Yo-Yo: The Gift
By Rebecca K. Rowe
Illustrations by Michael Carroll
Just holding the gift made Mariah anxious. All the settlers, who numbered over a hundred now, didn't help either. They crowded near the Mars biosphere main entrance and nearby windows for a first glimpse of the Chinese exchange family. Escorted by Mariah's dad, the three newcomers were scheduled to arrive any minute from the only other major settlement on Mars—the Collective nearly 500 kilometers away.
As the settlement's gift bearer, Mariah understood the importance of her role in welcoming the family. She had practiced her brief speech many times, but worried about mispronunciations. Certain words sounded so similar in Chinese, like mother and horse.
Waiting with Mr. Greenwell beneath five fruit trees known as the "Forest of Five Continents"—an homage to Earth—she fidgeted with the clasps to the elegantly carved bamboo box, which Greenwell had crafted.
Glancing down at her, Greenwell said only half-jokingly, "You don't want to break it before you give it to Lian."
With effort, Mariah stopped popping the clasps of the gift that he'd made. "Do you think Lian and her parents will be happy here for a whole year away from the Collective?"
"I hope so, but if not, she can return home a lot easier than any of us," Greenwell said with a sad look.
"Silly, we are home!" Mariah said with a giggle. Greenwell frowned. He never smiled anymore, no matter what she said.
"You may be at home here, but some of us geezers get nostalgic for Earth," Greenwell said.
"What do you miss?" Mariah said, before she could stop herself.
"Oh, the easy life, I suppose, and all that water. Some miss the ocean, but for me it's a quiet day in a boat out fishing on a lake."
Mariah nodded sympathetically, but she really didn't understand wanting to go sit somewhere quiet on another planet where a million other people had already been. Here on the Mars frontier, he could sit where no human had ever sat before.
"Sometimes, I miss my sister even though we communicate all the time." And then, mumbling more to himself, he added, "And she's so desperate these days with her medical bills…the kids…that messy divorce. I wish I could help out."
That, Mariah understood. Sometimes, her parents argued about how to help her uncle back on Earth who had money problems. Out of respect for Greenwell, she resisted peeking inside the very long, narrow box again and running her fingers across the carved surface of the traditional Chinese-style bamboo yo-yo. The accompanying sticks were attached at one end by a shimmering strand threaded between them to balance and throw the dumbbell-shaped yo-yo.
Since Mariah was the firstborn daughter of Mars Central, she had the honor of presenting this gift to the Chinese Collective's firstborn, Lian. The thirteen-year-old Chinese girl had been born on Mars in a temporary "tuna can" hab (like Mariah's older brother Mason) in 2024, the Year of the Dragon. Not long after, the Chinese had begun constructing their first settlement.
"I'm so nervous waiting here," Mariah said. "I'll be right back, Mr. Greenwell."
Greenwell nodded, but advised, "Don't take too long. They'll arrive soon."
Walking back behind the trees, Mariah sat down for a moment and leaned against a trunk. Rarely timid, she felt her heart race. Today was a day of firsts for building good relations between the two settlements. The Commons had been decorated for the event and a work room converted into a museum of sorts. Rare cave rocks and earliest settlement memorabilia were on display as well as Mariah's favorite—the late painter Solessi's last priceless piece of art depicting the settlement in a simple bamboo frame.
With so many scientists like her parents focused on survival, Dad said art came late to the settlement. But through art and music, they'd won over Earth. Mars Central had become "Earth's Little Darling"—second to none, not even Earth's moon. As Mariah imagined the painting with its Mars hues hanging in their museum, her heartbeat slowed to normal.
Mariah returned to the crowd, but stood just inside the trees so as not to be noticed too soon. As usual, her brother's friend Tregon caught her attention with his exaggerated antics. She watched him stick something suspicious on the back of one of the settlers and saw her older brother Mason crack up laughing. Wherever Tregon went, he always dragged her brother into trouble with him.
Noticing Mariah, Mason came and stood beside her. "Nervous?"
