One Day on Mars

disdain at her Prime Husband but then looked back at her child in reverence once again and decided to close her eyes as well.

Kira had uncovered way more than she had expected to so quickly. She understood some vague concepts of the Separatist culture and their plans. But she only had a few solid pieces of information. It was too early to attempt a contact back to Langley. Her mission was going as planned—actually it was far exceeding any expectations already. For now, there was little to do but to close her eyes and rest for a while. It had been a long day so far.

Chapter 11

12:30 PM Mars Tharsis Standard Time

'So BIL, have you seen any other people wander through here lately?' Sehera tried to hold on to a handhold in the wall of the belly of the mechanical beast. The several-ton robotic spider-thing sprang with tremendous agility from one mound of garbage to the next and made its way toward the large elevator, making it a bumpy ride.

'No, ma'am. You are the first humans I've seen in more than four years. The union strike that started the pull out of the Separatist workers in 2379 caused the government to cancel the contract for the human workers here. It has been . . . lonely since then.' The AI garbage hauler vehicle sounded almost sad. 'I am very happy to greet you. It has been a long time since my auditory systems have been put to use.'

'That's sad, BIL.' Deanna pouted and stuck her bottom lip out for effect but it was lost on the garbage drone as there were no optical sensors in its belly.

'Yes, I guess it is,' he replied.

'So BIL, do you have any communication with the outside world at all? I mean, how do you know what to do?' Joanie asked the AI. The bouncing of the garbage hauler launched the little Triton woman nearly a meter into the air with each stride. It grew tiresome, but Joanie and Sehera had managed to make it a game with Deanna. Alexander was only paying them partial attention.

'Oh, it is simple. This pile of plastics over here must be moved to there and that pile of metals there needs to be loaded into the smelting system. The piles are always there and so I always have plenty to do,' BIL answered.

'But what about the outside world?' Senator Moore asked.

'Sure, I am connected to all the local and wide area network systems including the infrastructure QM. I have to schedule with the other domes on how much of what materials they need or are sending here. That way I can be certain which pile to work on first. And many times we get orders from elsewhere for particular materials.' BIL continued to explain his mundane daily routine.

'I'm not sure I follow, BIL.' Reyez laughed nervously. The expression on his face plainly stated that he couldn't believe that he was talking to a garbage bug, much less inside one hanging on for dear life as the thing skittered up and down the mountains of garbage in the reclamation and redistribution center. When this adventure was over and the war calmed down, Alexander was certain that Reyez would work an adventure store angle on riding in, or maybe on, a giant robotic garbage hauler. After all, the ride was invigorating and exciting, if smelly. But, adrenaline junkies would endure serious discomfort for a new thrill. What was a little stench?

'Yes, let me see. The naval vessels often need to drop waste here and I schedule that—a really good source for methane distillation and soil composting that. Hold on,' BIL warned his passengers just before he made a quick squatting bend and then bounced high across a crevasse in the mountain of refuse.

'Wheeee!' Deanna screamed and touched her toes cheerleader style as she did the splits in the air. The ride was more like a parabolic flight trajectory to simulate weightlessness than it was a roller coaster. It was like putting a children's moonbounce in the back of a flatbed truck and then driving it across seriously unleveled and rocky terrain. Add to that the extremely dim lighting in the belly of the robot spider-thing, accentuated by the bouncing white lights of the e-suit helmets, and the effect was a full-up bouncing disco on steroids. The only thing missing was the dance music. At least it stunk.

'How much further?' Joanie asked. The bouncing was beginning to take a toll on her physical strength. She was sweating profusely in her suit, but the seal layer would absorb that and reclaim the water and salts.

'Almost there.' BIL replied over the speaker system.

'So BIL.' Alexander was making a point to minimize his physical effort as he might need his strength later so he had let the bouncing of the beast throw him around and used his jumpboots to soften the landings. If the giant bug had been equipped with seats this ride would have been a snap. 'Tell me more about your outside contacts. When was the last one you had?'

'Well, I get them pretty much continuously. It is a big system.' It was obvious that the AI had longed to talk because he took twice as long to say what needed to be said. 'This morning I received an alert that there were no loads of frozen algae coming in from Elysium and a few seconds ago I was given instruction that there was a need in Luna City for aluminum, iron, and titanium. I've called the shipping companies trying to schedule a barge but for some reason they are all grounded today.' BIL's voice sounded as if he had shrugged when he made the last statement.

'Wait a minute, BIL. You just a few seconds ago talked to Luna City?' Senator Moore asked.

'Yes.'

Abigail!

Yes sir, I heard it. I'll talk directly with him to get access to his communications protocols. Perhaps we could get some communications outside this jamming phenomena. Moore had confidence that his AIC understood what she needed to do. She just had to convince the AI garbage hauler to cooperate. The way the poor AI was longing for attention it probably would agree to anything within the law and maybe even then some. And if he was communicating outside the jamming field then that meant that the Separatists techs had missed the infrastructure layer of communications. Unless they had missed it on purpose.

Hull Technician Third Class Joe Buckley was reading over his current set of orders that were continuously being updated by the brains up in the Looney Bin. Typically, his orders were always the same whether or not the Madira was going to battle or not. But then again, the Sienna Madira was always going into battle, or at least it had been ever since he had been on board her. His duties were actually quite simple. He was to make sure the reclamation systems were not overflowing and that