Chapter 3

December 29, 2162 Niagara County, Earth

“Come on, let’s get your snow pants on,” said Pandora as she chased her daughter Anna, who had run away. “It’s cold out!”

Anna stopped and stomped her foot. “I hate snow pants; Aunt Nadia isn’t going to wear snow pants.” Nadia Volochenko-Clark spent the holidays with Ray’s nephew and family, and she spoiled Anna rotten.

“Aunt Nadia will be wearing stockings which are like snow pants,” said Alan.

“Then I want nylons,” insisted Anna as Alan scooped her up. He held her around the chest and the five-year-old giggled and kicked while Pandora slid the snow pants on her.

“They don’t make nylons for five-year-olds.”

This was a big ceremony; it’s been ninety years since the world was plunged into WWIV with the loss of over fifty million lives in the blink of an eye. President of Mars, Ray Clark, was just reelected for a fourth term and he appointed his nephew, solar system-wide hero Alan Scarlett, Martian Ambassador to the Western Alliance. As a member of the Martian government, Alan Scarlett was expected to be at the ceremony. His Uncle appointed his new wife, Nadia Volochenko, to be the Martian Ambassador to the Eastern Bloc. Alan was currently living on earth, but Nadia remained on Mars with Ray due to xenophobia by the Eastern Bloc. That, and Nadia was an Eastern Bloc spy for years, but the only people she spied on were pirates and, with her help, Alan and Pandora were able to stop the worst of them.

Anna was a five-year-old girl and feeling every moment of her impending womanhood. She wanted to wear a dress for the ceremony like her mom did and not wear “boy clothes” like her dad and brothers. Pandora was wearing the Marine Dress uniform, which included a knee-length skirt. The Marine and Navy uniforms were the same uniforms that had been worn for the past century with minor changes. Not like the Air Force and Space Force uniforms that changed with each new commander-in-chief of those branches. In fact, the assassination of a Space Force Commander by a spaceman that couldn’t afford new uniforms didn’t slow the tide of meaningless but mandatory uniform changes.

“You need to behave missy, this is a very important ceremony,” scolded Grandma Estelle. The scolding calmed Anna down immediately, a scolding from Grandma Estelle carried weight. After a quick check of the kids, Alan Scarlett and his father-in-law, Admiral Walter Schirra, checked each other’s uniform. Other than the difference in ranks, the rank insignia on Alan’s uniform was different. The star that was part of the insignia of all officers was red instead of gold, signifying that he was a citizen of Mars.

There are about twenty-five Martians in all branches of the military and as Navy captain, Alan was the highest ranking Martian. The Martian colonies were all scientific and academic. There was no military presence on Mars except for a small protective unit of Western Alliance Marines guarding Lake Jezero. It was now the primary source of new water for the colonies, and Alan Scarlett created it. In fact, he had a second shipment of ice en route to Mars, and it was going to arrive in a few months. Alan had to finish this ceremony, then rocket off to Mars to assist in the delivery.

A horn blared outside of the house, and Little Wally jumped up on the couch and looked through the picture window. “Ooh! Shiny!” Pandora peered out and saw what her overactive middle child was looking at. It was a huge, shiny black limousine, large enough to carry the seven of them. Still carrying Gerry, their youngest, Alan went out to the limo and spoke a few words to the driver and came back in the house.

“Get your coats on everyone!” called Pandora. Marine Colonel Pandora Vermillion could easily be described as ‘cute’ and if she was in uniform, that would be the last time you ever described anything. She was a small, slim ball of fire. Bright red hair, glowing green eyes, pale complexion dusted with freckles. She was beautiful, but her priorities lie with the Marine Corps, her family, and her man. In that order. For his part, Navy Captain Alan Scarlett was tall and almost impossibly slender as most Martian men are, with dark hair graying at the temples. He has a blue left eye and a black and white bionic eye on the right. He often wears an eye patch on the right eye because the bionic eye gives him headaches.