"Yeah," she admitted. "Tregon's up to no good again. After the celebrations, you're both going to get in trouble for showing that horror movie."
"Mom's worried it'll be too scary," Mason said with a grin. "She keeps asking what's in our movie this time."
"I could tell her—zombies or ghosts on Mars."
"You guessed!" said Mason in mock surprise. "Which performance are you looking forward to?
Mariah shrugged. "It'll be fun seeing Mom sing and Dad play guitar."
"Personally, I want to see you introduce Kronos to the Yen family." Mason added a bit sarcastically, "That mouse is so lively."
"Of course! He's even more famous than you these days, oh, firstborn boy of Mars," Mariah replied in her defense. At five years, Kronos was almost the equivalent of 170 in human years. She hoped his age might someday convince scientists that Mars was as safe a place to live as Earth.
The crowd nearest the main entrance caught their attention. Mariah heard people yell, "That's their rover!" and "They're almost here!"
"Good luck," Mason said, rushing into the crowd toward Tregon who was already up near the front.
Two settlers—the Eriksons—stood back against the trees and talked in low tones beside Mariah. Mrs. Erikson was a chemist like Mariah's mom, and her husband was a top-notch programmer or so her dad said, but Mariah didn't really know either of them. They kept to themselves.
"You have to talk to Drake tonight," Mrs. Erikson said in a low angry tone.
At the mention of Dad, Mariah strained to listen to their conversation.
"Now that I'm pregnant, we have to move quickly," Mrs. Erikson continued. "I've got to be on the next ship out."
"That's been the plan for months now. There's no need to talk to Drake about it. If he finds out you're pregnant, he'll say what I've been telling you. It'll be more risky for the baby on-ship than here," he responded softly, shaking his head. "You've been so irrational, lately. Stop worrying about our getting off this dust-heap."
"I won't have a midget like that Mason-child!" she said, her voice rising.
At the mention of her brother, Mariah scowled at the couple.
"Mason may not be normal, but the rest of the kids here are," Mr. Erikson said with a wide sweep of his hand.
"You call these Mars children 'normal'?" his wife replied. "When they're not midgets like Mason, they're elongated and thin with no muscles—"
"Even Tregon is normal," Erikson interrupted. "He's average height and was born in a 'tuna can' hab. You're safer inside the settlement than on a ship."
"Tregon may look like Earth kids, but his mind is completely warped." Her voice took on a note of hysteria. "Look how often he's in trouble!"
"I can't reason with you when you're like this! Remember, you convinced me to give up our life savings to come here, and now all you want is to leave," Mr. Erikson said, putting an arm around her. She shrugged it off. "I'll get you home; I promise. Just let me alone to do my business tonight. I've got it all planned."
As the couple moved away, Mariah's face burned red hot with indignation. But now her breath caught in her throat as the biosphere doors finally slid open, and Dad walked in with Lian and her parents. Lian was tall and even prettier than Mariah had imagined. She had long black, shiny hair.
Lian wore around her waist an ultra-thin rope with two thin red and gold handles at either end like a fancy belt, which held a red plastic, dumbbell-shaped yo-yo snug against her side. Mariah had heard about Lian's famous Chinese yo-yo skills and looked forward to Lian demonstrating her yo-yoing later that night.
Lian bowed deeply to each of the adults who came forward to meet her. The crowd parted for Greenwell to introduce Mariah, who stepped forward clutching the gift against her.
"We'd like you to meet Mariah, the oldest daughter of Mars Central. She has been practicing Chinese in preparation for your stay. We hope you two get to know each other well during your year here," Greenwell said.
Bowing to Lian and her parents, Mariah thought only of running over to Mom and telling her what the Eriksons had said about her brother. She blinked back tears of anger, as her mind raced with clever retorts for Mrs. Erikson.
Greenwell cleared his throat loudly and gestured at the box still in her hands. "Mariah has a special gift, which I humbly carved, fashioned from the bamboo forest we grow here."
Forgetting her elaborate Chinese welcome, Mariah stammered in a choked voice, "Nǐ hăo! Hello. Welcome to Mars Central."
