Mars Prime Read Free Page A

for such a mission most of their lives.
    Though technically part of the crew himself, Corvan's sympathies lay more with the colonists and their troubled stomachs. Though well past the upchucking stage himself, he remembered what it felt like and knew what they were going through.
    "Audio check please.''
    Kim's voice was cool and professional inside his head, available because of his implants and some state-of-the-art electronics. It was nothing like the softer voice that had whispered things in his ear only hours before. Corvan grinned. Zero-G sex was anything but routine.
    Kim entered his mind once more. Her thoughts were prim, proper, and tinged with pleasure.
    "Keep your mind on business. I need an audio check."
    "Yes, ma'am. One audio check coming up."
    Corvan cleared his throat and spoke out loud. "This is an audio check. One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five . . ."
    Corvan was something of a celebrity on Earth, and might have attracted some attention under normal circumstances, but most of the colonists were too ill to care who he was.
    Kim was back. "Thanks. Security informs me that the President has entered the main lock and is headed our way. Let's take a look at the wide shot."
    Corvan sent a thought to the robo cam and it took off. The device was cylindrical in shape with a set of skids under its belly and a high resolution zoom lens located in its nose. Although this robo cam looked similar to the units that Corvan had used on Earth, it was actually quite different.
    It had a more powerful propulsion system for one thing, a modification made necessary by the red planet's thin atmosphere, and larger fuel tanks. The wings that had provided lift within Earth's thicker atmosphere were gone.
    Not only that, but the new robo cam was equipped to function in a total vacuum if necessary, and had been equipped with a pair of small manipulator arms. The manipulator arms made it possible for the robo cam to lift and transport objects weighing up to ten pounds. A capability that Corvan hadn't asked for but the tech types had given him anyway.
    The robo cam dodged a crew member and turned. The wide shot showed Corvan in the foreground, colonists to either side, and the BCL in the middle. Within a minute, two at the most, the President of the United States would step through the lock and into the picture.
    In the meantime a small group of VIP's had gathered around the lock. Kim caught a glimpse of Dr. George Fornos, the World Peace Organization's point man and the mission's head cheese. He was a small man, whose Buddha-like composure hid a mind like a steel trap and a passionate desire to succeed.
    And there, floating just beyond him, was the tall graceful figure of Air Force Colonel Mary Ann Jopp. If Fornos was fire, then she was ice, as cold as a winter day and just as friendly. She was the mission's executive officer and a lifelong member of the Exodus Society.
    The World Peace Organization, aka the business establishment, had long opposed colonization and only recently come around. The Exodus Society, aka the people who wanted to turn, everything upside down, favored colonization but didn't control enough resources to make it happen.
    The result was an uneasy truce. A truce that kept Fornos and Jopp from going for each other's throats. Gossip had it that the two of them disagreed on everything, but Kim had seen nothing to support that.
    Kim wished for a cigarette, remembered that smoking wasn't allowed, and popped a breath mint instead. She forced herself to the task at hand.
    A three-dimensional representation of the robo cam's shot floated in Kim's mind. She checked it carefully. Definition was close to perfect. Much better than the video produced by Corvan's previous robo cam. It had been grainy compared to the high resolution eye cam that had been surgically implanted into his skull.
    There were numerous computers and computer-driven devices at her command, but the Grass Valley Ultima sat at the very top of the