http://www.asstr.org/~srb
Don't read if under 18 or illegal in your little corner of the world, like you'll listen. This 
should appear only on my site http://www.asstr.org/files/Authors/srb/www/ F3, Futanari 
Palace, and basically should be wherever Pal's stuff is. Also at the Grey Archive, and 
some other places they might end up, they know who they are. Any websites that want to 
host my story must have expressed written consent to do so. I will list all websites that I 
have granted permission to list my stories there. If you are reading this now and find this 
on a new website, then please email me at somerandombastard (at) yahoo (dot) com

This is copyright me, so don't call it yours. Feedback can be left here. I created all the 
characters, they are all fictional, and any relevance to anyone living or dead, is incidental. 
I created the entire fictional universe in which they inhabit, if you're interested in writing 
in this world than feel free to email me. I've pretty willing. 

BTW there is plenty of different portions which have been reused by numerous science 
fiction shows movies and books, including nanotechnology, rapid pregnancy, and various 
scientific mumbo jumbo, which I will try to keep to a minimum. (Bounce a graviton 
particle beam off the main deflector dish…)

Thanks as always to Theromen and Crudebuster for their help making the betas.

THIS CHAPTER contains no sex.


Terra Chapter 27,
Red Blood on Crimson Sand


Shore Leave wasn't just a vacation granted to sailors. It was also the name of a bar. It was 
nicer than it appeared on the outside, mostly due to its clientele. In fact the place was 
cleaner than most bars inside. Not that the outside was a decrepit hovel, but it was simply 
boring. Not nearly as nice and attractive as the new bars, but not styled as retro either, for 
those seeking the classical pub visit. 

While the owner didn't like to force people out, it almost exclusively served officers. 
Most civilians felt uncomfortable around soldiers in and out of uniform. Plus the lack of 
women hurt business as well, and any other bar in the town had many more attractive 
women, at a much better ratio. Something about a woman in uniform wasn't nearly as 
attractive. Perhaps it was her ability to break any roaming hands.

Mortimer, the owner, wasn't the type to care about money. He had become rich three 
times over, through both legitimate and other means. He was just content to host one of 
the last few dead zones in the civilized world. He had served more than his time in the 
intelligence community, and understood the necessity of locations such as this.

"Oh Gary," Mort said, faking an Irish accent to Gary Bodarko. "How 'bout a pint ah 
Guinness?"

"Make it a couple of whiskey sours," Gary said, loosening his collar. 

"Aye, and a fine Irish whiskey too," Mortimer said, sliding the drinks over to Gary.

"Thanks," Gary said, shaking his head. One time he put on Irish drinking music on the 
sound system, and Mort had to give him a hard time about it every time he came in. 

He scanned the bar, looking for Solomon. He wasn't difficult to find, there were only a 
few people there, and they were keeping mostly to themselves. Shore Leave was a good 
place for people to escape their lives and their families, and enjoy a moment of peace in 
their otherwise hawkish lives.

He looked at the back and found Solomon in a booth near the back. He made his way 
there discretely, taking an indirect path, checking his blind spots to see if anyone were 
watching. It wasn't necessary, but he enjoyed doing real intelligence work instead of just 
sending people off like numbers on a ledger. He knew that they were bigger than simply 
numbers, but the longer he worked as top brass the more he had to remind himself.

"Colonel Solomon," Gary said, offering him a drink.

"Come now Gary, we're both off duty, no need for the formalities," Solomon said, 
offering him a seat in the booth.

"All right Ane," Gary said, seating himself. "What is going on?"

"Some news has hit my desk, thought you'd want to see it," he said, lifting a pad.

"Does this have anything to do with my reassignment?" Gary asked, sipping his drink. He 
doubted in Solomon's job in the Planetary Information Agency, or PIA, that there wasn't 
much that anyone on the planet knew which didn't come across his desk. But he knew it 
was a bit against the rules for him to learn everything he wanted. Just what he needed.

"Yes actually, but it's a bit more important than that." He leaned in, speaking in a hushed 
tone, "Earth has decided to get back in the space game." 

Gary paused, taking another drink. He wanted to scream 'What!' but he knew he 
couldn't, it was against the etiquette. So he took a drink, and considered it for a minute, 
before asking the least ignorant question he could think of. "When?"

"Within the week, the PM is still figuring it out," Solomon answered. He looked at the 
fries, left over from his dinner. He knew the rating for this bar from the health bureau was 
less than ideal, but he was hungry. Even though it was difficult to mess up fried chicken 
fingers, they had found a way.

"Anything you can tell me?" Gary asked. He knew Solomon well enough, and he wasn't 
the type to just go about telling someone about something important like this. They 
considered each other friends, or about as close as friends as people in Solomon's 
profession can afford to be.

"You should be summoned in a few days, by the PM. Try to act surprised," he said, 
amused as he chewed a fry. "They're going to destroy the satellites. They don't work 
anyway, but it's a PR move. Rally the troops and all that. The people on Earth don't have 
much of an idea about the problems on Mars, despite the images popping up, so to 
distract them we're going to rejoin the space game. Humph, at least the corporations will 
love it, they'll get more orbital satellites up in space, like they need them."

"Any details on how?" Gary asked.

"The Planetary Parliament has roughly two hundred and twenty space worthy vessels 
capable of being launched into space. They're going to capture a few, well probably more 
than that, just to study. And then blow the rest of them out of the sky," Solomon said, 
thinking for a moment, "Should make a nice fireworks display."

"Two hundred and twenty," Gary said, thinking about that for a moment. He knew that 
some civilians had managed to squirrel away spacecraft, and the government had seized 
most of them. But these weren't just any ship. He didn't need to be reminded what space 
worthy meant in the eyes of the government. They weren't going to send up buckets of 
rust. He had no idea that the government had so many ships.  'Wonder how they got that 
budget with the food crisis in Asia' he mused.

"How is this going to affect my daughter?" Gary asked the question he had barely been 
able to wait to pose.

"Don't know yet. Long range scans indicate that they should arrive within the next day or 
two. Once they get in contact with the Resistance, they can send us a coded message. It's 
still a bit hard to contact and receive them." Solomon said.

"Thanks. You'll let me know?" Gary asked. While Nadia was no longer a child, she was 
still his little girl, at least in his heart. He hated how far they had grown from each other, 
but he cared for her nevertheless. He would never have sent her off like this if he didn't 
respect and understand her spirit.

"Of course Gary, you'll be the first to know," Solomon didn't mention that he would be 
the only other one to know. There were a select few who knew the details about the 
Martian resistance, and even less who knew about their involvement with it. Especially 
Nadia's group, and Tom and Kyle. And that few did not include any member of the 
senate or the PM.

"One last thing Gary," Solomon said, pushing the plate away. Cold fries were just 
unappealing. 

"Oh?" Gary asked, finishing his drink. 

"How are you in zero gravity?" he asked a question he had already found the answer to. 
But what he didn't know was what the look on his face would be.

