The domed colony nestled in a valley, with the surrounding hills and mountains rising up on all sides. The domes themselves weren’t made of glass, but rather a thick, transparent polymer that allowed the red Martian landscape to be seen, but also kept the air inside.

  Inside the domes, the enclosed regions were heated, pressurized, and the air was breathable. The interior was supposedly quite pleasant, but so far, I’d never been allowed to experience it. D-Contracts weren’t given shore leave—not ever. The risk of them running off was deemed too great.

  Today was a new day, however. As a C-Contract, I was free to roam. All the marines from Red Company, in particular, were encouraged to get off the decks and explore. I was really looking forward to it.

  Disembarking onto the space station, we could see the surface below in greater detail. The domed city’s buildings, streets, and parks, along with the various vehicles and machines that helped the colony function were so clean and well-designed. Earth’s aging slums were, by comparison, filthy and ramshackle.

  I was intrigued by the duty-free shops and bars in the spaceport lounge section, but Ledbetter put an arm around me, steering me away from these enticements.

  “You don’t want to get fleeced of every credit you have, do you? Those places are tourist-traps.”

  “What?” I asked, having never been anything like a tourist.

  He rolled his eyes at me. “They’re scams. You’ve got scams in the slums, right?”

  “Plenty of them.”

  He led me toward a line of people. The line terminated in front of an imposing set of steel doors, beyond which was space elevator. “This thing will take us down to the surface.”

  “We can walk inside the domes?” I asked, incredulous.

  “Yeah, sure. We’re not citizens, or anything like that, but we’re better than some D-class. That’s one step from being in prison—no offense.”

  “None taken… since you’re right.”

  After a long wait, we paid a few credits, and I followed Ledbetter onto a disk that kind of vibrated with a scary energy that was hard to describe. He told me the elevation effect was controlled with air pressure, heat and some tricks of physics he didn’t understand.

  I didn’t argue, I just enjoyed the ride. At first, the sudden sickening lurch downward was enough make me swallow hard a few times. My guts were coming up into my head. We descended at an increasing rate—then my feet lifted off the floor of the disk entirely.

  “What the hell…?”

  “Look out, greenie,” Ledbetter said with a laugh. “You’re going to ram your head into the furniture.”

  Gaping and looking up, I realized I was indeed floating slowly up to the ceiling—which, unlike the deck we’d been walking on, was furnished with chairs and tables. All of them were bolted down, of course, but it was a weird thing to see. I reached out my arms and made a half-assed crash landing on the roof.

  Following Ledbetter’s example, I got to my feet and stood up—upside down. The deck we’d been walking on a few minutes ago was now the ceiling.

  “Freaky… what’s the point of that?”

  “You’d have to ask the engineering nerds. There’s a few of them over there.”

  He pointed, and I saw a cluster of midshipmen. They did indeed look like nerds. One of them caught my eye, however. She really caught my eye.

  “I think I’m going to do just that,” I said, stepping toward the group.

  “Careful, Starn. You’re still just a contract.”

  I ignored his warning and walked closer to the group. Three smiling men surrounded one woman. When the three men noticed me, their expressions shifted. They looked like they smelled shit.

  “There’s nothing to shoot at here, Marine,” one of the midshipmen said.

  Glancing at the girl in their midst, I had to disagree, but I didn’t want to argue with officers if I didn’t have to. “Sorry, sirs. I was wondering if one of you could answer a technical question for me?”

  The midshipman was just a cadet in training, but I felt it was a good idea to stay polite. The three men all shook their heads and looked like they wanted to spit and laugh at the same time.

  “I’ll help you out,” the surrounded girl said.

  Glancing at her in surprise, the others began to frown as she walked to me and flashed me a pretty smile.

  “I’m Freya,” she said. “Freya Carter.”

  “I’m Devin Starn, ma’am.”

  “Don’t worry about ranks, we’re on shore leave.”

  I smiled, and I couldn’t help glancing over her briefly. She was a striking young woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light. While wearing spacesuits, women tended to look like short dudes with pretty faces—but she was in a casual uniform now. I had no doubt that was why she’d attracted all the attention.

  Freya kept walking away from the other guys, and so I naturally followed her. We walked away to a safe distance, and I had to frown as we gazed down at the swelling vista of Mars laid out below us.

  “Were those guys bothering you?”

  “No, not really,” she said. “They’ve all been cooped up aboard Borag for months so… they’re a little edgy.”

  I nodded, and I glanced back at the trio, who were muttering bitterly among themselves. I’d probably ruffled some feathers by rescuing Freya, but I guess that was just too damned bad.

  Freya looked me up and down for a moment, regarding me just as frankly as I had her a moment ago. “You’re from Earth, aren’t you?”

  “Born and bred. You can tell, huh?”

  She nodded. “I’m from Mars. At least I can stand up straight back on Earth, but most lifers out here couldn’t.”

  She glanced over her shoulder again at the irritable trio, and I got the feeling she preferred to be in the company of a more capable man.

  “What did you want to ask me about, Devin?”

  “Uh… about this crazy elevator. Why did it turn upside down?”

