Tides of Mars (Omnibus Version)

by Ben Winston

  When he got to the common area, his assistants were already handing out weapons to his dogs. “Listen up, we are heading for Earth. The slavers are assaulting the Royal Compound, and have dropped a surprise in on the defenders.

  “It seems that the slavers have built a light cruiser class ship that has ground assault as its primary function. It will be your job to make it fail. We are going to drop you, literally, on the top deck of the ship. From there, you will make your way inside, and wreak as much havoc as you possibly can. Basically, you are free to do whatever you want, to whomever you want, as long as it's inside that ship.

  “One thing I should tell you, there is a distance trigger on your collars, and for today's party, that distance will be set to less than a thousand miles. You get further away, and the collar will kill you. I have the ability to monitor EVERYTHING you do, and track your every movement.

  “Your mission will be to subdue that ship, through any means at your disposal, and render it inert for this battle. I know that some of you really enjoy your work, however, I will caution you that time is an issue here. Until that ship stops shooting, it will be considered a hostile target. So unless you want to blow up with it, get it shut down as quickly as you can, Understood?” he finished.

  “How will we know which way to go once we get inside?” the burly, muscled woman asked.

  “That's my part of the job. I’ll guide you and give you intel as soon as I get it. If you survive this mission, and succeed in disabling that ship, you will remain on board until the fighting stops. Once that happens, you will be retrieved and returned to Phobos for training,” Grant explained.

  “This doesn't sound too hard,” one of the dogs said.

  “The ship is currently fully loaded with armored assault Marines and all of their equipment,” Grant replied.

  Next to the man that spoke, one of the others slapped him softly on the back of the head.

  Grant smiled and continued. “I'll activate your weapons once you hit the deck on the ship.”

  “Five minutes, Major,” came an announcement over the ship's speakers.

  “Thanks, Cas.” Grant looked at the group of condemned prisoners. “You heard the lady, move to the back of the ship. Once the ramp opens, get out as fast as you can and find cover. The landing zone will most likely be hot.”

  The ramp was actually opening before the ship touched down on the deck. It was by no means a perfect drop, but the dogs did as they were told, and got out quickly. Cas had the ship taking off before the last dog had found something to hide behind.

  “Okay, so we're here, any idea how we get inside, Major?” the burly woman asked over the comm.

  Grant and four of his assistants had portable terminals open in the common area, and were watching the dogs. The ship's AI had activated the dog's weapons as per Grant's orders.

  “Scans show two maintenance hatches amidships. Move toward the stern about thirty meters, and you should be able to see them,” one of the marines said. “Remember to stay low, the point defense weapons will make quick work of you if they see you.”

  “Understood, come on guys, let's get this shit over with,” the woman replied.

  Grant had looked up the files on his dog's and had tagged each with their names. He fully intended to change that as soon as he got to know them a little and he had a good idea who was going to be first. He pulled up the burly woman's file, and changed her name to 'Butch'.

  “Tegrin Dern, you are now known as Butch. All calls addressed to you will be prefixed as such,” one of the assistants said. “Copy, Butch?”

  “Yeah, I heard ya,” the newly christened Butch replied. “We found the hatches, what do we use to open them?”

  “Each suit carries a lock pick, and a small laser torch in the equipment area. Either of those would work in this situation,” one of the other Marines said. “My name is Halston. I'll be the technical adviser for this mission.”

  “Other than the Major, who else do we have?” the big man asked.

  Grant grinned and changed his name to Marmaduke.

  “Orthen Gren, you are now known as Marmaduke. All calls addressed to you will be prefixed as such. Copy Marmaduke?” the first Marine said. “I am your mission controller, Bast.”

  “Copy, Bast,” Marmaduke replied.

  “Whether you pick it or cut it, they'll know you did it as soon as you open the hatch. I wouldn't hang around to admire the handiwork if you know what I mean,” Halston said.

  “The ship's coming in for a landing, could you keep us advised as to its progress?” Butch asked.

  “Current altitude is eleven thousand feet and dropping. As soon as you're inside, I'll let the fighters attack again,” Grant replied. “Are you hatching a plan, Butch?”

