— What are you going to do with me, Eva? You have planned everything coldly, from the first moment and I still don't understand it, why me? Why me?
— Jackie, you are the man of my life, one day you will understand.
— When you meet my mother, you will understand many things.
— I understand less and less, answered Jack.
Suddenly a noise was heard on the frequency…
— Eva, do you copy me?…
Another interference appeared in the transmission and the message was cut off.
— Susan, doctor?…
— Jack, analyze where that transmission comes from, can you?
Jack took a frequency meter out of his bag and connected it to an amplifier with a battery bank used by the control room.
— Shortwave frequency, thirty, twenty meters, with a wavelength of Landa… doing my calculations this frequency is twenty meters, and it gets closer and closer…
— Your mother is here Eva.
— Jack, it was her voice, I still remember it.
— Can you determine the coordinates of that frequency? Eva asked.
— It's an analog signal, I can only determine the frequency and the distance, although if I do the correspondence or better the conversion by means of the substitution of differential equations, I can find an approximation of said wave.
— Jack, do what you have to do.
— I have the distance in a straight line, but I don't have the depth, nor its parallel lines, we have to find them, Jack answered.
— Eva, from here measure with the laser, twenty meters to the north, west, east and south. Then write down each measured point.
— Ready Jack, and now what?
— Let me put an extension on the frequency meter, to get a mobility of up to twenty meters. Finally, transmit again, until I answer you.
— Doctor Susan, copy me, please answer.
— I can hear the noise on the meter, keep talking to it, love.
—The interference is increasing, I'm going from north to west, the signal dropped, keep talking to him… I'm going east, the signal increased, but it's still very weak.
—Eva, Eva, Eva.
—I hear you loud and clear, where are you?, asked Eva.
—I've got him, he's in the south, answered Jack.
—Susan, keep talking.
—What do you want me to say? Or sing you a lullaby, answered the doctor…
—Sing the one he used to sing to me before going to sleep.
—There was a little boat…
—Really, that song?, commented Jack.
—Don't make fun of me, Jack.
—Who is Jack?, asked the doctor.
—He's a genius and the love of my life, answered Eva.
—Oh, that's great, my daughter has a boyfriend, we'll see about that then, answered the doctor.
— Excuse me, the conversation is very good Dr. Susan, but can you tell us where you are, please? I'm Jack.
— Jack, nice to meet you, I'm your mother-in-law, Dr. Susan, nice to meet you.
Jack put his hands on his face and said:
— It can't be that we're seeing each other by radio frequency and she hasn't finished saying, where the hell is she?
— Jacki, I'm hearing you loud and clear, replied the doctor — who was laughing on the other end.
— They speak identically, I can't believe it, at least I know she has a sense of humor and that I'm going to get along with my mother-in-law.
— Ha, ha, ha. Both women laughed at the comment.
Suddenly the door that I had already repaired opened and two soldiers dressed in black without space helmets pointed at us.
— Eva looked at me and I looked at her. — Calm down Jack, don't do anything.
The soldiers moved away and a woman dressed in a black suit, about forty-five years old, approached saying:
— You must be Jack, and you must be Evita, welcome to Mars, boys.
— Mother, you have changed, Eva answered.
— Come and give your mother a hug
Jack was surprised to see the resemblance that the mother had to the daughter, both looked good, they looked like sisters
— Hey Jack, give your mother-in-law a hug.
— How does she know that I have a relationship with her daughter?, he asked
— I know everything about you Jack, nothing happens by chance, Susan answered.
— I see that is not the case, Jack answered.
Everything seemed confusing to the engineer, who had accepted a mission with hidden purposes. He had to tie up loose ends and put the puzzle together.
The engineer's mission was to repair the satellite and the colonel's mission was to find Susan, who was the lost mother and his mission was to bring her back.
— Eva and Jack approached, and Susan hugged them. She expected a more effusive hug, with fireworks and everything, but well, you're here, which is what's important.
