A Study In Solar

Chapter 8

By Trynia Merin


"The phone," Lestrade said as the trilling interrupted the moment, and she was both glad and sad for its presence.

"Impeccable timing," Holmes sighed. "Excuse me… we shall have to continue later."

"It figures," she sighed.

"Holmes, are you there?" asked Watson's voice when Holmes got up and pressed the receive button.

"My dear Watson, how goes things on your end?" Holmes asked casually.

"What's going on, Watson?" Lestrade asked, getting up and standing to peer annoyed over Holmes shoulder at Watson.

"I found a possible additional connection, through the help of the Irregulars… particularly Tennyson, whose research was most valuable," Watson announced. "When he scanned the records he managed to decrypt, we found that several employees have now quit Nusolar, and have walked away with considerable sums of money."

"Who are they?" asked Lestrade eagerly.

"Only one of them had previously worked at Solarex," said Watson. "I thought that may well be significant…"

"Would his name be Rossini?" asked Holmes.

"How did you know… bless my soul," Watson said in surprise. "Well, it seems that he had classified information, which took Tennyson's considerable skill to decode… the man's been leading a double life. He tended to do most of his work at home… and during that time he was actually moonlighting as a Commander in the Space corps… particularly the Martian Marines…"

"How could he get away with that?" Lestrade asked.

"Interesting," Holmes said. "No doubt he had forged identity papers."

"The record of his service does not go back further then being an ensign. Apparently he took a few years off on hiatus. He was a service tech in power stations. That was his military training. Then five years ago, he left on a leave of absence according to the records, and took a civilian identity on Earth."

"Working for Solarex no doubt," said Holmes.

"Right… and only after a year he left there… and resumed his active duty. Then he apparently hired his skills as a consultant for Nusolar just last year… but the employee records show him as still active at Solarex, even though he wasn't officially on site… Tennyson says the records have all the earmarks of forgery."

"Somebody went to a lot of trouble to cover up a nasty mess," Holmes muttered, fingering his chin. "Any information on Lernov?"

"Apparently he worked as an assistant to Commander Rosschild, when they were both at Rhea base. Lernov's been serving there ever since."

"There is our first connection," Holmes said with a severe nod. "Any hint Rossini's whereabouts now?"

"Company records say he's on holiday," Watson said. "And that he gave his notice to leave."

"Which coincides with the reports of Rosschild's presence on the Rhea base," Holmes nodded.

"So if we find those two, we figure out who set the attacks?" Lestrade asked.

"Not quite, my dear Inspector," Holmes corrected her. "There is one more link. Neither Rosschild nor Lernov were on the station to boobytrap the Wallace. This means there was someone else on the station responsible. Who is the third collaborator?"

"I'm on my way to meet both of you," said Watson. "I had a feeling that you may need my aid."

"Good man Watson," said Holmes with a nod. "Have the irregulars keep eyes and brains attuned for any changes at Nusolar. And tell Tennyson to keep monitoring their files especially their personnel records about who has visited in the past week."

"Right," Watson said. "I'm already on the next transport en route. I should be there by tonight."

"Excellent."

"But Holmes what would they gain by crashing the Wallace?" asked Lestrade. "Since it was using Solarex sails or were they trying to keep us from snooping around here?"

"Excellent Lestrade, but not the only reason," Holmes said. "Whoever did the sabotage wanted to absolve Nusolar of some of the blame. And provide a way to transfer the cargo the Wallace was carrying… namely tobacco."

"Tobacco?" Watson shook his head. "My word… I never… funny you should mention that… I didn't know it was related but when I scanned the warehouses and labs the other day at Nusolar, I found traces of nicotine."

"Brilliant!" Holmes said with a laugh of glee. "You have been most helpful!"

"I shall see you this evening!" Watson said. Lestrade drew in her breath and let out a sigh.

"Shall we go for some fresh air, and put our disguises to the test?" Holmes asked Lestrade.

"Okay, better than hanging out here," she sighed as Holmes handed her the elastomask, and slipped his outfit on again.

"It should be most illuminating," he winked as he offered her his arm, and they walked out of the bedroom, in their disguises.

"So now what?" Lestrade asked as they exited their room, disguises in place. She figured Holmes might mean the case, but the strange look in his eyes suggested he read another implication that made her shiver. Putting that thought away, she let him take her arm and lead her down to the lobby.

