Colin Taber - RED - Burning Skies

Wind came on the comms. “I’m ready!”

“Okay, we’re coming in fast. I’ll kill the dusters to help you with visibility.”

Wind added, “The airship is closing, but not going to make.”

Ghost nodded, not really listening. She then announced, “Fifteen seconds!”

Wei checked on the hub. It was still there, only about thirty meters behind. He said, “Hub still in position.”

Another voice came on the channel, a man’s voice. “I can see them!”

Wind said, “Let’s do it, Chang!”

“Ten seconds!” warned Ghost.

And then there was silence.

Ghost followed the trail as it began a gentle curve that ran around the foot of the hill. She then announced, “Coming though!”

And, in one moment, another rover appeared from another trail and sped past the rear of Ghost’s rover, the second vehicle just managing to miss her trailer.

PING!

An alert went, tripped by another local comms system, but then everything shut down, including the rover engine.

They had run out of power.

Ghost let the rover roll to the side of the trail and then put the brakes on after it came to a stop. Meanwhile, she asked, “Wei, what’s happening?”

He’d been watching the drone hub, the machine following until the other rover had appeared at speed to cross paths with their own vehicle.

The other rover zoomed past, and then began to turn away on the trail it followed, heading back the way Ghost and Wei had come. The hub paused for a moment and then followed it. But in that moment, it paused under the hill the Renegades called Red’s Chair.

Stones began to fall from above, sent flying out by someone suited up and standing on the hill’s peak with a sling.

Two rocks hit the hub, the sound of stone on metal and of cracking plastic clear.

Wei was stunned; he hadn’t expected to see anyone with an actual sling.

The hub didn’t pause for long, instead beginning to follow the other rover, picking up speed. The unit also corrected its course as it recalibrated for its new target.

Wei said, “The hub’s following Wind, and Chang has hit it twice, but it seems undamaged.”

Ghost sighed with relief and slumped in her chair.

Back across the comms, Wind cried out with joy as she led the hub away.

Ghost got up out of her seat as she shut everything down. She walked to Wei and put a hand to his shoulder, as she spoke through the comms. “That’s all for us for now, but while we’re waiting to see what Wind can do with the hub, let’s fix that damn coupling so everything can charge in the morning.”

Wei nodded, chuckling with relief.

They went outside, having to manually open the airlock doors, although they were careful to try and retain the pressurized air in the rover’s cabin as much as they could. Once on the surface, they checked the cabling and cleaned down the panels, working to have it ready for morning.

Around them, the sky was orange and golden in the west where the sun had set, and they could see Chang atop Red’s Chair, watching the ongoing chase.

Ghost got him on the comms. “Chang, how’s it going?”

Chang turned to look down at them and waved, before turning back to watch the action. He said, “Wind’s coming back this way, so watch out. She’s coming fast and gaining a break on the hub, but it looks like I’ll get to have another go at it with my sling.”

“Anything we can do to help?”

“Just don’t get hit. You know she’s a wild driver.”

Wind chimed in, “I heard that!”

Ghost laughed, but asked, “How are you doing?”

“Good. I’ve done a wide circuit, and it’s been a bit rough. I had my dusters on, so I’ve made quite a mess out there and suspect I’ve left enough tracks to upset Beijing Command.”

They all laughed.

Wind added, “I’m on my way back now. I’ll be around in a minute.”

Chang came back on the comms. “Airship coming in!”

Ghost and Wei turned around, scanning the horizon. And then they saw it, the vessel coming in low and heading straight for Red’s Chair. It wasn’t big or fast, and three quarters of it was all hydrogen bladder with a small cabin underneath.

Wei could see people inside; they were suited up.

The markings on the side of the vessel, which seemed to have been covered in an improvised Martian camo scheme, were in English.

Chang came on the comms. “We’re going to try something up here. Just keep behind the cover of the rover, Ghost and Wei.”

The two moved.

The airship sank down until its cabin was touching the steep slope of Red’s Chair, hiding the bulk of its bladder behind the side of the hill.

Ghost and Wei watched.

Wind came back on the comms. “I’m nearly there, coming along the same trail as last time!”

Chang said, “We’ve got a surprise for the hub this time. The airship is here.”

Wind responded, “Great, let’s wrap this thing up and get home.”

A few moments later, they could hear the whine of the incoming rover, and then Wind came back on the comms, “Here I am!”

Chang told her, “Once you’re past the hill, brake. We’ll see if the hub comes to a stop.”

“Will do.”

The rover raced along the trail, and as soon as Wind reached the end of the hill, she slammed on the brakes. A great cloud of dust went up as the vehicle ground to a halt.

The following hub slowed, and then adjusted its course as it focused on the rover in front of it.

Chang was already slinging rocks at it.

And then, from behind the bulk of the hill, the airship rose up to be revealed to the hub.

The hub paused.

The cabin on the airship was open now, with three suited figures inside all aiming guns at the hub.

A moment later, they fired, spraying shot from their modified weapons.

The hub took hits, and amidst a chorus of cracks and bangs as it was peppered by fire, bits of plastic broke off, as well as shattered solar panels and bits of twisted metal. The comms array also fell free.

On the comms channel, the people in the airship cheered as Chang laughed.

The hub unit swayed to the side and then began to spin as it headed for the surface.

A moment later, it crashed down into some rocks and sent up great sprays of gravel and dust.

Ghost sighed with relief.

Wei was thrilled.

Wind came on the comms channel. “Good job! Now, if we’re quick, we can use the daylight left to hook the rovers together and still make it home tonight!”

Commander Tung had just come from his office, from where he could see the first of six landers coming down. The sight was amazing, and would most likely spell the end of the secrecy protocols, but for now that was not his concern.

He headed back into his Command Room to check on progress, knowing at the same time similar activity was occurring at Mars Command Two. Once he had given the order to start the mass landing, and told Liu Yang, she had duplicated the command to her own people and ordered down the ships allocated to her in orbit.

Their armor was only minutes away.

He watched over the crew in the Command Room as they worked their duties and made sure the landings not only were completed safety, but in good time. In the space of an hour, the population of Mars Command One went from two hundred and fifty people, all military and male, to one thousand two hundred and fifty, and with a gender split that was close to fifty-fifty.

Satisfied, he said to Yong, “Send my report and the video of the landings to Beijing.”

Yong nodded. “The link still seems down.”

“They’ll see it, just send it. They’ll already be getting reports from other bases concerning the landers.”