The Secret of Mars
Chapter 3: Mary's Disappearance

Amber ran into the Communications Room at Headquarters. She could see by the look on the Operation’s Leader that he was none too happy with her sudden arrival and her abandonment of her mission. Ignoring the look on his and the other’s faces, she ran over to the radio dispatcher.

“I need to get a message to Mars immediately,” Amber requested.

“I’m sorry, Princess, but we are out of alignment with Mars,” the dispatcher answered. “It will be another four weeks before we can signal Mars.”

“What about Earth?” Cainbow asked. “Can you get a message to Earth?”

“Let me see,” the dispatcher said, as he examined his instruments and charts. “Yes, I believe I can relay the message to Oden Three, and they can pass it on to Terra, and so forth. But it will still take approximately five days for them to receive the message. That is if everyone passes it along right away.”

“Make it so,” Amber ordered. “Make it a high-priority, triple-starred communique. Say simple ’Mary in trouble. Going to Mars. Amber.’ Hopefully, no one will mess that up.”

The dispatcher looked at his commander, who looked at the Operations Leader for approval. “Do it.” Immediately, the dispatcher sent Amber’s message.

“Tell Operations I need my ship prepped and ready for departure in thirty minutes,” Amber added, once the communique was sent. “Cainbow, inform our soldiers we are leaving for Mars.”

“Your Highness, your ships cannot possibly make it all the way to Mars,” the Commander interjected. “Even using the travel tunnels, it will take at least three weeks to reach your solar system and another few days to arrive at Mars. Your ship is not designed to withstand such a journey.”

“Plus, there have been reports of pirates attacking ships in the Delta Quadrant,” the Operations Leader added. “Ten soldiers cannot fight off a pack of pirates.”

“Do not underestimate the power of my soldiers,” Amber replied.

“I am well familiar with what your guards can accomplish,” the Commander said. “But Alin is right. If attacked you are too few to mount a formidable defense. Besides, you have not gotten the Inks permission for us to enter their lands. You know how important this is to the Assembly.”

“I know it is important, Your Majesty, for you to get to Mars as quickly as possible,” Cainbow stated. “But the Commander and Alin are correct. Our ships cannot make the journey, and I cannot defend you against a pirate attack. We need to make arrangements on a passenger ship or freighter.” She saw the disappointed look on her monarch’s face. “It would be better to arrive a week late than never to arrive at all. A few more days will not make that much difference.”

“You do not know that,” Amber quickly responded. “But, as always, you are right in matters of my protection. Better to arrive later than not at all. Make it so. Book us passage on the fastest transport you can replace.” She now turned her attention back to the Operations Leader. “As for my mission, I have made contact as I said I would. My sister needs me, and my family is my number one priority, not the Assembly’s desire for the lunas mineral this planet holds.” She saw the surprised expression on the leader’s face. “Did you really think, Leader Onway, that I did not know the reason you want permission to explore this planet? I am from Earth. My family has a long understanding of the greed and desire of others. As soon as I am sure my sister is okay, I will return and complete my assignment. The time away will give the Ink time to determine if I was sincere or not. Just don’t give them any reason to think otherwise.” Without another word, the princess turned and left.

Barook, one of the Ancients, was bored. He had no project to work on, and no one seemed to need his help. Trying to figure out what to do, he remembered hearing about a new lifeform discovered on one of the newly formed planets on the far side of the universe. The small solar system was the newest one formed, just a few billion years old, and its planets were just reaching the point where life was possible. The second planet had been showing promise as being the first to produce life, but it was the fourth planet that accomplished it. A simple life, existing in a pool of trillicone, magnesium and zinc.

As he had done for millions of years, the Ancient slipped through the Window of Universes and entered the corridor. It was lined with countless window frames; each connected to the mystical realm of a planet, moon, asteroid, meteor or other heavenly body in the universe. Through these window panes, the Ancients could enter the FarCore of any world where the recorded history of that particular place was stored in oval Orbs. It allowed the Ancients to oversee each celestial body and ensure their development. Thanks to the corridor and the Windows of Universes, a journey that would take thousands of years was made in a matter of days, or hours.