"We go for a stroll," he smiled.

"And hope we don't run into any ex boyfriends," Lestrade added. "With nasty tempers."

"Indeed," Holmes nodded.

"Don't worry I've got enough anger to kick anyone's tail halfway across Mars if they mess with me," Lestrade said bravely, and Holmes smiled to see a hint of the old Lestrade he knew and was fond of. Make that quite fond of.

She wrapped a scarf around her head to hide her face a bit, and they both put on stylish sunglasses. While people had not worn glasses for years to correct sight, they still donned sunshades to shield their eyes from UV rays, or to make a fashion statement. Out of the lobby they strolled, down the streets which were lined with shops, and chatting knots of guests and citizens. Lowell City had 25,000 inhabitants, most of which were colonists who worked in the local industries and at the resort, much like Galileo City on the Moon. Most of the larger cities, like Sagan City, Vikingsburg, and Schaparielliville were the same size. Smaller settlements had 10,000 people or less, and there were perhaps twenty such settlements on Mars so far. Mars was not as well developed as other colonies, but there were successful terraforming experiments that happened in a huge complex of domes that ringed the planet at the equator. They were all interconnected underground, and each consisted of a series of domes linked to the agriculture fields by transparent 'gerbil tubes'.


Once they reached the shopping plaza, they encountered quite a number of Space Marines in fatigues, milling about or having coffee. Some wandered in and out of the video arcades and various bars, clearly the group from Rhea base, which had supposedly been under, attack by ersatz dissidents. Only the dome overhead separated them from the rosy Martian sky and rust colored plains. Lestrade anxiously glanced from left to right; anxious to catch a glimpse of who all was present. The blond wig concealed her hair well enough, but she was sure if Lernov happened upon them, he might see through the disguise. Such was the fear he evoked in her.

"Isn't it a lovely day?" she asked in a credible English accent that Holmes had coached her on.

"Very much so, dear," Holmes answered in an American accent. "Something wrong?"

"Frightful lot of soldiers milling about," she mumbled. "There been a war?"

"Got that right miss," said a familiar voice. They turned to see Alvarez and Chang sitting at a sidewalk cafe, and waving to them. He had heard her last comment.

Holmes and Lestrade turned to see the two soldiers sitting at the table. Lestrade said, "Um… excuse me?"

"You're right lady. It was a pretty bad scene," said the Asian. "By the way, you must be tourists."

"Ah, how can you tell?" Holmes asked, recognizing Private Alvarez and Corporal Chang.

"Your styles are kinda retro," said Chang. "Although you'd be mod on Earth in the US now… We've been here since yesterday, and we've been hanging out, watching who's been coming and going."

"Do you make a habit of watching tourists?" asked Holmes a bit piqued.

"Hey, easy," said Chang. "We're just playing. I know most of the colonists here, because I'm the one who goes on supply runs. We usually get to know most of the inhabitants."

"Oh… all right," Holmes said. "Right."

"I'm Private Alvarez, and my buddy is Corporal Chang," said Alvarez. "You two look like you just got married?"

"You've got the blush," said Chang with a wink at Holmes. "We can spot you young couples from a mile off."

"Seems as if we have been found out," said Holmes with amusement. "I'm Mr. William Scott, and this is my wife Caroline... we're staying at the Hilton."

"Hi," she said. "Pleased to meat you."

"You wanna join us for coffee?" asked Alvarez. "I mean, we could tell you the whole story, if you wanna know."

"Very well," Holmes said. "Shall we, dear?"

He pulled out a chair for Lestrade, and she sat down, glancing at him in question. Chang flagged down a waiter and smiled as he said, "Get whatever these two want."

"Two coffees please," Holmes said. "Double sweet."

"Another round of whisky and soda for us," said Alvarez. The waiter nodded and moved off to get their drinks. Lestrade picked up a few peanuts and nibbled them nervously as Holmes smiled disarmingly at their hosts.

"I heard the dissidents were extremely bad," said Holmes.

"You said it," Alvarez nodded.

"So that's why all of you are here?" asked Lestrade.

"Yep miss; we can't go back till the base has been investigated. But hell, at least we got R and R," laughed Chang.

"We came last night," said Holmes.

"Last night was our first night," Lestrade said, with a wink, and Holmes blushed even though it was an act.

"What's with the shades?" Chang asked them.

"You dope they're earthers. Another sign of tourists. People not from Mars don't get used to the extra UV."

