Jordan said, “I have reason to believe Rich is planning to set up a surprise attack from Phobos.”
Scout said, “What makes you think that?”
Jordan said, “Let’s just say I have several sources, both that I trust and that I don’t. Both seem equally reliable.”
Scout asked, “Is this ‘source you don’t trust’ about Notah again?”
Jordan said, “He’s one of the sources I don’t trust. But his information always seems to come through. I don’t think he tells us everything. I think he’s holding back so we’ll feed him information to give back to General Rich.”
Scout said, “I trust him, and that should be good enough for you. If you trust me, let go of your distrust for him. Otherwise, this isn’t going to work.”
Jordan said, “I’ll try to keep an open mind. Now, are you going to act on this new information, or am I on my own?”
Scout said, “I’ll get a team ready.”
***
Rich received a plan from the Space Force commander. The plan called for twenty ships launching missiles at Mars from Phobos, then scrambling to the dark side of that moon. The plan hinged on secrecy, so General Rich only told people he could absolutely trust. The two commanders knew the plan, and the Space Force personnel knew the plan.
The only person Rich told who was not on the ship was Notah. He struggled with the decision to tell him because he was not entirely sure Notah could be trusted with such sensitive information. In the end, he decided to tell Notah the plan. Notah would be able to help keep the Martian forces occupied while the plan was put in motion.
Three days after Rich received the plans from his Space Force commander, the ships left the Capitalist for Phobos. There were two dozen ships and three dozen soldiers. They had four dozen missiles, but none of them were seekers. Their supply of seeker missiles had been destroyed on the Finance and the second supply ship. They flew single file from the ship, and took up a sort of space phalanx as they approached the moon.
When they arrived in orbit around Phobos, they circled the moon twice to make sure the Martians were not going to ambush them in a sneak attack. When they were satisfied that the moon was safe, they landed on the side of Phobos that faced Mars. They could see the face of Mars in the distance, but the colonies would not be visible for another three hours. Then they would have 90 minutes of light remaining before the spot they occupied got dark.
The Space Force ships were all on the ground, and their engines were turned off to conserve the limited supply of fuel. The soldiers lined up their shots and ran last minute checks to make sure their weapons wouldn’t jam when the time came to fire.
***
The Star Brigade waited in a deep crater on the dark side of Phobos. They were ordered there by Scout and Jordan, but they didn’t know what to expect until the enemy ships arrived. They made sure to stay out of sight. When the Space Force ships circled Phobos, they made sure to be in the shadows of the crater.
Lane made sure his radio was on a secure channel and said, “We need to make sure they don’t see us coming. Engines need to be in low gear, and music turned off. I’m also calling for radio silence after this transmission.”
He turned off his radio. The other pilots turned off their radios. They would use visual commands to accomplish the mission.
Lane flew his ship out of the crater, and the other ten Star Brigade pilots flew their ships behind Lane’s ship. They flew single file from the crater until they saw the Space Force ships. They needed to make sure they were undetected, so once they saw the ships, they formed a circle formation.
The Space Force pilots were immersed in their work, so they were caught completely off guard when the circle of Star Brigade ships opened fire on them. The commander’s ship was the first target, and Lane fired a seeker missile at it. He hit his target, killing the commander of the Space Force. Lane had the only missile, so the rest of the ships fired their bullets and lasers.
Two Space Force ships managed to turn their engines on during the fighting and get above the surface. Those ships had missiles, so the Star Brigade wanted to prevent them from firing them. Unfortunately, one of them fired its missiles at Mars. There was nothing the Star Brigade could do about it except warn people on the ground.
Lane radioed, “This is a general warning to the towns of Freedom and Progress. An enemy missile was fired toward the planet. Please be alert and avoid it.”
The missile hit the atmosphere and slowed dramatically. It lost nearly all of its momentum upon breaching the Martian air. It fell harmlessly to the ground 15 kilometers south of Freedom.
The Star Brigade couldn’t stop the missile from hitting Mars. Instead, they chased the two moving ships. Four Star Brigade ships chased the two Space Force ships while the other six Star Brigade ships fired their entire arsenal at the Space Force ships still on the ground.
The battle in orbit around the moon was intense. The Space Force ships fired four missiles at the Star Brigade ships. These were quickly disabled by the Star Brigade ships’ machine guns. The Star Brigade ships fired lasers at the Space Force ships’ weapons. The heat from the lasers melted the Space Force ships’ guns, rendering them useless. Then the Space Force ships fired their lasers at the Star Brigade ships as both sets of ships passed the original campsite a third time. The Star Brigade pilots were exceptional pilots. They evaded every attack the Space Force thrust at them.
The Space Force ships that stayed on the ground did not fare well. The Star Brigade’s assault destroyed all the Space Force ships. There was a pile of metal wreckage on the ground accompanied by a sea of blood. Next to the sea of blood was a pile of dead bodies. The whole scene burned for a while, until the area ran out of oxygen to feed the fire. Then the Star Brigade ships that were in that battle left to join their friends.
