Defying Mars (The Saving Mars Series) - By Cidney Swanson Page 0,27
shook her head softly. “No, Jessamyn, it’s not only a Terran problem. Do you not see that we live as free Marsians today because we were silent when innocent blood was shed on Earth?” said Mei Lo. “I do not intend to pass this dark secret to my successor.”
Jess shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “You just passed it to me, Ma’am. What am I supposed to do with it?”
“My intention,” said Mei Lo, “Is to let all of Mars Colonial know this secret. To bring it out into the light once and for all.”
“Why?” asked Jessamyn. It seemed to her like the kind of thing that ought to be buried and forgotten.
“I intend to allow Mars’s citizenry to debate whether the information ought to be made public on Earth,” said the Secretary.
“Oh,” said Jessamyn. “Oh, my.”
“Yes. Oh, my, indeed.”
“Begging your pardon, but are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Jess. “I mean, I can see that from a certain perspective, it sounds fair-minded, but what if the Terran government decides to retaliate?” In her mind’s eye, she saw the laser cutting the Red Dawn into smaller and smaller pieces. She remembered Pavel’s heartless Aunt Lucca. “I have to say that if anyone’s capable of blowing Mars Colonial to Hades, the current Terran Chancellor fits the bill.”
“Yes,” said Mei Lo. “She would do it. It’s my belief that she’s been in power for nearly three hundred Terran years.”
“She—what?” Jessamyn ran the math quickly in her head. “You’re saying Pavel’s aunt has been in power since before the war?”
The Secretary nodded. “In different bodies and with different identities. That is my belief as it was that of my predecessors.”
“That’s appalling,” Jess whispered. Then a long shudder ran from the top of Jess’s skull down to her toes. “We can’t tell Terrans this secret. Lucca Brezhnaya would destroy us if we did.”
“It is a secret I cannot in good conscience keep,” replied the Secretary. “And I could be wrong. The current Chancellor may have arrived in office through more conventional means. But I suspect our old enemy sits to one side of the throne still.”
Jess shivered again.
“In any event,” continued Mei Lo, “Since the day I came to office and learned of this, I’ve sworn to bring the Terran government’s secret to light. However, I have no intention of leaving Mars Colonial vulnerable to destruction.”
“Oh,” sighed Jessamyn, finally understanding the urgency behind Ethan’s secret mission. “This is the real reason you want the laser satellites under Marsian control.”
The Secretary nodded slowly.
Jess looked down. She saw her hands clenched into tight fists, whitening from the strain. “There’s something I should probably tell you.” She took a slow breath. “I stabbed the Terran Chancellor. She’s one of Earth’s highest-ranking officials. She’ll be out for blood.”
“She knows about Mars Colonial?” asked the Secretary, alarmed.
“No, no,” said Jess. “But I talked her nephew into helping me. So he knows about us.” She struggled as she described the decisions that had seemed so clear on Earth when she’d made them. How she’d told Pavel (albeit under the influence of a truth-inducing drug) about Mars. How he’d helped her escape. How he’d turned upon his aunt, the powerful Lucca Brezhnaya. How he’d rescued her re-bodied brother and then lost him. How he’d promised to find and keep Ethan safe.
The Secretary glanced at a clock, grimacing. “We’ve got big problems, then, Jaarda. I’m not sure if I’m furious with you for withholding this information yesterday or relieved that you chose to tell me today.”
“You’re welcome to go with furious, Ma’am. It was as good as lying.” Jessamyn swallowed thickly, recalling how the Secretary despised lies.
“I think I am angry. Holy Ares, Jessamyn, what were you thinking—stabbing the Chancellor?”
Jess felt color rushing to her face. “I was thinking of my promise to bring food back to Mars, Madam Secretary.” Her eyes fixed upon her boots. She’d tracked Mars-dirt into the Secretary’s hopcraft. It was far from her worst offense.
“Yes, yes, of course,” said Mei Lo, exasperation in her tone. “And honestly, it makes no difference to the course of action I’m planning.” Her eyes narrowed. “I wonder if we could spin your encounter to further discourage those who want—” She broke off, shaking her head. “What am I thinking? I’m getting as bad as the pro-trade faction.”
Jessamyn looked over to her planet’s leader just as the last of the sunlight sank behind the crater’s rim. The hopcraft felt colder inside without the glow.
“Well,” said Jessamyn, sighing, “The one good thing