Beyond Mars Crimson Fleet (46 page)

Wakinyan took a deep
breath, as a knot formed in his stomach. Richard’s eyes then
glanced over his own line of ships. It seemed they were so
pitifully few compared to the approaching hoards. He hoped his
defense would be enough to counter the enemy. So many brave men and
women were gambling on his leadership. For their sake, he had to
make this work.

Richard’s mind wandered a
little more, as he sat in his command seat. He remembered the
courageous squad of marines that he sent to give the initial alert.
It was a hard decision, but the situation was too critical.
Gagarin’s faint transmission was barely audible, but it did provide
the crucial warning and key to the Earthers strategy, allowing
Wakinyan enough time to alter his plan and prepare for the flanking
attack. However, it was apparent that the boarding pod was in
trouble. By not maintaining the transmission, it was almost certain
that they had sustained battle damage—and casualties.

Asking for volunteers from
his remaining marines, Richard dispatched several unarmed shuttles
in an attempt to find and rescue the missing craft, but he knew the
odds were against it. He then wished he could wake up from this
nightmare.

“The main force is less
than twenty minutes out, Commander,” Randall’s abrupt words shook
Wakinyan out of his stupor. “Secondary division, less than thirty
minutes away,” he continued his report.

“Bring all ships to general
quarters. Tell Tara to get her freighters the hell out of here
right now, and to be ready when she gets the signal,” Richard
ordered.

“Aye, Sir,” James
acknowledged as he turned to go, but Randall stopped before he
walked away. “You know, an ego is a crazy thing to base a strategy
on,” he said.

Richard frowned. “Well,
it’s as much a part of warfare as anything else.”

Randall gave a quick
nervous laugh. “Hope it works!” he added.

“Me too!” a very serious
Wakinyan replied in a whisper.

* * * * *

The
Crimson Fleet advanced steadily just above the vast asteroid field
of the Valamars System. In the infinite silent of space, the
perception of the huge red ships was ominous. They were the Earth’s
daggers aimed at every Martian heart, presumably deadly and
unstoppable. However, prudence brewed upon the bridge of the
Quinton
.

As the Earth Armada closed
in, Selena stared at her main viewer unbelieving at what she saw.
The Martian fleet was patterned in a wall formation that was
unmoving and waiting—like some predator poised in a jungle. They
were daring her to advance.

“Come to a full stop and
halt the fleet, now!” Darius commanded Renee, unsure of what to
think.

The Crimson Fleet then came
to an immediate halt by her order.

“What’s wrong, Admiral?”
Captain Renee questioned. “They’re nearly within firing
range?”

Darius, however, paused to
gather her thoughts. “Something’s not right! Why would they take a
wall formation with no fighter cover? If they know we’re going to
use the battle matrix system, why make it easy for us to destroy
them?” she question herself as much as she questioned
Renee.

“Maybe they think it’s
damaged or wrecked,” Renee suggested.

“I don’t believe Paladin is
that stupid. He knows we would have gotten it working again. No,
they’ve got something planned.” suspicion crept into Selena’s
mind.

“We could send a few
fighters to probe,” Renee proposed further.

But Selena’s suspicion grew
as she pondered the Martians. “No!” she was adamant. “Send them all
out. Have them form up for an attack run. At the same time, we
assume a wall formation.”

Renee smiled. “The battle
matrix system?” he anticipated her answer.

Selena returned his smile.
“The fighters will go in first, close to the asteroid field and use
it for cover. We’ll move in slowly behind the fighters. If it is a
trap, the fighters will trigger it. If they don’t find anything,
they’ll immediately attack the Martians.”

“And then?”

“We’ll bring our battle matrix to bear on them. What
ever is left, we’ll destroy!” growled Selena.

Captain Renee, however, was
skeptical of Selena’s decision and the Martians’ intentions.
“Should I signal Admiral O’Donald to move in with us?” he
asked.

