Chapter 17: Deceptions

Daria had just finished brushing her teeth and was ready to go to bed. From the way he was breathing Daria could tell that Tom was already asleep. As she walked over to the bed she could hear a quiet knocking on the door to their quarters. She went over and opened it. Mia was standing there backlit by the light from the hallway. Daria stepped through and closed the door behind her.

Mia started, "Daria, I'm sorry to bother you at this late hour."

"That's OK. What do you need?" she replied.

Mia handed Daria the envelope. "This envelope contains the codes used to access a top secret military intelligence database back on Earth. I want you to put together a job to run a full background check on the six Chinese taikonauts who will be arriving soon." She handed Daria the piece of paper. "On this paper are 12 names. The first 6 are the original group of taikonauts scheduled to come to Mars. The second 6 names are their replacements. These replacements happened at the last minute. According to Houston the change was made because the first 6 all became ill. I have my suspicions. I will send you the pictures of all of these people as soon as I return to my desk. Meantime you can set up the protocols for the job. By the way, as Base Commander I am increasing your clearance level to Top Secret."

"Yes Commander," Daria replied. "Let me go put some clothes and shoes on and I will head for the library."

"When you are done send the job package to me and return the envelope and paper. I have to actually send this thing off. I will wait for you to be done before I retire for the night."

"Understood," Daria responded. "See you in a couple of hours."

Daria looked at the clock. It was 2:00 am. Having finished the job submission she sent it to Commander Ramirez. Daria was not an intelligence agent, though for many years she had written novels about one. She was an English professor. It didn't take much intelligence, however, to get a good feel for what Commander Ramirez suspected. Still, maybe the Chinese were honest when they said that their taikonauts had fallen ill and they had to use the backups. Right. Just looking at the eyes of these people gave Daria chills. Something was up and she didn't like the possibilities. It was a good thing that they had Mia as their commander. She was on top of things.

As Daria left the library she looked around the hallway. The lights were dimmed for nighttime and most everyone in the colony was asleep. Hopefully she would be soon as well. The new habitat was lightyears ahead of the habitat modules she, Tom, and all the others had lived in when they arrived. Carpeting on the floor kept sound from echoing so much. They had printed the carpet right there on Mars. The "Great Atrium" gave a feeling of space and light. There were even plants growing as decoration, oxygen sources, a fountain, and even food. The habitat's hull was a cylinder made of thick titanium. Being located in an old lava tube, the 12 story building had no windows. That also kept the atmosphere fully sealed inside and further reduced the radiation levels. Inside the habitat radiation levels were no higher than the background radiation found on Earth. Most of the life support systems were on the lowest 2 levels. The top level gave way to an airlock which opened into the pressurized vehicle and work areas. There was a pressurized walkway to the old habitat modules, which were now used as shops. Another walkway led to the agricultural domes. It was really a marvel and Daria had to admit that she was proud to have been one of the people who helped build this place. Now that the electromagnetic launch rail was complete the way they lofted material to the MTV would be totally revolutionized.

Daria arrived at her quarters. She quietly opened the door and went in. Tom was sound asleep. Tiptoeing in the near darkness she changed back into her nightgown and got into bed. Tom woke just enough to give her a kiss and in moments both were asleep.

Mia looked over the information she received in response to the query Daria had prepared the previous night. This was not good. The names of the arriving Chinese were all false. The query which had brought out the real information was the one using facial recognition algorithms. The faces of the men had all been altered. The women had not had the same level of plastic surgery. The main reason that she was able to get hits was that there was post-surgery intelligence on all of them. The information came from security databases the civilians in Houston would never have seen. It was too sensitive.

The list was a rogues gallery with backgrounds ranging from war criminal to slave overseer. These people were not needed nor would they be welcome on Mars.

As she sat there the communication from NCA arrived. The way the header was marked, Mia put of a pair of VR goggles, plugged them into the secure connection in her console, and played the message.

The text read, "Commander Ramirez: We have viewed and analyzed the information you sent to us. Excellent work. You took the correct actions. I will personally be meeting with the NASA Administrator and the Mars Program Director within the week. I will be making it clear that they are to support your actions, though there will be no communication from them specifically saying that. Our adversaries do not need to be tipped off that we are on to them more than they are so far."

The message continued, "I am initiating diplomatic actions as well. This was clearly a violation of the Mars Treaty. If there are materials that you need for defending the colony, then please forward that list to me and we will find a way to get those things to you. When I meet with the Administrator and Director I will insist that when the MTV returns to Earth that the planned upgrades all be performed right away. This will keep it in orbit for at least a year. It will at least slow down part of any plans our adversaries may have."

The message concluded, "You have done good work. Implement immigration and customs. I will get the NASA people off of your back. You have my full support. Good luck. -NCA"

Mia sighed as she removed the VR goggled and unplugged the wire. It was good to have support in high places. Now to take a break, actually spend some time with her husband, and just generally recover from all of the activity. It would not be long before the MTV arrived and there would be more unpleasantness.