This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

MARS CITY22.697 DEGREES NORTH LATITUDE, 48.222 DEGREES WEST LONGITUDE

IAN KELLIHER WALKED UP TO WHAT LOOKED TObe an enormous portal, the steel plates sealed tight. He tapped it, then turned to the three men following behind him.

“So—what’s on the other side?” he asked.

Two of the men—Elliot Swann, the company lawyer, and Jack Campbell, the head of security—turned to the man in uniform. Medals and colorful bars spoke of experience; three stars indicated a general.

A general in the space marines,Kelliher thought. Less a U.S. government military unit than a Union Aerospace Corporation private security force.

“Mars,” the general replied. “Right now, nothing but a big flat expanse of red dirt and rock.”

Kelliher nodded. He knew the project was behind schedule, even though no one had told him so. Nobody ever told him the truth about the problems. Nobody ever told him anything they thought he didn’t want to hear.

Worst of all, he’d have to go back Earthside and report to his father, the great Tommy Kelliher. Sitting in his castle-like Newport Beach estate, monitored by the best medical help that money could buy, kept alive by drugs and machines that most of the world’s hospitals hadn’t even heard about.

Tommy Kelliher. UAC founder emeritus.

Ian was now the UAC chairman. But as long as the pumps forced air into his father’s lungs, Ian would still have to talk to the man who made UAC the amazingly powerful global business it was today. After all, how many businesses owned an entire planet?

Sure, Mars was being developed as a “joint venture” by the United States government and the UAC, but there was no one on Capitol Hill who didn’t know the truth. Mars would be a UAC operation, and the good old U.S. of A. was merely along for the ride.

Kelliher took a step closer to General Hayden.

“General, my supervisors say that the work out there, connecting the units…that it’s all not going as easily as anticipated.”

Hayden nodded. The man had seen his share of battles—or “skirmishes,” as the government liked to call the never-ending little wars that plagued planet Earth—so he didn’t exactly shrink, or back away a step, but a thin line of sweat broke out on his brow.

“True, there have been difficulties. Some rock formations went much deeper than we thought. The surveys were completely wrong in certain places—”

The other two men stayed quiet. Not their job to add heat to this dish.

“But, General,” said Kelliher, “you have done everything you can to help the teams, correct mistakes, to keep us moving forward, yes?”

“Full speed ahead, Ian.”

As if we’re in the navy now.And not in the middle of the largest construction project ever attempted anywhere, let alone in a hostile environment.

Nothing even came close.

“Good. Full speed, as you say. Okay—so now I want tosee. ”

Hayden’s eyes narrowed. “See? See what?”

Another tap of the metal. “Outside. The work, the progress, talk to some my supervisors. And—oh yes—” A pause, so Hayden knew what Kelliher’s real purpose was. “I want to look around Delta. Best tell Betruger.”

Hayden didn’t move.

“And how about we get started now, General?”

Hayden nodded, and then turned and started leading the men away from the unfinished corridor and back to the Administration wing.

THE BORDER OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEREKSTAN 40.673 DEGREES NORTH LATITUDE, 72.217 DEGREES EAST LONGITUDE

LIEUTENANT JOHN KANE HELD UP HIS RIGHThand, and the row of armored vehicles trailing behind him came to a sudden stop. So far he had done a fine job of maintaining—as ordered—complete radio silence.

Kane climbed out of his lead vehicle and jumped to the ground. He dug out his standard issue marine “Pete”—a nearly indestructible PDA that did everything but make a cup of joe.

He heard the engines humming behind him, idling, ready to continue their march. But first Kane needed to check exactly where they were. The lieutenant hit a button, then scrolled down to the live map showing their current position.

The screen glowed and then the crazy-quilt image of eastern republics flashed on the screen. He and his squad had just violated one republic’s airspace, then trespassed across another’s sovereign territory.

Was that republic complicit in what was happening here, or were they too busy with their own dozen skirmishes and revolts to bother with a small U.S. convoy racing across their homeland? Who the hell knew?

He looked at the map while Sergeant Chadbourne came up behind him. “We okay, Lieutenant?”

Kane turned to him. “Appears so. Looks like we just crossed the Terekstan border five minutes ago. Now at least all the other ‘stans’ can forget about us.”

Terekstan was the latest in what appeared to be a domino-like lineup of “stans” that bloomed in this desolate region like some dogged weed—one appeared, then got swallowed by another, while another chunk split off from that.

And fueling the whole mess was the ever-present need for two things: water and oil.

Most of the planet still used fossil fuels—whatever was left, anyway—with the premium alternative fuel sources firmly in the hands of the big corporations. But worse, potable water was no longer commonplace. Two rare commodities had become even more insanely rare, especially now that coastal areas had begun what looked like an inevitable disappearance.

The world had already waved good-bye to most of Florida, so long to the glorious Hamptons. And Africa?

If you thought too long about Africa, the hopelessness of that whole situation could be absolutely overwhelming.

“We’re good.” Kane looked across the ridge and then down to what seemed to be a rocky plain, stretching to a city—maybe the only city in this new republic. A republic that recently discovered it was sitting on a massive undiscovered oil field. Miles down, but obtainable. And everyone wanted it.

Except this particular mission wasn’t about getting the oil—at least not on paper. This one was all about rescue.

“Okay,” Kane said. “Let’s keep moving…eyes on me…want to keep radio silence until we’re ready to go in.”

“Got it, Lieutenant.”

Chadbourne walked back to the other vehicles.

In a few minutes, it would be party time. And as was often the case these days, who knew which of them would get out of this thing alive.

MCMURDO PROMONTORY—MARS NORTHEAST OF THE UNFINISHED DELTA LABS

IAN KELLIHER TURNED AND LOOKED AT THE SUN,careful not to stare for too long. At a glance, it didn’t seem much different from the way the sun looked back home. If anything it looked brighter, clearer, even though Mars was farther away from it.

But the readout on the left arm of his uniform told him it was a crisp 20 degrees below zero outside. A survivable temperature, albeit temporarily, if it was forced upon you. But how long could you last with no air? A few minutes before your brain would scream for oxygen?

There was something he didn’t tell the others, about other experiments back home—feeding off work with the free divers who trained their bodies to change their heart rate and metabolism, so that they could hold their breath for eight minutes, or even more. The big secret? With the UAC’s chemical modifications and training, that was now up to twenty-six minutes. Now the team was experimenting with the basic components of the Martian atmosphere that was so heavy in carbon dioxide and so poor in oxygen. Could modifications be made so that humans could be on the surface and breathe forhours at a time?

Of course, there was still the severe temperature to deal with. Catch a good day, and it could be pleasant. On the other hand, a cold Martian day could freeze your body solid in a matter of minutes. But all that too could be changed. More gases in the atmosphere would trap more of those rays.

Yeah…just do what we did to planet Earth. Dump more gas into the atmosphere, and watch the temps climb. And the ice melt. And the coastal areas vanish. And the whole fucking planet change more in a hundred years than it did in the past ten thousand.

We could do that here. In fact, we have to.

But that, Kelliher knew, was quite another story.

“Ian?” Hayden said.

Kelliher turned away from the ridge. He hated that Hayden thought himself a peer, that he’d actually address him by his first name. Made Kelliher a little…sick.

“Yes?”

“Ready to see Delta?”

“Not yet. Take me to Site 3.”

“Really, sir?” Hayden replied. “You have a lot of other meetings and briefings this afternoon. And Betruger can meet us now, so don’t—”

“Site 3, General Hayden.” He waited a beat so that there could be no mistake about the meaning of the exchange. “Now, if you will.”

Hayden nodded, his eyes looking fishy inside his helmet.

They walked back to the rover, a nervous Swann bringing up the rear. And when all loaded, their driver started to make his serpentine way down the promontory, curling around to an area of moguls, small hills, and sharp jutting chunks of red rock that looked like the tip of a mountain that had jutted up and through the permafrozen Martian surface.

TEREKESTAN—OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL

KANE’S FORCE STOPPED ON A CURVED SECTIONof highway, the sides littered with smoking tanks, twisted artillery guns, and what looked like smoldering smudge pots. But from experience, Kane knew that they were bodies. Whether they were civilians or soldiers was anybody’s guess.

And now they were close enough to hear the firefight ahead, the surprise noose closing on the other marines.

The acrid smell began to seep into Kane’s lead vehicle. Gomez coughed, then said, “Shit.” Some of the other grunts began hacking as well.

Kane hit some buttons on the dash, and a holo-graphic floating map of the city appeared in the air. He could touch points to enlarge them, or change the POV, though he didn’t need that feature right now.

Chadbourne’s voice sounded in his ear. “Lieutenant—any orders?”

“Hold on—I want a live shot of this mess.”

Kane scrolled down to access the live sat feed over their position. And then he could see it all. Three groups moving quickly toward a position four, maybe five city blocks away…while the marines who were trapped there fired back.

They had—in Kane’s estimate—maybe ten or twenty minutes.

“Fuck,” Kane grumbled. He pointed to the live enhanced image and began to turn it so he could plot the best way to their position—when the image suddenly vanished.

“What the hell?”

“Lieutenant?”

“Hang on, Chadbourne. Just hold it a second.”

The satellite feed had gone completely dead, and, Kane assumed, so had every other bit of live intel that had been fed to his onboard computer. Now they had no eyes, no information. He tried to get back the archived map—that too was gone.

So they were shutting down everything. They’d probably try to kill his battalion’s communications system if they didn’t already know he had an analog override.

Kane tried to remember the images he saw, the streets, the path taken by the now-allied government and rebel troops repelling the nasty American invaders, who only hours ago had been the city’s defenders.

“Okay. All set. We’re going to head northwest, then come up on the rear of one of the armies heading straight toward our guys.” Classic end-run strategy. “But we can’t waste a lot of time when we get there. There are still two other groups moving toward them.”

