(Olympia Mons Planetary Defense Center, Mars, Sol System)

Human inhabitation of Mars was an interesting history. None of that mattered to most people with the war going on, of course, but the story of the first explorations, starting with primitive drones and then later manned expeditions that paved the way for the first surface colonies was inspiring, to be sure. These days, most people on Mars (calling them Marvin was a good way to start a fight) lived comfortably in underground cities, as the atmosphere outside was still too thin for people to walk around without breathers, and it was damn cold at night.

This might have made sociologists upset, since humans go a bit crazy if they’re inside too long, and it certainly made the city planners go a bit nuts as they had to design parks and other greenspaces in what was essentially an underground vault of city size. However, for General Farrakhan, those were secondary concerns to how defensible the cities were. And having a bunch of rock over their heads made him happy if it came to orbital bombardment. Much better than a transparent dome, like the few surface cities had. No telling how many might die before they could get to safety gear if one of those bubbles was shattered by an energy blast.

And that was a very real threat, with the civil war on, and going against the Emperor’s faction ever since those ‘ghost ships’ had entered the fray. The fact that they announced their presence by striking at Sol itself spoke of someone who was wanting to make a statement. Probably one of those Nomads. It was the kind of thing they’d do.

Farrakhan was in a unique position to know this, of course, since, unlike most officers in the Imperial Army, he’d managed to catch one of those Nomads doing something they ought not to be. A simple smuggling charge, but because the cargo included Imperial Army goods, he was able to write it up as theft of war materiel, which let him enslave the Nomad, and keep her as his attendant.

He’d done it just to say that he had one of the arrogant Nomads as his personal slave. The fact that she was very attractive and a very enthusiastic (once she’d been fitted with the Stepford chip) lover were only bonuses to the prestige of having caught one of the deathless beings. When he found out that Nomads had their own communications networks, he began using her to keep apprised of what was going on outside of Sol System. Reports through official channels can be ‘sanitized’, so any good commander cultivated outside sources.

Which is why he’d learned long before the other members of the Army about the dangers of the Emperor and his little cult. Fortunately, he was just one of the generals in charge of the ground defense of Mars, and the cult was focusing on the Navy first. So long as he didn’t make waves, he could keep doing what he was doing. But knowing the danger, and seeing which way the wind was blowing, he decided to start making contingency plans.

He was in the middle of another ‘planning’ session with his slave, when the communicator sounded. He answered in voice only, “Report!”

“General, fleet reports a large number of ships have just exited hyperspace inside Sol space. It looks like the Princess’s faction has come. Both sides have deployed tarpit traps, to limit mobility within the system.”

“Very well. Assemble all staff, and have a tactical brief ready in the conference room in thirty minutes. Farrakhan out.”

With that, he turned back to the woman who had a loving expression on her face, except for the eyes which screamed bloody murder at him. “Well, we’ll have to hurry and finish up, my pet. Looks like the contingency plans may be needed after all.”

Thirty minutes later, the general walked into the conference room dressed in his uniform, his slave-attendant dutifully following in the professional-looking dress she always wore when she was ‘on duty’, looking very much the proper secretary. Looking at his command staff, he nodded, seeing everyone was here. “Report!”

“Sir! At least three enemy battle groups in system, one approaching Mars, and two headed for Earth. There is also a report from the Ceres Shipyard that they are being attacked by forces unknown. The Fleet has deployed jammers to prevent enemy forces from using hyperspace locally, but somehow the enemy is also jamming the fleet. We are unsure if this is localized or system-wide. It seems that somehow they had prepositioned jammers seeded throughout the system.”

Somehow? Farrakhan smirked. That wasn’t too hard to figure out. “The ‘ghost fleet’ and their mysterious Nomad commodore, no doubt. So, the local forces are cut off from reinforcement from other parts of the system. They’ve stranded a third of our forces out in the outer planets. All right, forget the rest of the battlefield for now. Show me the local situation.”

The ‘local situation’ was bad, but not as bad as it could have been. In the two months since Alpha Centauri had fallen to the Empress’s faction, the forces in Sol had been expecting an attack, and had been reinforced from the border fleets. Still, it was clear that Merida, too, had gotten reinforcements. Otherwise she would not have been able to attack both Earth and Mars at the same time, with what looked to be at least four fleets worth of ships.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As he watched, one of the Emperor’s superdreadnoughts disappeared from the screen, though there were no enemy ships near it. None that they could see, at any rate. The infamous ‘ghost fleet’ had announced their presence in a way sure to cause a stir amongst the fleet officers. Worse, that ship, the Kil’jadeen’s Fist, had been the flagship for the local defenders, which threw the rest of the ships into disarray temporarily.

Ten minutes later, when the next command ship fell to the unseen guns of the ghost fleet, General Farrakhan had to give some respect to the other side. The command structure of the fleet was in complete disarray now, and with none of the senior captains stepping forward (for fear of putting their own necks on the chopping block, no doubt), the situation was fast turning against the defense.

“General, we just received word from General Markez. The Governor and senior staff will be gathering here at the Planetary Defense Center, to oversee the fighting.”

