Mars, 2158: Thicker than Water

Entry One- January 2, 2158

I have arrived.

I know nothing of the journey from Earth to Mars. Our Starsail, the Argo, traveled in perpetual daylight for the entire voyage, as there was no constant shadow to shield us from the sun's rays. It's ironic that space; deemed to be a place of eternal night, is actually one of eternal day. As such, I was in stone hibernation for the entire time. I dreamt of father, and of other dreams - full of anticipation. I finally awoke, when we descended into orbit in Mars' shadow.

As expected, the Argo's gravitational sail compensated for the weightlessness of space. It creates its own mobile gravitational field, and pulls us to our destination, as well as stabilizing all inner compartments. These sails give the ship the appearance of ancient water going vessels, rather than a typical spaceship. This design is Nightstone Enterprises patented, and more economic than the archaic fusion engine used in so many other ships. Leave it to father to find something so clever and cost effective!

Outside of the window I see not only Mars, but its moons, Phobos and Deimos as well! I cannot put into words what I feel. It is awe, I suppose. Awe so deep, I cannot speak or even write of what I feel. I have seen pictures of Mars, but to see it with my own eyes, to know I will soon be there - makes my body shake and my tail twitch! It is far more beautiful than I ever imagined! All the images I have ever seen of it, are dull and lifeless. Mars' color is vibrant, like fire in the night!

How I wish we could have our colony on Mars' surface, rather than beneath it. The idea of living several miles underground, does not appeal to me. I won't be able to use my wings very much, if at all. And I won't be able to see the Earth or the stars above me. I was so looking forward to that! But because of the extreme cold and dust storm in that area, it was more pratical to build under the surface rather than on it. It saves cost on repair and heating to the colony. And as the main purpose of the colony is mining, it only makes sense to be as close to the ore in question as possible.

But when I look at that rusty Earth, I long to be able to explore it, to walk its surface and see it not only from orbit above but up close and with my own eyes.

Father had a space suit custom designed for me, like the one he had made for himself. It allows for my talons, tail, and even my wings. I am told it will even allow for gliding. When father asked me to go to Mars, to do the work that needed to be done, I agreed of course. The work was all I thought of, and of helping him and the clan.

"But I see no reason why you should not enjoy yourself, hatchling." He explained. "So I have had this suit made for you. When you are done with the investigation, treat yourself to a little exploration outside the colony's limits. After all, I want you to follow in my footsteps, literally."

He was of course referring to a year ago, when he, himself came to the colony to personally oversee it's completion. When it was finished, he told me he put on his suit and walked about on the surface. Walked at the base of Olympus Mons.

So my father was the first gargoyle on Mars, and I will be the second.

"To glide in an alien sky- to feel the Martian soil beneath your feet, and hold it in your own talons! That will be your reward, my daughter!" He said to me. "What can others give you that compares to this?"

Entry Two- January 2, 2158

Two hours later.

We are about to begin our descent to the surface.

I must admit I feel a bit uneasy about being the only gargoyle in the colony. Father assures me there is nothing to worry about, that as both his representative and daughter, I can expect to be treated like a princess. He also assures me that at all times I will be accompanied by a pair of Shock Troopers.

Father said, "So you see, hatchling, it will be like I'm with you for the entire time."

Xanatos Enterprises merged with Nightstone Unlimted many years ago. When this happened, father changed the name to Nightstone Enterprises. One project which father instigated was that of the robotic Shock Trooper. It is based off of the old Steel Clan design. The weaponry and programing were updated, and he had the coloring of the robots altered to reflect his own. I cannot tell you how odd it was, when the first Shock Troopers rolled off the assembly line, to see a robot that was the spitting image of my father! Some designers wanted to give the robots enough AI to be capable of independent thought, but this was deemed too dangerous, and not as valueable as loyalty. Father has always valued loyalty, whether it be from clan, employees, or even machines.

The Shock Troopers have proven effective not only in insuring the security of certain personnel and all facilities in general. But they have been useful in repelling invasions from rival companies, and insuring worker compliance.

Security has been increased all over the colony in light of recent events. It was discovered that some of the mining workers were in possession of Quarrymen literature several months ago. The workers in question were shipped back to earth, and measures were taken to monitor all workers' homes and activities to insure there would be no further incident.