The two remaining Space Force ships were badly outnumbered and low on fuel. Their pilots were suddenly very afraid, so they radioed to the Star Brigade pilots. They sent an emergency signal, which automatically switched the radio from off to the emergency channel.
One said, “We surrender. Please let us leave and return to our base. You won, and we don’t want to die.”
Lane radioed, “How do we know we can trust you?”
The Space Force pilot replied, “We’re low on fuel and our weapons are jammed. You’ll have no more difficulty from us today if you let us go home.”
Lane said, “I’ll let you go back, but we’re not going to take our eyes off you until you’re clearly out of weapons range.”
The pilot said, “Thank you.”
He, along with his friend, then flew toward the Capitalist. The Star Brigade ships didn’t follow them, but they didn’t power down their weapons until they were a dot in the distance.
Lane said, “Looks like we won the day. Let’s go home.”
The pilots headed for Freedom. They were exhausted and emotionally drained.
Chapter Forty-Four
Reflective Healing
Lane stood at a podium accompanied by Scout, Jordan and Clive. He waited for the mourners to take their seats before speaking. People filed into their seats for the next few minutes, and he went over his notes.
Lane said, “I’d like to thank everyone for coming to honor our fallen heroes. I’ve been informed that the DeNoPE contingent is too depleted to launch an offensive today, so we should be safe enough to deal with our emotions.”
Scout wanted to try and negotiate a cease-fire, but he knew he couldn’t trust Rich with an agreement that big.
Scout walked over to the podium and interjected, “I wanted to make sure we could be safe, but it wasn’t’ in the cards. I know, however, that Rich is dealing with his own losses.”
Lane took the microphone again and said, “Let’s worry about our own people and let Rich deal with his. We lost two pilots in the battle near Earth, and another was taken prisoner in the battle near Deimos. We’ve also lost a few soldiers on the ground. We’re here to honor their memory
.”
Jordan went to the podium and read the list of people who died in ground battles. As he read each name, the Army performed a seven-gun salute. It was a very sad moment. The seven-gun salute would become the de facto standard for Martian military funerals.
Clive went next, and read the list of people who died in air battles. Every name was accompanied by a flyover, so that portion of the ceremony took a little longer. After each pass, the Air Force pilots needed to turn around and wait for the next name to be called before doing the next flyover.
Lane read the final list. He mentioned the woman who was captured, then read the names of the fallen. There was no proper way to honor them. Their bodies were scattered across the solar system, so they couldn’t be buried. Lane told the crowd how he intended to honor them with statues to be erected at the spaceport.
***
General Rich was dealing with his own losses. He also needed to deal with the pile of dead bodies near the base. All the fallen soldiers that died away from the campsite were sent to him for burial.
The Operative asked, “Aren’t we going to bury our dead?”
Rich answered, “I think we should burn the bodies.”
The Operative protested, “What’s wrong with you? We need to honor their sacrifice!”
Rich replied, “We are honoring them. Burial isn’t the best option here. Their bodies won’t break down normally, and their families can’t mourn them anyway.”
The Operative said, “How does cremating solve those problems?”
Rich said, “By cremating them we can return their cremains in a small package to their families when we return to Earth.”
The Operative said, “That makes sense. Speaking of that, how much longer do we intend to stay here? I hope you’re close to coming to your senses.”
Rich said, “Not very much longer. The governments and corporations funding this war are tired of the negative media reports. They know we’re losing badly.”
The Operative asked, “So we’re not far from giving up?”
Rich agonizingly cried, “Not far at all.”
General Rich very rarely cried, but he didn’t know what else to do. He knew when he’d been beat, and this was it.
***
Scout took the microphone and said, “We need to honor our fallen heroes’ sacrifices, but we can’t afford to bury them. I realize this seems heartless, but pragmatism requires us to compost their bodies, so they’ll be cremated and the remains that aren’t bones will be used in the biodome’s compost.”
The crowd let out a gasp of shock at Scout’s comments. They couldn’t believe he wasn’t going to bury them as heroes. Most people envisioned a grand Martian cemetery, similar to Arlington National Cemetery or Normandy American Cemetery on Earth.
Scout continued, “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but it’s what needs to be done. We’ll put their pulverized bones in a war memorial to keep their memory alive, so their sacrifice won’t be forgotten.”
Lane said, “Hopefully this war will end soon and we’ll win our freedom. Then, the sacrifices these heroes made won’t be in vain. This planet will be ours to create a great new society.”
The people in the audience were moved to shout with pride for their ideals. They were able to put their pain aside for a moment to realize why their friends gave their lives.
Section VI:
Treaty
Chapter Forty-Five
Defeat
General Rich sat across the conference table from The Operative. He called a meeting to discuss their options. The war had gone on far too long. It was much too costly, and growingly unpopular.
General Rich said, “I don’t think we can win this war.”
