Mars

Tsao City, New China

Dome quadrant 116, TROAN (The Republic Of Asian Nationalist) Headquarters

Stepping to the large office with a stride of military precision, Commander Yang approached the desk of the high ranking admiralty and stopped short once he reached it. He saluted the older woman sitting behind it, not paying attention to him, and stood rigid before her. The desk proudly bore a large golden placard, inscribed on it was her name in Cantonese: Admiral Shura Xu Chow. She was a short woman, with well sculpted Coif of greying black hair, that almost added to her height as she sat there. Yang patiently waited for the stern woman to acknowledge him and scanned the room from where he stood.

It was sparsely decorated, minimalistic and clean looking from every angle. A few plants by the big rectangular viewing window, with some pictures of former military admirals, and a small number paintings of beautiful landscapes of China on Earth. That was all he could see, all that was really there, in this room’s entirety. One got the feeling of wasted space as the various furnisher barely filled the room.

The daylight seeped through the picturesque window; The martian skyline was filled with a soft red golden-brown hue, a typical visual that many on this colonize world had grown accustomed to; Those that visited from Earth weren’t accustomed to the dim lighting, they needed to wear sunglasses or tinted visors that could adjust to the faint light spectrum. But for permanent residents, who were born, raised and working on Mars, this was just a typical glorious morning like any other.

Yang brought his gaze back to the distracted Admiral. His impatience was wearing thin as the woman continued to pay him no heed. Was this on purpose? Perhaps she was too embroiled in her work to notice him there. He cautiously cleared his throat for her attention and broke the silence.

“Commander Chien Lo Yang, reporting as ordered.”

“Yes-yes, I see you, commander.” The woman said. She gently stopped writing on her tablet and lowered the pen onto the device. “It’s been awhile, hasn’t it, Chien?”

“It has…” He nodded.

“Yes, quite awhile…” She strummed her fingers to the table lightly. “You don’t really serve this branch of the military anymore, now that you’ve combined your duties to that of the newly established ECUF division. One foot in two doors, it seems. I had my doubts of placing you in that dual interim role, but, I trust you are doing well there.”

“Yes, thank you, Admiral,” He said. “I am enjoying the challenge.”

“Challenge? Ah, yes… indeed,” She leaned back in her comfortable leathery chair and poised her fingers together. “I guess The Republic Of Asian Nationalist Space Force isn’t challenging enough for you, yes?” Yang remained silent. A slight grimace on his face gave her the answer she needed. She continued on. “Earth Core United created this new space exploration endeavour as a means to adopt all the military space agencies into one; Mars and TROAN, reluctantly, mind you… agreed to such a proposal. Only a few voted against this abomination, mine being one of them.”

“I figured as much…” Yang stated, trying hard not to meet her gaze. “You’ve never been one for change.”

“Change?” She said, with a cocked brow. “I have no problem with change, my boy. What I have a problem with is the political regime, their twisted views and warped realities on what’s best for all of us. We’re at a turning point, Earth and Mars, one misstep and war is likely to happen. That’s a simple fact in the matter, let’s not kid ourselves about it. Both sides are corrupt in that line of thinking. Yet, here is Earth, making us an offer––deep space exploration. A smokescreen, Yang, that’s all it is, a smokescreen.”

“Make I speak freely, Admiral?”

“When have known you not to be?” She smirked. “But, yes… go ahead.”

“I think you’re scared. Scared of what this could mean for all of us.”

Admiral Chow gave a frustrated sigh and lowered her hands. She arched her head slightly and peered at him.

“Don’t you see, Commander Yang? Earth wants to absorb us, to make us weak, to end colonial independent statehoods and bring us all into one government––theirs, to be exact, and theirs alone.”

“With all due respect, madam Admiral, I don’t see it like that.” Yang relaxed his stance and cocked his head slightly. “Earth and Mars would greatly benefit from this joint exploration program. We can now search for new worlds to expand human civilizations and take bold steps into a frontier we’ve never discovered. Earth has just as much to lose by amalgamating their military with ours. Even the smaller colonies out by Saturn and Jupiter could see this as a great opportunity. As more interstellar traffic heads their way, economies and industries could grow from it.”

“Bah!” She snarled at him, motioning her hand dismissively. “You’ve always been a romantic. This isn’t anything like that. Idealistic dreaming isn’t what I signed up for…”

“I know what I signed on for,” Yang said, looking at her with pride. “And it wasn’t just about the adventure of deep space exploration…”

“Oh?” Chow snickered with surprise. “And what would that be, commander?”

