John said, “Of course she did. You had me worried for a minute, though.”
Rebecca said, “I just wanted you to be aware that there are no guarantees in life except God and death.”
John said, “I know that, but I know we love each other. I want to marry her as soon as possible because, as you said, there are no guarantees in this life.”
Rebecca asked, “Are you worried that you might not make it through the war?”
John said, “We’re all worried about that. I think you must do a great deal of counseling on that topic.”
Rebecca said, “I do, actually.”
Her mind wandered for a moment as she thought about all the people that she’d counseled to “keep the faith,” and “fight the good fight.”
John asked, “Are you still there?”
Rebecca answered, “I’m still here. Just got a little sidetracked. So, when do you want to get married?”
John answered, “I think I’d still like to do it this Sunday.”
Rebecca said, “I thought you might, so I saved some time for a wedding in the service. Do you have an idea who you’re going to invite?”
John said, “Becky and I think it’s best to invite the people we’ve worked with the longest, plus anyone who wants to come.”
Rebecca asked, “So you’re basically issuing an open invitation to everyone?”
John answered, “That’s the basic idea.”
Rebecca said, “Then I’ll put it in the church bulletin.”
John asked, “You still print bulletins?”
Rebecca answered, “Very little is printed. There’s not very much paper available, so we issue an electronic bulletin that our parishioners download. I issue it on Wednesday every week, and remind everyone to download it.”
John said, “Oh that makes more sense. I was imagining an antiquated paper bulletin in everyone’s hands during the worship service.”
Rebecca said, “We’re very modern, even if some people see the church as a relic of the past.”
John said, “I never said I felt that way. I’m looking forward to Sunday.”
Rebecca said, “Okay, I just need you and Becky to come to the church to make the final arrangements.”
John said, “We’ll be there tomorrow.”
Rebecca said, “That works for me. Come by around 12:30.”
John made a note of the time in his calendar and thanked Rebecca. Rebecca made some notes in her calendar and continued preparing for Sunday.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Nick and Kit
Snicker and Skittle were repairing the biodome after the Allied Earth’s attack damaged it earlier in the day. Scout ordered the repairs because the biodome was by far the most important building in Freedom. Snicker was patching a large crack in the wall. The crack was the result of a bomb dropped by an Allied Earth plane. The bomb missed the biodome, and left a ten-foot hole in the middle of Main Street. That hole was also being repaired. Skittle was replacing the door, which fell off its hinges and exploded during the same attack.
While the robots worked, a battle raged in the air near the mine. General Rich’s forces launched an offensive on Freedom’s metal production. The Martian Air Force and Star Brigade were in a dogfight in the air above the mine, just outside the colony.
The fighting was visible from the biodome, which sat at the heart of Freedom. A warning was issued to all colonists who were not fighting to get inside and seek safety from the battle. The robots were ordered to continue their work unless the battle became so close that they could not work safely. There were bullets and lasers flying across the sky and falling to the ground as planes and small ships dodged them above.
Snicker sent proximity reports to Scout and Jordan in the control center, which the leaders used to position their forces. The sky battle was raging with six of the colony’s planes fighting against twelve Allied Earth planes. Scout’s forces successfully outmaneuvered General Rich’s every move thanks to the robot’s reports. The Allied forces began with 18 planes, but were now down to the aforementioned dozen. Meanwhile, the Martian force still had all six of their planes.
The Star Brigade had not been quite as successful. They started the day with twenty ships, and already lost six of them. They were, however, winning the battle in space. The Allied forces lost nine ships and retreated with three. Lane, who was leading the battle in space, requested intelligence from Scout.
Lane asked, “When am I going to get some damn information? I need to know the positions of those ships. We’re getting our asses kicked up here.”
Scout responded, “Are you losing the battle?”
Lane said, “No, we’re winning, but at great cost. We’re already lost some good people and a bunch of ships.”
Scout said, “I’ll get Jordan to give you some information.”
Jordan answered, “We’re a little busy with the Air Force battle right over our heads right now. We’re providing support so they don’t get their asses kicked. The robots are feeding us tactical info on the planes in the air, so they aren’t available to give you anything right now.”
Lane said, “Well, we’re getting our asses handed to us out here. I need some information, or we’re not going to be able to come back.”
Jordan replied, “We’ll get you something here in a couple minutes. Meanwhile, take evasive action. Try not to lose any more ships.”
Lane snapped, “That’s easy for you to say. You’re not up here.”
Jordan ordered the robots to move to a position where they could gather information about the space battle and feed it to the Star Brigade ships. The robots moved away from the biodome and toward the satellite receivers. While they were moving, one of the Allied planes spotted them.
The Allied pilot said, “I see their robots. I’m going after them.”
His team leader replied, “Those things are armed, so watch yourself.”
The pilot said, “Understood.”
He managed to break free from the battle, and flew his plane into an attack position. Snicker noticed the plane and fired on it. The plane fired toward Skittle. Snicker’s bullets hit the plane near the fuel tank. It exploded in the sky above Freedom. The bullets from the plane missed Skittle and hit the ground, leaving black scars. The projectiles also kicked up a lot of dust as they hit the ground. Skittle had to rely on his instruments, rather than his camera eyes, for guidance.
