The Secret of Mars

Latrill and three other Oonock soldiers came bursting into the Commander’s Room to find Baybow gone, the Commander lying dead on his bed and a shirtless Monarch Earon kneeling on the floor with his hands on his head, dried purple blood covering his right arm. Two human guards had their guns aimed at him.

“What is the meaning of this?” Latrill bellowed, hurrying over to ascertain the condition of his monarch.

“Mr. Waters is under arrest for the death of Commander Winslow,” a human examining the dead Commander replied. Latrill had seen the human before, but he did not know his name or rank.

“And you are?” Latrill inquired.

“My name is Scott, Scott Abrams. I am the second in command. Or at least, I was. With Commander Winslow’s death, I guess I am the acting Commander.”

“Mr. Scott Abrams, you have no jurisdiction over Monarch Earon,” Latrill stated.

“On the contrary, Sir. The moment you stepped foot on this planet I had jurisdiction over you. Your diplomatic immunity does not transfer to this place. You and he are bound by the same rules as everyone else. And until I find out what happened, this man, being, is under arrest and will reside in our jail until which time I decide otherwise.”

“Latrill, notify King Kiijon what has transpired,” Earon ordered. “Tell him the Commander tried to kill me and Baybow shot and killed him. The human guards shot Baybow.”

The new Commander nodded, signaling to one of the guards to handcuff Earon and get him to his feet. Just as they prepared to leave, Staybo came running down the hallway.

“Your Majesty, we have a problem,” Staybo announced, trying to catch his breath, looking around the room trying to ascertain what was happening, why his monarch was in handcuffs. “We just received word that Amber has snuck out of the station and is in route to the obelisk.”

“Is PiePie with her?” Earon asked, wondering why her protector would allow such a thing.

“No. PiePie was found unconscious. As was the other guard.”

“And Gart?”

“Nowhere to be found.”

“Probably with Amber,” Latrill stated.

“Damn that girl,” Earon said. “She is as pigheaded and stubborn as her Grandmother was. Possibly even more, if that is possible.” He turned to the Commander. “Sir, I will gladly go to your jail cell, but please, let me try to save my niece first. My family has already lost four precious members of our family. DO NOT make us lose a fifth. Leave me handcuffed, but take me to the Communications Room first so I can try to talk her into coming back.” He saw the Commander pause. “You have seen what that thing is capable of. She does not stand a chance out there. Besides, where am I going to go? There is no way off this planet except through the station.”

“She chose her fate,” the new Commander said, turning Earon around. “She is reckless, just like the rest of you. You think with your hearts, not your minds.” Earon heard the snap of the handcuffs as they fell off. “But, as a father myself, I know what it is to lose a child. George, take the monarch and his people to the Communications Room. Allow them access to the transmitter. I will be there shortly. And, if Mr. Waters tries to escape, shoot him.” He looked at the two guards who had killed Baybow. “You two stay with me.” When the others were far down the hallway, without speaking a word, the new Commander walked over and picked up the strange alien weapon. He turned it over in his hand studying it. Even though he had never seen anything like it before, he immediately recognized it as a weapon. He then walked over and picked up the schematic drawings of the obelisk, now stained with blood. He was amazed at the great detail of the drawings. Finally, he addressed the two waiting soldiers. “Is Mr. Waters telling the truth? Did the Commander try to kill him?”

“Yes,” the first guard said. “They were arguing over that thing in your hand. Mr. Waters told the Commander he would never find some stones he had hidden and turned to leave. The Commander dove on his bed and pulled out a gun and aimed it at the alien. The second alien stepped behind Mr. Waters while shooting and killing the Commander.”

“And then one or both of you shot and killed the second Oonock?” the Commander asked.

“Yes.”

“Then where, might I ask, is his body?” the Commander asked.

“There,” the second guard said, pointing to the small pool of water that was dissipating. “His body just disappeared and turned into drops of water.”

“Bodies don’t just disappear,” the new Commander said. He turned to the first guard. “Perhaps you can tell me where this alien is.”

“Jerry’s right,” the first guard said. “He just disappeared.”

“And became drops of water. Who’s going to believe this report?” The new Commander handed Jerry the alien weapon. “Take this to my office along with the drawings.” As he started to roll up the schematics, he noticed in the left, lower corner something scribbled in the Commander’s handwriting. A date. A date from two years back. How was that possible? They had only discovered the obelisk a few weeks ago. Had the Commander known about the obelisk for two years? What was the dead Commander hiding? What was he, and probably the Company, up to?

