Martian Settlement: The Fight For Mars

Chapter 9: Pursuit

Charlene had her face buried in her hands.

"I failed us. Our samples are gone. The data in the PicoSD card isn't enough to incriminate Igneon."

"Don't worry," said Dr. Kapoor. "When Roger's message came over the comm, I quickly collected another set of samples and put them inside the backup biohazard tubes we were given and hid them in my pocket."

"You're kidding, right?" asked Charlene, her eyes beginning to water.

"No."

The doctor produced three large pill-shaped metal tubes. Cheers erupted in the cabin of the NIMF.

"Sorry to spoil the party but we've got some problems," said the pilot worriedly. "I think they're following us."

The radar readout on his dashboard kept showing two streamlined triangular objects about 500 metres from the Pegasus that had remained in his scope since the departure from the mining base.

"We're approaching the Jeanne lava tube right?" asked Darrius.

"Yep," answered the pilot. "But why?"

"The lava tube is big enough for the Pegasus to fly inside and I heard that if you fly straight for ten kilometres and turn into an adjoining lava tube you'll emerge in a crater in the Aonia Terra. We can easily lose our pursuers inside the maze of lava tubes."

"The thing is," said the pilot. "It'll be too near Acheron Fossae to use a planetary orbit which means that we'll have to spend almost three hours getting back to the Settlement."

"The Rille entrance is coming up. Take it or lose it," said Darrius. "I don't mind waiting an extra three hours."

"I guess we'll have to take the risk and waste three hours," said the pilot as he guided the Pegasus through the Rille entrance and into a dark, seemingly interminable tunnel. "At least I hope the map of the lava tube on my nav computer is accurate."

***

"This is NIMF-1 reporting in. The Pegasus has just entered the Jeanne lava tube."

"Do you have enough fuel to pursuit them in the tube?" asked Seneca on the other end.

"Yes," answered the pilot of NIMF-1.

"No," answered the other pilot.

"These are my orders. NIMF-2, you may return. NIMF-1, call off the pursuit only if absolutely necessary and take no lives or do no damage to the Pegasus. As much as we despise the Settlement after the previous skirmish, we don't want an all-out Martian war. It would affect our business."

The pilot of NIMF-1 accelerated and zoomed into the lava tube. He knew that he could catch up to the Pegasus now. His NIMF, a Precisa MarsSpeeder-2 was more streamlined and could go faster than the blocky Pegasus, which was a tweaked Invar StarCruiser 6. The MarsSpeeder-2's only problem was that although space-capable, it was designed primarily for surface use. Thus, if the Pegasus went into Low Martian Orbit, the MarsSpeeder would really start lagging behind and lose visual contact with them.

"One NIMF has peeled away," reported Lucy, looking out the window. "But the other one is gaining on us. It looks like it has a jet-controlled harpoon attached on its hull. This is bad."

"Why would a small NIMF need a harpoon anyway?" asked Darrius.

"It could be used to tow heavy mining equipment or broken down mining crawlers," answered Lucy. "The claw of the one on this NIMF looks capable of latching onto us and piercing our wings. But if they do that, both of us will die. I think their main goal is to make us land somewhere and force us to pass over the memory card and the samples."

"But we'll be fine," said the pilot.

"Why?" asked Gray.

"According to my map, there is a turning in twenty metres into a large sanctum where there are entrances to many lava tubes, including one that leads to the lava tube Darrius talked about earlier. If we can make the turning and enter the lava tube fast enough, we can lose our pursuer. He wouldn't have enough fuel to check out all the lava tubes and the thick stone walls of the lava tubes would block their radar."

"The fate of Mars depends on you," encouraged Darrius. "Don't fail us."

"Hey, you're making me nervous," the pilot said.

"Fine," answered Darrius. "Whatever you're going to have to do doesn't really matter and is insignificant. You can mess it up if you want to."

"Now that's much more reassuring," said the pilot, shedding his serious composure for the first time.

Laughter echoed inside the cabin of the Pegasus.

He ramped the throttle to maximum speed and executed a sharp turn. He banked hard to the right and sped into the lava tube that would take them to Aonai Terra. After about five minutes of navigating sharp turns and avoiding stalagmites, he reduced the speed and loosened his grip on the control column. Sweat dripped from his brow.

"Those were the hardest five minutes ever of my flying life," he declared. "I think we should have lost our pursuers by now."

***

"I'm sorry sir, but I have to call off the pursuit," radioed the pilot of NIMF-1.

"Why?" asked Seneca.

"I tried to get as close as I could but the Pegasus suddenly sped up and disappeared. I believe they went into a lava tube in the Jeanne Sanctum."

"Alright, come back," ordered Seneca on the other end. "And later on I want to hear how a MarsSpeeder couldn't catch up with a StarCruiser."

***

It was afternoon in the Martian Settlement in Acheron Fossae, although to Lucy it felt like evening. She had nodded off when they were still inside the lava tube and although having received three hours of sleep, she still felt lifeless and grey.

She was being debriefed along with the other Team A and Team B members. Looking around, she could see that everyone too, was tired. Darrius was constantly pinching himself in the thigh and someone, oblivious to their surroundings, was snoring away.

"I don't know how I can thank you for all of this," said Jack. "You risked your lives and achieved what I thought was almost impossible. The future Martian generations and the Settlement will thank you."

Darrius raised his hand.

"We're all in this together. Everyone, including you, played a part in this. It is because we are all Martians, and even though on Earth our nationalities may vary, on Mars we, the Settlement, everything are all one."

A slow second passed as lethargic minds digested Darrius' homily. Then there was a round of applause, not lethargic this time.

"Before I finish this debriefing, I would like to clarify something out of curiosity," said Jack. "Dr. Kapoor, why didn't you tell Charlene about the secret samples you took and waited until after about half an hour when she realised that she hadn't reclaimed the confiscated hazmat box?"

"Well," said the doctor. "I didn't want her to have to keep the secret if they started interrogating her and I was so shaken up by our brazen escape that I totally forgot to tell her about the samples."

"So this concludes our debriefing and as I can see you all can return to your living quarters and enjoy some sleep," said Jack.