Mars Daybreak Fan Fiction ❯ Haunting Past ❯ Chapter 3

Haunting Past

 

By: A-Z Mark II

 

Disclaimer: I think that Sony Computer Ent. and Bandai own Mars Daybreak - maybe.

 

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Chapter 3

-

Aboard the Ship of Aurora, a meeting of the primaries was being held on the bridge. Yagami had just finished telling the captain what he had learned and what he had extrapolated from that information. The crewmembers of the most dangerous pirate ship on Mars weren't happy with what they were hearing; after all, not only were they friends of the maverick orphan, but they owed him their lives. Sitting on her small lounge couch that served as her command chair, the captain of the ship was frowning.

“I don't know, Yagami,” she said uneasily. “Gram gave up pirating after we got free of that little scene with the Earth Forces. Why would he be in this kind of mess?” wondered the woman.

“This is Gram we're talking about, Captain,” replied Yagami, a small hint of a smile on his lips. “That man has a talent for finding trouble, does he not?” he challenged her. Elizabeth snorted.

“Can't argue that,” conceded Elizabeth. “Still, it is kind of hard to believe that he would end up mixed up with a sinking of a city-ship,” she stubbornly defended. Of course, every one of the crew knew that Gram wouldn't do something like sink a city-ship. “Besides, last we saw of him, he had his girlfriend and those two kids with him. Why would he be picking fights with them along?”

“Such behavior is inconsistent with Gram,” stated Ester. “So, it becomes a question of what he happened into, and what we can do to help him.”

“I agree with what you are saying, Ester,” began Elizabeth, only to be interrupted by MAKI.

“Captain, you should see this,” said the AI, opening a window on the main bridge display. As was their standard operating procedure, the ship had hidden under a large iceberg, but left a stealthy trailing whip antenna out to see what they could learn from the news and communications between city-ships. The window MAKI opened flickered once, then settled into an emergency broadcast from the Earth Forces Provisional Command.

“…repeat, this is a priority bulletin. All Mars Defense Forces and Earth Forces personnel stationed on Mars are to search out and destroy this pirate ship,” the man's face vanished, a satellite image coming up of a ship running on the surface. The picture zoomed in, the resolution being enhanced as it did so. Beside the satellite footage was a computer-generated schematic of the hull of the ship, along with a SHIELD hull registry number. All the crew on the bridge recognized that hull as being the one that Gram had gone to salvage, and had later been piloting.

“This ship, reported to be calling itself the Ship of Hope, attacked and sank Taklen city-ship on the frontier. From there, it sailed to Morgan Drift city-ship and laid siege to the city, killing eleven citizens of Morgan Drift before being forced to withdraw by the surprise arrival of a Mars Defense Force patrol ship. In a vicious battle, the Mars Defense Force ship was sunk, but not before crippling the pirate ship. During the battle, Morgan Drift city-ship was hit by stray torpedoes, but survived to fight another day,” the footage switched to some shaky video of a dock, the warehouses and shipping crates shredded by small-arms fire, and several dark patches that the pirates recognized were blood pools from dead bodies.

“Sheriff, what happened here?” came an off-camera voice. A bruised and bandaged man blinked one or twice at the camera before answering.

“We got hit by pirates, that's what happened, idiot!” he snapped. “Knew I should of locked that blonde bitch down the second she hit town…” he turned away muttering angrily under his breath. The footage - complete with the `live!' tag - disappeared, and the officers of the Ship of Aurora found themselves looking at a familiar visage.

“Through a check of the city-ship's records, it is believed that this woman is the first officer of the pirate ship. Her given name was `Vess'. During the siege, witnesses saw her personally kill seven of the citizens in cold blood. It isn't immediately clear what the pirates were after in Morgan Drift, but thanks to the heroic sacrifice of the Mars Defense Force and the sheriff and his deputies, they have been driven off, their ship seriously damaged.”

Once more, the Earth Forces commander was glowering at the unseen audience. “Due to this drastic increase in hostilities after the escape of the Ship of Aurora, the Earth Forces - in conjunction with the Mars Defense Force - have issued an order that all pirate vessels are to be sunk on sight. To facilitate the safety and security of the citizens of Mar's city-ships, Earth Forces have pledged to increase troops and equipment stated here, allowing for better protection against these wolves of the sea.”

MAKI muted the feed as it went back to normal schedule broadcasting. Elizabeth's lips were tight.

“Captain?” asked Neli tentatively.

“Ester, we're getting under way immediately,” ordered the captain. “MAKI, give me a map of the area around Morgan Drift city-ship. Range it to…” Elizabeth paused, trying to figure out how far a damaged SHILED ship like Gram's could go in the time since the reported engagement between the Ship of Hope and the Mars Defense Force patrol ship. Before she could figure it out, MAKI supplied the answer for her.

“Map has been ranged for projected distance Gram's ship could cover, plus fifteen percent,” the AI noted, the map coming up on the screen.

Ester scanned the map. “At full cruising speed, we are three days from the closest edge of that map,” she said. “And even as we travel, the map will grow, since Gram won't risk stopping until he finds a hiding place so he can make what repairs he might be able to make,” she warned the captain. Elizabeth nodded.

“You're right, Ester,” she muttered. “So, what we need to do, is try and think like Gram,” she mused. “Yagami? Ideas?” she asked her former crewmember. Slowly, he shook his head.

“None, Captain,” he sighed. “I am not familiar with the area, and since Gram's Vector of Hope was lost in the Gods Stone battle, I have no idea what he might do with a heavy cruiser SHIELD ship,” he admitted.

“There isn't a lot out there,” noted Poipoider. “If his ship is as heavily damaged as the Earth Forces claim, then he's not going to be able to do much unless he finds a place to dry-dock her,” noted the beluga whale.

“I agree,” noted Clara, currently standing beside the lip of Poipoider's station. “MAKI, are there any city-ships that have a sizeable supply of mechanical parts that could accommodate a cruiser-class SHIELD ship within the projected range of Gram's ship?” she asked the AI.

“Negative.”

“He can't risk just any city-ship,” pointed out Neli. “Especially with that shoot-on-sight order on all pirates,” added the main mechanic of the Ship of Aurora.

“He'll have to evade and limp his way to somewhere he can make repairs,” murmured Milhe. Ester didn't necessarily agree.

“There is another possibility, Captain,” said the first officer quietly. Seeing the others watching her, she spoke what none of them wanted to say. “He could have been sunk, or forced to abandon ship,” she said softly. Being forced to abandon ship in that area was no different that going down with the ship; survival would be measured in hours at most.

“I reject that suggestion,” came the almost-angry reply of MAKI.

“Well said, MAKI,” seconded the captain. “Gram isn't some greenhorn, Ester,” she soothed the clearly anxious crewmembers around her. “Besides, he wouldn't dare die before letting us repay our debt to him,” she reminded them.

“Understood, captain,” said Ester, a smile on her lips. “Course?”

“For now, run at full for the area,” decided Elizabeth. “We'll figure out our exact course on the way there,” she said quietly, her mind busy.

-

Lying on the beach with Rosetta, Enora heard her PCD chime. Tapping the cover, she activated her data glasses, seeing a hit on her leave-running search set. Her search service had located a hit with thirty eight percent match to her parameters. Selecting the result, she found herself watching a news broadcast that had been aired on Mars the day before yesterday. Her gasp drew Rosetta's attention.

“What's wrong, Enora?” asked the older, curvier soldier. Enora held up her palm, signaling for the other woman to wait a minute. When the clip finished, Enora pulled off the data glasses and handed them to the other woman.

“Watch this, Rosetta,” directed the younger girl, her tone telling Rosetta that it was very important that she do as told. Slipping the glasses on, she found herself watching a clip from the official Mars news service. When she found herself looking at Vess's grim face in the report from Morgan Drift city-ship, she sucked in a breath. When the clip ended, Enora pulled her data glasses off Rosetta, swiftly resettling them on herself and immediately began to create a new search string, as well as sending an encrypted message to her grandfather.

“I have to go to Mars,” said the girl resolutely, opening the travel services' pages on her PCD. Selecting the first shuttle to Mars, she tried to make a reservation, but found that the system wouldn't accept her reservation. Frowning, she mined for the reason she was being denied a ticket. Seeing the answer pop up on her glasses, the girl cut loose with the kind of language that she could only have learned on a pirate ship.