"Why doesn't the dome protect us?" asked Lestrade.

"The cheapskates who run this berg insist on not using a special screen... cause they don't want the crops to wither," said Chang with a laugh. Beth glanced around, and kept hold of Holmes hand. As the waiter brought their drinks, she scanned for any sign of anyone else from the base. They sipped their drinks and Chang entertained them with tales of the desperate battle.

"We're all here till they call us back, so we're making the most of it," Chang said, knocking back a sip of his drink.

"I'm surprised you're being so up front with telling us all this," said Lestrade, shaking her head. "I mean isn't it usually a policy to keep military operations secret?"

"It helps the PR," said Chang. "We wanna discourage colonists from thinking we're doing some weird experiments or weapons testing. That's why the dissidents are so ticked off at us. They think we're gonna detonate distronic explosives or something."

"Whether we wanna or not, we have to be honest," said Alvarez, rolling his eyes.

"So, you played the slots?" asked Chang.

"Pardon?" Holmes asked.

"Oh come on, you got to put a credit or two in the machine," Alvarez groaned.

"We have been rather… busy," Lestrade said with a wink.

"I bet," Chang nudged Holmes, who grumbled. "Say no more… say no more."

"Mind if we light up?" asked Alvarez, taking out a pack of smokes, Leanovs. Holmes glanced at the package, noting it was the same brand as before.

"I thought it was illegal!" Lestrade said with a mock shock.

"Not in the cafés," said Chang with a whisper. "Thanks to our PR officer, we've convinced the governor it's not so bad business to have this be a tobacco zone. I mean it does draw the tourists, and in space casinos they've been letting people use the tobacco. Provided they keep it in the plazas…"

"PR's in good with the governor?" Holmes raised an eyebrow.

"Yep that's our buddy now," waved Chang as he shouted. "Sir."

"At ease, Corporal, we are off duty, ne takl li?" said a Russian voice that made Lestrade freeze. Holmes grasped her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Out of the crowd strode Lernov, wearing his fatigues like the others, and both men stood up to salute him.

"Get the man a chair," said Alvarez, leaping out of his as Chang did the same, indicating he should sit.

"Ah, who are your friends?" he asked, his eyes examining Holmes and Lestrade in their guises. She froze, as if expecting his vision to x-ray right through and find them out.

"Mr. and Mrs. William Scott," Holmes said quickly, holding out his hand as Sergey sat down in the chair vacated by Alvarez.

"A pleasure," Lernov smiled his perfect white teeth. He turned to Lestrade, and picked up her hand to give it a kiss. "And likewise a double pleasure to see your lovely wife…"

Lestrade had taken off her gloves, and he saw the single gold band gleaming on the third finger of her left hand. She smiled as bravely as she could, and forced a coquettish giggle as she pulled her scarf around her neck. Sergey flashed her a charming smile that made her stomach crawl, and Holmes arm drape around her shoulders possessively as if demarcating his territory.

"You are... the PR officer?" asked Holmes. Alvarez stood beside Chang, sipping his drink while Chang sat in his chair.

"That I am," he smiled. "If you two have any questions about the base, do not hesitate to ask. We hope to get to the bottom of this nasty business, and bring those dissidents the justice they deserve."

"Yes, indeed," said Holmes.

"Oh you're so brave," cooed Lestrade, though she felt nauseous doing so. "Protecting us."

"Do you know a Commander Rosschild?" asked Holmes suddenly, arm snug around her shoulders. "I met him once back on Earth… during a review… at Schwarzkopf base."

"Ah," said Sergey. "Him? He only commandeered the rescue of the civilians from the base, and then had to report back to HQ… he had only just come back from a tour of duty on Earth…"

"But we heard something about a solar yacht crashing," Lestrade said. The three men exchanged looks before Chang jumped in.

"Beats me. All those ritzy yachts have some problem or another," shrugged Chang.

"Server them right," muttered Alvarez. "A toy for the rich."

"Now those techs did help us repair our power station," said Sergey. "They're only now helping wrap up the investigation while we stay here, and make sure the citizens are safe."

"Do you have any more of those… cigarettes?" Holmes asked quietly.

"Dear… it's our honeymoon!" cried Lestrade, adding a hint of caution.

"Allow me," Sergey said as he flipped open a pack he pulled from the breast pocket of his uniform. Holmes reached in and extracted one, and Sergey flicked a lighter to let him ignite it. He took in a long drag, and then coughed spasmodically.

