Chapter 11
02:30 MTC, October 25th 2011
50km West of Tharsis Montes, Mars
Daniel awoke to the sound of rattling against the hull of the skimmer. He breathed heavily at first. Panic crossing his mind, his eyes darting from side to side, sweat starting to form on his forehead. Daniel tried to calm himself down. He took in the room. Katlyne was looking even more panicked then he was. Connor has huddled down in the skimmer, hiding below the seats. Cot was reaching over to the cockpit area of the skimmer, looking over the radar scanner screens. Rachel was trying to look out of the windows, searching the landscape.
“I can’t see anything.” Rachel announced.
“They’re hiding.” Daniel retorted. “They know this landscape better than us, they’ve lived here for thousands of years. It’s their planet remember.” Daniel flicked some switches, hoping to improve the imagining. He then looked around the cabin. “I’m going to send a distress signal.”
“Don’t we can handle it.” Rachel replied. “If you call for back up they’ll scrub the mission.”
“We need to defend ourselves.” Cot replied. “This thing doesn’t have any weaponry remember.”
“We’ll have to go outside.” Rachel looked at Cot directly in the eyes. “We need to fight these guys face to face.”
“They out number us and I don’t know if you’ve noticed at all but we don’t exactly have natural soldiers in here.”
“Me and you will go out.” Rachel said before lifting her head to talk to the others. “Helmets on everyone we are depressurising the cabin in thirty seconds.”
“Hang on.” Cot angrily shouted. “This is a bad plan.”
“Nonsense, you and I can fend off an attack by a small Weona Napl patrol, besides it’s probably just raiders.” Rachel dismissed Cot. She reached down under her seat and pulled out the helmet to her space suit. She put the helmet onto her suit and fastened it securely. Then Rachel looked around to see the others in the cabin. Cot had his helmet on already, now he was check with Katlyne to make sure she was safe, Daniel and Connor were both checking each other’s helmets. Rachel counted to ten in her head. “Ready everyone, here we go.” She said over the helmets intercom, the others able to hear her thanks to the network. Rachel then reached over and flicked two switches, the hatch way at the back of the skimmer opened all of the air rushed out. Cot immediately leaped forward, picking up his gun as he did so. Rachel launched herself forward as well, grabbing her gun as she made an exit. The pair emerged from the craft already firing, giving an opening burst of bullets from their assault rifles hoping to scare off the attacking Martians, although they both knew this wouldn’t work. They stood still for a moment, looked at each other and took in the scene.
“I’ll scout around the craft.” Cot offered over the intercom.
“I’ll look out here.” Rachel replied.
“Count the harpoon spears.” Connor shouted over the radio to the pair. “That will tell you how many are firing, they each fire one harpoon spear each and they will always fire it first.” Connor said a little more calmly over his radio. Cot started to move around the craft, side stepping as he went. He walked slowly and deliberate, trying not to rush and taking in the landscape. Cot was trying to take in every detail about what he could see before him, ever part of the landscape was his to examine. He looked on for every piece of movement, anything that could be a Weona Napl fighter, coming to get him. Cot had reached the front of the skimmer and still couldn’t see anything to be cautious of, nothing that would cause him alarm. He continued his journey, all the time looking at the horizon and then down at his feet, so far he had counted four harpoon spears, laying discarded on the ground. He had already known what Connor had said about the harpoon spears but had been grateful for the reminder. Cot didn’t understand the significance to the Weona Napl but he knew that they always fired the spears before firing their main weapon. These spears were about 12 inches in length, made from a hardened shiny metal that wasn’t unlike titanium, they sat on top of the Weona Napl gun and would always, always be fired first. They could cause damage, piece human skin and certainly cause a problem with a space suit. However Cot always feared the laser bullets more. Not technically lasers. The bullets would glow in the thin Martian atmosphere, burning as they flow through the air. Cot knew that these could do real damage to human skin, almost ignoring the thin space suit that would try to interrupt its journey. Cot made his way round to the side of the skimmer. He looked down and saw a sea of the harpoon spears waiting for him, and it scarred him.