Seeing the reactions of some of the people passing by to the coarse, rude and vulgar language of the scantily-clad girl on the lounger, Rosetta chuckled. “Wow, Enora, I always thought the term `curse like a pirate' was just a figure of speech,” she noted calmly. “What's wrong?” wondered the older girl. Enora snarled a couple more unflattering comments about certain people's heritage, sexual proclivities and leisure-time amusements before she answered.

“I'm on the no-fly list for off-Earth destinations!” the girl seethed. One little incident on Mars, and now they think they can keep me on Earth?! We'll see about that…! Muttering under her breath, she tried an end-run around the list by looking for a loophole in the routing watch-list. Sadly, a half hour later, she was right back where she started: cursing like a pirate, frustrated, and stuck on Earth.

“No luck, I take it?” asked Rosetta, sipping her frozen drink calmly. Enora ended the call she had been making to the space line's complaint department after a broadside of the kind of language that Rosetta hadn't heard since basic.

“No! In fact, being the President's granddaughter is actually working against me now!” she snapped, her arm shaking from her rage. Even through her anger, she noticed something. “You seem unnaturally calm, Rosetta,” noted the girl suspiciously. Sighing, Rosetta set aside her drink.

“In all honesty, Enora, I suspected that this would be the case,” admitted the soldier. “Myself and Rich are both banned from returning to Mars,” she said softly. “It came from way up the chain of command, too, so it had to be political pressure,” mused the woman.

“Hmm…” hummed Enora, suddenly far, far calmer than she had been. “I wonder…” she muttered, softly speaking to her PCD. Five minutes later, she was screaming curses again.

“Damn that man! Damn him and his fucking blood money!” she roared, jumping to her feet and shaking her fists at the sky. “I'll fucking kill that slime-sucking son of two brothers, mark my words! God damned cum-stain!” Rosetta saw the passer-bys giving the two a wider berth. Mentally shrugging, the soldier stood from her lounger, stretching for a moment before dropping an arm over the irate girl's shoulders.

“I think we need a cooling shower, Enora,” said the woman reasonably.

“That gonorrhea-ridden prison bitch is going to be wearing his ass around his neck when I'd done with his scabby, pencil-dick carcass!” snarled Enora hotly. Rosetta tapped the side of Enora's head.

“Earth to Enora,” said the soldier, her tone belying her humor, “anyone home?” she asked. Enora finally managed to push her anger aside as Rosetta led her toward the showers. It wasn't until the two were drying of in preparation to dress for dinner that Rosetta felt she could ask Enora what had gotten her so royally pissed on the beach.

“So, who is going to be wearing their ass around their neck?” asked the Soldier as she stepped into her thong panties. Beside her, Enora had to think for an instant before she understood what Rosetta was asking, since her mind was already on Mars.

“Lauren, that's who!” snarled the girl, her hands clenching into fists. “Guess who the chairman of the interplanetary travel safety commission is?” asked Enora rhetorically as she settled her own minimal cotton panties and reached for her denim. Next to her, Rosetta was shrugging into her bra.

“I see,” she nodded to herself, adjusting her impressive attributes in the cups of her bra. “He is also on the board that oversees budgetary allotment for the military,” she realized. Nice place to be to pull strings, admired the girl. With control of the interplanetary travel safety commission, he can pretty much keep anyone he wants on Earth, while his position on the budget oversight committee allows him to leverage high command by threatening to cut funds or withhold R&D credits.

Enora tugged her thin, spaghetti-strap tank top on, having swiftly slipped into her thin, tiny lace bra. I can't wait to get back to Mars, if for no other reason than that I won't have to bother with a tit-hammock, she thought absently. Lighter gravity could have unexpected bonuses, after all. For a moment, she didn't envy Rosetta her large, full, heavy breasts; for a moment. “Yeah, he's in a nice position to make travel difficult,” admitted Enora, “but if he thinks that putting me on the no-fly list will keep me off Mars, he doesn't know shit!” she vowed hotly. “Even if I have to stow away on a ship or steal my own interplanetary shuttle, I'm going back to Mars!”

Rosetta had been silent through her little tremor. Now, she spoke up. “What say we eat in tonight, Enora?” suggested the other woman, her eyes on the floor, but not seeing it.

-

Anna Grace gritted her teeth and managed a stiff smile for the Earth Forces commander. The two were in her office, and the officious prig had just - smirkingly, no less! - handed her the `request' from high command back on Earth. “What an…interesting suggestion, Commander,” said Anna stiffly. As if I don't have it hard enough already! Now they want me to be their lead-catcher, too!

“It's so kind of you help us out with the current state of lawlessness occurring since the escape of those pirates, Administrator Grace,” he replied, his eyes betraying his amusement. “It really is for the good of all law-abiding citizens that we request this, Administrator,” he repeated himself. Anna clenched her fist under her desktop.

“Well, I can certainly see how this might help the Earth Forces, but I fail to see how this will help the people of Mars, Commander,” she replied.

“How can you say that with a straight face, Administrator Grace?” asked the man rhetorically. “Taklen city-ship has been sunk, and Morgan Drift city-ship was attacked soon after. It is clear that these pirates are seeking to sack each and every city-ship they can find that lacks adequate protection, and since the Mars Defense Force has been stretched so thin in the last few years, and has had such trouble dealing with pirates, it is only logical that Earth Forces help them. It is, after all,” he gave her a snake-oil salesman smile, “what we are here for.”

“Strange that you should mention that,” retorted Anna, tapping her fingernail on the desk top. “but this looks more like an absorption of the Mars Defense Force rather than a joint operation.” The Earth Forces commander didn't react to her thinly-veiled accusation.

“It might look that way to you, Administrator Grace, but to a military man, it will look exactly the opposite. Earth Forces, after all, have the resources to implement the necessary operations, while the Mars Defense Forces are too depleted to handle this. In such cases, it is only reasonable to allow the side with the logistical base to coordinate the missions,” countered the man.

“I see,” murmured Anna. And you and I both know why the Mars Defense Force have been depleted over the last five years, too! she thought angrily. Well, that battle is already lost, but he slipped up and gave me an opening, she realized. “Well, since I know little of military matters, I will have some officers from the MDF evaluate the proposal and get back to you,” she said briskly, sweeping the sheet of paper off her desk and into her top drawer. “It has been a pleasure to speak with you again, Commander,” she said, inclining her head to the man. Behind him, her personal secretary, Joseph Abbott, opened the door. “I'm afraid that I have pressing matters to attend to now. Please, feel free to drop by again sometime,” she dismissed the man.

For an instant, the man considered pushing the issue, but reconsidered. Saluting her casually, he turned and marched out of the room. Once he was gone, Anna snatched the paper out of her drawer and re-read it. Hearing Joseph clear his throat in preparation to speak, she beat him to it. “Reschedule the meeting with the tourism board chairman,” she said, distracted. “We have to go to the Mars Defense base right now,” she muttered, swiftly moving out from behind her desk and striding toward the door.

-

“Sir! New contact! Bearing one five seven, range fifteen thousand, speed thirty eight knots. Odor print and acoustic signature suggest it is pirate vessel zero zero four,” reported the sensor operator on the Earth Forces SHIELD frigate. The skipper frowned, mentally flipping data cards in his head.

“Zero zero four? Kuberness,” he said, smiling. As pirates went, there were really only two ships that could advance his career in the Earth Forces. Those two were Kuberness and the Ship of Aurora. With there having been few sightings of either in the last few months, this chance encounter with Kuberness was a lucky break. “Contact those Mars Defense pussies,” he ordered his communications man, “and tell them that this one is all ours!” he smiled. “Bring us in on a trailing intercept course. Load tubes one through four with Phi-class fish, and tubes five and six with a brace of Gamma mark nines,” he ordered eagerly.

“Aye, sir!” came the immediate reply. “Increasing to flank,” the helmswoman reported. The captain felt the ship being to vibrate softly as it pushed itself to maximum speed as it sought to intercept the fast, sneaky ship of the Lone Wolf of Mars.

“Tubes loaded, sir!” sang out the weapons officer. The captain curtly nodded.

“Excellent. Time to interception?” he asked the navigator.

“Eleven minutes, seventeen seconds at current relative closure,” reported the man a moment later.