“Hope…” He replied.

That answer made her burst into cynical laughter. It took her a few moments to simmer down, leaning back into the chair and eyeing him with skepticism. But soon Chow regained her composure, waggling a finger at him disapprovingly, and retorted back just as bluntly.

“You... you… are so damn naive, I swear boy! It makes me wonder how you ever could have been part of Mars or this military. But then, I guess didn’t have a powerful senator, like your father, to pull strings so...”

“My father didn’t...”

“Oh yes he did!” She interrupted sternly. “He got you in, charming everyone and anyone to get your military career going. It was only pure luck you had the balls for this sort of thing, so now, here we are. You rose up into the TROAN Space Force, and now… you’ve been integrated as a commander of the Earth Core United Fleet.” She took a second to collect her thoughts before continuing to speak. “But, what’s done is done. If you had stayed with us… your career might be more lucrative, that much I know.”

“For you… perhaps,” He stated to her. “But not for me, personally…”

“You… always about you, isn’t it? Never about the good of Mars or this military institution…”

Yang opened his mouth briefly and then instantly shut it, he wanted to argue more about it, but realized that it was futile effort. He decided to give her a more direct answer, one more to the point of his convictions.

“I’m doing it for both, Admiral.” Yang stated. “I want to be a representative of Mars and TROAN, and maybe even Earth, as they create this unified space fleet.”

That made the Admiral chuckle. She held up a tablet in hand and pointed at it.

“Well, Commander, I’m glad you feel that way. I’ve got just the thing for you. See this? Your transfer orders. I’ve only to sign this and send you on your way to being on the first ship out of the system.”

A look of confusion washed over his face. He wasn’t sure if he heard her right. He glared back and stammered in his response.

“Sorry, wh-wh-what was that? I’m… I’m on the first ship?”

“General Mai, the former head of TROAN, is now part of the ECU military committee of this space mission. He wanted to place a ranking Mars representative of authority on that ship. As that makes me the next in line for his job, it fell to me to be in charge of choosing that specific candidate.” She glared at him for a second and nodded. “And yes, it is you. Effective immediately, I am transferring you to the first ship.”

Yang continued to gawk at her in disbelief. She continued on. “You have the necessary skills to be a successful commander for this mission. Try not to fuck it up, Commander.”

Yang looked surprisingly overjoyed momentarily, but then, his beaming smile diminished as another thought crossed his mind.

“Does this mean I’m the Captain?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“No…” The Admiral replied.

She shifted in her seat with an uncomfortable expression. Yang felt like she was holding back on something, some part of the information that made her pause while gazing upon him. She sighed slightly and folded her hands together.

“You are not to be made the captain. You are the first officer. The committee has chosen another... more qualified, Captain...”

Yang could only guess as to whom that would be. There were so many competent and able senior officers that he could list off the top of his head; There was Tex Davies from the Earth Cruiser Perthon, Camilla Yen of the Mars Strikerunner Ming one, Bengaru Terginhi of the Saturn Collective Mining Guild’s Sojourn, and so on. But, it was the way she stated it though, that it made him think (whomever it was) the chosen individual wouldn’t have been her first choice. Yang didn’t want to press the matter further, getting the assignment was enough of winning a lottery, but he had to admit, he was curious on the one they selected.

“Do I want to know?” Yang boldly asked.

There was a long silence from the Admiral, thinking about whether or not she should or be so inclined to share the information, and tapped her red polished finger nails lightly on the desk.

“Captain Christopher Riley...” She finally uttered. Yang eyes flared for a moment. She could see he was dumbfounded by that admittance. “You know him?”

“Only by reputation,” Yang answered, with a lowered voice. “Riley is the talk of every ship out there, for obvious reasons, of course. But, I’ve come to know only of his other achievements. He’s a good commander. A skilled pilot. But, I never thought he would be the one to get such a highly prized mission like this.”

“Few would…” The Admiral agreed, nodding her head to his observation. “But, the choice was made and the ship is his. You will not divulge to him of your knowledge of this, understood?”

“But… why?”

“Is that understood, Commander?” She stated with authority.