“We have an army of them out here.” Cot yelled over the intercom radio. He was quickly joined by Rachel making her way from the rear of the skimmer. She immediately looked down on to the ground and saw the spears.
“We need help out here.” Rachel blurted into the intercom.
Inside the skimmer Katlyne was hyperventilating in her suit. Daniel looked at her and then thought for a moment before realising how dangerous this was. He grabbed her arm and looked at the readout on the display panel. He then throw down her arm before looking at the panel attached to his own suit. Katlyne had used up seven percent more oxygen then he had already. This was dangerous, it occurred to Daniel that this was one of the many ways of how people died on Mars. Daniel grabbed Katlyne by the shoulders and forced her to look at him directly in the eyes. He almost shook her as he tried to get her attention.
“You need to calm down.” Daniel said very softly over the radio. “You need to slow down your breathing and you need to concentrate on the sound of my voice.” Daniel put his head on hers. “Slow down Katlyne.” Daniel spoke in almost a whisper. “Just hear my voice and slow down.” He paused for a few moments before glancing a sideways look at the readout on her arm again, it looked like it was working but she wasn’t breathing normally just yet. “Katlyne remember you’re with people that want to keep you safe, people who are your friends. You are safe, you just need to slow down your breathing.” Daniel was trying to get himself and Katlyne into as calm and trance like state as he could and he knew it wouldn’t be easy, but it was slowly working. Daniels concentration was disturbed by the feeling of being knocked by Connor. Daniel couldn’t help but look up to see what had happened. Connor was leaning over the seats, trying to get to the controls. “What are you doing?” Daniel asked, trying not to break his and Katlyne’s concentration.
“There’s a Mayday button on the main control panel.” Connor replied, his voice sounding strained from the stretching he was doing. “If I can reach it help will come, there’s an MOA patrol not far from here, they can be here in twenty minutes.” Connor carried on reaching for the panel. Daniel tried hard to return to the state of concertation he had previously been in. “Got it.” Connor announced proudly before turning to see Katlyne and Daniel still embracing. “Is she alright?”
“I think so.” Daniel replied. He pulled his head away from Katlyne’s, looking her in the eye. She nodded before he checked the readout on her arm. “She’ll be ok.”
“We should get out there.” Connor added, moving back towards the rear of the skimmer, tapping Daniel on the shoulder as he moved. Connor picked up a discarded assault rifle, passing it to Daniel. “You ever used one of these?”
“Cot gave me a few lessons, can’t say I’m proficient in any way.” Daniel replied.
“By the sounds of it there’s so many targets out there you don’t need to be that accurate.” Connor picked up a rifle for himself.
“If you two are coming out here make it quick.” Cot’s voice crackled over the intercom, making Daniel suddenly realise that Cot and Rachel could hear everything they had said.
“We’re coming.” Connor replied. “Come on Daniel they need us out there.”
“Will you be ok?” Daniel turned and asked Katlyne.
“Go.” Katlyne nodded. “They need you out there.”
Katlyne steadied herself against one of the seats and prepared to be left alone. Daniel rushed to the back of the skimmer before bursting out onto the Martian surface with Connor. The pair screamed as they ran out to be met with a hail of laser bullets and yet more harpoons flying towards them. Daniel fired quickly, running towards Rachel and Cot. He crouched down beside them firing his assault rifle. It took him a few moments to get used to the idea that he was firing at living creatures, aliens even. The bullets poured out of his gun, light flicked from the end of the rifle. Suddenly Daniel realised he was on his back. He was looking up at the red tainted sky. His gun had dropped to his side. The next thing he realised he was moving, backwards but he could still see Cot, Rachel and Connor. Then it dawned on him, he had been hit in the helmet and Katlyne had come outside to drag him in. Then Daniel slipped into unconsciousness.