Intrication: La Ceinture

A devastating dust storm. A colony on the edge of extinction.Only one person can save them. But first they need to start a revolution.In the midst of the most devastating dust storm in the history of Mars, the survival of the half million people who call it home is hanging in the balance.Yet for Major Mia Sorelli, of the Mars Law and Order Department, it's just another sol at the office - another sol trying to keep the desperate and angry citizens from tearing themselves apart.But when she's sent to investigate the death of a fellow officer in the lawless industrial city of Syrtis, she begins to suspect that the endless dust storm may not be the only thing threatening their survival.With the help of her semi-sentient droid, Gizmo, they uncover a plot so heinous that her faith in humanity is almost shattered - and the only way for her to get it back, and save the colony, is to start a goddamn revolution.About Surface Tension:This is the fifth book in a Sci-Fi series set in a human colony on Mars, but it can also be read as a stand-alone novel. The science depicted is, for the most part, plausible. In other words, what's technically possible with either current technology or taking experimental research a step or two further. That said, you won't need a calculator or a slide-rule to enjoy the story.Can be read as a stand-alone novel.Reading Order:Book 1: Colony One MarsBook 2: Colony Two MarsBook 3: Colony Three Mars (Completes the trilogy)Book 4: Jezero City, Colony Four Mars (Can be read as a stand-alone novel)Book 5: Surface Tension, Colony Five Mars (Can be read as a stand-alone novel)

Xenon Hybrid, the Red Planet's ceremonial head-of-state, has not been seen for many years after withdrawing to an isolated enclave in the far north where he steadily built up a following of citizens seeking out an alternative lifestyle. They bother no one, and no one bothers them.But when an Earth-bound ship explodes on the launchpad in Jezero City, and the DNA from two bodies recovered at the site are found to be an exact match, Dr. Jann Malbec is convinced that they are the product of a covert cloning program. More troubling still is that the DNA is a very close match to the reclusive and enigmatic Xenon.Meanwhile, newly promoted Mars Envoy, Mia Sorelli, finds herself stuck on the planet after her ride back to Earth is now a charred hunk of metal. She begins to get an uneasy feeling that someone may be trying to assassinate her, and Mia's suspicions start to focus on a clandestine group of Xenon's followers.As these parallel investigations begin to converge, it becomes apparent to both Jann and Mia that the peaceful and simple lifestyle of the Xenonists is not all that it seems. There is a darker ideology bubbling underneath the surface, one that threatens to bring catastrophe to the entire population on Mars.But will anyone believe them in time?

Now that the truth of the genetic experiments on Mars has been revealed, new missions are on their way to gain control of this extraordinary technology. In the process, they seek to exploit and enslave the colonists—turning them into nothing more than lab rats.Worse, these newcomers are well armed, and prepared to go to war with each other to win control of the colony and its people.But Dr. Jann Malbec has a secret, one that she could use to spare the colony and save the colonists from this fate. However, by using it she will almost certainly doom Earth to a planet-wide pandemic of apocalyptic proportions. Yet she must choose. Earth or Mars—which is is going to be?

When a colonist dies in tragic circumstances, just a few sols before a major terraforming experiment, Dr. Jann Malbec begins to suspect that all is not what it seems. Her fears begin to grow when every attempt she makes to investigate the death is thwarted by the ruling council on Mars.In desperation she resorts to secretly recruiting a recently arrived colonist, Mia Sorelli, an ex-cop with a troubled past, to quietly look into the incident. But Mia has some very good reasons why she left her old life on Earth behind. Nevertheless, she reluctantly accepts the assignment even if it means hooking up with the malcontented, semi-sentient droid, Gizmo. But what Mia uncovers goes way beyond anything she or Dr. Malbec could ever have imagined. As she investigates she begins to suspect that a terraforming experiment may be compromised by those who seek to undermine the future of the colony. Mia must now face down her old fears if she is to save, not just herself, but the entire population of Jezero City.About Jezero City:This is the forth book in a sci-fi series set in a human colony on Mars. The science depicted is, for the most part, plausible. In other words, what’s technically possible with either current technology or taking experimental research a step or two further. That said, you won’t need a calculator or a slide-rule to enjoy the story.