***
Jordan ordered, “We need to retrieve that missile. We don’t want to give Rich any free ammunition. Lane, send a team to recover it.”
Jordan knew if the General got hold of that missile, he could reproduce it and make this war very hard for the Martian people.
Lane replied, “Yes, sir.”
Jordan said, “We’re equals here. No need to call me sir.”
Lane sent a team to recover the missile. The missile was programmed to return to Mars when its fuel level fell below 5%. The missile fell just north of the Progress construction zone. The colony only had five of the seeker missiles because the materials required to build them were scarce.
Lane asked one of his soldiers, “Did you recover the missile?”
The soldier checked with her team leader. She waited for an answer for a short time while he asked the people assigned to that mission.
She answered, “Yes, sir. We got her about an hour after she fell back to us. There’s not a scratch on her.”
Lane said, “Good job. Now have them bring that equipment back to Freedom. We’ve got to reload and reprogram it.”
She said, “Yes, sir,” and relayed the order.
The soldiers obeyed their leader and returned the missile to Freedom’s military base. They took it to the IT department, who could reprogram and recharge it.
Lane ordered, “We need to fire another missile at that ship. It’s way too close.”
The soldier said, “We need to brush them back?”
Lane replied, “Yes, and great baseball reference.”
She said, “I was a shortstop in college.”
The order was given to ready another missile for attack on Rich’s ship. The soldiers went back to the missile launch site and prepared another missile.
***
General Rich ordered, “Let’s get these spaceships deployed. We need more than one target for them to shoot at. In this big ship, we’re sitting ducks.”
The helmsman asked, “Should I move the ship closer or stay back?”
Rich replied, “Stay back. We don’t want to make it too easy for them to take us all out at once. We’ll draw their fire to the smaller ships and take them out that way.”
The helmsman asked, “But what if they respond in kind and draw our fire with their own smaller ships?”
Rich said, “Where the hell are they going to get smaller ships? They’re on Mars. They have no way to build an army.”
General Rich did not believe that the Martian criminals built an Army, Air Force and Star Brigade. He thought Jordan was bluffing. Notah was feeding him information, but never told him about the military buildup.
The helmsman said, “How do you know what they have down there?”
Rich replied, “Let’s say I have my sources.”
The helmsman said, “You didn’t know about the missile.”
Rich said, “Even my sources aren’t perfect. Now relay my order.”
The helmsman said, “Yes, sir,” and announced the General’s order to the crew.
The soldiers who were trained to fly the small spaceships suited up and got into their vessels. They activated their life support systems and started their engines. When they were ready, they signaled the bridge to open the loading bay doors.
***
Jordan noticed there were several small ships departing the Capitalist. He informed Lane of the situation, but never took his eyes off the missiles being readied.
Lane ordered, “They’ve got about twenty small ships coming for us. They’re probably trying to draw the fire of the missiles. We’ve got to get them out of the way. Let’s get the Star Brigade off the ground.”
The pilots put on their life support suits and got into their ships. They took off toward the blackness of space. They were high above the planet in seconds and engaging Rich’s forces.
***
Rich said, “Where the hell’d they get those? They must’ve stolen the materials when they left Earth. My mole has some explaining to do.”
The spaceship team leader radioed Rich, “We’re taking fire from the enemy ships. We could use some support from the Capitalist.”
Rich ordered the helmsman, “Move us closer and fire at will on the enemy scum.”
The helmsman asked, “Won’t that make us an easier target?”
Rich replied, “If we stay back, the small ships’ll be blown to hell. Move us closer.”
The helmsman moved the Capitalist closer to the battle. Once the Capitalist was in range, Lane ordered his people to fire another seeker missile at the ship. The helmsman fired multiple times at the smaller ships. The Martian pilots were extremely good at evasive maneuvers. Every shot the Capitalist fired was evaded.
The helmsman yelled, “Incoming again! It’s another seeker missile.”
Rich ordered, “Move one of our smaller ships into its path to draw it.”
The helmsman asked, “Won’t that be a suicide mission for the person I ask to do that?”
Rich said, “One casualty is not going to lose us this war. Just send the order to one of the smaller ships.”
The helmsman sent an order to vessel number 7 to take up a position in the direct path of the seeker missile. The vessel’s pilot obeyed the order without question. She moved her ship into the assigned position just in time to take the direct hit from the seeker missile. She was the first casualty of the war. The helmsman didn’t dare show any emotion, but he was crying on the inside for the 18-year-old woman he’d just ordered to her death.
The smaller ships from the Capitalist returned to their ship. They needed to regroup and form a plan of attack if they wanted to have any chance of defeating the Martian colonists. The Martian ships also returned to their base to formulate a plan now that they knew what they were facing.
