Finally got my laptop back from repairs and took it on todays bus trip. I didn't have this story loaded so I couldn't work on it, but then another idea came to mind. I'm happy to say work has begun on this year's Snoggletog story to be published closer to Christmas eve (yay).

Chapter 62

Self Emancipation

Twenty six meters long and two levels high, the blue over silver aluminium Surfliner railway carriage looked a strange sight as it rumbled slowly down the road west of the deserted city of San Diego, but it was a good find for Reed Branson and his crew. The state of the road surface was far from perfect as it had not seen a repair team for over forty years, but the hydraulic rams on the top of each Bull Ant unit kept the old railcar level enough to keep it from tipping. The crew of the One and All had removed all seats from the top deck before loading the batteries and supplies in the lower section, keeping the centre of gravity as close to the ground as possible.

"You look like you're getting used to driving this thing" Captain Branson nodded approvingly.

"Thank you Sir" Jack Sumner replied "I have to admit it is the machine doing the driving more than me; it's easy to control with the joystick... and driving at little more than a fast walking pace helps too."

The control panel had been mounted on the sill of a broken window at the front of the upper deck. Jack was fortunate to have a very wide field of vision, but there was also the view from the monitor screen to assist him. Most of the One and All crew members remained near the ship, but there were two of them walking a few hundred meters ahead of the railcar. One held a rifle and was tasked with protecting the other who was flying a small Helicopter Camera Drone a few kilometres ahead. The vision from the flying unit was received by the Bull Ant control panel and showed on the monitor so Jack could choose the right course to avoid anything impassable.

"We've got the route mapped out for the next few kilometres" Reed spoke into his hand held radio "Take the camera out for a wide sweep and see if there is anyone in the area."

"Will do Sir" the helicopter pilot replied.

The steady view of the road ahead soon gave way to a panoramic sweep of the area. As the distant vision changed, Reed saw something very pleasing on the screen; just out beyond the high country and in between decades old meteor scaring, the camera drone was showing a large area of farming settlement.

"Do you think the Professor and Doctor Deming are down there somewhere Sir?" Jack asked.

"Well it looks like a good place to start asking questions at least" Reed Branson replied "and don't forget, its Doctor Dias now."

"Sir; did you see that?" Jack pointed to the monitor screen.

As the camera had continued to pan back towards the Bull Ant crawler and the two men patrolling ahead, the screen briefly showed a man darting behind a pile of boulders twenty meters from the road.

"I'm pretty sure he was armed Sir."

Reed grabbed his radio and ordered his men back to pull back immediately to the Bull Ant and land the camera drone. They did as ordered, clambering up the ladder and pulling it up behind them.

"Stop in another fifty meters" Reed said softly as he scanned ahead.

"Fifty meters; aye Sir."

Reed Branson left the upper deck to seek out the only member of his team he felt he could not rely on; he found the man using their supplies as protection, should any bullets start flying.

"Come out of there and tell me where we are" the Captain ordered.

Maximilian DeGroot did as he was told while looking around like a timid rabbit. He unfolded his map and laid it on an unused seat.

"Based on our speed and general direction of travel, I would estimate we are due east of San Diego around this area" DeGroot said as he pointed to the map.

"Is this the way you were going to take the Professor before he was kidnapped?"

"No Captain; we would have gone in a more north-easterly direction" DeGroot noted.

"So they wouldn't have taken him to that old Airbase" Branson realised.

"I'm not surprised Captain; it was long abandoned back when I was there."

With the Bull Ant now motionless, Reed Branson mover to the front of the old railcar and looked out the door. All was quiet and there was no sign of movement, but he knew they were not alone out there.

"AHOY THERE!" the captain called out "WE INTEND TO PASS BY; WE ARE SEARCHING FOR OUR FRIENDS AND HAVE NO INTENTION OF RAIDING YOUR SETTLEMENT."

All remained quiet for a short time while the man in the rocks considered his next move. Eventually he emerged and walked towards the strange vehicle with his rifle at the hip, pointed straight at Branson.

"You would be better off turning around and going back" the man sneered "EFA sympathisers are not very popular around here."

"None of us are with the EFA" Reed repeated his oft given answer.

"But you had one of their leaders on your ship" he accused.

"Professor Adisa is not EFA either; there must have been a misunderstanding. Listen... why don't you go down and tell your friends that we are on our way? When we get down to your settlement I'll explain everything."