Of course security has always been a high priority for the colony, and for father. Nightstone was the first company to successfully establish a colony of any type on Mars, let alone one that was profitable. What no government could do was done in the private sector, and by my father.

Of course the Quarrymen did not like the fact that a gargoyle controlled the only successful Martian colony. They have started a two front war with Nightstone Enterprises, striking at us both politically and militarily. The "Brotherhood of Man," the political wing of the Quarrymen, launched a new political campaign called "Mars for Humans." There have also been attacks on several earth factories that process the ore harvested on Mars. Without these, the mining is to no profit, and they know it. So the factories have been turned into strongholds overnight.

Every effort was made to insure the colony's security and to minimize any threat of terrorist activity. There are several battalions of Shock Troops at the colony, as the latest security system. There is also general surveillance of the workers, and examination of all incoming cargo for smuggled weapons, explosives, and Quarrymen literature. All workers have an extensive background check, as well as anyone remotely related to the Mars Project.

That is why nothing prepared us for the series of bombings on the colony. The worst was the bombing of the water supply. Water is like gold on Mars, both for it's rarity and high demand. It is needed not only for the worker population, but also for the cooling of the drilling equipment.

I have been sent to see if I can uncover the source of this terrorist activity, and do what ever is in my power to bring them to an end.

Even kill if need be.

Our descent is about to begin.

Entry 3-January 2, 2158

Six hours later

Entry was a loud and turbulent business.

When the Argo at last landed on the airfield, I put on my space suit and prepared myself to go outside. I saw a human crew scrambling to our ship to unload the precious water that was shipped to replace what was lost in the attack. I opened the hatch, and had to catch my balance. The wind was so powerful it made me stumble a little. I saw the turbo lift, and began making my way to it. I was amazed as to how difficult it was with the lower gravity and the intense winds.

At the turbo lift, I saw a human, also in a spacesuit.

"Bathsheba Thailog?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"Robert Rose." He said, shaking my talon. He was a fairly young executive, with dark eyes. I suppose he would be attractive to the human females.

He pressed the buttons on the panel, and we began our descent. I took one last look at the rugged terrain, and at the sky.

"I hope your journey was a pleasant one." He said, trying to make small talk.

"I don't know. I wasn't awake." I stated. I suppose now I was a little curt. I've never been one for small talk, even with a human as important as he, who oversaw the entire colony. He was, after all, still an employee of Nightstone, and I had considerably more pull than he did.

"Ahem, yes." He stammered. "Well, we had to deploy the Shock Troops to break up a strike some of the workers were holding."

"How many more bombings have there been since my departure from earth?" I demanded. After all, that was what I was there for. Worker relations were his responsibility.

"Five." He replied.

"Not good." I said. "Any leads?"

"At this moment no." he said. " I am thinking it may be the work of those who lead the strike, so they have of course been put in the brig. But at the moment, we cannot be sure if they are responsible."

We rode the rest of the way in silence. It was a long lift ride- over seven minutes. I knew our colony was far underground, but I didn't think it was buried that deep! It made me a little unsettled.

We got off the lift, and I entered the main tunnel. Rose showed me to my quarters, and as promised, there were my two Shock Trooper guards waiting for me. You would not believe my private quarters! I must have the biggest one available! It is full of gorgeous furniture, books, and an enormous bath. I checked the refrigerator in the kitchenette, and found it stock full of my favorite things to eat and drink.

When I checked the videophone- I found a recorded message on it from father.

"To my little girl-

Remember greatness runs in your blood.

I know you'll make me proud.

-Always, Dad."

Entry 4- January 3, 2158

The colony itself is very drab. It consists of little but a labyrinth of tunnels that seem to go on and on without end. Everywhere I look though, I see the Nightstone logo, embossed - for the corporation owns everything here. Seeing that and the Shock Troops everywhere gives me an odd feeling of both familiarity and unease. I don't know why.

At any rate, I called father today first thing.

That human secretary of his answered the phone.

"Alexander Thailog's office."

"Hi Cindy."

"Oh, is this Bathsheba?"

"Yes."

"Oh, your father's been expecting your call. Let me patch you through."

"Thanks."

The video screen blurred for a moment and the image of father appeared. He was sitting comfortably at his desk.

"Hey, hatchling! How was the flight?" he asked.

I couldn't help but burst into a smile. Father always made time for clan, no matter how busy he was.