  Freya didn’t laugh, but I got the feeling she wanted to. “Because we’d all be pasted against the ceiling otherwise. You see, you can only fall at a rate of around forty miles per hour on Mars without being weightless. In order for this elevator to travel all the way down to the surface—about eighty miles, by the way—that would take hours. So, they engineered this contraption to go faster and allow us to stand on the roof.”

  I nodded, having figured out by now it was something like that. Space was full of strange things such as this, sometimes up was down and down was up.

  “That’s very helpful,” I said, embellishing the truth. “Would you like to hang out with me and my friend over there for the rest of the ride down?”

  Freya glanced in the direction I’d indicated. Private Ledbetter stood near the windows, staring down in rapture.

  “No,” she said, and I felt a pang of disappointment. “I’d prefer to spend the time just with you.”

  This uplifted my spirits all over again. In fact, they’d done a U-turn. I led her to the bar at the center of the flying contraption, and she accepted a drink from me. Hers was low-alcohol and non-narcotic. I was impressed by her forbearance.

  “How fast are we going?” I asked her.

  “About a hundred miles per hour.”

  “Huh… I hope nothing goes wrong. We’ll end up as paste at the bottom. At least the view is fantastic.”

  She gave me a funny look, then. “Wait a minute… I know who you are!”

  My mouth fell open, and my heart sank. It would be just my luck if she realized I was a lowly rock-rat dressed up in a marine’s uniform.

  “You were on the bridge during the crisis—right? When those pirates fired missiles at us?”

  “Oh… oh yeah. I did serve on the bridge that day.”

  Freya squinted at me. “Why did Captain Hansen ask for you two to come play watchdog? Was she worried about a mutiny?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just follow orders when the captain calls.”

  She nodded. “I do the same.”

  We talked about nothing important for the rest of the way down, but I did manage to score an ID handle from her. A private one. That made me feel pretty good. Not everyone got into the social circle of a girl like Freya. I had the feeling, in fact, that the suits on the far side of this flying disk had tried and failed.

  Suddenly, the floor began to become mushy under my feet. I spread out my boots and lifted my hands for balance. That’s when I noticed Freya’s dark hair was doing this fly-away thing.

  We backed away a few shuffling steps from the monstrous bay windows and watched the planet’s surface come rapidly up to greet us. We were moving faster than I’d realized.

  “Finish your drink, fast!” Freya said.

  I gulped mine, and she held out her hand. I took it without thinking.

  While I watched slack-jawed, she did a spin in the air. We were floating now, toward the roof. I kind of wanted to spit up the booze I’d just gulped, but I controlled the urge.

  We were both standing on the roof again—well, the original deck—within a minute. Freya had enjoyed my efforts and just about giggled during this transition. I’d been clumsy and off-balance, which made her laugh. It was an age-old story, everyone but me was a ballerina out here in space.

  When the damned space elevator finally stopped moving, I walked off in relief. Then I looked up and around myself, gawking like a tourist.

  The elevator had landed in the center of the dome. From here, the only colony city on Mars was a sight to behold. The city’s structures stretched up toward the ceiling of the dome, which replicated a blue sky with fluffy clouds. It was as if I was standing in the center of a small Earth-like city, with tall buildings, paved roads, and lush green parks. The buildings were mostly made of metal and glass, reflecting the sunlight in dazzling beams. The roads were wide, and small autonomous vehicles were zipping past, carrying goods and people from one end of the city to the other.

  The parks were covered in green grass, and various shrubs and trees adorned the walkways. I could see people strolling in the parks, enjoying the artificial breeze that blew in the dome. As I looked further toward the edge of the dome, the buildings started to get shorter, and the greenery gave way to reddish-brown Martian soil. I could see the distant mountains of Mars, their tops covered in a reddish hue.

  Overall, the city under the dome was impressive, and it was hard to believe that I was standing on a different planet. The people of Mars had created a self-sustaining colony with all the amenities of Earth. The air inside the dome was breathable, and there was even a small lake, where people were swimming and enjoying the water. It was like a small slice of Earth had been transported to the surface of Mars.

  “Say…” Freya said, “are you going to let go of my hand?”

  I looked down in shock. Sure enough, I’d been holding onto her ever since she’d asked me to do so. Fortunately, I was holding on loosely, not crushing her light fingers like some kind of demented ape.

  My initial thought was to let go, but I didn’t—not right away. I smiled at her instead. “Would you like to show me around?” I asked.

  Freya smiled back, and she gave my hand a squeeze. That was a signal, so I let go of her.

  We just stood there for a second, smiling at each other. The three guys with twisted-up faces went walking by behind her at that moment. One of them flipped me off behind her back, but my expression didn’t change.

  “I’d love to,” she said, as if she’d come to a big decision. Perhaps she had.

  After that, we headed off into the domed city. As we spent more time together, I couldn’t help but become smitten with her. Her infectious laughter and playful banter made me feel alive and carefree, and all thoughts of the dangers we’d faced on our mission faded away. I knew that I wanted to get to know her better, and perhaps even explore the red planet together outside the confines of the space station and Borag.

