Volume XIX, Issue XIV, Special Book Section
Apollonius
By Bob Kirchman
Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved
Chapter 11: New Life, Old Lies
Sarah could not wait to tell Abiyah the blessed news! With the last colonists on Mars to stay, the little crew felt a rush of freedom! Though they certainly pitied the colonists in their authoritarian community, they were glad to be rid of the oppression of George Apollonius themselves. Sarah was practically giddy as she raided the galley for ice cream. Abiyah was coming off the bridge for mandatory rest and the young woman beckoned him to their quarters. “I have something to tell you!” She hoped he would be joyful as well… but she held her breath as the steely captain of the Great Northern wondered at her words. “You are a father!” She saw the light in his eyes. They laughed and cried together. Captain Ben-Gurion was speechless! The veteran space pilot floated through the next ten hours of ‘rest period.’ He returned to the bridge with such a lightness of step that the crew accused him of slowing the gravity ring! He smiled as his closest colleagues teased unmercifully. He light-heartedly ordered them to “Stow it!” and resumed his emotionless stance at the ship’s controls… monitoring the sensors and controls for the least little sign of trouble. He now had one more member of his ‘crew’ to keep safe, and Abiyah took that part of his job very seriously already!
He would not have relaxed even as much as he did had he been able to know what was transpiring on the planet’s surface. Assured that no more ‘visitors’ would crash his settlement, George Apollonius quietly motioned his two most trusted launch operators into a control room.
Last operator shift was over 30 minutes ago,” said #211. #097 nodded agreement. “Is the candle ready for the surprise?” Apollonius asked.
Ready and loaded”
Can I light her?”
Light away!” said George Apollonius.
Apollonius rubbed his hands together. Surely he was pleased with himself for having smuggled five Iranian nuclear devices aboard in spite of Alaska Republic’s tight security. He had been able to, with the help of #097 and #211, create some confusion during the loading of the final shuttles. The scanner crews scanned five containers twice as a result while five were brought aboard unscanned. One of the devices had been installed on what was meant to be a distress signal in the event there was an emergency at the colony and they were unable to raise Earth. It really wouldn’t do much good, but it would at least give them a final means of calling for help. Until there were multiple colonies, however, any help would be slow in coming. The rocket was not supposed to be able to reach Earth return trajectory, however. Whatever Apollonius and his two co-conspirators had in mind would happen close to Mars. He would show the world he had weapons… the man who had insisted that the Great Northern carry none. As most of the colonists set to work to tame the hostile planet, it was now clear that George Apollonius had bigger things in mind.
(to be continued)
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Copyright © 2020, The Kirchman Studio, all rights reserved
