Chapter Twenty-Five: They’re Coming

By the time the ship arrived on Mars, James was thinking he had just about won Kate over. Little did he know, she was actually more distrustful of him than ever.

“Working with The Machinists?” she thought, looking out the ship’s window as they broke through the thin atmosphere.

How could that happen? No one in the Alexander family would consider that, if only out of respect for Io. No matter how dangerous they imagined the Nekuia to be. The fact remained that they killed Io’s parents, accident or not.

Kate could only imagine one way the Alexanders would work with The Machinists, if Io gave her blessing. It didn’t matter if they kidnapped Lucas, and somehow managed to convince him to trust them. It was really Io that mattered. And she was on her way to Jupiter Station.

They flew over several large cities coming in to the surface of Mars. Most looked run down, even from her vantage point.

It has been a long time since Kate had set foot on Mars, and she had never been to the Prosperity Ghetto. But she could swear that they were flying over it from the images she’d seen on Earth. The ship didn’t land in the Ghetto, but flew past it and crested a small crater ridge just beyond. That’s where the ship landed, in a small port out of sight, but not far away.

The captain came back into the passenger area, told them all about the gravity changes, the effects it would have on them, and, of course, about the dirty air.

“How long will it take us to acclimate?” Kate asked.

“Probably weeks,” he said. “But, you may never feel right.”

When Kate stepped out of the ship and into the small port, she could instantly feel the difference. She coughed several times and had to pause for a minute to recover. He was right, the air was dirty. She could almost taste the grit in her teeth.

This was nothing like the Mars station she visited when she was a child. And she couldn’t quite get the sense of her legs yet either. It was like being at sea, but worse. There was no horizon she could concentrate on.

Kate took her time walking through the small docking bay, and towards another gate. She followed Eric through and into the communication center of the station.

It was small, even smaller than she thought when they landed. But for some reason, she didn’t feel cramped by it.

A long wall of windows to her left was covered with a thin veil of red dust. To her right, several monitoring stations sat on tiered platforms. Screens, buttons, switches and lights covered every surface. Everything in the room had a purpose, not one inch was wasted space.

The group continued to move through the room and exited on the far side. She stepped through the next doorway, and had to squeeze out behind everyone. She wondered if the room was really that small.   

But it wasn’t.

She looked past everyone to see someone on the other side of the room. She did not recognize him. Eric and James turned around to look at her, and they all stepped back to allow her to move forward.

“Hello, Kate.” The man didn’t speak, and she looked around to see where the voice came from. Standing in the corner of the room was Lucas.

She instinctively ran over to him.

“Lucas,” she said. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he told her.

That’s when she took a step back and looked around. She started to wonder if anyone in that room was on her side.

“What’s going on here?” she asked.

“We’ve come to talk with you,” Lucas told her. “Trent didn’t think we should wait for you to come to us.”

“Whose Trent?”

“I am,” the strange man answered, reaching out his hand.

She ignored him, and looked back at Lucas. “What’s going on?”

“We’re afraid,” Lucas told her.

“Afraid of what?”

“We picked up transmission from deep space,” Trent said, stepping forward.

“What transmission?”

“They’re coming, Kate,” he told her. “And, they know you have the box.”

Chapter Twenty-Four: A Different Kind of Team

James entered the kitchen area of the ship, hoping to convince Eric to listen to him. He figured he would have a captive audience while Eric was preparing Kate’s meal. She hadn’t come out of her room since James last spoke to her.

“I told them,” James said.

“Told them?” Eric asked without looking up.

“Told them The Machinists were listening in.”

“Who did you tell?”

“I sent a message to the Alexander compound.”

Eric still did not look up. “How did you do that?”

“I used Kate’s code,” he said. “Some things never change.”

Eric smiled. “I meant, how did you send a secure message?”

“It wasn’t secure,” James admitted. “It’s likely they were listening in.”

Eric stopped preparing the food, and this time looked James in the eye. “I thought if you could listen to them, you could get around their security,” he said.

“I can’t listen to them,” he told him.

“Then how do you know what they’re up to?”

James paused, unsure if he should tell Eric the truth. But, after a moment he realized he had nothing to lose. “I know someone,” he admitted.

Eric set down his utensils and walked right up to James, stopping inches from his face. “So, you have been working with them,” he said.

“No,” James told him. “I met someone after I got here.”

“And why would one of them tell you what they know?” Eric demanded.

“Because I told them what I know.”

“What?” he screamed.

“I told them how to get Lucas,” James said, trying to look away.

“Once a traitor, always a traitor,” he said, then pushed James against the wall.

“I did not do it to betray my family,” James said. “I did it to save them.”

Eric stormed out of the kitchen, and headed down the corridor toward Kate’s room. James quickly followed. “They want to help us,” he tried to tell Eric. “They want to join the fight.”

Eric paused outside Kate’s door as James came running after him. He caught up, and desperately tried to make his case. “Lucas is the one person who might listen to them,” he told Eric. “He’s in no danger. I’ll prove it the moment we land.”

