Losing Mars (Saving Mars Series-3) (22 page)

Where was she?

At his feet lay a jagged clump of dirt, which Pavel considered. It had probably formed when one of the spring flash-floods had roared through the desert. He reached for the piece of earth and then hurled it as far as he could. It smashed against a boulder, breaking into a satisfyingly large number of pieces upon impact.

Pavel turned back to the Gopher Hole. He’d finished both his chores and his volunteer doctoring quickly today, having risen early to see if Jess had returned. He was tired now. And grumpy. What he most wanted was to get in a ship and fly at dangerous speeds. He’d have settled for racing Renard, but Jess had taken Renard’s ship. No one else in Yucca had anything that could match the speed of Pavel’s Hercules-class ship. Well, except for the M-class. But Pavel wasn’t taking that out without asking Jess first. Besides, if he left, he’d risk being gone when Jess returned.

He shuffled downstairs into the cooler temperatures of the underground dwelling, where Harpreet greeted him with a warm smile.

“Hear anything yet from Jess?” he asked.

“No, son,” she replied calmly. “Do not worry yourself about what cannot be altered. She will return when she is ready to return.”

“You think she just needed to get away?” asked Pavel.

“Hers is an independent spirit,” replied Harpreet. She lowered her voice and spoke again. “But I see also the question you have not voiced:
Do you think she needed to get away from me
?”

That was, in fact, a question he hadn’t admitted to himself, but as soon as Harpreet spoke the words, he knew they were true. Pavel sighed. He and Jessamyn had spent so little actual time together. Was Jess having second thoughts about him now that he’d declared his intention to accompany her to Mars? Thoughts that she needed to process far from him?

Harpreet smiled, placing a warm brown hand upon Pavel’s forearm. “I would not worry if I were you. She will return soon enough, my young friend.”

Pavel voiced his other concern. “I might not be the only one waiting for her to get back.”

Harpreet’s dark eyes widened, inviting Pavel to continue.

“Anytime I’m out with Renard, seems like all he does is watch the sky. Like he’s waiting for something to come swooping down,” said Pavel.

“Perhaps he misses his ship.”

Pavel grunted. “Maybe. Better be all he misses.”

Harpreet patted his arm gently. “She’ll be back soon. You’ll see.”

Both turned at the sound of feet descending the stairs. Pavel felt a smile forming—the footsteps were light like Jessamyn’s. But it wasn’t her. It was Renard’s foster-brother Samuel.

“I think my brother is sick,” Samuel announced. “You need to fix him.”

Pavel smiled. “Sick, huh? What are his symptoms?” Pavel had heard something from Samuel’s mother about a disagreement between the brothers. Not surprising, given the difference in their ages.

“Well,” began Samuel, “first I thought he’d been body-snatched. You know, like someone re-bodied inside him. But Ma and Pa say that’s impossible. So now I think there’s just something wrong with his brain.”

“His brain?” Pavel asked, trying to keep his expression sober.

“Yeah. And his eyes.”

“Hmm,” said Pavel. “Well, brains are complicated things. Let’s say we start with the eyes. What seems to be wrong with your brother’s eyes?”

Samuel frowned and crossed his arms. Pavel suspected Samuel would have preferred to start with brains. But the young boy spoke after giving it a moment’s thought.

“For one, his wink is funny since he got back from burying Gran’s stuff. It’s like there’s no …” The small boy drifted off and his brows drew together in a deep furrow. “There’s no
hugs
in his eyes when he winks at me now.”

“Hmm,” said Pavel. “That could be serious.”

“I
know
. I’ve been telling Ma and Pa and they said it was nothing but I know it’s something. Is it bad, Doc?”

“Tell you what, Samuel. Next time I see Renard, I’ll do a thorough eye exam. Just to make sure everything’s okay.”

Samuel smiled. “I knew you could fix him.”

Pavel laughed. “Let’s find out if there’s anything wrong first, okay?”

“Oh, there is,” said Samuel, eyes large and solemn. “And I’m glad you’re going to fix it.”

Yet another pair of feet descended into the cool depths below.

“Ethan, Kazuko,” said Harpreet. “Welcome home.”

Renard trailed behind them and Pavel had to remind himself Renard was a
friend
, not a
rival
.