"Good enough, I completed, oh, no," Gary said, shaking his head dejectedly. He hated 
being in space.

*

"It's hot," Terra said, fanning herself off with her hand, carrying the potted plant in the 
other.

"It's a desert," David said, looking at her. He expected something different, something 
strange now that he had seen her…whatever it was he had seen. As though she were 
robotic, or alien now that he witnessed her rapid healing.

"I've never been to a desert before," Terra said, wiping her brow.

"Gotta be at least forty degrees," Giselle said. She did legitimately feel bad for Terra. She 
knew that it would be tough for her. But right now she was more concerned with the 
shackles around her hands, binding her at least for the moment.

"Worst possible situation to get your land legs back on you. No time for waiting ladies, 
grab your gear and go," Sergio ordered, digging through the back of the ship.

"Uh, can, can I rest for a second please?" Terra asked kindly. "I'm just kind of hot."

"No chance, we've got to get moving," Sergio answered, tossing bags about. 

"But, I, I just," Terra said, watching her bag fly on the ground and kick up dirt. She 
placed her plant down opened the bag quickly, relieved that her family bible was 
unharmed.

"Having a little time to get used to the heat and gravity would be nice," Yoshi said, 
irritated. He was too hot and his feet were wobbly. He started to consider other ways to 
cool himself off.

"We have to get going quickly, or else the Martians might find us. It's easier to see a 
smoking wreck that's stationary than it is to see moving people," Sergio explained. 

"Thank goodness there's water," Nadia said, as she watched Sergio open a bag.

"I would have expected vodka," Giselle said, rolling her eyes.

"Who says there isn't?" Sergio asked with a grin.

"Here you go," David said, putting Giselle's bag on her shoulders. Her walk would be 
even more awkward, being in shackles. "Thirsty?"

"What do you think?" Giselle asked.

"Okay," David said, handing her a bottle. Despite how difficult it would be to drink the 
water herself she wouldn't ask for assistance. Especially not from Sergio.

"I've only got twelve liters girls, make them count," Sergio said, handing out the one liter 
bottles.

"Here you go little guy," Terra said, pouring half a liter of water into the dry sand of her 
plant's pot. She smiled a bit, watching the soil change from dry golden dust to rich 
brown.

"Don't waste the water," David said, holding back the desire to yell at her. Water was 
more precious in the desert than gilded jewels.

"I'm taking care of this plant," Terra said defensively, screwing the cap back onto the 
bottle. She had made sure to memorize the diagnostic controls, which showed how much 
water was available and necessary. "It was almost out of water."

"Whoo, this is so much better!" Yoshi said, stretching himself out.

"Oh lord Yoshi, what the hell are you doing?" Nadia asked, shaking her head.

"Just getting comfortable," he smiled. While the others had been talking, Yoshi had 
disrobed himself down to boxer shorts and a bra, with shoes of course. "What? More 
clothes just mean holding in more heat."

"She's got a point," David acknowledged, staring at his body. He couldn't help but 
watch. It wasn't everyday that he got to see a busty Asian woman. It was then he 
reminded himself that she was a hermaphrodite, and he had the same creepy feeling he 
had when he was first attracted to Terra.

"No, let's not all go topless," Nadia said, holding her hand on Terra, who was honestly 
considering it. Anything to avoid some of this heat.

"I'm not topless, it's just like at the beach," Yoshi said, looking down at his boxer shorts, 
unintentionally adding the double meaning, "Even more."

"I for one am losing my shirt," David said, taking it off and stuffing it into his bag. Terra 
and Nadia both looked at his body, noticing how frail and skinny he was. He was as 
skinny as someone who had abused drugs for months, who had barely eaten in the last 
week. "Let's go."

"Where?" Terra asked, taking her eyes off of David's frame to look about. There was 
nothing but hills of sand in every direction.

"There is only one desert on Mars, necessary to balance the ecosystem or something. It's 
not large, but to the south is Memnonia. I grew up there," David said, pointing to the 
south, with the aide of the pad. He wouldn't consider it home but it was as close to home 
as he had. 'I know some people there…if they are still alive…'

"Memnonia? I remember being told not to go there when I came to Mars, due to the fact 
that it had issues," Nadia said, concern filling her voice. She had recalled hearing that it 
was largely a lawless and poor area, prone to violence and criminal activities, especially 
to wealthy tourists.

"Where else would you think to find a resistance group?" Sergio asked, grabbing the last 
bag. He opened it, grinning as he pulled it out. 

"It was an area of Mars that has always had some trouble. It was one of the original 
colonies because of it's abundance of water, but due to a lack of natural resources, the 
colonists there were barely able to keep their people fed," Giselle said, feeling some 
slight pride in the area of the planet which held her hometown. It wasn't quite a wretched 
hive of scum and villainy.

"Why?" Terra asked. There was so much of the world, worlds, she didn't understand, and 
the basic human needs such as hungry were one of them. If there were food, why couldn't 
everyone have some? Why would people go hungry?

"The area had been hit by asteroids a long time ago. The ground didn't allow many plants 
to grow, due to a lack of topsoil. As such farming was always a trouble there," Giselle 
explained. She knew a great deal about Martian history, but that was her job.

"Ladies, we can discuss this on the way," Sergio said, pointing towards the general 
direction David had. "This way?"

"Yeah, this way," David said. 

"You lead the way my boy, I'll take the rear," Sergio said, looking at Giselle. "Move."

"Fine," she said, wobbling oddly. She had spent almost as much time in space as anyone, 
and wasn't quite used to this.

"Let's get going, quickly," David said, leading the group. He looked back at Sergio, who 
was messing with the ship. "Now Sergio."

"One moment." Sergio said, tinkering with the package. He sighed, whispering 
"Goodbye, old girl."

"Move it or lose it," David shouted, moving on.

"Coming my boy, coming," Sergio said, grinning. "You're right, we need to get out of 
here."

*

"Hello," Tom said, chewing on his bagel. He had a meeting today in a few hours that he 
wasn't looking forward to, with the Secretary of Information. But he was more concerned 
with this meeting than the one at noon.

"Hi Tom," Kyle said, sitting down next to him. She didn't enjoy eating in the cafeteria, as 
it felt too open. She usually just got something and went to eat at Tom's, or ate in her 
room. However now she knew that Tom was being pissy at her, and with good reason, so 
she was willing to deal with his attitude. It was some consolation that there didn't seem to 
be many people in the cafeteria at this hour.

"Have a nice night?" he asked, staring at his proposal. He continued to edit it. He was 
caught up in two drafts. The first, a copy that explained in details his passionate desire for 
the sample and information. It went through point by point into the importance of his 
study and what it was that he hoped to accomplish, a feat perhaps more important than 
any medical advance ever. The second, a requisition form both boring and bland. It was 
devoid of any emotion or passion, turning people's lives into nothing more than names on 
a ledger. He was still debating over which would work, wanting to express his real 
concern over the people, while seeking to maintain his scientific neutrality.

