The tent city did not have an infirmary. A modified ship was used for that purpose. It was stocked with only basic first-aid supplies. If anyone got seriously ill or wounded, they would probably die.
Rich’s military forces hurriedly built a small landing pad. They smoothed the rocky ground with a few tanks, and then had twenty soldiers mix concrete in fifty-liter barrels. Once the concrete was ready, they poured it onto the smoothed ground. The concrete was allowed to dry for half an hour before the tanks were recalled to smooth the runway. Two hours later, the planes were moved onto the landing pad.
***
Lane came to Jordan and said, “The enemy’s making camp on the opposite side of the planet. It looks like Scout had some good information.”
Jordan said, “I know. We’re still going to let them set up camp. The plan is still to fight them only when they attack on land and in the air. In space, you’ll do your thing”
Lane asked, “So how do we proceed?”
Jordan replied, “Well, you’re going to attack them in space once they move their ship back into orbit.”
Lane asked, “Are you sure they only have one ship?”
Jordan replied, “It’s all we saw on the satellite images and during the battle.”
Lane said, “But don’t you think that they‘ll have a second ship for backup?”
Jordan said, “If you think they have a second ship, go find the second ship. If you find one, report back to me. I’ll give you farther instructions if you find one.”
Lane said, “Yes, sir.”
Lane turned about and walked out of Jordan’s office. He found Jack White and assigned him to search for the second ship.
Jack asked, “Where should I look?”
Lane replied, “Wherever you think it might be.”
Jack said, “That could anywhere or nowhere.”
Lane said, “I didn’t say it was an easy assignment. I need to know what the hell we’re up against.”
Jack said, “How long do I have?"
Lane replied, “As long as it takes.”
Jack asked, “Where would you look?”
Lane answered, “I’d start with far orbit. They might be just out of range of our equipment.”
Jack said, “Do you think they might be on one of the moons?”
Lane answered, “I have no idea, just follow your instinct. If there’s a second ship, I want you to find it.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Finance
The Operative took the Finance into orbit around Deimos. General Rich ordered him to hide the supply ship so the Martian criminals wouldn’t be able to attack their supply chain. Deimos is the smaller of Mars’ two moons, and is far enough away from the planet to appear as a star in the night sky. General Rich told The Operative to keep the ship away from the Martian’s line of sight. He decided on Deimos.
The Finance landed on Deimos, and The Operative killed the engines. He didn’t want to waste fuel by unnecessarily maintaining orbit. He would move the ship to the other side of the moon periodically to make sure any ships in space wouldn’t detect it. If the Martian criminals knew the Finance existed, they’d come looking for it. If they found it, the results would be devastating. The ship wasn’t well armed, so it would almost be a sitting duck.
The Operative was also assigned to direct the flow of traffic from ships coming to get supplies. He did not want the criminals to notice that ships broke from formation to go to Deimos. He was ordered to make the supply runs inconspicuous.
General Rich radioed, “Have you chosen a spot yet?”
The Operative replied, “I’m going to set this baby down on Deimos.”
General Rich replied, “Are you in position yet?”
The Operative replied, “I’m nearly in position to land. I’ll move as necessary to avoid detection. Are you sure this channel is secure?”
Rich said, “I always make sure channels are secure.”
The Operative said, “That’s a load of crap and you know it. You let the criminals know what you were doing during the whole opening battle.”
Rich asked, “How the hell do you figure that?”
The Operative replied, “I heard every word on an open channel. You tipped our hand. No wonder we lost that battle.”
Rich said, “Damn! I forgot to switch the public address channel off.”
The Operative said, “I know. I’m surprised you made such a stupid mistake. You need to be a lot more careful.”
Rich barked, “I give the orders around here. Don’t forget that.”
He calmed down and continued, “However, I won’t make the same mistake again. Now, are you in an undetectable place?”
The Operative said, “I’m on the surface of Deimos.”
Rich said, “You’re very sure you’re not on Phobos? Because Phobos is visible from the planet, and the surface is scannable with a simple telescope.”
The Operative said, “Phobos is the larger moon, and it’s closer. I know where the hell I am and what I’m doing. I wish you did.”
Rich said, “You better watch how you talk to me. I still outrank you.”
The Operative said, “Only until we win this war. Then you have to honor your contract. I can destroy you if you double cross me.”
Rich said, “I know, but until that time you’re still my subordinate. Don’t show me any disrespect again or I’ll put an end to you.”
The Operative said, “Threats don’t help you. I’m not motivated by them. I’m motivated by the promise you made me.”
Rich said, “Just show me the proper respect.”
The Operative said, “Yes, sir,” and he broke off the radio transmission. Then he said, “You have to earn respect, and you’re a horse’s ass. I’m just here until this bullshit’s over.”