Chapter Twenty-One
Regroup
After the initial invasion attempt, both the colonists and General Rich’s forces needed to regroup. They needed to formulate a plan of attack. General Rich called a meeting with his top officers on the bridge of the Capitalist. The leaders of DeNoPE watched the video feed from the meeting, but they didn’t participate. Scout called an emergency meeting with Jordan, Lane and Clive.
General Rich had The Operative, the helmsman and weapons operators in his ready room. He wanted to figure out how to get past the Martian defenses. He did not, however, call his engineer into the meeting. The engineer could’ve given valuable advice about the ship’s capabilities, but Rich wasn’t interested in technical specifications.
Rich said, “We clearly underestimated these people. Their weapons are way more advanced than we thought, and they’ve got those damned starships! Where the hell’d they get them?”
The Operative asked, “Why didn’t you already know what you were up against? I thought you had a mole on Mars feeding you intelligence.”
Rich answered, “The intelligence was obviously faulty and full of holes. I was never told about the seeker missiles, nor was I ever told they had those damn starships. I wonder what the hell else that asshole isn’t telling me.”
The Operative snapped, “It seems like your mole is worthless.”
Rich shot a scornful glaze at The Operative.
Rich said, “Maybe you’re worthless.”
The Operative stood on his feet and took an aggressive posture.
He said, “You wanna go?”
He raised his fists and threatened General Rich. Rich tried to make him sit, but he refused.
The helmsman said, “Arguing about it isn’t helping. Neither is placing blame. Fighting won’t help either. We need to find a way to defeat them before we lose an entire crew.”
The helmsman was still feeling the guilt of ordering a young woman to her death. He knew as soon as he sent the order that she was on a suicide mission. She was so loyal and disciplined that she obeyed without questioning the order. He was determined that her life wasn’t going to be lost for nothing.
Rich asked, “So w
ho has any ideas how to get past those damn ships?”
One of the weapons operators said, “We could land on the far side of the planet. We can move faster than they can, so we could set up a base camp before they reach us.”
Rich asked, “What good would that do? We’ll be sitting ducks on the far side of the planet. They’ll just come over there and mow us down.”
The Operative said, “She might have something. If we set up on the far side, we can defend that piece of real estate. We can put our planes there and make a tent camp.”
Rich asked, “And how are you going to breathe? Not to mention food and water.”
The Operative said, “We could modify some of the small ships as life support generators, and I think there are still old colonies from the early attempts at settlement.”
Rich asked, “What about food and water? Not to mention the loss of air every time someone opens the damn tent.”
The Operative said, “We could modify the tents with a small vestibule, like the one on lunar station. The old modules are probably still usable, too.”
Rich sarcastically said, “Food and water?”
The Operative said, “It’s the same problem we have up here. We just take some with us.”
Rich asked, “How do you build a runway for planes in the sand? Or do they have an old runway strip in the ghost settlements?”
The helmsman said, “The roads and runways were rudimentary at best when they were new. There’s nothing left of them now. However, the planes have all been modified to take off vertically.”
Rich said, “Why the hell didn’t I know that?”
The Operative said, “You were informed by email and a memo several times. It’s not our fault you didn’t pay attention to our communication.”
Rich said, “Was I also informed that they had those damned starships?”
The Operative said, “No, you weren’t.”
The helmsman barked, “Can we please get back on topic?”
Rich said, “So we’re going to set up a camp on the far side of the planet. Bring the ship into position. Prepare the planes and equipment.”
The Operative said, “Yes, sir.”
Rich asked, “Do you have the coordinates of this ghost settlement?”
The Operative answered, “I have approximate coordinates. The intelligence is very old, but once we’re close, they’ll be visible from a distance.”
Rich said, “They’d damned well better be.”
The Operative said, “Yes, sir.”
***
Scout called his military leaders into the capitol building. He needed to create a plan to defeat General Rich and the Allied Earth Forces of DeNoPE (The organization used the name Allied Earth).
Scout said, “I can’t believe they brought a full DeNoPE contingent. It’s like they brought the entire Earth’s arsenal to arrest us.”
Jordan said, “I knew they’d come with everything they have. What I can’t believe is how little that bastard respects human life.”
Scout asked, “What do you mean?”
Lane said, “One of my pilots told me he saw one of the smaller ships deliberately take up a position in the direct path of the seeker missile. The pilot was an 18-year-old female.”
Scout said, “So you think she was ordered to sacrifice herself?”
Jordan said, “We’re sure of it. We have recordings of their communications during the battle.”
Scout asked, “So we have access to their frequencies?”
Jordan said, “Only when they don’t use secure channels. They never switched from the channel they used to address us. We heard everything. Now I remember why I hate that man.”
Scout said, “So what’s our plan?”
Clive said, “It depends on their next move.”
Lane added, “Whatever they do, we have to counter.”
Scout said, “I have reason to believe they’re going to set up a camp on the planet.”
