\u201cToday, friends, we steal our biggest payload yet \u2013 and get off this blasted red planet for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Groans and mutters of agreement passed around the group of three barely awake individuals as their \u2018brains of the operation\u2019 panned through schematics on his digistack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
TJ seemed completely unaware of his comrades\u2019 lacklustre response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sela, the actual brains of the operation, nudged him with an elbow. \u201cI hear Europa\u2019s nice this time of year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hear death is nice this time of year,\u201d Beth-Ann grumbled. She glowered around the empty cafeteria with shadowed eyes. \u201cWhose roving idea was it to wake up this early?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Finnigan was busy flipping through his own digistack, his face scrunched in concentration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After three weeks of studying the luxury cruiser\u2019s schematics, they all knew the target ship from cargo-hold to cantina. Sela was starting to see blueprints in the dorm\u2019s instasteam shower tiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TJ grabbed a fistful of Herrangio jelly and shoved it into his mouth. Half of it dripped down his standard-issue waste management uniform and oozed onto the plastic table, leaving a lime-green residue. \u201cRemember.\u201d Their mastermind continued, unconcerned. \u201cWe\u2019ve got six hours to get in, grab the goods, and get ourselves out before the cruiser disembarks. How\u2019s the gear looking, Sela?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cManaged to dig up rigging out of the recycling vats. Old Earth military issue stuff, so no one should be jettisoned into open space if I have anything to say about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow I won\u2019t be able to think about anything else,\u201d Beth-Ann groaned, her pale face turning the shade of Phobos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou just worry about sneaking into that vault,\u201d Sela told her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is\u2026 odd,\u201d Finn muttered, fixing his glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He glanced up as if surprised to see them all sitting there. \u201cAt first, I figured it was a glitch in the system. Maybe an update.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d Sela pressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finn turned his digistack toward them. \u201cHere. See what\u2019s missing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beth-Ann leaned over the table. \u201cIt\u2019s a black screen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cExactly! This is the space just outside Mars\u2019 outer port. This log should be full of ships coming from Earth, but there\u2019s \u2013 nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat is odd,\u201d Sela allowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s always transport delays for repairs. Whole system needs an overhaul.\u201d TJ waved it off. \u201cOur cruiser\u2019s still coming in, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust docked and going through inspections now,\u201d Finn confirmed, pulling up Dock 4\u2019s vid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, then.\u201d TJ beamed. \u201cNothing to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Finn did look worried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeshnuallah\u2019s blessings to your Royal Highness.\u201d The white-clad servant bowed and shuffled back from the gangway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayr-Ro Vitreus II \u2013 Ro \u2013 stepped off the luxury cruiser and blinked around the bright atrium. It didn\u2019t look<\/em> like Mars, but then again, it was just the docks; the unfamiliar gravity shift told her enough about where she\u2019d landed. The beep-beep<\/em> of her wrist strap connecting to the Martian network reminded her that it wouldn\u2019t be long before her parents found out where she\u2019d run off to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The place looked like a massive warehouse: white and clean and sterile-smelling. Boring. Though she supposed it was in the Martians\u2019 best interest to keep the red dust outside <\/em>the habitat doors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other cruise passengers began to push past her in the delicately rude way ultra-wealthy Earthers had mastered long ago, and filed toward the customs queue. Of course, the security was more a formality than a barrier for their type. Credit transfers to some influential virtupockets had the privileged few passing through to the other side within minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ro was grateful she\u2019d chosen to forgo her crown. The place was full of gawking Martians \u2013 all of whom had a hollow-eyed look about them. She\u2019d read a bit about how Martians, after leaving Earth a few centuries ago, still hadn\u2019t adapted to the lack of sunlight. Though they took frequent sun baths and their food was chock-full of vitamins, there was something drawn and sickly about them. Ro couldn\u2019t imagine living without trees or rushing rivers. Of course, plenty of Earthers hadn\u2019t experienced that either. