"Belting is still alive?" one of the other council members interjected at this point. "I thought he'd died years ago."
"He's still alive and living in the ghettos of New Pittsburgh. He hasn't held a job of any kind since his release from federal prison five years after the Jupiter War armistice. My guess is that he is an alcoholic or a dust addict that probably doesn't even remember his navy time. In any case, it is quite inconceivable that the greenies could put together enough people to effectively use one of those ships in any manner. And even if they could, they have no pilots capable of operating the F-10s or the A-112s on the Californias and the nuclear torpedoes they've captured are useless to them. Without the torpedoes, the Owls are useless as anything other than a monitoring platform anyway."
"There is no way they can reprogram those torpedoes?" Williams asked.
"It's impossible," Jules said. "Once the computer that controls the detonator has been wiped, it is impossible to reprogram it. It is nothing more than junk after that."
They seemed satisfied.
"The pre-positioned marine ships," another council member spoke up. "What of those? Will the Martians be able to utilize the equipment inside of them?"
Jules replied, "I think that there is a good possibility that they may not even be able to manage the unloading and transfer of this equipment to the planetary surface. It is quite a complex procedure after all. The landing craft that contain the equipment must be launched from the Panama class ship itself and then piloted down to the surface. However I believe it may be prudent..." He cast a glance at his Marine counterpart for a moment, "... and I am actually stepping into General Wrath's briefing here, but in my opinion I believe in assuming the worst; to assume that they will in fact manage to utilize this equipment."
"Do you agree with that assessment, General?" Williams asked him.
"I have taken into account the faint possibility that they will be able to unload those ships," Wrath replied.
Williams nodded. "Very well." She turned her attention back to Jules. "Do we have any assets in the area at all?" She asked him.
Jules nodded. "Yes we do, ma'am. We have an Owl that had been returning to TNB from Ganymede at the time of this revolt. They were in their coasting period between acceleration and deceleration burns, about halfway between the two planets. I ordered them to take up position as close to Mars as they could get without detection. That should be close indeed, probably inside of twenty thousand kilometers. They will be on station in less than a week and able to send us data on what the Martians are up to with the ships at TNB. They should also be able to monitor communications. They are low on consumables and on refrigerant for the anti-detection systems but with rationing they will hopefully be able to remain on station until our forces can get there. We have other assets in place in the Jupiter system; two California groups and two Owls, but frankly, they are needed there in case of trouble with EastHem; particularly with the loss of our marines and their equipment. I'm quite hesitant to break them loose and I don't see what good they would do anyway."
They nodded. "Any other points that you would like to add, Admiral?"
"Yes ma'am," Jules said. "As you are probably aware, we have a number of Martian citizens enlisted in the Navy. Three thousand, nine hundred and forty-six of them are on ships that were not captured by the Martians or on Earth shore stations. I have ordered all of them removed from duty and kept under house arrest for the duration of this crisis and pending a decision on what to do with them."
"Good thinking, Admiral," Williams said. "I want all of them removed from our ships as soon as possible. They are not to be trusted and they are never to be allowed to enlist in our navy again. We will decide later what to do with them when this little revolt is over."
"Would you like my briefing on our naval situation as it stands with the loss of the far space fleet?" Jules asked next.
"Not just now, Admiral," Williams replied. "We'll hear it after General Wrath gives his briefing. You may have to modify your calculations when he tells you what equipment will be needed for the retaking of Mars."
"Yes ma'am," Jules agreed, not mentioning that he already had anticipated the equipment that his counterpart would need.
General Wrath began his briefing in the same manner. Like Jules, he placed the bulk of the blame on the traitorous General Sega, claiming that his Marines could have easily faced off anything the MPG threw at them. Like Jules he knew it was a lie; but he knew how to play the game too. He apologized sincerely for allowing such an incompetent traitor to achieve a position such as commander of Martian marine forces. In a particularly dramatic bit he even proclaimed that he was indirectly responsible and offered his resignation if the council so desired.
"I don't think that will be necessary just yet, General," Williams responded, smiling at him. She seemed quite touched by his offer however. "I would like to hear you plan for regaining control of the planet though."
"Yes ma'am," Wrath responded. He called up some maps and plans on his screen. "My staff and I worked well into the morning hours on this plan, taking many things into consideration. Chief among them is the avoidance of WestHem casualties during the operation. I have taken the liberty of naming the operation. I would call it 'Martian Hammer'."
The council exchanged pleased glances as they tossed the name around. It had become customary back in the late twentieth century to give a catchy name to military operations; all the better to ensnare public support for it.
"Now I could undoubtedly retake that planet with one hundred thousand troops complete with hover support, tanks, APCs, and support troops. We are dealing with a poorly trained civilian force after all. But I believe that unacceptable casualties may result." By this he meant more than two hundred or so WestHem soldiers killed. Enough to displease the masses. "So the plan I have developed, though it may seem a bit excessive, will ensure that minimal WestHem casualties are taken, while at the same time, heavy damage is inflicted upon the MPG. Damage that they will remember for generations if they are so foolish as to not surrender immediately."
"Yes, General," Williams said. "Your proposal please?"
"I propose a force of five hundred thousand marines equipped with massive tank support, heavy hover support, and heavy artillery support hit that planet all at once."
"Five hundred thousand?" Williams said after a moment of disbelieving muttering from the other council members.
"Yes ma'am," Wrath said enthusiastically. "And I propose that we start assembling this plan today, right after the briefing, with full media coverage. Since you are allowing Internet transmissions to be returned to Mars, there is a good possibility that the Martians may surrender or vote Whiting's proposal down when they see what we are sending their way. If they do not, we will offer them one more chance after we establish orbit, warning them that once the landings take place, we will make unrestricted war upon their planet. I believe that will do the trick if the initial phase does not, but, on the off-chance that they still insist on non-surrender, we will make landings at the following places." He pointed out cities on a map of Mars. "Eden, New Pittsburgh, Dow, Libby, and Procter. We will establish beachheads according to doctrine, three times the distance of artillery range from the nearest enemy position. On Mars, with it's thin atmosphere, that means we land three hundred kilometers from each city. We unload our equipment and assemble the tank columns and artillery. We give them one last chance to surrender, and if they don't..." He paused dramatically. "We move in. It's a two-day march across the wastelands from those distances. We send in the hovers ahead of our tanks and pound on their defensive positions. We then move the artillery forward and pound on them some more. If they still insist upon fighting, we roll forward with our tanks and continue the job of destroying them. Four days after landing we'll have those key cities under our control. They will have no choice but to give up then."