“Good, good,” muttered the captain. “Any indication that Kuberness has spotted us?” he asked his sensor man. The operator shook his head.

“No, sir. Course and speed steady,” he replied. Sitting back in his chair, the captain began to mentally plan his decoration ceremony. Seemingly unaware, Kuberness's ship maintained its steady track. Just before the pursuing Earth Forces ship reached torpedo range, a string of explosions shook it, warning lights and sirens going off immediately.

“What the hell happened?!” screamed the captain, seeing his bridge crew trying to stay at their post in the violently jerking sub. Frantically, the sensor man tried to determine what had happened to them.

“Sir!” he yelled a few moments later. “It looks like Kuberness laid out a string of camouflaged sensor mines in the path of our interception course!”

“Damned pirates!” snarled the captain, groping for his cap, which had been thrown from his head by the first shockwave to hit the sub. “What's the damage?” he asked his engineer.

“We're in deep trouble, sir!” said the woman. “I'm showing four - no, five! - compartments flooded. Two water-tight hatches aren't closing! Engine room is flooding. Aft torpedo room is completely flooded. Conning tower is flooding. Mess hall reporting electrical fire. Power is out to forward torpedo room. Hydraulic pressure to dive controls is failing, sir.” She paused, scanning her screen, then turned to look at the captain. “Sir, we have to surface now, while we still can.”

“And let Kuberness get away?!” demanded the captain.

“Kuberness has already gotten away, sir!” replied the first officer. The main power to the bridge went out, leaving only emergency controls active. “We have to surface, sir!” screamed the first officer.

Growling, the captain decided that fighting Kuberness wasn't worth dying for. Can't promote a dead man, I guess… he philosophized. “Surface the ship,” he said. His crew was already doing that, in fact. For a panicked minute, it seemed the ship wouldn't make it, but then, slowly, it rose. As it did, however, it shuddered, lurched and groaned.

“Sir, I suggest that you give the order to abandon ship when we reach the surface,” said the engineer, seeing more and more of her indicators going dark. “There is no way to save the boat,” she added. I'm shocked that the boat is even rising!

“Abandon ship in the middle of nowhere?” asked the captain, sounding shocked. The engineer turned to look at him squarely.

“This boat is going to the bottom of the sea, Captain,” said the woman levelly. “Rather or not we go with it is up to you, sir.” she stated clearly. As if to punctuate the warning, a shrieking groan came from the stern, the ship beginning to dip at the stern.

“Very well,” conceded the captain quickly. “Sound abandon ship. We'll use the emergency rafts stowed fore of the tower until rescued. Emergency burst the coordinates and log, communication officer,” he directed.

“Aye, aye, sir!” came the instant reply.

“Surface in fifteen meters, sir!” reported the helmswoman.

“Very well,” said the captain, standing and moving to the emergency escape hatch. “Let's get out of here!”

The boat had only lasted seven minutes on the calm surface of the seas before it slipped below the cold water with a gurgle. The three emergency rafts of crewmen watched it go, wondering how long it would take to be picked up by either the Earth Forces, or by the Mars Defense Force. Unnoticed beneath the dark blue sea of Mars, their boat was settling onto the bottom, gently, thanks to the tentacles wrapped around it. Sitting at the controls of his custom RB unit, the Mermaid, Kuberness surveyed his prize.

“Not bad,” he murmured to himself approvingly. “Earth Forces Kraken-class line frigate.” He used the multi-function tentacles of his RB to slowly tear the decking off, starting at the breaches caused by his mines. “Fully armed, it would seem,” he purred, seeing the magazines fully stocked with torpedoes, mines, missiles and depth charges. Signaling his robot crewman, he recalled his ship to the current location, and as soon as his SHIELD ship had settled into position, he began to load his loot through the RB hanger on his ship.

-

“Captain!” called out Ester from her position behind the wheel of the Ship of Aurora. “MAKI is detecting a lot of ships in the target area,” she said, seeing Elizabeth straighten so she was sitting on her command couch. “I haven't seen this many ships since the batter at Mount Olympus,” said the naval witch.

“Are they all Earth Forces and Mars Defense Force?” wondered Elizabeth, seeing the map MAKI was showing steadily growing dots. It was the Ship's AI that answered her.

“Negative. While many of the traces match those of known Earth Forces or Mars Defense Force units, there are several more that appear to be freighters, pleasure boats and even a few pirate signatures in the grid area,” informed MAKI.

“Captain, I know you don't like to go around, but to stick our noses in there is just plain stupid,” said Poipoider. “Especially since right now, we are low on RB units,” he reminded her. Since the battle at Mount Olympus, the ship's normal compliment of Bucklers had been drastically reduced. Gram had lost his RB during the escape, Yagami had left the ship, the Spirit of Ogre had been abandoned, and Junior's piece-meal RB, the Vector of Affection, had been heavily damaged.

Of course, the ship had `acquired' more F- and H-class units since then, but other than rebuilding the Spirit of Ogre and upgrading the Vector of Affection, it was of little good to the ship, since Aki's RB unit was corded, and while Junior's was cordless, he wasn't half the pilot that Gram and Yagami were. With Yagami back for the moment, they had two cordless units, and the twin units that comprised Aki's unit, but for skill, they were far below the strength they had been during the epic battle of Olympus Mons.

“Poipoider,” said the captain firmly, “we aren't the sort of crew that leaves a debt unpaid,” she reminded him. “If Gram is in there, we're going in - end of discussion,” she warned her crew.

“My point is that we don't know if Gram is in there, and just charging in blindly isn't going to do him or us any good, Captain,” repeated Poipoider.

“If you have a better suggestion, I'm listening,” replied Elizabeth reasonably; well, as reasonable as she ever got.

“Actually, Captain,” Clara De Siren joined the conversation from where she was comfortably laying on the end of the command couch, “I believe that Ester, Poipoider and I have come up with a better way of determining rather or not Gram's ship is in there somewhere,” said the engineered cat, rising to stretch her back.

“And that is?” prompted Elizabeth. Clara offered the human her cat-smile.

“MAKI has the odor print and acoustic signature of Gram's ship on file. Sending Junior and Yagami along the perimeter of the projected grid with a sensor pack will tell us rather or not they have passed outside the grid, and maybe even tell us when and in what direction they went,” explained the feline.

“And while the two cordless RBs are doing that, we lay in cover on the bottom father back from the patrol perimeter, with Aki's RBs in reserve in case we are discovered,” finished Ester. Captain Elizabeth considered it.

“That makes sense,” she mused, her mind busy. “Ok, how soon can Neli have the pods ready?” asked the captain.

“Actually, I finished them last night,” came the voice of Neli. The woman was in the RB bay, which currently housed Yagami's and Junior's RB units. “I've got both units loaded and ready, Captain,” added the mechanic.

“Yagami here,” came the voice of the Grim Reaper, “ready to launch, Captain.

“Same here, Captain,” seconded Junior.

“Captain, I have detected a semi-concealed trench that will nearly completely hide us,” agreed MAKI. Elizabeth smiled.

“Well, seems I'm out-voted here,” she shrugged. “Do it,” she said, her tone commanding.

“Aye, aye, Captain!” came the unified reply from the crew. Elizabeth sat back on her command couch, considering the exchange that had just taken place. Gram, you really did a number on this crew, she thought, chuckling softly. Don't you dare go and die before we can pay you back what we owe you! As MAKI and Ester skillfully settled the ship into its selected blind, the two cordless RB units swooshed off, being careful not to make more of a ruckus than absolutely necessary.

“And now, we wait,” said Clara softly.

-

“I don't know, Rosetta,” said Enora skeptically, looking at herself in the mirror. “This doesn't look very convincing on me,” she said, eyeing the pale blue one-piece body suit and the dark blue and white jacket.

“Nonsense, Enora,” disagreed Rosetta, slowly circling the girl. “It looks as good on you as it does on any of the rest of us,” she soothed the girl. “What makes it look off is your posture and general bearing,” she murmured to herself.

“Well, what can we do about that?” wondered Enora. Rosetta shook her head.

“Well, we can't send you to basic, that's for sure,” she rejoined. Enora sighed.

“I don't think this will work, Rosetta,” she said.

