MARS: Baroque Revolution

by Matthew Ellis

  Becky replied, “Scout made sure we’d be prepared for just such an occurrence. I made a whole bunch of planes, small spaceships, weapons, and ammunition. I also made enough life support systems and backup systems to cover everyone. There’s even enough if everyone has two of them destroyed.”

  Scott said, “Then let’s get digging.”

  Scott and Becky went to the mine. When they arrived, Becky introduced Scott to the mining crew. Everyone went into the mine to begin extracting the ores they needed for the new town. They spent the next three weeks alternating between digging one day and refining the next. Then Becky took the refined metal and began shaping it into the sheet metal the construction crews would need. By the end of the fifth week, Scott was taking readied materials to his construction site to begin building.

  While Scott and Becky were busy making glass and metal from raw materials, the robots were busy leveling roads to prepare them for paving. There was still a small amount of concrete to pave the roads, but not enough for a complete second city. Progress’ map was the same as Freedom’s except that there would not be a spaceport in Progress. The robots were nearly finished with the loop road around the city when Scott’s train arrived in town. The inter-city train station had not yet been built, but would eventually be at the south edge of Progress.

  Scott asked Thomas Berk, the foreman of the day crew, “How’s the building coming?”

  Thomas responded, “The robots have the roads pretty much ready for paving. You can see the work they’ve put in. The railroad’s been extended through town, and there’s even an east to west line just like the one in Freedom.”

  Scott asked, “So all that’s been done is the roads and the rail lines?”

  Thomas answered, “That’s all we have materials for. We have plenty of manpower, so it’s already almost done. I think we only have two or three more tracks to lay. The switches are already in place, so there’ll be no problem changing tracks.”

  Scott said, “Well, Becky and I’ve been gathering a whole lot of metal and glass for you and your crew. There’s a trainload of sheet metal for buildings and a couple cars’ worth of glass. Let’s get this train unloaded and start building.”

  Scott’s crews worked 10-hour shifts for the next two months. There was a day crew, and they worked from 0600 to 1600. The evening crew worked from 1500 to 2500, and the overnight crew came in at 2400 and stayed until 0800. By the end of the first two months, they’d completed the train station, a city hall, bus stops with shelters, traffic control signals and six houses. There was also a basic military base with runways for planes, a mess hall, power station and barracks for soldiers. The robots completed paving the main east to west and north to south roads in the same period. Then they ran out of concrete and were reassigned to help with the water diversion channel to the south of Freedom.

  The layout of the roads and rail lines were the same as in Freedom. The street names were different, though. The East to West roads north of the biodome site were called Stone, Copper and Bronze. The southern roads were Iron, Silver and Gold. The road in the middle of town was called Center. The main North to South road was called Progress Blvd. The roads west of Progress were Left, Sinister, and Liberal. To the east, they were Republic, Freedom and Right. The loop was simply called the loop.

  Lin and Lonnie were very happy to have the robots’ help. They dug and placed pipe in 6500 km of the channel. They only had 700 km of the channel remaining. Skittle was assigned to help build the channel at the beginning of the project, but the robot was pulled off of the project many times to help with other things.

  The pace of the project to build Mars’ second city quickened when the satellites picked up ships leaving Earth and heading toward Mars. It seemed that the war for Martian independence was about to begin, and the Martian Republic needed to put its eggs in more than one basket.

  Jordan, Jack and Clive came to see if the military base in Progress was going to meet their needs once the war really began. Jane accompanied Jack.

  Jordan asked Scott, “Is our base ready for action?”

  Scott replied, “Not quite, but it will be soon. I promise you it’s the highest priority for the crews.”

  Jack asked, “What’s this I hear you ran out of concrete?”

  Scott said, “We didn’t have enough to finish all the buildings and roads Scout wants here, but the major things are in place. We have the military base built, but we need to get it finished. We have the biodome built, but we need to make it operational.”

