Warzone: Nemesis: A Novel of Mars (10 page)

“Very good, load up.” His XO gave the order for all personnel to enter the ships.

Luna was a sixteen hour trip. The first one hundred and twenty men would sleep most of the way there. This would get them ready for the grueling pace of setting the new post up before the Soviets attempted to lay siege to it. Six of the freighters would be unloaded and return quickly to pick up more equipment, supplies, and another one hundred and twenty men. It would be another thirty-four hours after they landed before they were relieved.

The American fleet of sixteen transport freighters, one by one lifted off from their secret post in Utah. They were painted sky-blue to limit the amount of possible UFO sightings. It was imperative civilians didn’t see their ships. All civilians had been removed from a one hundred square mile area, under the pretext that the EPA was checking for radiation leakage from some old uranium mines.
It was good to be connected
, thought the colonel.

“Captain, get us there ASAP,” COL Red Fangs ordered.

“Aye sir, full speed it is.” So it was on the third day, at seventeen hundred, the American fleet left for Luna, unsure of what they would find there.

CPT Walker recently had undergone a name change as per orders. He was now referring to himself as CPT America, and his transport freighter the
America
was the lead vessel. COL Red Fangs regarded the name as a good omen. The colonel hated this part of any assignment. The waiting was unsettling, especially knowing his good friend COL Cavender and all hands may be dead by the time he arrived.

LUNA—July 13, 1970

Nineteen Forty-Two Zulu

COL Red Fangs was reading the file’s documents for the tenth time. The summary on the last page contained the physical parameters that defined how they would conduct their mission.

Summary… ‘Luna has no atmosphere. Its gravity is 16.6% of Earth’s. To keep their cardiovascular system healthy over a long period of time, the men were required to exercise by carrying weights to overcompensate for the weak gravity. The Lunar month is 27.225 Earth days, half of which has around the clock intense light and heat, reaching temperatures up to 265 °F/129 °C, while the dark period gets as cold as -170 °F/-112 °C. Because daylight and dark periods are nearly two weeks long, post operations will keep Earth Zulu time and date, and operate on twenty-four hour days, seven day weeks to keep the men on the bio-clock they’re used to. Time zones are irrelevant on Luna, so we refer to time in relation to how much light or darkness is left until the state changes, and regard marking time for records by Earth Mountain Standard Time, Zulu. Whenever possible, Sunday will be observed as a day of rest and church services will be available for all men. Luna has roughly three trillion craters. The far side is more heavily pockmarked with craters than the near side. The hoverdrives on all vehicles use antigravity technology for hovering and use conventional liquid carbon-based fuel for propulsion.’

“Your coffee, sir, hot and black.” COL Red Fangs looked up from his reading.

“Very good, Corporal.” He blew on the hot liquid to cool it, and took a sip, refocusing his attention to the file he’d been reading.

‘Luna has no water, but some ice is on the poles. Luna only has igneous rocks, rich in oxygen, formed from molten rock. Oxygen will be supplied by these rocks in an oxygen extraction process, key to the post’s survival. The men’s flight suits and ships had rebreathers, but there wasn’t enough room to bring enough oxygen tanks to fill all of the buildings. The moving line of darkness is called
the terminator
. The edge of the terminator that separates light from darkness advances about ten miles per hour. Should the American post have fallen at the D’Alembert crater, then you’ll construct the new American post at the Landau Crater, on the far side of Luna for security reasons.’

He would have liked more time to put his team and equipment together, but if there was any chance of saving the American post and his old friend it would be worth it. He had the best team on Earth. He had confidence that his team would get the job done if they had to help reinforce Eagle 1 or set up and defend a new post. He smiled slightly when he considered that the men could carry heavier weight due to the weaker gravity. The weaker gravity would be a bonus when they were unloading the ships.

The lead ship picked up a satellite transmission from Eagle 1, six hours after lift-off. The transmission was laced with static, but the voice was understandable.

“COL Cavender, we have Soviet tanks and bombers on radar, sir,” the voice cross-reference was identified as belonging to 1LT Westbrook.

“This is COL Cavender. Form a line behind the east guntower, and in front of the post HQ. All noncombatant personnel report to the post HQ, where you’ll receive a rifle and side arm from Chief Higgins. The combat officers have elected not to surrender. I’m leaving the noncombatant personnel under the command of CPT Lacey. Should we fall in the attempt to defend our post, CPT Lacey will confer with you all to decide whether or not you’ll surrender. May God be with us all.” The colonel exhaled and steeled himself for the attack to come. He laughed at the irony of the situation. Four generations of military officers in his family and his end will have to be modified to show he died in Vietnam: to have a public funeral with military honors. None of his family would be told the real truth, but that’s the way this war was.

