Eric Schneider - Battleground Mars

Table of Contents

BATTLEGROUND MARS

By Eric Schneider

Published by Swordworks Books

Copyright 2011 by Eric Schneider

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

Chapter One

The ship finally blasted off from New Houston Spaceport, leaving a trail of vapor in its wake, together with his old life. Rahm felt an overwhelming sense of relief as they left behind the vast complex of launch pads, hangars, and processing plants. The spaceport was a recent construction, built with just one purpose. The transport of a single substance across millions of miles of space. The ship was heading to a new horizon, to the outer limit of the solar system. He was heading away from the spectacular failure that had changed the course of his life. This mission was to mine a desperately needed mineral resource from a distant planet. To wrench the precious substance from deep beneath the hostile surface of Mars. Only the latest technological advances had made the journey possible. New discoveries, new materials and the development of a radical propulsion system had opened up new possibilities to further human exploration. To increase the knowledge of the solar system they inhabited. Some people trumpeted the benefits of colonizing distant worlds, and others planned new tourist ventures. Yet no sooner had interplanetary space travel become a practical reality than a new crisis emerged. At first it was shrugged off, warnings that had been growing for centuries. Icebergs were melting, and sea levels were rising as a consequence. That was part of the natural cycle on Earth, so some people said. Forests became farmland, and green fields surrendered to desert, yet deserts could be irrigated with the new desalination technologies. Forests could be replanted. Couldnt they? No problem!

Few noticed the inexorable advance of man-made destruction over nature. Governments and corporations always put the balance sheet first. It was only when people began to struggle to breathe that they became worried. Even Saul, his best and most trusted friend, had been excited about the possibilities for the new mineral when he heard about it.

Look at this stuff, Rahm. Its called trevanium. They say its a miracle, the solution to our problems with bad air quality. I mean, Christ, its disgusting. I can even taste the air as I breathe it!

Yes, the air was foul. Worse than that, it was increasingly toxic.

It sure looks promising, Rahm replied. Its only a pity that its so far away to recover it.

Oh yeah? The harder and dirtier it is to mine the stuff, the more theyll pay to get the job done. I keep telling you, where theres shit theres money.

He smiled. Saul Packer was an skilled toolpusher, one of the best in the business, and he was correct about the money. Extracting the rare and valuable resource would result in some hefty pay packets for all of them.

You are right, if what they say is true, trevanium will transform the Earth from a polluted hell into a paradise.

Itll transform my bank account, thats for sure, Saul grinned.

Using trevanium it was possible to start a chemical reaction, whereby atmospheric pollutants bonded with the mineral catalyst to output pure, clean air. He had heard of the mineral in the early days of his career, although hed had other priorities. After completing his doctoral degree Rahm was appointed director and chief engineer of a multi-billion dollar research station. The plant had been built in Afghanistan, near to the border with Iran. His company had discovered that the opium poppies, the great harvest of the Afghans, could produce more than heroin and morphine. New advances in biological computing required new materials, and the deadly poppy promised to deliver the complex solutions to fast processing that they sought. Rahm even had his beloved fiance, Chrissie Blake, working at his side, and life couldnt have been better. Until hed scrambled out alone from the wreckage of his research station in Herat, mentally shattered by the destruction of both the station and the lives of everyone inside it.

Theyd said it wasnt his fault, but he had done nothing to stop them. He couldnt carry any more responsibility for people, for property and budgets, couldnt see any more of his loved ones die agonizing deaths. Hed tried to recover from his pain by working as little more than a laborer in isolated mining operations. Then hed taken out his fury by engaging as a mercenary, and in the process he met Saul Packer. The contracts included small-scale military operations to protect mining colonies in isolated parts of Africa and the Amazon Basin, where the natives didnt take kindly to companies that raped their lands and left them polluted and dying. After six violent months fighting off the attacks, he was sated by the brutal violence, and he signed up with the company that mined trevanium on Mars. Extracting the mineral was hard, the most dangerous job in the universe, so they said. The fields they operated in were situated in the most hostile environment imaginable. But it suited him, for Rahm wanted as little human contact as possible. Theyd made him take the crew chief position, because of his experience and doctorate. He hadnt wanted the responsibility, but it was that or nothing. Saul had persuaded him accept and hed given in only with great reluctance. Besides, according to Saul Packer, they were traveling to untold riches.

The safety light went out five minutes ago, you were miles away.

He looked across at his best friend. Saul had fought the vicious battles alongside him in South America. A skilled driller and miner before joining the security detail, Saul was a man hed come to rely on. Through numerous bloody fights, hed proved himself time and again. It was fine with him, just as long as Saul didnt ever need to rely on him if things went wrong. Like Rahm, hed become sickened by the violence, it was hard to pull the trigger when you sympathized with the other side. So theyd both gone back to mining, but this time with a difference. They were traveling to the most dangerous and hostile environment known to man. Mars.

Im just tired. We put a few away last night.

Saul grinned. We sure did. I took that girl back with me to the hotel last night, she was really something. My God, I wont forget her in a hurry! I even brought a picture of her along with me.

He took out his billfold and lost himself looking at her photo, recalling the happy memories of the night before. He grinned at Rahm and pushed back his dark hair, which he wore long because some girl had told him once that it made him look like a rock star. Rahm saw him as more like a friendly grizzly bear, big, muscled, dark and potentially very dangerous. His face carried the scars of countless scrapes that hed been involved. His career was as notable for his hard-fought victories as a fighting man as it was for his skills as a miner. Saul was a good man to have as a friend and a deadly one as an enemy, as many had found to their cost. He was also an inveterate womanizer.

What about you? Her friend looked pretty special.