Jordan asked, “What gives you reason to believe that?”
Scout replied, “I have my source.”
Jordan said, “It’s that little pecker, Notah, isn’t it? I don‘t trust that son of a bitch. I know he’s working for Rich.”
Scout said, “Don’t forget we’re equals. I trust him, and I expect you to follow my lead on this.”
Jordan checked his anger.
Jordan said, “Yes, sir.”
Scout said, “Anyway, there’s an old settlement with viable buildings and modules that colonists used a few decades ago on the far side of the planet.”
Jordan asked, “Do they still work?”
Scout replied, “I’ve heard rumors that they weren’t too badly damaged. They’re probably going to set up there.”
Clive asked, “So what’s our counter attack to their plan?”
Jordan said, “We let them think they can set up a camp. They’ll probably choose a location on the far side of the planet. We let them set up there. From that position, they’ll use way too much fuel to attack us.”
Scout asked, “So how do we attack them?”
Clive said, “We don’t. We can just play defense. They have no interest in this planet. There’s no reason for us to waste our fuel supplies sending planes to the other side of the world.”
Jordan said, “I’m inclined to agree with Clive. We just wait to be attacked and then defend ourselves. Then, when we do attack, it’ll come as a surprise to that evil bastard.”
Scout said, “So we let the Air Force play defense, but what about the Army and the Star Brigade?”
Jordan said, “The Army can play defense too. There’s no reason to move away from our supplies. Make the aggressors come to us.”
Lane said, “I think the place we should attack is in space. The Star Brigade should go after the supply chain and the mother ship.”
Jordan said, “I agree. We should move forward. What about you, Clive?”
Clive replied, “I’m on board with the plan.”
Jordan added, “But we need a way to allow defectors from their side to join us. The more people we can recruit from them, the fewer we have to worry about killing us.”
Scout asked, “And what do you suggest we do with these defectors once they surrender?”
Jordan answered, “I think we should let them join us right away.”
Clive warned, “If we do that, we’re inviting spies to collect intelligence right under our nose.”
Jordan snapped, “We already have one of those in our ranks.”
Scout said, “I know you’re not talking about Notah. I’ve told you he has my trust. If it’s good enough for me, it should be good enough for you.”
Jordan said, “I’m sorry. I find it hard to trust someone who came from the banking industry. It would make it a lot easier if you just told us why you trust him.”
Scout said, “I can’t do that. Just know that he’s earned my trust. Now let it go.”
Clive said, “So, what do you think about Jordan’s idea to allow defectors into the fold?”
Scout said, “On one hand, I want to show them that we’re trustworthy. On the other, you have a point about spies. Maybe we can keep them in some sort of facility until the war’s over?”
Jordan asked, “What kind of facility?”
Lane said, “The only facility we have for securing people we don’t trust is the Freedom jail.”
Jordan asked, “Do we really want to jail them?”
Scout answered, “We may not have a choice. We’ll let them know why they’re there, though.”
Lane asked, “So, how do you propose to recruit defectors from the corporate ranks?”
Jordan said, “We won’t get any of the people who are committed to their cause. The conservatives really think they’re right.”
Lane said, “But we can get the people who joined the military looking for a better life.”
Jordan asked, “How?”
Scout said, “Propaganda is always effective. We’ll create ads
to play on our radio and TV stations. They’re probably bored on that ship. They’ll turn on the radio or the TV and we’ll have detailed instructions on how to surrender.”
Lane said, “You might need to do more than that. They might just ignore a set of text instructions or a drone voice.”
Scout said, “We can use a catchy jingle. I’ll get someone on that.”
Jordan said, “That just might work.”
Scout said, “It sounds like we have a plan. Let’s put it in motion.”
The Martian military leaders went back to their offices to put their plans in motion. Jordan sent an order to his team leaders, who sent the orders to the troops. Lane sent his orders to the pilots, who started preparing to defend the colony. Clive sent his orders to his pilots, who began to prepare for battles.
***
The Capitalist moved from its position above Freedom to an orbit on the other side of the planet. The ship landed and the cargo bay doors opened. Once it landed, General Rich’s troops hurriedly set up a base camp. They set up the modified tents with airtight seals and small vestibules. They attached the modified ships to the tents, and put their planes about 500 meters from the tent city.
The tent city had barracks with airbeds and basic portable latrines. There was a simple but large mess hall with only tables and chairs. There were no cooking appliances because there was neither electricity nor fuel. The soldiers would eat MREs and other nonperishable food. The only luxury in the tents was a meager solar-powered heating device. It worked best during the day, but it stored some energy to heat the tents at night. The city had a briefing tent with a conference table and a simple whiteboard to communicate plans to the troops. There was also an armory for storing weapons and ammunition. This was the most heavily guarded tent in the small camp.
MARS: Baroque Revolution Page 10