"Well, I must say I feel rested."

He laughed. "Well, a month's hibernation will do that to you, baby."

"I met Robert Rose." I stated.

Father arched an eye-ridge. "And?"

"He's just as you described him."

"Did he tell you about the recent attacks?" father asked.

I nodded. "He thinks it's the work of the strikers. He has them in the brig right now, and is planning on interrogating them."

Father did that scoffing laugh of his.

"I don't think he'll find a damn thing." He said. "The workers wouldn't be so stupid as to bite the talon that feeds them. No, someone else is behind these bombings. And he's too incompetent to find out who."

"Do you think it's the Quarrymen, or the Green Mars Association?" I asked.

"I don't know hatchling, to tell you the truth."

"I'll do my best." I said.

"I know you will." He smiled. "Oh, and by the way, did you find the sushi in the fridge?"

"Yes! It must have cost you a fortune to have it shipped up here."

"Hey, only the best for my little girl."

Entry 5 - January 5, 2158

There was another bombing today, this time in one of the major shafts. I went to investigate right after it hit. The first thing I saw was Mr. Rose directing the Shock Troopers to help clean the debris.

"Hello, Bathsheba." He said to me. "Be glad you weren't here for the fireworks."

"How much damage?" I asked.

"The entire shaft has collapsed. We lost 50 workers and access to about 1/3 of the mine. I have shock troopers already securing the area, and insuring that there will be no tunnel collapse."

This last comment irked me, I don't know why.

"Of course there will be no further tunnel collapse! This was put together by Nightstone engineers after all!" I snapped.

"I'm sorry," he stammered. " I only meant..."

I turned away before he could finish. He sighed.

"I have to inform Mr. Thailog of this development." He said.

"Do that." I growled.

Without a word, he left. I sighed. I knew I was going to have a long wait before anything could be found that would give me a clue as to what was going on.

Entry 6- January 8, 2158

After the rubble was cleared, it was found that a homemade bomb was the cause. The Shock Troopers had to be called out to force the miners back to work.

Father was furious at Mr. Rose for allowing this to happen. Mr. Rose was yelled at for some time.

Like with the other bombings, no group or individual has claimed responsibility.

This makes it more difficult to find who is at fault.

And at this point I have no leads.

The interrogation of the strike leaders yielded nothing as father predicted. Again, we are left at square one.

I told father to have more workers and shock troops sent out. They both will be needed.

Entry 7- January 15, 2158

Something very odd has happened.

We have received our first threat.

Mr. Rose called me into his office and showed me an anonymous transmission that he received during the day. It read:

"Shut down all production, and leave Mars.

Or sector 18 will be destroyed.

You have forty-eight hours to comply."

The transmission could not be traced, as there was a block on it- but it did originate from within the colony. It was inbound and bore none of the coding inscriptions that a message from outside the colony would use.

"Well, I think we can rule out the strikers as being suspects." I said flatly. "After all sector 18 is one of the workers' quarters."

"And it cannot be the Quarrymen," Rose continued. "For why would they strike at the workers directly. Why strike where human life would be lost, instead of hitting more commercially viable areas."

"I am not going to rule the Quarrymen out." I said. "If it's for the good of the human race, they don't mind sacrificing a few individuals. But I think it's probably a rival company most likely."

"I am going to have sector 18 evacuated, and the workers shipped to one of the newer sections. There may be some overcrowding, because all sections are occupied, but they'll manage." Rose said.

"Unless that is what they want us to do, so they can hit a more heavily populated area." I replied. "No, evacuate the workers from section 18, and have them evenly dispersed among all the remaining workers' quarters. Better to not put all of our eggs in one basket."

Mr. Rose looked irritated at me for a moment, but it seemed to pass.

"As you wish." He said. "And then we can start examining sector 18."

I nodded.

Entry 8- January 16, 2158

As planned, sector 18 was cleared out, and workers dispersed to the other worker resident areas. Once the place was empty, I had the Shock Troops sweep the area, to look for the bomb in question and deactivate it. I went there personally to overlook the operation. Mr. Rose stopped by, then he was called away. I forget why, exactly, I wasn't paying attention. I was too busy looking for clues, any hint as to who could have been responsible, and I was too lost in my work to even notice his departure.