With a confused look at Mariah, Lian held out her hands to accept the gift and said in perfect English, "It is nice to meet you. Our people, my parents and I, we have looked forward to this day for a long time."
Flustered, Mariah stared blankly back at her, trying to remember even one of the many polite Chinese phrases she knew by heart. She thrust the present into Lian's arms and said, "Xīexie. Thank you."
Instantly, Mariah felt her face turn an even darker shade of red, if that were possible. Right then, it made no sense to thank Lian.
"This is for me?" Lian said, bowing and taking the long, narrow box. In a customary Chinese demonstration of politeness, she did not open it in front of the crowd. "Thank you."
With a stern, worried look, Mariah's mom glanced over at Mariah and then spoke in halting Chinese to the family. "Let me show you to your new home, before the festivities," Mom suggested to the Yen family.
Smiling and bowing with introductions, the Yens, her family, Tregon and many others moved on toward the Commons. Moments later, Mariah heard the first notes of live guitar and wondered if Dad had already begun to play.
Nearby, a few settlers lagged behind.
"That family is here to spy on us, mark my words," said the old-timer Hall, who was suspicious of all newcomers. It seemed to Mariah that Hall had something negative to say every time he opened his mouth.
"Dou Yen is a geologist grad from MIT like Drake, right?" Miss Novak said. A botanist, Novak always said Mariah had a natural green thumb. "Drake trusts him."
"Yen will snoop around here to find the most lucrative mining areas, so the Chinese can grab them," Hall said with an ugly look on his face.
"Oh come on," Novak said. "Talking that way, you almost sound bigoted. Besides, our mining data and all our other research is carefully secured in the research center. You can walk in there, sure, but you'd have to get past the EMMA robots, which see and record everything and have all the access codes. And after all that, we'd know you'd done it."
"What do we care about good settlement relations, anyway?" asked Hall. "We were here first. If they don't like what we do, they can go back to Earth, to China!"
The last comment proved too much for Mariah, and she blurted out, "Yeah, why would we want to create a better world than Earth? Why shouldn't we just repeat all the terrible mistakes they made back there? Heck! Why don't we arm ourselves for war?"
"You watch that sarcastic tongue of yours, young lady. That's no way to talk to your elders," Hall said, peering at her as though she'd suddenly turned into something ugly.
"I'm sorry. I should be as respectful of others as you, Mr. Hall," Mariah retorted.
"Mariah, this isn't like you," said Novak with her hands on her hips.
"Your mother will hear about this," Hall said.
"Get over it!" Mariah said under her breath. Gulping back another flip answer that was sure to get her grounded or worse, Mariah ran off to the Commons in the hopes of finding Mom before Hall did. The high likelihood of getting in trouble with Mom for talking back further darkened her mood.
Skirting the greenhouse entrances, the research center, OPS, the converted 'museum' and other workspaces, she entered the crowded Commons. Dad and Mom had a big group around them, including Lian's parents. They sang an Earth song, and Mariah smiled. It would be as hard for Hall to tell on her as it would be for her to talk to Mom while they were entertaining.
"Hello," Lian said, standing tall beside her.
Mariah blushed. Both Lian and Mom must be disappointed in her for messing up her welcome. Her mom had practiced with Mariah for weeks to get the words and her accent just right. Yet still, on her best days, Mariah had never felt confident about her Chinese, while Lian sounded fluent in English.
Noticing Lian's empty hands, Mariah asked hopefully, "Did you try out your present?"
"I haven't opened it yet, but I'd like to," Lian said with a shy smile. "I left it at our new home."
"Let's go take a look," Mariah said. Winding through the crowd, they then walked down several empty hallways to the private quarters. Lian's family had been given quarters right next door to Mariah. They sat down on Lian's new bed with the box between them.
Lian carefully opened the box. "Oh, it's beautiful!"
"Mr. Greenwell makes amazing things with bamboo. In fact, we call him the bamboo keeper. No one cares for the bamboo like he does—not even our botanist Miss Novak." Mariah hesitated and then added, "Sorry about earlier. I had a shock from some things someone said."