Amber pushed the speeder as fast as she dared. The sun was just starting to peak over the mountains behind her, so their path was still semi-dark. Although the area was level, it was filled with large boulders and crater rims that had to be avoided. But she had to get as far away from the station as possible, for, with the coming sunrise, they would be visible and probably would be detected by the station. It was imperative that she reach the obelisk and communicate with it before a detail was sent out to retrieve her and throw her on the transport.

They were about two-thirds of the way to the obelisk when she heard her uncle’s voice inside her helmet. “Amber, what do you think you are doing? You need to come back to the station immediately.”

“I cannot do that, Uncle,” Amber replied. “In just a few hours we are going to leave this planet, and I have to get Mary. I cannot return to Dattwa and Mattwa without her.”

“And what if you die too?” Earon asked, trying to make her see how dangerous this was. “What will that do to your parents and grandparents if you die as well?”

“The obelisk did not kill me last time, it will not kill me now,” Amber said.

“You do not know that!”

“Yes, I do. It somehow recognized me, recognized you. That is why it called off its attack. You heard what Windar said I had to do. I can do this, Uncle. I am not afraid.”

“But I am.”

“Do not be. Trust me, Uncle. I can do this.”

Earon could see she was getting closer. The top of the obelisk began to glow, as did his amulet. “Amber, as your uncle and representative of your king and queen, I order you to return to the station.”

“Sorry, Uncle. As possible future queen, I override your command,” Amber replied, turning off her communicator. She pushed the throttle even further forward, causing the speeder to shake in dispute. She too could see the top of the obelisk starting to glow and wondered if her amulet inside her spacesuit was glowing too.

The obelisk continued pulsating, its pitch growing in strength as the top shined brighter. Amber wasn’t sure if the pulsating meant danger or not, but she did not care. She had to get Mary. Arriving at last, she jumped from the speeder and ran to the structure. Her heart racing, she shouted, “I am Amber Waters, daughter of Monarchs Enok, Jr and Medaron Waters, granddaughter of King Kiijon and Queen Europa, great-granddaughter of the great King Enok and Queen Medaron. We are of the Waters clan from the moon Europa. I am part human, part Oonock. I am also part Orb and can channel their powers. You recognized me as connected to the Ancients. I know you did. Please, release my sister, Mary Waters, or let me speak to her.”

As she watched, the face of the elderly male with the long beard reappeared. She took it as a good sign. The obelisk continued to pulsate, but the sound or the glow did not intensify, almost as if the obelisk was contemplating what the young Oonock said.

“Look into my sister’s heart, and you will see we are each half of the same whole,” Amber continued, now addressing the face. “She is part of me, and I am part of her. Even you cannot separate us.” Amber gasped, as she felt Mary’s presence. Then it was gone. “No, do not stop. Let me talk with Mary. I need to tell her how to fix the window my great-uncle cracked.” She waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. Fearing for her safety, Gart stepped forward several inches. A bolt of energy shot out from the obelisk, striking the ground just a few inches from Gart’s feet. He could feel the electrical charge slide up his body, and the ground shake. Fearing for both of their lives, he halted his advance.

“Gart, do not come any closer,” Amber said. “It doesn’t recognize you. It will perceive you as a threat.”

“Amber, this is not working. We have to go back.”

“Not without Mary,” she yelled, the pulsating growing in intensity again. She took three more steps forward, coming within inches of the face. “I know you can hear me, understand me. Give me my sister or let me talk to her NOW.”

Another bolt of energy shot out, but this time from the elder’s mouth. It was if the face exhaled a great breath that encased Amber. Within seconds, her spacesuit fell to the ground – empty. The princess was gone.

“Amber,” shouted Gart, racing to the empty spacesuit. “No,” he cried as the obelisk became silent once again.

Back at the station, Earon and the others watched the scene unfold from the safety of the Communications Room. Earon tried to talk to his niece, but all communications were disrupted. “Waters of Life, NO,” he screamed when he saw the bolt strike out and take his niece. His worst fear was realized.

Amber felt as if some enormous giant sucked out all the air in her spacesuit, pulling her completely out and toward itself. An envelope of bright light surrounded her, making her keep her eyes tightly closed. She did not want a repeat of what happened last time with the obelisk. The light was probably the reason why she was not dead. She should have died within seconds of being outside her suit.