"Strong for a strong man," Sergey laughed as he slapped Holmes on the back.

"Dear… you shouldn't," said Lestrade, sighing.

"You are a lucky man, with such a lovely wife to worry over you," said Sergey.

"Yeah right," Lestrade said in her mind. Sergey turned his gaze to her, and she was sure he must know who she was. It was part of the fear he had instilled in her that there was nowhere she was safe from his manipulations.

"You are an intriguing man, Lieutenant," she managed to say; giggling again though it made her ill.

"A pleasure indeed sharing your lovely wife's company," Sergey flashed a grin at Holmes who nodded and puffed timidly on the smoke. He let his jealousy show and Lestrade for a moment figured that it wasn't an act. She was glad for that, because it suppressed the urge for her to either kick Sergey's brains in or run away in the opposite direction.

"Oh Private Alvarez, you don't have to stand," she said suddenly as an idea hit her.

"Hey it's part of my job," he grinned.

"We can't have a brave soldier like you stand up… here take my chair… because I'll sit here…" she said, moving over and planting herself on Holmes' lap much to his surprise.

"Dear," he stammered, flushing as she shifted.

"That works for me," Private Alvarez grinned as he took her chair, and winked at Holmes who was very embarrassed at this turn of events.

"Young love," Chang bopped his arm, and Holmes glared at him. He swallowed hard as Lestrade gave his cheek a kiss.

"Get a room," Alvarez laughed.

"Perhaps we should return to the hotel and continue this?" Holmes said pointedly to Lestrade.

"Yes, let's," she nodded. "Excuse us… please."

"Go on, with my blessings," Sergey flashed them another grin, though she could swear she saw a questioning gleam in his eyes. She leapt off Holmes' lap, and grabbed his hand, pulling him away with her. He stumbled away and tossed a shrug to the men who waved and grinned.

The Scotts left the company of the marines and strolled out in the main road. They crossed the city in a matter of a half hour, and Lestrade saw they were headed in the direction o the power station instead of the hotel. She still kept a firm grip on his arm as if struggling to keep hold of her own emotions. His sidelong glances at hr confirmed his apprehension about her state of mind. Again anger surfaced and he felt the tug as she fell behind his stride.

"That was rather… hem… an interesting twist you showed back there," he said neutrally.

"I just have a bad feeling he saw right through the elastomask. He isn't stupid."

"Quite," Holmes nodded. "Which is why you showed a stroke of genius by the suggestion that we were retiring to the hotel… where doubtless if we are under surveillance would be the first place they would look?"

"Well it just came to me," she shrugged with a grin.

"Although the public displays of affection were rather unexpected," he admitted.

"Zed, sorry, I got carried away! Should have KNOWN giving you a kiss in public would rile you up, in your Victorian prudery. Seriously, you got to get with the program. A married couple now isn't so reserved!"

"I am just not accustomed to it, that is all," he coughed.

"I didn't think that I was that offensive," she grumbled.

"Lestrade, actually you weren't," Holmes said. "Rather I enjoyed it… and it was disturbing."

"Excuse me?" Lestrade snapped. "Now just a minute, playing those parts was your bright idea!"

"Please, keep your voice down," he hissed as they approached the power station, its gleaming generators and transformers rising against the rear of the dome, where a small building served as a control station. A shadow moved, and Holmes voice trailed off.

"Oh good grief," Lestrade sighed, as he held up a hand for silence. He pulled her behind the building, and glanced around. Frustrated, Lestrade realized fate had interrupted a promising and interesting conversation.

"Someone's walking this way, and I've seen them for the past half hour," Holmes whispered. "I saw him leaving the marketplace."

"Who's that?" she asked, glancing around the corner herself as the figure came towards them. His Mars striders made a thudding sound on the pavement, and she saw the unmistakable uniform of a space corps marine commander. Except Holmes narrowed his eyes and shook his head. They were at the periphery where the solar energy collected from the plane of solar panels was siphoned off by the converter and stored in the huge solar stacks for use in the city, and converted to the necessary power levels for each building. The curve of the dome sloped gently down overhead, and beyond Lestrade saw the channels that carried the cables out to the field of solar panels on the other side. An emergency air lock door was set into the side of the dome; its double doors locked shut, with several auxiliary masks and a tank of oxygen handy.