The pilot ejected from his plane and parachuted to the ground. Scout ordered his people not to fire on parachuting enemy targets. While he was falling to the ground, the pilot radioed to his commander.
He said, “I’ve been hit. I need some help, and the robot’s getting away.”
The commander said, “Help’s coming, and we have a bomber ready to take out the robots.”
A second plane came to assist the fallen pilot. The plane landed and the pilot got in with his parachute. At the same time, a bomber locked onto the robots and dropped its bombs. The rescue plane took off just as the bombs exploded. They hit the robots exactly as planned. Snicker fell to the ground and Skittle fell apart. Both were disabled, and the bomber reported that its targets were destroyed. The commander ordered both the bomber and the fighter pilots to return to base.
Jordan noticed the robots had disappeared from the radar display. He got worried, wondering why they weren’t on the screen. He immediately radioed Scout.
Jordan said, “The robots are gone.”
Scout asked, “What the hell do you mean they’re gone?”
Jordan said, “They’ve disappeared from the radar.”
Scout wasn’t happy to hear this news. His tone became sharper and more pointed.
Scout asked, “Where the hell were they when they disappeared?”
Jordan said, “They were moving toward the satellites to feed Lane and his unit tactical information about the enemy ships.”
Scout was genuinely concerned about Lane, but still not very happy about the robots being damaged. He was irri
tated, and his voice let Jordan know.
Scout asked, “Did Lane get what he needed?”
Jordan answered, “He got it just before the robots got hit. When they saw the planes coming, they sent all the information they had to Lane.”
Scout angrily said, “Didn’t I tell you to keep them at the biodome to finish the repairs? I know Lane needed his information, but we need those damn robots.”
Jordan answered, “Yes, sir. I’ll go retrieve them.”
Scout said, “They’d better be fixable. If not, you’re going to build new ones.”
Jordan said, “Understood.”
Jordan left the control room and went to the last known position of the robots. He needed to ascertain whether the robots could be fixed or not. Jordan took his weapon with him in case he was attacked. The battle was still raging in the sky above Freedom.
When Jordan reached the robots, he found that Snicker had short-circuited and Skittle was in several pieces. Skittle’s joints were destroyed by the bomb. Both of the robots could be fixed, though. The parts that were damaged were not critical parts that affected functionality. They were parts that would have worn out in the future anyway. Jordan picked up the robots and put them in his truck. He drove them back to the control room, being careful not to draw attention of the Allied Air Force planes overhead.
Skittle was blown apart, but the wiring and circuitry was still good. Jordan replaced the joints with new ones on Skittle. In the process of fixing Skittle, Jordan noticed that some of his letters had been blown off by the bomb. Only the “K”,” I” and “T” were still on the robot. Then he noticed that Snicker only had the “N,” “I,” “C,” and “K.” Jordan finished the repairs to the robots. They were good as new. They were now called Nick and Kit.
Chapter Thirty
Search II
Jack White intended to resume his search for an Allied supply ship the morning after his initial search. His plans changed when the Allied forces attacked the colony’s satellites. Such is the unpredictable nature of war. Battles can happen at any time. Jack had to wait a day to continue his search.
Jack got into his ship and took off; being careful as he left the atmosphere not to let the Allied Earth forces detect his ship. He was headed for the smaller of Mars’ two moons. He really hoped that if the alleged supply ship existed, it was somewhere on Deimos. He didn’t want to spend the rest of the war searching for a ship that may or may not exist.
The journey to Deimos from Mars is much longer than the journey to Phobos. Deimos is so far away that it looks like a star from Mars’ surface. Jack made sure to take lots of music and books to read on the journey. He loaded music from Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles, Bachman Turner Overdrive and Credence Clearwater Revival into the ship’s music player. In the book reader, he loaded Odd Thomas, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and some of the Harry Potter books.
As he loaded his entertainment, he thought, “I’m so tired of hearing our propaganda jingle. I wish there was a way to filter it out. I’ll bet it’s on right now.”
He tuned his radio to the Freedom station. A Fleetwood Mac song was ending. Then he heard what he didn’t want to hear.
Join us today and improve your life.
Defect today and end your strife.
Surrender now, opportunity’s rife.
You don’t have to be a slave,
You don’t have to be afraid.
You can have a better end
You can get on the mend;
Just surrender yourself today.
He thought, “I know we made it for a reason, and it’s working. But it’s annoying as hell to hear it fifty times every fucking day when you’re already surrendered to the cause.”
The trip to Deimos was long and boring. Jack listened to the music and read the books, but frequently checked the ship’s sensors to make sure he was not being followed. If the Allied Earth military leaders knew he was en route to Deimos, they did not attempt to stop him. After 18 hours in space, he went to sleep as the ship continued toward Deimos on autopilot.
When Jack woke up nine hours later, he was still a full day from Deimos. He noticed an Allied Earth ship heading toward Deimos, so he stopped and moved out of range so he would not be detected.