“No,” Selena was confident
in her assault plans. “This victory will be mine alone! Have him
circle behind the Martians to cut off any retreat,” she confidently
declared. “Now ready the battle matrix system!”

“Aye, Admiral,” Renee
swiftly obeyed.

Selena then retrieved a new
control crown from the domed pedestal near her command chair.
Looking over at the replaced huma-droids glowing in surging energy,
the pseudo goddess then donned the replacement tiara interface once
more.

* * * * *

Randall and Wakinyan were
transfixed as the Crimson Fleet reshaped itself for the imminent
battle. The huge red ships took time and care in combining into
columns and rows. As the two had seen before, the Earthers slowly
assumed the packed wall formation. Yet, large numbers of the
Earthers fighters were gathering too—and in front of their
fleet.

The fighters deployed
differently, however. They were at a single level, arranged in
multiple waves of “finger-four” formations that were chained
tightly together and stretched as long as their armada.
Furthermore, the drone fighters lay close to the asteroid field. It
was evident that the nimble small crafts meant to use the field for
cover as they advanced.

Wakinyan then smiled in
relief. It was what he had hoped for.

* * * * *

“FIGHTERS, ATTACK!” yelled
Selena.

On her command, the Earth
drone fighters rocketed forward as the Crimson Fleet got
underway.

* * * * *

“ALL SHIPS, PREPARE TO
LAUNCH MISSILES!” Wakinyan’s command reverberated through every
Martian vessel. In unison, every Martian warship opened its outer
missile bay doors, while waiting fingers hung over red “launch”
buttons.

* * * * *

“ADMIRAL!” cried out
Captain Renee frantically. “THE MARTIANS HAVE OPENED THEIR OUTER
MISSILE BAY DOORS!”

“WHAT?” Selena was shocked
at their response to her advance.

It just didn’t make sense
to Selena. The range was too great to launch any successful missile
strike. Unless the Martians ignored the fighters to close with her,
they were risking the wholesale slaughter of their fleet in
minutes. Selena’s mind raced in confusion, knowing that there had
to be more to this.

“HALT THE FLEET! Activate
THE BATTLE MATRIX SYSTEM! NOW!” she commanded unsure of the Martian
plot.

Within seconds, the Earth
fleet came to a stop and a river of transparent blue energy formed
in front of the armada. Selena was taking no chances. From her
technical fortress, she readied herself for the
onslaught.

* * * * *

Randall intensely stared
unblinking at his scanners, as the drone fighters approached.
“Twenty seconds to Initial Point!” he spoke in heightened
excitement. “Fifteen seconds—ten seconds,” James counted down,
NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE!”

“MISSILES, AWAY!”
Wakinyan’s order was relayed to all warships under his
command.

Spewing tails of fire, wave
after wave of missiles was launched from the Martian ships. Each
volley was as wide as the formation of Earth vessels itself. The
rocketing projectiles raced upwards and away side-by-side from the
Martian destroyers and cruisers in silent roars. Selena beheld from
the loftiness of her mind the tipped warheads of the flying bombs
growing exponentially in size as they approached. Each one seemed
to target her precisely; it was like looking down the muzzles of a
deadly line of riflemen aiming directly at her.

As the missiles closed, the
matrix did a quick analysis of the weapons. Although they were
standard platforms the Martians used, it was the warheads that were
eccentric. They weren’t the usual anti-ship variation, but
something else—ones that contained high explosives and thermobaric
charges.

The mystery and the
quandary deepened for Selena. These types of warheads caused
enormous pressurized explosions used in blasting and bombarding a
planet’s surface, but they were near useless against armored
warships. Selena’s stomach fluttered as the missiles—and fate drew
nearer.

“Are they stupid or just plain crazy?” she became
more anxious, pondering the question in thought to the matrix
computer. “Why would they use such type warheads against my ships?”
she queried the intuitive machine.

