Warzone: Nemesis: A Novel of Mars

by Morris Graham

  LTC Judgment Day was reading a scientific report on Luna over a cup of coffee when COL Red Fangs found him. After the customary salute, COL Red Fangs sat down, opening the file of maps and technical data of the Landau Crater.

  “I found something of interest to us.” The colonel slid the topographic map of the Landau Crater to his XO. “This natural staircase here,” he said, tapping his finger on the spot, “is a way the Soviets can come at us from the back side if we center the back of the post to the crater’s rim. Right above the top of the natural staircase it is an overhanging ledge probably weighing about fifty tons, Earth weight—about eight tons, lunar weight.”

  “I take it we’re not trying to avoid the natural staircase, but exploit it?”

  “Yes, it will cut the line of attack down fifty percent to have our back to the crater, which the Soviets will use for the main thrust of their attack. They will split their forces and try to sneak up through the crater to attack what they think is our unprotected flank.”

  “So we show them we’re not exactly as unprotected as they think.”

  “Yes, I want you to oversee it personally before they get there. The preparations need to be done during the satellite blackout window. Just make sure the bait is very enticing.”

  His XO grinned. “I’ll arrange a surprise for our guests. Sir, this maneuver will also cut off our escape should things go wrong.”

  “We have no escape route. We’re committed to staying with our oxygen, fuel, food, water and shelter. That will all be at our post. Concerning the appearance of cutting off our own escape route, this will make the men fight desperately if they think it is a fight to the death. It is our best hope for survival, but it will appear we’re in desperate straits.”

  His executive officer pondered for a moment.

  “Sir, this is going to be a bad bear, isn’t it?”

  “It will be very tight. We came to win the right to stay here, not to retreat. When I was young, I learned a valuable lesson. If you bloody the nose of the school bully, you earn certain rights. I intend to make the siege of our post so painful that it will never be attempted again.”

  “We’ll give ‘em hell, sir.”

  July 14, 1970—Zero Eight Hundred Zulu

  The captain had just started a cup of coffee, cream, no sugar, just how he liked it. It was time to call the colonel. His first mate chose the alias Bucky as a joke to complement his captain’s call sign.

  “LT Bucky!”

  “Sir, yes sir!”

  “Find COL Red Fangs. Inform him we’re ready to break orbit and land within the hour.”

  “He was getting a cup of joe and preparing to come here when I last saw him.”

  “Very well.” He should have known he wouldn’t have to summon the colonel. He would have planned on being ready and waiting when they approached their landing zone to build and defend their new post. The captain took note that COL Red Fangs was more relaxed than the last time he saw him. COL Red Fangs approached the bridge with a cup of hot coffee in his hand. Apparently he does much better in a crisis than in waiting for something to happen, he thought.

  “Is it time to land, Captain?”

  “Soon, Colonel, we should be on the lunar surface by zero nine hundred. We’ve been listening to all radio transmissions the Soviets are sending back to Earth. It looks like they don’t know we’re here.”

  “Excellent! I want to catch them with their pants down. We need every break we can get.”

  “Aye, sir.” With that, CPT America signaled the rest of the vessels trailing him to prepare to follow him down.

  An oxygen extraction and metal refining plant would be constructed to ensure his men’s survival and give them building materials. Ilmenite, a lunar mineral rich in oxygen, also contained iron and titanium. Rich in oxygen was an understatement. Ilmenite consisted of forty-three percent oxygen. The computer banks of the alien vessel recovered from the Navajo crash site revealed a treasure trove of technological wealth. The most important one for building a self-sufficient post was the formula for processing Ilmenite into iron, titanium and oxygen. The process essentially took a rock crusher, a solar furnace and a little chemical manipulation to turn FeTiO3 into the pure elements that allowed them to survive. Once the buildings had their air in them, a very efficient carbon dioxide filtration system would keep it clean. The iron and titanium would be used to construct lunar steel in the mill they would construct.

  Luna has sunlight for only half of each month, so the passive solar electric plant could be used for the half-month long days. After the darkness descended upon them, they would have to rely on conventional fuel for all of their energy needs until the light returned for two weeks.

  The Americans had little room for error in their construction plans. Within forty-one hours of landing, the Soviets would have a full tank regiment knocking at their door. They had to have their defensive grid up and enough of their artillery line up to stop the Soviet tanks from starting the charge right away. The colonel had to manage four things: men, equipment, time, and alloy-x. They also had to get some scavengers salvaging alloy-x on the Frost crater as soon as possible before the Soviets shut the operation down. They would be sending some of the ships back as soon as they unloaded to get more men, equipment and supplies. Other ships they would recycle as soon as the recycler was operational. The men still needed to be able to eat and sleep somewhere until the main building was built, so some ships would remain as barracks for a while. Timing was critical for everything.

  July 14, 1970—Zero Seven Thirty Zulu

  The captain would be breaking orbit soon. The descent would be a bit bumpy, so the men were all awakened and fed breakfast before they descended to their landing zone. COL Red Fangs had joined CPT America on the bridge, coffee cup in hand.