“Very well. Have the steward prepare rooms for the Governor and the other generals.” He looked to the others, and said, “Continue monitoring the situation. Let me know if there is a breakthrough. We may need to respond to attempts at planetary bombardment. I want everyone ready to defend the PDC.”

“Yes sir!”

Nodding to his subordinates, Farrakhan pulled out his own commlink, and quietly entered a few commands that he had prepared, just in case. It was time to implement his contingency plans.

While he was waiting for confirmation of his plans being executed, his subordinate listening in on the fleet communications said, “Sir, intercepting a transmission from the enemy fleet!”

“Let’s hear it.”

“This is Admiral Jeffery Sinclair, aboard the INS Babylon, of the Tenth Fleet, loyal to the true Empress, Merida Vaughn. Lay down your weapons and surrender. Those who do will be treated fairly. Those who resist will be brought down, so that the Usurper and his AI master will not be able to corrupt the Empire further with his lunacy.”

“General! The transport carrying the Governor and his senior staff, along with Generals Markez and Raman, has exploded! His staff are checking, but there appears to be no survivors in the wreckage.”

It took an effort of will, but General Farrakhan hid the smile that wanted to burst across his face. Instead, he nodded grimly, and said, “Very well. Commander, make a note in the official logs. As of this moment, I am assuming command of Mars and her defenses, as the senior military officer in a war zone while under threat of military attack.”

The officers saluted to him, and he nodded to them. “What is the status of the fleet?”

“The smaller vessels have mostly surrendered or been destroyed. The Evangelion is still fighting, however…” the officer cut off as something changed on screen. “I’m sorry, sir, but the Evangelion is gone, taken out by those ghost ships, it seems. With Captain Ikari’s death, I’m afraid the rest of the ships have now surrendered to the invaders. We are on our own.”

“General, we’re receiving a message from Babylon. They want to speak to the Governor.”

“I understand. Put me on.” When he confirmed that the channel was live, he said, “Admiral Sinclair, this is General Lois Farrakhan, acting Governor of Mars. The Governor was killed in an accident, I’m afraid, leaving me in command of Mars and her defenses. What is it you wish to speak about?”

The Admiral chuckled, and said, “Accident, hmm? No doubt. At any rate, I’m calling to order your surrender. You will stand down the defenses of Mars so that our fleet can be put to better use, ridding the Empire of Travis and his filth. And you are to prepare twenty slaves from your personal funds, not including the Nomad behind you, as tribute to the Empress, and the Nomad is to be gifted to the leader of the Black Star Company, as payment for his ships leaving Mars without pillaging for loot.”

Farrakhan’s face twitched at those terms. The twenty slaves part wasn’t an issue, but giving up his bedwarmer and information source? That was a bitter pill to swallow. But what was one slave against coming out ahead in this? He would need to find a new way to keep tabs on the Nomad communications, but other than that, it was still a cheap price, especially if he kept power afterwards. And the Empress would need someone to keep control of the planet while she rooted out Travis’s supporters…

With a showy sigh, Farrakhan nodded. “Of course. It is a shame to lose such a talented attendant, but we all do as we must, for the good of the Empire.”

“Very good. Once you have ordered the surrender, the Empress would like you to come aboard the Babylon, so you can witness the end of the battle against the Usurper, Governor. You may bring the Nomad and the twenty slaves at the same time, so we may present them to the Empress when we rejoin the fleet.”

That was another piece of unwelcome news, but he had already decided on what horse to back, and now that he was in the middle of it, there was nothing to do but ride the tiger and hope he didn’t fall off. “I understand. It would be my honor to accompany the fleet into the final battle of this unfortunate war. Please, allow me one hour to arrange the stand down and locate suitable offerings as my tribute to the Empress before we depart.”

“One hour, a shuttle will pick you up at the PDC you’re currently stationed at. Sinclair out.”

When the transmission died, Farrakhan made a show of sighing to the observing officers, and said, “Order all forces to stand down, Lieutenant, on authority of the acting Governor. There is no point risking civilian lives at this point. Either the Emperor wins, and it is only my life that is taken for this failure, or the Empress will emerge victorious, in which case all the civilians we swore to protect will be safe.”

“Puppet, come, we must get ready for the journey, and you must prepare to meet your new master.”

“Of course, Master. It saddens me to leave your side, but if that is your will, I will comply.” Well, that’s what the slave’s voice said. Her eyes, however, clearly stated that she was more than pleased to be getting away from him, though she might regret not having had a chance to kill him. He was a little sad that he hadn’t been able to break her spirit, despite all the things he’d done, but she would be this mercenary leader’s problem now.

Of course, this meant that he’d need to find a new attendant. Perhaps he could pick one up while he was buying the tributes for the Empress? The leggy redhead of a Nomad was nice, but perhaps something different this time? It had been a while since he had a nice Italian…

Meanwhile, as General Farrakhan made his plans for the future, a certain Nomad was communicating with her new Master.

Ruby: It is done. He suspects nothing.

M.Mollen: Very good. You remember your bargain?

Ruby: Yes, I submit to your experiment and work for the company without attempting to escape or subvert orders, and you turn off the Stepford protocols on my chip, and I get to kill that bastard however I like.

M.Mollen: Then I’ll be seeing you both when the battle is done.