  Jack asked, “So do we have any more concrete coming?”

  Scott replied, “Nope. All the supplies we’re ever going to have are already here.”

  Jack asked, “So how are we going to finish this new city?”

  Scott said, “We’ll have to use our ingenuity and create a new way to build with Martian resources. I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  Jane held Jack’s hand and pulled him aside. She wanted to show him her appreciation for him letting her in on official military business.

  Jordan asked, “Can we tour the facility?”

  Scott replied, “Of course.”

  Jordan, Clive and Jack toured the military base. It would soon house the Progress branches of the Army, Star Brigade and Air Force. They saw the barracks, which were yet to be furnished. Then they toured the tarmac, which needed to be fitted with the proper markings. Even in their current unfinished state, the facilities were very impressive.

  Clive said, “It looks like you’re on the ball. I think we have other things to attend to.”

  Jordan said, “Agreed. We’ll let you get back to work.”

  The military leaders left the base and headed back to Freedom. The future of Mars looked very bright.

  Section V:

  War

  Chapter Nineteen

  Freedom Fighters

  Jordan was in charge of the Army and held the rank of General. Lane was in charge of the Star Brigade, and held the rank of Admiral. Clive was in charge of the Air Force with the rank of General. Jordan still had General Rich’s direct line memorized. He wanted to prepare his troops for the coming war, but he needed to know how General Rich intended to fight.

  Jordan thought, “I’ll send him a text message. The time delay for phone calls is way too annoying.”

  He sent Rich the following message:

  “I want to know if you intend to bring weapons of mass destruction with you. If you bring nukes, we’ll respond with nukes. If you bring traditional weapons, we’ll respond with traditional weapons. Don’t think just because we’re starting a new society that we can’t defend ourselves. We brought plenty of raw materials and manpower from Earth to build a mighty army.”

  Jordan waited 20 minutes for a reply from General Rich. The message took eight minutes to reach Earth and eight minutes to return to Mars. There was also the four minutes that General Rich spent replying to Jordan’s message.

  General Rich thought Jordan was bluffing. Captain Green was known to bluff his way out of difficult situations.

  General Rich replied:

  “Why don’t you just give up and surrender? It’ll save you a lot of heartache and suffering later. We have the most disciplined, best trained soldiers in the universe. Your army doesn’t stand a chance against us.”

  Jordan received the reply and immediately replied:

  “I didn’t ask you for threats. I’m asking for assurance that you won’t use nuclear weapons in your attempt to apprehend us. I know all about how disciplined, trained and loyal your soldiers are. I used to be one of them until I wised up. Just tell me how bloody this is going to be.”

  Jordan was clearly not bluffing. Rich had a scary thought suddenly strike him.

  He thought, “Nukes? Where the hell would they get nukes?”

  General Rich was annoyed that Jordan did not submit to his threats. He sent another reply:

  “You can rest assured we will not use nuclear, biological or chemical weapons if you don’t.
The moment your side breaks this agreement, we’ll use the deadliest force we have.”

  Jordan replied,

  “The same goes for you. This is our agreement not to use weapons of mass destruction. I’ll let my people know that you’ve agreed to our terms of combat.”

  Jordan called the Army to the training field between Progress and Freedom as Clive began training the Air Force over Progress. Lane trained the Star Brigade in low orbit. Clive had to train his crew to fly the planes and use the weapons system on the planes. Lane had to do the same thing and train his team to deal with zero gravity and life support systems.

  Much of the training the Martian military underwent was the same as Earth’s military training. The biggest difference was the Martian military didn’t ration food. There were underground bunkers filled with surplus food. The Martian military would use these food stores in case the biodome became too badly damaged to provide food for the colony. The biodome would be the most heavily defended building in the colony during the invasion by DeNoPE’s military. However, it wasn’t indestructible.

  On the first day of the Army’s training, Jordan gathered his troops in closed ranks. He wanted to motivate them to defeat Earth’s military and win their independence.

