Defying Mars (The Saving Mars Series) - By Cidney Swanson Page 0,49
off. “We’ve got trouble. Big trouble.”
Hurriedly, she repeated the overheard conversation to her friend, who seemed remarkably unmoved by the threat against his life.
“Bells of Hades,” he whispered. “Didn’t see that comin’. Words fail me, Jess.”
“They’re ungrateful wretches,” Jess fumed, sealing the front of her suit.
“Guess we better get a move-on,” said Crusty, shaking his head.
“I’m taking a planet hopper straight to Mei Lo’s residence.”
“What?” asked Crusty.
“Immediately,” said Jessamyn. “Before the celebration.”
Crusty frowned. “Wait a minute. I’m talkin’ about launchin’ the ship. Are you sayin’ you want to go see the Secretary instead?”
Jess stared at her friend. “We can’t launch now. We’ve got information that Mei Lo needs in order to fight the pro-trade faction.”
Crusty stared at her like she was speaking Marsperanto.
“Cavanaugh and the others were going with the blessing of the pro-trade party,” said Jess. “Everyone will hate them once they hear the truth about the party. This is just what Mei Lo needs!”
“Jess, you listen to me. You go blazin’ over to Mei Lo’s with this information and you’ll be in for all kinds of questions. People are going to ask how it is you heard these conversations. How it is a group of arsonists planned to steal Mars’s only spaceship. And who they found to pilot. Don’t think for a minute Cavanaugh won’t rat you out.”
Something in the pit of Jess’s stomach rolled over uncomfortably.
“Oh,” said Jess. It was awful. Crusty was right. “What are we going to do?” she murmured, half to herself, half to Crusty.
“Kid, the way I see it, we got two options. We can launch this morning, before the rest of the crew shows up, or we can give up ‘til next annum and head over to Mei Lo’s and tell her everything.”
Jess felt like she was going to be sick.
“But you better decide quick,” said Crusty. “’Cause Cavanaugh and his buddies were planning to load a few more things on the ship during the celebration this morning. The ship’s packed full up on fuel, but you need a morning launch from this position. Ship can’t carry enough fuel for launchin’ at the wrong time of day.”
Jessamyn nodded. Morning was their launch window. If they took off any other time, it would send the ship in the wrong direction. They couldn’t afford the fuel for large course corrections from space, and besides, they’d never get up to speed without slinging off using the planet’s spin—not when Earth and Mars were separating by nearly four million kilometers a day.
“I don’t like to say it, but it’s either go now or wait another annum,” said Crusty.
“If I stay,” said Jessamyn, “I won’t get a second chance. Not once Cavanaugh opens his mouth.”
She would never leave Mars if she chose to stay right now. Who would trust a spacecraft thief? She’d be stuck. She would never see Pavel again. A weight like a hundred kilos of Mars rock seemed to crush the air from her lungs. She shook the feeling away and took a deep breath.
“If we stay, we could use what we know to sway public opinion,” she said. “We reveal what they did and what else they were willing to do, and Mars Colonial will turn on them. The pro-trade party goes down in flames of infamy. A skilled politician could use something like this to sway an entire population.”
“That’s just it, kid, I ain’t no skilled politician. And with all due respect, Jess, you’re not going to be doin’ a whole lot of persuading from inside a jail cell.”
Jessamyn’s heart sank as she felt the truth of his words.
“True enough,” said Jess. “But the Secretary still needs to know.”
“That’s a call you can place once we’re airborne,” replied Crusty.
Crusty was right again. They couldn’t stay. She felt her resolve forming, originating in the cool space she accessed when she flew. To hand Mei Lo this information while stealing away with Mars’s last ship was crazy. Crazy like taking a planet-hopper into the heart of a storm. But it would accomplish every one of her goals. Mei Lo. Terran-fever. Terran aggression. Satellites. Ethan. Pavel.
Solutions came when your back was up against a wall, thought Jess. When your secondary port thruster had blown and your primary was about to follow suit and you refused to eject.
Her answer was right in front of her: sometimes steering into a dust storm was the right thing to do.
“We launch this morning, Crusty,” she said, her voice as cool as that space in her mind.