Barook floated downward, passing numerous window frames. Occasionally, he’d stop for a moment to peek inside one of the windows to see what was happening, then continued. A few activities caught his attention, and he made a mental note to come back later and explore what was going on. But right now the new life form interested him. If memory served him right, the new solar system was to the left. Hoping to take a short-cut, he zipped past the Milky Way windows. He only went a short ways when a ripple of energy suddenly passed through his body. He stopped. Never had he felt such a ripple. Intrigued, he backtracked to where the ripple originated, forgetting all about the new lifeform. When he reached the window of Europa, he paused and explored the area around the frame. His sister, Hygone, lived on Europa. Perhaps she did something to cause the ripple. She possessed great powers and was able to channel the Orbs’ powers. But no, all was as it should be. The ripple did not originate at Europa.

He felt the ripple again. Passing by the window of Earth, he paused as before. Several Oonock monarchs were living on Earth who were also able to tap into the powers of the Orbs and accomplish great things. Perhaps it was one of them. Barook circled the window slowly, deliberately, outstretching his feelings for any inkling of a disturbance, tasting the air for some clue. But here, too, all was at it should be.

Once more the ripple occurred, drawing his attention to a dark window below. The window was lifeless, broken, and inoperative. Could it be? Mars? Soon he was floating before the broken window. Barook stretched out his hand and ran it across the large crack that stretched across this particular window. When JeffRa destroyed Mars, his bombardment of the planet was so intense that it had somehow reverberated inside FarCore itself and cracked its window. It was something the Ancients thought was impossible, but here was the proof. The crack broke the spell that allowed the Ancients to enter that realm or see what was happening. Since nothing like this had ever happened before, they were at a loss of how to repair the broken window, so it remained pushed to the back of the group, dark and forgotten.

As he had done at Earth’s window, Barook circled, hoping if the disturbance came from there he would pick up some clue as to its origin. Even though the window was inoperative, he hoped vibes, impressions, or smells might pass through the crack. No, he was not picking up anything unusual there, either. It must be generated somewhere else. Then Barook stopped, stunned as a familiar scent filled his nostrils, a smell that he had not detected in over ten million years. “That’s not possible,” he whispered, as he grabbed a tiny dot of light that emerged between two broken fragments of the windowpane.

“Tong, PiePie, beings don’t just disappear,” the Settlement Commander said. “Mary has to have gone somewhere. Fallen in a hole, been blown away by the wind, or transported onto a ship.”

“Commander, contrary to Earth’s entertainment shows, no nation has developed the capability of transporting beings,” Tong stated. “Or anything, for that fact.”

“Then where in the hell is she?” the Commander yelled, staring at the three beings before him. “One of you must have seen something.”

“As we have already told you several times, Commander, Glock encased us in the shelter,” PiePie began again. “For no apparent reason, Mary’s amulet began to glow a soft lilac light. And when it stopped, she was gone. As was the storm.”

“And what’s up with that?” a frustrated Commander asked, turning toward his science officer and head geologists. “Mars storms last for days, not hours. This storm came out of nowhere then disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving devastation behind to prove it had been there, but nothing else. Could the storm have been purposely fabricated to kidnap the princess?”

“The last of the reports are compiling now, Commander,” the Science Officer replied. “I will have a better understanding, hopefully, once they are completed. But at the moment, this is what I know. There was no warning of the storm. All instruments showed a calm sky for a thousand miles in all directions. Then, at 0-eight hundred, there was a disturbance above the Southern Tharsis Montes, Arsia Mons that was detected. We restricted the area of movement outside the Settlement in anticipation of a storm’s creation. But then the storm formed, intensified and turned towards us. We had only minutes to issue orders for everyone to return to the Settlement.” He paused for a moment, a huge smile of happiness on his face. “It was very exciting. We had never seen a storm materialize before. We were even more surprised when it grew at such an alarming rate and spread down Arsia Mons toward the plains below and the Settlement.”

“And you were where?” the Commander asked PiePie.

“We were here, on the plains of Daedalis Planum,” PiePie pointed to the area on the map.

“Right in its path,” the Commander commented, more as a thought than a statement. “Almost as if you were the storm’s target. And Glock had no trouble erecting the shelter?”

“None,” Tong said. “Although there were a lot of debris blowing around, including some good sized rocks, the storm was relatively calm.”

“Another contradiction,” the Commander bellowed. “Mars’ storms are never quiet. You four were so close to that storm that it should have torn you to pieces. Mary and PiePie should never have been found alive. Then what happened?”

“The storm disappeared,” the Science Officer replied. “It was gone in a matter of seconds.”

