{"id":63,"date":"2008-05-04T00:00:26","date_gmt":"2008-05-04T04:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/?p=63"},"modified":"2022-12-14T13:56:18","modified_gmt":"2022-12-14T18:56:18","slug":"a-man-called-mister-brown-the-ishtar-death-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-the-ishtar-death-march\/","title":{"rendered":"A Man Called Mister Brown: The Ishtar Death&nbsp;March"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"serial-posts-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"serial-posts-heading\"><span class=\"serial-post-text\">Read more from this serial.<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"serial-posts\">\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown\">A Man Called Mister Brown<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-ms-hitt\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Ms. Hitt\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Ms. Hitt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-mr-green\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Mr. Green\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Mr. Green<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item current-inactive\">A Man Called Mister Brown: The Ishtar Death March<\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-camp-adonis\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Camp Adonis\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Camp Adonis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-mars-in-winter\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Mars in Winter\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Mars in Winter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-to-the-underworld\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: To the Underworld\">A Man Called Mister Brown: To the Underworld<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-the-graves-speak\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: The Graves Speak\">A Man Called Mister Brown: The Graves Speak<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"section\"><span class=\"dc\"><strong>V<\/strong><\/span>enus needed water for its industries and growing population, more than it could recycle or manufacture. Mars and Earth had water but refused to sell; launching it from the ground cost too much. The Outer Planets had plenty of water in Saturn\u2019s rings, and were willing to trade it for hardware and life-support technology.<\/p>\n<p>Icebergs from the rings were packed together in clusters, coated with thin reflective foil and finally shipped by slow propulsion to Venus. It took an ice shipment up to 9 years to arrive into orbit around Venus. By then half of it had evaporated.<\/p>\n<p>The return trade went by unmanned solar sails, boosted by solar-powered orbital lasers, back to the Outer Planets.<\/p>\n<p>Terran industries saw themselves increasingly left out of the loop, and pushed to impose trade tariffs on Venus. And so, without official declarations, began the Second Solar War between Venus and Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Any Terran who tried to visit Venus would have to pass a security check at the transit stations \u2014 or slip past transit and land directly on the unpopulated, unpoliced surface.<\/p>\n<p>Mister Brown did not own a ship. He rented a small rocket, steered it toward one of the ice clusters that fell downwell, and hitched a ride.<\/p>\n<p>Having attached his rocket to the outside of an iceberg, he injected himself with ParaGel and set the timer for automatic revival.<\/p>\n<p>Several Earth days later, he was revived from hibernation and detached the capsule from the orbiting ice-cluster. A wrapping of CamFabric hid his small vehicle from visual detection as it parachuted down toward the surface of Venus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"section\"><span class=\"dc\"><strong>O<\/strong><\/span>n the Ishtar Highlands, in a large cave blasted out of the dry, compact rock, Green had parked his pride and joy: the stolen warship. The sleek, 90-meter vessel\u2019s gamma-laser cannons were still functional.<\/p>\n<p>Vaino \u201cGreen\u201d Fingers had told himself many times: if he hadn\u2019t jettisoned those crewmembers and taken off with their ship, they would have used it in the war, and probably killed thousands of people. So he had really saved lives, hadn\u2019t he? Green considered himself a peaceful man, and it really surprised him that nobody had given him official praise for his unselfish pacifist action.<\/p>\n<p>After his escape from Pamir, he drove the truck 70 kilometers across the hot surface, as fast as he dared. The cops wouldn\u2019t follow \u2014 anyone who fled to the surface would be on his own and casually written off as dead.<\/p>\n<p>Green drove into the cave opening, through eight layers of draperies that filtered out most of the corrosive atmosphere and much of the heat. The truck\u2019s headlights hit the dark-gray, jagged outlines of the parked ship. One could barely make out the surface insignia he had painted over: MSF-HK55 BABYKILLER.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>Baby!<\/em>\u201d He climbed out of the truck in his bulky pressure-suit and hugged the ship\u2019s landing gear \u201cHave you missed me? I\u2019ll take you away from this Stinker planet soon. We\u2019ve got work to do \u2014 scum to kill. Martha can get away from Earth, she could sleep her way to Pluto. And away from Earth, I\u2019ll find her. And as soon as Brown leaves Earth, I\u2019ll get&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A male voice over the shortwave frequency interrupted Green\u2019s monologue. \u201cSee, that\u2019s the problem with traveling alone in space, you end up talking to yourself. Bad habit. Saw your lips move.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Green reached for the gun pouch on his chest \u2014 but froze, when he saw a red laser-dot hit his helmet visor and dance across the bridge of his wide nose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrop the piece,\u201d said the radio voice. \u201cReal slow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grinning ferociously, Green obeyed. \u201cHow did you find me, friend? <em>Heh&#8230;<\/em> I was sure nobody knew about this hideout&#8230; nobody who lived to tell. Want to share my loot? I could use a co-pilot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo thanks,\u201d said the voice, belonging to the figure who walked out of the shadows. \u201cYou people snore something fierce.