Kazuko spoke. “Good news!”

Pavel’s heart beat faster. Was Jessamyn back?

Ethan spoke. “Kazuko and I have completed coding the transmission to be delivered to the Terran satellites.”

“Boring,” said Samuel, scampering up the stairs and out of sight without so much as a word of greeting for his brother.

“Fascinating,” said Renard.

“We thought you’d like to watch,” added Kazuko. “Well, there’s not much to watch, really, just code on a screen. But we thought everyone should gather as we send the first transmission.”

“Of course, daughter,” said Harpreet.

“You’re turning satellite control over to Mars?” asked Pavel.

“This is only the first step,” replied Kazuko. “This is our attempt to ‘talk’ with the satellites. If they respond in kind, then, yes, eventually this will lead to Mars obtaining control.”

Well
, thought Pavel,
at least Jess will have good news to come home to
.

~ ~ ~

Gaspar was more than usually eager to make his report to the Chancellor that evening, the second since his “return” to Yucca. He awaited her appearance before the holo-projector, rocking back and forth on his heels. It was an action he’d borrowed from Renard, but it also suited the occasion.

“Yes?” boomed the Chancellor’s cold voice. “You have news? The girl has returned?”

“The girl, ah, has yet to return. However, I have other news. It appears there is a transmission to a group of satellites circling Mars—”

“Tell me what you know at once,” said the Chancellor, ice-blue eyes flashing fire.

38

A SLIGHT MODIFICATION

Jess arrived back to the Gopher Hole during morning rations. Harpreet welcomed her with a warm hug, Pavel with a warmer kiss. Ethan, as was his preference, spoke only her name,
Jessamyn
, in acknowledgement of her return.

“I’m sorry I took so long,” she said. “But the right thrust engine blew out on Renard’s ship.”

“You have not allowed such a failure to impede you before,” Ethan remarked.

“It wouldn’t have stopped
me
,” retorted Jess. “But I knew Renard would have a hard time fixing it here. So I found the parts and got everything taken care of.” She smiled happily.

“Jess,” said Pavel, “tell me you didn’t—”

“Don’t worry,” she said. “I never left Baja. I took everything you said under advisement and I did
not
visit any of the suppliers on your list. I asked around until I found someone connected to normal
Yuccan
preferred providers. They took care of everything. So nothing to worry about.” She beamed, very proud that she had behaved in so circumspect a fashion.

But while Jessamyn’s arrival was welcome news, it wasn’t the only news. Her brother brought her up to date on his efforts to communicate with the Terran laser satellites the night before.

“The satellites are not responding as they should,” he said before launching into a detailed explanation that Jessamyn found impossible to follow. Kazuko Zaifa was the only one present who could understand the finer details of why the satellite communication between Earth and Mars was problematic. After listening for ten minutes to things she didn’t understand, Jessamyn couldn’t stop the serial yawns.

“I’m sure you’ll manage to solve things,” she said to her brother after an especially large yawn.

“I cannot,” said Ethan, “find solutions that do not exist.”

His sister smiled and squeezed his hand.

“You’ll figure something out,” she said. “You always do.”

“Indeed, you do,” agreed Harpreet.

Renard bounded into view, taking the stairs into the dwelling two at a time. “You’re back,” he said, beaming at Jessamyn. “I can’t say how happy I am to see you! There’s been no one to race with since you left.”

Pavel said, “Hey! You had
me
.”

“Not the same,” said Renard. “You’re not an interplanetary pilot.”

“Maybe not, but I can beat you to Jacinto and back any day,” said Pavel.

Jess smiled. “You did notice I took your ship again, right?”

“I noticed what you left behind,” said Renard.

“That,” said Jessamyn, “is not for you.”

Renard pouted. “Pavel’s been busy coming up with excuses to keep me away from the ship. In spite of borrowing my tools whenever it suits him.”

“Oh, that’s right,” said Jess. “You took off on your, um, burial trip without looking at her. You want to tour the
Red Hope
now?”

“Me?” asked Renard. With a small wink, he added, “You mean, just me? In private?”

Ignoring his attempt to flirt, Jess continued. “Pavel and I put your tools to good use while you were gone.”

