Dill continued talking as they reached a flight of stairs that led to an upper level. As they continued up, a man blocked their path. He was a tall, elderly looking man, with a blue buttoned shirt and black tie. His top button was undone and tie had been brought down by his hand, his coat jacket draped over his shoulder.
“Is this him, Roberts, the Martian?” the man said as he walked slowly down the stairs. His demeanor and tone didn’t seem polite to McKenna.
“Yes sir, Captain Mulcahey. This is Marshal Alan McKenna.”
“I know his name, Sergeant.” Mulcahey walked down a few more steps, his eyes still piercing into McKenna’s. He stopped a step above as McKenna extended his hand.
“Mulcahey, I’ve heard good things,” McKenna said as he extended his hand. Mulcahey didn’t acknowledge his gesture, prompting McKenna to put his hand back down. Dill stepped aside to let him pass. Mulcahey stepped shoulder to shoulder to McKenna, who felt off-put when he got face to face with him.
“A word, if I may, Marshal.” Mulcahey spoke low and firm, not thwarted by McKenna’s status. “I’ve survived this long through sheer determination but never at the expense of my men. These are good Enforcers here. Many have families, children. I know all about you.” Mulcahey put himself close enough so McKenna could feel his breath. “Never put yourself in a position where you can take from these men and women, Demon of Mars.” Mulcahey took his gaze off McKenna, never blinking once. He turned to step past Dill and down the stairs. “Roberts.”
“Did I mention you retired him?” Dill said. “I’m sure I did. Anyway, what the hell was all that about? You two know each other?”
“No. But he knows me,” McKenna said, watching Mulcahey exit the building. “Animosity between Earth and Mars is still alive and well, that’s all it is.”
“Replacing him wasn’t the original play. He was going to second you. Once he got notion of who he was to be working with, he told Chief Alistair he’d rather turn in his papers than work with a Martian. She accepted.”
“The Council is selective with their words.”
“Let’s shift the mood then, sir,” Dill said, continuing up the stairs.
The upper office was an open space, with the large viewing window the first notable feature. A large desk of ornate black marble sat at the front of the room, with two smaller desks to the left and right. No doubt they were secretarial desks for the previous captain but they were both unoccupied now.
McKenna approached the window and rested his arm against it, peering out into the night below. Although the skyscraper that housed the ISTF was moderate compared to something like Freedom Tower, it still towered over many of the lesser ones below, giving a free view of the VTOLs in the air. Their lights gave a whole other layer of color to the night sky. The stars were sharp and glittering as well, the moon full of shine. The neon lights throughout the city put the finishing touch on the picture, giving a presence of life and modernization.
“Still admiring sir?” Dill asked, crossing his arms as he too gazed outside.
McKenna was still taking in the overnight change in his lifestyle and career. It had been hard to leave everything he had ever known on Mars. He was truly a stranger in a foreign land.
“Something the matter, sir?”
“No, I…”
“Come now, McKenna. Marshal or not, this past day must have had some weight on you.”
“I’ve been a child of Mars since birth, Roberts. I’ve fought its battles, accepted its shelter, solved its crimes. And the sandstorms... Damn. I won’t miss those. But after the war, everything changed. We were soldiers left with no profession, no plan. A grey future. I always tried to find a reason or an excuse so that whatever I do, I help people now. Being an enforcer of the law, helping people when they can’t help themselves. But…”
“It’ll take time to adjust, I’m sure.”
“Mars is a small planet, its problems included. I look around out there and see trouble. I was shot at near the blockade by God knows who, I was attacked by this new mutant threat, I was almost mugged not an hour off the transport, and the very air I breathe could kill me. Honest question, Sergeant. Do you honestly think any good can be done here?”
Most of Dill’s previous commanding officers were good at their jobs, while a few just barely scraped by. But this new one was different. “This is a dark city,” Dill said, trying to pick his words. “There’s times when I look around down there and don’t see anything worth saving. Crime rates are up a hundred and fifty percent from last year, at least sixty new gangs have formed since last December. We have a new mutation that’s plaguing the undercities, and apparently it’s making its way to the upper levels, as you saw firsthand. And finally, we have an airborne pathogen that will scramble us from inside out if we don’t use breathers.” McKenna let distress overcome him, realizing his question might have been unintentionally rhetorical. “So, yes sir. There’s a lot of bloody good to be done here.”