"Oh don't look at me like that," Kyle objected. She just wanted him to get it over with 
and be upset with her already. Patience was a grace she didn't have.

"I'm not looking at you," Tom pointed out, masticating more of his bagel.

"Tom, look, I'm sorry," she said, frustrated not only over Tom's attitude, but also having 
to apologize. She hated apologies. 

"What were you doing out there?" Tom asked the real question he was interested in. she 
had run about nearly getting herself caught or killed last night, and he wanted to know, 
for what? Kyle waited to activate her ghost box before speaking.

"I was trying to do reconnaissance," Kyle tried to explain. She respected Tom's 
intelligence, but knew that discussing military information matters with a pacifist was, at 
best, difficult.

"For what?" Tom asked, drinking more juice. They managed to make particularly 
excellent orange juice here.

"What do you think?" she said defensively. She was willing to acknowledge that she was 
wrong in the manner she went about her attempt to escape. But she did not feel that she 
was mistaken in that attempt.

"Do you have any idea how close that was?" Tom asked, wishing he had more of a mean 
streak within him. This was truly an error on a colossal scale, and he knew that his 
relaxed tone was far too laid back for the matter at hand.

"Yes, I do Tom. Better than you realize," Kyle said with sincerity. 'Like he knows what 
duty and honor means.' 

"Kyle you got lucky," Tom said, glancing at her stern gaze. 'She's pretty moody 
considering she's the one who messed up' he thought. 

"You're right, I did. And I didn't plan on being lucky either," Kyle said honestly.

"If Amber hadn't helped you, what the hell would you have done?" Tom asked, really 
wondering if he wanted to know the answer or not.

"I would have done whatever I had to do in the service of my planet," Kyle didn't need to 
beat the patriotic line. She learned the meaning of patriotism the day that the Martians 
bombed and killed her father.

"I know, I know," Tom said, thankful that they need not go into detail. After all he did 
like her, very closely actually, as a good friend.

"Thank god you were banging the blond eh?" Kyle said, trying to lighten the mood with a 
chuckle.

"I haven't been 'banging' anyone," Tom said, realizing how depressing that sounded. 

"Oh? Then why did she help out?" Kyle had wondered that for some time. She didn't like 
depending on the kindness of strangers.

"I don't know. If she believes the rumor running about then she would think we're lovers. 
Why would she help you out, you're the competition?" Tom asked rhetorically.

"She didn't seem the type to interfere. Seemed more like the kind of person to stand aside 
and let this kind of shit go on," Kyle didn't know her well, but had considered her most 
of the morning. 

"Gave me more of the impression she was accustomed to getting her way, and using 
people to do so," Tom wondered if he had given up too much with that. 

"There are a lot of women who think that they can control men like that. A lot of them 
are right," Kyle said, with a sly smile. She knew that Tom wasn't one of those men. 
'Unless Amber is even better than I think.'

"Kyle," Tom said, pausing to find the right words. "What are we going to do?"

"Tom, maybe you're content to be here," she said slowly.

"I'm neither content nor happy here," Tom replied, wiping his mouth with the napkin, 
"But I wasn't caught by the guards attempting escape either."

"Tom, how long are we going to sit around and do nothing? It's not like the cavalry is 
going to come okay? Mars is talking about war here. You've seen the ships. They've got 
hundreds of them. Our only chance of making it out of here alive is to escape," Kyle said 
as quietly as she could.

"What, to try outrunning their bullets? Maybe we can slip past their hundreds of ships?" 
he wondered sarcastically.

"We have to try," she insisted. She wouldn't budge on that point, she truly believed it.

"Kyle," Tom said slowly. "Maybe there's another way."

"Like what?" she asked impatiently.

"Maybe they're off to fight because they think that they can't live here any more. Maybe 
they're afraid that their planet is dying. Maybe they have amassed, by force, some of the 
best scientific minds to work on something. Maybe a cure, not just to the sickness but 
also to the war," Tom said, the first thing he said with any passion that morning.

"Tom, how close are you to anything? Not a full blown cure, not an answer, but 
anything?" Kyle asked, shaking her head. She knew the answer already.

"I've had less than a week. But one day can make a difference. Ask me again tomorrow 
morning," he said, holding up a pad.

"What are you so focused on anyway?" she said, trying to tip the pad to read its contents.

"This is a formal request to the Martial Secretary of Information Jeffery Brody requesting 
all information pertaining to the asteroid colliding with Phobos, Phobos disintegration 
into rings, and the compound which is forming alongside the rings. Along with a formal 
request for a sample of whatever it is," Tom said proudly, handing it for Kyle to read. She 
appeared bored of it within a minute, and he wondered if he should go back to the 
passionate request as he finished the last bite of his bagel.

*

"So this is a dessert," Terra said, gliding her hand across the sand. "It's neat."

"Yeah, it's a barren strip of land with next to no water where just about nothing can live, 
that's over forty degrees during the day and down to about negative ten degrees during 
the night, neat," Yoshi said sarcastically. He wasn't accustomed to this kind of exercise, 
not in this kind of unpleasant heat. 

Nobody was, in all honesty. Most of the crew had done little actual physical labor during 
the flight to Mars. Even David, who had by far been the busiest, had mostly been 
standing in place, and not engaging in actual physical activity other than holding and 
working with tools. Exercise is minimized without gravity to work against.

"Um, how much longer until we are there?" Terra asked innocently, looking for someone 
to answer.

"Can't be sure, but it looks like another ten klicks," David said, looking at his scanner. 
"Give or take."

"What's a klick?" Terra asked, trying to peek at the pad, as though it would give her an 
idea.

"It's a kilometer," Nadia said, touching Terra's shoulder to straighten her vision. "Ten 
kilometers are about six and a quarter miles."

"Ten more kilometers?" Yoshi groaned. He didn't want to walk ten more meters.

"Grow a pair," Giselle said from behind. "Better yet grow another pair."

"Ha-ha," Yoshi said, rolling his eyes. He was happy enough that she was in shackles.

"It's always tough getting used to walking after being in space for so long," David said, 
feeling that ache in his legs. He had shin splints and his knees and ankles ached. "It 
should be a little easier for you. At least you're used to Earth gravity."

"It doesn't seem easier," Terra said, thinking for a second. "Is the gravity lighter? Is that 
what that is?"

"Yes, the gravity on Mars is much less than that on Earth, about forty percent," Nadia 
knew that little Mars trivia off the top of her head. 

"Why?" Terra asked, feeling very much like a child, as usual. 'If I don't ask, how will I 
ever find this stuff out?'

"The planet is smaller," Yoshi said, hoping it would suffice. Normally he would be happy 
to explain scientific matters, especially to a smart and engaged audience like Terra, yet 
now he was more concerned about keeping his breath.

"See that?" David said, pointing towards the heavens.

"What, the little thing in the sky? Is that the moon?" Terra asked, looking at it. It did look 
the size of the moon.

"Terra, don't stare in the sun," Nadia instructed. It was bad for the eyes, and she didn't 
want to test Terra's healing ability.

