Read The God Mars Book Three: The Devil You Are for Free Online Page B

Then they want them away from here
until Earthside can resolve the threats on-planet. Then they’ll
consider repatriation or re-colonization.”
    “But the survivor descendants don’t get their lands
back,” Tru cuts. “Unless it’s some kind of reservation system.”
    “And if they don’t want to go?” I have to repeat the
question, at least for the benefit of the audience back “home”.
    “I’m not sure some of them can go,” Halley
gives me another concern. “Some of them have been practicing what
they call their ‘weight discipline’, and the PK say they have
centrifuges, but we’re still talking lifetimes in fractional
gravity. The ones that haven’t bothered… They won’t be able to
tolerate Earth gravity. It would be like us at three Gs with
advanced osteoporosis.”
    “They’ll be stuck in space,” Tru distills it.
    “Or maybe a Moon colony,” Rick adds a
no-more-appealing option.
    “Is that why the Nomads are gone?” I guess.
    “Demand One: Surrender all weapons,” Tru catches me
up. “Demand Two: Relocate for invasive examination and holding. The
Knights left right after the Nomads did. And they turned off the
Link gear we gave them”
    I take a deep breath. Let it out slow and long.
    “Do we still have any contact with the ETE?”
    “None.” Lisa risks letting me know. “Not since Burns
and Jackson sent them an absolute: Turn over all technology and
allow full access to all Stations for inspection and examination of
all personnel. We haven’t seen them outside their Stations since.
That was six weeks ago.”
    “And the Shinkyo?”
    “Got the same demand list. They’ve gone totally
quiet. Invisible.”
    “Tranquility’s also on the ‘inspect and secure’
list,” Rick adds. Tranquility will be even messier than a PK
site…
    They all sound angry, crushed, hopeless. Probably
wishing we’d never called home.
    “Earthside got us two refitted ASVs and two of their
new light AAVs,” Kastl gives me a resource report. “Battery guns
are back online at both bases. Ammo is partially replenished. And
food stocks and medical supplies—they sent more than we needed,
figuring we’d be taking in evacuees.”
    Except everyone’s run away from us.
    “We’ll have a lot more by June,” Lisa continues for
him. “Including personnel and pilots. We have a few satellites up,
and the beginnings of a space dock. The June missions will try to
restore Phobos. There’ll be more on the way after that.”
    Devastating for the survivor factions. But not a damn
thing they can use to any real effect against Chang. Which means
more of the survivors may be drawn to him. He at least tells them
they’ll get to keep their homes (even though he’s already gutted
Zodanga and Frontier for his war effort).
    I’m already thinking the unthinkable: In order to fix
this, in order to save Mars for the people who live here, I’m going
to have to become another version of Chang. I’m going to have to
fight Earth.
     
    The rest of the day passes as a series of visits
through transparent polycarbonate (since Burns won’t allow Halley
to release me from Iso). I feel very much like a prisoner. Or a
disease vector. But I am grateful for the company, and the displays
of happiness that I’m not as dead as everyone was getting around to
accepting.
    Smith gets away from AirCom, lets me know he’s still
flying, just rotating shifts on the screens. Aircom itself has been
relocated to the Aux facility on A-Deck, just below where the tower
got blown away, where AirCom used to be before they built the squat
“tower” above ground. Apparently the same relocations have occurred
with Ops and Melas Three’s Tower: Both are down below ground in
their backup facilities. Topside, the port shields are kept open
and lights left on to tempt Chang to take a potshot with his
railgun (assuming he’s repaired it) and reveal his location. Smith
complains they haven’t let him fly one of the new ships yet, and
the cocky new