Winning Peace - Chapter 18:

One thing Mars had that Luna didn't?

Gravity.

Or, at least, enough gravity to make some things safer than they would be in lunar gravity. The difference between one-sixth and one-third 'standard' gravity was significant, after all. As such, one had to be extremely careful of thrust vectors and how much power you put into them. Luna's atmosphere, or lack thereof, was also problematic. While Mars' atmosphere wasn't anything to write home about, it still existed. On a purely technical level, you could say that Luna had an atmosphere as well, it was just so thin as to be nonexistent for almost all intents and purposes.

Which meant, if you were flying around on Luna and you 'crashed,' you had two choices. The first was almost always a collision with the Lunar surface that would be hard to avoid and extremely lethal to all but the most robust of systems. The second option was to fire your thruster as hard as you could and make for open space, then light up a rescue beacon and hope you didn't collide with anything up there. This result was much, much more survivable, but still terrifying and unpleasant for everyone involved.

Where I'm going with this is that you couldn't casually fly anything around Luna. Being licensed to operate craft around Armstrong, especially, was the work of a highly qualified and highly trained group of elite individuals trusted with what were essentially piloted ballistic missiles around a heavily populated urban area. And that was just the above-ground dome city.

Flying around in the new suburbs (and I hated that pun) I'd carved out of the bedrock?

Haha, No.

Not just 'No,' but Fuck No.

I hadn't mapped out an entire public transit system that could adequately service every part of the massive underground city just so that some asshole with a drinking problem or an anger management problem or a human condition problem could have a bad day and kill dozens or hundreds of people by ramming their fancy flying car into a building at a hundred kilometers an hour.

So, yes, I'd had to yield to the whiny rich entitled assholes who wanted private public transport pods that only they could use since they couldn't have nice cars to lord over everyone else, but the alternative was so much worse that I still considered it a win. And, yes, I hypocritically enjoyed those very same private pods as a perk of my office, but the point stood. Besides, the general public could access them by actually paying extra credits instead of just taking the free public ones, so it wasn't like there was that much mystique or unfairness built into the system.

The closest Luna ever came to cars, flying or otherwise, was a legion of glorified golf carts with inductive wheels that drew power from the paths they drove on. I'd styled a few for EVA work as fifth-generation lunar rovers, as well, but they were still slow, lumbering, and careful vehicles. Because even making something that couldn't leave the ground didn't mean all that much in one-sixth G. I mean, imagine the Duke brothers pulling their iconic daredevil jump and ending up flying a hundred meters into the sky before crashing down on someone's roof.

Or an outdoor eatery.

I'd gotten a certain sick satisfaction in animating that scenario out for the people who just would not shut up about fucking cars.

On Mars, though?

You can have cars.

One-third standard gravity takes some getting used to in terms of driving and the motors have to be specially-designed to handle the thin atmosphere and Martian dust, but you can drive around without worrying about hitting the throttle too hard and flying a dozen meters in the air when you hit a particularly bad bump.

"Holy Shit this is so much fun!"

My cries only made Sasha clutch at her armrests harder as I gunned the motor harder and faster down the ancient riverbed that, all things considered, made for an excellent racing track. Turning the last lap, I resolved to look into releasing the next generation of hover-tech soon, if only to kick the Martian racing circuit up a notch. Not quite into the suicidal realm of pod racing, but even as fun as this was, turning things up to eleven was easy enough.

Taking my foot off the accelerator, I allowed the vehicle to begin coasting to cut its speed to the point where I wouldn't take a shot at breaking our necks from whiplash by stopping too suddenly. Seeing the isolated dome at the far end of the straightaway, I pulled onto a paved off-ramp and glided to the point that I could apply the brakes smoothly before tapping the gas to edge us into one of the enclosed garage spaces.

"Well," I grinned, looking over at Sasha, "I had a good time. You?"

Her stilted breathing and rictus of fear slowly relaxed to allow her to turn her head and glare at me. Into the silence of the moment came the rushing of atmosphere as the garage outside sealed around the car, nozzles of air spraying the red dust off and drawing it into a filter that would be dumped back outside.

