Colin Taber - RED - Burning Skies

“See what?”

“The drone. What’s happening. What have you done?”

“I haven’t done anything. What are you talking about?”

“There’s a drone chasing the rover.”

“The rover?” he asked, wondering how she knew. “Wei’s?”

“The Renegades’. You know what I’m talking about.” She was breathing heavily as she talked, her words punctuated by her movement.

“Where are you? What are you doing?”

“Never mind that. Call off the drone.”

“It’s not mine.”

“No?”

“Of course not. It’s not from Mars Command One.”

“Hang on.” She had put him on hold.

He was exasperated.

She came back after a few seconds. “Okay, I can see that, but they’re being followed now by someone.”

He considered this new information, although he was still annoyed that she could have thought he had been behind it. Confused, he made the mistake of speaking while still gathering his thoughts. “And it’s not Mars Command Two’s?”

“No, of course not!” she said indignantly, before pausing for a heartbeat. “Hang on!” And then he was on hold again.

He cursed.

She came back after a long break, a silence that stretched on and on. “It’s Mars Command Five.”

“What!” he exclaimed loudly.

“They’ve been tasked by Beijing. They’ve set the drone on the trail.”

“To do what?”

“I don’t know, but it will be either to follow them back to the Renegade habitat or to take them out.”

He cursed again.

Her voice echoed now, as she entered a new space, “I will have it taken care of.”

“You?”

“Yes. I’m calling for help. The Renegades have a second rover out there, and there might be more we can muster.”

Ghost pushed the Rover as hard as she could.

The trail they were on led them through a maze of gullies, the undulating tan and orange landscape a place of gravel and rock.

Wei asked, “How much further do we have to go?”

She was focused on driving, but after a moment called out an answer to him where he sat at the rear of the rover watching the drone. “Too far. If the hub can keep up, we’re in trouble. I can’t push the rover any harder; besides, we’re going to end up running out of power.”

“What are we on now?”

“Four percent, and I’m draining it slightly faster than the panels can recharge.”

He suggested, “If we run out of power, we can suit up and sit tight, even if we have to wait until dawn, so we can recharge then.”

She was shaking her head, her fatigue clear. “I don’t know who is behind the drone or what they plan to do, but they seem determined to catch us. I’m worried they won’t be happy with just coming in close to get some video.”

Wei frowned. “What? Do you think it’s going to attack us?”

“I don’t know, but it is trying to catch us for a reason. Just keep your helmet handy.”

Ghost had the rover tearing through the gullies, thankfully on trails she knew well. The sun was sinking in the west, meaning not only would they soon be out of daylight to see by, but so would the rover’s solar panels. She said, “We’re down to three percent.”

Wei asked, “What can we do?”

“We should pull over and save the last of our power for life support. I’d also prefer to see what that drone hub is going to do when it catches us while we’ve still got daylight.”

Wei agreed.

She said, “Before I stop, we both need to eat a ration pack and take some water, because we’re going to have to then be suited up until we know what we’re up against.”

He came back up to the front of the rover and went for two ration packs.

She watched him as he checked them over.

He then prepped one for her and put it into her hand as she drove. He said, “Beef noodles. Your favorite.”

She couldn’t help but grin.

Commander Tung looked at his display, wondering what would be the smart thing to do.

Well, not the smart thing, but the best thing.

The smart thing was obvious. It would be to leave all of it alone. If Mars Command Five had been called on by Beijing Command to go after the rover, then clearly Mars Command One, and by association, him, were suspect. The same probably went for Mars Command Two.

If that was the case, the smart thing to do would be to keep away from it all.

But he couldn’t.

He was only now learning the truth of the Renegades and what had been going on. And, deep down, he couldn’t help but feel they were not only important, but pivotal to the future.

The fact they’d been able to survive on Mars mostly alone was such an achievement that not only did they and their techniques need to be learned from, but they also needed to be harnessed as a driver for developing the Chinese settlement program.

But, he wondered, how could he help them? What leverage did he have? How could he get Beijing Command to listen?

As he sat there, his gaze drifted over his screen. The display was filled with their usual task lists and alerts, a third of them relating to recent orbital insertions for the newly arrived cargo landers. But at the top of the list was the alerts for the two most recent arrivals. Today, two colonists ships had arrived. The big landers held a thousand people in each, one for Mars Command One and one for Mars Command Two.

An idea came into his head.

He got up and left his office, speaking to Yong in command, and then also passed a verbal order on to the rest of the crew.

With his heart pounding in his chest, he wondered just what he had set in motion.

But it was done.

He then sat down at a workstation and called up the maintenance and logistics crews. They were ordered to clear the Guangchang. The huge space would be brought into service early.

PING!

“What’s that?” asked Wei.

“Local comms.” She hit a switch, looking for the stream.

Over the speakers, a woman was calling out, “Ghost, this is Wind, and I’m on my way!”

The message repeated after a breathless pause.

Ghost grinned, and said to Wei, “It’s our second rover!”

He smiled with relief.

Ghost keyed up a reply. “Wind! I am so glad to hear your voice! We are being chased by a hub and our power is running real low!”

“I’ve got you, Ghost! I’m coming straight for you! I’m coming up to Red’s Chair, how far away are you?”

“Still a way away, but not too far. I’ll have next to no power by the time I get there.”

“I’ll be there in about five minutes. Can you give me an ETA?”

Ghost checked some details on her display before answering, “At least ten minutes, but more like twelve. And I’m not joking, we’ll be down to one or two percent of power by then. I might not make it.”

“Just do what you must, even if it means suiting up and killing life support. Radio me when you’re coming up to Red’s Chair, and I’ll come through via the access road and slap your ass as you go past, and see if my sudden appearance can distract your pursuer.”

Ghost grinned. “Just remember I’ve got the trailer on. I don’t need you to slap that.”

“Will do.”

“Any other suggestions? What are you going to do if it starts to follow you?”

“We’re hoping to have some help.”

“Help?”

“An airship.”

“Great, but if that doesn’t arrive in time?”

“I’ll have Chan nearby. He’s a great shot with a sling, and he’s well practiced in Martian G.”

“A sling?”