"She's right, that's the sun. We're a long way from home," David answered.

"But I thought that Memnonia was your hometown?" Terra asked, a bit confused.

"Memnonia isn't a town, it's the area of the planet. Like North America or Africa. It's 
not my hometown," David said, pausing for a moment to grab a drink. The desert sand 
was bombarding his half nude frame, and tearing his lungs with each breath. He handed 
the pad to Terra while he downed half a liter in a couple long gulps.

"So where are you from?" Terra asked, looking at the pad. She didn't quite know what to 
expect, perhaps a map detailing step-by-step directions to their location. What she saw 
was more akin to a three dimensional representation of her location reaching out for 
about a hundred meters in any direction, and a compass.

"The south side of Chicago," David said, with a grin. He put his water away and took the 
pad from Terra.

"Is that near here?" Terra asked, naïve with regards to much of Earth's geography.

"Uh, no. It's on Earth. I was born there. My parents moved to Mars, looking for a better 
situation for all of us," he said, tapping the picture case in his pants pocket. He debated 
taking it out for a moment, but decided against it.

"Did you get it? A better life?" Terra inquired a moment later, wishing she hadn't. "I'm 
sorry."

"It's okay. The short answer is no. I'll spare you the details," he said, coughing violently. 
The group stopped as they watched him hack loudly, wheezing in an uncontrollable fit. 
The pain was almost unbearable. He dropped to his weary knees.

Terra stepped near him, standing as she watched him in pain. She wanted to do 
something, help him somehow. Yet there was nothing she felt she could do, except feel 
her stomach turn.

With one loud spit David finally expelled what he had been coughing up. 

Terra watched in horror at the mound of crimson blood on red sand. She couldn't hide 
her fear of blood, or more importantly her fear of pain. It shook her to her very core, 
made all the worse by her inability to accomplish anything.

He took deep breaths, the burning pain in his lungs dissipating slightly.

"A, are, are," Terra said, her body trembling uncontrollably. 

"I'm fine," David said, kicking up dirt to cover his blood. "Let's go."

*

"Enter," Jeffrey Brody said, motioning towards the open door. A one might expect he 
was a desk jockey, but he enjoyed his desk. It was far larger than necessary, but it held all 
of the pads that he could work on. And mahogany desks were a rarity on Earth, let alone 
Mars.

"Hello Secretary Brody, thanks for granting me an audience on such a short notice," Tom 
said, nodding.

"It's nothing," Brody said, scribbling on a pad, absentmindedly. One of the things he 
liked about Smith's take over, was not having to sit through these kinds of meetings. 
"Actually, it's quite a bit."

"I'm sorry?" Tom said, unsure of just what he had meant by that.

"What you're here asking for, it's quite a lot," Brody said, dropping his pad.

"I see sir. You have read my proposal then?" Tom asked. He had sent him a forward 
draft, hoping that it would do some good to sway his mind. Bureaucrats enjoyed feeling 
smart, and enjoyed cliff notes. 

"Yes, of course I have. I'm the Secretary of Information! It's my job to know 
everything," Brody said, shuffling to another pad.

"Very well, Secretary, since you know what my request is, I'll be brief," Tom said, still 
unsure about this one. He had spent his fair share of time with government bean counters. 
Typically they wanted to know what was in for them, how long it would take, and how 
much it would cost. The good ones would at least listen to what he had to say. The great 
ones would even offer their help when it didn't serve their interests, even when it served 
the interests of the people that they were to serve. There weren't many great ones, even in 
these trying times. The rest were mostly assholes.

"I'll be briefer, the answer is no. Thanks for coming, best of luck with your research, the 
cleaning crews will keep me abreast of everything," Brody said, switching to yet another 
pad. He waved Tom away with his free hand.

"Sir, you have brought me here quite some distance to offer my assistance. In order to 
accomplish this monumental goal, it's necessary that I be given the information which I 
so desperately need," Tom said. He wasn't quite sure if a passionate display would curry 
him favor or if it would get him a jail cell.

"Yes, I know. We reviewed the information you requested, and it was classified higher 
than your group's security clearance allows, so the answer is no," Brody said, looking for 
the first pad again. 

"If you have no intention to assist in this at all, then just send me back to Earth," Tom 
said, frustrated.

"That can be arranged," Brody murmured. He looked up at Tom for a second, wondering 
to himself. He was thankful that Tom seemed to ignore the statement.

"Sir, please. The information about the initial asteroid's strike could prove invaluable, but 
it is by far less necessary than the other request I made. A sample of the mineral we're 
talking about would be of the utmost importance to trying to find a way to help the 
people. Whatever information we could find out about whatever this is would be 
invaluable. We might even be able to find a way to break it down, or combine it with 
something else to nullify the effects on the people. It's not as far-fetched as it seems. Hell 
table salt is just a compound of two lethal elements, sodium and chloride," Tom argued. 
He truly did not understand why they would bring him here just to deny him the 
information he desperately needed. 'Do they really want to help the people?'

"You make a good argument Tom, you do. And if it were up to me then hell, I might 
even give it to you. But you see it's not up to me. It's up to the Prime Minister, and right 
now he's locked down everything about what's going on in space, except for his own 
internal think tank. He wanted you and the rest as a group of independent scientists to try 
to verify what his scientists are telling him, or come up with something new on your own 
that they could work on," Brody said, deciding to be honest. 

"I guess I made a mistake then," Tom said, getting up and turning his pad off.

"I suppose it's understandable," Brody said, picking up another computer pad as he 
turned his chair to lean back.

"It is. I thought you were in charge of this kind of thing. I guess I'll have to ask the Prime 
Minister himself. I am sorry to have wasted your time. Good day," Tom said, turning 
without even offering his hand, as he would do even to the most contemptuous 
bureaucrats.

"Wait, you think you're going to arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister of Mars to 
tell him, what exactly?" Brody asked, genuinely amused by this. He hadn't found anyone 
in his office with a spine for quite some time.

"I'm going to tell him exactly what I told you. We need the information that is crucial to 
our investigation. And if he won't listen then we'll all sit in the conference room every 
day and discuss Wittgenstein over games of backgammon and cribbage. I don't get paid 
for it either way," Tom said, storming out of the office.

* 

"I'm really tired," Terra said, wiping her brow. The sun didn't look nearly as big as it did 
on Earth, but it was nevertheless scorching here. Even the extra bounce in her step didn't 
help much. 

"We all are Terra," Nadia said, putting her hand on Terra's shoulder.

"And I thought…I wanted…a shower…before I got…on Mars," Yoshi said. He wasn't 
afraid to admit his exhaustion, or indecency. He was covered in dirt from head to toe 
now.

"I hear that," David said, looking down on his chest. He knew he would be sunburned 
tomorrow. Just as Yoshi, the wind had blown up dust upon his body, sticking to his skin 
with the sweat, coating him like a fried chicken wing.