"I am never letting you drive anything with me in it ever again," Sasha vowed firmly.

A quiet chime let us know that the cycle was done and we got out as I shook my head chuckling. "No one likes a party pooper, Sasha."

"Who are you and what have you done with my boss?" She replied, steadying herself as she took a look at the racer and shivered. "He's supposed to be this serious workaholic that barely knows what fun is. Maybe you've seen him?"

"Ouch," I hissed playfully. "True, but still... ouch."

I stretched a bit, luxuriating in my back cracking as I looked the racer over. It was entirely over-engineered and would have barely been able to beat your average tank back on Earth. Here, though, everything weighed one third, which meant it was actually advised to make vehicles like this heavier rather than as light as possible. Someone, in a fit of wisdom that made me want to subsidize them, had used that opportunity to stuff the entire thing with safety features and armor it up to the point you could be reasonably certain of only minor injuries from a head-on collision at even the highest of speeds.

An airlock to our side opened, a man in a pressure suit sans helmet walking in with a grin on his olive face. "So, how'd it go, Minister? Drives like a dream, right?"

I reached out and shook his hand. "You're an artist and a wizard, Marco. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

Taking the opportunity, I mentally transferred a stash of credits to him, making the man frown as he looked at his wrist-mounted mini-tablet. "Minister Lopez, I couldn't possibly! This is, this is just far too much!"

I waved him off. "Consider it a gift if you won't take it as payment. From one engineer to another. I really appreciate people going out on their own and doing stuff like this. Setting up the first extraterrestrial racing business? That's some serious style."

Marco hesitated, then sighed and nodded. "You are too kind, Minister. Too kind. Still, I am glad you enjoyed it. Business is steady, but nothing to write home about. I hope, now that we have ships again, Eos Chasma might see some tourists?"

The leading question made me laugh as I nodded. "Like I said in the interview, in the next year or two we're going to see some movement on that front. We're still hammering all the bugs out, but the Council might even get it done before then if we're lucky."

"Glad to hear it," Marco nodded, then hesitated. "Not that I do not enjoy the familiarity, but it is good to see new faces outside of vid-mail, yes?"

"Don't I know it," I nodded sympathetically, then made to leave.

"Ah-" Marco spoke up and I turned to look at him while Sasha finished picking up our bags and turned back as well. "-there are reporters, I should warn you. They have been camping in the lobby since shortly after you left for your ride."

I sighed and checked my internal clock. "Yeah, right... they've probably released the news by now. Ugh, this isn't going to be pleasant."

Sasha grimaced and nodded. "It's what you signed up for with this tour, though."

I nodded and made to leave again, when Marco spoke up, his expression timid and fearful while still maintaining something of an impotent anger. "I-is it true? I mean, the... the Dogs? Are they..."

"Still out there, yes." I nodded gravely. "I know it sounds like a boilerplate answer, but we really are doing everything in our power to hunt them down. I won't tell you not to worry, but they won't get off another attack like they did. We know about them now, we're not going to be caught unawares."

The man sighed deeply and nodded. "Very good, Minister. If you want to meet them head-on, then?"

I looked to Sasha, who met my gaze and nodded, then turned back to Marco. "Once more into the breach, dear friends."

The man seemed to regain a bit of his humor at that, and smiled. "Just this way, then."

He didn't need to show us, since this was the same way we'd come out, but I didn't fight him. A pair of our security agents were standing at the exit of the hallway, each looking suitably imposing in low-profile ballistic suits over their pressure suits. Even with their visors set to transparency, they still looked like they meant business.

Once the small crowd of two-dozen saw me, noise immediately flooded the room as various people began speaking all at once. The two security staff stepped up to shield Sasha and myself even as I held my hands up high for silence. Even as I waved them down, the anxiety and near-panic on their faces was obvious.

"Minister Lopez, can you confirm-"

"What's happening on Earth?!"

"Was the UNAS complicit in-"

"How long as have you known about-"

"Is Luna declaring war on the UNAS?"