The Operative replied, “I’ve been telling you that for a while now.”
Rich ran his fingers through his hair. He was nervous, and having trouble hiding it.
Rich said, “I know. That’s why I called you here. I need some options for an exit strategy.”
The Operative replied, “No matter what you decide to do, you need approval from DeNoPE.”
Rich said, “They’re just as tired of the war as I am. The cost is too high for them, too. They know we can’t win.”
The Operative shot a smug look at the General. The General returned a fiery look. He was scared, and didn’t need a smart-ass subordinate reminding him of his failure.
The Operative said, “No matter what you propose to the Martians, they’re not going to trust you.”
General Rich pounded his fist against the metal table. It clanged and wobbled for a moment before returning to its original state.
Rich shouted, “I’m aware of that.”
The Operative said, “We might be at the point where we have to surrender and give in to their demands.”
He was used to Rich’s violent outbursts, so the outburst didn’t surprise him. Rich didn’t comment about it, either.
Rich said, “I was afraid of that. Don’t we have any other viable options?”
The Operative said, “We might try to offer a cease fire to negotiate a treaty.”
General Rich hung his head. He didn’t like not having options. He didn’t like not being in control. He really didn’t like losing.
Rich said, “But a treaty still means we’re giving in.”
The Operative said, “We’ve already lost thirty thousand people, and we’ll lose thousands more if this war goes on much longer.”
The General really hated people who stated the obvious as arguments. The Operative was annoying him.
Rich sarcastically said, “I know that.”
The Operative said, “The top brass isn’t happy about this war, either. It was supposed to be a simple arrest, not a full-scale war. It’s costing trillions of dollars to keep funding it.”
Rich was tempted to punch The Operative in the face. His statement of the obvious was really pissing him off.
Rich angrily said, “I know that too.”
The Operative said, “And we’re losing support from the most powerful corporations. They know we’re losing this war. They’re losing money, and they don’t like losing money.”
The Operative’s statement struck a nerve with the General. He hung his head again in shame and wiped his hands down his face in frustration.
Rich said, “I’ve received death threats from three major banks this week alone. I’m aware of the problem.”
The Operative said, “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. You used to be the shot caller with the banks. Now they’re calling for your head.”
General Rich got extremely angry after that comment. He didn’t like people talking down to him, especially not subordinates.
Rich angrily replied, “Don’t test me. I’m still more powerful than you’ll ever be.”
The Operative turned red. He took a deep breath and tried not to be offended.
Rich thought, “Who the hell do you think you are? I’m the most powerful man on Earth, you little piss ant.”
A few seconds elapsed while The Operative collected his composure. He didn’t want to upset the General any more.
The Operative asked, “So what happened with your mole?”
Rich answered, “What do you mean?”
The Operative said, “I thought he was going to feed us information that we could use to defeat this colony.”
Rich responded, “He’s been giving us intelligence. The problem is that it takes so long to receive it and then relay orders to the troops. By the time the order gets received, the situation changes.”
The Operative said, “Or he’s feeding you bullshit.”
Rich said, “I don’t think so. Notah’s proven his loyalty to me on several occasions.”
The Operative said, “Or you think he has.”
Rich said, “I’m sure of it.”
The Operative said, “I hope so. I’d hate to see our classified data compromised.”
Rich said, “He never had any of our classified data. He’s a m
ole. That only works in one direction.”
The Operative asked, “So he just sends, but never receives?”
He thought, “Bullshit!”
Rich said, “That’s correct. Now I’ve got some thinking to do. I need to come up with a plan of action.”
The Operative said, “You’d better end this war pretty quickly.”
Rich said, “I know. Dismissed.”
The Operative said, “I expect my honorable discharge will be forthcoming after this war is over.”
Rich said, “Of course. You kept your end of the bargain. I’m a man of my word.”
The Operative thought, “A man of your word indeed. You kill, steal and destroy anyone who doesn’t agree with you.”
The Operative left the conference room. General Rich waited until the room was empty. He laid his head on the table and cried. He was utterly defeated.
Chapter Forty-Six
Cease Fire
Scout and Jordan were on their way to the spaceport in Freedom when Scout’s phone rang. Scout looked at the display and was shocked to see that the caller ID was blocked. No one in his group ever blocked their number.
Scout rhetorically asked Jordan, “Who the hell’s calling me from a blocked number?”
Jordan replied, “The only way to find out is to answer it.”
Scout answered his phone, “Who is this?”
A voice on the other end said, “I want to end this.”
Scout was confused and asked, “But who the hell are you?”
The voice replied, “This is your adversary. I know when I’m beat. I can’t win this war.”
Scout asked, “Is this General Rich?,” somewhat confused.
General Rich said, “Yes. I want to call a cease fire.”
Scout was uneasy. He felt like he was walking into a trap. General Rich wasn’t the kind of person who gave up. He was the kind who fought to the death, even if it was his own.
MARS: Baroque Revolution Page 22