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ro drew her velvet cloak tighter despite the domed city maintaining a stable twenty-two degrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As soon as the holidayers stepped out of the docks, Ro noticed a steady decline in the quality of infrastructure. Servants in white jumpsuits herded the finely dressed group toward a set of glass doors labelled \u201cSpa\u201d in twelve Earther languages. Ro wanted to explore, not sit in some red mud bath. She dipped out of the diamond-studded throng and found herself amidst a crowd of brown, red, and grey jumpsuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Martians stared at Ro but didn\u2019t stop her as she found a red-walled hallway marked with a food symbol and strode forth into the mysterious unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ro had hardly taken ten steps when her wrist strap bleeped. With an inescapable groan, she swiped her parents\u2019 pre-recorded holo-faces into view. They looked furious \u2013 and panicked. The latter expressions gave her pause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAyr-Ro Vitreus \u2013!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2013 How could you \u2013!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2013 And without telling us \u2013!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLeave Mars as soon as you get this<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the time delay, they\u2019d sent the message over twenty minutes ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRo.\u201d Her mother wrung her hands. \u201cThe senate reached a decision a few months ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019ve voted to leave Mars,\u201d her father cut in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leave Mars?<\/em> The Martians didn\u2019t have transport without Earth. They wouldn\u2019t be capable of interplanetary travel for years. Her father confirmed her thoughts a few seconds later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEarth is cutting Mars out of the trade routes. And blocking the other planets from interfering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How long had this been going on? It would\u2019ve taken months of plotting \u2013 of hidden messages and falsified transport records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet on a ship now, Ro \u2013 before it\u2019s too late,\u201d her father said as a final warning, and the message ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before it\u2019s too late,<\/em> meaning even the Monarchy couldn\u2019t stop what was already in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ro bolted back to the docks, pulling up short outside the doors to scan the shipping screens. There should have been a healthy stream of ships moving between the two planets. There would have been at least a month\u2019s worth of lag time with no new transport vehicles coming in \u2013 unless it\u2019d all been faked somehow. Who else was in on it? The Earthers must have pulled some serious strings (or filled some serious virtupockets) to keep a secret this big. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The screen listed two ships: The luxury cruiser she\u2019d arrived on, The Amazon<\/em>, and a small, unpersonned fueller tank from Venus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s our mark,\u201d someone said behind her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ro spun and saw a group of Martians standing in brown jumpsuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one who\u2019d spoken, a boy with a green stain on his collar and the wide-eyed expression of having just noticed her, said, \u201cI mean, we\u2019re on service duties for that one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ro briefly considered telling the Martians that if they jumped on that cruiser now, they\u2019d never see their red planet again. But then she shook her head and turned away. She had her own problems to deal with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A space heist gone wrong, a galactic conspiracy between Earth and Mars, and a princess caught in the middle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[217,369,373,372,185,197,80],"series":[],"class_list":["post-1813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sci-fi","tag-earth","tag-geek","tag-heist","tag-mars","tag-sci-fi","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/5.png","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/music.amazon.ca\/podcasts\/09c34bbc-b359-49af-a286-31830ed5634c\/short-stories","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/short-stories\/id1621456328","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_play":{"key":"google_play","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGV4aXN2ZWVuZW5kYWFsLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qvc2hvcnQtc3Rvcmllcw","label":"Google Play","class":"google_play","icon":"google-play.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbGV4aXN2ZWVuZW5kYWFsLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Qvc2hvcnQtc3Rvcmllcw","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0lcQCRs52MfYlKs35lVX4K","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"itunes":{"key":"itunes","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/short-stories\/id1621456328","label":"iTunes","class":"itunes","icon":"itunes.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/blog.alexisveenendaal.com\/feed\/podcast\/default-podcast","embedCode":"The Terrific, Fail-Proof Heist of the Galactic Century<\/a><\/blockquote>