The man considered Branson's offer briefly before rejecting it.

"I'll go tell 'em alright; and when you arrive, you will be shot at" he warned "So do yourselves a favour and turn back."

Without another word, the man backed off before turning and walking off down the road. Branson closed the door and went back to the upper deck of the railcar.

"Let's give the batteries an hour to charge up before we continue" he ordered Jack.

"You can't be serious" DeGroot gasped as he came up the steps.

"We can't just leave without trying to get the Professor and Doctor Dias back. Maybe if we can get someone to listen to us about all the work Adisa has put into the Mars Project, they'll let them both go."

"If it was me they'd taken, you would have left without the slightest hesitation" DeGroot said accusingly.

"No doubt I would have" Branson grinned as he slapped DeGroot on the back.

Olive Roux leaned back in her chair and sighed as she closed her eyes. A dark cloud had fallen over the base and did not look like it would be lifting anytime soon. No one on Mars was immune to tragedy, with each person having fond memories of the many friends and relations they had left behind on Earth, but this was the first time one of the Martian children had been lost in an accident and everyone was feeling it deeply. She wished she could come up with an idea, a plan to help the members of the colony to move on, but in the end she knew time would be the only help. She realised there was nothing more to be done this day so she decided to prepare for bed; but before she reached the bedroom, the door chime sounded.

"I hope I am not disturbing you" Florian said as the door opened.

"Not at all" Olive smiled and invited him in "I have definitely finished all work for the day; what can I do for you?"

"I know most people have been grieving our recent loss in their own way, but April would like permission to have a memorial transmission sent out to both bases in a few days time."

"I don't see any problem there, but do me a small favour; let me sleep on it and I'll talk with you again over breakfast."

Premier Roux thought it was a wonderful idea to give anyone who wanted to talk about their feelings regarding the MTV tragedy, an official platform to do so. Even so she knew she would have to check with the Deep Council first.

"Probably is a good idea for you to think about it for a while" Florian agreed "because I believe it is also the perfect time for us to come clean and clear the air about the formation of the Mars Project."

It felt to Olive as if her stomach had just solidified without warning. She had always believed the secret manoeuvring behind the scenes was unknown to Florian Klein because he had been on Mars since he was in his late twenties.

"C-clear the air?" she stuttered "What on earth are you talking about."

"I believe it is very important that we bring the secrecy behind the formation of the base to an end once and for all. We both know Luis and Abigail were murdered to keep them quiet and if we don't deal with it now, who knows what will need to be done in the future to keep the base personnel in the dark. If this colony is going to grow and succeed in the years to come, it has to do so openly and honestly."

"What the hell do you think you are doing Klein?" an electronically altered voice drifted through the room.

"Do you seriously think it matters if Roux knows I'm on the Deep Council?" Florian sighed.

"It was not your decision to make" the voice replied.

Olive just stood back and kept quiet, unsure of what to think of the argument unfolding before her.

"And that is the real problem with the Mars colony; so many people thinking they are making decisions and working hard to build a free society" Florian argued "So what do you think will happen if they all unexpectedly find out the truth? I think now is the perfect time to own up; to take possession of all the clandestine manoeuvres we have taken. If we wait until someone finds out accidentally, we will have lost the chance to explain our actions and will have to go down in Mars history as nothing more than a group of selfish, power hungry elitists. Wise leaders know when the time has come to step down from power, while dictators will step on anyone and everyone just to stay on top."

"Are you calling us a bunch of dictators?" the voice said accusingly.

"It really depends on how far you are willing to go" Florian accused "History is full of people who were prepared to go to any length to stay in power, but consider those who brought about great change even though they knew it would weaken them; Mikhail Gorbachev and F. W. de Klerk to name just two."

"Mars is not a communist state" the voice hissed "Nor is it under apartheid... and no one is going to give you the Nobel Peace Prize for this either."

"I'm not after a prize, but I do want to leave behind a free Mars when I die, even if it means losing the respect of everyone on the planet" Florian stood his ground.

"And you expect us to just go along with your plan? Did you ever consider the effect it would have on the rest of us?"

"Yes I did and that is why I will do nothing without the backing of the Deep Council" Florian noted "Again I beg you to just think about what would happen if someone found out the truth; wouldn't it be better if the population heard the news from us?"

"And how would anyone find out? Would you tell them?"

"I have not and will not reveal what I know to anyone" Florian truthfully declared while leaving out the vital fact that April already knew.

