Defying Mars (Saving Mars Series-2) by Cidney Swanson Page B

out at the tans, golds, and reds of her planet, she took in the fierce and deadly beauty that was Mars. The low rim of Prakash Crater looked especially near today. While she’d been away, the northern hemisphere had crossed from spring into summer. Dust storms, common in winter, often obscured Prakash entirely, but today she could see the shadowed creases of the rim which rose as high as a kilometer above the planitia beside which New Houston had been founded.
    Pulling her gaze closer, Jess saw the familiar pebbles and small rocks that broke up the flattened landscape. Ellipses formed to one side of each small stone, reminding Jess of her granddad’s sundial. She’d never been able to tell time with it. Jess smiled to herself, realizing her pirate granddad had probably not been able to either. Most likely he’d just been good at lying about it. He could out-bluff a de-sulfurization salesman talking to first-time home buyers.
    The sky had managed to herd a few wispy clouds to one side. Jess tried to remember Earth’s blue sky but couldn’t. Mars’s sky glowed yellow midday, looking exactly like a proper sky ought to. She sighed, wishing she could sit there all day. Wishing she could chase that sun around the planet.
    But the Secretary was a very busy woman.
    Jess murmured to her world, “You’re so very beautiful,” and rose to leave.
    The Secretary kept her waiting several minutes before bursting out of her office and announcing a change in plans. “If I have to spend another minute inside this room I swear I will break something. Grab your suit, pilot. We’re going out in a hopcraft.”
    “Yes, Ma’am,” said Jessamyn, a small smile upon her lips. She felt certain that whatever the Secretary had to discuss with her, it would sound a whole lot better from inside a cockpit.
    Within ten minutes Jess and the CEO of Mars Colonial were heading toward Gale Crater, a lonely place if ever there was one on Mars. The sun cast shadows long and crisp along the eastern slope of Aeolis Mons. A full third of the crater lay in deep shade as well, due to the mountain-like rise of the crater’s rim. Mei Lo directed Jessamyn to bring the craft to rest along the western edge.
    The two sat in silence for several minutes. Jessamyn thought of Kilimanjaro, one of Earth’s great mountains, and how it had seemed immense to her as she’d flown past it mere weeks ago. Mars’s Aeolis Mons, or Mount Sharp, was the taller by several hundred meters. She tried to imagine Gale Crater swimming with wildebeest and smiled at the images her mind returned. Someday , she thought. Someday the embryos would be awakened from their long cryogenic rest. Someday wild creatures would roam free on Mars as they did on Earth.
    “I come here when I need to think,” said Mei Lo. “Did you realize this crater hosted one of the early Earth robotic missions?”
    Jessamyn thought she remembered something about it from school.
    “A rover landed here,” continued the Secretary. “It inspired a generation of children to yearn for the world we call home. Without Curiosity and her predecessors, there would have been no Mars Colonial.”
    “Harpreet inspired me,” said Jessamyn.
    “Not your grandfather?” asked Mei Lo in surprise.
    Jess thought about it. “No. Isn’t that funny? But I remember every one of Harpreet’s visits to my classroom. I wanted to be just like her.”
    The Secretary nodded. “You’re well on your way, Jessamyn.”
    Another silent minute passed.
    Jess noticed a transport craft circling overhead, perhaps bringing citizens of New Tokyo to her own settlement for the upcoming week of gatherings.
    “You must miss her very much,” murmured the Secretary.
    Jessamyn nodded her agreement. Her throat felt swollen and she didn’t trust herself to speak.
    “I miss her every hour of every day, myself,” said Mei Lo. She shook her head once, twice, and then took a deep breath. “I canceled my afternoon meetings to come out here with you