"Maybe we should…take a break?" Terra asked. She found even speaking difficult in the 
barren wastelands of this desert. Thankfully there hadn't been much discussion, ever 
since she reeled in horror at the telltale sign of David's lung cancer.

"No sense in that. Almost there now. Another hour…or so…before it gets dark. Trust me 
…we're gonna want…to get to a town…before nightfall," David said between long 
gasps, exhausted.

"But…won't it…cool down?" Terra asked hopefully. 

"Yes…but will cool down…to about…minus ten degrees," Yoshi said, deciding to adopt 
the Celsius scale along with everyone else. "Below freezing…and I forgot…my sleeping 
bag." He shuddered to imagine what that would be like with his attire right now, not that 
he couldn't put his shirt back on. However a t-shirt in the cold desert night wouldn't be 
nearly enough to stave off hypothermia

"Can, can we maybe rest…just for a minute?" Terra asked. She had never walked so far 
in her life. The constant climbing up dunes, it all seemed like it would never end. What 
was worse is that there was no visible accomplishment, nothing to give her the sense that 
they were getting anywhere. Dunes gave rise to more dunes, all just piles of sand, blown 
by wind under the unabated sun.

"Can't lose momentum. If we stop…we won't start back. Just…gotta keep moving 
forward," David said, pointing exhaustedly. He had enjoyed leading this little expedition, 
or perhaps to put it more accurately, he had felt entitled to lead it. However he had hoped 
for something more heroic, something easier. Trekking through the desert was the last 
thing he wanted.

"I think she has a point David," Nadia said, noticing that she was deferring to him for a 
moment before dismissing the idea. "We're all exhausted…and we're not going…to hold 
up for much longer. Six miles is a long way to walk…in this heat."

"Not any shorter for me. No, we're almost there now. Uh do me a favor and hold onto 
this," David said, turning around to Nadia. "Just keep walking forward, the directional 
arrow shows you the general direction."

"Okay," Nadia said, watching David walk back towards Sergio and Giselle. Yoshi 
continued to pant alongside her, and she thought 'he doesn't look so hot now.'

"I'm really tired," Terra grumbled, pouting like a child.

"Me too hon…me too," Nadia wished she could do something, as she began to scale 
another dune. 

"I've got sand in my shoes," Terra mumbled to Nadia.

"I've got sand everywhere else," Nadia said, trying to get a rise out of her. It didn't work.

"Sergio," David said, his weary legs jogging to the back of the party.

"How do we look my boy?" Sergio asked, wiping his brow. He had a flask of whiskey in 
his pocket, but he had enough of a mind to know it would only dehydrate him further. It 
still didn't affect his thirst.

"We're going…to be there soon…but we have a problem," David said hesitantly, 
glancing at Giselle. He had to say it sooner or later.

"What is it now?" Sergio asked, rolling his eyes.

"Me," Giselle answered, shaking her hair back behind her face. The bag kept riding up on 
her, and the wind would blow the sweat in her eyes. It was more annoying than the 
others, due to the handcuffs in question.

"Yeah, we can't carry her around in shackles, it's gonna look suspicious, you know? The 
whole point is to fly under the radar," David said. While he wasn't especially happy with 
Giselle in general, he didn't like seeing her like this either. His emotions about everyone 
were conflicted at the moment.

"What…do you expect me…to do about it?" Sergio looked at David. He was exhausted 
as much as anyone, perhaps more so with his age. The alcoholism and lack of rest lately 
certainly hadn't helped.

"We have to get…her out of those things…before we get there," David pointed out, 
fighting to trudge along.

"I'm not going to do that David," Sergio shook his head.

"Don't bother," Giselle said, stopping for a second. She lowered her hands for a moment 
before dropping the handcuffs in the sand. "My wrists got a little sore…a couple of hours 
back."

"How the hell did you do that?" David asked.

"Oh come on now, it's not quite a Houdini. Just pick the lock, it's easier than you might 
think," Giselle said, stretching her arms out. She readjusted her bag, which was cutting 
into her shoulder and rather uncomfortable. The chance to stretch her arms and wipe her 
face was an enjoyable one. 

"Ugh," Terra said, slipping on the dune. It was the highest sand dune that they had 
attempted to scale. It was unavoidable right now, as it went in all directions for as far as 
they could see. Nadia reached down, clutching her young ward's hand as she climbed it 
ahead of her with all of her might, doing her best to drag Terra along with her.

"Almost Terra, come on," Nadia said, fighting against all the elements had to offer. The 
burning heat, the blasting wind, the sand which would not grant her a foothold. It seemed 
as though nature itself was poised to fight against them.

"Nrrrg," Terra grunted, pulling herself atop the dune. "Thanks," she said, dusting herself 
off. She looked at Nadia, expecting a 'your welcome' in response. But Nadia was 
exhausted, so much that she could barely mumble. Terra picked her up, smiling at her 
wind blown and depleted face. She looked desperately for something, anything to help. 
Her eyes grew wide as she saw it.

"There!" Terra shouted, pointing to the distance. Just a small town, not much more than a 
village, but it had to be where they were heading. "We're there!" 

Nadia looked over smiled, waving her arm for the rest of their group.

"At last," Yoshi said, climbing himself up enough to stare at it. A small and dusty town, 
but more importantly, he could see the monorail track, and knew that it was a way out of 
this barren wasteland.

*

Tom had meditated for the better part of an hour. Or at least he had tried to appear as 
such. He was constantly focusing his eyes on the bathhouse, from where he meditated on 
the grassy courtyard. No doubt to some of the girls he might appear a peeping tom, 
however that was not his intention. Tom knew that this palace was at the beck and call of 
the Prime Minister, and he believed Smith to be off, if not completely mad. Tom believed 
his best opportunity was to go through Brody, as he had seemed more agreeable. But it 
was now that he began to understand that he needed a backdoor channel, a way to get to 
an official without going through the official way.

Enter Amber. Or at least he wished that she would. Tom didn't quite get her attitude, 
what her game was. She was beautiful, even at her age she would turn most twenty year 
olds' heads, and that fact bothered him. Tom was nothing special. He was no monstrosity 
by any stretch of the imagination. He was just plain, skinny, and boring, average height 
and build. In fact the only thing special about Tom was his intelligence, and perhaps his 
bank account, though he highly doubted there was any way of converting the money he 
had on Earth to Mars bucks, or whatever currency was used on the red planet.

'And they all think I'm wooing Kyle too,' Tom mused, not hiding a grin. He closed his 
eyes as he thought. 'I wonder what old Yoshi would have thought about me now?' he 
sighed. It all felt so fake to him, but at the same time so real. How many of his former 
colleagues had died, gone the way of the reaper's scythe without forewarning? How 
many had been vaporized in an atomic hell storm? Too many, far, far too many. So when 
Tom had heard that his friend had died, while it seemed so hard to grasp, so difficult to 
come to terms with, it was at the same time so understandable, like such an everyday 
occurrence. 'Death should never be so regular.'

"You're out late," said the tart yet sweet voice. Tom opened his eyes to see exactly whom 
he had hoped for. "Is there more Zen out at sunset?"