  “Sort of, let the troops get off, take the ship, and use its weapons on the troops. I don't think there is another way we'll get the ship while it's full of trained Marines,” Butch replied.

  Grant considered the plan. She was right, there was no way to secure the ship while the troops were still on her.

  “You'll have to take the ship pretty quickly or those troops will overwhelm the defending forces,” Grant said pointing out the obvious.

  “Yeah, I'm pretty sure we can do that. Marmaduke will take six men and secure main engineering, and I'll take the rest for the bridge. Then we seal her up, and pump out the atmo. Anyone not in a suit will be toast in three minutes,” Butch explained.

  “Approved. Delay breaching until the ship is down, then execute. I don't think I need to tell you what'll happen if those fuckers win do I?” Grant asked.

  “No, I think we can figure out that one on our own,” Butch replied. ”What are you gonna do about the fighters? They'll know something's up if they don't resume the attack soon,” Butch said.

  “Then I would advise you to make yourselves part of the hull,” Grant replied. He shifted channels to the fighters. “Have at it, kids, but be advised my dogs are on the roof. IFF is active.”

  “We got them, they should be safe there, just as long as they keep their heads down,” the fighter commander replied.

  Grant then called Colonel R'Hea and filled her in on the plan. She didn't like it, but she understood it. If they could turn the ship's formidable weapons systems on its own troops, then that would certainly swing the odds in their favor. However, she wasn't too keen on condemned prisoners being the ones controlling those weapons.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  3rd Imperial Battle Fleet

  Imperial Command Vessel, ICV Divine Light

  Outer solar system, Sol Sector.

  Fleet Admiral Gr'eis Commanding.

  “Multiple hyperspace events, multiple vectors. Estimated fleet size unit returning to normal space in Indigo sector. All missile pods are in armed acquisition,” Ops reported.

  “Thank you, Ops. Captain Tolgar, please bring the fleet to Condition Red-One-Alpha, and stand by,” Gr'eis ordered. “Tracking, did you get a final count?”

  “Yes Sir, the problem is identification. What good would three hundred and twenty one targets do you if you don't know what they are?” The young woman frantically typing on her keyboard replied without looking up.

  “Ouch! Good work, Jaell. Please let me know what they finally shake down as,” Gr'eis said. “Folks, there are bad people in my star system. Let's make them gone. Execute attack plan beta-twelve, withhold the squadrons for fighter suppression until we get a solid count. Engage.”

  “Aye, Sir! Beta-twelve relayed, fleet moving into engagement positions,” Ops replied.

  “Sir, there's something hokey going on at the back of the fleet. I read what I think is several light cruisers, but it's hard to get a read on them because they keep jumping around,” Jaell said. “It doesn't make any sense at all.”

  “How many light cruisers are we talking about here?” Gr'eis asked.

  “Ten to fifteen, Sir. I can't get a solid count – they keep moving around too much,” Jaell replied.

  “I
t's normally the job of light cruisers to engage fighters and destroyers. We don’t have our fighters out, but they should be able to get to our destroyers. Are our destroyers being ignored?” Gr'eis asked.

  “No Sir. There are several enemy destroyers and light cruisers moving to engage them, but these are hanging back, out of the engagement area. Hell, the missile pods can't even get a lock on them,” Ops said, porting the scanner techs feed to her station. “Jaell, can you get me a clear image of one of them?”

  “One moment, Sir,” Jaell answered. “and... gotcha! There ya go, Commander!”

  The image sprung up on the Ops screen as well as the Admiral's.

  “These aren't normal Light Cruisers - not enough weaponry. So the question is, what the hell are they?”

  “Ground assault ships,” Gr'eis said. “Look at the large bay doors along the bottom on the side. Those bitches could deliver at least a couple heavy battalions right on top of an enemy, then land for ground support. That's an assault fleet.”

  “They must have guessed we would stop the Damascos Weapon, if they had those along. Still, they would have to get through us before they could do any good,” Commander Seranline said, thinking. “It looks like they do have some fighter suppression and point defenses, but even a Destroyer could knock them out in a straight up fight.”