"Are people mad that we are here?" Lian asked.
Mariah sat quietly for a minute and then replied, "Mom and Dad—and most everyone else, too—want to build strong relations between our two settlements. My dad already knows your dad from way back on Earth at...I forget where."
"MIT. I am so sorry my question was unclear," Lian said, cocking her head to the side. "Do people say bad things about us?"
"What they said wasn't about you, it was about my brother," Mariah said.
Lian studied her thoughtfully. "What did they say about him?"
"They said he was a midget because he was born in the 'tuna can' habs," Mariah said and bit her lip.
"I was born in a habitat, too, before our settlement was built," Lian said. "People say all sorts of silly things. Have you heard anything said about my family and me coming here?"
Mariah worried about insulting Lian, so she answered carefully, "Most of the settlement agreed with Dad's plan for a Chinese-American exchange to build trust and avoid more fights about mining rights. Others are suspicious, but they don't matter. You'll win them over."
"I hope you're right," Lian said with a deep sigh.
"Would you like to meet Kronos—the oldest mouse in the universe?" Mariah asked, wanting to cheer her up.
"Does it require meeting new people? Because I would prefer to be alone," Lian added quickly, "Besides being here with you, I mean."
Mariah thought for a moment and said brightly, "I know. We can check out the 'museum.' It's already set up, but no one is in there right now because they plan to wait until tomorrow to show your parents. You can have a sneak preview."
"Sure, that sounds good to me."
"There's a painter named Solessi who everybody says was the postmodern Norman Rockwell of our century. He came to visit here and donated his artwork to Mars Central before he died. And I'm in the picture. Well, my head is kind of—you can make out my blonde hair. Anyway, there's been a big push on Earth to get the painting, because it's the last one he did and Mom says it's his best."
"What is a postmodern Rockwell?" Lian asked.
"I don't know," Mariah said laughing. "That's just what people say. I'll show you the painting."
"It is surprising that Earth lets you keep such a famous piece of art on Mars," Lian asked.
"It is the settlement's. Even his family agreed to that." Mariah led Lian through the greenbelt where stepping stones had been placed so that people wouldn't damage the greenery, but could experience it up close. Mariah knew how to pass from one greenbelt to the next without being noticed—except by an annoying EMMA robot, which clicked and wheezed as it tracked them passing. Within minutes, they stood in front of a door to the new museum. Mariah passed her hand over the biometric pad and it flashed red.
"Darn it," Mariah said, crossing her arms. "I wonder why it's locked. We could try a side door."
With the museum nestled between OPS and the research center, Mariah chose to enter the museum by its side entrance, accessible only through the research center. Besides, the center was likely to be empty with all the celebrations going on today.
"That's the Infirmary over there, just a bit further down from the research center, if you ever get sick," Mariah said, gesturing with her hand. At the research center, they found the door propped open with a piece of bamboo.
"That's strange. It's always either open or closed," Mariah whispered, as they slid through the narrow gap in the door.
"Lights on!" Mariah commanded, used to having lights come on automatically, as soon as she entered a dark room.
Nothing happened. Mariah grabbed Lian's hand and led her in the dark. She knew these spaces well, where the chairs were and the meeting table and the workstations. Without benefit of sight, she guided them slowly through the research center until she heard scuffling in one of the cubicles. Startled, Mariah forgot for a moment that she had no right to be in the center and asked, "Hello? Is someone in here?"
A brief rustling sound behind them made Mariah pause and turn back to see the slight strip of external light disappear from the open side door as it slid shut. Mariah felt Lian's hand tremble slightly as the door clicked closed. Immediately, Mariah yanked on Lian's hand and led her to the far end of the room where they entered the museum. Again, she said, "Lights on." And finally, the lights worked.
Debris littered the floor and the cave rock display case had been tipped over. She dropped Lian's hand and crossed her arms over her chest. "What happened? It looks like my cat Apollo got in here."
"I think this is the work of humans," Lian said and pointed at the wall, where an empty bamboo 60x90 square cm. picture frame hung askew. "What cat takes a painting from the wall and leaves its frame?"