“Exit strategy, Lieutenant?”

Kane wanted to laugh and say,Just get the hell out.

“We’re going to go get to them and open a corridor out.”

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

And after that?Kane wondered. When they got back to the rally point? Were they still going to get extracted…?

No time to think about that. Even now, they were perhaps left to face an even larger force, some Russians in the mix for good measure, all heading their way.

Or maybe…the U.S. in this case would want to clean up its own mess.

A few missile-equipped fighters—that was all it would take.

Whatever. Too late to turn back now. “Okay. Let’s go.”

MARS CITY—DELTA LAB

THE AIRLOCK TO DELTA OPENED, AND KELLIHERhurried in ahead of the others. The lock shut behind them and the chamber filled with precious air.

After a few moments, the lock leading to the lab opened, and the party gave their life-support suits to some lab assistants. Kelliher gazed past them, marveling at the sight before him.

The lab past the airlock teemed with activity; people moved through a great open space as if hell-bent on a mission of amazing urgency. Surrounding the great open lab, Kelliher could see chambers and storerooms in the background, and then a raised area, with more rooms.

An incredible display, all of Mars City, all of the UAC’s great plans. This lab, its work, the future it represented.

There was, however, one thing missing from Kelliher’s sight. “Where the hell is Betruger?”

Swann stood beside his boss. “He was notified that we were on our way.”

“Really?”

Despite his irritation, Kelliher knew that Dr. Malcolm Betruger commanded a certain level of respect—he was, after all, the brains behind everything that made the UAC what it was today. And if Betruger was correct about the work up here…it was only the beginning.

Nonetheless, Kelliher began to fume. “Am I supposed to stand here and wait? What the—”

Suddenly Betruger came rushing across the floor, emerging from behind a massive podlike chamber on the main floor. “Ian,so glad to see you.”

Kelliher stuck out his hand. Betruger gave it a quick shake as if such flesh-to-flesh contact bordered on the unappealing.

Physically, Betruger wasn’t imposing at all. On the short side, a bit stocky. But the eyes…Betruger’s eyes burned with an intelligence and clarity that could hold a boardroom riveted, or make every person in the room feel two inches tall, from fellow scientists down to the lowliest lab assistant.

Betruger looked at the other men and nodded, not acknowledging Hayden by name.Shows who’s is in control of this operation. Kelliher guessed that Betruger certainly liked the fact that Delta was—for now at least—cut off from the rest of Mars City.

“Good to see you again, Malcolm,” said Kelliher.

“Things look…busy here.”

A smile, not a terribly warming one, bloomed on Betruger’s face. “Busy. Oh yes, that we are, Ian. And it’s only going to get more so. You got my requests for the next quarter?”

“Yes, they are being processed—”

Betruger’s eyes narrowed. “Processed? Ian, I told you that they represented the minimum. The absolute minimum…”

“I still have a board to report to, Malcolm. I’m still on Earth.”

A grin from Betruger. “The old world.”

“Yes, a magical place where boards still have to sign off on giant budget increases.” Though, truth be told, they would rubber stamp any proposal, but why let him know that?

“The minimum, Ian. That’s all I—”

Kelliher put a hand on Betruger’s shoulder and smiled. “Malcolm, don’t worry. It’s all going to happen, everything you need. The personnel, the material—I put Swann here in direct charge of overseeing it. He’ll be coming up here to liaise with you.”

Kelliher saw Swann’s head turn at that bit of information. Unexpected news for his chief counsel, but Swann knew a lot of Kelliher’s and the UAC’s secrets. If there was one person to trust in this, it had to be Swann. And if he didn’t like it?Tough shit, my friend.

Betruger didn’t exactly shrug off the hand on his shoulder, but instead turned and faced the great open expanse of the lab. “A tour then? Show you where we are…and where we will be going?”

Kelliher nodded and smiled. “That’s what we’re here for, Malcolm. Just nothing too technical, okay?”

“Of course. We’ll start with the new chambers, shall we?”

And Betruger hurried away at full speed, making no secret of the fact that he was probably way too busy to be so accommodating.

THE INNER CITY OF TEREKSTAN

WITHOUT WARNING, KANE’S SQUAD FOUND THEMSELVESright on the tail of a line of Terekstan regulars, flanking some nasty Russian tanks. The tanks were relics, nothing more than turrets with wheels, but still capable of kicking out rapid-fire explosive rounds without jamming.

The gunfire covered Kane’s advance, coming right behind them. The Terekstan soldiers were too busy watching their tanks turn buildings into rubble, and apparently Russia hadn’t given them any live satellite feeds. Maybe they didn’t think it necessary. And judging from the building-leveling blasts, Kane imagined that they weren’t too concerned about rebuilding any infrastructure.

“Chadbourne, what do you see?”

“Nothing yet, Lieutenant. Just signs of the firefight ahead.”

Then another voice. One of the trapped marines. “Th-they got us surrounded. We’re just about out of RPGs. They’re pounding us.”

Kane saw a few of the Terekstan soldiers ahead turn their heads, now suddenly aware that someone snaked behind them.

“Shit,” he called out. “Everyone ready.”

And just like that, the Terekstan soldiers who had been pouring all of their firepower into the buildings began to aim at Kane’s men.

“Deploy and fire at will!” Kane shouted.

The sides of the troop carriers opened, and his men streamed out, hugging the building walls.

The area immediately transformed into a massive firefight, a spidery net of tracer fire and laser targeting, making the crater-pocked boulevard look like a carnival setting. Or maybe a street from hell.

The Terekstan regulars in the rear—easy targets—began to fall.Good. When you’re this outnumbered, you have to start whittling them down fast.

“Lieutenant, we have a problem,” reported Chadbourne.

“Which one?”

“They’ve moved to the side streets and taken position. We—” He hesitated. Kane could hear the sound of guns firing, then larger explosions. God, maybe this was an error. What’s the expression? Good after bad?What if this rescue turns out to be a mass slaughter of two companies?

“Chadbourne, maybe you need to pull back.”

No response. Then—“No, Lieutenant. We’ve taken position.” A laugh. “One thing for sure. We got plenty of targets.”If there’s anyone I want coming to rescue me, it’s Chadbourne.

Then the trapped marine’s voice again, the one that had totally lost it before. “Lieutenant—if you can hear me—how long till you’re here?”

“Are you the officer in charge?”

“The captain, he’s dead. I just put on his headset.”

“Good work. Your marines in defensive position?”

“Yes—but more than half gone.”

Cuts our number down even more…“We’re real close. What’s your name?”

“PFC Richards.”

“Richards, you’re doing great. Real good. Just keep the pressure on at your end. Once we see your position, once we—” A loud explosion near Kane’s vehicle—he felt it lurch as the driver drew closer to a building. “Once we see your position, we’ll send up some flares. That will be your signal to punch out and join us.”

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

“Meantime—just keep firing.”

Give them, what, five minutes?Kane wondered. He turned back to the driver. “Do your best to keep those goddamn tanks busy. Got it?” His two gunners nodded. Both looked a little jittery…

And then Kane jumped out of the vehicle to join his men on the street.This must have been what Custer felt like.

MARS CITY

JACK CAMPBELL SHUT THE DOOR TO THE MAINconference room as Ian Kelliher sat down at the head of the polished mahogany table. As for Swann—for a moment the lawyer looked like he didn’t know which of the ten empty chairs to take.

“Damn it, just sitanywhere , Swann. You’re making me jumpy,” Kelliher remarked.

Swann took a seat on the side.

“Mr. Kelliher,” Campbell said, “would you like the blinds closed?”

Kelliher looked out the windows, watching people walking back and forth, glancing into the big room.

“Not yet. Wait till Hayden gets back. Let these people see who the hell they’re working for.” After a few moments, he turned to Swann. “Okay, before Hayden gets here, let’s review the way things will go in the next year.”

Swann slipped out his PDA, and immediately Kelliher rolled his eyes.

“No, Christ, I don’t want any record of this conversation. Just your ears, Swann, got it? Campbell can remind you of anything you forget.”

“Mr. Kelliher,” Swann said, “are you sure you don’t want to wait until we get back to Earth? I mean—” he looked around at the conference room—“who knows what kind of devices they have in here?”

Campbell took a step away from the door. “I do. My guys went over this room. It is, as Hayden assured us, secure.” He nodded at Kelliher. “You can speak freely.”

“Okay. Here’s what worries me. I don’t think Betruger is showing or telling us everything.”

“But why would he hide—?” Swann began.

Kelliher laughed. “Swann, for a great lawyer, you tend to be pretty gullible. Iknow Betruger. Even when he was working on the ion engine, I believed only half his promises.”

“But that turned out to be exactly as he said.”

“Not exactly. The upper limits kept coming down; his claim that it might be modified for short-range use—all that went out the window. But—and it’s a big ‘but’—he still did something that transformed interplanetary space travel.”

Kelliher glanced out the window at the two marines standing outside.

The door opened and General Hayden walked in. “Sorry—wanted to make sure we had everything ready for you.”

“Good. Okay, Campbell—now you can shut the blinds and let’s get this going.”

The security chief tapped a button on a nearby console, and the clear windows immediately turned opaque.

THE INNER CITY OF TEREKSTAN

KANE LOOKED AT THE STREAMING COLUMN OFsoldiers about to cut into Chadbourne’s line. He looked left to see if Jackson and the soldiers on the right flank were making their way off the roof and down to the street.

Not yet—which meant it fell to Kane to try and stop what was about to happen. He tried yelling into the radio: “Sergeant! Freeze! Don’t move—”

The radio earpiece crackled to life, but the noise from the fire being laid down by Chadbourne’s men made the words a hopeless garble. The warning was lost.

