Athena Lee Chronicles 7: The Martian Inheritance (12 page)

“So you have seen him?”

“Not today, are you sure that he’s even in here?”

“Well, we came in together. He may have left. It’s not like I can see him anyway. Giant talking rabbit and all that.”

“Good luck in your search.”

“And you too. You may want to try the mission district for what you’re searching for. I have a brother who lives in that area. Look for LC Cabs, he runs a transport company. He should be able to help you find what you seek. His name is Lamont.”

Dar smiled at the name, who names someone ‘Lamont?’ “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“That’s because I didn’t give it. Call me Burbank. Have a nice day.” The mostly naked man strutted out of the area. Many of the surrounding women watched him go, tracking his every movement.

What is it with the intelligence service? Does everything have to be in code or involve a freaky name to remember?

She motioned to her team, and they followed her out to the shuttle pick up area. There was a large booth set up offering services to transport travelers around the city or to other domes. The man behind the counter had on a purple shirt with lime green pants and bright orange shoes.
He smiled and spread his arms wide. “Welcome to the LC Cab company. Tell me where you wish to go and I’ll take you there.
Ma’am what’s your pleasure? Need a lift to the casinos? Perhaps the pleasure domes are to more to your taste? The theater district holds many attractions and feats of unnatural pleasure. Or maybe you are here for work? We have shuttles to points both near and far. What can we do for you today?”

“We wish to go to the Mission district.”

“Ah, looking for a casual hook-up then. Be sure to visit the Red-light Express Club. They have the best pleasure workers on the planet. Guaranteed to fill your every whim or hole depending on your preference. Don’t forget to stop and pick up prophylactics; the clubs do provide them but the prices are a bit steep.”

“Your brother Burbank sent us.”

“Ah, Burbank. Between you and me he’s not really my brother. We merely went to same schools and worked for some of the same… agencies. He tells everyone we’re related. Like my ass is as flat as his!” He turned and patted his behind. “Come along then. You must be in a hurry if Burbank sent you.”

The gaudily dressed man led Dar and her team to a large ‘Yellow’ aircar. “Plenty of room, just pile in!”

As soon as everyone was loaded he took off in a lurch. Setting the auto pilot, Lamont turned back to Dar. In a different voice and accent he began to speak. “Now that we’re on our way I can speak plainly. The man you seek is in a large house in the Mission district. The house has at least three stories and is built in a classical style. We have very little information on the actual house. We suspect that it’s a safe house, but we aren’t sure which service uses it. He has a small team of what looks to be former Imperial Marines guarding him.”

“They may be the same Marines from the Ajax. We know that a small group of them escaped with him.”

“That makes sense.” He paused a moment. “Vakulinchuk and his guards are not in the house alone. Some sort of organization seems to be using it, for what purpose we don’t know. They have never been on our radar before.”

Dar gave the intel man a sharp look. “What sort of organization is it, do you know?”

“It looks like a charity group. They’ve been around for at least a century. It is the Beckett-Crowne League for the Terminally ill. They are based out of Capital City in the Empire.”

“Did you get the briefing about the secret organization behind the massacre and the attacks?”

“Yes, your prisoners called them the Cabal, right?”

“They did. That particular organization is supposed to be at least a century old.”

Lamont tapped his chin with his finger. “Interesting. If this league is a front for the Cabal it would make sense of why Valkulinchuk is in there. With Mars’ strict deportation laws, this is the perfect hiding place for him.”

“Can you get your contacts to dig into this Beckett-Crowne group? Quietly; if they’ve been here a century they may have contacts everywhere.”

“We’ll start immediately. Be very careful. Mars is always a dangerous place for strangers. By the way, I have personal news for you about a loved one.”

All of Dar’s attention was now focused on the intelligence man. “Is she alright?”

“There was a rocket attack aimed at both her and Primus Amalie. Why didn't anyone inform the service that she was related to the most powerful woman on the planet? There is an internal squabble over power and succession going on right now and your girlfriend is right in the middle of it. Ah, don’t worry Mars internal security is now involved, so it should be settled anytime now.”

“Can you get a message to her from me?”

“You don’t ask for much do you? It needs to be short, but I have someone in the palace. Just one message, though. We are not a messenger service. My agents are too valuable to burn over a love note.”

Dar thought for a moment. “Tell her that I love her and forever means forever. She’ll know it came from me.”

Muttering that Marines were insane the agent wrote down the message. The agent handed Dar a large envelope. “Here are the details that we have. This packet includes maps, possible escape routes, and all my contact information. I have rooms reserved under the name ‘Margot Lane’ at a Mission hotel for you and your men. There is passports in the envelope. Try not to get arrested with them. The documentation will hold for a basic scan, but if Mars security gets you…? Just don’t get caught. If in doubt, say it was a matter of honor.”

Dar took the thick packet and passed it to Sergeant Colman her second in command.

“OK folks, this is your stop! Enjoy the mission district and all its delights. If you need me just call for LC Cabs and I’ll be right there! Have a good time.” The now back in character intelligence operator dropped them off in front of a hotel called
The Missionary Position
. Sergeant Colman quickly handed out identity information to everyone. Dar checked hers to make sure the picture matched at least. The hotel had garish paintings on either side of the doors. If it didn’t say Hotel on the outside, most would swear it was a bordello. Mars was definitely an interesting place.

