, then I could have avoided this unpleasantness. Instead, I'm now assuming full control of this ship and the mission."
Ding's shoulders slumped as she realized the futility of her position. "How can you hope to get away with this without support from Beijing? You've now condemned everyone on this ship to execution when they return to Earth. I hope that you're the last one to face the firing squad. You should be made to watch your officers die one at a time because of their misplaced loyalty to you. I look forward to seeing it happen at first hand."
"Brave words, commander. Unfortunately, you won't have the opportunity to see my death. In any event, we will return as national heroes once we have completed our mission and restored China's pride."
"That's insane. Not everyone on Shandong is loyal to you. I doubt they will blindly switch their allegiance."
Zhang laughed again. "One thing I've learned in my long career as a soldier is not to underestimate the power of survival. It's a core part of everyone and will make people do amazing things that they didn't know they were capable of. Survival can affect them physically and alter their beliefs. After all, who wants to die for a noble yet hopeless cause?"
"So, you'll threaten everyone with death unless they support you. Is that how you establish your loyalty and devotion? It's barbaric."
"No commander. It's far simpler than that. I set an example that others can learn from. It's an education process." Zhang nodded to Colonel Liu and the officer standing next to him. Before Commander Ding could react, she was grabbed roughly by both arms. She fought to release herself from their grip, but the two men were larger and more powerful.
"What happens to me now, general? I will not become one of your lapdogs. Your threats won't work."
"I realized that a long time ago," Zhang replied casually. "You're going to be the example I set for everyone on board to see."
Before she could react, they quickly took Ding from the briefing area to the emergency airlock and placed inside. Zhang closed the door and keyed the controls to make sure it was sealed before looking through the glass window at Ding who still looked shocked and confused by what had just happened. The full extent of her plight still hadn't dawned on her. She keyed the comms button. "You can't keep me here forever, Zhang. Beijing will be expecting my report later today. How are you going to explain my absence?"
"A tragic accident for such a promising young officer. Your space suit failed while you were inspecting the exterior of the ship, and we were unable to save you," replied Zhang, with a look of pure evil. "No one here will dispute the events so the gullible idiots Beijing will have to accept my account. Don't worry, I'll include a recommendation for a posthumous award."
For the first time, Zhang saw the look of pure terror on Ding's face as she finally registered what was about to happen to her. It was an expression he had seen many times before and had long since become immune to any feelings of sympathy, particularly where the death was necessary for an important cause.
"No!" she screamed. "You can't do this. Someone stop him. Please!"
As he expected, nobody behind Zhang moved. Having heard enough of her desperate cries, he turned off the intercom. He pressed the decompress button and air began to be pumped out of the airlock.
As soon as Ding heard the pumps, she banged on the glass with increased ferocity and desperation. Within twenty seconds she was gasping for air and had given up her attempts to break down the door. Several seconds later, the general watched in satisfaction as Ding lost consciousness. Her body went limp as the air pressure in the airlock dropped to less than ten percent. Zhang opened the outer airlock door and the momentum of the remaining escaping air carried Commander Ding's body slowly out into the freezing blackness of space. Once the body had drifted clear of the ship, the general closed the outer door and returned to the briefing room where everyone looked at him in expectant silence.
"Comrades," he said. "I think that sends a message to you and the rest of the crew. Thank you all for your ongoing support and understanding. I have chosen you to complete this important mission with me. It demands absolute loyalty. If anyone feels that they cannot give me that, they are free to join the commander."
There was a unanimous grunt of approval, although Zhang spotted fear in two of the crew. "I promise you that we will all return home as heroes. We are claiming Mars as our own and that mission starts today. Colonel Liu, you will remain here while I cross to Taipei with Major Huang Chen. I want comms locked down. No communication with Earth is to take place without coming through me first. Any personal messages to loved ones cannot discuss what we are doing."
"Do you want me to contact Beijing?" Liu asked.
"No," replied the general. "The news of Commander Ding's unfortunate demise is best coming from me. There are likely to be some searching questions on the circumstances surrounding her death."
"Of course, general. The shuttlecraft is ready and at your disposal as soon as wish to leave."
"Excellent. I will leave in fifteen minutes, as soon as I have contacted Beijing. Major Huang, I expect you to be on board and ready to depart."
Huang nodded with some trepidation. She'd never spent time alone with the general and was fearful of making any errors.
Chapter 17
"Your girlfriend's been keeping secrets," Georgia snapped angrily when she finally found Jackson inside the cave complex constructing one of his prospecting drones. He was kneeling on the ground with his back to her, attaching four-foot-long rotor blades to one of the electric motors.