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBrownie!\u201d Green\u2019s grin vanished.<\/p>\n<p>Brown, wearing a pressure-suit similar to Green\u2019s, was smiling now. His shoulder-mounted gun and laser-sight locked onto Green\u2019s head as he moved. \u201cGot nothing against Martha\u2019s color,\u201d Brown said, \u201cbut the snoring&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou son of a goat!\u201d Spittle sprayed from Green\u2019s mouth and evaporated from the hot inside of his visor. \u201cI hope the filthy daughter of a potato gave you a disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s no way to talk about a lady.\u201d Brown sauntered closer. \u201cShe was real friendly! Told me all about your stashes and secret routes. And she said you were going to Venus to meet up with someone fugitive, who knew about a big stash&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou better kill me now, Brownie. Nobody crosses me and lives to brag about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown stopped behind one of the <em>Babykiller<\/em>\u2019<em>s <\/em>big landing gears. \u201cGet inside. We\u2019re going to Earth, you and I. And I have a shot of ParaGel that says you\u2019re going to play nice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe treasure, yes&#8230;\u201d Green started to grin again. \u201cForget the bounty on my head and the ship. You go with me, you get rich beyond your wildest dreams. One ton of weapons-grade plutonium, waiting to be picked up, and I know where it\u2019s hidden.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown frowned and looked suspiciously about himself, as if he expected an ambush. \u201cKeep talking&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Green talked faster, more urgently. \u201cThe last man who knew how to find the shipment, he fled to Venus. Been hiding out in the caves here ever since, couldn\u2019t escape on his own. Until I found him. I recognized his face from the news. He begged me to smuggle him out of here, and he refuses to tell me where the treasure is, but he can\u2019t stay here much longer. Getting old and sick, living on my generosity. <em>Ha!<\/em> Richest man in the universe, and he can\u2019t even pay for a glass of water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow far is it to \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then something large struck Brown from behind, and wrestled him to the ground. Clawed metal hands tore the shoulder-gun off his suit and tossed it away. Swearing, Brown tried to get up but couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSay hello to Mafalda,\u201d said Green, his eyes wide and focused. He walked up to the multi-legged robot that held Brown pinned, and patted its flat, gray head. \u201cShe likes to hide in the outer shell of my ship. One word from me, and Mafalda busts your suit open like a <em>pi\u00c3\u00b1ata.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The robodog\u2019s forelegs locked around Brown\u2019s arms, and its tail coiled up against his visor. On the tip of the tail spun a small drill. Brown gritted his teeth and struggled, in vain.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, where\u2019s Martha?\u201d asked Green.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow should I know?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome, Mafalda. Bring him here.\u201d Green guided the robodog and its captive to the back of the truck, where he tied Brown\u2019s wrists by a wire to the rear bumper. \u201cWe\u2019re going to visit this man, and you\u2019re coming along. It\u2019s only a two-hour drive. Eight hours actually&#8230; I\u2019m going to take it <em>real slow<\/em> with you in tow. You wait here, Mafalda, watch my baby. Be back tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown stood silent as the NeoMartian climbed back into his truck and started up the motor. The large, wide wheels began to roll, and Brown was forced to walk along or be dragged.<\/p>\n<p>They passed the layers of draperies, and entered the hot, hot night on the Venus highlands.<\/p>\n<p>A slow, heavy wind pushed against the truck and the man in tow. They moved southwest, across a plain dotted with small, flattened rocks.<\/p>\n<p>The temperature inside Brown\u2019s suit was high enough to make him sweat already, and slowly inched higher. The suit gathered the sweat, filtered it and served it back to him through a drip-feed pipe in his helmet.<\/p>\n<p>But even so, the suit would grow hotter and his fatigue increase, until he collapsed and got cooked inside it.<\/p>\n<p>Brown focused on keeping pace with the truck as it slowly rolled forward. The wire between him and the truck stretched only seven meters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"section\"><span class=\"dc\"><strong>O<\/strong><\/span>nly an hour later, Brown could just barely walk upright. The temperature in his suit had risen by five degrees. The drip-feed was almost too hot to drink \u2014 but if he stopped drinking, he would die for certain. The view of the gloomy, yellow-brown landscape wavered and shifted as if he were underwater.<\/p>\n<p>And they were still seven hours from the goal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEnjoying the scenic route, are you, Brownie?\u201d asked Green\u2019s voice, cheerful, over the shortwave. \u201cIt\u2019s nothing like the view back home. Nothing beats Mars. And this smell, don\u2019t get me started. But Venus has its merits. Great place to bury people. The acid dissolves all DNA, all traces of your identity. Your corpse will fit right in here, in this stinking, acidic environment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople call me a thief and a killer, but actually I\u2019m a philosopher. I believe in karma. Everybody do what they\u2019re supposed to do. I\u2019m supposed to get mine, and you\u2019re supposed to get yours. Once you accept your karma, life becomes easy. And death, too. Don\u2019t you agree, Brownie?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown fought to catch his breath, and took a deep enough gulp of hot air to reply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs there anything&#8230; that\u2019d&#8230; make you&#8230; spare my&#8230; life?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me think.