For the next few days, The Operative kept busy by reviewing requisitions. He approved most of them, but the Finance didn’t have the resources to meet everyone’s demands. He carefully considered every request for supplies and approved only the ones he deemed necessary.
The Operative also watched television when he couldn’t find anything to do. He wanted to see what the Martians were saying about them. He heard the first propaganda jingle as he was relaxing one night.
The ad sang:
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.
The advertisement went on to give instructions on how to surrender. The Operative was offended, but he didn’t dare tell General Rich about the advertisements.
He thought, “The General would go apeshit if he saw this. I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t see it. He’ll get sloppy if he gets angry, and we’re on a thin wire as it is.”
The ad played several times that night. The jingle actually got stuck in his head. He wanted it to go away, but he couldn’t replace it with anything else.
He thought, “If I accidentally sing that damn song and the General hears it, there’s going to be hell to pay. I need to make sure no one else sings it either.”
He wrote a private protocol for soldiers who heard the jingle. They had to keep the ad a secret.
He returned to requisitions the next morning. He went over them and immediately got upset.
He said to himself, “These people think I’m a gold mine. We don’t have half the shit they’re asking for.”
The Operative had a very small crew on the ship. There was an engineer, who stayed in engineering and an inventory clerk, who kept track of the stock levels. There was also a bay monitor, who controlled access to the ship. No one was assigned to help load ships. When the fleet needed supplies, the pilots boarded the Finance and loaded their own supplies while The Operative supervised. The loneliness
would have made a weaker person go insane, but The Operative was tired of dealing with people.
He thought, “People only care about themselves. They’re all so full of bullshit; I can smell them before they enter the cargo bay.”
He spent a lot of time making detailed lists of reasons General Rich should be put to death while he was on the supply ship. He shouldn’t have harbored so much hatred for his boss, but he couldn’t stand stupidity. Unfortunately, General Rich was a very stupid man in his perception.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dawn Patrol
Two days after General Rich’s soldiers set up their base camp, he ordered them to attack the colony. The troops left base camp at dusk and headed west toward Freedom. The tanks left first because they took the longest to reach their destination. While the tanks and trucks took soldiers toward the battlefield, the pilots readied their planes. The flight would only take a couple hours, so they would leave later in the night.
The journey was long and boring. The only thing to see was the red Martian landscape. There weren’t any interesting features, so they turned on the radio.
They heard:
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.
No one said anything about the jingle. They tried to ignore it, but it was pervasive. It was meant to get stuck in one’s head, and it was working. It played several times during the journey, but they didn’t have any other forms of entertainment on the military vehicles.
As they headed toward the sunset, the sky very quickly grew dark. As it got darker, the air got very cold, very fast. The soldiers were surprised by how cold the air on Mars was. It was near the height of summer, but the daytime high had only been 21°. As they headed east, the temperature dropped two degrees every hundred kilometers. The journey was over a thousand kilometers, so by the time they reached their destination the temperature was 1°. Luckily, the sun was coming up by the time they reached their destination. The temperature would rise as the sun warmed the air.
As the Army reached the outskirts of Freedom, the Air Force planes gave them intelligence on the readiness of the Martian forces.
A pilot said, “Looks like they’re all still asleep. We’ll take ‘em by surprise.”
Rich said, “Fall back. We’ll hit them with everything at once.”
The pilot replied, “Yes, sir.”
The pilot and his comrades in the sky retreated and waited for the infantry and cavalry to reach Freedom. They were all careful not to do anything that might alert the Martians. It seemed to the pilot that the town was unprepared for an attack, so he didn’t understand the delay. He thought they should attack while the element of surprise was in play.
The first tank reached the streets of Freedom, and armed soldiers exited the vehicles. The tank drivers messaged Rich that they were in position. A short time later, ten planes flew toward the tanks from the north.
The military base in Progress, which General Rich did not know existed, was activated by Jordan and Scout. Clive ordered his best pilots to be on alert for any invasion, and to respond to an attack with extreme force.
Martian pilot James Walker said, “I see them on the ground near the freeway. If you see them, fire at will.”
The other pilots began firing at the soldiers on the ground. The soldiers fired at the planes with their machine guns, but it is very hard to hit a moving target in the sky while on the ground. They are moving too fast to aim and get off a good shot. It is very easy, however, to hit a stationary target on the ground. The Martian pilots killed fifty soldiers on the ground in just six minutes.
Clive said, “Watch out! We’ve got enemy planes giving chase. Take evasive action.”
The Martian pilots retreated as the Allied Earth planes arrived at the battlefield. They also alerted the Army and Air Force base in Freedom that an invasion was under way. Jordan and Lane scrambled soldiers and planes to the eastern edge of town. They arrived in five minutes.
By the time all Martian forces arrived at the battlefield, the battle was very intense. The Allied Earth forces lost three planes and 100 soldiers. Martian forces lost three soldiers and one plane. The planes that had been shot down were on the ground in flames.