"QUIET DOWN!" I bellowed, the microphone on my suit picking up my voice and projecting it through the small speakers in the lobby's entertainment system. "I will give a short statement and then answer questions ONE AT A TIME. I know you have just received alarming news from the Stellar Council's headquarters in Armstrong City on Luna, but I would ask for your patience and understanding while I give you the answers you need."

Uneasy silence, but silence nonetheless.

I cleared my throat. "Okay, first off. Yes, I knew our intelligence services had discovered the presence of Last Dogs operatives still active on Earth. I rendered aid to Minister Samson who chairs the Intelligence division of the government. He and I have been working closely to cultivate resources that would aid in ferreting out agents of Earth-based governments working on Luna, Mars, and the other settlements in the Sol System. We discovered evidence that the Last Dogs may not have been wiped out two months ago and, after confirming what we could, presented it to the Prime Minister for further examination and a decision on how to move forward."

As I took a breath, someone seized on the pause to shout, "Don't you think you should have told us sooner!?"

Raising my hands to forestall another wave of noise, I shook my head. "As great as the need for transparency in government institutions is, there was a need for a period to examine the data and make plans on how to disseminate it without causing panic. If the government, your government, had clumsily handed down alarmist announcements without an accompanying plan, it only would have exacerbated the situation."

More than a few among the crowd scowled and grumbled. I took the opportunity to push forward. "In anticipation of your next questions, yes there is a plan. I have to go light on the details because of informational security, but the Stellar Council has made connections with trustworthy figures on Earth who will aid us in carrying out further investigation and removal of any Last Dogs agents found to still be operating. We do not plan on letting any of them get away free after being complicit in the Short War."

Mouths opened, but I raised my hands again. "Further, Minister Samson has, with help from many other ministries, confirmed that there are no Last Dogs cells on any celestial body in the Sol System save for Earth. Again, this announcement is to keep you informed and aware of government operations, not to cause panic. Humanity has seen, time and time again, what harm rampant paranoia can do to a society. The Stellar Council has also enacted plans to harden defenses around Luna and ensure no vector for digital attack is left open to sabotage any vital systems. We will be rolling out plans to add shelters and air-gapped life support as well as other safety systems to all existing colonies. In addition, we will also be expanding a web of tracking satellites over any human settlement to ensure nothing like the attack on Luna during the Short War can reoccur."

Many of the gathered people now looked calmer, more rational.

"Now, it has been confirmed that there is a great deal of Last Dogs activity in the UNAS and, as such, the Stellar Council has decided to temporarily suspend efforts to clean up the debris field in orbit around the planet. With no assistance on our part, that will ensure no current craft will realistically be able to make orbit for another ten years and provide us with a more than effective quarantine of any potential terrorists who might try to infiltrate the colonies. Data channels have also been locked down to prevent viral attacks and the suborning of personnel as a short-term measure. We will be instituting new safeguards there soon as well, but they're a bit dry and tedious to explain without a power-point."

A few awkward chuckles, which was good.

"Now, that's the initial stuff out of the way. I'll admit I had wanted to do this in a more structured briefing, but I lost track of time taking one of these fine vehicles out for a spin today." No, I actually hadn't. I'd engineered things to make the affair more casual and less scripted, playing to my reputation as one of the more informal members of the Ministries. "So, I'll open the floor to questions now and, if we run long, I can schedule something before we leave for Venus tomorrow at the airport to do a final run through anything you can think up overnight."

I clapped my hands. "Now, please, in an orderly and reasonable fashion, raise your hands and I'll call on you."

We ended up running for three hours, unfortunately. I did manage to steer the conversation on a tangent a few times to discuss various Martian eateries I'd had the pleasure of going to during my stay, as well as the art gallery that had apparently just popped up. Too much red for my taste, but it was nice seeing culture grow up here on the red planet. Maybe I could arrange to transport a few pieces to a showing on Luna before I left?

At any rate, I kept answering things until the reporters had finally gotten enough of a fill that we all filed back into the buses we'd arrived in, then took back off towards Eos Chasma. Thankfully, I'd managed to use the trip out here to drop off one of my contingency plans without anyone the wiser.

"Next stop, Venus," I sighed in relief, hoping the travel time would at least allow everyone there to cool off a bit.

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