“Have you ever known of or heard of a storm ending so soon?”

“No, Commander. NASA and some of the other planets have been studying Mars’ storms for decades, even centuries. Never has there been a storm like today’s.”

“Excuse me, Commander,” A young soldier stated, as he walked into the room. “Lieutenant Slone just radioed in. The sun is setting, and he wants to know if you want them to continue with the search.”

The Commander looked at his watch. “Tell him to search for another two hours, then return to the Settlement. We’ll start searching tomorrow morning again.”

“Commander, you can’t leave her out there all night,” PiePie said, horrified at the thought of her princess lost somewhere out in the wilderness, alone. She looked over at Mary’s empty spacesuit lying on the chair. Was she lost? She had no suit. And an Oonock could not live on Mars without a suit.

The Commander noticed the protector looking at the empty spacesuit. “Ms. Waters would have died the moment she lost her suit. Tomorrow we look for her body.”

Queen Europa ran her hand over the tops of the flowers as she swam through the lilac waters of the garden. King Kiijon and she had used the secret passageway inside FarCore to return to Europa to visit her old protector, Jeanip, and his family at the VeeRay clan. She could see from the vast assortment of colorful aquatic plants that the VeeRay had a knack for beautiful gardens. She had lived on Europa for six years before she and her mate returned to Earth, and she had not seen half of these species. She was particularly intrigued by a bush covered in what appeared to be feathers of gold and red flowers swaying in the water. As they swayed, she could hear a faint, agreeable hum emanating from them. It was almost as if they were calling her to come and feel their softness.

“I wouldn’t touch them, Your Majesty,” Phameena, Jeanip’s mate, stated. “They’re a form of kallis that lives in this part of the desert.”

“Are they poisonous?” Europa asked.

“Even more so than the ones you are familiar with,” Phameena replied, swimming closer. She picked up a stick from the ocean floor and gently touched one of the flowers. Immediately, it glowed brilliantly and flapped its amazing wings, injecting its venom into the stick. Once it realized the stick was no danger, it settled back into the bush. Phameena held the stick out for her queen to see the tiny drops of purple venom clinging to it. “These are Regal kallis. Their venom is much thicker. What doesn’t get injected into the body pools on top of the skin, eating away at the flesh.” She plunged the stick into the sand, burying the drops of venom deep below ground. “Luckily, the salt in the water nullifies the poison in about fifteen seconds, making it harmless. The VeeRay sometimes uses it as an ointment for wounds. It has extraordinary healing properties, which is quite ironic considering how deadly it is in its original form.”

“That it is,” Europa replied, withdrawing her hand. She thought perhaps she shouldn’t touch any more flowers.

“How are you feeling today?”

“Wonderful,” Europa said. “And euphoric. I had forgotten what it feels like to have a new life growing inside my egg chamber.” Europa lowered her hands over the area of her abdomen where her unborn was developing. She and Kiijon had done as they planned and traveled out into the galaxy, visiting the colony on Mars when their daughter, Misso, was searching for the lost Oonock colony. From there they traveled further out, exploring the Singing Caverns of Sixtus, the Painted Rocks of Z-456 and the intoxicating Pools of Wonder on Trillium Three. Such wondrous sites they had seen, but Earth and Europa always seemed to be tugging at their heart strings. After only three years of exploration, the two returned to Earth. Having no desire to leave her world, Europa finally agreed with Kiijon that it was time to have another child, with two stipulations. One: that the child would be conceived and hatched either on Europa just as Enok, Jr., and Misso had been, or at the ocean Complex on Earth. And two: that he develop at the standard Oonock rate, not the accelerated human rate her two other offspring had. Since the human race now knew of their existence, there was no need to hide their true identity or their longevity anymore. Her new son could remain an infant for a hundred years and wait a thousand years to reach maturity. Kiijon was even trying to persuade her to have a second child in another three or four years so their new son would have a sibling to grow up with. It was something Europa agreed to think about.

“Yes, sometimes I miss that feeling too,” Phameena confessed. “But since Jeanip is only a few years away from being nine thousand, I believe we should not have anymore.”

“I am sure he is still capable of fathering another child if you want one,” Europa smiled. “Besides, it would be nice to have another newborn to raise with our son.”