He thought, “I think I’ll stay here and see what that ship’s doing. No sense giving away my position.”
He did not report to anyone because he wanted to avoid detection. He was ordered to maintain radio silence for that purpose.
The Allied Earth ship was a superfast ship. It arrived at Deimos a few minutes after Jack saw it. Then the ship left and headed back toward the ship in orbit around Mars.
Jack thought, “That’s suspicious. Why’s an Allied superfast ship going to Deimos and leaving a few minutes later? It must be the supply ship I’m looking for.”
Jack’s spirits were lifted by his discovery. He had a concrete goal, and a plan to achieve it.
The pilot of the superfast ship radioed the mother ship, “I see a Martian ship way out of orbit. It might be heading to Deimos.”
Jack’s radio was off, so he didn’t hear the pilot alert General Rich. Radio silence is a double-edged sword.
Rich replied, “Leave it alone. We’ll track it and let the pilot think he’s safe. Then we’ll know what they’re up to.”
The pilot said, “But that’ll let the pilot tell the criminals about our supply ship.”
Rich said, “No it won’t. That ship is already out of communication range. We’ll destroy it once we know what he’s after, especially if he discovers our supply ship.”
Jack continued his journey. He was excited at the prospect of finding the Allied supply ship. He played upbeat music, but kept the volume down, to keep him excited. Sound can’t travel in a vacuum, but Jack didn’t want to take any chances. Six hours later, he was high above Deimos.
Jack had to tell someone his discovery. He also needed to have backup in case he was discovered. He had to break radio silence, so he flipped on his radio.
He radioed, “Can anyone in Freedom hear me?”
Lane said, “The boosters are working fine. I read you loud and clear. I hope this is important enough to justify breaking radio silence.”
Jack said, “It is. I’m above Deimos.”
Lane asked, “Did anyone see you?”
Jack replied, “I’m not sure. I saw a superfast Allied ship, but I’m not sure if the pilot noticed me.”
Lane said, “I can pretty much guarantee the pilot saw you. Rich is probably trying to figure out what you’re doing. You’re in very real danger once you leave, or if you actually see the supply ship.”
Jack said, “It’ll take too long to send reinforcements. It took me two days to get here.”
Lane said, “It looks like we have no choice but to use the Renaissance to bail you out.”
Jack said, “But if the Renaissance is damaged, we’ll be screwed.”
Lane said, “That’s a chance we’re going to have to take. Now land on that moon and wait for us.”
Jack said, “Yes, sir.”
Jack landed his small ship on the surface of Deimos. The Finance was parked on the opposite side of the moon, so neither ship was aware of the other’s location for the moment. The Operative was ordered to maintain radio silence. Rich didn’t want to risk giving away the location of the Finance. While Jack waited, Lane loaded three small Star Brigade ships onto the Renaissance. Three pilots joined Lane and they left for Deimos.
The Operative had no idea that there was a search mission for his ship. The small ship that saw Jack couldn’t radio to warn him because the small ships were not equipped with secure transmitters.
An hour after the Renaissance left Mars, it was in orbit around Deimos. Lane saw Jack and ordered him to join the three Star Brigade pilots in orbit around the moon. Jack took off, and the small ships orbited Deimos. Every one of them spotted the Finance, and reported to Lane.
Jack asked, “Do we have enough firepower to tak
e it out?”
Lane replied, “I think if all five of us fire on that ship, we can destroy it.”
One of the other pilots asked, “What if it’s armed?”
Lane said, “I know it’s armed. We’ll have to be perfect to take it out.”
Jack said, “What if we just disable it for now? That way it can’t go anywhere.”
Lane asked, “How does that help us?”
Jack said, “I know they’ll still have access to their supplies, but their food won’t last very long without refrigeration. Plus they’ll be forced to make the long trip over here to get anything.”
Lane asked, “Won’t it still be armed?”
Jack replied, “No, once the engines are disabled, the ship loses all power.”
Lane said, “That would be easier than trying to destroy the whole ship. We’ll aim for the engines.”
The Renaissance moved to a position directly above the Finance. Lane fired his lasers at the engines on the left side of the ship.
The Operative ordered, “Fire a missile at that big ship.”
The weapons operator replied, “Yes, sir.”
She fired a missile at the Renaissance. She reported her action to The Operative.
Jack fired a missile at the Finance’s missile as soon as he saw it. Jack’s missile destroyed the other one. The other pilots fired their lasers at the engines on the right side of the Allied ship. The Operative fired his ship’s lasers at the Star Brigade ships, and destroyed one of them. The pilot was able to escape in a pod and return to the Renaissance.
Both of the Finance’s engines were destroyed. The Operative was able to stop the engine fire from spreading by shutting off the oxygen to that part of the ship. The engines controlled the refrigeration units, communications, and propulsion systems. Life support wasn’t affected, but the ship wasn’t able to go anywhere.
The Operative ordered his crew, “Get everything ready to evacuate the ship. We need everything gone before they come back with reinforcements.”
A subordinate replied, “Yes, sir.”
MARS: Baroque Revolution Page 14