Eagle 1 Post: Black Dogs Battalion, Luna

Personal Log, CPT Neil Lacey

July 13, 1970

COL Cavender and all of the remaining combat officers have elected to fight to the death and not surrender. He’s left me the burden of leading the remaining noncombatants in the event they fall in the line of duty. I assembled the personnel under my charge and put the issue to them. I found there weren’t any noncombatants in the US Marines, and that none would surrender. The chaplains said they would neither fight nor surrender, but would stand with us, to give encouragement and aid. The mess crew in particular was adamant about not surrendering. I had to leave them to compose myself as I couldn’t stop from crying. In all of the time I’ve been here, I viewed the mess crew as simply kitchen help, a necessity to feed us and to wash dishes. Today I realized we were all marines, and if we die here, I count it as a privilege and an honor to make my last stand with these fine marines.

“Men, it has been an honor to serve with you. Semper Fi,” said COL Cavender. The Soviet commander interrupted his last words to his men.

“This is COL Glaskov. We wish to discuss the terms of surrender.”

“If you leave your equipment behind, and leave Luna forever, we will spare you,” retorted Col Cavender.

“I take it you will not surrender, then? Good! Have it your way. Prepare to die!”

“CPT Lacey, we’ve gathered all of the paper records from all of the quarters and offices and my men are incinerating them now,” reported post security Chief Higgins. The rest of my security team is putting bullets in the hard drives of all computers save the one for environmental controls as per your orders. The greenhouse is wired so we can blow the whole affair, but we will wait until the last moment.”

“Very Good. Mess SGT Muldoon?”

“Yes, sir.”

“It looks like we’re going out with a bang. Set up our best food and drink on the table in the officers’ mess. Today everyone is an officer.”

“Sir, yes sir.”

“Just outside of guntower range, the Soviets set up their artillery. They systematically pounded all of the artillery, the armory, recycler, factory, and tactical operations center into rubble. One by one, all buildings were destroyed. Only the post HQ and greenhouse remained. Once their artillery destroyed the guntowers and turrets, the Soviets sent in the first wave of twenty tanks. The Americans fought valiantly and destroyed ten enemy tanks, but the sheer force of numbers overwhelmed them. None of the pilots who ejected would surrender. In one last act of defiance, COL Cavender, CPT Smith and 2LT Baker pulled their service revolvers out and fired on the advancing tanks. They died with honor doing their proud duty as US Marines. I, CPT Lacey, bear witness to this. Our satellite tower has been destroyed, and I’m uploading this account to our satellite by shortwave radio. This will no doubt be my last transmission, as I doubt I’ll be able to recount our end. We remain steadfast. Semper Fi! Remember Eagle 1!”

COL Red Fangs listened to the account with a mixture of anguish and pride. The men who were awake had been huddled close to the radio to hear the details. The men were silently pondering the reality of the final holdouts defending their post to the death. COL Red Fangs cleared his throat. Tears were starting to form in the corners of his eyes, and he knew he had to change the mood, lest his men regard his emotional state.

COL Red Fangs shouted. “The Texans had their Alamo—we have Eagle 1!”

“Remember Eagle 1!” echoed through the ship.

“Captain America, take us to our new post.”

“Aye sir, full speed ahead.”

July 14, 1970—Zero Five Hundred Zulu

“COL Red Fangs, satellite optical and thermal scans show no signs of life on Eagle 1,” reported CPT America. They were on radio silence to make sure the Soviets couldn’t hear them. He pulled up the satellite rendering of Eagle 1. COL Red Fangs silently surveyed the rubble that was once Eagle 1. Where the greenhouse complex had been was a gaping, ugly hole in the lunar surface. It would have been the last thing the Americans destroyed, to make sure the Soviets didn’t get any of their food or processing equipment.

The colonel made no show of emotion, as he hadn’t expected any survivors. He entered the bridge of the transport freighter and addressed the captain. Looking at the video display of Luna before him, he asked, “Captain, where’s Landau Crater?”

“Sir, just on the light side of the terminator line, right—down—there,” he said as he pointed to the spot.

“Could you give me a ballpark estimate of how many hours of daylight we have until darkness if we landed now?”

“I can give you a very close estimate, but it will take a minute.” COL Red Fangs studied the globe before him patiently while the captain did the math.