“I made a slight modification while
you
were away,” said Pavel to Jess. “She’s looking beautiful.”

“Let’s all go see,” said Jess, clapping her hands together in delight.

Harpreet declared her wish to accompany the trio, and the four departed in Renard’s ship, leaving Ethan to his work.

On the short drive to the
Red Hope
, Pavel conversed with Renard about a solar power-box that didn’t seem to serve any purpose aboard the M-class.

“At least, none that I can find,” Pavel admitted. “I know you use that sort of technology out here a lot more than we do in, well, more ‘citified’ regions.”

“I’ll give it a look,” said Renard.

But when they boarded the ship, Renard couldn’t make anything of the power-supply either.

“They’re valuable, though,” he said. “Whoever owned the ship before would have removed it for resale if it didn’t serve some purpose. Who did you say you got the ship from?”

Jess exchanged a quick glance with Pavel and Harpreet. The Marsians and their companions had agreed no one was to know of Clan Wallace’s involvement.

“Sorry,” Jessamyn said. “A good trader doesn’t reveal her sources.” She kept her voice light, hoping to put off further questions.

Renard frowned, but to Jessamyn’s relief, he quickly turned the subject.

“So, tell me, Jessamyn,” said Renard. “You’re suddenly in possession of a ship capable of interplanetary travel—what will you do with it?”

Jess flushed and mumbled, “I would think that would be pretty obvious.”

Pavel chuckled and stood. “Come on, Renard. Let’s allow Jess the chance to show this thing off properly.”

Jessamyn provided a lengthy tour, leaving the mysterious solar supply for another day. Renard had something to say about nearly every part of the ship, chattering away, throwing out suggestions as to what purpose the great ship should be put to. In addition, he kept up a steady stream of questions directed to Jessamyn.

“How many people make up an ideal crew? If you wanted to plan a successful attack on, say, the capitol city, how would you crew the vessel?”

Jess snorted in reply.

“With a ship like this, you could conquer the world, don’t you think?” Renard grinned. “Or at least attack a target or two. Who would you take out first?”

“Boys,” she said to Harpreet, with a dismissive eyeroll. “Always trying to blow things up.”

“I’m not trying to blow anything up,” said Pavel.

“I’m just saying you
could
,” insisted Renard. “Not that I
would
. How about you, Jess? What will you do?”

“Why do you keep asking?” she replied. “I’ll use it to go home, obviously.”

“A superior choice to destruction,” said Harpreet. “I’d think anyone who grew up this close to the ruins of the City of Angels would be less eager to ponder destruction.”

Renard shrugged and let the topic drop as they left the habitation level to explore the lower levels. But he had plenty of other questions—a limitless supply, it seemed to Jessamyn.

“How valuable would a ship like this be on Mars? What use would Martians—sorry,
Marsians
—put it to?”

Jessamyn tried not to become irritated by Renard’s persistent questioning. Pavel seemed to find it amusing, laughing and tossing out occasional humorous suggestions.

“Don’t encourage him,” Jess murmured to Pavel at one point.

Pavel shrugged. “I figure if he annoys you, it makes
me
look better to you.”

Jessamyn snorted a tiny laugh.

Harpreet, meanwhile, grew more silent and observant. An hour passed and Jessamyn suggested, reluctantly, that is was time to return, so she could deliver the supplies she’d collected. The party of four descended through the
Red Hope’
s hatch and onto the floor of the blast crater.

The ship loomed large from this close, sheltering, like the presence of a parent beside a small child. As Jessamyn glanced upward, each shape was so familiar, so beloved, so
almost
perfectly right—a fraternal twin with its similarities and differences inside and out. Running her hand along the stabilizing struts, extended while the ship rested, Jess let out a long sigh.

Renard was at her side in an instant. “I’ll bet this ship could tell tales, huh?”

“We should check the log,” said Jess, a small smile on her face. She ran her hands along the cool metal, fingering a small bit of scarring along one fin. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

Renard nodded. “What’s she called again?”

“
Red Hope
,” replied Pavel.

“The original name’s been removed,” said Jess, pointing to where the ship’s designation and name should have been. “You can see where they sanded the surface down and—”

She broke off suddenly. “Ares and Aphrodite!”

Pavel grinned. “I was wondering when you’d notice.”