2503.26 29/31 — Night #Writever #Mars #SpaceOpera

"You still insist the damage is consistent with meteor strikes?" the HighGo supervisor asked.

"I've matched V with the debris field." Kyv, the acting Lunar Territory COO sighed. "I've eyes on; the holes are irregularly sized. Not slugs! You don't believe me?"

"No vid feed."

"HighGo cut out our maintenance staff."

"RTFM. It's a coincidence International Earth Docks got hit in HEO and Earth LR Docks got hit in LO, but your Lunar Orbital didn't?"

"Yes."

"This won't fly. Out."

Kyv rubbed the bridge of his nose. The vid would have shown multiple angles of attack. Attack! He whispered, "Bad enough we're virtual slaves. Now NADS wants us as a scapegoat for some bogie that escaped their cage?"

Krump!

His transorbital shuddered, and he cringed. A meteor? While long range comms went solid red, ship-to-ship now blinked green. A survivor?

He tapped it. "LT-TO-1 here."

"Look outside." A young woman's voice said, before a collision warning went off.

A shadow that ate night swam in the stars, eclipsing tumbling metal and plastic. Faceted but rounded, it looked spidery as he squinted. A weak radar reflection screamed stealth, military—but nobody had rebuilt the deadly toys since the Orbital Reaping 35 years ago. Economics.

"Identify yourself," he said.

"Is she friend?" asked the voice. A second added, "Or is she foe?"

A third woman said, "Mau, Mi, stop that! Please deorbit to base. You'll find a gift there."

With LRCs down, what choice did he have? When he set down at Southhome Docks, a three story cylindrical package rested beside its tumbled over retrounit. The spider craft set down beside his and turned lunar grey.

"Invite us in."

The two… were they really teenage girls? They caught his eye, more than their spidery haystack automaton or the suited-up industrial robot holding a book plate toward them; suited because a man rode inside. Kyv saw no guns; he hoped. A sandy haired and black haired girl unzipped their suits and squatted provocatively with frog-like agility. He smelled rose.

One waved, saying, "We wanna make friends." The other added, "Are you excited about your gift?"

The book plate lit up. Kyv recognized the woman on vid. "The Princess of Mars and her Five Daughters!"

May Ri, in her alighter outside, watched the growing crowd of men, wiry, lightly muscled, androgynous for that, all moonborne, adapted to 1/6th gravity. No weapons. She sighed. "You saw the vid of the nuking of Hershel?"

Many nodded as Kyv said, "That viral 'hoax propaganda' that got us ordered to shut down the deep space network?"

"I now have four daughters."

He looked down. "To live is to be beaten up, or crapped upon."

"Please don't retransmit our visit."

"How would I explain you being here?"

"Or the 50 MW Thorium SMR I left on your tarmac?"

"A 'gift?'"

"Yeah," Mau said. The twins studied the handsome night-skinned moonborne leader, as he had them. Green eyes, white teeth, and a tight jumpsuit made a nice package. It explained Mi whispering, "Mars needs men."

May Ri quickly said, "With an offer to restore the Lunar Republic, or you can join the Sorority on Mars."

"In exchange for what?" he asked.

"Let us complete a project that would be detectable from your orbital—"

"The meteor shower?"

"Not natural, but you guessed that. We want you to overlook some escavation. The projects will protect the Moon and Mars."

"If we don't agree?"

"You lose your orbital, maybe take damage in the attacks if we're detected. You miss out on our friendship—and get to explain the SMR to your NADS overlord."

While he discussed it with the others, May Ri's comms squawked, "Vandeburg SFB just launched to polar, likely headed your way."

May Ri asked Kyv, "Are you expecting resupply?"

"This decade? Ha!"

"Explain this."

He peered at a vid of a tiny torch rising over cloud cover.

"Want to ask HighGo?"

When Kyv frowned, she said, "I snooped your HighGo convo; they distrust you. They've left you stranded because you can't live on Earth, which means they can't close up shop. I'll trust you to ask."

Nodding, Kyv tapped the address… and got a banner:

NADS Central Command
Your key is invalid.

"But… I've got a COO key!"

May Ri shared a squawk, "Confirmed its leaving Earth orbit," then showed a plot curving toward the lunar south pole. "A ballistic trajectory. They really distrust you."

"You're faking that."

Mau and Mi said, "Maybe she—"

"is. Maybe she—"

"—isn't?"

"Here's a freebie: Boost your orbital 1 km ASAP…"

"…Okay, we'll agree to your request. What about—"

"—that starship? On it. If we get it right, they'll blame a malfunction."

Mi walked up to Kyv with a real pen and paper. "Real friends sign contracts." #RSMarsNeededWomen 29

[Author retains copyright (c)2025 R.S.]

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