Free The Ruins of Mars: Waking Titan (The Ruins of Mars Trilogy) by Dylan James Quarles

smoothness of a bead where the statue had been welded to the rock. Practically surgical, the joint was no wider than a sheet of paper and completely even the whole way around.
    “It’s too good,” he mumbled. “It’s machine good.”
    “I agree,” responded Braun from the air above him.
    “A machine to undo a machine’s work,” said the young archaeologist slyly. “Fair enough.”
    Sitting down in front of the communications screen again, Harrison rubbed hands together and put on a practiced smile.
    “How about this, Captain?” he said to the screen. “I’ll let Braun do the cutting.”
    Mulling the idea over, Tatyana furrowed her brow.
    “How will he do it?”
    “The cutting laser should be more than strong enough, and if you allow Liu and William to assist me, I’m sure we can modify one of the Rover’s hydraulic arms to use the tool. After it’s free, we can rig up a winch system with silica grappling anchors to pull the statue out of the way.”
    “I see no major fundamental problems in this plan,” interjected Braun. “Withholding for unknowns, that is.”
    Tatyana flicked her eyes to the corner of her screen and the timecode then dipped her chin.
    “Alright, I think it’s a fair trade. Assemble your team and report back at 1400 hours with the schematics for the Rover modifications and the winch. I will stay on the line to bring Dr. Floyd up to speed.”
    Saluting, Harrison signed off and stood up.
    “You know what?” he announced to the room. “Things are really starting to get interesting around here.”
    “I agree,” replied Braun.
     
    Voice of the g ods
     
    After witnessing the arrival of an alien fleet, Remus and Romulus were bordering on feelings they had not been equipped to comprehend. For countless eons, they had drifted the planes of ancient Mars like entitled guests. They had sampled the sights and smells of an evolving civilization and they had relished in the experience. But now, the Travelers had arrived and with them came the winds of change. Though the skies above the Martian Lake City were clear and blue, Remus and Romulus could see a shift in the texture of existence. Their arrival, their parade of might and metal, had changed everything.
    Drifting quickly back to the sound of voices, Remus and Romulus talked feverishly. As they neared the Temple Stones, from the city they heard the voice of a young Martian boy named Kaab. Eerily loud and slightly metallic, the usually squeaky voice of the little boy boomed as if enhanced by a hidden sound system.
    Coming out from between the last row of ships, Remus gasped despite himself as he saw the boy Kaab, dangling a meter above the ground, a Traveler firmly gripping Kaab’s little head in his palm.
    “Gather!” echoed Kaab’s voice with unnatural tenor. “Do not fear.”
    Ushering the growing crowd forward, Olo seemed to have forgotten that his body was old and frail. He danced from foot to foot, a wide smile splitting the deeply set wrinkles of his plume-colored face. Still kneeling on the ground, head bowed, Teo, Chieftess of the first Martian city, was silent and calm. Bringing her pale blue eyes up, she wove her fists together in front of her face and rested them against her forehead. Noticing this, her son Ze did the same and soon several others in the crowd had followed suit.
    “There is no need for that,” said the expressionless face of Kaab. “Please, greet us as your friends, your teachers.”
    Spinning to face the Traveler who held Kaab, Olo put his hands up and called above the murmur of voices.
    “Teachers?”
    “Yes.”
    Olo wavered on his fragile legs and licked his lips.
    ”Teacher,” he said. “I know the meaning of this. I once had a teacher, a Wise Man named Eyo.”
    “We know,” replied the Traveler through Kaab.
    “Eyo,” continued Olo. “taught me many things, which I have taught to Teo. But, Great Spirits, there were many things that Eyo did not know. May I ask you?”
    “Ask,” the boy