The trip to Mars was uneventful and drawn out. By the time they arrived, Denton felt as if he had paced around the ship enough times to wear a trail in the floor tiles. Not to mention the lack of interaction with others was driving him nuts. Throughout their journey, Gabi had mostly kept to herself while Jonythan was busy keeping the wheels of his empire spinning. Tanner's progress had also been painfully slow. Very little had been discovered during the trip, which made the time in transit all the more frustrating. Denton was ready to be done with it and get on with the investigation.

Their arrival in Mars orbit briefly turned into an unexpected standoff as the Governor of Mars, and his hired armada blocked the path of Jonythan's ship and that of the Admiral because they were likely to contain spies. Denton had a feeling that the governor still hadn't gotten over his last visit to the planet and how he had eluded his grasp. The standoff ended after Jonythan's not so subtle threats to withdraw his business interests from the planet if the Governor continued his antics. The Governor mumbled something about sincere apologies and misunderstandings before he withdrew his fleet. The Admiral wasn't convinced and decided to stay in orbit, to ensure the Governor kept his word.

They docked at a private orbital facility that included the Forsythe orbital offices as well as the transfer station to the shuttles that doubled as cargo and passenger transportation to the surface. After a few formalities that were sped up by the presence of Jonythan himself, they transferred to one of the shuttles and prepared for the journey to the surface and the Forsythe mining complex. After Jonythan's private ship, the planet-bound shuttle was almost industrial. There were seats and same basic provisions for emergency situations, but otherwise, it was strictly a transportation vehicle without any luxuries. It fit right into the industrial aspect of the Forsythe empire.

Denton took a window seat for the ride down to the surface. Jonythan sat with the pilot while Quinsby and Gabi sat across the aisle from him. He strapped in and took a deep breath as the shuttle departed the orbital station and turned its nose towards the looming surface of Mars. He felt the tug of acceleration as the pilot ignited the engines and launched them towards the surface. Despite his experience with the Descent, sitting strapped into a seat without any control made him feel somewhat uneasy, more so than their descent to the surface of Earth. The shuttle began to vibrate as they entered the upper atmosphere of Mars and Denton found himself gripping the arms of his chair hard enough that his knuckles were white. Across the aisle, Gabi snickered but quickly looked away as he glanced in her direction. What was so funny?

As soon as the vibrations subsided, he relaxed. They swooped down through the clouds, past patches of green fields and towering red mountains. Settlements connected by roads disappeared from view as quickly as they appeared as they sped by them. Denton couldn't help but wonder what life was on the ground in these settlements. With only a partially successfully terraforming event in the past, he knew that life wasn't as easy as on Earth or even Proxima b. As the shuttle slowed down and they approached the ground, Denton leaned towards the window, trying to get a glimpse of the ground structures. He expected Forsythe Industries to have a massive complex of some sort, buzzing with life and equipment. He was a little puzzled when he saw none. A glance across the cabin, through the window next go Gabi, revealed the same view that Denton had. Flat ground littered with rocks of various sizes. Nothing else. He frowned. Was that it, the nexus of Forsythe Industries on Mars? A desert?

The shuttle touched down on the ground with a thump, rocking side to side a few times before it settled onto its landing gear. Denton was about to ask Jonythan why they had landed in the wilderness when the ship shuddered, and the ground outside the ship began to rise. As they passed the ground surface on their way down, Denton realized his mistake. There were no structures above ground because the complex was underground. He almost felt a little stupid for overlooking that possibility.

As if on cue, Jonythan turned towards Denton and flashed a smile. "Welcome to the Forsythe Mars Mining Complex, or MMC as I like to call it."

"I didn't realize it was underground."

"Well, it's a mining complex, so we figured if we're going to be spending our time underground, why not build our facilities as close as possible. The view, as you saw for yourself, isn't the greatest topside anyway after they bungled the terraforming. Yeah, maybe one day we can move topside but until then, we'll stay underground. It's safer, and we're closer to the action, so to speak."

The lift stopped, and they all exited into a white-walled elevator lobby, lined with windows featuring grassy plains and distant mountains. A deer grazed a distant field while a flock of birds dove down and settled next to a pond for a quick drink. Denton couldn't help but stop and look, mesmerized by seeing such nature in an underground complex on Mars.