Before long, I was signaled via com-link that one of the Shock Troopers had uncovered and deactivated the bomb. I went to investigate. It was located in a residence, in the kitchen no less. When I got there the robots were standing around a rather large box sitting in the middle of the room. The lid to the box was open and the Shock Troopers had already disarmed the bomb.

I am not so fool-hearty to try to do something like that myself!

Still my hackles went up. I didn't know why, but something didn't feel right. I felt foolish - the bomb had been disarmed- what else was there to fear? But I felt uneasy somehow, almost like I was being watched.

It stuck me as odd that none of the surveillance cameras had picked up any suspicious activities here. I had the walls ripped apart to examine the cameras. The wires that were to monitor this residence were spliced, and had been rewired to show the residence next door.

"Clever," I thought.

Then I heard a small sound that I hadn't noticed before. It was a soft beeping, and it seemed to be coming from the west area of the kitchen near the pots and pans. I walked over to investigate, when one of the Shock Troopers spoke.

"Mistress, the bomb has been examined." It stated. This is standard protocol to determine the make up of the bomb in question, in hopes that this will lead to the perpetrator.

"And?" I asked.

"No explosive of any type was found." It said it's monotone voice.

"What?" I said. And then it hit me- the bomb- the deactivated one- was a fake. And that beeping that I was foolishly heading towards, was the real bomb. And the shock troopers didn't detect it.

They had been tampered with. This was a set up, and I had walked into it with my eyes open like a fool.

Suddenly something crashed threw the window. I turned to see it was a GARGOYLE! She ran towards me, and for a second, I could only see her and hear the laser rifles begin to fire from my bodyguards at her. In an instant, she tackled me, and together we went crashing through the wooden door.

"Run!" she commanded. She grabbed my wrist and bolted. We ran to the next residence, and she flung herself at me, knocking me to the ground, with her on top.

And then the bomb went off. Wood, fire, smoke and steel went everywhere. The blast almost deafened me, and I could feel the heat on my body. It seemed to go on forever. When at last she let me up, I turned to see that the building I had just been in was reduced to rubble.

I turned to her, but she was already gone.

When I got back to my quarters, I put in an emergency call to father, and told him what happened. He was relieved to hear that I had escaped the blast, but when I told him who had done it, he got suddenly quiet.

"And your sure it was a gargoyle?" he asked.

"Yes. She had blue skin and red hair." I replied. "I've never seen her before."

There was a long pause.

"If you see her again, you are to shoot her on sight, do you understand." He said.

"Of course, father." I said. "But who is she?"

"A terrorist. A thorn in my side from the first day I saw her." He growled. He seemed lost in thought again. He then raised his eyes to me. "That is all you need know."

"Of course." I said. I don't know why this gargoyle had upset him so, but I felt it best not to pry. Plus I was worried about other things.

"Father?"

"Yes, hatchling?" he replied, still distracted.

"Father, I'm very worried about the Shock Troopers being tampered with."

"As am I." He said, turning his attention to the current situation again. "Whoever is responsible for the attacks is obviously someone who has access to them. It's best right now not to let on that you know. Order yourself some replacement bodyguards, but don't allow them to be with you while you sleep. Turn your attention and that of Mr. Rose to the programming dept. That is where the terrorist must be."

"Of course." I said. I saw that he was still distracted.

"Father, are you alright?" I asked at last.

"Yes hatchling, I'm fine."

Entry 9- January 17, 2158

When I told Mr. Rose what had occurred, he was very surprised. We both agreed with father that the terrorist in question must be one of the programmers for the Shock Troopers here on the colony- probably someone in maintainance. We intend to turn our attention there tomorrow night. Mr. Rose was concerned over the fact that I have no body guards, as mine were destroyed. He insisted that I get replacements as soon as possible. He is supposed to have them for me by tomorrow night.

I still cannot stop thinking of the gargoyle I saw. Who is she, and where did she come from? Where is she now? Is she hiding on the colony somehow undetected by our scanners? What does she want with Nightstone - with me?

If she is responsible for the attacks, which I am quick to assume because father says she is a terrorist, then I must consider her an enemy. If she is my father's enemy, then she is mine as well. I must stop her by whatever means necessary.

It is not my place to question my father's decisions. But in the back of my mind, I feel uneasy. I wish he would tell me who she is. If she is a terrorist, why did she save me?

It just doesn't make sense.