McKenna smiled before seeing the pendant around Dill’s neck, barely able to make out the inscription. “Saint Jude…?” McKenna muttered under his breath. He nodded and extended his hand to his new partner. “Then let’s get to work, Sergeant.”
13
AMONG MARSHALS
The Taken. Paragon News was at it again, spinning a fairy tale for every moppet in Freedom to take in. Dill hadn’t even heard the term until a week ago. Before that, people called them as they saw them: ghouls. Nightmarish entities, gripping minds that couldn’t fathom them as creatures of the world and so twisted them. All rubbish, Dill thought. They might look like fairy tale monsters, but it’s just Mother Nature coming up with something new to fuck about with.
Dill said there were other problems in this rotten city worth going after and he still stood by it, but after seeing those things firsthand, the more he kept seeing them in his head. His money had been on cultists at first but he’d never seen creeps in robes move like that. He’d seen cannibals before but never seen them screech like that either.
Worse, Dill’s condition had peaked in the alley. It used to stop after a few minutes. He didn’t know if it was the adrenaline, those things, or the fact that he might be getting worse. All it took was one bad mission to tangle his nerves for the rest of his life. The Blood Rose helped sometimes when he was in a calm place. This was the first free moment he’d had to himself for a while.
His desk was right next to his new commanding officer, the new Marshal. Dill spent most of the night briefing him on standard operating procedures here at the precinct. City layouts, gang territories, major players and then some. It was a lot of information, but McKenna had to sound like he knew what he was talking about if he was going to be giving a speech through the VOX. The speech was just a curtain, of course. They both knew that. The Council knew it, too. The people had to feel something was being done, but how much could a handful of cops do? And would the people even believe action was being taken against a new threat when Interpol couldn’t even protect themselves from the gangers of normal?
Dill saw the terminal on his desk begin to blink. He had requested a certain packet of documentation from the New Haven Hall of Records, a private request. A lot of people had heard the man’s name before Dill ever did, this Martian McKenna. Shortly after getting McKenna settled, Dill realized he knew not a damn thing about the man. Mulcahey seemed to hate his guts, and even the Council had made certain mention that his history could make him dangerous. Then again, those words came from Councilor Krieg, and after meeting that windbag first-hand, it was safe to say he was a pillock.
Dill wasn’t lucky enough to be in the war, his condition made certain of that. But people here were already starting to talk, and he was still clueless as to who this man was. Who is Alan McKenna? Luckily, he had a few minutes to kill.
USER ACCESS: SGT. ROBERTS, DILLON; INTERPOL EMPD
ACCESS CONTENT: “GREER SOL ENCYCLOPEDIA: VOL. 3”
TOPIC: MARS SOLAR WAR
RESTRICTION: NONE
The Mars Solar War was an interplanetary conflict between Mars and her colonies, the Far Reach Entente colonies and the late Earth Federation of Alliances. It lasted from January 19th, 2460 to December 28th, 2464 and would become known as the bloodiest conflict in human history.
The conflict’s beginnings emerged when the Earth Federation, under the guidance of Chancellor Michael Orintus, shortly thereafter the autocratic leader of Earth, suggested the Horizon Plan. This plan stated that in order for expansion and progression to succeed, a Unified Solar System was required. The Horizon Plan required all colonies of Sol to accept Earth’s influence and trade across the System, with the eventual annexation of all colonies and admittance of Revente ambassadors. The Far Reach Entente and the militant society of Mars and her colonies objected to this, with most colonies free of any outside regulation and the majority comprising pro-human beliefs. Several treaties would be dismissed and revised between the FRE, Mars and Earth in the prelude to war.