Kate opened the door and looked at the two standing in the corridor.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Eric looked at James, wondering just how to respond.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Friends and Foes

After more than two weeks of silence, Kate was beginning to wane. She thought about talking to James following the first week. Keeping quiet was never her strong suit, and anyone can get antsy watching so time pass in silence.

But that was likely his plan, she thought. He knew the trip to Mars would take almost a month. She couldn’t leave or run away.

That’s when she remembered this was the reason she was sent here. Finding Lucas was ultimately what they wanted, but first they were supposed to find James. Sun predicted that he was on Mars. She thought either he was working with the Machinists and could lead Kate to Lucas, or he would know how to find them.

She was right. He did know.

And, Kate had been too distracted by her anger to use James for this purpose. Remembering this made her feel better. So, instead of being consumed by anger, she began devising a plan of how to get what she needed from James.

This time, she vowed she would use him.

When the dinner alarm sounded she got on the speaker and asked that dinner be brought to her quarters. This was typical of her. And, each time she did James was the one who brought it. He always came with hope in eyes. Hope that maybe she would speak to him.

And, this time was no different. There he was at her door with a plate full of food and hope in his eyes.

She said nothing at first. Then, just as he was about to close the door behind him, she spoke. “Are you working with them?”

James quickly turned back toward her and eagerly answered. “No, I’ve only been watching them.”

“Then you’re a listener, too,” she said.

He laughed. “I suppose I am.”

“So, you are with them.”

“No,” he said in defense. “Not at all. But I believe they want to work with us.”

“Us?”

“I think they want to work with the Alexanders.”

“There is no us. You are not an Alexander,” Kate said.

James left that argument alone – for now. He thought he’d have a better chance of getting back in her good graces if he didn’t argue that point.

“The Machinists are not looking for payback or power. They never were,” he told her.

“What are they looking for?” Kate asked.

“They are trying to convince Lucas to help them form an alliance.”

“What kind of alliance?”

“An alliance with the Alexanders,” James said. “They want an ally in the war against the Nekuia.”

“We’re not even certain there will be a war,” she said.

“Well, The Machinists are.”

“What makes them so certain if we are not?”

“They’ve heard something,” he said. “I don’t think it came from us, I mean, the Alexanders.”

“What do you mean?” she questioned.

“I believe they discovered a message that came directly from the Nekuia.”

“That’s impossible,” Kate declared. “No one has ever heard directly from the Nekuia.”

“I know that they heard something that changed them. And it didn’t come from the Alexanders. It didn’t even come from Earth,” James told her. “Something that frightened them so much that less than a day later, they decided to capture Lucas.”

Chapter Twenty-Two: Cause for Concern

“They were supposed to send word days ago,” she told him.

“I know, but I still think there’s no need for concern.”

“I’d hope that if I were missing for days you would take notice.”

William placed his hands on Sun’s shoulders, and looked her in the eye. “It’s not like you to behave this way,” he said. “What’s really going on?”

Sun swallowed her emotions before she answered. “Suddenly, I’m afraid of losing them both.”

“You sent her after him.”

“I know.”

“Was it not real until they left?” he asked.

“I was trying to do what I thought was best,” she told him. “But after she was gone, I could feel the emptiness.”

William kissed her softly, then pulled her close and held her tight. “I believe they are safe,” he said. “I just know they are.”

Sun smiled at him, and swallowed her emotions one more time before one of the guards entered the balcony.

“They have arrived, m’am.”

“Thank you,” she responded. The two walked inside to the council chamber where the other members had taken there seats for a meeting. Except, of course, for Kate.

As soon as Sun sat down, Maria asked “Where is Kate?”

“She is working, and will not be able to attend the meeting,” Sun told her. “Go ahead with your reports.”

Maria looked around the room, and then started her report first. “The Builder’s Guild has accepted the terms of the contract,” she said. “We will begin construction in three days.”

“The second prototype is almost complete,” Hermes chimed in next. “Io and I solved the power transfer concerns. We will present it to William in exactly one week.”

“Recruitment continues to rise,” William began. “And plans to assemble …” He drifted off as one of the guards entered the council chamber. William watched him walk around the table to Sun, and place a small glass-like square in front of her. It read, “You have an urgent message.”

Sun tried not to look concerned in front of the other members. But she was. Without looking up, she said, “Thank you all, we will adjourn for now.”

She quickly stood up, exited the room, and went directly to her office without even stopping for William to follow. She sat down her desk and opened her communicator.

It was not a live communication, which is what she was hoping for. It was a brief message sent with Kate’s security code.

“They’re listening.”

Chapter Twenty-One: Listen to Me

James slowly approached the door to Kate’s room on the shuttle and knocked. The metal twang echoed throughout and gave everyone notice that he was going to try and speak to her.

She hadn’t said a word since he revealed himself after takeoff.

“Can we speak?” he asked.

Finally, she looked over at him. “Where are you taking us?” she demanded.

“To the Prosperity Ghetto,” he told her. “Isn’t that where you were headed?”