Looking up at the wall, Mariah gasped. "No! Someone's stolen the painting! We've got to talk to Mom," she said and punched in her mom's code on her wristcom. She waited a moment and tried again. "Mom must have turned hers off while they're singing."
Putting her hand lightly on Mariah's shoulder, Lian said, "You don't think people will accuse me of stealing Solessi's painting, do you? I don't want to embarrass my parents."
"No! What would you do with the painting, anyway?" Mariah said. "Mom knows I've never stolen anything in my life. She'll believe me when I tell her we were together the whole time."
"Will everybody believe you?"
"Of course...hmm, maybe not," Mariah said, thinking darkly of Hall and others like him, who would probably make such a scene that Mariah would be grounded for eternity. Even more horrible, the Yens might decide to go home or be sent home. "Okay, let's forget telling Mom for now. But at least we should tell my brother, Mason. He might help us figure out who did this so no one blames us."
Mariah led the way back through the research center, and the door opened from the inside for them. It wasn't difficult to find Mason and Tregon. They had rigged up a small tent in the Commons and had a couple of people at a time viewing their movie through virtual reality goggles. As Lian and she approached, two boys emerged from the tent looking slightly green. Mariah overheard them saying, "Completely mogul, that was!" and "Couldn't have been scarier."
"Hi," Tregon said politely, obviously struck by Lian. Mariah rolled her eyes. If it had just been Mariah there, he would have told her to go away. "Want to see our movie?"
"Not now, Tregon. We have to talk to Mason, ASAP." Mariah said, looking only at her brother.
"Hey, there are no secrets between Mase and me," Tregon said, glancing over at Mason.
Mason shrugged and waved them all into the tent. "What's up, sis?"
"I won't tell until you both swear to secrecy," Mariah said, her tone so deadly serious that Mason and even Tregon agreed. And then, she recounted what happened.
"Whoa," Tregon said. "This is really serious. We've got to get over there and figure out who stole the painting before the 'dults figure you two for thieves. First day here and there's an incident involving the Chinese settlers' daughter. It's no good."
"Do you think they would really blame me for the theft?" Lian asked, her face suddenly losing its color.
"Most settlers would never blame you," Mariah rushed to reassure her. "But people like Mr. Hall are naturally suspicious—"
"And hoping for a scandal so you get sent home," Tregon broke in.
"Dad and Mom wouldn't think Lian or Mariah stole the painting. We should tell them about this," Mason said, sounding less than half-convinced of his own words. "They know Mariah loved that painting being on display more than anyone. And Lian? It makes no sense. What possible motive could she have?"
"Maybe she's a spy for the Collective and thinks there are clues to the settlement in the painting—it's pretty detailed," Tregon said animatedly until he glanced at Lian's pale, tragic face. "That's just me making things up, Lian."
"Shut up, Tregon," Mariah said. "Instead of causing a big panic during the celebrations by telling Mom and Dad in front of everybody, we should wait until later tonight and talk to them alone. For now, why can't we just go over to the museum and see if we can find clues to give Mom and Dad so they have something to go on?"
Mason nodded. Tregon rolled his eyes and said, "That's all I was suggesting."
Tregon brought along a headlamp so that they could find their way through the research center without stumbling. Inside the center, the lamp beam showed a pool of blood on the floor and tracks where two sets of large shoes and smaller ones had walked through it.
"Lian and I just walked through here," Mariah said, and both she and Lian automatically checked the soles of their shoes. "Oh no! We stepped in that—is it blood!?"
"Sure looks like it," Tregon stammered. "That makes you two seem even guiltier."
"Come on," said Mason. "Let's see what's in the museum."
Once they examined the mess in the museum, Tregon said, "Too bad we don't have forensic capabilities. It might as well be early 20th century for all our crime solving technology here on Mars."
"That's because there's never been crime on Mars," Mariah said.
"Until now," Tregon added.
Backtracking to the research center side door, they found a smear of blood on the wall at the entrance—a handprint.