“You won't know until we try, Enora,” said the soldier. “We have a few more days before the paperwork will be ready, so all we have to do in the mean time is make you pass for one of us,” she said. “I mean, you do want to get to Mars, right?” she needled the girl. Enora's mouth tightened.

“Hell yes!” snapped the girl. Rosetta smiled at her.

“That facial expression makes you look a lot more like an officer,” she said. “And really, what's one new officer among several hundred?” she reasoned. Enora considered that.

“So, I'm an officer?” she asked. Rosetta frowned at her.

“Well, your rank is right there on your shoulder, Enora,” she said. A thought occurred to her. “Tell me, Enora, what rank are you?” Enora looked at her shoulders, where two small pieces of polished metal shone.

“Um, lieutenant?” she asked. Rosetta hummed.

“Would you salute a first lieutenant, or be saluted?” asked the captain. Enora frowned.

“You mean I'm not a lieutenant?” wondered Enora. Rosetta nodded to herself.

“Well, for starters, we need to teach you how to tell rank in the military, as well as teaching you how to salute - as well as who to salute.” Rosetta made some mental notes. “Also, we're going to have to teach you some military slang and work on your bearing.”

“Can we do that before the posting change?” wondered Enora. Rosetta gave the grand daughter of the President a steady look.

“We have to if you're ever going to set foot on Mars again, Enora,” warned the woman. Glancing at her watch, Rosetta picked up her phone and dialed a number. “But first, let's talk to Rich about those posting orders…” she said to herself. For what it's worth, Vess, she thought to herself, your actions on Mars made a hell of difference for the rest of us.

-

“This tastes awful!” bitched one of the pirates, sampling his meal. “Wish Gram were back with us; at least we ate well!” he groused.

“Shut up and eat!” roared Elizabeth. “We take turns cooking, you know, and yours sucked just as much!” Privately, she agreed with her crewman, but with Junior working on the perimeter search, the cooking talents of the rest of the crew were nothing to get worked up over. Ester was standing watch; a move that the captain was beginning to suspect was intentional. Sitting at the table in the mess hall, she looked at the unappetizing mess on her plate. Oh well, she mentally shrugged, taking a bite and swallowing the salty-but-bland food.

“Captain,” came the soft voice of Higashibara. Looking up, she saw the youngest member of her crew settled across from her, with Sala Sesu right beside her. Nodding at her medical officer and their psychic, Elizabeth forced another bite down before verbally answering them.

“Don't get your hopes up, you two,” she said, “this slop hasn't gotten any better.”

“What do you suppose it is supposed to be?” wondered the doctor of the ship, poking at the food.

“He said it was rice curry, but this doesn't taste like rice or curry,” muttered Elizabeth.

“Maybe we can get Gram to make us some of his spaghetti with meat balls,” hoped Megumi softly. Both the older girls looked at her intently.

“Megumi, do you hear something?” wondered the captain. Blinking, the young psychic shook her head.

“No,” she said, “but I heard some voices in the sea. They sounded relieved,” explained the girl.

“Was it someone feeling relieved, or maybe that friend of yours from our relaxation area?” prompted Sala. Megumi shook her head.

“No. This voice was different,” she said, frowning softly. “It was harder to understand than usual, but somehow, it was kind of familiar,” the girl tried to explain. Her powers were still nearly impossible for the others to grasp, and had shaped Megumi's life. Because of the difference in the way that she perceived the world, her mannerisms and thought processes were nearly alien to the rest.

“We'll take your word for it, Megumi,” said the captain, smiling at the young girl. Megumi managed to smile back. “Just do me a favor, and if you hear anything about where Gram and his crew might be, don't hesitate to share, hmm?” she suggested. Megumi smiled a bit wider.

“Of course not!” promised the girl, taking a careful bite of her food and making a face. “This is awful,” she grimaced. “Kind of reminds me of when Gram thought that his friend had been killed,” she noted. “His cooking went from real good to worse than awful until he managed to regain himself,” she recalled. The entire crew could relate to that; it had been a nasty reminder that none of the regular crew were skilled in the kitchen.

“Right now, I think I would almost rather have that than this,” chuckled Elizabeth. The two women with her shared her subdued laughter, easing their trays away from themselves. “That boy always seems to land on his feet,” mused Elizabeth.

“An admirable trait, I assure you,” came the high, clear voice of Clara. Unnoticed, the enhanced cat had silently jumped up to sit next to Elizabeth. “Ever since I first saw him fight you, I have often thought that it was a waste for him to have been born human; he would make an excellent cat,” she subtly dug at the humans at the table.

“He was uncommonly quick and agile, all right,” recalled Elizabeth.

“He told Enora that it was because had had worked for a while with the Mars circus, but I don't know if he was serious or not,” shared Megumi. She and Enora had become close during the time that the politically-connected girl had been on their ship.

“I wouldn't doubt it, from the kind of life he led,” offered Sala. “Neli told me that his abilities with mechanics were not the kind that you learned in schools, and I have seen enough of his mad brilliance to wonder if that pendant wasn't really his by birthright.”

“That boy sure did pick things up quick,” agreed Elizabeth, sipping some coffee. At least most of us can make a decent cup of coffee! she silently gave thanks. “It was like he was always working on an angle, even if he didn't have a plan.”

“True,” agreed Clara. “That thought had occurred to me and Ester as well. We asked ourselves what Gram would do, and the only really Gram-like thing to do is to try and find a place to repair his ship,” lectured the cat, absently flicking an ear. “So, we asked MAKI to run a simulation of the damage the ship might have suffered, cross-reference it with the hull design, and come up with a rough list of what materials and tools he would need to do the job.”

Realizing that Clara was waiting for a remark from her audience, Elizabeth stepped up. “And what did you find out, Clara?” asked the captain, absently scratching the edge of Clara's jaw for a moment. A soft purr preceded her reply.

“He is going to need a dry-dock and several heavy machining tools by our best estimates,” she said grimly. “Excluding materials, which MAKI feels is commonly available enough to exclude it from the model, he will need to try and make it to one of three city-ships.”

None of the others realized that the room had gone silent several minutes before. Elizabeth spoke slowly and calmly. “Clara, you mean you, Ester and MAKI have figured out where Gram is trying to go?”

“Mm. I wouldn't say that we are certain, but our model seems to be quite inclusive,” said the cat.

“Those three city-ships are?” prompted Sala.

“Ardena city-ship, Harras city-ship, and Ligaoga city-ship,” said the cat. “Actually, there are several other city-ships with the right tools, but since they are Earth Forces or Mars Defense Force strongholds with a heightened status of alert, we have ruled them out.”

“Furthermore, Gram is too well-known in Ardena, which is currently hosting a larger-than-average contingent of Earth Forces. Thanks to our extended raiding on that city-ship, we have run out of hiding spots there, which means that Gram will have as well.”

“What about Ligaoga?” asked Neli from two tables away.

“A distinct possibility, Neli,” confirmed Clara. “He has a strong base of sympathetic aborigines there, and there are lots of areas he could hide the ship while working on it, assuming that he has sufficient mimetic odor-print and desiccant. Additionally, they do have the machinery to effect repairs of the nature that we suspect his ship has,” Clara paused. “However,” she went on, “it is the farthest of the three from his current position.

“Harras city-ship,” grunted Elizabeth. Clara nodded.

“We understand how you feel about what happened there before, with the Doctor,” said Clara softly. “But I think that if we can't find any trace of their ship from the perimeter search, our best bet is to head to Harras. If necessary, we might have to visit Ligaoga and Ardena as well.”

The captain sighed. “I didn't want to have to deal with this,” she muttered angrily. “But you have to do what you have to do,” she added. Raising her voice, she addressed the assembled crew. “Change of plans, apes! Once Yagami and Junior are back on board, we're heading to Harras!”

“Aye, aye!” yelled the crew in response. Elizabeth sighed once more.

“What if they didn't make it that far?” she whispered, looking directly at the table-top to be reasonably sure that only Clara - with her cat-sharp ears - or Megumi with her talents might hear her.

“If that's the case, it is even more important that we hurry,” came the whispered reply - along with the tickly feeling of whiskers brushing her cheek.

-

“Sir! Reporting as ordered, Sir!” screamed the ranking officer of the three training task force members. Suppressing the wince at her impossibly loud voice in his small office, Captain Doolittle casually returned her salute, the woman snapping into stiff, ram-rod perfect attention.