"Apparently not late enough. Good evening Amber," Tom said, opening his eyes. He 
decided that untwisting his body from the lotus position would be the best at the moment. 
"Not sunbathing?"

"There's no sun to bathe in, so I settled for water," she replied, tugging tight on the band 
holding her bathrobe shut. Not shut enough to hide her top in her robe, as she had plenty 
of cleavage showing.

"I wanted to thank you for last night," Tom said while getting up. "Kyle is a good friend 
of mine, and you helped her out quite a bit."

"Before you get the wrong impression, I just wanted to make sure she didn't screw up my 
life. The last time that a girl jumped, they locked the place down for weeks, and I 
couldn't buy anything good without someone skimming from it," Amber said, producing 
a joint from her cigarette. "But I guess you wouldn't know anything about that."

"Why would you say that?" Tom asked. While he hadn't smoked in quite some time, like 
any college student he had experimented with the drug, which had been legal for 
centuries, and would use it on occasion from time to time at events such as New Years 
Eve, or family reunions. "Just because I'm a scientist doesn't mean I'm a choirboy."

"Hmm, I suppose not. Just because I do this doesn't mean I'm dumb either," Amber said, 
searching for her lighter.

"I never said you were. In fact, I was hoping I'd find you out here to help further my 
scientific study," Tom said, hoping that she wouldn't find the lighter. While he had 
smoked, he didn't want to have to right now. Not that it was quite peer pressure, but not 
smoking might make his request seem even more outlandish.

"I'm not looking for any injections big boy, at least not from a needle," Amber said with 
a wink and a grin.

"Oh no, nothing quite so unpleasant. You may know it already but I've been taken here to 
try to help the planet," Tom said, doing his best to not make it appear as though he were 
dumbing it down.

"Right, right, what do you want me to do?" Amber asked, stuffing her joint back in her 
pocket. She would have to get a light from someone in the bathhouse. Adrian always had 
one somewhere.

"I need a sample of the, well whatever it is that's up there that is magnifying the 
ultraviolet radiation on the planet," Tom explained as clearly as he could.

"I hear they're calling it 'smithonium'," Amber laughed. 

"Well, whatever it may indeed be called, I would like a sample in order to study it," Tom 
said. 'Smithonium, what better name could there be for something poisoning a planet?' 
he mused.

"And…?" Amber asked, waiting for the next reply. She had an idea of what he was going 
to ask, but she was never the type to make it too easy, at least outside of bed. And usually 
not in bed either.

"And I need to ask a favor of you. I want to ask the Prime Minister if he'll grant me a 
sample of smithonium," Tom said, doing his best to be courteous.

"That's not a question," Amber noted aloud, smiling slyly.

"You're right. Amber, will you please ask the PM if he'll allow me to research a sample 
of smithonium?" Tom asked, keeping his temper. He didn't like jumping through hoops.

"I guess I could, but what's in it for me?" Amber asked, tapping her chin in mock 
consideration.

"Beyond potentially saving billions of lives?" Tom asked rhetorically. "I don't have an 
answer for that. I already owe you one for Kyle. I'm afraid I haven't got much on this red 
rock to offer really."

"If I ask him, there's no guarantee that he'll say yes. Hell depending on his mood he 
might try to kill you then and there for insolence," Amber pointed out.

"I know the potential ramifications. Right now I don't have much anyway. Most of my 
friends are on another planet. At least the ones who aren't are dead. Even if I succeed I 
probably won't have a chance to get back to my own planet. I don't even have much of a 
family left, just my parents and a few aunts and cousins, maybe a nephew now. Science 
has kind of been my life. If I'm going to be here, I better accomplish something, and I 
need that sample. If I don't accomplish anything, I'm just going to be killed anyway. 
What have I got to lose?" Tom asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hmm, tell you what. Since you asked so nicely, I'll consider asking Smith," Amber said, 
pausing, "But you owe me a favor, whether he agrees or he doesn't. Well, not if you're 
dead. Sound okay?"

"Agreed," Tom said, offering his hand. Amber just waved it aside and stepped closer to 
him, her hands wrapping around his back and cupping his soft round behind. Tom didn't 
have a moment to look back to inspect it. Without another word she opened her mouth, 
kissing him on the lips. The shock and confusion of the moment had caught Tom, and he 
needed some time to recover before he actively began to kiss her back. It had been too 
long since he had kissed a woman as passionately as he now was, their tongues dancing 
lively within their mouths. He enjoyed it, truly. For the first in a long time he set his 
thoughts aside and simply lived in the moment.

And just as soon as it had begun, it all ended. Amber peeled her hands off of his 
backside, pulled her tongue out of his mouth, and stepped back.

"Okay, I'll ask him tonight. Keep your evening free," Amber said, licking her lips.

"That's not too bad of a favor," Tom said, wiping his mouth.

"That wasn't the favor. We just sealed the deal with a kiss. I find it's better than a 
handshake," Amber said with a wink, truly trying to lay it on. "See you soon Dr. Pope." 
She said, shaking her moneymaker on the way out. Tom didn't have much else to do but 
watch and wonder, and try to hide the erection growing in his pants.

*

"Alright, okay, yeah, just, everyone stick to the story," David said. He had spent the last 
hour creating an entire backstory for each of them and making sure that everyone knew it. 
Even Terra, who was reticent to lie to someone, recognized the importance of getting 
through this as easily as possible. He hadn't created such an elaborate ruse before, indeed 
it seemed fun to him, as though he were some intelligence officer. Of course, their 
intelligence officer right now, Giselle, still wouldn't play ball. Something about being put 
in shackles made her a little testy. So the duty fell to him. Sergio was content enough 
now to just let him go, and Yoshi and Nadia were too exhausted to put up much of a 
fight, and were able to convince Terra that the subterfuge was a necessary white lie.

And so David led the group towards the monorail station. It was bare, except for the dirt 
which was simply everywhere, but that was obscured by the darkening skies. The 
temperature was dropping rapidly now, and all of the caked on sweat was beginning to 
feel freezing on their dirty and chapped skin.

"Hi," David said, smiling as best he could as he walked up to the teller. The rest of the 
group stepped up behind him. 

"Hello, how can I help you today?" the teller asked, his voice conveying as much 
boredom as one can endure. His job entailed watching sand for ninety percent of the day, 
and dealing with people for the other ten.

"Yeah, our car died a ways back out in the desert, man I tell you we weren't ready for 
that. You see we're," David said, reciting the lines from memory.

"Is it six to the Amazonis station?" the teller asked, punching up six passengers in his 
computer.

"Yeah, you see we were all traveling together towards," David picked up his story again.

"One way or two?" the teller asked.

"We're just going one way. You see we have this," David tried to get out before being 
interrupted yet again. This wasn't going quite the way he had intended.

"Okay, six people at one way is three hundred and sixty dollars for coach. If you want to 
get a sleeping car it's an additional forty dollars, or if you want a private sleeping car 
we'll call it five hundred even," the teller said.

