Page 76 of The Red Woman on Mars
“Ah, Ivey.” Silas smiled. “How is your viper-tongued sister? I always thought it remarkable that you were the one with the Council seat when she clearly has the brains in the family. How much further Arcadia could rise if it rewarded merit over birthright.”
“Leave my sister out of this.”
“I tried to leave out your sister. But that bitch just had to get involved, didn’t she?”
River had been quietly watching the exchange, seemingly content to let Silas handle the threats. Now, they opened their hand. “The disc. Now.”
Caspian held out a shaking hand.
The Intelligence let out a loud beep. “Please don’t do this, Caspian.” It flitted uselessly between River and Caspian, making no physical move to intervene.
River took the disc and pocketed it. “I’ll leave this to you,” they said to Silas, raising their hands as if to say,Clean up your mess.River strode from the room without looking back.
“Stand down,” Silas murmured into his wrist comm. “The Chancellor is on their way and requires a transport.”
The orb gave another long beep. “We cannot allow the Catena dome to acquire proprietary terraforming technology. August, you must go after the Chancellor before they leave this facility.”
Vivian ignored the Intelligence. “Silas, we came for Delilah. She’s all we want. We’ll take Caspian’s ship, and you’ll never hear from us again.”
“Not without the data disc,” said the Intelligence.
“Why?” Vivian demanded of the orb.
“Great question, Vivian. At the end of the day, we followed the data. We’ve conducted an analysis of the optimized approachto terraforming Mars and concluded that the project should be coordinated between the domes in consultation with Earth. If Catena goes at it alone, they’ll fail, and that will set a coordinated effort back. As the saying goes, ‘Collaboration is multiplication.’ ”
Silas held Xavier at knife point, Delilah could barely stand, and this was what the Intelligence cared about? Vivian couldn’t believe her fate had been in the control of thisthingall along. How could Secretary Yarrow, Wim, and nearly the entire Council have outsourced critical decisions about the future of their community and their planet to an artificial intelligence that clearly didn’t see value in individual lives?
“You know what?” she snapped. “I don’t give a crap about your thoughts on the optimized approach to life on Mars. You’re wrong about the Red Mothers initiative, and you’re wrong here. I’m not sacrificing our lives to your calculations. River has the data. It’s done.”
Silas took a step backward, pulling Xavier with him. “Bravo, Vivian. You have a spine after all.” He took another step closer to the door, and it slid open.
“Stop!” Vivian’s voice cracked in fear and frustration. She exchanged an anguished look with Xavier. “You got your deal. Let him go.”
“Goodbye, Vivian and Delilah,” Silas said. “I’ve so enjoyed our time together, but I fear all good things must come to an end.” He stepped through the door with Xavier in tow, and it slammed shut.
Vivian parked Delilah on the side of the bed and ran to the door. August and Caspian were already there. Vivian took her fingers and attempted to pry it open. She kicked it like she’d done on the streets of Catena. The door didn’t even vibrate.
Xavier was gone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
2 Sols to Presentation Day
“Open the door,” Vivian ordered the Intelligence.
“Sorry, Vivian, but we can’t. The door’s locked from the other side. You know that our access to command functions is limited on this dome.”
Vivian growled in frustration. “Can you see what’s happening at least? Where are they going? Where are the others?”
“Xavier and Silas are moving to the command center. River and a single soldier have boarded a small ship and are departing the facility. Three others remain in the laboratory.”
“Xavier is alive?”
“Yes, Vivian. His pulse is erratic, and we detect heightened adrenaline.”
Vivian let out a slow breath.He’s alive.“Is there another way to the command center?”
“Follow us.” The orb zoomed out of the room through the other door.
