Green Mars(246)

So the contested zone was basically the temperate and equatorial latitudes, the band around the planet bordered by the Vastitas ice to the north, and the two great basins to the south. And orbital space, of course; but Sax’s assault on metanat orbital objects had apparently been a success, and his removal of Deimos from the vicinity was now looking like a happy stroke indeed. The elevator, however, was still in metanat hands. And reinforcements from Earth were due any time. And Sax’s team in Da Vinci had apparently used up most of their weaponry in the initial attack.

As for the soletta and the annular mirror, they were so big and fragile that they were impossible to defend; if someone wanted to wreck them, they probably could. But Nadia did not see the reason for it. If it happened, she would immediately suspect Reds on their own side of doing it. And if they did— well, everyone could get by without that extra light, as they had before. She would have to ask Sax what he thought about that. And talk to Ann about it, see what her position was. Or maybe it was better not to put ideas in her head. She would have to see how it went. Now what else . . .



• • •

She fell asleep with her head on the screen. When she woke again she was on the couch, ravenous, and Sax was reading her screen. “It’s looking bad in Sabishii,” he said when he saw her struggling up. She went to the bathroom, and when she came back she looked over his shoulder and read as he talked. “Security couldn’t deal with the maze. So they’ve left for Burroughs. But look.” He had two images on-screen— on top, one of Sabishii, burning as ferociously as Kasei Vallis had; on bottom, troops flooding into the train station in Burroughs, wearing light body armor and carrying automatic weapons, their fists punching the air. Burroughs was filled with groups of these security forces, it seemed, and they had taken over Branch Mesa and Double Decker Butte for their residential quarters. So along with the UNTA troops in the city, there were now security teams from both Subarashii and Mahjari— in fact all the big metanats were represented, which caused Nadia to wonder about what was really going on between them on Earth— whether they hadn’t come to some sort of agreement or

alliance, as a result of the crisis. She called up Art in Burroughs, to ask him what he thought.

“Maybe these Martian units are so cut off that they’re making their own peace,” he said. “They might be completely on their own.”

“But if we’re still in contact with Praxis . . .”

“Yeah, but we surprised them. They weren’t aware of the extent of sympathy for the resistance, and so we got the drop on them. Maya’s strategy of lying low paid off in that sense. No, these teams could very well be on their own right now. In which case we could consider Mars to be independent already, and in the midst of a civil war over who has control here. I mean, if those people in Burroughs call us up and say okay, Mars is a world, it’s big enough for more than one kind of government, you have yours, and we have Burroughs, don’t try to take ours away from us— what are we going to say?”

“I don’t think anyone in metanat security is thinking that big,” Nadia said. “It’s only been three days since things fell apart on them.” She pointed to the TV screen. “See, look, there’s Derek Hastings, head of the Transitional Authority. He was head of Mission Control in Houston when we flew out, and he’s dangerous— smart, and very stubborn. He’ll just hold on until those reinforcements land.”

“So what do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Can we just leave Burroughs alone?”

“I don’t think so. We’d be much better off if we came out from behind the sun with a completed takeover. If there are beleaguered Terran troops, holding out heroically in Burroughs, they’re almost sure to come out and save them. Call it a rescue mission and then go for the whole planet.”

“It won’t be easy to take Burroughs, with all those troops in it.”

“I know.”

Sax had been asleep on another couch across the room, and now he opened one eye. “The Reds are talking about flooding it.”

“What?”

“It’s below the level of the Vastitas ice. And there’s water under the ice. Without the dike—”

“No,” Nadia said. “There’s two hundred thousand people in Burroughs, and only a few thousand security troops. What are the people supposed to do? You can’t evacuate that many people. It’s crazy. It’s sixty-one all over again.” The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. “What can they be thinking?”