One Day on Mars

'Come on, Kira. You can sit with me and Kitty.' Lelandra took Kira's hand in hers and tugged her onto the train.

'Uh huh. That would be nice.' Kira smiled, shifting the weight of her e-suit backpack over onto her shoulder. Fortunately, the short wait, and the fact that they were now indoors had meant that everyone could shed their e- suits. Kira was glad to get out of hers and into normal clothes. Although, all she had with her to put on were Separatist Army–issue battle dress fatigues and skins.

Kira Shavi sat with her backpack container resting in her lap and watched the tunnel walls zipping by. The temperature on the train was cool but not unbearably so. The second skin she was wearing under the Seppy-issue battle dress uniform that had been packed in her e-suit was more than enough to keep her comfortable. She pulled an energy bar from her pack and tore the wrapper clear. The bar heated itself almost instantly and the aroma of warm cinnamon, chocolate, and oatmeal filled her nostrils and made her mouth water. It had been a long day.

An occasional dim tunnel light would streak by and cast a faint glare on the train windows. Lela and her robot kitty nuzzled against her left arm. Kira would have offered her some of the food bar but the little Martian was fast asleep.

Out of the e-suit the little girl was obviously very cute and the spitting image of her mother. Her tall and slender frame with milky white skin and long black hair, typical of Martians, made her look older than she was, but Kira was used to looking at Earth and Luna children that didn't grow as quickly due to the heavier gravity fields— natural gravity on Earth and artificial on Luna. The little girl and her AI kitty snored lightly as they rested against the pack in Kira's lap. Kira had definitely made a new friend. The little Separatist girl's mother and father, Elise and Fayad, sat across the aisle from them, speaking very little. Kira held the energy bar up in offering but they had waved it away.

'So, where are we going?' Kira asked.

Careful. Allison warned her. Shouldn't you know?

I don't know, but I'll qualify it. Kira thought about how to do that for brief moment. I'll play it like an uninformed soldier.

Good idea. That should work. More than ninety percent of these people appear to be civilians, if there is such a thing when it comes to Seppies. And have you noticed that they all seem to be leaving? They are not taking shelter from an attack, rather, they are going to somewhere.

I know. This all seems to have been planned whether or not we nuked one of the Reservation's cities. And I never heard a second explosion or attack so what happened there? There were some missing pieces that Kira couldn't put her fingers on, but there was more going on here than just a reaction to an attack. This scurrying around and evacuation of Separatists seemed to be part of some larger plan. The CIA's plan might have been implemented just in the knick of time and luckily at precisely the right moment. Kira was beginning to feel lucky.

'I mean, which route are you scheduled to take?' Kira pointed to the couple and their fast-asleep little girl.

'Ah. You never were on a relocation list, were you?' Fayad said as a matter of fact more than as a question. 'One of the sacrificed,' he said in an elitist fashion. Kira was surprised by the tone and didn't realize such castes existed in the Reservation culture. She had thought they were socialists but was beginning to rethink that.

'Uh . . . ' Kira hesitated slightly not sure how to respond.

'Fayad, you are such a callous and unthinking brute!' Elise elbowed her Prime Husband. 'She lost her entire unit. Is that not enough? Ahmi was served and she needn't sacrifice more, even if I have to sponsor her. She has more than earned a spot on our transport as far as I am concerned.'

'I just meant that she was originally slated to stay behind,' the man said sheepishly. It was obvious that his Prime Wife had just scolded him and in public. Kira wasn't quite sure what the cultural protocols were for such a display but guessed that it would hold further ramifications for Fayad later when the couple were behind closed doors. Kira's training and cover personality development had drilled one thing deeply into her mind and that was that the Prime Wives ruled the Reservation.

'I knew that is what you meant. Pay no attention to him, Kira. Many of those with slots to go will not make it. My AIC has assured me of that. And besides, many with slots that will go I would gladly swap for some of our younger and braver heroes like yourself,' Elise said. The fact that she had an AIC implant surprised Kira. 'You are welcome to join my family if you wish. You found Lelandra for us and have helped with the wounded all the long trek to the train station. All of that above and beyond your sacrifice at Elysium.'

'I'm honored.' Kira wasn't sure what to say. Standard policy in espionage is if you aren't sure what to say, say little or nothing at all.

She has an AIC? Kira thought.

We knew our intel on the Separatists was missing a few things. Maybe Prime Wives carry them since they run all the business of the family; I could see how it would come in handy for bookkeeping. Maybe she was in the Seppy military. That would explain it, too, Allison replied. But I haven't found a wireless signal from it or any other AICs from them. I'll have to broaden my spectrum. Pay attention to more of them for DTM facial expressions. AICs may be more prevalent in the Separatists than we originally thought.

Probably right, Allison. Try expanding the QM spectrum around that of the AI Kitty spectrum. Maybe they like that frequency domain better for some reason. Next Internet hub we go by I'll do a quick search on AIKs.

Good idea.

This all seems too easy. Why would she just right off let me in her family? Kira was more than a little uneasy.

You found their daughter and helped with wounded. Maybe that was genuine enough. Maybe she is just the trusting sort.

I don't believe that for a minute. A naive Seppy Prime Wife? Not likely. There will be more to come I'm sure. Kira ran the scenario of her brothers death through her mind again. The implanted emotional tags made the story feel so real that she came to tears for her dead brothers. A few tears streamed slowly down her cheeks and in the pale lighting of the train Elise had noticed that she was crying. Kira dried her eyes with her fingers and her sleeves and then sniffled once while clearing her throat. She turned and looked out the window, embarrassed.