  But then, before I could ask her to dinner, my comm lit up and started squawking at me.

  “Private Starn?”

  It was the unpleasant voice of Commander Kaine. I winced when I heard it and put my hand to cup my ear.

  “Yes sir?”

  “Where the hell are you?”

  “Um… I’m in the city, sir. Under the dome… you know?”

  “Of course, I know. I thought you would be up on the space station still. You learn fast, don’t you boy?”

  “I like to think so.”

  “Well, I’ve got a mission for you.”

  I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes while Freya looked on in concern. “What mission is that, Commander?”

  “You’re needed at the elevator station—right where you’re at now. Don’t move.”

  “Why not, sir?”

  There was a moment of silence, then Commander Kaine became angry. “Didn’t you just go through training? Didn’t Cox teach you to hop-to and not ask questions?”

  “He sure did, sir, but… this is my shore-leave.”

  “Oh. Right. Too bad, but this shouldn’t take too long. You’re going to escort Captain Hansen from the elevator to the government buildings. We’ll do a charge-back on your shore-leave. Don’t worry, you won’t be paying for this.”

  “Okay, Commander. I’ll do it.”

  I had a lot of questions, but I knew there weren’t going to be any satisfactory answers. I thought about cashing out what meager pay I had and bailing out of Red Company right then and there—but of course, I didn’t. I didn’t even have enough money to get back to my home in the slums of Earth.

  Staying on Mars was out of the question as well. It was expensive to live here, and I didn’t know anyone who would help me out. I’d just met Freya, and as great as she was, she didn’t seem to be rich, either.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked me, and I explained.

  Freya crossed her arms in frustration. “We only just got down here. Can’t the captain walk herself to midtown? I mean, this is weird.”

  “Yeah…” I agreed. “I don’t know why she wants me to play watchdog for her.”

  “I bet I do,” Freya said, giving my right bicep a squeeze.

  I smiled at her sheepishly. “Hey, maybe we can see something. It will be a good hour before that elevator goes all the way up and comes down again, right?”

  We checked the schedule, and with the switchover time to let people on and off the contrivance, the round trip was over an hour.

  “Okay,” Freya said. “I know where to go.”

  She took me to a little place that was cheap and full of good food. The food was weird, mind you, but flavorful. Apparently, they’d transplanted some strange creatures from Earth to Mars. One horseshoe crab looking animal was called a “bug” by the locals. It looked like a manta ray in a shell but tasted more like a lobster. We ate some mosses and various honey-flavored beverages along with it.

  As Mars was in a state of early terraforming, they were working hard to breed and grow organic things that helped foster an ecosystem. These items fit the bill, apparently.

  The hour went by in a flash. When it was over, Freya stood up and gave me a peck on the cheek. “Go get the captain and walk her into town. If she lets you out early… call me.”

  I assured her I would do so, and I headed for the base of the strange, massive elevator. Hoping against hope I’d get out of this duty somehow, I watched it descend and come to a halt with loud hissing puffs of released gas.

  Chapter 11: The Audit

  I waited for Captain Hansen and Blackwood to arrive at the elevator station. When the disk finally glided down and braked, I stood at attention at the doors. I’d kind of half-expected Ledbetter or someone else to come along and join me, but no one did.

  At last, the big doors opened and a rush of passengers from the spaceport walked off. They gave me a few strange looks, but I didn’t even blink. It seemed like the last two that exited the disk were the captain and the accountant. I saluted and received a nod in return. I fell in behind them as they walked out of the station and onto the domed city streets.

  As we walked, Captain Hansen surveyed the surroundings with a critical eye, taking in the sights and sounds of the bustling city—or maybe she was looking for someone or something. I couldn’t tell which it was, but she was definitely on alert.

  The city was impressive, with towering buildings that seemed to scrape the dome’s ceiling and bustling streets filled with people from all walks of life. The air was thick with the scent of food and the sound of chatter, a cacophony of voices that somehow blended together into a symphony of life.

  As we approached the city’s midtown center, the crowds began to thin out, giving way to a large open plaza. In the center of the plaza stood a towering statue of Mars, the god of war. His form loomed over the city like a watchful guardian.

  I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe as I gawked up at the statue. My personal display generated all the history and legends that surrounded the god. Like the deity, Mars was a harsh and unforgiving planet. Living here demanded a fierce and unrelenting spirit from those who dared to call it home.

  As we made our way through the plaza, I could feel the eyes of the colonists on us. Their gazes lingered on the captain and her entourage. I knew that the captain was a regarded warily. All outsiders were eyed with suspicion here, and we were clearly off-worlders.

  Finally, we arrived at our destination. The triangular structure built with laser-carved red bricks stood a dozen stories high. Inside, we rode an elevator to the top. I was starting to frown—who were we going to meet up here? Someone with a fat wallet, that was for sure.

  “I’m sorry, Captain,” said a well-manicured receptionist. “You’ll have to leave your soldier outside.”

  This was what I’d been expecting. A guy like me was a dog that needed to be left out in the rain. I understood the sentiment, and I wasn’t even upset about it—but Captain Hansen was.