\u201d Green focused on the map display in front of him, making sure the truck was on the right pre-programmed path. He took a sip of the cool bottled drink in his suit: Perkele Valley Salted Cider, his favorite brand. \u201c<em>Umm<\/em>&#8230; no. But thanks for asking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brown\u2019s muscles trembled with exhaustion. If he was fully conscious, he knew he would not live another hour.<\/p>\n<p>Green peered into the blurred terrain ahead of the truck, tried to make out a movement on his path. \u201cSap me sideways&#8230; <em>no!<\/em> The son of a goat!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He shut off the autopilot and stepped on the gas pedal. Brown groaned and lost his foothold as the truck suddenly accelerated. He fell on his back and was dragged. The outer skin of his suit scraped against the hard ground. Still, Brown refused to completely pass out.<\/p>\n<p>Sixty meters further, Green stopped the truck and climbed out. He had passed by the man he was chasing; the figure he had spotted lay just behind the truck\u2019s rear.<\/p>\n<p>A few meters from Brown, who was lying down on the ground with his arms still chained to the truck, an old man sat in the driver\u2019s seat of a small six-wheeled car. A cable ran from his suit to the back of the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Green rushed up to the man and pointed a flashlight on his face. The thin, balding Old Terran inside the helmet was breathing in short gulps, and sweat drenched his face. His cheeks had an unhealthy blueish color.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnswer me! Is your radio working? Answer!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No reply came; the man\u2019s helmet radio wasn\u2019t working. Green grabbed the man\u2019s helmet and pressed the visor against his own, so the sound could be carried across. \u201cWhy did you try to run, you stupid Pink?\u201d he shouted. \u201cI was going to take you away from here! I had to make some cash first to pay my expenses! What\u2019s <em>wrong<\/em> with you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A weak moan passed from the man\u2019s helmet into Green\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you sick? Don\u2019t die on me, friend. Want water? Drugs? Wait, I got it all in my truck. Be right back!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NeoMartian, who absorbed his own sweat faster than it could appear on his chlorophyll-rich skin, hurried back to the truck for supplies. He wasn\u2019t strong enough to carry the man in the heavy suit back inside, but he could feed him an emergency-pack through the suit valves&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>When he returned to the back of his truck, carrying the emergency-pack in both hands, Green stopped and gasped.<\/p>\n<p>Brownie was lying on top of the driver\u2019s suit, his visor leaning against the driver\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Green pulled Brown away from the car and shook the driver\u2019s body. The man had stopped breathing; his glassy eyes stared at nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Snarling, Green pulled his gun and took aim at Brown\u2019s helmet. Brown\u2019s breathing sounded faintly in Green\u2019s radio&#8230; and then his voice. \u201cKill me and you\u2019ll never know&#8230; what he said before he died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFark!\u201d Green tucked away his gun. \u201cSpeak to me, Brownie! Where\u2019s the treasure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToo hot&#8230;\u201d Brown passed out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWait! You can\u2019t die and leave me poor! I\u2019ll save you, son of a goat friend, my best friend in the universe&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Green dragged Brown into the truck, and connected the emergency pack to a valve in the Terran\u2019s suit. Then he started up the truck and turned it around.<\/p>\n<p>Under Green\u2019s care and nursing, Brown regained consciousness before they reached the hideout cave. Green had Mafalda carry Brown into the <em>Babykiller<\/em>\u2019s sick bay, where the Terran slept for twelve hours.<\/p>\n<p>Never before had Green sincerely cared more for another human being.<\/p>\n<div id=\"serial-posts-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"serial-posts-heading\"><span class=\"serial-post-text\">Read more from this serial.<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"serial-posts\">\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown\">A Man Called Mister Brown<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-ms-hitt\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Ms. Hitt\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Ms. Hitt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-mr-green\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Mr. Green\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Mr. Green<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item current-inactive\">A Man Called Mister Brown: The Ishtar Death March<\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-camp-adonis\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Camp Adonis\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Camp Adonis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-mars-in-winter\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: Mars in Winter\">A Man Called Mister Brown: Mars in Winter<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-to-the-underworld\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: To the Underworld\">A Man Called Mister Brown: To the Underworld<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"serial-posts-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/articles\/a-man-called-mister-brown-the-graves-speak\/\" title=\"A Man Called Mister Brown: The Graves Speak\">A Man Called Mister Brown: The Graves Speak<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part 4 of the 8 part <em>A Man Called Mister Brown<\/em> serial by A.R. Yngve where Vaino &ldquo;Green&rdquo; Fingers and Mister Brown finally meet, face to face. <em class=\"nobr\">&mdash; ed, N.E. Lilly<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,5],"tags":[97,98],"media":[299],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1165,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63\/revisions\/1165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63"},{"taxonomy":"media","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spacewesterns.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?post=63"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}