To Kane’s left, the Terekstan regulars kept firing at their location, nearly pinning them, while Chadbourne steadily walked into a trap. He wouldn’t see that winding street up to the right until it was too late.

Kane knew he had no choice. It was either move now, or let this whole operation go south.

He turned back to the solders hugging the stone walls near him, spraying bullets toward the open corridor, firing the occasional RPG to make the enemy back off.

With time, Kane might have been able to let the fight just play out like this until they had a good sense of where the enemy had positioned his troops. But blasts from their small, compact tanks were ripping out chunks of the corner buildings.Our cover is slipping away…

He thought of times other officers had given orders like the one he was about to issue. To move, even though you knew that at least half of your soldiers would be obliterated.

But there was no alternative. Every second, the danger grew worse, and Chadbourne’s entire column was about to be wiped out.

Kane turned to the soldiers behind him. They already figured what was coming. Experienced from countless skirmishes around the world, Kane knew they could read his mind.

The armored vehicles beside them kept blasting away.

He gave the command—one AAV to head left, right into the mouth of the open square, giving some cover to the squad, while the other AAV and its ground troops followed Kane to intersect Chadbourne’s column before it was too late.

A few nods. A barely heard “Roger, Lieutenant” from the armored vehicle drivers. Then: “Okay, let’s go!”

And there was no looking back for anyone.

MARS CITY—INSIDE DELTA LAB

KELLIHER LOOKED AROUND THE LARGE CONFERENCEroom. Everyone in attendance was now hidden from everyone outside. He glared at Hayden, who—he imagined—knew what was coming.

“I know about the experiments…” Kelliher said quietly.

Hayden looked at Campbell and Swann as if wondering if they were as confused as he was.Or as confused as he was pretending to be…

“What do you mean, Ian? The work that’s been going on, everything Betruger has been—”

Kelliher put up a hand. “No. Not that little show we saw today. Everything looking so good, proceeding according to plan. When the truth is…well…something else, right?”

Several emotions played across Hayden’s face, and Kelliher wondered if the general would try to deny the truth or give in and accept that Kelliher already knew what was really going on in the lab.

“Mr. Kelliher,” Swann added, “perhaps you want to mention to General Hayden about our liabilities, our exposure—”

“In good time,” Kelliher said. “There are more important things to discuss now.”

Hayden cleared his throat. “You obviously know something that we need to talk about.”

“Exactly. The smaller chambers that Betruger has been using…his tests withanimate objects—live specimens…they have not gone well, have they?”

Hayden hesitated, as if considering a lie. Then: “There have been—what does he call them?—anomalies. All to be expected, he has explained.”

“Expected? And yet you and he saw fit to keep those results from me. In fact, you have done everything possible to make sure that no one outside of Delta knew about any of those experiments.”

Hayden nodded. “Yes. That’s true.”

“And why is that?”

“They were too disturbing, too alarming, Betruger said. I myself haven’t seen much. But Dr. Betruger felt that the impact back on Earth, back at the UAC offices, could hurt the project.”

“And so the security lid was tightened?”

“It was the only way he could—”

Kelliher turned away and spoke to Campbell.

“Show him, Jack.”

The room’s lighting fell to a pale blue glow and the wall behind Kelliher turned into a screen. Campbell had his PDA out and sent the first 3-D image to the room’s display system.

It was a little gray mouse. Except the rear of its body tapered off into what looked like a chunk of segmented worm, or a snake, hairless, thick—

“Nice, huh? Next.”

The mouse vanished, to be replaced with what looked like a cat. This vid moved in a loop, showing the cat moving, twisting.

“I’ve kept the sound off. It’s a little much for my stomach.”

Kelliher was sure that nobody wanted sound, not when they saw the cat’s head opening and shutting like a clamshell rimmed with teeth. The only clue that the mouth of teeth belonged to something feline was the whiskers that sprouted around the gaping mouth.

“There is a second part to this vid where it begins gnawing at its own body. We’ll pass that one up, I think.”

In the pale blue light he saw Hayden turn away.

“You’ve seen these before, right?”

Hayden nodded. “Some. I—”

“One more. Just so we know exactly what we are talking about—”

A new image flashed on the screen.

“God,” Swann muttered.

Kelliher looked at the screen. Would Swann start gagging? That wasn’t entirely out of the question.

TEREKSTAN—THE BRIDGE ROAD

KANE’S TECH NCO CAME UP TO HIM. “STILL NOsignal, Lieutenant.”

“Thanks, Gonzales. Best pack up your radio and put a gun in both hands.”

“Will do, Lieutenant.”

This was probably more than Gonzales bargained for—a kid from some crappy area who got a bit of tech training, then signed on to the Corps thinking that the marines, for him, would be all about keeping a smooth flow of images and data going back and forth.

Something nice and safe.

Not like this. Cut off from any information. Where the only tech wasnone.

As Kane looked ahead, he realized how good, how helpful it could be to get live sat feeds of everything happening around them, heat signatures showing all enemy combatants, clear satellite shots of any armor moving to box them in. But Command wanted this to end here, and Kane was sure that a surrender was not in the cards. There would be too many questions that way. Too many awkward explanations.

“Keep moving, fast as you can,” he said, not that any of the troops needed the urging.

The street—the road to the bridge—had gone quiet. Kane had done enough damage to the enemy at their rear that any force chasing them would need some time to regroup. If they could punch out of the front, they might make it out of the town.

And then? Best not to think about that.

And as if in answer to that thought, he watched two mini-Karelia tanks pivot into place, gun turrets turning, ready to blow his entire group away.

MARS CITY—ADMINISTRATION

FOR A FEW MOMENTS, NOBODY IN THE LARGE CONFERENCEroom said anything. They just stared mutely at the screen. Perhaps Hayden had seen this before. And certainly Kelliher had looked at the image often enough.

But Ian Kelliher thought it was worth the price of admission to see the looks on Swann’s and Campbell’s faces. Jack Campbell was one tough son of a bitch—but this gave him pause.

Without waiting for anyone to react, Kelliher touched the tabletop controls. The image began a slow 360-degree turn, so everyone could look at it very carefully as it turned.

“Jee-sus…” Campbell said.

“Indeed,” Kelliher replied. “Quite something, General, no?”

Hayden nodded.

Kelliher looked back at the thing on the screen. One of the more recent experimental results.

“I believe,” Kelliher said, “that this experiment involved increasing the distance of the teleported subject, am I correct?”

“I imagine so. I only get—”

“Right. ‘Need to know’ basis, and all that bullshit.”

Kelliher realized that he had spat out the last word—he needed to keep his cool here. Hayden—despite his well-honed instincts to hide any facts that might prove troublesome or disturbing to the bureaucratic cosmos—was, in fact, a good honcho to be running this operation.

Like Kelliher, Hayden knew how to inspire fear. Like Kelliher, he believed in the importance of this mission. They had had quiet chats back at the Palo Alto labs, discussing the future of Mars.

Not Earth’s future, to be sure. That shithole probably didn’t have one. If the people of Earth were to have any hope, Mars would be the key to it. And Hayden could be ruthless. So what was a little lying and duplicity among friends?

“You have seen this before, right, General?”

A pause. Not so long as to be insubordinate, but enough to show that Hayden was weighing the merits of his answer…

“Yes.” Then: “Briefly. Yes, I have.”

Kelliher now stepped back as the 3-D image finished its rotation.

“I believe the subject was a primate, correct?”

“A capuchin monkey,” Hayden said. “Betruger likes them for their size, their intelligence—a good match, he claimed.”

“A good match…to humans, that is?”

“Yes.”

Now it was Kelleher’s turn to pause. A smile in the pale blue light. “Doesn’t look very human now, does it? Or much like a monkey, for that matter.”

The image had returned to its starting position. Kelliher noted that there wassome fur on the thing—odd, scruffy patches. And it did have handlike paws. But those “hands” now ended in talonlike claws. A long tail curled out from the creature’s rear end, but that was no monkey tail. It looked barbed, with spikes coming out of it. Might work for some deep-ocean giant arachnid.

But on a goddamn monkey? It was the head that was truly the most disturbing. It seemed to have ballooned into an oblong shape. The two eyes had merged into one large, gooey sphere, a dark soulless pupil sitting in some murky greenish-white mucus—a pit of emptiness.

But that was the least of it. The mouth of the “subject” had stretched into a wide, constant grimace. More teeth than any creature could need or ever use. Long fangs, giant chomping molars, set in a mouth that completely dwarfed the head and the rest of the thing.

It looked designed—if that was the right word—for only one thing.

“I never got a report on this, now did I?”

“No, sir. Betruger has asked that all the bad transmissions—”

A full laugh now. “Abad transmission? Is that what he calls them?”

“Yes.”

“No report. But I assume something happened when this…thing arrived in the lab?”

Hayden looked at Swann and Campbell. “Yes. Things happened.”

“See—I don’t know all about that, General. So before we leave, before I tell you how things will go from here on, for this next crucial year…why don’t you tell me. Now.”

Hayden cleared his throat. Then, as if to reassert some of his status as commander of Mars City, the person actually running this place, Hayden stood up and walked to the image.

“It arrived in the lab…alive…”

TEREKSTAN BORDER

AS IF SOMEONE SUDDENLY THREW A SWITCH, THEbarrage that had been steadily streaking from Terekstan just ended. Kane thought that the pursuit had been half-hearted anyway. Once they had crossed the bridge, the possibility of a nasty little trap had disappeared. And no air support ever arrived for them…

That was the interesting part. Would have been a quick way to take them out—a few heavily armored Russian fighters could have made short work of Kane and his escaping company. So somehow, and from somewhere, an order had gone out. No air support, no firing missiles and plasma rockets at the escaping marines.

Not part of the deal, Kane imagined. The Russians get Terekstan and their oil. And once Kane and his troops were out of the bear trap, they were free to go, across the border and to safety.

