Battle Pod

While the Hellburner launched and fell toward the cone of the Solar System’s largest mountain, the Napoleon Bonaparte took critical hits. Admiral Gaius did everything he could think of, but the proton beam proved superior to his actions.

The Hellburner shrugged off the point-defense cannons of Olympus Mons. And it maneuvered too sharply for the proton beam to target it. As the giant bomb neared, a lone orbital roared out of a hanger bay in the highest third of the mountain. The orbital engaged afterburners almost immediately as it shot toward the heavens. The Hellburner slammed into Olympus Mons and ignited. It made sunlight because it was sunlight. A Bethe solar-phoenix reaction began. It would burn for hours and harm those within a five-hundred- kilometer radius. It killed the proton beam. It killed the cyborgs in and on Olympus Mons and it destroyed the cyborg converter deep in the mountain, although it failed to kill Toll Seven and Web-Mind.

The Hellburner pushed up a massive mushroom cloud that climbed into the Martian atmosphere. It had destroyed many, but also saved what was left of the Napoleon Bonaparte.

The Third Battle for Mars was nearly over.

-22-

Three humanoids in vacc-suits drifted between the abandoned orbital fighter and the Mayflower. The former Highborn shuttle orbited Mars. Tall Osadar Di was in the lead, with a towline attached between her and Marten. Another line connected Marten to Omi.

Soon, Osadar reached the shuttle and she engaged her magnetic clamps. She stuck to the side of the shuttle and pulled in Marten. He soon magnetized himself beside her and drew in Omi. Afterward, Marten unclipped a handscanner and typed in the needed codes. They waited as the Mayflower’s computer decided if the codes matched. Then the outer lock that Training Master Lycon had shot out of many months ago, opened for them. Marten, Omi and Osadar floated in. Major Diaz and Squad Leader Rojas had died in the hanger. Their bodies were gone in the continuing solar-phoenix reaction on Mars.

Far to the west of them down on Mars, Olympus Mons glowed brightly.

Hissing occurred as the airlock filled with a breathable atmosphere. Soon, the inner hatch slid open. Leaving his helmet on, Marten floated for the pilot’s chair. Osadar and Omi floated after him. It was time to leave Mars, to slip away if they could.

* * *

Grand Admiral Cassius came to a painful conclusion. He needed to get the Napoleon Bonaparte to the Sun-Works Factory as fast as possible. It would take at least a full year, maybe more, to repair the mighty super-ship.

The number of sick and dying Highborn aboard the radiated Doom Star was horrifying. Combined with the dead of the Hannibal Barca… the Third Battle for Mars had been a disaster.

Yes, he had destroyed the bulk of the SU Battlefleet. Intelligence reports indicated that twelve battleships had arrived at Mars. The battleships were the heart of the SU Fleet. One third of those vessels remained. He wasn’t sure how heavy their damage was. The fact Social Unity still had one third of their most crucial warships left was galling.

The new factor made his decision obvious. That factor was the cyborgs. They were a new element in the war for Solar System Supremacy. The tactic of swarming a Doom Star with stealth cyborgs—

Grand Admiral Cassius slowly eased out of near-Mars orbit. The Napoleon Bonaparte was a crippled warship. Even worse were the Highborn dead. Cassius refused to accept he had lost the battle. He had done better than a draw. Yes, the premen had killed one third of his fleet. But he had destroyed close to ninety percent of their force. The galling truth, however, was that he was retreating.

Could Social Unity hang onto Mars with what it had? What about the cyborgs? Where had they come from?

Grand Admiral Cassius felt something strange then. In a lesser being, it would have been fear. He refused to accept that this feeling was fear. Maybe it was trepidation about the future.

“This is a setback,” he whispered. He would not lie to himself. The premen had hurt the Highborn. Yet the essence of the Highborn was to fight through to victory.

What about the cyborgs? The machine men troubled him. They were an unknown factor. He consoled himself with one thought. Working hard to keep their presence hidden, the cyborgs had played their bid to destroy three Doom Stars. Instead, one Doom Star was dead and another badly hurt. Yet now the Highborn realized they had another enemy to contend with. Next time he would be ready for the cyborgs.

The war with them had just begun.

* * *

Commodore Blackstone and his four battleships hid behind Mars as probes watched the two Doom Stars leave near-Mars orbit.

“Did we win?” Commissar Kursk asked.

Blackstone stared stonily at his vidscreen. They were in his wardroom. On another computer-box in his screen, he was reading the report of what the medical officers had found implanted in General Fromm’s neck.

“The cyborgs did this to Fromm,” Blackstone said.

“What did you say?” Kursk asked.

“Here,” Blackstone said, shifting aside. “You’d better read this.”

* * *

In the hidden command-pod from the Neptune System, in its close-Mars orbit, Toll Seven and Web-Mind debated their next move. Almost all the Neptune cyborgs were gone. Everything on Olympus Mons was lost. General Fromm had failed to report in. What had happened aboard the Vladimir Lenin? Their allied bio-forms had been strangely silent. The bio-forms should have tried to communicate with him by now.

It was then Web-Mind alerted Toll Seven.

Toll Seven turned on a screen. There was a bright image on it that showed an engine was burning. Before Toll Seven could ask, Web-Mind had computed the shuttle’s flight-path. It seemed to be headed for Jupiter. Cyborg Osadar Di had been from the Jupiter System. Web-Mind therefore gave it a thirty-three percent probability that Osadar Di was aboard that shuttle. They could not allow her to escape. She knew too much.

Toll Seven acknowledged Web-Mind’s probabilities and he recognized the danger. He opened a com-link and hailed the Vladimir Lenin. Then he sent them the shuttle’s coordinates and asked that they destroy the vessel.

* * *

Seconds later, at Blackstone’s urgent command, lasers burned into space. They used Toll Seven’s radio- message, triangulating from the four battleships. Those lasers pierced the camouflaged hull of Toll Seven’s command-pod, killing the Neptune cyborg and Web-Mind.

“What will you tell Supreme Commander Hawthorne?” Kursk asked on the Vladimir Lenin’s bridge.

Blackstone gave her a wintry grin, and said, “Mission completed.”

* * *