"The biggest obstacle with underground facilities is obviously the view," Jonythan said with a smile. "So, we designed the whole thing as if above ground. Where windows would be expected, we put in panels that show outside scenes. It does wonders for morale."

"I can see why. It feels like I'm somewhere back on Earth."

Jonythan nodded. "That's exactly the point. Now, if you'll follow me, our offices are just down the hall. We designed the complex with executive offices at the top level and managers closer to the actual operations on lower levels. That way, they're close to their workers but still have a close connection to their leadership."

"Sounds efficient," Denton muttered as they left the elevator lobby behind. They took an immediate left outside the lobby and followed what appeared to be a circular corridor, with regular views of the fake outside. They passed several workers walking in the opposite direction, each of which greeted Jonythan with a smile. The executive offices were through a set of double glass doors on their right, and as they slid closed behind them, they encountered a secretary behind a desk. She looked up and jumped to her feet when she saw Jonythan, clearly surprised at his presence.

"Mr. Forsythe, oh, I wasn't expecting a visit," she said and shook all their hands before she sat down again.

"I just happened to be in the area, Ms. Tyler," Jonythan said with a big smile as if his statement was even remotely true. "I figured I'd drop by and pay my son a visit. Is he in his office?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Forsythe, eh, Mr. Forsythe, your son, that is, is not here at the moment."

"Oh, I see? In his apartment, then?"

"He's not in the facility, sir."

Jonythan furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly. "What do you mean, he's not in the facility?"

"He, well, he hasn't been seen since yesterday. He left saying he was going for an orbital visit, but he never made it back to his quarters."

"So he's in orbit? Did we miss him when we passed through?" Jonythan said to Quinsby.

"I wasn't expecting him there, so I didn't specifically ask for him," Quinsby responded.

"When I spoke with my counterpart in orbit, she said he never arrived."

Jonythan looked at Denton and Gabi, concern evident on his face. "Something's not right," he said and then stepped around the reception desk and strode right through the double doors into Carter's office. He paused in the doorway momentarily and then walked over to the large desk towards the back of the room. The whole back wall portrayed a view from orbit of Mars. Denton couldn't tell for sure, but it was either a live feed or a clever simulation. Denton then joined Jonythan behind the desk while Gabi took a seat on a chair across from them. Quinsby remained in the lobby, chatting with the secretary.

Jonythan tapped the keyboard, and a holo-screen came alive. He scrolled through the icons that appeared above the desk until he found the calendar. It showed several appointments for that day, including one in the very office they were in right at that moment.

"When he didn't come in, I canceled the appointments on his calendar," Ms. Tyler said from the door into the office. "I left his on the there, as a reference."

Jonythan nodded. "Very well. Please cancel all appointments for the rest of the week. We'll reschedule when he reappears."

Ms. Tyler nodded and retreated, closing the doors behind her. Jonythan checked a few other documents on the computer before he threw his hands up in the air.

"There's nothing here," he exclaimed with a sigh.

"If you don't mind, I think this is where Tanner can help us."

Jonythan turned and looked at Denton. "Ah, your artificial friend?"

"He's certainly a very helpful and knowledgable friend," Denton said with a smile. "With your permission, I'll ask him to take a look?"

"Certainly. It can't hurt."

A few minutes later, Tanner's head hovered over Carter's desk as he scanned the system. His face, although a three-dimensional digital construct, displayed intense concentration. Furrowed eyebrows, his lips pressed together tightly in a thin line, nostrils flared.

"Mr. Forsythe, how often would you say that your son visits Proxima b?"

"Carter? A few times a year, I suspect."

"What is his business there, usually?"

"Same as here. Mining. The local government asked for assistance many years ago with mining in the northern regions. They had trouble with the cold, breaking equipment and such."

"Any business in orbit?"

Jonythan looked at Denton and shrugged. "None that I'm aware of. Why?"

"Well, if you look here," Tanner started as he started moving documents into view remotely, "Carter appears to have spent an awful lot of time studying our orbital structures, as well as the portal we all use for travel back and forth. There are records within his own documents that indicate frequent trips to both, including extensive stays in orbit."

Jonythan stood up and started pacing, his hand stroking his chin, his other hand tucked under his arm for support. "I don't understand. I see no reasonable explanation as to why he would need information about orbital structures for mining purposes."