I should stop thinking this way, and focus on why I was sent. Focus on the mission, Bathsheba. Later you can dwell on these things...later.

Entry 10- January 18. 2158

The night began with me going to get the new Shock Troopers Mr.Rose had programmed for me. Little did I know how things were going to end up.

When I came into Mr. Rose's office, something felt wrong. He always leaves the lights one when we have any type of meeting, but tonight they were off. There was no one there outside his office either. His secretary, Dominique never works nights, so her absence came as no surprise, but usually there is someone there. Tonight the entire floor was vacant. I didn't like it. And there was an odd smell in the air- it took me a while to realize what it was. It was the smell of hostility and madness. It was pungent. I knew I was in danger.

I quickly assumed that Mr.Rose had been slain, probably by the terrorist in question. Perhaps the secretary too, was dead. Whoever had done so, was probably waiting in that office for me but I was going to be damned before I gave them the same chance with me.

I turned around to leave, and saw two Shock Troopers behind me. I sucked in a quick breath in surprise. Then, to my shock, they raised their cannons up and aimed at me!

I was a taken a back, but then growled, "Stand down!"

And those robots didn't move an inch!

"STAND DOWN!" I commanded.

Suddenly an odd laugh sounded from behind them and a Quarrymen in full garb stood in-between the two shock troopers.

"Get into the office." He said.

As he spoke I gasped. I knew that voice!

I turned slowly, cringing at the thought of being shot in the back, and walked into the office. Once we were inside he locked the door behind him. To my shame, I began to smell the scent of my own fear. I knew he could smell it too. He then walked up to me and stuck me to the ground.

I growled. I wanted to leap and tear the bastard's throat out, but the guns of the shock troopers were still trained on me. I knew if I made any sudden moves, they would fire.

"You damn fool!" He yelled at me. He then took off that cursed hood and revealed himself to be who I feared he was.

Mr. Rose!

"Idiot!" he continued. "Who do you think was responsible for the pamphlets on the Brotherhood getting through?! And who made sure your blasted father was none the wiser?"

"Are you responsible for the attacks?" I asked.

"Some. The others are probably the work of the Green Mars Association, or some local nut case- I really don't care who. All I care is that it worked to distract you sufficiently."

"Rose, I don't understand- why? Father paid you a hefty salary."

He laughed, and I didn't like the way he laughed. It was the laugh of a mad man.

"This isn't about money!" he retorted. "Although your father's generous salary has helped me make many a hidden donation to the Brotherhood. This is about the purity of the human race- Mars belongs to us! Not to you Gargoyle Filth! Your people have overrun earth like a pestilence. But Mars, Mars will be a new Eden for humankind and I will not let any serpents into this garden! I will not see another paradise destroyed by your evil!" he started babbling and advancing towards me. "You should have died in Section 18, as planned, but you were saved by another one of your accursed race! But she's not here to help you now!"

There was a sharp gargoyle cry from the door. The door suddenly was kicked in, and the shock troopers turned their attention from me to the door. In she charged, the same gargoyle who had saved me before. The shock troopers let loose their hailstorm of laser fire. She sprang onto the wall, and used it to leap down on Mr. Rose. She tackled him in one leap, and then stood up, grasping him in front of her- using him as a shield.

The shock troopers then stopped their assault.

"Tell them to stand down!" She commanded.

Rose gave no reply.

"Tell them!" She snarled, "Or I'll rip your throat out!"

"Stand down!" he ordered, and the robots lowered their weapons.

The gargoyle, without a word, then grabbed him buy the scruff of the neck and threw him into a wall. He was knocked unconscious.

She then ran out of the office grabbing my talon, dragging me with her.

"Come on!" she yelled.

"I can't!" I said, trying to pull my talon free. "I have to see he's arrested, and notify father. I have to see if there are any others."

"There is no time!" she cried, refusing to let me go. She had already dragged me out of the office and we were already several rooms down the corridor.

"Why?" I demanded.

"Because the bomb I planted is about to go off! Now get down!" she cried.

She threw me down to the floor behind a desk, and threw herself on top of me. There was a ripping explosion, and smoke. I looked up and the wall closest to us began to fall down in huge chunks of metal, cement, and rock - fall down upon us. There was a terrible pain in my head.

I woke up several hours later. There was a medic by my side.