"Yeah we'll get the private car, because you see," David said again.

"No, I don't see. I don't care where you're from and where you're going, and whatever 
happened to your car. If you want to ride the monorail to Amazonis it's three hundred 
and sixty dollars for six people on coach, four hundred for a public sleeping car, and five 
hundred for a private sleeping car. That's it, sir, what would you like?" he asked. He had 
zero interest in people's stories. He just wanted to get through this shift so he could go 
home and get some dinner.

'Amateur,' Giselle thought, managing to stifle a laugh. David was breaking the first rule 
of making up a story. Don't bother telling it unless you have to.

"The private car, how many beds does it have in it?" David asked.

"Four, they are bunk beds, two atop of two. There are two couches as well. It should 
serve your group, unless you want to use the public car. Beds there are first come, first 
served," he answered.

"Do you have food service?" David asked.

"If you want to call it that, we serve something. I wouldn't eat it," he said back.

"How long until the next monorail leaves?" David asked.

"The last car out is gone in twenty minutes. Tickets will expire at that point, if you miss a 
monorail it's non refundable," he answered.

"Then I guess we'll have to make do with the service," David said, reaching into his 
pocket and grabbing the bills Sergio had given him. He counted out five hundred and 
handed it over.

"Thank you sir," the teller said, handing him the six tickets. "Enjoy your ride."

*

"Line up ladies," Angelica said, clapping her hands. Kyle watched in wonder as the rest 
of the women, or perhaps whores was more accurate, around her lined up. It reminded her 
of her days in basic training when the CO would enter the barracks for inspection. She 
didn't even put her pad down. She just watched this scene unfold from the kitchenette as 
she continued to pour her water.

"Ladies, the Prime Minister will require four of you tonight for entertaining a guest. As 
usual Josiah Smith has asked Eve here to choose who gets to spend the night entertaining 
the Prime Minister," Angelica said, wishing she had a little more notice. She liked the 
girls looking a bit better. Allyson hadn't even shaved her legs!

"Shouldn't be too hard girls, I believe that the 'Arabian Nights' theme is in line for 
tonight. Blue, Melissa, Eva, and Maria, come with me," Eve said, filing the girls out 
quickly. Kyle simply watched to make sure that Eve left with the rest of them.

"Thank you ladies," Angelica said, as the remaining girls dismissed. Kyle glanced up at 
her roommate walking near her.

"You're supposed to line up with us," Chloe said. Kyle sighed, deciding not to answer to 
her roommate. She simply got up and returned to her room, wishing she could do 
something worthwhile with her time.

"I figured you would want to go with Eve," Chloe persisted. Kyle did not understand the 
girl half of the time, and didn't like most of what she did understand.

"Why would I want to?" Kyle asked, sitting on her bed as she continued to read the news 
reports, which were naturally tainted with pro Martian propaganda.

"The guest, the one that the Prime Minister's entertaining. He's your friend, Tom," Chloe 
said, biting her finger nervously.

*

"Well it's not exactly the Ritz," Sergio said, looking about the room. Two sets of bunk 
beds on either side of the room, with a couch and a loveseat on the other. For most people 
it would be the size of a first apartment.

"Ugh, it is disgusting," Yoshi said, looking at it. He didn't even want to touch any of the 
furniture. A film of dust seemed to have settled upon everything.

"What other choice do we have?" David asked rhetorically. It was the only monorail out 
of town, and there wasn't much to do in town except dig dirt out of water.

"I just wish there was a shower," Nadia said, carrying in her bags.

"I wouldn't trust it here," Sergio said, imagining that there were peeping toms aplenty.

"At least they had water," David answered. Everyone had drank about three or four liters 
since showing up in town.

"They said that the food service should be here soon," Giselle reminded them, "Let's just 
eat and sleep, by the morning we'll be close to Amazonis."

"Sounds like a plan. I forgot what it's like to sleep on a bed with gravity," David said, 
collapsing on a bed. It smelled and he reeked but he couldn't care.

"I'm going to sleep," Terra answered, dropping on the closest bed. "Ow!"

"What's wrong?" Nadia asked, concerned. She wanted to collapse just as much as her.

"My legs hurt." Terra said, wincing. She didn't even want to turn around to show Nadia.

"What," Nadia said, coming in closer, "How do they hurt?"

"Right here, on the inside," Terra pointed at her thighs.

"It's a rash, probably not a good pair of clothes to go walking about in," Giselle said, 
rolling her eyes. Ten kilometers was a long walk, but it wasn't a marathon. 'I thought 
they had nanobots. And how are these three supposed to help us?'

Yoshi walked up to Nadia and whispered into her ear "How can she get a rash?" 

"I don't know," Nadia said quietly. She knew as well as Yoshi that the nanobots should 
have taken care of a rash just as soon as any other discomfort. Soreness was a result of 
inflammation, and that was something that naturally occurred. But something like a rash 
should be easily remedied, just as a cut healing or broken bone mending. "Maybe water?"

"Take a shower and spend a day relaxing," David mumbled, half asleep already, "Use a 
cream, and it'll be find in a day or two."

"Good advice," Sergio said, dumping his bag on the ground. He stared at the knocking 
door. He scanned the room for a weapon, wondering how safe any of this was. He would 
have been wary of public transportation anyway, but the current situation gave him 
reason to be more cautious.

"Room service," came the voice behind the door.

"Oh thank god," Yoshi said, opening the door without hesitation. 

"Here we go, six of you, can I get you anything to drink?" the waiter asked.

"Water," Terra said. "Lots of water please."

"We have water, cola, coffee, hot chocolate, and two brands of beer available," the waiter 
announced.

"I think waters all around. What's for dinner?" Yoshi asked eagerly.

"Salisbury steak, with mashed potatoes, and green beans," he announced, leading a small 
serving tray in the room with six preheated meals in disposable plastic containers. The 
room surrounded the meal as he reached for six bottles of tap water. He just left it by the 
doorway as he moved on, knowing that he wouldn't want to be present when they tried 
the food.

"Oh thank you god for this meal we are about to receive," Terra said, truly thankful. She 
didn't want to compare what she had dealt with to Moses, but her faith had been tested in 
the desert.

"Here you go," Yoshi said, handing everyone a container and a set of plastic silverware 
in a plastic wrapper as quickly as he could.

"Smells decent…" Nadia said, taking a bite. There were large portions, easily over a half 
a kilogram of food.

"Oh," Terra said, making a face. She had taken a large bite of the Salisbury steak. It was, 
well, bad. Very bad. She swallowed it as quickly as she could, testing the potatoes, which 
were completely bland and flavorless. Even the green beans were stringy and 
unappetizing. 

"Ugh, did we actually pay for this?" Yoshi asked, doing his best to swallow it.

"Only ten bucks apiece," Sergio said, wolfing the food down as if it were the greatest 
thing he had even had.

"Geez, hungry much?" Yoshi asked.