Just as quickly as it came, the suction left. No longer feeling herself moving, the princess carefully opened her eyes a little. She saw only darkness. Opening her eyes all the way, she looked around, trying to ascertain where she was. No light or sound aided her in determining where she was. Was she inside the obelisk? Or on another world? Amber swished her wings to look around. Wings! She had wings. A light ahead illuminated, confirming her belief that she had transformed into her true self, an Oonock, and was swimming in liquid. As her eyes adjusted, she saw before her a hallway. Following it, she saw ahead a representation of the solar system. HER solar system. She was in FarCore. Mars’ FarCore. Swimming as fast as she could, she headed further down the hallway, barely glancing at the broken pane of glass as she passed the Window of Universes. Ahead she saw the Table of Orbs.

“Mary,” she shouted, almost too elated with joy to get the word out of her mouth. “Mary, can you hear me?”

“Amber?” came a voice from down a hallway to the left. “Amber, is that you?”

“Yes. Where are you?” Amber asked, hovering in mid-water, afraid to move right or left.

“I am here?” came Mary’s voice. “Where are you?”

“I am at the Table of Orbs,” Amber replied. She waited, but there was no response. Then she saw her, emerging from behind a wall down one of the hallways – Mary.

The two sisters rushed to each other, one on legs, one on wings, until they were in each other’s arms, crying. They had at last found each other.

“Oh, Mary, I feared I would never see you again,” Amber stated, holding onto her sister.

“I feared the same,” Mary said. When they were both assured the other was real and would not disappear again, the sisters let go and parted. It was then that they noticed their difference. “You are an Oonock,” Mary stated, laughing, a little surprised at Amber’s transformation.

“You are a human,” Amber laughed. “Why are we not the same being?”

“Grandmother Europa always said you were more Oonock and I was more human,” Mary giggled. “Guess she was right.”

“Who cares what we are?” Amber said. “I found you. And now we can go home. Dattwa and Mattwa have been so worried. Where is Uncles Jeanip and Swaybuk, Anew, Soojay, and Quigbee?” Amber looked around the chamber, wondering where the others were.

“Uncle Swaybuk and the others are not here,” Mary said, a perplexed look covering her face. “Why would you think they were here with me?”

“They disappeared in some alien ship several weeks ago while looking for you,” Amber sighed. “We hoped the obelisk had taken them in here as it did you.”

“Not that I know of, but Weenow would now,” Mary said, grabbing her sister’s hand. “Come, I want you to meet him. He was injured and has been recuperating inside his capsule. He just emerged from his crystal. He is still pretty weak, so we stay back in our living area.”

“Weenow, Hygone’s brother?” Amber asked.

Mary stopped and stared at her sister. “How did you know that?”

“Dattwa figured it out somehow,” Amber said. “He was aware that Weenow was inside FarCore. He thought perhaps he captured you hoping you could help him escape FarCore. The Universe of Windows is broken, and he had no way out.”

“It was not I who took your sister,” came a voice from the same direction Mary had appeared from. Amber looked ahead and saw an elderly man with a long gray beard walking toward her, the same man whose face had momentarily been on the obelisk. Upon reaching the sisters, he raised his hand to his forehead and bowed. “I am Weenow, Your Majesty.”

“It is you,” Amber shouted. “You are the face on the obelisk.”

“The face?” a surprised Weenow asked.

“Yes,” Amber said. “Ever since Mary disappeared a face has occasionally appeared on the obelisk. If it was not you, then who?”

“Perhaps the obelisk was trying to give you a face you could relate to, feel safe with, understand,” Weenow suggested. “If it showed you an alien face, you would have been scared of it.”

“We were afraid of your face,” Amber laughed.

“I am sorry that my face scares you, Your Majesty,” Weenow seriously stated. “Unfortunately, it is the only one I have.”

“Do not worry, Weenow,” Amber said. “Your face is not scary now that I know who you are.” Amber flapped her wings, trying to find a comfortable position on the rock ledge. “I have only transformed into a real Oonock several times. I still have some trouble with my wings. Often, when I first transform, I end up upside down. My Dattwa said that is normal.”

“So alike, yet so different,” Weenow said, watching the two sisters. He wondered why FarCore displayed them as two separate beings. In truth, both females should have been presented as both human and Oonock, yet that was not the case. “Are you two different creatures when you display your true selves in Earth’s or Europa’s FarCore?”