Kane could see hills ahead, shadowy on this overcast night, no glow of moonlight to show what might lay behind. He sat on top of the surviving AAV and turned back to Gonzales. “Anything yet?”

“No, Lieutenant, still all dead, and—wait a second…Yes, we got it now. Sat links logging in, and now, yes, we got a full comm signal. They lifted it, Lieutenant. They lifted the blackout.”

Just as Kane thought they would. He had disobeyed orders but was now in safe territory, a U.S. ally.Now they have to talk to us.

Kane decided to initiate the conversation. He hit the comm button on his PDA. It flashed red, then green. A small screen appeared as it scanned for a signal, and bingo, he was once again linked into the massive communications network of the U.S. Department of Defense.

“Lieutenant John Kane, commander of Mustang Company, reporting in.”

Nothing for a second. Then a voice, just a radio operator, but tentative, careful. “Lieutenant Kane, we have your position. Proceed in your current vector for 3 point 2 klicks. Then you will come to full stop there, Lieutenant—and wait.”

Funny. We break into a town, save another marine company, lose a lot of good men, some maybe because they pulled the plug on all our data feeds. Now they’ll talk.Nowthey’ll fucking communicate.

“Copy that.”

He knew the AAV driver already had a map and course dumped into her onboard drives. They could actually sit back and let the New Pentagon steer them to the location. And just wait there? For what?

Kane shook his head. He wished Chadbourne was here. Be good to have him to talk to. The rest of the company—well, he didn’t have any personal relationship with them. He was the lieutenant—merely there to give the orders. No friendships blossoming here.

So he was left alone with his thoughts about what was ahead now…just 2 point 6 klicks ahead…2 point 5.

But he could well imagine.

MARS CITY—LEAVING ADMIN

THE GENERAL CAME OUT OF THE CONFERENCEroom first, nodding to Moraetes. Their orders, she knew, were to accompany the party to Reception and on to the main embarkation area.

God, then maybe she could ditch Rodriguez and his nonstop chatter for a bit. If Mars was a place for her to advance, she was pretty sure that it was not by assignments like this, with an idiot like him.

She fell behind the four men making their way to the shuttle that would bring them back to the orbiting carrier and their ride home.

The men moved slowly, so Maria kept her steps small.And what are we doing here ? she wondered.Guarding them? An escort. Seemed kind of odd, when they could just walk from Admin over to the shuttle. What could happen?

She saw one of the men turn and look at her. He had the face and build of someone who had done some military time, and clearly had risen through the ranks.

He stared at Maria. Giving her the once-over. Most men would expect a woman, even a space marine, to turn away.

But this guy (she caught a bit of his name tag on his UAC uniform:Camp —) yeah, this guy didn’t know Maria’s history, her background. Why she was here and why maybe even Mars wasn’t far enough to get away. And her bold stare right back at him made him turn away.

MARS CITY

HOURS LATER, PRIVATE MARIA MORAETES STOODoutside General Hayden’s office. Finally, she heard a barely audible signal coming from the headset of Hayden’s adjutant.

“Yes, sir. I’ll send her right in.” The adjutant looked up. “The general will see you now.”

Maria nodded. The door slid open, and she walked into the office.

She took in the details. The room, filled with rich wood, looked like a military officer’s room from another century. A massive wooden desk with claw feet dominated much of the room.

General Hayden looked down at the desk, then, without giving Maria a glance, he went to his screen. After what seemed an eternity, he looked up at her.

“I was going to ask you, Private Moraetes, whatever possessed you to do…what you did. But you know what? I’m not really interested.”

“Sir, I saw Mr. Kelliher in danger and I thought—”

“Oh,thinking , are we? Didn’t know that privates were expected to actually think. Here’s the news flash—same here as down on Earth. No thinking required. Just follow orders.”

“The situation…was complicated, sir. And I—”

“Yeah, complicated. So you take action that could have killed Ian Kelliher. As it was, he took a shot. Delayed his return home. Could have killed him.”

Maria hesitated a moment She imagined that saying nothing might be the best course. Screw it.

“He could have beenkilled , sir.”

“Or we could have defused the situation later. Crazy bastard trying to get off Mars. He could have been talked down, Private. There was no call for your risky move, your potentially deadly actions.”

Hayden fixed her with his eyes as if daring her to again attempt an explanation. She wanted to ask where the soldier came from. Did the general know what made him act? But she said nothing.

Then the general pointed at the screen. “But I see here in your personnel record what may have prompted you to do that. God, the flotsam and jetsam we get sent up here. Mars City, home to an amazing array of not-quite marines. Like you. But I see you got a bit of a story here.”

Maria knew what he was looking at. Buried in her personnel file. And yes, maybe what he saw did have something to do with the action she took.

“I never hid my past, General. I—”

His hand shot up.

“No. And we all know it now. Know it and—“he tapped his skull—“we can remember. You’re one lucky marine, Moraetes. Lucky that Kelliher is alive. Lucky that he doesn’t want your ass for the risk you took.”

Again Maria thought:I saved him. Ian Kelleher’s brains could be spread all over the hangar floor. I saved him. But it was useless to say anything.

“We’re done here, Private. And I do hope that for as long as I am on Mars, and you are, that our paths don’t ever cross again. Dismissed.”

Maria saluted sharply. Turning on her heels, she walked out of the office, the sliding door whooshing open, then quickly shutting behind her.

She had hoped that the military would be different. That what happened below, down on Earth, might not happen here. That a new world might mean things might just be less about bullshit, less about lies and covering your ass.

And now Maria knew that she was wrong. It would be a long two years ahead for her on Mars….

TWO 2145

Mars City PDA

Dr. Kellyn McDonald

Personal Folder, Security Enabled.

Checked and Opened_2_05_2145 16:08:19

Dr. Betruger confirmed what the core scientific team has long suspected. Namely, he will proceed post haste with more experiments using “volunteers.” Though these steps must be approved on some level by the UAC, and hence Ian Kelliher, I will continue to send full documentation and a warning.

This new series of experiments is alarming for a number of reasons. First, the so-called test results from this past year’s work remain largely unexplained. There have been theories, such as spontaneous genetic mutation and even one concept dubbed “telemetric gene modification.” But still, no one knows what happened.

And everyone saw what happened to the first human subject. We all watched as a human subject, a marine, stepped into the large chamber, prepared to travel through space, to a distance 20 meters away. Betruger argued that the series of successful teleports of inanimate objects, as well as a few somewhat successful animal “ports,” all argued for a human test.

But even those few successful animal subjects later developed difficulties and behavioral changes that remain unexplained. I plan on continuing to record the results of all these new experiments here. I will also inform Kelliher of each step—though I fear he knows, and approves—and my role as his eyes and ears is a false one.

If these steps do not alarm him—if this work doesn’t horrify him—then nothing will.

My wife pleads for me to return, this time for good. She may be right. But I have to wonder: would I even be allowed to leave?

Folder Closed and Locked_2_05_2145 16:08:19

THE NEW PENTAGON VICINITY OF LARAMIE, WYOMING—3287 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE

THE GUARD UNDID THE CUFFS HOLDING JOHNKane’s wrists together. Kane squinted as bright shafts of manufactured sunlight streamed down the hallway from massive phony windows.

His cell had only one small square backlit by a single bright bulb. But this part of the New Pentagon looked as though it was bathed in tropical sunlight, instead of buried deep below the rocky ground.

After the destruction of the old Pentagon in 2078, this new building was designed, as everyone knew, with some key advantages. First, it was located somewhere in Wyoming. The government confirmed that it had been built near Laramie, although layers of secrecy apparently covered all the workers and contractors who built it.

But no matter if any enemy located it. The New Pentagon was buried so deep, under so much mountainous rock, that it would be impervious to any attack. Or so the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense believed.

When the cuffs were off, a marine captain walked up to Kane. “My name is Captain Ferrita. I will be representing you in the proceedings.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Kane had been stripped of all rank. He knew he was no longer a lieutenant, but was he even a private? Was he still even in the marines?

He also now knew the punishment for what he had done. When the country was on a permanent war footing, any disobedience of any order in combat could be penalized by death. It was what Kane expected. And after months sitting in the cell below, he might even be ready for that. Otherwise—in this place—madness loomed.

“You are to say nothing unless directly addressed. Charges will be read. The court-martial counsel will consult with the trial board. They may wish to speak with me if there is a possibility of a lesser charge.”

“Lesser charge?”

“Yes. A charge less than treason. A situation where you might not face execution.”

“How…hopeful?”

“Look, Kane. I don’t know whether you want to live or not. In fact, to be honest, I don’t even care. You are quite clearly guilty. But on the off chance—”

The captain looked Kane in the eyes, and Kane could see that though the man was nearly a foot shorter, there was some steel there. This military lawyer had seen some things. He didn’t blink easily…

“—that youdo want to live, do exactly what I say. Understand?”

“Perfectly.”

“Then let’s go in.”

MARS CITY—DELTA LAB

DR. MALCOLM BETRUGER LOOKED AT THE TEAMof scientists standing in a circle around him. Not one of them did he trust.

No, as soon as this workchanged, as soon as things became truly exciting, revolutionary, and, yes, frightening, he could sense the shift. He knew they must talk among themselves. Whispers, grumbles perhaps. Did Kelliher have a spy among them? He wouldn’t be surprised.

So Betruger had started treating them differently.

First, he began compartmentalizing their responsibilities. Now each one of the esteemed team would function—in their area—alone, and report only to him. While he didn’t actually forbid any discussion between any members, he certainly made it clear that he didn’t like it.

And that was the other thing.Fear… Was there a better motivator? A year ago Betruger had looked up to these people as true collaborators, but now each could be a conspirator, someone who might betray the project.

At first they didn’t seem so terribly upset by the animal experiments when some went wrong. But they almost all protested the idea of using a human.