She turned away, and didn’t respond.

“When you’re ready, I have much to tell you about the Machinists and Lucas,” he said, trying to tempt her attention with information.

Still, she did not respond.

He started to walk away, hesitating for a moment at the doorway. But the silence continued, so he headed back to the bridge.

Although, James was only trying to bribe her curiosity by mentioning the Machinists and Lucas, the truth was he really did know a lot. He had been on Mars for months, watching and learning the politics and secrets of Prosperity Ghetto. And, there were many secrets to learn.

The most important thing James discovered about the Machinists was that they listened. They listened to everyone and everything sending out signals around the planet and across the solar system. And in all the system, they were the only ones who were. This was their true gift, finding ways to capture any transmission.

The group had been hiding out in the ghetto for more than a decade, since their leader was executed by the Alexanders. They wanted to keep an eye on things, without making the same mistake twice.

James found out that the incident with Io’s parents was an accident. The group never intended to harm anyone; they only wanted attention to their cause. After their leader was killed, they went underground. They still kept watch over the system and the Alexanders, but had no intention of revealing themselves to anyone.

Then they heard it.

The first transmission about the Nekuia floated across the system, from Jupiter Station to the Alexander compound. It spoke of the Odyssey, and what might have gone wrong. So, they kept listening.

Eventually, they figured out everything. They know something is coming. And they know who it is. What they don’t know is what can be done about it. They need the Alexanders to do that. This is why they kidnapped Lucas. He was the most naïve, the least jaded. They figured he was the most willing to hear the listeners out.

Once James discovered this, he decided to try and make contact with his family. Maybe if he could bring the Machinists and Alexanders together, he could be forgiven. Maybe he could go home. Maybe even Kate would speak to him.

Now, he found himself in the bridge of the shuttle, reviewing life support levels and checking the navigators just waiting for a chance to explain.

For James, the real challenge wasn’t telling Kate what he’d found or his great plan to save everyone. It would be getting her to believe him.

Chapter Twenty: The Second Certainty of Life

Kate spent the day filing her taxes. She cried the entire time.

Chapter Nineteen: In Disguise

By the time Kate and Eric left for Shackleton Base on the moon, the Alexanders were constructing their third prototype ship.

Men and women from every corner of the Earth had volunteered, and the troop sizes were growing daily. It seemed everyone was willing to help the Alexanders get Lucas back. And, the best way to do that with numbers.

“The problem,” Maria pointed out at the last council meeting, “is that I don’t think the people believe they are going to have to fight.”

She explained to the other members that because everyone believed the Machinists were the enemy that in the long run no one was going to have to fight. Just showing up with a big crowd would be enough. After all, the Machinists were not that big of a group.

Maria warned Sun and William. “If they learn that you’ve been hiding something, it could backfire.”

William tried to defend the secrecy, telling the council that once the people realized the Nekuia were coming they would unite.

“But they still have to be convinced they are coming,” Maria added.

“The proof will arrive with the Odyssey,” he said.

“What if the Odyssey does not arrive at all?” she asked.

“That will also be proof.”

“No it won’t,” she told him. “Some people will choose to believe it was a mechanical problem, or that people on board panicked, or anything but an alien race attacking the ship.”

William did not say another word during that meeting. She was right. And, he knew it.

Sun said she would make a decision at the next council meeting, and then adjourned everyone.

Before they parted ways, Kate gave her own warning. “The Machinists already know. It is unclear how they found out or how much they know, but it is clear that the secret is already out. We can either tell the story, or let someone else do that for us.”

She left the next morning.

Kate and Eric traveled on a small cargo vessel under false names. They weren’t trying very hard to hide.

There were two main docking stations at Shackleton Base: one for passengers and one for cargo. The cargo docks also took passengers, but since it was low-key it was easier for the pair to travel incognito.

As the shuttle took off from Earth and headed for the moon, Kate pulled her hood over her face like any other weary traveler, and tried to get some rest.

But all she could do was replay the fight between her and James in her mind. She kept thinking of the moment when she had her blade at his throat.

Did she do the right thing by letting him go? Did she make a mistake? What was he up to?

She got no rest, which made her look even more like a weary traveler when the two finally landed on the moon. There was no grand celebration for the arrival of an Alexander, or even a small security party waiting for them. They disembarked with the others and walked off to catch the next ride.

Kate and Eric slipped through the cargo bay and approached the shuttle that would take them to Mars. This trip would be much longer than the last, so Kate was hopeful this time she would be able to get some rest. She and Eric were the only passengers listed on the manifest, which meant they wouldn’t have to worry about being recognized.

The two started to settle in as the shuttle departed the bay area. One of the pilots emerged from the bridge to greet the passengers, and most likely tell them some basic safety procedures. Kate pulled her hood down a little further over her face. She wondered if Eric would tell them who she was, or just try to play it safe.

As the pilot walked back, she watched him remove his cap like he was trying to be polite. But instead a holographic veil fell away from his face and revealed his true identity.

Kate immediately stood up. It was James.