Depth Charge - red earth

Chapter 9

Ryan's shuttle pulled into the Airport. Most people on Mars had access to two types of shuttles; a smaller one for travelling to work, and a larger one for journeys; sometimes rented, sometimes owned. The larger shuttles each had their own parking bay at the Airports. Each time they travelled, their trips could be monitored in case there was a crash.

After parking in his designated space, Ryan and the others lumbered out with the many books and information that they were carrying from the bunker and they headed for the main lounge. There were a reasonable amount of people in the lounge, but they were all gathered around the television screens, watching reporters from the black sands area, interviewing people who had encountered an attack of hideous beasts coming out of the ground.

Heading through one of the terminals connecting corridors towards the long term parking, Ryan noticed someone leaning against the wall, reading a newspaper; he was wearing a familiar hat.

When Ryan stopped in his tracks, the others noticed. "What's the matter, Ryan?"

He initially thought of running, but something inside told him he had nothing to run from. Carl folded up his paper and stepped up to him.  

"What do you want?"

Carl gave him a look that indicated he should have expected him; obviously. "There's no need to be nervous, Ryan, I just want to talk; that's all."

For a brief moment, Ryan thought more seriously of running. "Don't even think of running, Ryan. It won't work out well for you."

"What do you want, detective," asked Becky defensively.

Carl took a deep breath and breathed out slowly. "I can totally understand that you all would be wary of someone like me, I mean, why would a senior detective be following someone like Ryan Foster?" The others nodded their heads. "The truth is ... I need your help."

Ryan however, always had his attitude to authority ready to strike. "Why would we help you?"

Carl had no more time for reasoning. Whipping out his cuffs with his left hand, he dealt a quick blow with his right hand to Ryan's stomach. "I don't have time for this. You're under arrest." As Ryan was bent over trying to catch his breath, Carl manoeuvred his arms behind his back and cuffed him. The others began making a commotion in protest. Carl ordered them all to come with him, or they would all have charges of trying to escape an officer laid against them. Given the fact that Ryan was their only transport home, they chose to go along with Carl. Greg was spouting off his list of influential friends, threatening Carl that he would find himself unemployed very soon. Carl considered cuffing Greg, but he was all out of cuffs. "It's the hat isn't it? It infuriates you ..."

The two black pods were designed for the mines. They were used for transport in the construction of the tunnels that ran from the polar caps underground, past the volcanic lava, and to the various cities and manufacturing plants. Each round shiny black pod had several large chrome rods protruding from the hull. Using electro-magnetic force, they were able to travel along the tunnel sections quickly with the additional aid of sonar navigation.

Megan and Lonnie sat in one pod, while Elmer and Andy occupied the second one. "Systems check, report in." Megan commanded. It was all very routine. It didn't seem to matter that they were about to propel at high speeds into the world of an unknown enemy; they were Terra Military.

The launch site was commercially owned; used by the miners to access remote stations in emergencies like tunnel collapses, or gas implosions. The chrome rods had streams of blue surrounding them before the sudden jolt of energy pushed them intensely towards their target - Olympus Mons.