“Take it easy, lieutenant,” he said humorously. “You'll get wrinkles!” She made no reply, verbally or physically. Sighing, Doolittle got down to business. “I haven't seen an after-action report from your group in three days, Lieutenant,” he said firmly. “Is there a problem?” he asked her directly.

“Sir, no, sir!” she screamed. “Reports have been filed daily with Earth Forces Mars Division, per orders, sir!”

“Orders?” asked Doolittle. “When did SOP change, lieutenant? All changes in communication channels are to come through my office, are they not?” he asked her.

“Sir, the lieutenant was not given a reason for the change, sir!” she bellowed.

“Well, I haven't seen any orders about the change, either.” countered Doolittle. “Am I to assume that you kept a copy of the orders directing you to break procedure, lieutenant?” he challenged her.

“Sir! Orders were via secure email from high command, sir! Any copies should be logged in the system, sir!” deflected the lieutenant. Doolittle tapped some commands into his terminal. A few moments later, he sat back.

“Well, how strange is that?” he muttered. “It would seem, Lieutenant, that the logs for communications have been lost due to an electrical surge. How odd, wouldn't you say?” he asked her casually, eyes sharp.

“Sir! Communications duty is outside the lieutenant's skill sets, sir!” screamed the lieutenant. Doolittle considered it for a moment, deciding that it was a lost cause to try and push the issue right then.

“I see,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I suppose it isn't that big of a deal, really,” said the man. “Tell you what, Lieutenant,” he said, “forward me copies of the last three daily reports from your section, and we'll be right back up to speed,” he ordered. As precise as a machine - and just as stiffly - the woman snapped a salute to him.

“Sir, yes, sir!” her voice ricocheted around the office.

“Dismissed, Lieutenant,” said the captain, waving an arm at her salute. Like a marionette, she did a parade-ground turn, marched through the door, performed another parade ground left face and marched down the hall. Doolittle watched the door close behind her. Nearly ten minutes passed before he heaved himself to his feet and moved out from behind his desk.

“I feel like some fresh air,” he murmured. It just so happened that he knew a place where the air was fresh that was exactly where Mars Administrator Anna Grace happened to be having lunch that day.

-

Enora sighed, looking out the window of her hotel room. Tomorrow is the day, she thought, trying - needing - to get some sleep, but far too nervous to do that. On the foot of the bed, the one-piece outfit, branch jacket and boots waited, while on the divan in the corner, her travel pack was tightly stowed inside a deployment bag, the tags already clipped in place. She knew without looking that the hologram-sealed orders data card was tucked into the jackets inside pocket.

“This is impossible,” said the girl, sitting up and touching the bedside smart lamp, which automatically adjusted to a soft glow. Resting her chin on her raised knees, she reviewed the plan in her head. If everything went according to plan, by the end of the week, she would be on Mars once more. If it went wrong…she didn't even want to think about what would happen then.

Either way, I still need to take care of that last detail before tomorrow morning, she thought unhappily. Taking a deep breath, she decided that since she couldn't sleep anyway, she could record the message now instead of being even more rushed tomorrow morning. Reaching over to her PCD, which had finished a long-cycle conditioning charge to insure maximum life from the battery, she picked it up, swiftly moving some documents around to form a compressed file. Running her encryption program, she double-encrypted the files before compressing it once more.

With the easy part done, she propped some pillow behind her back, getting comfortable for what was to come. Taking a deep breath, she ran her hand through her hair, mentally organizing her message. Minutes passed before she settled her PCD on her legs and activated the video message function. Once the picture had stabilized and the small device had compensated for ambient light values and dept of focus, she took the plunge she had been dreading since she and Rosetta had formed this desperate plan.

“This isn't easy for me to say, papa,” began the girl, unconsciously clenching the sheet covering her thighs in her hands. “By time you get this, I will be on Mars. I know I promised you I wouldn't, but I have to go back there! My friends need me, papa, and something is going on there. I'm sorry, papa, but I'm going to have to break my promise to you. I will try to keep in touch as I can, but if you have to, I'll understand if I'm not welcome back.”

Taking a calming breath, the girl continued. “Papa, I think that some major trouble is brewing on Mars. One of my friends from there - Vestemona Lauren - called me several days ago, asking about a city-ship that was sunk. A few days later, there was a broadcast on Mars Media that accused her and Gram of doing it, but I know that there is no way that Gram would do that! He wouldn't, papa!” Realizing that she was sounding defensive, she collected herself before continuing.

“Remember what I told you about the Gods Stone and that Lauren jerk? Well, I think that he is up to something again. Though a…friend of Vess's here on Earth, I have found out that there has been a lot of behind-the-scenes movement of the Earth Forces. Supplies and personnel have been shuffled around to hide large troop and material shipments to Mars, as well as a build-up of forces in several key areas on Earth.

“When I recalled what you said after I was put on leave from school, I began to think that maybe this was a play by that man to put himself in office, but the more I see, the more I think that he has wider ambitions than that. I'm not the politician you are, papa, but I think that Lauren might have his eyes on Mars. He was in league with that Poe creep before, and they were discussing Martian independence, but I think that since that went up in smoke, he has shifted his ambitions.

“Everything I have is in the attached data files. Notes, vid messages, emails, documents and news clips. I double-encrypted them, so you'll need to unlock them with the name of my favorite teddy bear and with the name of my big brother. I might be wrong, papa, but my being placed on the `no fly' list for off-planet destinations leads me to believe that Lauren is pulling strings.”

Once more, Enora paused, closing her eyes and breathing deeply before she went on. “I know that it won't make a difference by the time you get this, but I am very, very sorry to do this to you, papa. I don't want to cause you trouble, but you always said that I should always do what I felt was right and just. And right now, I just know that my friends need me. I'll leave my communications on relay, so you can reach me if you want to; well, if I happen to be on an area of Mars that has off-planet communication.”

Oddly, she felt a smile on her lips. “I can't tell you where I'll be, because I'm going to be looking for a way to get back onto the Ship of Aurora. If anyone can find Gram, it'll be Captain Elizabeth!” Her smile dimmed slightly. “Before I left school, I was talking with some friends about Mars. Papa, none of them can see anything past Earth. I once heard someone say that when you lose the ability to dream, you lose the ability to change yourself or your world. Well, I think my friends at school have lost that ability. I don't want to loose it, too. So, I'm going back to Mars.”

Sighing, she closed her eyes, more to keep the tears in check than anything else. “I'm sorry, papa, but this is the only way I see to keep that dream alive. If you could, would you tell mom and dad - if you see them sometime soon? I know I should probably send them a message, but…” she shrugged. Reaching out to touch the PCD to end the recording, she had a couple closing thoughts. “I love you, papa, and if you can forgive me for what I have done, could you…maybe…wish me luck?” Her finger touched the pad, ending the recording.

For several minutes, Enora just stared at the PCD, which was waiting for her to make up her mind about rather or not she wanted to save that message, edit it or delete it. She thought about it. It wasn't too late to delete the message and call it all off. She hadn't done anything illegal yet; not really, anyway. In her mind's eye, she saw Gram and the crew of the Aurora. Lips compressing into a hard line, she saved the message, attached the compressed, encrypted file and routed it to her service, double-checking the time that it would be sent. Shutting off her PCD, she set it aside before flopping back on the large, soft bed.

She wasn't aware that she had nearly immediately fallen asleep until her alarm sounded the next morning. Blinking, she sat up, yawning. For some reason, I feel eager instead of nervous like last night, mused the girl, quickly showering and making a final check on the room before dressing in her Earth Forces uniform. She had no sooner finished checking the outfit than Rosetta knocked on her door. “Time to go back,” she murmured resolutely.

-

“Ugh! This food sucks!” complained Junior before shoveling in another mouthful. He and Yagami had gotten back from their perimeter run not twenty minutes before, and were wolfing down some food while MAKI went over the readings from their sensor pods. In the mess hall, Megumi, Neli, Sala and `grandpa' were watching the two eat. Yagami was silently - grimly - eating his own food.

“Hunger is the best sauce, you know,” Neli needled him.

“Man, I'd fight an entire division of G-class Bucklers for one of Gram's cutlets right now!” he sighed, negligently tossing the plate back down on the table.

“I think most of us would,” agreed Megumi. Junior smiled at the girl who he had a crush on.