The FRE had been in existence since the early Solar Colonization Movement, comprising over forty-seven colonies after the movement’s end. The Entente was solely an agreement of policies, and the colonies remained independent in government practices. Pre-war, Mars was a self-governed military state renowned for elite soldiers, weaponry and unparalleled fighting capabilities, with its soldiers trained in many practices now outlawed throughout the System. Mars may have been an independent colony, but she always held a strong allegiance with Earth. She was the first and last line of defense for Earth, and she would stand by that notion. Mars considered adopting the Earth Horizon Plan, although only as an independent colony.
The FRE, on the other hand, was firm on their stance.
Relations between the FRE and Earth became increasingly strained as blockades were established, barring non-Earth colonies from established trading routes. Earth began treating FRE vessels as a military threat, detaining them and their crews until properly assessed as non-threatening to Earth and her space. With trade and travel lanes hampered, the FRE was left with little choice, and declared war on the Earth Federation on January 19th, 2460.
Meanwhile, the Earth Federation pushed Mars to become an Earth colony and indefinite ally, using aggressive measures to acquire her. With the recent events in Sol, however, Mars became indifferent thanks to Earth’s treatment of the FRE, of which Mars was not even an ally. Every treaty to acquire Mars was declined by her Hierarchy, and although she remained an ally to Earth, she would not enter the war against the FRE. Old allegiances from the Solar Colonization Movement still carried weight, however, as Mars stated that if FRE troops made hostile landfall on Earth soil, Mars would assist the Federation and enter the war. This, however, left the Blue Jewel unimpressed.
The alliance between Mars and Earth officially split when the Earth Federation attempted a hostile takeover of Mars during a diplomatic meeting on the planet, involving operatives posing as representatives from Earth. After Martian security secured the situation, Mars immediately contacted Earth demanding justice. However propaganda on Earth reported that the Martian government had Earth officials assassinated to provoke war and side with the FRE.
No plea was heard from Mars after that. Branding them as traitors to Earth and her interests, Michael Orintus’ regime declared war on Mars on June 30th, 2460, thus creating the Solar Powers alliance between the Mars colonies and the FRE. Mars would proudly stand against the Earth Federation in light of these drastic events, as they viewed the war as a chance to uproot the tyrant who had ruthlessly overturned Earth’s ancient and just politics.
The Martian Navy was able to mobilize over 22 million troopers at the start of the war, adding 14 million from its supporting colonial auxiliaries to the 19 million from the FRE. The Earth Federation vastly outnumbered the Solar Powers, with Earth forces and loyal colonies mobilized at 110 million active troops. However, the Earth Federation would play a cautious game given the elite status of the Martian military. The legendary Martian military had never fought in a conflict where they were not outnumbered.
The war would last for four years and be fought across many of the System’s colonies, with destruction on a scale never seen in human history.
...AWAITING INPUT
It was ironic to think that children growing up during the war probably had no idea that Earth had fallen under control of an authoritarian leader who led his people into the biggest massacre that any historian had ever penned in Earth’s history.
...SCROLL TO TOPIC: “TITAN CAMPAIGN”
In August 2464, the remaining offensive Martian battalions engaged in the Titan Campaign, the last major campaign of the war and final push from the Solar Powers. By this stage in the war, both Earth and Martian militaries alike had sustained heavy casualties and exhausted nearly all resources. The FRE had formally surrendered three months earlier after losing more than it could ever rebuild. Despite being outnumbered by overwhelming odds, Mars were able to break stalemate after stalemate but could not muster any more troops. The Earth Federation faced an entirely different situation, struggling to equip their remaining rear echelon troops with an average of one rifle to every four men.
The final battles were fought on all fronts of the war. As both armies dwindled to low strength, the fighting became even more desperate. But after so many needless deaths and carnage, a way to win the war was revealed, and the opportunity was granted to Mars: recapturing the key Martian fortress of Cardinal Fortune on Titan, currently in Federation Hands. At the tail’s end, Titan would be the deciding outcome of the war. Both sides would fight against each other in harsh environments and adverse conditions on Titan’s landscape.