  “Keep an eye on them,” Gr'eis said. “If they make a run for it, we're going to have to stop them at all costs, there is no way in hell Ariel could stand up to even one of those. Make sure command gets a copy of this. Maybe Hs'ean can figure out a way to deal with them.”

  Ops nodded and typed commands into her console, sending the data off. Then she brought the battle back up on her screen. “Missile pods are in full rapid fire. They are doing considerable damage to the enemy fleet. They took them completely by surprise.”

  “Yeah, well, they're countering it by coming at us faster. Let's just hope they'll fuck-up because they're rushing forward. Weapons free! Fire when you have targets!” Gr'eis ordered.

  Emergency Command Bunker

  Moran-Parker Estate,

  Henderson, Nevada, Earth.

  Sol Sector. (Horon-A sector)

  “Did we get all the civilians out of the way?” Cr'ale asked.

  “The ships that could, have grounded on the Martian surface. The rest jumped out to the Centauri System, Majesty. Of the ones that are on Mars, as many people as could be were off-loaded into the subsurface structures there,” one of the ensigns assigned as an aide said.

  “Good, thank you, Ensign,” Cr'ale replied. “How are they sitting for supplies?”

  “The ships that went to Centauri took one of the supply ships with them. The rest of the ships have full supplies of their own, as well as the supplies on Mars,” the Ensign reported. “I should mention that the crews working on Mars, building the cities, have refused to stop working during the battle. They feel that they are safe in doing so as the fight is still far enough out that it shouldn't bother them.”

  Cr'ale snorted and shook his head. “Please tell them that while I admire their work ethic, and their dedication to their work, I would feel much better if they returned to their homes, and made sure their families and friends were safely in the bunkers with them. Word it as a request, but make it an order if they still don't go.”

  The Ensign nodded and got busy relaying the orders. Cr'ale turned to Hs'ean. “How is the battle going?”

  “Just getting started, Majesty. The ground forces seem to have jumped ahead of the main body and are landing on the outside. It would seem they are very serious about killing Ariel and yourself. Although we took precautions, I'm sure they know exactly where you are,” Hs'ean reported.

  “So, why the ground assault then? Why not just blast the area from orbit and be done with it?” Cr'ale asked.

  “They couldn't be certain they'd get either of you. In this case, they wouldn't because Cole would simply jump away, and this bunker is so hardened I doubt it would be breached if the planet broke up!” Hs'ean said grinning.

  She was interrupted by an aide. “Sir, there is a message for you from Admiral Gr'eis.”

  Hs'ean pointed to her screen and the young ensign nodded, and typed in a command. The message about the light cruisers and Gr'eis assumption about them came up on the screen. “Fuck me! If any of those get through, Ariel's finished. Tollimay! Send an alert to Major Grant at the Dog Pound. We might need his dogs in a hurry! Try to get him transport as well; maybe a cadet from the Guardian Academy!”

  “Yes Sir!” Lieutenant Tollimay replied and immediately got to work.

  “Dare I ask what's wrong?” Cr'ale asked raising an eyebrow.

  “It seems that the slavers have anticipated our interception of the Damascos Weapon. They've modified fifteen light cruiser class ships for ground assault. If even one of those gets through, they'll overwhelm Ariel's small force in no time,” Hs'ean replied.

  “Fifteen of them? That seems a little much for one estate, don't you think? How many troops can one of those carry?” Cr'ale asked.

  “At least two heavy battalions with artillery. Three to three and a half medium, mechanized battalions, or about five battalions of troops only. That's not counting the ship itself. After it dumps the troops, it can not only function as a command bunker for the battle, but it has pretty powerful weapons of its own,” Hs'ean explained.

  “I don't think all of those were meant just to attack this estate. I grant that isn't enough of a force to invade a core world, but they could sure do a lot of damage on a world like this,” Cr'ale added.

  Hs'ean nodded. “Yeah, they could. The problem is, we have nothing to counter them with. So if any of them get through, we are in serious trouble. The Terrans have a lot of heart, but they don't stand a chance against these guys.”