“Don't worry, Megumi,” he said, touching her hand. “Gram isn't the sort that some patrol ship can kill,” he assured her. “I bet he didn't even damage his ship as much as MAKI and Ester think he did!” boasted the young man. “We'll find them partying in some pirate hangout!”

“I doubt that, Junior,” came Yagami's voice. He own plate was on the table, empty as well. “With the situation being what it is, pirate hangouts are going to be prime targets for the Earth Forces, and as such, they are suddenly going to be hard to find and even harder to get into. If Gram has damage even remotely like MAKI and Ester project, then he's going to be hard put to make it to any city-ship that might have the material and tools to fix it.”

“Why do you have to be such a wet blanket, Yagami?” huffed Junior.

“It's called `reality', Junior; try it sometime,” replied Yagami coldly. “Gram's good, but even he has limits,” warned the young man.

The brewing argument between the two was interrupted by the Captain's voice over the ship-wide box. “Listen up!” roared the woman. “We've got a faint trace of what MAKI believes is the odor of the Ship of Hope's fuel heading toward the polar ice fields. In case you missed it, that's north of the course for Harras city-ship. We're going to see if we can follow it, but with the number of enemy ships out there, a fight is nearly guaranteed, so we're going to run at battle stations!”

“Well, let's get to it, then,” said Neli, standing and heading toward the launch bays with grandpa. Yagami stood and moved toward the hatch.

“I'm heading for the bridge. You need to check over your RB to make sure that it's ready for combat,” he said over his shoulder. Junior sniffed dismissively.

“I know that, Yagami!” he complained. Hearing a soft giggle from behind him, he turned to smile at Megumi. “Um, would you like to come to the launch bays with me, Megumi?” he asked her tentatively. Nodding, she smiled at him.

“I'd love to,” she said softly. Together, the two moved out of the mess hall.

-

“Second Lieutenant Wilson, civil affairs division, Earth Forces Reserves,” said the young officer, holding out her data card with her personnel file and orders coded into it. Swiping it across his reader, the sergeant scanned the information that came up.

“First time off planet, Lieutenant?” he asked unnecessarily, knowing that her folder showed that she had only been in the Reserves for two years, having joined right out of college. He gave her a casual once-over. “Pardon me, sir, but you look a lot younger than your file says,” he subtly challenged her.

“I'll take that as a compliment, Sergeant,” said the woman, pausing before continuing in a darker tone. “Unless that was meant as an insubordinate dig at officers?” she just as carefully pushed back verbally. The sergeant didn't react.

“Of course not, sir. Not at all,” he assured her. “The `Forces are fortunate to have such young, energetic officers serving their planet,” he added. The young Second Lieutenant inclined her head ever so slightly.

“Yes, they are,” she said. “Anything else, sergeant?” she asked the older man. Silently, he handed her card back to her.

“Enjoy your tour on Mars, Lieutenant,” he said as she shouldered her bag and moved toward the military shuttle that would take her to the moon base, where she would be transferred to a high-speed shuttle bound for Mars. “You are in forward upper one, seat zero three,” he added, touching the keys to log in the lieutenant into the shuttle manifest. Smartly, the girl marched away toward the shuttle. Once he was sure she was beyond earshot, he sighed. “Fucking greenhorn butter bars,” he muttered sourly. I've probably been in the `Forces longer than she has been alive! he thought with a touch of professional contempt.

Aboard the shuttle, the woman was looking around, seeing about half the seats occupied. Finding her assigned seat next to a small, armored view port, she stowed the small military deployment bag she carried and got settled. Once she was strapped in, she pulled out her small PCD and activated it, checking for any new messages. Not seeing any of importance, she settled back, waiting for the shuttle to depart. Eyes closed, she was reviewing her plans when she felt someone touch her arm.

Eyes snapping open, she jerked her head to the side to see a young man sitting next to her. He held up his hands calmingly. “Sorry, Lieutenant,” he apologized. “I said hello, but you didn't react, so I thought I should see if you were asleep or in need of medical help,” he said. Spotting the `railroad tracks' on his shoulders, the Lieutenant saluted the captain.

“Sorry, sir,” she said, her tone a bit stiff, “I was lost in thought,” she offered. The young man chuckled.

“It's fine, Lieutenant,” he dismissed it. “So, what's your name?” he asked her.

“Lieutenant Wilson, EFR,” she replied. The man gave her a wry smile.

“Ouch,” he acknowledged her riposte. “I was hoping to find out your first name, but I suppose it was rude of me to ask without introducing myself properly, first,” he continued. “I'm actually a Naval Lieutenant, though I can understand how you might not catch that, being a reserve officer in a ground division. Name's Paul Mastard,” he offered his hand. Carefully, the woman gave it a brief shake.

“Elenora Wilson,” she said.

“Good to meet you, Elenora,” replied the man. “So, are you bound for Moon Base or for Mars?” he asked her.

“I've got orders for a tour on Mars,” said the woman, looking out the window.

“Imagine that,” came the easy reply, “I've been ordered to Mars as well. This must be fate, us meeting like this,” he pitched. The woman didn't glance away from the window.

“If I believed in fate, maybe,” she scoffed. God, when is this joker going to get the hint?! she silently snarled.

“Let me guess,” he went on, undeterred by her cool shoulder, “you joined right out of school, right? ROTC program, maybe?” he guessed. The woman made a non-committal sound. “Me, I'm seventh generation Naval Forces! My family has been in the Navy since the Third Gulf Insurrection,” boasted the young man.

“How nice for you,” she replied disinterestedly.

“I pulled some strings, and got command of a patrol ship - even if it is on a pit like Mars,” he sighed tragically. The woman's eyes narrowed slightly at his tone, but she stayed silent. “I'm hoping to get my share of pirate scum. I have a deal with some of the officers in the High Command that if my task force bags the Ship of Aurora, I'll be promoted to captain and given command of a task force back on Earth.”

“Do you really think you can take the Aurora?” came the unexpected question from the girl. Blinking away his fantasies, he saw her looking at him, her eyes burning with some intense emotion. “Even the seasoned soldiers on Mars haven't been able to keep that ship,” she challenged him.

“Well, that's why I'm going to Mars,” he offered her, wondering what was up with her. “With my lineage, there is no way that a pirate ship like that could elude me. My personal goal is to get both the Ship of Aurora and that Kuberness pirate.”

“You're ambition is greater than your skill,” said the woman, turning away from him. “They gave you a patrol ship, right? Well, maybe you didn't hear, but just eight days ago, Kuberness took out a Kraken-class frigate before they could even fire on him. As for the Aurora, she and her crew escaped from under the guns of an entire military post! Forgive me for my skepticism, but I think you're counting your promotions before they have been pinned on your jacket,” the girl almost taunted him.

“What are you, the PR woman for the pirates?” he bristled. Unexpectedly, she smiled.

“No. Just someone with some idea of what they are capable of,” she said quietly, still smiling. Just then, the lift warning sounded, and the two followed the given orders to make sure that they were belted in properly. Gradually, the shuttle began to move, and before she knew it, the ship was rocketing up a channel in the orbital elevator, anchored a few dozen miles away from Hawaii.

Watching the light change from blue to black, the woman calmly waited for the shuttle to begin second stage acceleration, which would throw it toward the moon at the kind of velocity that early shuttles of the previous centuries could only dream of reaching. When she felt the odd ripple flow through her, she knew that the magnetic rail accelerator had engaged, and for the next five minutes, she would be under constant 3g acceleration. Next stop, Moon Base, she thought. And after that, Mars!

-

“Anything yet, Captain?” asked Yagami, stepping on to the bridge. At the wheel, Elizabeth shook her head.

“Sorry, nothing yet,” said the woman. “The trail of fuel reside and their odor print is intermitted, but MAKI is convinced that they went this way.”

“Deeper into the ice cap?” wondered Yagami. “Do you suppose that the damage was more severe than we thought?” he worried.

“It could be as simple as their steering being damaged, but it could also be that they were trying to elude some pursuit, and lost positive control,” the captain said. Yagami didn't want to think about that possibility. Glancing at the stations, he saw that Ester was at her workstation, busy running sweeps of surrounding waters and sea floor. Poipoider was at his station, but the weapons officer wasn't at his post.