In early September 2464, the Martian 21st Shock Regiment made a plan to engage in an assault to recapture the Martian stronghold of Cardinal Fortune. The Earth leader had arrived just days before Mars planned to invade. Martian intelligence uncovered that Orintus was inspecting Titan’s defenses himself, knowing how crucial this front was. Mars’s course of action was to make landfall on Titan whilst Orintus was present, capture the stronghold and send the MCN Fortuna’s Wake to keep any Earth air assets from escaping the planet.
In weeks before the assault, however, the Revente had undergone an extensive investigation of Orintus and his political board. They uncovered several counts of conspiracy, including evidence of the attempted hostile takeover on Mars and the methods used in his rise to power. The Revente now needed the man holding the strings.
They planned to bring him to trial at Earth’s courts, but with Martian forces at Orintus’ front lines, they feared he’d be executed before he could stand trial. To avoid such a situation, a detachment of Revente Imperial Guardsmen, one of the Empire’s most elite units, breached the fortress to secure Orintus before Mars could. The Revente marched in just hours before the first Martian Shock Troopers made landfall. They were now trapped inside along with the Earth leader.
Following a brutal week-long siege on the fortress, fewer than a thousand Martian forces remained, with less than two hundred Earth rear echelon soldiers guarding the stronghold. They had held the fortress for days on end against Martian siege weapons in hope of being relieved by off-world reinforcements. The 21st on the ground were being led by a young Shock Trooper, Captain Alan McKenna. Repeated communications failures had been reported on the mountain peaks for days, making reinforcements, artillery support and supply drops almost impossible. Cut off from contact and support, the Martians continued to fight despite dwindling supplies and ammunition.
Meanwhile, the Revente Guardsmen had stood unflinching and with ultimate discipline within the walls of Cardinal Fortune for days on end. They had refused to involve themselves in the fight, even as the Earth troopers desperately tried to fend off the oncoming Martian onslaught. The Guardsmen had been asked only to secure Orintus, not to partake in battle. However, Colonel Jaad O’Ress, the Revente Guardsman Commander, finally made the decision to intervene when he saw the Martians would not stop until the battered and d
esperate soldiers inside the fortress were killed and Orintus was dead.
In a daring frontal assault on Cardinal Fortune, Captain McKenna and his shock troops charged the front lines in hope of overtaking the battered Earth forces. The 21st overtook several trench lines, steadily advancing their charge and decimating any Earth forces in their way.
Colonel O’Ress ordered his two-hundred guardsmen to the top of the walls and to stand at firing positions and then to open fire on the Martian advance. This would mark the first and only time humans would openly engage in battle with the Revente Empire. The inhuman precision aim of each individual Guardsman, their perfect fire discipline, and the unstoppable penetrating power of the Gaurdsmens’ castor rifles made their volley fire devastating. One volley killed two-hundred Martians, two vollies, four hundred and so on. With aid from the Revente soldiers, the Earth forces effectively stopped the Martian attack, granting victory to the Federation.
Earth Federation forces ceased all hostilities on Mars and throughout the System. Soon, after a record trial, Earth’s people and governing bodies accepted the Aurorans’ accusations against Orintus. The Earth Federation Dictator would be found guilty of high crimes against Earth citizens, Mars and all major colonies, including conspiracy and violation of the Laws of Sol. Earth’s government was reformed shortly thereafter to form a Council that would oversee several unified governments, thus becoming the Earth Council of Governments that we know today.
During the Victoria Trials on Mars, a series of military tribunals after the war, the Martian government pleaded that they had fought to uproot Orintus’ regime and demanded justice for his actions. While Earth recognized this, it is concluded that the fall of Mars as a military power rested on three factors.
Firstly, evidence and testimonies from Martian Chief Generals Orion and Haliat revealed that had Mars won the war, Earth would have fallen under a stratocracy run by Martian Military Chiefs. This had been the goal since the beginning of the war, and was publicly viewed by citizens of Earth and her colonies as horrifying post-war. Even the FRE colonies admitted to turning a blind eye to Mars’ intentions.
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