Betruger reminded then:We’re on Mars. There is a reason these experiments are being done here.

The first transfer of a human seemed, initially, to go well. That is, until the private stumbled out of the chamber. He tried to speak. His mouth opened.

“Just rattled by the process,” Betruger offered.

But when the volunteer opened his mouth, everyone saw that the man couldn’t speak because he had no tongue. No teeth either. In fact, his throat seemed to be bubbling up a fountain of blood, shooting it across the lab floor.

The man was dead within minutes.

That was when Betruger had to shock each and every one of them with his speech. “It meansnothing. And we will achieve nothing unless we experiment, unless we learn what works and what doesn’t.”

But even Betruger at first had to wonder.Losing a tongue? Could that really be part of the transfer process?

An autopsy report, done right in Delta, was sent only to him. While there were mumblings about shock, about the volunteer marine biting and swallowing his own tongue, the autopsy report showed something quite different.

The tongue, in fact the whole inner mouth, the palate, a chunk of the throat lining had been—it appeared—serrated away. Somehow…cut out. Now that was intriguing. And wasn’t that what true scientists live for?

As for the second subject, he appeared perfectly fine. A true success. Some of the scientists even applauded like it was a stage show!

The man emerged from the second tank with no signs of anything wrong. He stumbled a bit, his eyes looked around the room. The medical team caught him just as he was about to collapse, then they laid him down on the stretcher.

A success.

Human teleportation across a distance of 30 meters! And the man was fine. But then he woke up. And screamed…

They were too late getting the gurney straps onto the man. He attacked one of the nurses, his teeth closing on her shoulder, brutally ripping out a chunk of flesh, then he leaped—with what seemed an almost inhuman strength—onto one of the scientists, grabbed his skull, prepared to bite down.

Only the swift butt of a rifle from one of the guards got the man off. They knocked him out with Coticin, the high-speed supernarcotic, taking him down immediately.

And whenever he was allowed to emerge from his drug-induced sleep, the screaming would begin again, the straps would look as though they would break.

Betruger ordered him to remain sedated. At least until he knew what happened.

And something he didn’t tell anyone, not certainly the scientific team, so much more interesting than mere teleportation. Betruger had ideas—theories—but he kept them to himself. After all, there was no one to trust.

Now, he looked at the assembled scientists. “I want you to prepare for the next test.”

He watched their faces, the lack of enthusiasm. Such timid rabbits of science. “And yes,” Betruger continued, “it will be a new human experiment.”

ION SHIP DARKSTAR UAC CENTRAL SPACEHUB—DENVER, COLORADO

“ALL RIGHT, MARINES—UM, SPACE MARINES—find any available seat and buckle in. If this is your first damn time riding an ion ship, get ready to suck wind!”

Kane looked around. About fifty marines, so young, stumbling into the ship. With seating for a hundred or so, finding a seat to himself wouldn’t be a problem.

The seats, designed with all the attention to the comfort of its soldiers that the military was known for, didn’t look much better than the seats on one of the big attack transports. Except these seats had three-way harnesses that—Kane imagined—would hold the passenger safely pinned to the seat even if the ion ship flipped upside down at five g’s.

He looked behind the rows of seats and saw a bulkhead with a door that he thought probably led to some kind of cargo area. And up front, what must be a VIP section.

Kane could hear the clanging and banging as heavy items got loaded into the belly and rear of the ship.

So this will get me to Mars,he thought. And though he had picked a seat way in the back where he thought he’d be alone, that plan didn’t work. A scrawny kid looked at the seat next to Kane.

“This free?”

Kane nodded.

The new space marine stuffed his pack into the compartment above the seats. Despite the fact that these ships moved a lot of heavy equipment at minimal cost, space marines were restricted to only the most basic of personal goods.You’ll get everything you guys need up there. The sergeant who’d said that had worn a real sick grin.

“Name’s Tobias Mitchell Smith,” Kane’s seatmate said.

Kane looked at him, hoping his demeanor would inform the kid of his disinterest in any talk whatsoever. “Kane,” he said.

“People call me ‘Smitty.’ Always have.” The kid stuck out a hand.

Christ,Kane thought.Gonna be a long trip to the Red Planet.

“You ever…you ever ride in one of these things?”

Kane shook his head.Maybe I should just tell him to shut…the hell…up.

“Me either. Going to be something, I can’t wait to—”

A soothing voice filled the transport. “Five minutes until launch initialization.”

“Wow,” Smitty said. “You know—Kane, is it? That your first name?”

Kane shook his head. “Kane will do.”

“You know, I heard that the takeoff feels like you’re in some kind of bullet. The whole ship tilting, rocketing up, before hitting orbit. And these seats, they—”

Enough.Kane looked at the kid, hoping that Smitty, probably fresh out of what used to be the farm belt and nowso damn excited about going to Mars, might see that the person he was sitting next to wasn’t exactly a newbie. That it was this or get executed. “Look, Smitty. Maybe we should just sit back, okay? And, you know, enjoy the goddamn launch.” Kane kept his eyes on the kid. And finally a flash of recognition there: that maybe not bugging this guy would be a good thing.

“Yeah. Right. Just, you know, experience it.”

Kane nodded.

“Launch initialization in one minute. System check begun. Harnesses locked. Cabin secure.”

Kane didn’t hear a click, but he imagined that the weblike straps now crossing his body could not be undone. He looked ahead. His hands closed on the thin armrest. And he had to admit that despite everything, he was looking forward to seeing what this ride was going to be like.

MARS CITY—DELTA LAB

DR. MALCOLM BETRUGER STOOD AT THE MASSIVEwindow of his office that overlooked all of Delta. From here he could see every part of the labs, save for those specimen and equipment rooms that lined the three corridors leading from the lab.

He looked down at all the scientists hurrying, preparing things, and he thought:Which one is it? Which one of them is a traitor?

One of them was sending information back to Kelliher. Betruger knew that simply from the messages he’d received from Kelliher directly and the communications from his flunkies in the UAC. And not only that, now two of Kelliher’s key people were coming back here, because Kelliher was “alarmed”—by what was going on here in the lab.

A year of amazing discoveries, incredible events, and he was…alarmed.

Betruger, however, had already guessed early on that there was a spy. But no matter, he had started to change things long before that. Most of the scientists below thought that they were still trying to crack the problem of animate teleportation.

Missing the big idea completely.

A few—maybe—suspected that Betruger had lost interest in mere teleportation. They might have noticed that Betruger seemed preoccupied by somethingelse. But if he confided in no one, then what proof would they have? Because as far as Betruger was concerned, these experiments, this lab, Mars itself—it wasn’t about teleportation at all. He walked to his door and started down for the main floor of the lab.

UAC HEADQUARTERS—PALO ALTO

IAN KELLIHER OPENED THE DOOR INSIDE HISoffice. His personal assistant sat at a massive desk, just outside. One of two gatekeepers. Another receptionist sat at another desk beyond this room, controlling the electronic doors.

“Elaine, hold all calls and make sure that I’m not disturbed until you hear from me.”

She looked up and smiled. “Yes, Mr. Kelliher.” She was beautiful, but much more valuable as a trusted assistant than a potential mistress. Besides, he had plenty of those. Different women for different moods. All discreet and enamored of the power that being UAC head brought.

He shut the office door, hit a button, and his PDA screen projected itself into the air in the center of the room. “Stauf,” he said. A code word. An anagram of his own choosing. And the secret cache of reports from Mars became available.

“Today. Play.”

The screen showed Delta Lab, everyone ready for the test. Then he heard MacDonald’s voice.

“Sir, as you can see, plans are going forward full speed for the new test. Betruger says he has his volunteer. Unconfirmed as yet, and Dr. Betruger is confiding in no one. But if you don’t want this test to occur, I suggest you have only the next twenty-four hours to stop it. And as a reminder…”

Macdonald’s transmission then showed the still images from the last human test, even more horrific when frozen. The poor volunteer hacking, coughing out his insides on the lab floor.

The images made Kelliher’s stomach tighten. But the prize—you had to keep your eye on that. Though he appreciated MacDonald being his eyes and ears, Kelliher knew this: He had no intention whatsoever of stopping Betruger. Not when there were signs, reassurances that this time, with the new calibrations, with new adjustments to the chamber’s transmission systems, Betruger just might succeed.

Kelliher was willing to risk another experiment or two. Especially now that he would have his own people on site to shut it down.

Betruger’s chances and days might indeed be numbered. But there was no need for the scientist to know that.

“Clear.” Then: “Elaine—”

“Sir.”

Kelliher walked around to his desk. “I’m open for business again.”

“Yes, sir.”

And during the day’s affairs, the meetings needed to run the global empire that was UAC, Kelliher knew he’d only be half listening. Because he’d really be thinking about Mars, Betruger, and what was going to happen tomorrow.

MARINE COMMAND HQ—MARS

MARIA STOOD IN THE BACK OF THE MEETINGroom in the center of Marine Headquarters. Sergeant Kelly had ordered all the grunts on duty for the next twelve hours to assemble. But so far he was just flipping through his screens.

Rodriguez leaned close. “Hey, did you hear who volunteered?”

“Let me guess. An idiot?”

Rodriguez laughed. Easily entertained, she knew.

“Yeah, well, I almost did. Did you see the deal they’re offering? Fantastic. Never have to do this shit again. No, it’s that guy Wegner. Know him? Pretty quiet SOB. And man, he’s got to be old. Maybe even thirty, thirty-five.”

“Maybe that explains why—”

Kelly looked up and said, “Okay, listen up. Here’s what’s going to happen.” He closed the screens and put his hands on his hips, facing the two dozen marines standing in the room.

“We got a bunch of new jarheads landing in the next hour, and I’ve decided the best way to get these newbies all oriented to our lovely digs here is to assign each of you…one of them to babysit.”