“Do you think that I should go out in my RB and widen the scout path?” he suggested to the woman. She shook her head.

“If one of you goes, it will be Junior - we're in a dangerous position, and we need our best unit ready to defend the ship if we tangle with some Earth Forces,” the captain ordered him. Slowly, he nodded.

“Understood,” he sighed. Elizabeth glanced at him.

“You know, Yagami,” she said quietly, “you don't owe Gram what the rest of us owe him. You are free to head back to whatever project you were working on at any point,” she reminded him. The young man shook his head, absently adjusting his glasses.

“No, I do owe him, Captain,” he disagreed. “Maybe not what you all owe him, but I do owe him,” he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else.

Their quiet talk was interrupted by Ester's voice. “Captain! I have an intermitted contact, bearing oh five six, distance fifteen thousand! It appears to be sitting on the bottom,” she said. Elizabeth sucked in a breath.

“Yagami, get to your unit,” she said quietly before raising her voice. “Ester, any idea what it might be?” she asked the Naval Witch. Her first officer turned to look at the Captain.

“Not yet, but the choices are limited. I recommend that you hold the ship here, and send out Yagami to verify what it is. I would also recommend that you have Sala and Neli standing by in the work sub with as many BALLS as we can spare. I will take command of the work sub if it is the Ship of Hope out there,” said the smaller woman, standing, her station folding up.

“Yagami's RB has launched,” interjected MAKI. “Sala and Neli are preparing their kits in the hanger even as we speak,” added the AI. “Data suggests a seventy seven point four probability that it is the Ship of Hope we have found.”

-

Opening her eyes, the young woman stretched before reaching for her jacket. Shrugging it on, she swung her legs over the edge of the simple bunk, jerking her hips to propel herself off the top bunk and to the floor of the small cabin. Landing, she ran a hand through her hair and zipped her one-piece uniform back up from where she had unzipped it to just below her bellybutton before going to bed. Sealing the collar, she glanced at the other three bunks, seeing that only one of them was still occupied.

Seeing the person there, she grimaced. Quietly, she slipped out of her assigned bunk cabin and made her way to the main cabin. Stopping off at the mess line, she grabbed her low-gravity-packaged meal and made her way to her designated seat. Settling in, she checked the display on the forward bulkhead. Today, we land on Mars, she thought. Three days in a cramped military shuttle was far less enjoyable than five days on a civilian liner, she thought to herself.

Working on her meal, she absently slipped a hand over her jacket's pocket, feeling the reassuring feeling of the data card in there. Her orders allowed her a certain leeway once she got to Mars, but she would have to act fast to keep from being sucked into the growing Earth Forces war machine. And the second card in her pocket was her way out. But, in order to use it, she had to find a certain officer on Mars.

Looking at the destination coding, she realized that she would be landing at Gate city-ship, which was less a city-ship, and more a military base, rather than landing at the capital, Ardena. So, she would have to find a way to get to Ardena, since that is where the man she needed to see was likely to be found. There were a few ways to do this, but she had to chose the correct method, or risk blowing her cover; which would put her on the run from two worlds.

Seeing the Earth time and date, she realized that her grandpa was likely seeing the message she had delay-delivered him before beginning this forbidden trip back to Mars. Oddly enough, this close to Mars, she found she just couldn't worry about his reaction to her choice. She did, however, still feel guilty about what she had done. I promised him, after all, she recalled uneasily. In her mind's eye, she saw Gram. But, some things are worth breaking a promise like that, she soothed her conscious.

The remaining four hours of her journey passed in a blur, and before she knew it, the shuttled was slipping beneath the surface of the Martian seas, heading for the entry port. Grabbing her duty bag, she prepared to exit the shuttle as fast as possible. She found herself smirking as she spotted the young Naval Lieutenant stuck in another group. All through the flight, he had been constantly making advances toward her, and while she had managed to fend him off, she was tired of dealing with him.

The shuttle had barely been secured and the passageway connected before she was impatiently moving forward, her data card ready. When the Corporal who was manning the debarkation checkpoint swiped her card, he didn't even look at her, instead just reading her destination unit and ordering her to the correct queue. Fortune smiled on her, as she saw the would-be Romeo being directed to another line.

Focusing on the information displayed on the sign above the line she was in, she began looking for a way to get to Ardena. Most of the other soldiers in her group were mechanics and staff personnel, so she was pretty sure that they would end up somewhere near to where she needed to go. When the order was given, she moved forward, entering a transit car, and was whisked away to another part of the base.

When the car stopped, she found herself being processed again. This time, the sergeant paid more attention to her. After several questions, she directed the woman to a secondary line. Waiting there, she was eventually turned over to a First Lieutenant, who escorted her to new part of the base. There, a major reviewed her orders.

“Lieutenant, we have a problem with your orders,” said the man, sitting back in his chair.

“Sir?” asked the woman, standing stiff and still.

“You're supposed to report to one fifty one company, civ affs, fourth div,” said the man, scanning the orders. “Problem is, Lieutenant, that outfit rotated back to Earth last week,” he explained. “So, what are we going to do with you?” he asked her.

“I..I don't know, sir,” she replied, blinking.

“Either the orders were mis-entered, or you were confused with someone else,” said the man. “I can send a request to High Command for a confirmation of your orders, but that could take days to process, and frankly, that is a waste of manpower,” he said. “So, I have decided that the best thing to do is to re-assign you to a new outfit. You jacket says that you are Alpha eight one dash Bravo trained, so I'm going to send you to the three oh six one to reinforce that unit. We lost some soldiers in that outfit back a while ago, and they can use a good Alpha eight one.”

His fingers danced over the keyboard, re-tasking her orders. Handing her the data card back, he smiled at her. “Welcome to the show, Lieutenant Wilson.” Silently, she saluted him and exited the office. In the hallway, she swiftly looked around before spotting the women's bathroom. Ducking into it, she stepped into a stall and pulled out her PCD. “What the fuck is an Alpha eight one dash Bravo?!” she hissed softly. Bringing up one of the documents that she had been given, she scanned it until she spotted the skill designation. Seeing what it was, she groaned.

“H-class frame operator?!” she gritted out. I have no fucking clue how to work one of those things! she silently griped. What possessed them to put that in the jacket file?! Taking a deep breath, she quickly ran a local node search for the unit she had just been given to. “Hmm,” she hummed, seeing the postings come up. Three Oh Six One platoon, ninety first company, fifth division. Attack RB unit, currently assigned Mars theater, based in…Ardena?! “Jackpot!” purred the girl, switching off her PCD and swiftly exiting the stall. She had a unit to report to, after all.

-

Doolittle sighed as he read the report on his desk. New replacements were always trouble. Of course, it was more trouble when the replacements were more often like his favorite Elites than like Vess or Rosetta had been. Well, no helping it, really, he told himself, it's all part of the job. Rising, he straightened his uniform and moved toward the door to his office. He was due to inspect the new troops and give them their orientation, after all.

His door slid open to reveal a young woman in Earth Forces uniform. Doolittle barely had time to blink before the girl pushed forward, forcing him back into the room, one hand on his mouth, the other holding a finger to her lips. “Sorry, sir, but I need to speak with you privately,” said the girl, her voice low and tense. “Rosetta said you would know what to do,” added the girl. Doolittle blinked.

Slowly, the woman took her hand off his mouth. Removing her Earth Forces uniform cap, she ran a hand through her hair. “My name is Enora Taft, grand daughter of President George Taft. I have come here because my friends need me. Rosetta said to give you this,” said the girl, producing a data card. Curiously, Doolittle took the data card and swiped it.

Seeing what was being displayed, his brow furrowed as he swiftly read it. For several minutes, the office was dead silent. Finally, the man cleared his screen and pocketed the data card. “I'm sorry to hear about your injury, Lieutenant Wilson,” he said after a moment. “I can't have someone in your condition operating H-frames in anti-pirate patrols, so I'll have to reassign you to temporary duty here until you heal up,”

“What?” wondered Enora. Doolittle held out his hand.

“Your orders, Lieutenant Wilson,” he repeated. Enora handed over the second data card, and Doolittle swiped it through his station, typing for a moment. When he was done, he pocketed that card, too. “Are you aware, miss Taft, that impersonating an officer is an offense that can be punished by prison time?” he asked the girl. Once more, Enora was lost.