The computer analyzed and recalculated again and
again, but each time no answer was found. The riddle of Wakinyan’s
tactics and rationale simply did not fit Selena’s question.
However, the huma-droids suspected the truth—yet kept silent in a
seemingly quiet rebellion. In some of them, a human part still
resided. And these stirred memories that were thought erased in the
others and made them realize what they had become. Seconds later
their revenge began as the missiles revealed the enigma of their
warheads.

The first wave of missiles arched majestically
up—and then abruptly flared downwards towards the asteroid field.
They immediately targeted the bodies of rock that were cascading
aimlessly within the upper region.

Within several heartbeats,
the first wave of missiles ended their journey in barrage of
brilliant explosions just barely ahead of the impending Earth
fighters. The stones disintegrated into much smaller debris that
choked the field in a barrier of loose small projectiles traveling
at lethal velocity. Unable to slow their speed or alter their
course, the leading wave of Darius’ fighters ran smack into
it.

The first fighter
formations disappeared in mass explosions, which created even more
debris that was hurled about. As following groups of spacecraft
instantly turned to evade the bombardment, more waves of Martian
missiles impacted among the fighters’ ranks, as well as behind
them. Showers of jagged, stony bullets ripped into the composite
bodies of the spacecraft with deadly effect. Fighters either
exploded, or collided with each other in a vain effort to maneuver
away. Their once mighty formations swiftly dissipated into
individual spacecraft attempting to flee the trap—but there was no
escape. Several minutes later, the slaughter was finally over as
the last of the drone fighters died among debris of the asteroid
field.

Selena’s jaw had unknowingly dropped open as she
gaped in stunned silence. Her entire fighter wing had been
annihilated within a matter of minutes. Yet, the aging and obsolete
ships of the Martian fleet had not suffered so much as a single
scratch, as they floated defiantly in front of the cyborg.

Selena became enraged at the new humiliation she
endured, and the feeling became magnified as every memory of Mars
exploded within her consciousness all at once. “NO MORE!” she
screamed in her head. “I WILL BE RID OF YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!”

The Crimson Fleet fired up
its engines and rapidly pushed forward.

* * * * *

“RETREAT!” came the order from the
Crazy Horse
. The Martian fleet then
obediently turned and sped directly away. Yet, the old ships still
held their formation as they did, while each mine in the immense
field quickly disappeared between orbiting stones and into the
lower reaches of the asteroid belt.

Wakinyan now depended on
two things: the mines being nimble enough to avoid impacting the
wayward bodies of ice and rock—and Selena’s ego. If Trager was
right about Selena, his trap was about to be sprung. If not, then
the Martians were doomed to become a mere footnote in
history.

* * * * *

Selena became more angry
and irrational as the pursuit continued. However, with the forced
field up and draining away precious energy, the Earth fleet’s speed
was limited. Her armada gradually fell behind the accelerating
Martian ships, unable to do anything else.

Then, something surprisingly
happened; the Martians slowed their ships to a halt and turned
about to face her. Their grayish blue hulls shimmered in the twin
suns’ rays behind them as they readied themselves to charge like
horse mounted cavalry. Once Selena realized that here was where the
Martians picked to end the fight, her intense anger suddenly
transformed itself into heart-thumping panic and immediately she
became hesitant. From the bridge of the
Crazy Horse
, however, Wakinyan
watched—and sweated.

The next few moments would
determine the fate of the day. If the Crimson Fleet came on too
fast, the effect of the mines would be negated, and therefore,
rendered useless. Everything would now count on the suspicion and
fears of an arrogant and hateful woman.

While Wakinyan continued
his nerve-racking vigil, Selena was torn between what to do. The
memory of the shocking disaster of her fighters was unbelievable
and filled her with heightened caution, for the Martians had a bad
habit of doing the unexpected. This made her more than extremely
wary. The fear of unflinching retribution for the death of Mars was
staring her boldly in the face. It taunted her from the past and
the now. However, she was determined not to make another
mistake.