"One may ask what business a military man has in a civilian power station," Holmes mumbled in her ear. "Especially when his hair is not kept to regulation length."

"Zed," she whispered. He had stopped before the main power converter, rising to a height of ten feet overhead. He removed his hat and wiped sweat off his head, and they saw the hair was longer then the buzz cut of the space marines, with residual patches of green and yellow.

"That's Commander Rosschild… or should I say, Dr. Rossini of Nusolar?" asked Holmes. "Shall we take a closer look?"

"I'm with you," she mumbled, hitching up her skirt and drawing her ionizer, which was concealed there. Reaching into his jacket pocket, Holmes pulled out his cane and opened it to its full length. Determination to get to the bottom of the case shone in their eyes and as they rushed over to evade their quarry's glances, she felt Sherlock take her hand and pull her close beside him into the shelter of the power converter's cylindrical bulk. She shivered at this more friendly gesture as Holmes tossed his head in the direction of the man on the other side. He had opened his briefcase and started to fix something to the side of the wall, pressing some buttons with a gleam in his eyes.

"He has an electronic jammer," she pointed to a device clipped to Rosschild's belt as he knelt and made more adjustments to whatever he was doing. A small box blinked on his belt, and Holmes realized that must be what was keeping all the security from rushing over to see what was going on.

"I think we have found our perpetrator," he nodded. "For the so called attacks by dissidents…"

"We gotta stop him," she hissed.

"With the utmost caution. On three," Holmes whispered. Lestrade nodded, and they moved out from their hiding place.

"Freeze, new Scotland Yard!" Lestrade shouted. Glancing up, Rossini shook his head as he saw Lestrade covering him with a gun. He did not recognize the blonde in the long blue skirt, but she held her badge up in her other hand so he could see. "You're under arrest! Step AWAY from the power station."

"You're too late, Yardie," he snarled.

"What is that?" she demanded.

"Something you'll not be here to find out," he said as he slowly backed away. Lestrade saw the flashing lights and saw a sonic bomb affixed to the side of the capacitor, with only minutes on his timer.

AS he turned to leave, something caught him around the neck, and dealt him a swift blow to the back of the head. Rossini collapsed and hit the ground. Lestrade rushed up and rolled him onto his back, snapping cuffs around his wrists.

"That was easy," she said.

"Too easy," she mumbled. "That's a sonic bomb… and we have to get it out of here."

"I wonder if I can stop it," Holmes said as he moved over and glanced over the device.

"No time!" Lestrade pushed him away. She had an oxygen mask over her mouth, with the accompanying tank.

"What are you doing?" he asked as she tore it off the wall, and ran with it towards the airlock door. "Wait… Lestrade!"

"Wait here!" she shouted as she punched the panel and the door slid open. She rushed inside, and the door slid shut as Holmes rushed after her. He banged on the airlock door as Lestrade opened the outer door to the surface of mars, handing onto the edge of the frame as the air whooshed out. She tossed the bomb as far as she could, and slammed the door.

Holmes struggled to open the airlock, when he saw Lestrade's panicked face. The mechanism was jammed, and Sherlock saw the words Manual at the archaic wheel to one side. He shoved up the pressurizer to pump air in, and heard the hissing, as there came a blinding flash and a terrific shaking of the ground. Everything was supernova white and faded into blackness as he fell to the ground.

The next thing Holmes heard were voices around him. He thought it must be midnight, and the power was off, for he saw blackness. He felt Lestrade's body pushing him up and steadying him as he heard someone say, "Inspector Lestrade? What just happened?"

"Ah, inspector Thomas," Lestrade said. "That's the reason behind the attacks. It isn't dissidents… just one dissident."

"That man…" Holmes mumbled. "He's behind it all."

"Well well, a commander?" asked the voice of Thomas. "What will they think of next?"

"He's no commander," said Lestrade. "Any more than I'm Mrs. William Scott."

"They'll never believe this at the HQ," said Thomas, shaking his head. "Take him away men. And you two look like you'd better be seen to. There will have to be a full report of course to my chief."

"Quite," Holmes mumbled.

"Just who are you anyway?"

"Sherlock Holmes," he said, as Lestrade kept him from falling over. "And is the power still on?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" said Thomas as he shook Holmes hand.

"Because… I am quite blind," Holmes said calmly, though Lestrade's eyes widened in shock.


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