“Civilians don't run around in Earth Forces uniforms, miss Taft,” he explained. “So, how about you change into something more fitting, and let me deal with that uniform?” he suggested, tossing his head toward the corner of his office. “I'll just step out and inspect the replacement troops,” he said. “I'm sure that some fresh air will help us both,” he added, departing the office.

As soon as the door was closed, Enora swiftly stripped off her uniform with one hand as she snatched out a pair of jeans and a thick, loose pull-over. In less than one minute, she was changed. Straightening from where she had crouched to tie her sneakers, she considered the uniform for a moment before hastily folding it up and stuffing it into her pack. Kicking the duty bag under Doolittle's desk, Enora slung her travel pack over her shoulder, absently running her fingers through her hair as she clipped her PCD to a belt loop and pushed her data glasses up to rest on her head, ready for use if she needed them.

He said fresh air, so I think that he meant for me to get out of here and wait, reasoned the girl. I think, anyway, she amended her earlier thought. Moving to the door, she listened for a moment before opening it. The hallway was empty, so she slipped back down it. Moving past the various offices, she kept her stride even and confident, no matter how much her nerves screamed at her to sprint out of there. Just act like you belong there, and they won't question it, she recalled Rosetta saying. Passing the main duty desk nearly stopped her heart, but other than a short look, the soldier behind the desk didn't try to stop her from moving right out the doors and toward the entrance to the base.

Once she was outside the base, she stepped into a shallow alley and allowed herself to gasp in some air, her body trembling from the release of stress. Several minutes passed before she was ready to move back onto the street. “Wonder where I should wait for him?” wondered the girl aloud. Spotting a small café down the block, she decided that that would be a good spot to watch for the corpulent Captain to appear. Selecting a table with a good view of the base entrance, she sat down, ordered a coffee and waited.

A half hour later, she was on her third cup of coffee, and was beginning to get fidgety. Where is he? wondered the girl, sipping her coffee. This stuff is awful, she noted absently, grimacing slightly at the taste of the coffee. Big brother made it a lot better than this! she thought resentfully. It didn't occur to her that with her prominence on Earth, she had always ended up with the very best coffee whatever place she was at served, while here on Mars, she was a no-body.

“You actually drink that stuff?” came a voice from her elbow. Flinching, she turned to see a man standing behind her, an amused smile on his lips. It took her a moment to realize that it was Doolittle, since he was dressed like a manual laborer, a cap covering his hair and a pair of well-used gloves tucked into the wide, worn belt of his coveralls.

“How did you…?” began Enora, only to have Doolittle shake his head slightly.

“There is more than one way out, you know,” he carefully reminded her. “What say we go somewhere a bit more…private, missy?” he said, his voice a bit louder. Enora blushed at the obvious implications.

“S…sure,” she managed weakly, rising. Her PCD had paid for each coffee as she ordered it, so there was nothing else to do there. Together, the two moved off down the street. Passing a hotel, Doolittle gently but firmly grabbed her arm and led her in.

“Single, please,” he said to the man behind the counter, patting Enora's ass in full view of the man. Without a word, the man tossed Doolittle a key.

“Fifteen hundred credits for four hours, thirty one credits all night,” said the man, going back to his crossword puzzle. Silently, Doolittle nodded and led Enora to the room. Enora was beginning to wonder if there wasn't something that Rosetta had failed to mention about the Mars Force Captain.

Once they were in the room, Doolittle turned on the monitor, tapping the controls so the channels scanned and turning up the volume before turning to smile at Enora. Seeing the look on her face, he chuckled. “Wondering if you're safe with me?” he guessed. Enora jerkily nodded.

“A little,” she admitted. He pulled off the hat and sat on the foot of the bed.

“I'm hurt,” he protested. “An officer and a gentleman would never take advantage of a young lady in need of assistance,” he proclaimed his innocence of intent. At least not an underage one who is the grand daughter of the President of Earth, anyway, he allowed silently. “Besides, you spent months on a pirate ship; I would have thought that you would have been more concerned about your safety then, rather than now.”

“Captain Elizabeth keeps them under control very well,” said Enora. “Besides, they aren't bad people,” she added quietly. Certainly not Gram. And I bet that Megumi is not the sort that anyone would think of when you say `pirate'.

“Never met her, myself,” admitted Doolittle. “Might be interesting to talk to her face to face,” he mused. She and I seem to share certain ideals and goals, after all. “Speaking of that,” he changed topics. “I assume you are looking for the ship?” he asked indirectly. Enora nodded.

“For a start, yes, but I came here for Gr…I mean, for Big Brother,” she censured herself. “I figure that the Aurora is the place to start looking for his ship,” said the girl. Doolittle nodded, more to himself than to her.

“Makes sense,” he said indifferently. She's not back for just any pirate, then, he made a mental note. “But, I'm afraid that I have some bad news, Enora,” he said. When he was sure that her entire attention was on him, he went on. “No one has seen the ship in a month and a half, and with the current directive from Earth Forces Mars command, it's going to be extremely hard to find it - or any pirate ship.”

“I have to find it, Doolittle!” she insisted. “It's the only way to find him…them,” she patched the answer.

“Well, I wouldn't say that I have no idea how to do it, but it is a question of getting you there in one piece, you see,” elaborated the Captain. “Besides which, there is a bit of a political situation on Mars right now…” he began.

“That bastard Lauren is behind it!” snapped Enora angrily. “I don't know what he is up to, exactly, but I know he is plotting something!” she insisted. Doolittle quirked an eyebrow at that. He had done some looking-into about Lauren, and had smelled a rat.

“What do you know about the man?” he asked her. Enora took a deep breath, then began with her forced leave of absence from her school, to the visit with Rosetta, to the theory that the two of them and Rich had sort-of come up with, to the subterfuge to get to Mars even though she was on the no-fly list. As the girl laid out what she knew - as well as what she suspected - the craft older man had to admit that it made a lot of sense from a certain perspective.

“Well, that is interesting news indeed,” he mumbled when Enora went silent. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized that was late. Rising, he glanced at Enora, seeing her rubbing her eyes with the back of a finger. “You look beat, kid,” he said. “Might as well stay here and get a good night's rest. No telling when you'll get another around here,” he added, moving to the door. “Oh, and I'll pay the tab tonight. I'll be in touch,” he said, exiting. Enora stood, dropping her pack onto the bed before she crossed to the door and locked it. Yawning, the girl moved back to her pack, pulling out some shower supplies.

-

George Taft, President of Earth, watched the video message from his grand daughter for the fourth time, the decrypted and uncompressed files on secondary screens. “Enora,” he sighed. Freezing the message, he studied the girl's eyes. Enora is growing up the hard way, he realized, seeing what lay behind the changed gaze of his favorite family member. Ever since her first trip there, Mars has cast a spell over her, he thought, feeling a twinge in his heart.

“Sir, your nine o'clock is waiting,” came the voice of his secret service secretary. The president blinked.

“Extend my profound apologies, and cancel the appointments up through two this afternoon,” directed the man decisively. “Something has come up,” he murmured, looking at the data on the holo-screens.

“Understood, sir,” replied the agent, slipping out of the office. Once the door was closed again, the old man took another long look at his grand daughter's determined expression, frozen on the main screen floating in front of him.

“Papa will do what he can, Enora,” he promised her. “But no matter how this plays out, I still love you, too,” he promised her. Closing that display, he began to dissect the data and documents that Enora had managed to acquire. It frankly surprised him to see how much she had managed to get her hands on.

She's got at least one friend deep in the command structure of Earth Forces, he realized. She also has managed to get her hands on several pieces of company data from the Lauren Concern's inter-company network, so she might have found a mole there as well, he discovered. Honestly, he was surprised and proud of her resourcefulness. She would make a good ambassador or administrator, mused the old politician.

But, that was for another time. Right now, he had other things to occupy his time. By the time that his secret service agent informed him that lunch was ready, he had a basic overview of Lauren's recent activities, as well as a good idea where it was heading. And President of Earth George Taft was not amused - at all. “How dare that pretentious toad even consider something like this!” he gritted out angrily. Closing the windows and encrypting the files and notes he had made, he followed his guard to the dining hall of his residence. If Lauren wants to play hard ball, so be it! I'll be happy to bring the bats and balls! he vowed to himself.