"There's a lot of blood," Mason said. "Whatever happened here, somebody must be in trouble. They couldn't have gotten too far. I'm telling Dad."
Using his wristcom, Mason tried his dad several times. Finally, he left an urgent message. "Dad never turns his wristcom off for long. He should get this soon."
"Until then, you and I should hurry and find whoever lost all this blood," said Tregon, nodding in agreement. "Maybe we can help. You girls stay here until Drake comes."
"No way!" Mariah scowled at him. "We're going to help out, too." Outside the research center, they examined the floor, but found no more bloody tracks. They fanned out to see if they could spot any clues. Mariah and Lian headed toward the greenhouse entrances while Tregon and Mason went the other way toward the Infirmary. At the second greenhouse entrance, Mariah spotted what looked like a drop of blood on the floor. She called to Tregon and Mason.
Together, they entered the greenhouse. Mariah was fearful of what they might find. Further drops of blood led them over to the corner where they found Hall standing over Greenwell, who was slumped against the wall.
"This man is a thief. Go find your dad, Mason," Hall ordered. "I haven't been able to contact anyone. That worthless music is so loud, they can't even hear their com units."
"I'll find the doctor, too," Mason said and sprinted for the exit.
Mariah looked suspiciously at Hall and then held Greenwell's wrist for a pulse. She glanced up at Tregon with tears in her eyes. "I can't tell if he even has a pulse."
"I hope I wasn't too forceful," Hall said hastily.
Greenwell coughed, sending them all jumping backwards in fright. "Mariah...promise me....you'll get your dad to help my sister. She needs money."
"Of course, I promise," Mariah said, choking back tears.
"It was our painting, but they offered so much for it...."
"You wanted to help your sister," Mariah said.
Greenwell nodded slowly. "That buyer insisted we meet back in the center to...transfer payment."
"Who insisted?" Mariah asked, bending close to hear his halting voice.
"Only it was...a setup....And then, that Hall attacked...."
"What setup?!" Hall said, bending down over Hall. "Thief! You stole data and I caught you. It's as simple as that!"
"You heard him. He's talking about stealing the painting," Mariah said and glared up into Hall's face until he took a step back.
"Hah! So he also stole our painting?!" Hall said.
Taking Greenwell's hand in hers, Mariah asked, "Who told you to meet them in the center, Mr. Greenwell?"
"The Chinese...the painting...it's safe...I wasn't so dumb...suspected...didn't bring it with me....No one knows where...," said Greenwell, as his eyes became unfocused.
Greenwell's hair was a matted red mess, and blood streamed down the side of his face.
"It's okay, Mr.Greenwell," Mariah said in confusion. "It's just a painting."
Greenwell slumped forward and no longer responded. Mariah looked away from him to Tregon and Lian. They seemed just as baffled and horrified as she felt.
Just then, Mason, Dad and the doctor entered. "All right kids," said the doctor. "Stand back so I can examine this man."
"Drake, I warned you our data wasn't safe," Hall said. "I caught Greenwell stealing mining data!"
"What happened?" Dad replied, glancing from Mariah to the others.
"I was on duty in OPS when I got a system alert that Greenwell was attempting to access research center data," Hall explained. "And then, I caught him in the center."
"How was he wounded?"
"Greenwell tried to push past me, and I pushed back," Hall said, sounding a bit ashamed. "We scuffled, and he fell and hit his head on something. It was dark. But even with that big gash in his head, he still managed to get past me. I followed him."
"He looks to have really injured himself in your scuffle," Dad said with a hard edge to his voice that Mariah rarely heard. "Who's covering OPS now?"
"No worries. Joshua Erikson is my backup tonight, and he's there now."
"Good—" Dad began.
"I need to get this man to the Infirmary," the doctor said urgently. Immediately, Dad and Hall hoisted Greenwell between them and carried him slowly out of the greenhouse.
Dad turned to Mason and the others to say, "I want a full account of what happened, as soon as I return from the Infirmary." They all nodded.