“We have never been to Earth’s FarCore, and we usually show as half human and half Oonock in Europa’s FarCore,” Mary replied. “This is the first time we have each displayed as something different and only as one species.”

“Who can speak to animals?”

“We both can, but Amber is the better one.”

“What about healing?

“I am a better healer,” Amber replied. “But Mary is better at healing animals, especially marine life.”

“And who is the better silent speaker?”

“We both are,” the females laughed.

“Used to drive my parents crazy,” Amber giggled. “When we were very little, we had our own language that we spoke to each other. Our parents and grandparents could hear us, but they had no way of knowing what we were saying.”

“Weenow, do you feel well enough to take Amber and me to the cavern?” Mary asked, a lot of excitement on her face. “I would very much like to show her the reason why everything that has happened has occurred.” She turned to her sister. “Wait until we show you what Mars has been hiding.”

“You mean the colonists?” Amber asked. “Oh, show me!”

“You cannot possibly know about the colonists too!” Mary stated, disappointed that her sister already knew hers and Mars’ secret. “Has Dattwa figured out everything?”

“No, it was Windar who told us,” Amber replied, seeing just a slight look of annoyance on her sister’s face.

Weenow smiled. “Yes, I think the walk would do me good. If you would follow us, Your Majesty.”

Mary helped Weenow to his feet, then followed with Amber’s hand in hers. She was babbling away in excitement, not making much sense at all, Amber thought. Just before they reached the cavern, Mary told Amber to close her eyes. Taking her hands, she carefully guided her out onto the ledge that faced the cavern.

“Okay, you can open them.”

Amber opened her eyes and saw before her the large cavern filled with lilac and green vapor clouds. Weenow waved his hand, and the mist parted, revealing Mars’ precious secret.

“The lost Oonock colonists,” Amber whispered in awe. She stepped closer to the edge to have a better look at the vastness before her. “There are so many crystals. Do they all have colonists in them?”

“Yes,” Mary said, a little giggle escaping her throat. With mischievous eyes, she raised her eyebrows and looked at Weenow. Smiling, Weenow nodded and took several steps to his right. As before, he outstretched his hand and revealed two more caverns.

“I bet Windar did not mention these, did she?” a gleeful Mary asked as the lilac and green clouds parted.

Amber stepped to her right, amazed at the thousands of yellow, green, blue and brown crystals lining the two other cavern walls. “Are those colonists too?”

“No, Amber,” Mary giggled with excitement. “Those contain the life of Mars – the plants, animals, minerals and elements that once called Mars their home.”

“You did this, Weenow?” Amber asked.

“This takes more power than I am capable of,” Weenow replied, taking a seat on a nearby rock. “I will claim responsibility for the colonists, Your Majesty, but this, the life of Mars, is the work of the Orbs and FarCore. Preserved until the day when it can return to this planet once more.”

“What have you discovered?” Jeanip asked Soojay.

“From what Quigbee and I were able to determine, there are four and a half levels to the ship,” Soojay replied. “While a ship does not normally have a half level, I will explain that statement momentarily. The first level contains all the workings of the ship. The engines, power sources, intelligence, so forth. It appears the ship uses something similar to our bendicor, so we should have an unending supply of energy. The second level is where we entered the ship. It consists of the hangar and several cargo bays, most of which were empty. The one bay had approximately thirty-five boxes stacked neatly together. We did not take the time to open and inspect them.”

“Something to be put on the ‘to do’ list,” Jeanip commented.

“The third level, which we are on now, contains sleeping quarters, probably for the crew. Also the kitchen and food storage. There is also a room we imagine was their recreation room. The fourth level is the main bridge, along with the captain and top officers’ quarters, as well as a briefing room off of the Captain’s living area. The fifth floor is a half floor, extending only above the back part of the starship, thus my reference to a half level. It appears to be one large observation room. There are no seats, no tables, no furniture of any kind. Nor are there any instruments or consoles. It is simply an empty room encased in what appears to be glass.”

“I doubt that,” Swaybuk commented.

“That was our thought,” Quigbee said. “Its readings were similar to those that are recorded for the Window of Universes.”

“Another way to see into the worlds across the universe,” Jeanip stated, imagining what it would be like to look into those worlds.

“Another indication this IS a Librarian ship, as we surmised,” Swaybuk stated.