  He said, “You’re all gathered together to train for the most important mission of your lives. Our way of life is a radical departure from the lifestyles of Earth. We’ve decided to live without money and build a truly progressive society. Our decision was declared illegal by our former nations, so they’re going to try to arrest us and take us back to Earth to face trial. You’ve all heard of General Rich, but he’s formed more powerful alliances. The President of the United States signed the order declaring us criminals. The Other leaders of DeNoPE are on board with the action against us as well. Some of the members are the leaders of The United Kingdom, Latin America, The North American Alliance, Australia, The European Union, and The Asian Assembly. All of them are coming for us. They all have a vested interest in our capture. There’s too much money to be lost if we win our freedom. We can’t let them win, or we’ll be taken back to Earth and thrown in prison.”

  The troops didn’t bat an eye. They showed no emotion, even though they were terrified. The massive alliances General Rich formed were going to be a formidable challenge to their newly formed military. They’d be vastly outnumbered and outgunned. However, they believed fate favored them. They believed they were right and Earth’s system was corrupt, so they had to win because good always triumphs over evil.

  Jordan continued, “We have two major advantages. First, we’re on our home turf, so all our supplies are already here. That also means we can do things they can’t, like sneak attack them. We can bring reinforcements immediately and they can’t. Our second advantage is that we’re defending a superior ideal. We have justice and righteousness on our side and they don’t.”

  The soldiers let out a cheer in celebration of Jordan’s speech. His remark about righteousness sent a wave of pride through their ranks. Some of the troops applauded until Jordan silenced them. He wasn’t done getting them psyched for the coming battles. He had to make them understand the hardships they’d face in the coming weeks and months.

  Jordan said, “I know you’re excited and gun-ho about the coming battles. Let me remind you that not everyone here today will still be here when the war is over. People die in wars. That’s war’s nature. It sucks, but that’s the price we pay for freedom. I wish we didn’t have to fight and die, but we do. Death is the hardest part of life, but it’s not the only challenge you’re going to face in this war. As hard as it is to see your comrades die, it’s just as hard to take someone’s life. Remember that it’s kill or be killed in a war. If you hesitate to kill someone else, they won’t hesitate to kill you. “

  The mood of the troops turned somber. The jubilance following Jordan’s comments about freedom and righteousness faded. The soldiers’ thoughts turned to killing and death. These are the harsh realities of war, and there is no way to make them glamorous. War is the most disgusting thing humans ever do, but it is a necessary evil to deal with unwilling partings.

  One soldier said, “I know we’re here to start a new society, but this is going to be hard. What if I can’t hang?”

  Jordan said, “Then your friends will suffer. No one’s going to be forced to stay here if they aren’t committed to the Martian way of life. If anyone wants to leave, tell me now so we can send you back to Earth.”

  No one said a word, but the soldier who spoke started crying. Fear overcame him.

  Jordan said, “It’s okay to be scared. We’re all a little afraid, but it’s that fear that keeps you alert. You’ll be able to save your friends when the time comes because of that fear. If you weren’t scared before a war, you wouldn’t be human. We might be Martian now, but we’re still human at our core. No one expects any of you to be a stoic hero. Just do your job and win victory for Mars.”

  At the same time, Lane and Clive were giving similar speeches to their troops. The military leaders wanted everyone to be on the same page.

  After Jordan finished his speech, he dismissed the troops. The next day they began training. Lane and Clive also trained their people during this period. They all trained for the next two months. They needed to be as prepared as possible when General Rich and his DeNoPE allies arrived on Mars.