"Oh, and look at this one," Tanner said as he opened a three dimensional model of a Descent pod, rotating slowly above the table. "Recognize this one?"

"It's The Vanquisher," Gabi said and stood up. "It's Jarrell's pod," she said as she pointed with a shaking finger towards the pod.

Denton took a step closer to the model and leaned in. He rotated the model in the air with his finger and nodded his agreement. "She's right. It's The Vanquisher. "

"What does that mean?" Jonythan said as he sat down heavily in one of the chairs next to Gabi.

"It means," Tanner started, "That Carter seems to be directly involved in the incident on Proxima b and..."

"And it's likely," Denton interrupted, "That he's not done yet."

Tanner's head nodded. "Exactly. Based on the information in the documents recovered, it is reasonable to assume that he is directly involved and that his next target will be either our orbital structures or the portal itself."

"But why?" Jonythan said as he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his fingers scratching his head. "Why would he want to do anything with either of those? If either of those is damaged, it would be detrimental to our business on Proxima b."

"Maybe that's the point?" Denton suggested as he took his turn pacing around the office. "What if he's indeed trying to hurt the business?"

"I don't get it," Gabi said. "It doesn't make any sense that he'd do something like that. He'd never destroy the empire he'd help build."

A knock on the door made all three of them look towards the office doors. Moments later, Ms. Tyler entered.

"Sir, I have news."

"News?" Jonythan said and sat up straight. "What kind of news?"

"I just received a message from the PCD, the Portal Customs Department."

"And? We get notices from them all the time."

"This one was for unscheduled personal travel. As you may know, sir, all unscheduled travel is recorded and forwarded their point of origin. Carter's point of origin is this office."

"Yes, yes, I know. Spit it out, where did he go?"

Ms. Tyler looked down on the paper in her hand and then back up at the group. "Proxima b, sir. He took the transport to Proxima b last night, sir."

Jonythan cursed loudly as he slammed the desk surface with his fist, got up and followed Ms. Tyler out of the office. Denton stood up and walked over to the false window and ran his fingers through his hair. Everything was pointing to Carter, yet Jonythan was right. Any damage to the infrastructure on or around Proxima b would only jeopardize the business empire Jonythan had built, the same empire Carter had been instrumental in. There would be no benefit to Carter if this happened, especially if his end goal was to retain control of the corporation at the expense of Jarrell.

"We need to leave now," Gabi said and shot to her feet. "When is the next portal departure?"

"It can be anytime," Jonythan said as he walked back into the office. "Remember, I have a special license to use my own ships through the portal."

"Tanner, what do you think?" Denton said. "Is there anything else of value you think you can extract from Carter's computer?"

"I have saved everything, should it be needed for review at a later stage. I am in agreement with Gabi, it is of utmost importance that we leave immediately. If Carter intends to target critical infrastructure, we don't have any time to lose."

Denton looked at Jonythan and Gabi as he nodded his agreement. "It's settled then. Proxima b is our next destination."

"Excellent. Gabi, follow me, we'll need to make the arrangements," Jonythan said as he left the office. Gabi followed reluctantly.

Denton disconnected the connection with Tanner and jointed Jonythan and Gabi in the reception area. They were in a deep conversation with Ms. Tyler. "I'll be in the shuttle," Denton said in passing as he exited the reception area and retraced his steps back to the ship. 

He stepped into the elevator lobby and called the elevator, then took a couple of steps backward as he waited. His eyes fell on a recessed cubby on his left that he had missed when they arrived. Inside it, a rotating hologram displayed a space station of some sort. Denton thought he recognized some of its features and stepped closer.

 Immediately below the hologram, on an old-fashioned brass plate had been attached, the name of the station clearly printed. 

TRANQUILITY HAVEN, a Forsythe Vacation Enterprises Resort. 

Denton gasped and felt a chill run down his spine as he stumbled backward, as if pushed by an invisible force. He tripped on his feet and felt himself fly into the air, hands flailing, his eyes and mouth wide open. The lobby dissolved into darkness as he landed and hit his head on the floor with a thud.

~~~

The hunt continues! Just when they're closing in, he slips through their fingers. He's elusive, isn't he? Or, is he? And what's the deal with the hologram? What does that mean?