Once the adults had left, Mariah said, "I hope Mr. Greenwell will be okay. And what's this business about him stealing mining data? Dad always talks about mining. It's no big secret."
"I'm not so sure, Mariah," Tregon said quietly. "The research center workstations are offline from the rest of Mars Central information systems. There's plenty of data that is speculative and other stuff that doesn't get shared. I know that. I've tried hacking in there a few times. It's impossible unless you're an expert hacker. I always get bounced out even when I sit down at the terminal right there in the center."
"So why didn't he say anything about the data he stole?" Mariah said, shaking her head. "That Hall is so cruel. I bet he just made that stuff up."
"Come on," said Mason. "Hall may be mean, but he isn't a liar. The alarms went off, and he responded to them. He caught Greenwell in the act."
"Well actually, Hall just caught Greenwell in the research center," Tregon said. "Hall never said he saw Greenwell stealing the data."
"Could Mr. Greenwell be what you call a 'fall guy' like in Earth action movies?" Lian asked suddenly. They all stared at her; she'd been so quiet until that moment. "He said it was a setup."
Mariah looked puzzled a moment and then suddenly understood. "I bet you're right!" Mariah replied. "He said that he was paid to steal the painting. What if somebody wanted him to be in the center and have Mr. Hall discover him there?! It has to be a set up. Someone wanted Mr. Greenwell to be the fall guy."
"You're saying the real criminal gets away with all that critical data?" Tregon said. "So then, Greenwell is pinned with an even worse crime than nabbing the painting, because he's in the center at the wrong time? This could be a case of corporate espionage. Maybe someone wants to take over the settlement for profit." Mariah shook her head. Now was not the time for them to get caught up in one of Tregon's conspiracy theories.
"If this stolen painting was just a distraction to get Greenwell to the research center, who was he supposed to meet in the center?" Mason asked.
"'The buyer'—that's what Greenwell said. I bet the thief is in the research center now. What if he's some ultra-hacker? He could be safely downloading his data without anyone in OPS to detect or stop him," Mariah said.
"Erikson is manning OPS," Mason said. "Besides, Hall said the system alert identified Greenwell as the hacker."
"So," Mariah said. "What if Erikson used Greenwell's access codes to cover his own tracks? What if he's the 'buyer'? He didn't notice me there, but he said some suspicious things to his wife while we were waiting for Lian to arrive."
"What did he say?" Mason asked.
"The Eriksons want to go back to Earth, but they spent all their savings just getting here. He said he had plans for tonight. Maybe he's in the research center now. Let's go see!"
Without another word, Mariah bounded for the greenhouse door with Lian and Tregon trailing close behind her.
"Hey, wait for me!" Mason said sprinting after them.
Mariah walked bravely into the darkness with Lian, Tregon and Mason. Even before Tregon's headlamp lit on Erikson, Mariah recognized the man's face illuminated by the computer screen where he sat.
"Mr. Erikson, what do you think you're doing?" Tregon bellowed into the black well of the research center. "You've been found out! Data thief!"
"I don't think so," Erikson said, his voice edged with desperation. He lunged up from the desk. Tregon tried to block him. With one swipe of his enormous fist, Erickson knocked Tregon from his path.
Clutching his stomach in pain, Tregon gasped and fell to the floor with the wind knocked out of him. Mariah screamed. The light from Tregon's headlamp illuminated the ceiling, Erikson's ghoulish face and Lian.
Before Erikson attacked again, Mariah dove for his legs to knock him over and managed to wrap her arms around one leg. Overhead, she heard a whistling sound and saw Lian with her sticks in her fists send her yo-yo flying smack into Erikson's head. He looked dazed for a moment, struggling to kick his leg free of Mariah. Quickly, Lian let loose one stick and sent it smack against his cheek. He yelped and lunged at her. Mariah held on fast to his leg so he stumbled. From behind, Mason hurled himself onto Erikson's back. They all did their best to pin him down.
Suddenly, the lights came on. Her dad and mom burst into the room, followed by other settlers. Seeing her, Mariah's mom ran to her and scooped her up in her arms.