"Trick about bad food," Sergio said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve, "Eat it as fast as 
possible and you taste it as little as necessary."

"He's right about that," David had known his share of rotten food from flying in space. 
He hadn't had a good meal in some time. They quickly ate their meal, thankful for 
whatever nourishment it provided, if not the flavor. 

"I'm going to get some sleep," David said, walking back onto the bed he had originally 
fallen on. He was exhausted, but more importantly he wanted to guarantee himself a bed.

"Me too," Terra said, hopping into bed.

"OW!" David said as he dropped onto the bed.

"What's the matter now boy?" Sergio asked impatiently.

"Just landed on something," he answered, moving the metal case in his pocket.

"What's that?" Terra asked, pointing at it.

"That's a bit of a secret, for now," David wasn't sure how much he cared for Terra right 
now, but he wasn't ready to open that bit to her. Not right now.

"Nadia, do, you want to share the bed?" Terra asked, noticing the looks from around the 
room. "I mean, there are only four beds, and six of us, and, uh," she said, starting to 
blush.

"If you don't mind my smell," Nadia said, climbing into the bed with her.

"I call top bunk," Yoshi said, scrambling atop the bed over Nadia and Terra.

"Good night," Giselle said, climbing up to the last bed.

"What?" Sergio asked, staring at the five of them fill the beds he had paid for.

"Turn the light off, please," Terra asked, before closing her eyes.

Sergio just grumbled as he answered her request. He consoled himself with the notion 
that the couch was almost as large as the beds, and probably as comfortable. Not that he 
would know.

*

"Well, well, ladies, we have to ourselves the very visage of a genius," Smith said, 
surrounded by women in various states of undress. He seemed a sultan surrounded by his 
harem more than a Prime Minister in his chambers. The chair, which he sat upon, was 
more unto a throne. Large and opulent, made of gold and adorned with jewels it would 
make the Caesars envious. The room itself was adorned lavishly with art and decorations 
as diverse as ancient Egypt to contemporary Mars, and many, many places in between. 

"Doctor Thomas Pope, one of the best and brightest that Earth has to offer," Smith said, 
waving his hands, made all the more difficult by the low lights and smoke. Tom sat, or 
rather was forcefully seated in a chair opposite Smith. It was nice and comfortable, but 
forced, like so much of his experience of Mars.

"Prime Minister Smith, one of if not the most powerful people, on both planets," Tom 
said, offering his hand.

"Ah yes, ladies," Smith said, clapping his hands. Two of his young and topless women 
danced to his side, one thrusting a drink in his hand and the other taking his arm with her 
own. Tom couldn't help but lose focus for a moment.

"Uh, sir, Prime Minister," Tom said, correcting himself before clearing his throat. "I 
would like to thank you for your time, I know how busy you are and important time is to 
a man in your…position."

"Hmm?" Smith said, lost in thought, or perhaps a lack of thought as he watched a blue 
haired topless girl dance. "Oh yes, right. Amber here has informed that you wanted 
something or another, is that right?" 

"Yes sir, I came here requesting a sample of the asteroid which has hit Phobos, in order 
to study it better in an attempt to achieve my work," Tom said, feeling the hands of the 
girls massage his upper body. He could do little to hide the growing bulge in his pants.

"MMM," Smith grunted, eating the grapes placed into his mouth. "You should talk to 
Brody, that sort of thing is his department."

"I did sir," Tom said, watching the scene before him. This appeared too odd to be a 
normal occurrence, as though Smith were putting it on for show. 'Then again, one never 
knows with him.'

"What," Smith said, coughing for a moment. He whetted his whistle with a drink of what 
appeared to be wine from a goblet. Tom nearly coughed as one of the girls did the same 
to his own glass, forcing the liquor down and burning the back of his throat. "What did 
Jeff say? I bet he said no, he always says no. And then he blames it on me."

"Well you did ban everything having to do with it, big daddy," Amber said sensually, 
walking up from behind Tom. He shifted in his chair, feeling even more awkward to see 
Amber there with two topless girls around him. Watching her go up and kiss Smith 
squarely on the mouth was even more disconcerting. Before he could consider it the girl 
was forcing more alcohol down his throat.

"That I did, that I did…" Smith grinned. "So what is it you want again? Just a sample?"

"Yes sir, I would very much appreciate access to a sample, along with any pertinent 
information you might be willing to grant me," Tom managed to say clearly, though his 
head was lost in a haze of confusion. He looked at the source of the smoke, wondering 
where it was coming from.

"What do you think?" Smith asked, leaning his head back. The secretive Eve stepped up 
behind him.

"He's telling the truth, and has a good reason to want the information. It is highly 
classified, and Secretary Brody was in his purview to deny him the information," Eve 
said slowly. 

"I like you Tom. I, I just have this feeling about you, that we're going to be good friends. 
You know why that is Tom?" Smith asked directly, as his attention seemed focused for 
the first time. Josiah held his goblet up to Tom's, waiting for him to clink his glass. Tom 
took a moment before meeting his glass, upon which it was refilled.

"I can't say exactly, sir," Tom said slowly, choosing his words carefully. He tried to sip 
at the liquor but the girls forced more of it down his throat than he would want.
 
"Guess," Smith ordered, as all of the energy and movement around the room seem to 
come to a slow halt, all eyes on him.

"I, if I have to guess," Tom said, stalling for time.

"You do," Smith replied quickly, leaning in. 

"It's because I'm…honest," Tom said, with an upward inflection, as though he were 
asking and not telling it.

"Wow Tom. You know, not many people get that question right," Josiah said, lifting his 
goblet. "To Tom, someone get this man a drink." 

His glass was quickly refilled and thrust back into Tom's hand. At the behest of his host, 
Tom drank deeply from the glass, feeling even more imbibed.

"I think I respect you Tom. No, I know I do. Hell most guys, they would be lost in the 
dank smoke, the hard drinks, or the ladies," Smith said, flashing a smile. "But you, you're 
here like a real man, a scientist. Work, no duty first, and play around later."

"And he can hold his liquor as well," Amber said, feigning a smile as she watched Tom 
drink more.

"Interested in having one of these girls for the night Tom? No let me guess, the answer is 
no huh?" the Prime Minister asked.

"As usual sir, you seem to know people rather well," Tom said, watching the room start 
to slowly spin. He wondered to himself just what he had been drinking. And if it was 
spiked.

"Alright Tom, I think you're done here, got a long day of work tomorrow, and I've got a 
long night. Thanks for coming, I hope you enjoyed yourself." Smith said, motioning to 
the guards, "Be sure to be careful, don't want to have him slip up now."

"I did, good night, Prime Minister," Tom said, his head swimming.

"Oh, and Tom?" Smith said, reaching into his pocket.

"Yes?" Tom asked, half wondering if he were pulling out a gold coin or a steel gun. 

"Catch," he said, tossing a small metallic object in the air. Despite his woozy and 
drunken state he reached his hand out just in time, grasping the object in his hands. It 
took him some time to recognize what it was. A sample of smithonium!



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