Phameena placed her hand on her queen’s shoulder. “Thanks to you, Europa, he was able to father two beautiful sons. And, although I am sure he is capable of more, I think his nerves can only handle two.” Both females giggled. “Don’t tell him I said this, but I’ve noticed he has a little more trouble keeping up with Julip. Much more than he did with GarJen.”

“I could always use my healing powers on him to rejuvenate his body again,” Europa smiled. On several occasions, Europa had used her power of healing on Jeanip to heal an injury or to save his life. The result was his body had rejuvenated back about two to three thousand years. Instead of the body of a nine-thousand-year-old male, he had the physic of a six to seven-thousand-year-old Oonock.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t” Phameena laughed. “Then I’d never get any sleep at night. I can barely keep up with him now.” Both women chuckled loudly, scaring away the kallis from the bush.

“If you ever change your mind, please let me know,” Europa said. “And, Phameena, thank you. Thank you for loving him so much and making him so happy.”

“I could do no less,” Phameena answered. “He brings me just as much joy and happiness, possibly even more.” She paused as she saw her mate, Jeanip, and King Kiijon headed toward them. “Speaking of My Love. Here he comes now.”

Europa turned to see Jeanip, Kiijon and her brother, Earon, swimming toward them. The two females floated down the soft green pebbled path to meet them. When they drew closer, Europa could see a slight look of concern on Kiijon’s face. She quickly looked at Jeanip. His face was stern, emotionless, almost rock hard – a sure indication something was wrong, and he was trying to hide the unpleasant news from her.

“What’s wrong?” she asked before either male could say a word.

“I don’t want you to get overly upset, but we just received word from the Complex on Earth,” Kiijon stated, taking Europa’s hand in his, another bad sign. “They received a communique from Mars that Mary is missing.”

“Missing? How can she be missing?” Europa demanded. “And when?”

“We don’t have much information,” Earon replied. “Only that she was caught in a storm and disappeared.”

Europa stared at all three, trying to comprehend what had happened, trying to understand how Mary could be missing. Was she dead? Was her beautiful granddaughter gone and they were afraid to tell her? “There’s more. I can see it in your faces. Is My Mary dead?”

“Not that anyone knows of,” Jeanip answered.

“Then WHAT?”

“We also received a message from Amber,” Kiijon began. “It said ’Mary in danger.’ She is in route to Mars.”

Europa began to swim around in a small circle, pacing as she often did when stressed. “The twins have a unique connection. One that I do not understand. But the distance between Setus Three and Mars is too great for the girls to feel what is happening to the other.” She abruptly stopped, turning to stare at Kiijon, a smiling coming to her face. “Unless the Orbs have intervened. Yes, they would have the power to transverse that distance with no problem. They could do it through FarCore. Kiijon, you and Jazee get back to the portal and go to the Complex and see what else you can discover. I need to go see Hygone.”

“My place is with you, Your Majesty,” Jazee quickly stated.

“You go with King Kiijon, Jazee,” Jeanip announced. “I’ll go with Queen Europa to see Hygone. Besides, I’m the only one that knows the way.” He looked over at his mate, who gave a nod of approval.

“What about her father, Prince EJ?” Phameena asked.

“He’s waiting at the Estate until he gets confirmation you’re at the Complex,” Jazee announced. “He knew it would take you several days to travel back and he didn’t want to leave Medi alone that long.”

“As soon as she finishes with Hygone, I will bring her down to the Complex,” Jeanip informed Kiijon.

“Just make sure she uses the old portal, not the new one. I don’t want anything to happen to my unborn son.”

“Don’t worry. The unborn and I will be fine,” Europa said, kissing her mate lovingly, drawing strength from his love.

“Just be careful and take it easy,” Kiijon said. “And don’t stress yourself out. You know that your egg chamber does not do well under stress.”

“I will try.”

“Come, Your Majesty,” Jeanip stated. “Let’s go see what Hygone knows about this incident.” He looked over to Kiijon. “We’ll see you in three days.”

“Make it so,” Kiijon said. Since there was no enemy, no war they were fighting, Europa had not brought the portal to FarCore with her. There had been no need to. The closest portal was in the cavern where Queen Medaron had originally discovered the Orbs, just south of the palace. It was a two and a half day trip back to the palace. As for visiting Hygone, Jeanip had retained the knowledge of where she lived in the Purple Mountains. It was only a day’s trip, but a day in the wrong direction. Hopefully, when their visit was over, Hygone would allow them to enter FarCore through her passage.