Chapter 16

Amalie’s regular home was more of a palace. THE palace as a matter of fact. She was the Primus, the leader of the Martian Assembly. She had been involved with Martian politics for over a century. It was under her direction that Mars had developed and expanded its influence. Now the best and the brightest invariably came from Mars. They had the best technology and the most advanced educational system in the galaxy.

I was sitting in what she called her office. It was a heavily armored room located in the center of the palace. Large vid screens covered the walls. Camera feeds on the left wall showed palace security in action. The right wall was an ever rotating montage of city cameras. In the center up on the walls was everything else. The faces of key members of Martian politics were staring at me as they discussed the rocket attack and its repercussions. They weren’t really staring at me; it was just the angle of the screens that made it seem that way.

“…Primus are you sure that it was Admiral Dorr?”

“Yes, the weapon that was used it our most secret and well protected. The Admiral’s private code was used to access the computer logs and to storage rooms. The base security cameras were turned off at the time of entry. However if you think that I trust the protection of Mars to local security only, you would be wrong. Special all spectrum cameras cover every angle of the weapons room.” She typed in a command to her computer system. “Here is the Admiral in all his glory stealing the weapons that he used to try and gain power.” The screens on the left now showed Admiral Dorr, from several angles, accessing the security room and directing as three men removed one of the special missiles. “The evidence is extremely strong as to who stole the weapon.”

“But why, Primus? I don’t understand why he did it. He was the frontrunner to replace you and all ready had all the power of being the high Admiral. What would push him to do that?” The speaker was an older man wearing a toga-like gown.

“Tell me Pro-Consul Reid, why do you say that the Admiral was my replacement? Am I sick or dying or something?” My great-grandmother had a layer of frost descend over her eyes. She looked very angry.

“Well, no. But everyone knows that you’re looking for a replacement. It’s been in the news.”

“Since when do we in government listen to the opinions of the news media? It is a well known and documented fact that most if not all of the ‘free’ press are in the pocket of someone. Why would something they say affect me?”

“Primus, I respect everything that you have done but face the facts, you have led us for almost a century! You are too old to continue leading us indefinitely. The fact that you have no successor leaves you vulnerable. I assumed that you were grooming either Admiral Dorr or Consul Kato for the position.”

My great-grandmother started laughing at the man. She shook her head at the screen. “Pro-Consul Reid for a politician you are remarkably dense. I have plenty of family to choose from. Why by the grace of the god would I groom one of those two as my replacement?”

“But Kato said… ”

“That is exactly the point! Right there. Kato said. If you want to know something like that, you need to ask me! Not someone else with delusions of grandeur.”

“Primus, it is a documented fact that your family died.” That came from a woman on the screen to the right.

“Senator Case… Lenore, my daughter Juno died or was murdered at a young age. Her daughter, my granddaughter Amelia, was raised in seclusion. Over thirty years ago she married a young man in the diplomatic service of another planet. She emigrated to that world and raised a family. My great-granddaughter sits right here before the lot of you and you DARE! DARE! To say that I have no family! Really? Go away, the group of you! You are only allowed back if you can remain civil. Anyone who aids the now former Admiral Dorr will be tried alongside of him.” Now angry she cut the transmission and all the faces disappeared to be replaced with charts and graphs.

She looked in my direction and smiled. “Sorry you had to witness the uglier side of politics around here.”

“We have our own idiots back home, don’t worry about it.”

She left he desk and sat down next to me on the couch. “What were we discussing dear?”

“The colony ship program and others. I also mentioned to you the problems we were having with the secret organization called the Cabal.”

“Ah, yes. So, I was part of the same breeding program that your friend Sam was a part of. There were very few women in The Program. Some of the scientists sought to establish matriarchal lines of control for our group. None of those in charge considered what would happen when they developed independent thoughts. Only the women could reproduce, all of the men were sterile. The men were originally created to be the Omega’s to the women’s Alpha personalities.”

“Grandmother, that actually makes sense. My brothers David and Hannibal were never as strong as Minerva. She is more of a force of nature than either of them ever were.” I was starting to understand my family dynamics a little better.

Amalie smiled at me. “A third of us were singled out and sent to the pilot program. The rest of us were sent to intelligence or leadership school. I was trained in analysis. With war looming once again on Earth, I was sent to Mars to help push the UN’s agenda here. When the real powers behind the UN were revealed I switched sides. I hate being used, and that is what they did to those of us from The Program. We were manipulated into believing that we were on the right side. Sam and his group fought their wars for them. They conquered both the United States and the New Russian republic. Using kinetic strikes they wiped them out. More of our brothers and sisters were sent in to clean up. Any one that survived was sent off world. I was unaware that Sam survived and became a colony ship pilot. We were all so very young.”

“Grandmother who was the power behind the UN?”

“They called themselves the Illuminati. They were not the same group as the one from history. It was a group of industrialists, military leaders and politicians that came together with the intent of taking over. The Cyber Wars were their salvation. They could do anything they pleased with the supposed goal of stopping the ‘terrorists,’ many of whom they themselves sponsored. They used the UN as a cats paw, a decoy that hid their true goals. By the time anyone discovered the truth it was far too late. The last colony ships had left and Earth sealed itself off. No communications at all. Not even to us. We have detected some faint signals over the long years, but we couldn’t read them.”