“Swaybuk, your report.”

“I checked out the kitchen,” Swaybuk began. “As Soojay mentioned, there is a place for food storage. Three, actually, one of which appears to be for liquids. There were a few petrified remnants of something in one of the dry storage areas, but what they were is impossible to tell. There was no other food anywhere, nor water.”

“Yet every time we enter the eating area a meal is laid out for us,” Jeanip stated. He now rose and began to pace slowly around the room. “And the box that seems to be refrigerated also contains fresh vegetables and other supplements. How can food appear from nowhere?”

“I searched every inch of that kitchen and can find nothing that would give us a clue as to where the food is coming from,” Swaybuk reported. “Nor where the leftover food we dump in the garbage goes. I even transformed into an octopus and crawled behind the cold unit in hopes something was hidden there, but again, nothing.”

Jeanip stopped for a minute, turning to look at the Ancient. Her report, more than the others, was the one that intrigued Jeanip the most. “Any luck on your end, Anew?”

“As I told you the day we arrived, it is a simple transportation mechanism. Pick a destination, press the button and you’re there. We should have no problem making the return trip home if we can find the correct location on the star map.”

“Have you had any luck in that department?”

“No, Sir. I have explored one thousand, three hundred and sixty star maps. Our own solar system still eludes me.”

“Couldn’t we just pick a place and go?” Quigbee asked. “Maybe the right map won’t appear until we get closer.”

“The problem is that we won’t know in which direction we are going,” Anew answered. “We could be going further away, instead of closer.

“What about the text on the screen?” Jeanip asked. “Any luck deciphering it?”

“I have been able to read a little, but not enough to give us a lot of flight information. I have to split my time between searching through the star maps, the text, and the schematics. If you would like, I can concentrate only on the text.”

“No, best to keep doing all three,” Jeanip replied. “Three possibilities are better than one.”

“The Librarians’ technology is so advanced we are never going to figure out how the food appears, or how Quigbee was given a new boot,” Swaybuk stated. “Might I suggest that Anew concentrates on the text and I’ll take over the star maps?”

“Unless you want us to figure out how their propulsion system works, there’s not much more Quigbee and I can do either, Jeanip,” Soojay added. “We can take over the schematics. That way Anew can devote all her time to deciphering the symbols and figuring out how to request the accurate maps.”

“I was hoping you two might find some crazy way to use the wormholes to get a message back to our quadrant, let everyone know we are alive and well,” Jeanip said. Soojay and the others knew Jeanip was worried about Europa, Medi and especially Phameena.

Soojay gave a confident smile. “That’s what the schematics are for, Jeanip. They should help us determine their communications capability. As I look at it, if they were bopping about the galaxies they must have had some kind of communication network to speak to each other. Satellites, the obelisk, something.”

Jeanip stopped, an odd look spreading across his face. “That’s it! The obelisk! We thought it was a transporter and destroyer, even more so than FarCore or the Orbs. It’s everything, every little bit of the Librarians technology. Why deploy additional structures for communications when you already have a whole array of obelisks scattered throughout the universe? Anew, you said the star map with the green dots was a representation of all the planets and moons that had life on them. What if it wasn’t life, but the obelisks?”

“I remember seeing no obelisk on Earth,” Anew said, remembering Earth was represented by a green dot. “And Mars, where we know one exists, showed no life.”

“Jeanip’s right, Anew,” Swaybuk interjected. “That wasn’t Earth we were seeing; it was Mars.”

Anew thought for a moment. “I suppose I could have made a miscalculation on the limited information I had at the time. Yes, I will concede it is a possibility.”

“Which means, all we have to do is get the green map back up and figure out a course to Mars and send our message,” Soojay said.

“I think King Kiijon took the news of Monarch Earon’s arrest very well,” Colvin commented when the screen went blank.

“That he did,” Latrill replied. “But I wonder what he would have said or done had I told him Princess Amber is missing once more.”

“It’s best they do not know for now,” Phameena stated. “We cannot tell the families another daughter is lost. We will leave tomorrow as planned on the transport and inform the families what has happened when we arrived. By then, Queen Europa’s egg will have emerged, and the newborn will be safe inside his father’s birthing pouch. To tell her of this tragedy now could cause her to go into early egg expulsion like she did with EJ and Misso. She and we need to have hope.”

“Hope, Mistress Phameena?” Gart asked. “What hope is there now?”