Suddenly Jack intervened in the meeting saying:
— We have to report that we arrived, Jack indicated
Both women responded simultaneously saying:
— Nooo, Jack, no one should know that they found me, Susan replied.
— Don't rush, love, you'll understand, Eva replied
— Come this way, follow me please.
Eva happily took Jack's hand, who felt a little strange about his mother-in-law's welcome.
— This is the new citadel that you see here, underground on Mars, the doctor replied.
— Below are the robotics and AI laboratories.
— We continue going down and much further down, there are their rooms and the main room where we will soon talk about their trip.
Once the elevator descended to about two thousand meters deep, they would reach the rooms and then move on to the main hall.
— Here we are, this way, please, said the doctor.
— Very well, have a seat and you're welcome, what can I offer you? A coffee, a juice or a beer…
— Eva: a juice for me.
— A beer, thank you, replied Jack.
A young man dressed in black robes introduced himself and carried a tray with the order.
— Eva drank her juice, which looked like peach, and I drank the foamy beer.
— The beer tasted good and Eva seemed to enjoy her juice.
— Well, let's talk, guys…
— They came to look for me, I suppose, right? —Yes, mother, and how did you know? — Eva asked. — There have been many people who have tried, but they have all failed — Eva replied.
— What do you mean there have been many? And they have failed, now I am really confused —Eva commented.
—Simple, there is a criminal organization, infiltrated in the government, that intends to take me to Earth, with the intention of having me hand over my projects and my studies, so that they can dominate the world and enslave us all.
—As you well know, I have made a lot of progress here, and I really don't need to return to Earth.
—Who sent you to find me, daughter?
—General Patrol, mother.
—I already assumed it, that degenerate has not managed to find me and will continue to fail —she answered with a firm and confident voice.
—I have never told you who had killed your father, right? —the doctor commented.
—No, mother.
—The degenerate and twisted one, who killed that great man, your father, was the one who sent you to find me, the doctor answered.
—What? It's all your nonsense, Susan. How can you say that it was all a setup and that a criminal gang is trying to find you?
— You want proof, but I assure you that this is going to hurt you, daughter
The doctor clapped her hands twice and a projector appeared pointing at the wall, as if it were a movie screen.
The people present stared at the recording that would reveal a great secret of the military high command. Suddenly, the general in charge of the current mission and a former general appeared on the video, who was discussing a mission. That former general was Eva's father, Susan's husband.
— You are not worthy of command, who are you to discredit me? Do you want my position?
— You're a fucking nuisance and in the background shots were heard and General O'Neil fell to the ground and then Colonel Patrol took out his gun and pointed it at the general's head, taking away everything he had.
The video ended with the shot and the finish by who is now the boss and commander of the entire mission that Eva and Jack were carrying out.
— Damn miserable dog of the Patrol, he took out his gun and shot at the reflected screen, leaving five holes in the wall.
— Now I have to call general services to repair the small defect. It doesn't matter, we've already emptied ourselves, now that we know the truth, we're calm, Susan replied.
— I'm very surprised by all this, Doctor, Jack replied.
A sigh came from Jack, who couldn't believe everything he saw.
— And now what do you think?, asked Susan.
— Who are you going to trust now?, asked Susan.
— Are you considering returning to Earth, living such a lie from your bosses? Susan commented.
There were a few minutes of silence and disappointment with mixed feelings.
— As you well know, you are the only ones allowed to enter the citadel and you will not be able to return to Earth.
— I understand that you are worried about safety, Doctor Susan, we will not reveal your location, we promise.
A burst of continuous laughter interrupted the moment.
— I guess you did not understand, Jack, Susan replied.
— What part of the story did you not understand and the risk of returning to Earth. You simply will not be able to leave here.
— It is for your safety, one day you will thank me, Susan replied with a firm and confident voice.
Eva could not speak, she was immersed in her pain and confusion at seeing her father die at the hands of who would be her mentor, friend and boss.
Jack only thought about the fact that he had accepted the mission and that he would never be able to return.