“Of course…”

“Good,” The woman nodded. “Just make sure you’re ready to take his command at any sign of weakness or fault in judgement. If he should die along the way, all the more better…”

Yang quickly perked his head as she said that. “Are you suggesting that I… I should… uh…”

“No,” She sharply replied, with a slight hesitant glance. “I didn’t suggest anything of the sort. Beneficial as it would be, especially for Mars, and our standing in this monumental project, perhaps. But, if it should happen… that’s all I’m saying…”

It was enough for Yang to get the message. He was the ‘backup’ they wanted to put into place and give Mars the footing they needed to secure leverage in the ECU. This gave the man pause. He wasn’t sure what to think about any of this. Then again, he was never one for politics or its intricate weave of self-serving agendas. Still, he wasn’t sure about wanting to take the job, if this was indeed his role in the matter. Glancing up to his superior, who returned to her work filling out documents, Yang gave a barely audible disapproving sigh and nodded acknowledgement of his fate.

“Thank you for this opportunity, Admiral .” He said, returning to a a stance of attention. “With your permission…”

Chow nodded for him to go followed by a passive wave of her hand in the direction. Yang saluted her once more and spun about to march away. Just as he was getting to the door, she called out to him.

“War is coming, Yang.” She stated. Her words echoing in the spacious room. “It’s only a matter of time. This mission is just a smokescreen, you’ll see… one day, you’ll see.”

Yang paused facing the door, his hand on the gold plated knob, and looking disturbed by her statement.

“Hope, Admiral…” He uttered back. “We should always aim for hope.”

* * *

Hours later…

Chien Yang slowly took a sip of his iced rum while hanging out at a local bar and contemplatedthe meeting he had with the Admiral. He sat there, mulling it over and over again in his mind; he eyeballed the alcoholic drink and drowned out the overlapping conversations of the drunken crowd around him. Something about that meeting earlier didn’t sit well with him. Obviously they wanted him to be some kind of a spy, or agent for when things go awry. But was that more of a ‘just in case’ or a ‘likely to happen’ scenario? She seemed to suggest as much, without literally spelling it out for him, of course. Yang wasn’t naive, he knew what was happening on Mars; Distrust and outright hatred of Earth was a growing subject of debate amongst all Martians.

It would only be a matter of time before something hit the fan. Another war, perhaps? Maybe a coup of governments that would bring about a drastic change of power? Something, he figured, something big was coming. He finished off the drink and tapped the table for the bartender to bring him another. The Shanghai Duck was a ritzy establishment, full of rich men and women dancing, drinking and taking in the band as it played the classics in the background. The sort of place all rich asians go, Yang would often think to himself, mainly because it was true… seeing how he was one of them.

Tuxedos and gowns were the theme to attend this joint, but Yang preferred to proudly wear his stately full blue uniform with the ECUF logo embroidered on it. He was more like a fish out of water in such a classy setting; the half moon shaped bar with its white linen tables, marbled floors, with pattered ornate walls of elegant design that blended into the long tinted windows. The intense sunset was creating a soft red light throughout the establishment, giving the drinking patrons and the right kind of atmosphere for their social habits. Yang gave a sigh as he eyed the group in the room, giving his drink yet another long sip before polishing it off.

“You didn’t wait for me?”

Yang swung to his left to see a young slender Asian woman standing before him in a long black sequence dress. He gave a wry smile and greeted her with properly.

“Sorry, my love…” He kissed her on the lips. “I had a bit of a day today…”

“I see,” She stated, giving a puzzled look. “Work related, I take it.”

“When is it not?”

She took a seat beside him at the bar, motioned to the bartender glancing her way, and gave her drink order. Before she had to chance to get comfortable on the chair, the drink was in front of her in no time. Her name was Mei Zahn. Chien’s girlfriend for nearly four years; the daughter of a wealthy statesman who sits on the council of the Mars Planetary Government. They’re meeting was arranged by both of their parents, who felt they were well suited for each other and a possible future political power couple. Chien did love her, despite the forced meeting, and she was of equal fondness to him.

“So, what’s the occasion?” She smiled taking a sip of her drink. “We haven’t been here for sometime. Not since we first started dating.”

“That’s not true…” He thought for a moment. “We came here for your birthday…”

“That was two years ago, Chien.”

“No… wait… was it?” He winced, trying to remember. “Oh… yeah, that’s right, I had to report for duty on the Nanchang the next day.”

“Yes, I remember.” She scowled. “I wanted to stay and dance for the night with you, but, instead, you left me here… with your parents, no less.”