  July 14, 1970—Zero Eight Thirty Zulu

  “Breaking orbit and descending now,” reported the captain. “Colonel, I’d get rid of that coffee cup and strap in if I were you. The descent may get a bit bumpy.&rdquo

  “Thank you Captain.&rdquo The colonel drained the last of the cup and placed his empty cup in a secure locker.

  The Soviets’ highest priority would be to stamp out Eagle 2 before it was established, ending America’s plans for colonizing the solar system. Captain America wondered if the post would still be standing when he returned with more supplies.

  Vietnam had taught the colonel one thing, if nothing else. Superior numbers didn’t always win battles. Air support was the deciding factor in many battles won in Vietnam, but here he would have to rely on artillery. Mines were also useful, and he would utilize all they brought with them. The order of the day upon landing was to get the defensive grid up—complete with minefields, build their environmental support system and produce as many artillery pieces and tanks as they could muster, with the emphasis on the artillery.

  Tanks alone couldn’t take their post, and artillery pieces were slow and lumbering in transport. The colonel knew if the Soviets brought their artillery, the whole siege force wouldn’t be here for almost four days. The choice location was somewhere on the far side of the moon because that was where the alloy-x was, not to mention for security. The Americans didn’t want some college student at an observatory somewhere viewing a developed military post with a telescope. The “dark side” or far side is the side of the moon never visible from Earth because the moon’s rotation and orbit are synchronized in such a way that only one side ever faces the Earth. It would be more correct to call it the far side, as it gets the same amount of light from the sun, and the bright side would best be referred to as the near side. The best radio transmissions to Earth were from the near side. To keep their post from detection, they would build it on the far side, and use satellite relays for radio transmissions.

  At precisely zero nine hundred, fifteen minutes into the one hour fifty-minute Soviet satellite blackout window over Landau Crater, the Americans landed.

  LTC Judgment Day was in charge of the nuts and bolts
of coordinating the different construction projects while COL Red Fangs ran the overall operation. The post would be constructed with its back to the west side of the Landau Crater and the natural staircase, terminating dead center of the post, as COL Red Fangs had instructed.

  Tactical Operations would be run from the bridge until the post HQ building was built and technical functions could be transferred to their own room. Then the medical supplies, food and rest of the perishable cargo would be moved into post HQ and CPT America could return to Earth. The doctor and nurse set up a temporary sick bay, and coffee and mess were set up on three different freighters.

  The men rolled out of the transport freighters and started unloading the recycler. Part of the construction crew was assigned to set up the recycler as quickly as possible. Two heavy mining trucks, a crawler excavator and an excavator backhoe built for the harsh lunar environment were unloaded next along with a furnace pot and rock crusher. The Americans now had four empty freighters ready for recycling. Six other vessels were refueled and sent back to Earth to get more men, equipment and supplies.

  COL Red Fangs set up his command center and tactical operations on the bridge of CPT America’s ship. This would give him nearly instant status updates from his tech boys as well as communications with the construction crew. COL Red Fangs approached the bridge, and his two technicians saluted.

  “Captain, is everything set up?”

  “Right over here, Colonel. This workstation was set up so you can communicate with all of the work teams at all times. I’ll be available at your call if you need any assistance. These three switches are your comm. links to LTC Judgment Day, CSM Rainmaker, and the mess sergeant to have him send food over. The light next to them will light up when you have an incoming call. Just flip the switch if you wish to answer or call out. If you flip two switches at once, you’ll be able to conference both. Closing one switch will allow you to terminate that call and still remain connected to the other. The switch on the far left will open a link to them all at once for a general message to all. Anything else?”

  “No, thank you. That will be all, Captain.”

  “Good, my last cup of coffee has summoned me to the head. I will be right back.”

  The colonel looked at his two technicians keeping an eye on the Soviets with the satellite uplink. They had access to areas of interest when the satellite did a flyby.

  “CPT Watchful Eye?”

  “Sir. Yes sir?”

  “I want a report of what the Soviets are doing every time the satellite passes over, even if it’s not interesting.”

  CPT Watchful Eye was the chief of tactical operations and acting as the lead technician while they were operating with a skeleton crew during setup. “Sir, yes sir. We’re also monitoring all channels for any Soviet radio messages. If we hear any activity, we’ll try to break their encryption.”

  “Very good, son. By the way, where can I view the construction activity outside?” The young officer walked over to the colonel’s workstation, and typed some commands into the keyboard. The computer monitor showed several pictures of the construction team doing various tasks.

  “There are eight cameras, sir. You can access the menu here and view them all at once in small screens, or type in the number of the camera, and it will become full screen. To return to the main view of them all, just hit escape.”

  “Very good.” Just then CPT America returned with a cup of coffee for the colonel. “Thank you, Captain. Maybe we need to put a coffee pot on the bridge,” he joked.