“Christ,” said Maria. Bad enough she had been passed over for any grade advancements. No good deed went unpunished. But now this? Babysitting someone new?Shit.

“I’ll make the assignments when they arrive. Can’t get the damn roster on my PDA. But you know the drill. Get them outfitted. Weapons, supplies. Show them their quarters, give them the quick tour. No need for any monorail rides or treks to Delta, got it? And I want them by eighteen hundred to know this place as well as any of you screwups. Good. And oh yeah—I don’t want them hearing about any stupidass rumors you guys talk about. That’s the last sort of garbage they need. Okay. Make sure your own PDAs are updated with the latest schematics.”

Maria saw a hand go up to her left.

“Right, Bloom—what the hell you want?”

“Any EVA, sir? Show them how to get to the Mars City egress points?”

Kelly paused. Something he hadn’t thought about. Not the brightest bulb in the box, Maria knew. But not a bad sarge. Talked straight and didn’t chew your ass unless you deserved it. “No. We don’t have time for that. Got to get these guys into the rotation by tonight. So they’ll have to figure that out on their own. Just—you know—show them what I told you. Okay, fall out.”

The space marines started milling out of the room. Maria looked around, then grabbed Rodriguez’s arm. “So this Wegner—he’s gone already?”

Rodriguez took a look around. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean, he’s in our detachment so he should be here. Maybe he gets like a last meal or something.” Rodriguez leaned close. “Maybe some Martian poontang.” The last joke sent Rodriguez into a tricky combination of snort-laughs.

Guy must really do well on first dates.“Right,” Maria said.

Life on Mars—could it get any better?

ABOARD THE DARKSTAR—NEAR MARS ORBIT

JACK CAMPBELL TAPPED THE PORTHOLE WINDOW.“It’s looking on schedule, Swann. The place is nearly done.”

“Yeah—not without more money than budgeted, more people, more of the UAC’s resources. Not that that concerns you.”

Campbell nodded. “Right. It doesn’t.” He turned and looked at Swann. “You sure you’re ready for what we have to do?”

Swann shook his head. “You know, I may not have had your training, I don’t know ten different ways to kill someone with my thumb and index finger or any of that crap…but yeah, bring it on.”

Campbell laughed. “I actually know more ways than that. But good to hear. Because if things don’t work out, the next few days aren’t going to be pretty.”

“I just think that Kelliher should have given Hayden a heads-up about what this trip was really about.”

“He doesn’t trust him. You know he thinks that Hayden is in Betruger’s pocket.” Campbell turned back to the outside. Mars swung into full view now, filling the port window, the sun making it glow a brilliant, burnished red. “First we square away Hayden, then Betruger. We’ll earn our money over the next few days.”

“Right.”

For a moment they sat there in silence. The interior of the VIP compartment filled with the reflected reddish glow.

“I just wish—I mean, I don’t think this is going to be too easy. If we have to terminate Delta Lab…”

“Pulling the plug is never easy, Swann.”

A soothing voice filled their cabin. “Mars orbit stabilized. Landing in five minutes. Safety harnesses will now lock into place.”

Campbell heard the click, the criss-crossed straps again holding him tight to the seat.

“Cabin realignment sequence initiated.”

Almost imperceptibly, the chairs in the cabin began gliding back as theDarkstar prepared to enter the Martian atmosphere.

Campbell looked at Swann again. “Just don’t worry, Swann. It’s all going to be fine.”

And then the transport’s thrusters fired, guiding the ship carefully into the Martian atmosphere and down to the main landing area of Mars City.

“WHERE IS HE?” SWANN SAID TO HAYDEN.

“Keep your pants on, counselor. Dr. Betruger has been sent for; he knows you’re coming, and you can just be patient.”

Swann noticed how different Hayden’s tone was without Kelliher at the meeting. Hayden made no secret of hiding his disgust.

But then Campbell—sitting in a chair, looking at a table screen now synced to his PDA—spoke up. “You sure you understand the seriousness of this, General? Do you understand what’s at stake?”

“I sure the hell do. I don’t need any reminders from you two.”

“There are,” Swann said, “liabilities. Things that could hurt the UAC. And we must make sure Betruger understands.”

That prompted a small laugh from Hayden, who walked over to Swann. “You think…do youreally think that after letting Dr. Betruger have control, complete control, that now you can—what—pull the reins in?”

“That’s what we’re here for. Especially if the new tests fail.”

Hayden looked from Swann to Campbell. “Well, good goddamned luck.”

KANE SAW A WARRANT OFFICER WALK OVER TOKelly and pull him aside.

And for a moment the newbies and their guides-to-be were on their own. A few of them talked, the guides eyeing the new arrivals with unhidden disgust.Same as it ever was, Kane thought.

But then he noticed one of the jarheads who seemed to have locked his eyes on Kane. Kane met his gaze. Usually enough to make the other person look away. But not this guy. In a way that felt quite normal, Kane took the measure of the man. Big, maybe as tall as he was, six-foot-two, maybe bigger. A shaved head that made the shape of his cranium look like some kind of strange planet.

Kane knew this was trouble.

“Well, look at what the hell they have sent up to us.”

The man didn’t move. But now, with Kane knowing he was being addressed, he kept his eyes on the other space marine.

“If it isn’t…Killer Kane.”

The other marines looked at the man talking. Most seemed confused, not knowing what the guy was talking about. But Kane could guess.

“Yes, boys and girls, we have the honor of having a genuine marine killer in our midst. How many marines died, Killer Kane, because you couldn’t obey orders?”

The man spit. An action, in these glistening confines, whose message was clear. It was a challenge.

“Hey, Kolski, ease up, man.”

Kolski.Kane’s bald-headed adversary now had a name. With Kelly gone, the kids were free to play.

Kolski took a step.

“Isn’t that right, Killer Kane? Men died, and you’re the one that made it happen. Oh, and are you enjoying being a private? You’re lucky—” Another step. “We all hoped they’d kill your ass.”

By now some of the other marines had fallen in behind Kolski, either intrigued by what was going to happen or just wanting to stay well away.

Kane slowly straightened up. His eyes went to Kolski’s sidearms, twin handguns. Reminding Kane that he stood there, his pack beside him as if he was a little kid going to camp.

Kolski took another step. His face only inches away from Kane’s.

“So tell us, Killer Kane. How many ofus are you going to kill up here?”

And for the first time, Kane looked away from the dark eyeballs of the man in front of him.

“AXELLE, SHALL WE HOLD UP ON THE DRILLING?”

The scientist stood over the mammoth opening that, as far as she could tell, just kept going deeper, the symbols and intersecting patterns of the cave converging, dividing, and—as the pit went deeper—they seemed to change.

One thing she was sure of: this pit was no natural phenomenon. It had been made by something. But who, what—and where the hell were they? No bones, no record?

“I think I better go down, Tom. You stay here, and I’ll go take a look. Tell them up front to hold off bringing any more explosives in.”

Without damaging the sides of the giant pit, the team had carefully placed hand-and footholds, taking care to find unmarked areas to fasten the steps.

She turned around and started down, alone, into the pit.

The micro-exposives they had been using worked well, sending perfectly calibrated shocks into the Martian rock, shattering it like crystal. So far not a section of the pit wall had been damaged.

Hand over foot, moving slowly, the suit making the going cumbersome as Axelle headed down.

She felt a chill. Impossible, of course. Her suit regulated her temperature. The material, a mesh of micro-metals and a new plasticlike compound, was thin, but it could keep its wearer at a comfortable seventy-two degrees.

But as she went down, she thought,It could be something else.

And what’s that?she asked herself.What kind of chill is that? Maybe the same one from her home in Wisconsin, when the power would go out…and the things in her room all started to take shape, change, transform…

She pushed the memory away.

But she did look up. The opening at the top of the pit made a perfect circle. What made this hole? And the veinlike protrusions on the side? Decorative, functional, symbolic, or—?

She hit the bottom of the pit. She checked in with Tom Stein.

“Does it look okay?” Tom asked. “Think we can keep going? That is—”

But another voice crackled in Axelle’s ear. “Dr. Graulich.”

Matt, the lead geologist, out at the cave opening.

“Yes?”

“We just got an alert from the weather satellite. Something in the East, coming fast.”

She looked at the pit bottom, the handholds leading up. “I think I better get out of here.”

But with another crackle in her ears, she knew she had said those words too late.

KANE PUT DOWN HIS TRAY OF FOOD, HAVINGselected a table where only a few solitary jarheads ate. He hoped that he radiated the strong wish not to be bothered, until Smitty and another new marine from the transport came over.

“Hey, Kane—mind if we join you?”

Kane looked up. Perhaps this was the worst part of his punishment for his Terekstan breakout. He had to treat these clowns as equals. He nodded, and then speared something that looked like meat, but which he knew could not possibly be anything that had ever sprung from something alive.

“Did you see the size of this place? Man…”

Another nod. Probably all the encouragement that Private Tobias Smith needed. “It’s kinda weird here, don’t you think?”

Kane looked up. “Weird?”

“Yeah. I mean people seem jumpy. Like something happened, or is gonna happen.” Smitty leaned close. “I saw someone who looked like they just lost it.Snapped. Some guards dragged this guy away. It just looked, I dunno—”

“Weird?”

Smitty nodded, and Kane took a sip of some lemony drink. Had to be a way to get a real drink up here. That might be worth exploring—

Then he heard a voice from behind. “Get all your homework done?”

He turned and saw Maria. Kane smiled—guess he didn’t want to repel everyone here.

“Have a seat.”

“I wish. Ate already, and I have to do one more circuit in Alpha.”

“I’m supposed to finish getting this place locked into my head. So I guess…more vids, more maps—”

She smiled. “They’ll put you to work tomorrow. Wish I could say that it will be exciting.”