#
Later, they all sat eating dinner in the commons. Tregon's movie had been such a success that few settlers wanted dessert afterwards, which meant lots left over for Mariah, Lian and the others, even though they'd been late getting back to the festivities with so much explaining to do.
"Is Mr. Greenwell going to be okay?" Mariah asked.
"The doctor doesn't know yet," Mom said. "But we'll help his sister just like you promised. Now finish your dinner."
"Dad, what's going to happen to Mr. Erikson and his wife?" Mariah persisted. She noticed Tregon roll his eyes at Mason after all her questioning. She glared at him.
"Buttercup," Dad said in exasperation, "I'm not certain. We're definitely giving them their wish to return home, but Mr. Erikson will have an armed escort and won't be enjoying the blue skies of Earth for many years; I'd guess."
"Does that mean jail?" Mariah said, and Dad nodded.
"Dad, do we really have data that we're keeping secret from Earth and the Chinese settlement and everyone else?" Mariah asked, nudging Dad who sat beside her for an answer.
"The short answer is 'yes'," Dad replied, ruffled her blonde hair and gave her a hug. "We have valuable data and we protect it. But since it's for the settlement, I think we'll always be vulnerable to a greedy insider. There'll be an investigation to find out what entity Joshua Erikson must have worked for....I'm just glad you are all okay. And, there have been no inter-settlement incidents—that's all we need right now!"
"I still don't understand everything—" Mariah persisted.
"Mariah, get over it!" said Mom to silence her questions.
"So that's where Mariah gets it from," Hall said, as he passed their table.
"He's right, you know," Dad said with a wink at Mom. She gave him an icy glance, and they all laughed.
Mariah glared at Hall, who she still thought very cruel, but no one noticed. She continued, "I mean I don't understand where the painting could have disappeared to—"
"That is an important issue, but we'll figure that out," Dad said. In an obvious attempt to change the subject, he turned to Lian. "You know, Lian, it would be great if you could demonstrate those yo-yo-ninja skills."
"That's it!" Mariah said, jumping up from the table and tugging on Lian's arm. "Come with me! We'll be right back, Dad, and then she'll show you."
"I think I know where Greenwell hid the painting!" Mariah said to Lian, as they sprinted toward the Yen family quarters. They found the beautiful box made by Greenwell where they'd left it on Lian's bed. "What do you want to bet, the painting is hidden in here? Otherwise, why would he have made it this size?" Mariah said breathlessly to Lian.
Lian nodded enthusiastically. "I think you're right. That would be just like the bamboo keeper to hide a painting in his own work of art. Please let me see it. I played with Chinese puzzle boxes as a kid. There are special ways of opening them...."
Mariah handed over the box. After a few long moments, Lian twisted the box just so that it clicked and its underbelly folded open.
"I hope the painting wasn't damaged in the box," Mariah said.
"It looks undamaged," Lian said, looking at the carefully rolled painting tied neatly with a ribbon.
They brought the box back to the Commons. Everyone gathered round it to look at the hidden compartment with the painting rolled up inside like a sacred scroll. One settler said, "Our painting! You found it!" And another exclaimed, "You two girls are amazing!"
Standing back, Mariah suddenly had a twinge of guilt. It hadn't been much of a welcome for Lian thus far—lots of blood and excitement, but nothing to make her feel like they all wanted her at Mars Central. Mariah left for a moment and returned. Under her arm, she carried a cage with a very tiny brown mouse.
"Nǐ hăo!" Mariah began and went on to say the grand welcome that she had originally prepared for Lian. And then, she placed the cage on the table, so Lian and she could look inside it. "Here is Kronos, the oldest mouse in the universe."
"And a Mars mouse!" Lian said delighted. "None of this would have happened if I had said 'yes' to your offer to meet Kronos earlier today. This year promises to be exciting."
"I hope more than just this year! You know, we're the Mars girls, and I bet we age in slow-mo like Kronos," Mariah predicted, wrapping her arm around Lian's waist. "And stay best of friends!"
Lian beamed and added, "Friends for life."
The End