  Chapter Twenty

  Invasion

  General Rich was in the largest spaceship ever built by humans. It was 200 meters long, 150 meters wide and had seven four-meter tall decks. The corporations of Earth donated materials for the construction of the massive ship. They named the ship the Capitalist. The ship carried smaller spaceships for space battles, some airplanes for use just above the surface, and tons of weapons and ammunition. The mission’s crew also travelled in the ship. The Operative followed the Capitalist in a ship half as big, which was the support ship. It carried food supplies, life support systems for the crew, water supplies and fuel for the ships. This ship was called the Finance. It would not make the full journey into Martian orbit. It would find a safe place to hide so it could escape easily and avoid detection by the Martian colonists.

  General Rich got on the public address system and asked the crew to give them his attention. Everyone jumped to attention and listened intently to General Rich’s announcement.

  He said, “We’ll be in range of Mars in a few days. Then we’ll be able to communicate with the people on the surface. I’m still hoping they’ll surrender peacefully and we’ll arrest them and bring them back to Earth.”

  Rich waited for the ship’s translator to finish its translation of his speech. He didn’t want to get too far ahead of it because he wanted everyone on board to understand him. The translator was translating into French, German, Dutch, Italian, Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Swahili, Russian, Hebrew, Arabic, and Dinè. It took a while to translate anything longer than a couple sentences.

  He continued, “I don’t actually foresee that happening, so we’ll probably have to fight a war to bring them back. We’ll win because we’re on the side of justice and we’re right. They’re clearly in the wrong. They’re thieves and liars. We also have them vastly outnumbered and outgunned. They received a research permit as a scientific corporation, but they had no intention of returning after their research was completed. Now we must bring them back to face trial.”

  Once again, the General waited for the translator to finish translating. When it finished, he dismissed the crew. They returned to their previous duties.

  Three days later, the Capitalist was in communications range of the Martian colony. General Rich wanted to give them one last chance to surrender before he destroyed their little colony with overwhelming force.

  He said, “Attention criminals on the planet below. We received and rejected your declaration of independence. We’re here to apprehend you and take you back to Earth to stand trial. If you surrender peacefully, no one will get hurt. We will tr
eat you as any other criminal, and you will have all of the rights thereof. However, if you choose to defy this order, we will destroy you.”

  As General Rich spoke, a missile was launched from Freedom. It was programmed with his ship’s tracking information. It would relentlessly pursue the Capitalist until it either struck its target or ran out of fuel. It was much more likely to hit its target, because its fuel source was solar radiation.

  The helmsman interrupted Rich, “Incoming!”

  Rich said, “What the hell?”

  The helmsman repeated, “Incoming missile from the planet’s surface.”

  Rich asked, “How long before impact?”

  The helmsman responded, “Five minutes and thirty two seconds.”

  Rich ordered, “Then get us the hell out of the way.”

  The helmsman replied, “Yes, sir.”

  Rich said, “So they’re obviously not going to come quietly. We need to deploy the space troops.”

  The helmsman moved the ship out of the missile’s path, only to watch the missile adjust its course to match the Capitalist’s. He knew this type of missile was very dangerous. It was designed to either destroy its target or force the target to waste fuel evading it.

  The helmsman told Rich, “It’s a seeker! We need to take it out.”

  General Rich replied, “Fire when ready.”

  The helmsman asked, “Don‘t we have some sort of shield?”

  Rich replied, “No, this is not Star Trek. The only thing remotely close to a shield is the magnetic field generator that gives us some level of gravity.”

  The helmsman asked, “Won’t reversing the polarity of the magnetic field repel the missile?”

  Rich said, “Yes, but it’ll also make us go flying through the ship. Just destroy the damn missile.”

  The helmsman locked onto the missile and fired a rocket at it. The missile adjusted its course to avoid the rockets and continued toward the Capitalist. The missile was now only two minutes from detonation. The helmsman of the Capitalist continued to try and evade the missile. He took the ship far back with a burst of the rocket engines. The missile tried to keep pace, but the ship was too fast. While the ship was evading the missile, it cast a shadow on it. Without light from the sun, it ran out of fuel. The missile looked like it ran out of fuel and drifted into empty space.