  He laughed. “I thought about that, Colonel but going for coffee and to the head is half my exercise.”

  The room settled down, and the tech boys watched their screens for something interesting in an otherwise boring stakeout while the colonel kept an eye on the building progress. His executive officer stayed with the group setting up the recycler. It was clear that he would be staying with the highest priority job unless he was needed elsewhere. CSM Rainmaker was the artillery battery’s noncommissioned officer in charge, and the “walking boss” of the construction battalion.

  The colonel dropped by his quarters and grabbed his file on the Soviets and another cup of coffee. Coffee cup in hand, the colonel carried the file back to his workstation. He wanted to read the profiles of the Soviet commander and his executive officer, and the officer most likely to assume command if both of them were dead. He sat down, opened the file and started reading.

  COL Boris Nikitich Glaskov

  Birthplace… Moscow, Russia

  Age forty-two

  Career Soviet Army, with good political connections. He’s thought to have relatives in the Soviet government, but none on the Central Committee. Considered to be one of their best Soviet commanders. Rumored to have political aspirations, and will retire from the military soon to take a government job in the politburo. Considered a good pilot, but a better military strategist.

  COL Red Fangs considered thoughtfully what the report said. His friend’s death would no doubt bring this man the promotion he sought. Perhaps he could do something to tarnish the afterglow of his victory over Eagle 1. He sipped his coffee, and read the file on the Soviet executive officer.

  LTC Rurik Alievich Averbukh

  Age thirty

  Birthplace… Leningrad, Russia

  He was a former first officer in Spetsnaz, Soviet Special Forces and is a superb pilot and sniper. Leadership and tactical abilities are his strongest points. It is estimated he’s a stronger leader and strategist than COL Glaskov. It is assumed he’ll take over the lunar post if COL Glaskov gets promoted to the politburo.

  COL Red Fangs mentally noted LTC Averbukh as a high priority target, took a sip of coffee and opened the last file. He scrolled down the bottom line summary as he had the first two…

  MAJ Feliks Aleksandrovich Cherenkov

  Age twenty-eight

  Birthplace… Smolensk, Russia

  He’s the best combat pilot the Soviets have. His administrative skills are rated only average, but as a combat officer in field he’s unequalled.

  The colonel closed his file, mentally noting how to use all three pieces of information to their advantage. The gears in his mind were turning, and a plan was formulating…

  July 14, 1970—Ten Forty Zulu

  “Sir. Colonel, I have something on the satellite feed.”

  “What is it?”

  “The Soviets are leaving with forty-five tanks headed our way. I’m also watching their artillery pieces leave, too.”

  “How many artillery pieces?”

  “Sir, I see twenty, with an escort of ten more tanks. Satellite zoom photographs of the artillery estimates the barrel length of forty-five calibers.”

  “Keep an eye on them.”

  “Sir, yes sir.”

  “Command Sergeant Major?” asked the first officer.

  “Sir, yes sir.”

  “When the freighters are as unloaded as they can be, send a detail to start drilling the mine holes around the post perimeter, two clicks beyond guntower range. Have them open a link to our tech boys. When the Soviet satellite passes over, make sure the mess isn’t visible from the air and equipment must be cleared. Everyone else is to join the rest of the construction effort. Place them where they will do the most good.”

  “Sir, yes sir.”

  The construction crew had to dig the mine holes in the solid rock around the perimeter of the post before the Soviet satellite blackout window closed. To place a mine, the rocky ground had to be chiseled eighteen inches deep. Once the holes were dug, the demolition teams would set and ready the mines, then re-fill the holes with crushed rock chips, sand and dust. Then they would tamp it down until it settled, fill it again and cover the hole and surrounding area with a smooth covering of fine moon dust to wipe out any footprints. The mines had electronic safeties that could only be armed remotely.

  COL Red Fangs had anticipated that mines would be a key element in their defense and brought more than enough with him from Ea
rth. After mining the camp’s perimeter, there would be plenty to use elsewhere, if needed. One mine could take out one tank. He knew he had one chance to use them effectively before the enemy was wary of their presence.

  The Soviets would most likely set their artillery pieces and tanks initially outside of guntower range, but close enough for artillery. Hopefully, between the mines, artillery and his defensive grid, he could do enough damage to make the Soviets go home. That would give them a chance to both complete a proper post, and harvest any alloy-x scrap left behind by the Soviets.

  COL Red Fangs entertained the thought of the Soviet commander positioning his tank over a mine. He decided he had another fate for his enemy and smiled for the first time since he arrived.

  The Soviet satellite orbited at an altitude of one hundred kilometers and had an orbital period of two hours. This limited the Soviets’ ability to spy on them to ten minutes every two hours. If the job took over one hour and fifty minutes, work could pause and then resume until the satellite passed by the next time. They had to clean up the area and hide the equipment just before each fly-by. The mine construction project had to work carefully around the Soviet satellite’s monitoring.