Smitty cleared his throat. “Hey, you’ve been here awhile, huh?”

Maria looked down at the newbie. She shifted her tone. Not a lady to annoy. “Yeah. So?”

“Um, what’s up with everyone here? Like they’re all tense and stuff.”

Maria nodded. “Well, you see, that’s because—” She leaned close, and her left side brushed Kane’s shoulder. Touched, and stayed there a moment. “That’s because”—she looked at the guy’s name tag—“they’re real tense…and stuff.”

Kane laughed.

Then she pulled away.

“If I don’t see you in the a.m.,” she said, “be careful your first day. Big place, you know.”

“Got it. And thanks.”

She nodded, smiled, then turned away.

“Wow. She’s something,” Smitty said.

Kane didn’t confirm or deny. He just went back to his meal, eager to hurry up and finish it.

BY 7 A.M., DELTA LAB ALREADY SEETHED WITHactivity. Well before attempting an experimental transmission, every system in Delta had to be inspected, from the power management to the dataflow integration, to the physical performance of the pods themselves.

Then there were the secondary devices, machines designed to measure and record exactly what occurred during the test. Dr. Betruger liked things checked, then rechecked, and every result brought to his attention.

Dr. Jonathan Ishii sat at his desk looking at an array of screens, each chunk of linked data flowing from one screen onto another, as power and transmission strength in the teleport pods flowed from one to the other.

Everything looked absolutely fine.

Ishii looked up. Betruger stood off to the side, with three other Delta scientists standing close by. He held his hands behind him, nodding. Like some mad general commanding an armed force all dressed in white.

How many of the others knew, Ishii wondered. How many of themsuspected?

Ishii stole glances at the others, all so busy, whipping out PDAs, touching the holo-screens as they appeared in the air, or walking over to one of the workstations. Did any of them know…what really was happening here?

He saw Betruger turn and look in his direction.

Ishii reached out and touched a tab to change one of the screens to a master readout of all data being pumped into Delta’s main computer system.See, he hoped the action said,I’m busy, Dr. Betruger. Working hard on the project.

Ishii kept his eyes glued to the screen now, trying to sense when Betruger took his eyes off him.

Only hours to the test. He had to go soon—and he’d have it do it in steps. Get out of here. Then he’d have to lose his sentry bot, ditch his ID tag. And slowly, without being seen, make his way out of the Delta wing, to the underground, and out—

I could die,Ishii thought.

He’d bring his PDA, of course. With all the material he had stolen from Betruger’s personal files. The material that showed the truth about what was going on here. Teleportation. The ability to move across space instantly, with no real traveling at all. That was the hoax, the promise. Betruger’s lie that everyone—most of them—still believed.

Ishii took a breath.I’ll stop it, he thought.I can do that. And for a moment, he actually believed it.

ISHII WALKED SLOWLY PAST THE WALL OF MONITORS,looking down at his PDA as if checking that it was synced properly.Yes, that’s what I’m doing. Just checking things. But he kept moving, walking close to the main entrance of Delta. Lab assistants and scientists walked back and forth. Ishii reached the Delta reception desk, manned by two women who, for some strange reason, also wore lab coats.

Two burly marines stood at the main exit, and more marines were posted at the lab’s secondary exits.

Ishii walked up to the exit. Immediately a sentry bot scurried up and took its place immediately behind him. But at his level of clearance, a sentry bot was entirely optional.

He scrolled to a window on his PDA and, at the security screen, hit a button to disengage the bot. It immediately scurried back to some distant corner of Reception. The marine stood perfectly still. If they suspected anything, their eyes didn’t show it.

He started talking into his mouthpiece. “Yes, I’m checking on it now. Don’t worry. All right. I’ll make sure.”

And, maintaining his stream of meaningless one-sided conversation, he slipped out into the main hallway. One foot in front of the other, he told himself, walking away with enough data to expose everthing that had happened here and—sweet God—everything that was about to happen.

THREE 2145

THEO LOOKED UP AT HIS MOTHER, STANDING BYsome strange machine, just staring at it.

“Mom, when can we go explore?”

For a moment she didn’t turn around, but then she looked back at him. “What? I was—”

“Yousaid we could go exploring. I’ve seen everything in here. It’s boring.”

She smiled. Theo knew his mother wasn’t too happy about coming here. Dad had told them they could have stayed on Earth. But she didn’t want to do that.

At first he was glad. He was going to Mars! He was going to live onMars. But so far, it didn’t look so great. Sure, there were kids in Mars City. They even had some rooms where kids took lessons, like school. And it wasn’t forever. Only a year. Maybe not even that long.

“Right. I was just trying to figure out how this stove works. Too many buttons. It’s so new.”

Theo nodded. “Everything’s new here, Mom.”

“Yes, isn’t it? Okay. Maybe we’ll just have some cereal and then…I’ll try to show you Mars City. They gave me this—”

She held up something small. Theo’s dad had one too. Everyone seemed to have them.Maybe I should have one too, Theo thought. “Good. ’Cause it’s small and boring in here.”

Again a smile from his mother. “Maybe we can get to where your daddy works, okay? First day here, a new assignment. Could be pretty exciting.”

Theo grabbed the remote. A screen flickered to life on the wall. “And where’s that, Mom? Where does he work?”

“A place called Delta Labs.” She turned back to the stove for one more try.

THEO’S MOTHER SAT DOWN FACING HIM. “THERE,”she said smiling. “I figured out how to work it. Some nice hot cereal.”

Theo looked down at the bowl. Little clouds of steam rose from the bowl.

He looked back at his mother. “What is this stuff?”

She shrugged. “Hot cereal. Just like we have back home…” Then she hurried to add words. “On Earth.”

Another look down at the bowl. “It doesn’t look like the cereal on Earth.” A deep sniff. “Or smell like it.”

His mom rolled her eyes. “Just eat it, Theo, okay?”

“And then we can explore?”

“Yes—and then you and me…explore this place.”

THEO FOLLOWED BESIDE HIS MOTHER, HOLDINGher hand. She had led him back to where the spaceship first had landed, but then she took him down a new hallway.

It wasn’t that much fun at all.

“Where we going?” he finally asked.

“Mars City is big. Can’t see it all in one shot, Theo. But I thought I’d show you where the soldiers stay, the space marines.”

“Why are they called ‘space’ marines?”

He heard his mother laugh. “Because we’re in space.” But then the laugh stopped, and her voice sounded different. “I mean, I guess that’s why.”

WITH INSTINCTS BORN OF COUNTLESS FIREFIGHTS,dodging bullets, grenades and bombs exploding all around, Kane spun to his right to what, somehow, he had registered as cover. He curled up as tight as possible, head tucked under, arms and hands tucked tight into the body.

The roaring locomotive of air blasted into the room as if it would blow the walls out, and the Martian heat would cook him and Ishii in a matter of moments.

He didn’t look up. But then he heard another noise, a shrill scream, nearly an animal sound. Maybe caused by the sudden vacuum created by the air bellows?

That was followed by an ear-piercing hissing noise, static raised to an unbearable volume, intolerable heights of pitch. Kane quickly covered his ears with his hands. In the motion, his eyes closed.

But they picked up something else now blasting into the room.

A light—deep red, brilliant, the intensity of the sun in the room. He thought,It’s like the world is on fire…

For a moment Kane felt something pulling at his flesh, this new light, this heat, this brilliant red glow somehow tugging on his skin.

But Kane—still protected—hugged closer to the metal barrier that led back to the Convergence Chamber. Behind his tightly closed eyes, he could see the light fade. Then—of course—came the new sound.

The sound that trailed in the wake of this red tide of light.

And as this new screaming, roaring noise cut so easily through the covering made by his hands pressed tight, Kane noticed his hands shaking.

His knees tucked close, shaking also.

And he knew that in all the battles he’d been in, in all the times he had faced death, it never, ever, felt quite as bad as this.

AND SO IT WAS DONE. MALCOLM BETRUGERheard the chittering as they emerged, crawling out of the hole that simply grew wider.

It was all sowonderful . A life spent trying to create miracles, and he never dreamed that there was this. This other reality, waiting for someone to just wedge that door open a bit.

As the beings crawled out, they ignored him, like newborn babies, oblivious of their parents. No matter. Betruger could hear the voices in his head all the time. Much of it was incomprehensible, of course. There was so much to learn! But at other times quite clear, telling him to watch the pods, observe as the opening grew larger. He knew it wasn’t just happening here either.

No. Now the planet itself seethed with the power and energy flowing into it. This was simply like a radio receiver, channeling those waves of energy, letting things move from there to here, following the commands as they—

Betruger took a breath.

—as they reclaimed this planet. And it was all only the beginning.

He looked down at his arms. The skin rippled as if waves moved just under the surface, making the skin first bulge a bit, then turn smooth.

Then—what he held in his hands. Almost a gift.

I am ready,Betruger thought,for whatever they wish to do with me.

THE EARPIECE SQUAWKED TO LIFE AGAIN. ANOTHERscreech, a burst of static, then a voice…

A human voice. And as Kane moved through the underground corridors, he was glad to hear it.

“Kane? Kane, you down there?”

“Yes, Sergeant. I’m down here.”

Kane kept up his pace, rounding the curve of the Convergence Chamber. A blast of gunfire, yells in his ear that drowned out Kelly’s voice.

“Try that again, Sergeant.”

“The condition, damn it. What’s your—”

More gunfire. Kane knew that Kelly was near Delta, an area that Kane hadn’t seen on the grand tour. And things didn’t sound good…

“I’m alive. Not too sure about anyone else down there. Not—”

He came out to the intersection leading to the elevator out of this maze. He saw the worker who had greeted him earlier.

One arm looked blown away, replaced by a tweedy stump. An eye dangled out of its socket, hanging by threads. Enough to kill any human.