  “I hate to say it, Admiral, but if any of those get through, we will have to counter them somehow. We simply cannot allow them to have their way against a relatively unarmed population,” Cr'ale said. “We need to come up with a plan to deal with this situation.”

  Hs'ean nodded and sighed. “Yes, Majesty. I just wish I had more assets to work with.”

  Cr'ale nodded. “I would imagine so, Admiral. I wish we didn't have to defend anyone, and that this entire situation could have been resolved peacefully. Has there been word from any of the other fleets?”

  “The first and second fleets are spread out, protecting the core worlds, since the original strike there hasn't been any organized offensive; however, they are still being attacked. The Fourth and Fifth fleets are patrolling the borderlands. Even though there hasn't been any incursions from the kingdoms, we can't leave them unguarded. The Sixth fleet had to be recalled to the Axel-Doogan Anchorage after getting mauled by the slavers.

  “Honestly, Majesty, even if we had more forces, they would never get here in time at this point,” Hs'ean finished.

  “Still no word from the Regulans?” Cr'ale asked.

  Hs'ean shook her head. “No, from everything we can tell, they were destroyed along with Aldus Forward. Ariel does have a Guardian scheduled to do a quick survey of the planet, but if anyone came out of there alive, I'm sure we would have heard from them by now.”

  Cr'ale looked sad. “I never thought I'd live to see the destruction of the Guards. More than anything else I think that underscores just how much power we let those madmen have.”

  “Sire, you can't blame yourself for this. How could you have known this is what they were up to? At what point does security push too far into personal freedoms? If we had to enforce that kind of security, we would be limiting the personal freedoms of our people.”

  “I know, Hs'ean, but I can't help but wonder if Ariel isn't correct about a few of her ideas,” Cr'ale replied. “Did we let the Kingdoms have too much freedom when we set up the Empire? Did we set the stage for this war all the way back then?”

  “Sire, I'm a soldier and don't have that much experience with politics. That being said, I think she might be right. Howev
er, how was your grandfather to know this would happen? At least we know his heart was in the right place when he set up the laws.”

  “Yes, I can agree with that. I can also remember him being very worried about it, even years after it was done. Maybe I should retire, and hand it all over to Ariel. She is going to be a strong Empress. With mKail as her personal guard and Bri'tell as mate, I'm certain she'll have the interest of the people very much in mind whenever she makes a declaration or issues a decree.”

  H'sean nodded. “I think I've gotten to know her a bit since I've been here. I would have to admit that sometimes she scares me, and other times she surprises me. She is impossible to read in almost any situation, but the one thing that can always be banked on with her is the wellbeing of the people. She might have issues when it comes to dealing with diversity, but I wouldn't even count her out on that.”

  “In-bound planetary hyperwake! Tracking one ship, cruiser class, interface in atmosphere, forty-one miles, planet relative two-seven-nine degrees altitude four miles, in one-two minutes!” one of the tracking techs called out.

  “Comm! Get me the Dog Pound! NOW!” Hs'ean yelled.

  Moran-Parker Estate,

  Henderson, Nevada, Earth.

  Sol Sector. (Horon-A sector)

  “Grant's Dogs are on that ship?” Ariel asked. “I didn't even know he had any of them trained yet!”

  “I got the impression that they aren't, Highness,” R'Hea said. “Either way, we're going to have to deal with at least some of those troops on that bitch, until the Dogs can take the ship.”

  “I understand. Just keep everyone inside the shield, unless that big bitch knocks it down. How are we doing on casualties?”

  “They're rising. But so are enemy casualties. Unfortunately, the enemy has more soldiers than we do, so he can tolerate it more,” R'Hea said, tiredly. “Bri'tell asked me to let you know Lt. Condell has been critically injured. The slavers set up a trap using one of our injured soldiers. When she went out to get him, the device blew up, killing the wounded soldier, and blowing her legs off. Her armor sealed her up but she would have died out there if it wasn't for a platoon of Terran Marines. They saw what happened to her they went out and got her. Three of them had to go to the lifestation with her, but they killed forty enemy during the retrieval. If it hadn't been for them, Condell would have died from shock.”