"Easy! Easy!" he said, as I tried to sit up. The spinning of the room persuaded me to lie down again.

"Dr. Sullivan." He introduced himself. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible." I said. "Where is she?"

"Where's who?" he asked.

I looked about. I could see Shock Troopers everywhere clearing the rubble. There were a few humans about- the ones who worked in the offices that had just been obliterated. But there was no sign of the gargoyle that had saved my life, now a second time.

"Never mind." I said.

"Was there anyone else near the blast that you recall?" Dr. Sullivan asked, insistent. "Is there anyone we should be looking for?"

"Mr. Rose." I said weakly.

"Dear God." He said. He was silent a long time.

"Let me get someone to help you back to your quarters." Dr. Sullivan said.

"Thanks." I replied.

As soon as I got back to my quarters, I called father on our SOS frequency. He picked up immediately and I told him what had happened.

He took a deep sigh. "I am glad you're alright, hatchling."

I told him about Mr. Rose's treachery, and about the strange gargoyle saving me again.

He looked down and was silent for a long time.

"Bastard." He said.

"Father?" I asked. "Who is this gargoyle?"

"No one of consequence." He replied, a growl beginning to build in his throat.

"But..."

"That's enough hatchling!" He growled at me. Father's eyes flared, and he showed his teeth. I was shaken.

He looked down and composed himself.

"Father knows what's best here hatchling." He said, gently. "Have I ever lead you wrong?"

I shook my head, not able to speak because of the lump in my throat. I felt tears begin to run down my cheeks.

"Now, now. Don't cry hatchling. You're just shaken, but it will pass."

I wiped my eyes.

"I'm going to be leaving for Mars immediately." He said. "I want to be up there personally to straighten this whole bloody mess out. I'll be coming with a lot of supplies, and personnel, both human and gargoyle."

"Both human and gargoyle?" I sniffed.

"Of course." He said. "If Mars is going to belong to gargoyle kind, we should have more of a talon in it than we have."

I nodded. "That makes sense."

"Tomorrow, I want you to look into the programming department. Mr. Rose may not have been the only Quarryman up there. Just hang tight and I'll be there before you know it. And then we can climb Olympus Mons together, as father and daughter." He said.

I smiled. Father always knows the right thing to say.

His face suddenly became serious again.

"Now this other gargoyle- the next time you see her- don't ask any questions. Don't listen to any of her lies. Shoot her. She is an enemy to Nightstone and to the clan and to me. She admitted to at least one bombing, and she is probably the one responsible for most of the others. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father." I nodded. "And I will do as you say."

He smiled.

"I'll see you soon, my daughter."

Entry 11- January 21, 2158

I was relieved to find very little evidence implicating the programming department. The faulty Shock Troopers were probably tinkered with by Rose himself, as there appears to be nothing to suggest otherwise.

When I got back to my quarters from the investigation, I found a transmission on my videophone from an untraceable frequency. There was no image, only a recording.

"Meet me tomorrow night out on the surface. Come alone. Tell no one -your friend."

I tried to call father about this message, but he had already left. I'm on my own on this and I really don't know what to do. If I go, I could be walking into another trap. I wish Father was here, then there would be no problem. He would know exactly what to do, as he always does.

What should I do?

Entry 12- January 22, 2158

I took the turbo-lift to the surface. I went alone, but I brought a hidden laser pistol. I wore my spacesuit. I had hoped to wear it to meet Father when he arrives, not to meet someone I didn't know.

Someone who might even kill me.

The landing field was deserted, save for the mandatory guards and flight personnel in the tower. But there were no ships or freight scheduled to come in, so the winds blew across an empty runway. I looked about in all directions and saw no one, nor any sign that anyone was near by.

I had stored up enough air and water to last two days. I had food reserves in my suit as well. I decided that whomever had sent the message wasn't stupid enough to meet me out in the open, so I began walking into the wilderness. Out into who-knows-what.

I walked for two hours -until the landing field was gone from sight.

Then I saw it, a space ship, not of the Star Sail design but a small runner. Used for traveling short distances in hostile environments. They are used on the moon mostly. There was someone standing in front of it.

As I got closer I saw her.

"I knew you'd come." She said to me.

"Who are you?" I asked. "What do you want?"

She looked around. "We can't talk here- someone may be watching. Get inside."

We got inside the runner, and she took off her helmet, and took a deep breath.