And like Ishii, he now started moving to attack, its jaws chomping at the air as if getting ready to chow down on a nice juicy steak.

Kane stopped. “Fuck…”

Now, both guns out, he began blasting. By instinct, he targeted the heart, but when that didn’t slow the worker, he raised both guns, their arcs nearly convergent, aimed at the maintenance worker’s head.

“Kane, what’s happening?”

More blasts in his ear from Kelly’s position.

Then: “Kane—Maria here. You okay?”

Maria. In Alpha.

“Just a minute—”

He pulled both triggers, and the automatic handguns started drilling the worker’s head. Until there wasn’t a head anymore.

Yeah, thought Kane, some jail time in the states might have been the better option.

He turned back to the elevator door, which was when he saw some other grunts had just arrived—three marines just ahead. For a split second, Kane didn’t feel alone.

THEO LEANED OUT TO LOOK BACK AT THE HALLWAY,back to his mother and the nice soldier who had been with them.

The soldier wasgone, and his mother stood there, her back to him.

Maybe,Theo thought,she’s looking for me. Can’t find me. She’s probably scared, worried; she always worries so much.

He crawled out a bit more from his hiding place.

“Mom?” he said. Then louder, “Mommy?”

And now she turned.

Slowly…

And in that slow movement Theo felt something was wrong. Something must have happened to his mom during that explosion. She was movingso slowly.

Until she turned and faced him. What had been her blouse was ripped in places. And he saw blood.

For a second, Theo felt worried about his mom. She had been hurt.

But that was before he looked up to her face.

Her eyes.

He remembered…

Their last week on Earth. Walking past a house. Toys in the yard, a plastic riding car, some soft darts, and there was this clown-head toy.

Not smiling. Almost looking mean, mad—and on top of its head, a hat, like an upside-down ice cream cone. With a hole on top—and you could shove things into the clown’s head.

Theo had looked at it as he walked past the house. The face, so scary. Thinking: maybe you could stuff things in the head and make the clown smile.

And now—

His mother’s face—

(Thinking,It’s not my mommy’s face. That’s not her, that’s not her, that’s not her—! )

He screamed as she walked to him, like a baby learning to walk, but then a bit faster. Her eyes all bulgy like melted marshmallows, the mouth sliding around, opening, shutting, maybe trying to speak.

He kept screaming, and now his mother was only steps away, and Theo couldn’t even move.

LIEUTENANT HIRAM KOHL LOOKED AT THE MONITORSthat filled the Computer Systems Monitoring Room. By now, a bunch of scientists should have joined him here.

Because nothing was working.

He listened as computer voices dully announced the situation throughout Mars City.

“Central computer system infected. Terminate all critical procedures immediately.”

Right, thought Kohl, as if that were possible. Because…that was onlyone of the messages. Then another, equally dull, dispassionate voice.

“Core failure detected.”

Kohl looked at the board. He should send messages to people, but—from here at least—nothing was getting out.

He spun around and looked at the door. Where the hell were the scientists who were supposed to come here when even the smallest problem happened? And this…thislooked like total failure.

“Collapse of fluid control imminent.”

Shit…

“Convergence Chamber unstable.”

On and on. Kohl licked his lips.What the hell is going on here?

And then another thought:Is there anyone out there? Could he be the last person left alive in Mars City?

Then the door opened.

ELLIOT SWANN TOOK A FEW STEPS, STOPPED,then looked left, right, and then left and right again. As if he were making his way across a narrow mountain cliff edge, a mile above the ground. His breathing came so fast, the room felt like it had no air. He kept rubbing his eyes; did fear make then go watery, teary?

A few more steps, hands flush against the wall.

(Don’t want to fall off that cliff.)

He heard some distant gunshots ahead. Maybe already killed. Maybe dead like the others he had seen, the other—

(What are they? What happened to them? What’s happening here?)

Left, right, left, right, and—

A voice in his ear. “Swann?”

He whispered through his gasping, heavy breaths. “Yes?”

“Campbell here. They’re getting systems back online, counselor. But any deep space comm is still going to depend on your getting there, creating a secure channel, and getting the word out to the armada. Where are you now?”

Though it was just a voice in his head, Swann shook his head. His voice was annoyed, raspy.

“I—I don’t know. I haven’t checked the layout in a bit. B-but I’m going the right way.”

Nothing for a second. Then: “Good. Just stay calm. You got to be pretty close. Just let me know when you’re there, okay?”

Another pointless nod. Then: “Yes. I will.” And Swann took some more cautious steps down the corridor.

AS KANE ENTERED THE ADMINISTRATION AREA,he could see that chaos still ruled here. The floor was still dotted with bodies of things that had either been destroyed in the blast or transformed into the creatures, then shot.

Civilians huddled together, wide-eyed, looking as if someone might slaughter them next. The few space marines in the area kept whipping their heads right and left, the fear blatantly obvious.

They’re immobilized,Kane thought. Frozen troops huddled like they were stranded on an iceberg.

Kane touched his earpiece, and immediately heard Kelly’s voice. “Yes?”

“I’m here. It’s a mess.”

“Right. Un-mess it. Get that area secure, Kane.”

“Yup.” He disconnected from Kelly, then walked over to one group of marines. “Okay, listen up. I don’t care whether you’re new here, or you’ve been on Mars for a year, we are going to get this area patrolled.”

They looked at Kane.

“W-wait a minute,” a young guy with wide eyes spoke up. “Who says? We should stay right here. Till some brass tells us.”

Kane took a step toward the jarhead. “I’m telling you what’s going to happen.” Then a look at the others standing around. “We’re going to do this, and we’re going to do this now, understand? In two-person patrols. Report in every five minutes. Watch each other’s back. And Christ”—he looked at one marine who had only a handgun—“make sure you got some serious firepower. Shotguns, machine guns. You’ll need more than toys to deal with those things.”

Kane waited. They’d either respond to his assuming command, or continue fighting it, whining. Then things might get a little nasty.

But then, one by one, the heads nodded.

“Okay, good. Pair up. Start now. Decide which sector each team will do.”

Kane then moved over to another cluster of marines and delivered the same news. Luckily, they had seen the others follow Kane’s lead, so they fell into line immediately.

They’re all scared,Kane knew. But they each knew that the best way to stay alive was to work together. Just like what was happening now.

He stopped two marines. “You two. I want you to stay on guard here. Just make sure the civilians stay calm. Don’t let anyone back to their offices or rooms until we get an all clear.”

More nods. Kane was thinking,Maybe this mess is all over, when a woman came up to him, sobbing, heaving, grabbing Kane’s arm.

He turned to her. One of the receptionists, looking about as rocked as one can be.

“Yes?”

“My friend, Jane—she works with me. She felt sick, she went to the restroom.”

Kane took a breath. “Alone?”

The woman nodded. “I—I didn’t want to go. I was—”

“And where is that?”

She pointed down to a corridor past reception, heading toward Central Access.

Another breath. “I’ll go check.”

The woman nodded. A bit of a smile. Though Kane doubted he’d be bringing back any good news.

HAYDEN LOOKED AT CAMPBELL.

“All secure. Should make your boss happy.”

“That’s your boss too.When he hears it. Does this”—he pointed at the smart board on the right wall—

“thing work at all?”

“Sure.”

Campbell went to the board and touched it, and the board gave off a soft glow. A small menu appeared on the side of the electronic board, but Campbell ignored that.

“So General, let’s see what we’ve been dealing with here. There are these—” Campbell used his finger to quickly sketch what looked like a human soldier.

“What used to be your space marines.”

“Zombies. They’ve started calling them ‘zombies.’”

“Funny. So right, and then there’s the citizen version of the same thing.” Campbell fired Hayden a glance. “Which has the advantage—for us at least—that they don’t carry any weapons.”

Then Campbell drew something long and spindly, giving it pointy ears.

“What the hell is that?” Hayden asked.

“What a few of your people described.”

“Looks like a giant bug or—”

“Yeah. Whatever. General, either way, it’s something that wasn’t here before. It’s not one of your Mars citizens transformed.”

“I guess so, but—”

Campbell turned back to the board and drew something resembling a dog, only with oversized forepaws and a head that seemed fused to its body.

“And this—supposedly a bloody pink in front. Machine legs in the back.”

“Only been two of them seen. They called them ‘pinkies.’”

“Right. Now”—he faced Hayden directly—“now my question. Looking at these, how do we know there aren’tmore things, other things out there?”

Hayden shook his head. “Because we haven’t seen them. We haven’t seen anything else…”

Then Campbell, his eyes still fixed on Hayden, added the unsaid word.

“…yet.”

AFTERMATH

THE ILLUSION

INSIDE DELTA

THE LIGHTS SPUTTERED AGAIN AND THEN STAYEDfull on.

MacDonald looked up, the room, the mayhem, the bodies, the creatures—

(The creatures…)

—now fully lit.

But with that burst of full power, he watched Pod One, which had grown quiet, now suddenly emitting a screeching sound, like massive metallic gears scraping, grinding.

A brilliant red glow began in the pod.

(Which MacDonald knew wasn’t a pod anymore, not a scientific device anymore. It was somethingelse .)

And as that glow bloomed, MacDonald could see, from his fetal position curled up behind an overturned table, a figure begin to appear, then emerge.

He saw Betruger, his skin reflecting the reddish color, or perhaps that glow came from him.

Only now Dr. Malcolm Betruger no longer held something in his hands.

MacDonald risked lifting his head to get a better look.

The object was gone—and now MacDonaldremembered that object. U1—from Site 3. An unknown object with an unknown purpose. Or what used to be unknown.

Gone somewhere, and now Betruger walked amid the beings in the room, grunting, shuffling, moving aside…making a path for him.

He walked to the sealed doors of Delta Lab.

MacDonald knew what Betruger was about to do. In minutes those doors would open. And what was inside Delta would come out…