Free Saving Mars by Cidney Swanson Page A

cold for three weeks, what would you find when you went back to collect him?”
    “He’d die,” said the Secretary.
    “Yes,” said Jess. “Even though your dog wants to go outside, it isn’t an environment he can survive in for long.”
    “You’re saying your brother can’t survive three weeks in the environment of the Red Galleon.”
    Jess pinched her lips together then spoke. “Maybe if he had a couple of annums to prepare for it, he might make it. As he stands now? No.”
    The Secretary stood as still as one of the ice carvings from the Festival.
    Jess felt the long pause that followed as if it were a physical thing pressing down upon her.
    “Would you bet the future of Mars on that certainty?” The Secretary’s face blanched as she whispered the question.
    “The future of Mars?”
    The Secretary nodded.
    Jess hesitated. She remembered trips with her brother that ended with him rocking back and forth, eyes closed, making a steady humming noise at the same pitch for hours on end. She remembered other times she’d worked hard with him, sitting beside him and feeding him distractions, telling him stories, keeping him protected as best she could from the deleterious effects of an enclosed space.
    She looked up and met the Secretary’s eyes. “He can make it if he has me with him. But otherwise, no, Madam Secretary. My brother’s mind wouldn’t be the same by the time he reached Earth. If you need him in his right mind, send me with him.”
    The Secretary was quiet for several minutes. Jess stared into the black expanse beyond the large windows. Ethan would like it here , she thought. She saw the small moon Deimos and wondered if Earth had risen yet. Beside the window, Rover rested his chin on his paws, lying on his pillow. His eyes darted from the Secretary to Jess, back and forth in clear acknowledgement of the tension in the room.
    At last, the Secretary, who’d been staring out the window as well, spoke. “You could have lied to me about your motivation for saving Rover’s life. But you didn’t. Just like the day I hired you: you told me the truth instead of what I wanted to hear. I abhor lying and dissembling, Jess. I’ve seen plenty of both as CEO of this planet.” She turned so as to face Jessamyn directly. “As I’m sure you are aware, raiding parties are formed with five team members.”
    Jess nodded, recalling the pang of jealousy she’d felt when she’d heard that a young woman only two orbits her senior had been named captain of the mission.
    Mei Lo continued. “What I have not yet announced is that we will be sending two teams of raiders this time—two teams with two separate missions.”
    Jessamyn’s heart beat faster, clattering in her chest like storm-tossed pebbles upon a window.
    “I need your brother to accomplish a task that I believe only he can complete as a special mission. At present, the board of directors is locked in disagreement about the choice of a pilot for this mission. Obviously we need someone capable of guiding a ship past the Terran satellite lasers in high orbit around Mars.” She smiled softly at Jessamyn. “As you already know, I don’t believe in coincidence. I have the final authority to decide this assignment, but the awarded duty comes with a caveat.”
    “I’ll do it,” whispered Jess.
    “You haven’t heard me out,” replied the Secretary, her face now sober. “I am sending your brother to hack the control codes of the satellite array, placing them under our direction. That is the top-secret task that falls to the second crew. There is a very real chance he may fail and that some or all of you could be captured with no hope of rescue.”
    Jessamyn thought of her granddad’s tales of body-swapping and shuddered.
    “The Terrans would certainly re-body you or kill you.” The Secretary paused. “This is a far more dangerous assignment than merely retrieving ration bars.”
    Jess nodded. “Send me.”

Chapter Seven
    SENSATION OF WEIGHT
    Two