“From everything I know and were told, the Librarians were a great race, kind and loving,” Phameena answered. “They have taken the twins for a reason. When they are done, they WILL return the girls to us.”

“What about Jeanip and the others?” Staybo asked.

“That requires a little more hope,” Phameena replied.

“This stuff is not too bad,” Amber said, after swallowing the strange vegetation she was eating. “At least we will not have to worry about starving in here.”

“While FarCore has been able to produce enough food for Princess Mary, I am not sure it can provide enough nourishment for both of you,” Weenow commented. “Therefore, it is important that we determine what its purpose was for taking you. The message Mary had gotten from you was that we needed to heal the Window of Universes so I and the others can walk through to Europa’s FarCore. Is that still the current plan?”

“Yes,” Amber answered, helping herself to another blue blob of vegetation. “The other side of the windowpane is being repaired. Once you repair this side, you will be able to awaken the Oonock colonists and take them and yourself home.”

“I wish you could have told us how to repair the window before it tried to electrocute both Weenow and me,” Mary muttered.

“That was not the obelisk or FarCore’s intent,” Weenow calmly replied. “As your sister has confirmed for us, they tried to force the obelisk open. It perceived the act as an attack and reacted accordingly. We were simply in its way. What I do not understand is why she’s here?”

“Why it brought her here?” Mary questioned.

“Why not?” Amber asked

“We already knew how to repair the window,” Weenow said, looking over at the two handprints on the windowpane. “When I touched the glass with my bloody hands, Mary and my blood mixed with the Orbs’ power and mended the cracks in that area.”

“Maybe FarCore did not realize we knew the answer,” Mary stated. She saw Weenow give her a strange look. “I know, FarCore is not real and, therefore, could not have known we found the answer. It was probably just responding to its programming.”

“Programming?” a confused Weenow asked. “I do not know what programming is.” Remembering that Weenow was asleep for six thousand years, and had never seen or even heard of a computer, she did her best to explain to him what programming was. “I understand what you are saying, but FarCore has no programming. There is no code written inside a box that tells FarCore what to do.”

“Then how does it know what needs to be done?” Amber asked.

“And how does it know what the difference is between a red and green apple when I ask for one?” Mary asked.

“It just knows,” Weenow replied, answering Amber’s question. “And it gives you your apple, Princess Mary, because you specify the color when you ask for it.”

“But somewhere there has to be a central intelligence that shows FarCore what red and green are,” Mary rebutted.

“No, Your Majesty,” Weenow stated.

“Are you telling us that FarCore contains no wiring, no circuit boards, nothing similar to a computer or a brain?” Mary asked.

“That is correct.”

“Weenow, that is impossible,” Mary replied.

“Everything about FarCore goes against the laws of physics and nature,” Amber said. “The Window of Universes is a good example. It hangs there in midair, yet nothing is holding or supporting it. It should not exist, but we all know it does.”

“Speaking of the window, are you well enough, Weenow, to start healing it so you can take the Oonocks home?” Mary asked.

“I believe I have recuperated sufficiently,” Weenow said, a note of sorrow in his voice.

“Weenow, you do not seem happy about going home,” Amber stated. “”Do you not want to see your sister and brother?”

“Barook?” laughed Weenow. “Is that tiehgeot still around? Is he still causing mayhem and discord?”

“I think you could say that,” Amber said. “When I was but a baby, he placed a new Ancient inside my Uncle Swaybuk. A FEMALE Ancient. It caused a lot of problems.”

“A new Ancient?” Weenow asked, excitement now audible in his voice. “Princess Mary, you did not tell me there was a new Ancient. A new Ancient has not existed for, let’s see, at least two hundred million years. You must tell me all about her.”

“I will,” Mary said, seeing the twinkle return to Weenow’s eyes. “Why do we not try to repair part of the window as I tell you? With Amber here, it should go twice as fast.”

“That it should,” Weenow replied. “As for your question, Princess Amber, it is not that I do not wish to go home or see my sister and brother, it’s that I CAN’T go home. My confinement has not changed. Once you and the others leave, I will remain here, alone. And this time I will not even have the comfort of Mars’ wildlife to keep me company. I am now imprisoned on a dead world.”

“I do not believe that,” Amber stated, giving Weenow a warm, encouraging smile. “The Council will not keep you confined on a planet of red dust and rock.”

“We shall see,” Weenow responded. “We shall see.”