"You can take your helmet off." She said.

I hesitated but did so.

She handed me a blindfold.

"Put this on." She said.

I looked at her with distrust.

"It's for security." She explained, a little annoyed. "My security. Besides, It's in my vested interest that nothing happen to you."

I didn't know what that meant at the time. I put on the blind fold.

I felt her turn the runner on, and she piloted it for some time. I tried to make out the direction we were going, but after a while I became confused and lost. Neither of us spoke for the length of the journey.

Eventually, I heard the doors to a large hanger open, and the ship was piloted in. She brought it down, and turned it off.

"You can take it off now." She said.

I opened my eyes to see that I was in an enormous hanger of some type -a secret base. There was a secret base here on Mars that we didn't know about!

She exited the runner and motioned for me to follow, which I did. As I looked around I saw that the base was full of gargoyles! I was amazed. Who were these gargoyles? There were many ships of various designs, some very strange. I recognized some of the ships to be fighters. This worried me.

She led me outside of the hanger and into an office shutting the door. Then to my amazement, she turned and embraced me!

"My daughter! At last, to have you in my arms, my child!" she said.

"WHAT!?" I gasped, pushing her away. "Who are you?"

"I am Demona." She said. "Your mother. I am not surprised that no one told you, Bathsheba."

"Alright," I growled, angrily. "Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

"I told you who I am." She said sincerely. "And I know who you are, because I have made it a point to keep tabs on you."

"Your father, that bastard, Thailog, stole you from me before you were even hatched." She snarled. "And Goliath helped him!"

She turned from me in a fit of rage. Then, she calmed herself and turned back to me again.

"But I never stopped loving you." She said.

I was so stunned I could not speak. Father had never told me of this -was this true? No, it couldn't be true! But something about the way she said it and the way she looked at me compelled me to believe that it was!

My entire life I had never known a mother, it had never really been of that much importance to me. But now, suddenly I was full of questions. Was this my mother? Should I believe her?

"And I never stopped wanting you by my side." She continued. "Now, at last, we can be together -as we were always meant to be."

Suddenly my mind turned to the recent attacks on the colony.

"Were you responsible for the attacks?" I asked.

She nodded.

Rage grew inside of me and my eyes flared. I drew out my pistol and her eyes widened in surprise.

"If you are responsible, then that makes you an enemy to my father and an enemy to me!" I growled. I remembered my father's instructions.

Demona laughed a little.

"You won't shoot." She teased.

...The next time you see her- don't ask any questions...

She started coming closer, reaching out to me. "You know I speak the truth."

...Don't listen to any of her lies...

"And all blood is thicker than water." She smiled.

...Shoot her.

With feelings of loyalty and betrayal I pulled the trigger. There was a look of shock and hurt on her face. Suddenly I felt something heavy hit me on the back of the head, and I was aware of nothing.

When I came to I saw the room was full of gargoyles. They were talking amongst themselves.

"Should we kill her, Demona?" one asked.

I heard Demona reply, "No. She is my daughter after all."

I could not believe it! She was alive? How? My shot was square in the chest!

I looked in the direction of the sound, and saw her standing there amongst them.

I expected her to threaten me or go into a rage but she only looked at me. Her eyes were so haunted- I have never seen such eyes.

From her belt she pulled out what looked like a modified laser pistol. She pointed it right at me. I felt the fear welling in my stomach.

The gun fired a strange yellow light. As I put up my talons to shield myself, I became engulfed in the light. Time seemed to stop, and the images of the gargoyles around me became elongated and distorted. There was no sound, save that of my own gasps.

Then the light began to fall back from me. The images went with it, and I found myself in a dark place.

I was crouched on the ground, my face covered with my talons. I was shaking, afraid to look up, afraid to find out I was dead.

When I finally got the courage to look up, I saw I was in my own chambers.

Again she spared me. Why?

Father- why---Why did you never tell me?

Entry 12- February 21, 2158

I waited out on the landing field for father. I didn't run into his arms like I would always do when he got off the ship. Instead, I walked shyly up to him. We hugged a long time, and he could sense that I was troubled.

I hadn't had any contact with Demona since the incident a month ago, but the memory of her, of what she had said, had haunted me ever since. Maybe she always will.

Father looked at me, and touched my cheek.

"Are you alright, hatchling?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes, Father. I'm fine."