"Just make sure you don't" the voice replied.

"It sounds like you have made up your mind already but I implore you all; discuss this and reconsider what you're doing."

Florian then left without saying anything more to Olive, who continued to stand in stunned silence.

"Do you think he'll say anything?" she said eventually.

"He'd better not if he knows what's good for him" the disembodied voice declared.

Calla looked out from the cupola, back along the spine of the MTV; she had not yet grown tired of watching the wheel section slowly turning around. There were constant thoughts flowing through her mind about the interplanetary ship and how cool it was when compared to first space ship she had flown a few weeks ago. True the Star Runner II looked impressive, like a cross between a sports car and something out of a movie, but with an interior space equivalent only slightly more than a large minivan, the Mars Transfer Vehicle gave her much more room to move around.

She also liked having both the opportunity to float around in micro gravity as much as she wanted, as well as enjoying the comfort of the simulated gravity wheel. As she stared at the pods attached to the centre of the spine, the truth of their origin began to hit her. A few days ago some of them had been sitting in the staging area, while the rest were still being fitted out. Calla had even touched some of them when they were on Earth and now she was part of the crew taking them out into the solar system to start a new chapter in space colonisation; she was helping to make history and it felt good.

"When you've finished day dreaming, there's a call for you" Abigail Dias said after floating silently up from behind.

Abigail could see she had startled Calla, who was desperately trying to look like she wasn't.

"Don't tell me Mom has got more to say?" she sighed.

"No it's that girl you told me about" Abigail informed her.

"DOOM!" an excited Calla pushed off and zipped past Abigail.

Flying through the front hatch, she almost ran into Major Dias as he came through from the opposite direction.

"Sorry sir" she apologised and then succeeded in crashing into the back of Blue's seat.

"I think that's her now" Blue said into the headset mic.

He removed the headset and handed it to Calla as she dropped into the other seat but before she put it on, she stared at Blue expectantly.

"Well..." she prompted.

"What?" Blue wondered.

"A little privacy please" Calla insisted.

"If you say so" Blue shrugged and floated away.

"MTV to Railgun; is that you Doom?" Calla said excitedly as she adjusted the headset.

"Hey Squirt; I was worried I wouldn't get to talk to you before you left."

"Technically speaking, we've already left" Calla reported "The engines have been on full power for almost ten hours but it takes a while to pick up speed. Blue's dad says we're just raising up our orbit before we head off towards the Moon in a few more hours."

"I thought you were headed to Mars" Doom noted.

"Apparently we're going to use the Moon's gravity to boost our velocity" Calla replied "Major Dias called it a slingshot manoeuvre."

"Never mind all the technical talk; I want to know why you're leaving me behind."

"Well I sorta had to" Calla protested "If Blue had brought me back down to Earth, it could have been years before he would get the next opportunity to get to Mars and see his Mother."

"I thought we were going to build a new colony on an asteroid or three" Doom said.

"That's where all the equipment we are carrying is bound for, but who knows; we may still be able to send some people to Mars as well" Calla noted.

"When will you know?"

"Apparently everyone on Mars will find out we're on our way very soon, then we'll know for certain; Blue's dad isn't really sure how everyone will react."

"Well I wish you good luck" Doom said to her friend "Ever since this weirdness started, I assumed we would go into space together, if we ever made it at all; I'm gonna miss you."

"From what I hear, you don't need me anymore; you've got my brother now."

"He's still a bit shy, but at least he's trying now."

"Maybe I should wish you luck too" Calla grinned.

"The guy in charge here is signalling me to wrap up now so I'd better say goodbye for now" Doom sighed.

"Bye Doom... I'll miss you buddy."

Down on Earth, Harriet Doom removed her headset and placed it on the desk in front of her. It was still hard to believe Calla was really going. The reality of the situation was much easier to comprehend for the youngest of the Linwoods as she stared off into the void of space through the window of the Orion capsule. She only had the chance to daydream for a few more seconds for she was snapped back into the real world when she heard Luis's voice from the navigation control computer behind her.

"Breaking orbit in thirty seconds" he said "This is it; we're on our way home at last."

Home; Calla thought she was leaving it behind, but it really all came down to perspective.

Here is a little helpful advice. Never use your favourite song as a ringtone because you won't want to answer the phone and shut off the music. I believe this is the real reason why so many teenagers always seem to be mad at Mom when she calls.