Jordan ordered, “Let’s push them back. Don’t let them get past the freeway.”
Lane ordered, “Let’s force those enemy planes to the ground.”
The Martian Air Force pursued the Allied Earth planes, driving them away from the Martian forces on the ground. Clive fired a missile at the Allied Earth pilots’ team leader. He evaded the missile, but his plane began to run low on fuel. The Allied Earth planes still ran on chemical fuels, so they had a limited range. The Martian planes were solar and cosmic electric powered, so their range was nearly unlimited.
The Allied Earth team leader landed his plane far from the battle zone and waited for the battle to end so he’d be able to refuel. Clive chased another plane that was chasing Martian vehicles on the ground. While the Allied Earth plane chased a Martian tank, Clive fired a barrage of bullets into the hull of the plane. The plane exploded and fell to the ground in a ball of fire. Martian soldiers on the ground noticed the falling ball of flaming metal and took cover.
The Martian Army took up a position under the freeway overpass at Main Street. They only peeked out from the safety of the overpass to fire on oncoming enemy soldiers.
General Rich noticed this and ordered, “Fire mortars at that damned overpass. Then they won’t have anywhere to take cover.”
The Allied Army fired a barrage of mortars. Six mortars hit the overpass, and it collapsed. The Martian soldiers charged forward and fired on the Allied Earth Army. They had limited ammunition, so they only fired if they had a clean shot.
Two Martian soldiers lay wounded under the rubble of the overpass while the survivors charged toward the Earth Army. Tending to the wounded would have made the soldiers vulnerable, so they had to continue attacking. Jordan ordered Dr. Mark Black to get the operating room ready to receive patients after the battle.
The Martian Army was pushing back the Allied Earth forces. They killed twenty men as they charged from the wreckage of the overpass. The Allied forces killed two more Martian soldiers. The Martian soldiers were very well disciplined, so they continued forward and continued pushing the Allied forces backward. They fired their bullets with deadly precision as the Allied soldiers tried to saturate them with lead. Three Martian soldiers fell dead while sixteen more Allied soldiers were killed. Every time the Allied Earth Army hit a Martian soldier, the Martians hit four or five of them. The Martians had limited ammunition, so they were careful with their shots. The Allied Earth Army had an abundance of ammunition, so they fired at will. Most of their shots missed their targets.
The scene was a bloody, fiery mess. The road and the ground were saturated with blood from both sides’ soldiers. There was twisted, flaming metal lying on the ground. Most of the metal used to be planes. Both sides lost a lot of people and equipment in the brief battle. If they’d had time to reflect on the situation, the soldiers would have gone mad. Fortunately, both sides’ soldiers were too busy trying to stay alive or fend off an enemy to have time to think.
In all the fighting, the Martians pushed the Allied Earth forces six miles from Freedom. Every time the Allied forces moved toward Freedom, the Martians surged forward.
After hours of losing ground, General Rich decided the battle was lost. He ordered a retreat.
He said, “Retreat, men. Fall back. Live to fight another day. We clearly need to form a new plan.”
The leaders of the Army and Air Force relayed the message to their troops. One of the Allied soldiers waved a white shirt on a stick to signal that they
were retreating.
Jordan ordered, “Hold your fire. We’ll let them go if they’re serious.”
The Martian forces held their fire, but did not lower their weapons. They allowed the Allied Earth forces to retreat, but they would not allow themselves to let their guard down in case Rich was trying to trick them.
The Allied Earth Army and Air Force retreated. They began the journey back to their base camp. The Martian military did not give chase. They were ordered to allow a retreating Army to retreat freely. Scout believed attacking a retreating Army amounted to murder.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Search I
Jack White headed into space looking for a ship. He wasn’t sure the ship existed, but his boss had a strong suspicion that it did. Lane had a stronger suspicion, so he sent Jack into space to search for it. Lane didn’t tell him where to look, so Jack had to make educated guesses. Jack not only didn’t know if the ship existed, he also had no idea how big or well-armed it might be. He would have to react quickly if and when he found it.
Jack thought, “Okay, if I was trying to hide a spaceship, where would I hide it?”
He thought about the question for a while before deciding on a course of action. He decided to orbit the planet first. He made sure not to get too close to General Rich’s ship.
He thought, “I might try to keep it moving above the planet. People below wouldn’t notice it in the sky if it was far enough away. ”
The orbits took Jack about two hours. He orbited from east to west, and then from north to south. The only thing he learned was the exact location of General Rich’s base. He sent that information to Lane, who forwarded it to Jordan and Scout.
He thought, “Well, that didn’t help much. They obviously didn’t decide to keep the ship in orbit. Where the hell else would they put a supply ship?”
MARS: Baroque Revolution Page 11