Chien laughed out loud as it finally came to him. The mental image of her and his folks hanging out was hilarious to him. He immediately stopped when he saw her eyes glaring at full power. If they were laser beams, he’d be dead in seconds.

“Uh, well… sorry about that.” He gulped and quickly changed the topic. “Do you want another drink? Uh, I can get you one…”

She held it up to show it was still full. The scowl was turning into a permanent one as she forcefully placed it down on her cocktail napkin.

“Why are we here, Chien?”

“Uh… to have a drink, of course.”

“No, Chien…” She leaned in closer, poking his chest with her finger. “What have you brought me here for? It’s not for a birthday, it’s not for our anniversary for being together… that’s in five months… the only time you’ve ever come here is when you’ve got a new…” She stopped in her words and gave a shocked expression. The realization hitting her like a ton of bricks. “You got a promotion, didn’t you? You’re getting re-assigned again, aren’t you?”

“Look, Mei…” He shrugged lightly, leaning on the bar and cocking his head. “It’s not what you think…”

“Oh?” She scoffed. “So it’s not? Tell me I’m wrong then… tell me we’re here for us and not for just you again. Go on… let me hear those exact words.”

Yang smiled uncomfortably at her for a second. He took a sip from his glass, totally forgetting that it was empty. He pursed his lips and place the cup down before speaking to her.

“Mai… I… uh…”

“How long?” She sat back bitterly with her arms folded. “How long is it this time? A month? Six months?”

Yang gave a defeated sigh and hung his head in shame. “Ten years…”

“Ten…” She repeated looking baffled by it. “Ten years? Are you joking with me? Are you saying that you’ll be gone for ten whole years?”

“I’m sorry, Mei.” He stated, looking over to her with regret. “The ECU has started the first interstellar exploration program, and I’ve been granted second in command of the vessel.”

Mei was completely floored by his admittance. Her mouth hung open in amazement, quivering slightly as if trying to form the words she wanted to say, and ultimately spun to the bar, picked up her drink, slung it down her throat and waited for shock from the burning alcohol to ease down. She was pissed off. Yang tried to take hold of her hand, as if that would calm her. Mei shirked away and started to run towards the exit. Yang quickly followed and begged her to stop.

She turned about sharply, pointed her finger at him and growled in fury. “You knew I wouldn’t like that, and yet, you did it anyway. So like you, God! Always about you… isn’t it Chien? Never about anyone else, not even your own girlfriend! Fucking bastard! Ten years? Ten fucking years?”

“Calm yourself!” Yang pleaded to her.

The sharpness in her voice drew attention from the other people around them. The music was playing int the background, a soft dance melody, but that couldn’t drown out her voice as she shouted at him in anger.

“I’m done with this…” She snarled. “I’m done with you! Ten years? I can’t even get you for four years solid!”

“Mei! Please!” He begged. “Baby, come on… I’ll keep in touch… I’ll try to get some time before I go to the ship… I… I…”

Her hand went up to silence him. He did so, immediately. She took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and spoke in a firm tone.

“I’m going to get my things from your place and go back to my parents home. I’m sure they will be pleasantly surprised by me coming back.” She rubbed his cheek, gently at first, and then gave it a loud, hard slap. “We’re through… if you didn’t realize it. Enjoy being in space for ten years, Chien. Glad to see you’ve committed to something in your life… for once.”

Before he could even plead again to her, she stormed out of the bar and out of his life. Chien stood dumbfounded while rubbing his sore cheek. This isn’t how he thought this would go, well… maybe a little, but not to the point of losing her forever. But, he had to admit, ten years would be a relationship killer no matter what. Perhaps it was best this happened. She deserved better. He could go after her, try to atone for his sins… but, no, she was right, his commitment to the mission was more focused than their relationship.

“Goodbye, Mei…” He said, knowing it was too late for her to hear him. “I love you.”

All he got in return, from the patrons standing around, were uncomfortable glances and awkward body language as they stepped around him. Yang tried not to acknowledge it, looking away from them as he headed back to the bar. Once he returned to his spot, he took the glass (now filled up from the barkeep giving his condolences) and shot it back to numb the pain of her abrupt departure. He plunked it down and demanded another. The bartender complied, but then left the bottle for him, knowing full well that he’d be demanding more each time.

“Ten years…” He grimaced after slinging it back. “It better be damned worth it.”