TALL TALES

[Grier]

Three of Peter's Marine controlled drones attack at great speed doing a staffing attack run againt the Martian Bug warrior platoons, so fast taking them by surprise peppering them with hypersonic piercing skewers at a very fast fire rate killing 5 Bug warriors in a flash followed by Peter's 2 other Marine controlled drones swooping in from the opposite direction killing another 3 Bugs.
Heat seeking Martian mini missiles and Rainbow lasers were fired at the 5 Drones attackers destroying only one. Four remained.

 

[Richie]

Terry we are forgetting about Tex Dunning and his men as pilots so was wondering why a scientist such as Peter Spring is involved in combat when he and fellow scientists Richie Wellham, Lukas Webke, Frida Pederson, Kenjo Takita and Valentina Sanchez are on Mars for research and development. Spring, Wellham, Takita and Pederson are needed to solve a further problem as the Martians have developed a new craft with a new protective dome/shield that our EMP can not penetrate.
Meanwhile two Crimson Stalkers with a further 10,000 troops, plus 20 DARTS and 50 drones are en route from Earth. The battle for Mars is about to begin...

 

[Grier]

Terry we are forgetting about Tex Dunning and his men as pilots so was wondering why a scientist such as Peter Spring is involved in combat when he and fellow scientists Richie Wellham, Lukas Webke, Frida Pederson, Kenjo Takita and Valentina Sanchez are on Mars for research and development. Wellham, Takita and Pederson are needed to solve a further problem as the Martians have developed a new craft with a new protective dome/shield that our EMP can not penetrate. Spring and his team need to be concentrating on finding new minerals that could benefit the expedition and Earth.
Meanwhile two Crimson Stalkers with a further 10,000 troops, plus 20 DARTS and 50 drones are enroute from Earth. The battle for Mars is about to begin...

Hi Craig,

I'd said several times Peter Spring was looking intently at the Planitias from space and drones for signs of the Martian bases. As a Doctor of Geochemistry Spring is the most qualified of all the Scientists able to seek out the entrances to the Martians underground layers. By looking for patterns in the soil, taking samples and analysing them Peter is like a detective looking for Clues.
This is why I choose Peter to be a GeoChemist!! See below.

I took a Dart as I wasn't even asked to join your Convoy with my main highly skilled character to be part of the action, doing what he does best with sampling by controlled drones through savvy Marines.
Vehicles were too exposed imo.

Also, I really enjoy being in and describing battles.

Peter is a pilot himself.
Peter and Sgt Turnbull were the first to jointly fly a Martian flying saucer.

A geochemist is a scientist who applies chemical principles and analytical techniques to understand a planet's systems, processes, and composition. They study the distribution of elements in rocks, minerals, soil, and water to locate natural resources, manage environmental issues, and model geological processes.
Key Roles and Responsibilities

• Mineral Exploration: Identifying chemical signatures in soil and rock to locate economic concentrations of minerals.
• Environmental Protection: Analyzing contaminant behavior, monitoring water quality, and assisting with site remediation.
• Petroleum Geochemistry: Locating and analyzing oil and gas deposits.
• Analytical Research: Utilizing laboratory instruments (e.g., ICP-MS, XRD, laser Raman microprobes) for analyzing samples.
• Data Modeling: Conducting 2D and 3D modeling of geochemical data.

Meanwhile two Crimson Stalkers with a further 10,000 troops, plus 20 DARTS and 50 drones are enroute from Earth. The battle for Mars is about to begin...
The Crimson Stalkers are NOT troop carriers Craig.
100 crew/passengers at most! Did you mean the Troop Carrier Craft I thought we'd agreed on?

 

[Grier]

To protect Gustafson's Convoy of 50 men in 10 Rovers Peter fired his Dart's anti shield EMP beams at the Martian fighter craft as they fired on the Rovers with rapid fire laser cannon bursts destroying two of the leading Rovers completely in a pink blast of metal and flesh.

Peter had been helping to guide the Convoy through the sinking sands of Gyre planitia and on a narrow track that now the hulks of the burnt out Rovers blocked.

Captain Gustafson saw Peter's Dart had destroyed the shields of one of the Martian fighter craft and ordered his heavy weapons to concentrate on the Martian craft with its shields down whilst his other men concentrated on the flying Martian warriors that were getting uncomfortably closer.
Five more Marines were killed or incapacitated with a dozen more flying Martian Bug Warriors taken out.

Catching up with the Martian craft with Peter's Dart doing 10g's Gunner Cpr Doyle again fired an anti shield EMP pulse at a turning Martian fighter craft and with Peter turning harder giving Doyle an easier shot which he did nicely followed by two heat seeking missiles that
'Swatted the Bug Ship good and proper Sir', yelled gunner Doyle.

Meanwhile it was getting brutal below. With all the Convoy's heavy guns firing at the unshielded Martian Fighter craft and it still firing away until it became an Orange ball of fire, with the Marines taking out another Martian craft.

Around the Convoy close fighting occurred with still the Marines outnumbered and deaths and inuries on both sides, the Bugs doing worse attacking trained and tough soldiers taking cover behind and in their protective Rover Vehicles...
Yet they came on and worse some screeching flew in very fast with sharp blades held in 2 of their 5 limbs.
Thinking that in light gravity just a high compressed gas cylinder can enable lift and flying for light and skinny beings, two big Bugs came at Captain Gustafson, just as he was reloading so instead smashed his machine rifle into his two attackers. To his amazement he just about killed both of them, with one blow!? Smashing his gun's butt into the head of the one still alive, his blow smashed it like a ripe watermelon with goo of all sorts spewing out. "Yuk!" said Gustafson, "Smash them men, they've weak bones!" Weak physically several were just smashed by fist, boot, rifle butt, head and some just grabbed, held and trussed with steel ties.
"Skinny buggers too" said a soldier.
The third Martian fighter was now in combat with just Peter's Dart and his now 4 Drones still helping attack the Martian warriors. Circling hard and fast around Cpt Gustafson's convoy Peter's Dart seemed able to handle the speed and turning gees better than the Martian's and so caught up with it, and Cpr Doyle again took out its shield followed by massive fire form the remaing seven Rovers unleashing hell with heavy weapons on the last smoking Martian craft just as the landed Bug warriors were losing badly in hand to hand fighting.
Kiwi Marine Cpr Freeman was a giant of a man and with a shovel in each hand dispatched a dozen of the Bugs.
"He's the man, The Human Man ... ", later chanted the standing and bloodied Earth Soldiers, bone weary.

Peter was soon on the phone to Col Tex Dunning in the Crimson Stalker who told him more Darts were headed his way to help secure the area...
"You've found them alright" said Col Dunning to Peter,
"well sort of, but as you know it's most likely a Warren of Ant like tunnels as some suggest. Very plausible. tho.

"Do your best Surveying the area as safely as you can Peter, take more Darts and Marines as you need them and let's smoke out these Bugs. I read your report.
Your Scientific system of sampling with close fast drones is much wiser and safer than sending out wheeled convoys
which has cost us unnecessary dozens of Marine's lives already."

"I'll do my best Sir and thank you for your confidence in me."

 

[Richie]

As a Doctor of Geochemistry Spring is the most qualified of all the Scientists able to seek out the entrances to the Martians underground layers.

Which he did and he flew the alien craft. But I'd have figured that being put in a dangerous combat situation with the Martians seemed beyond his job description as there are people on this mission trained to do that.
On another point do we dispense with the other international boffins or further integrate them into the story.

Did you mean the Troop Carrier Craft I thought we'd agreed on?

Oh had we. So it is them that are on their way from Earth, with the extra Darts and drones? So the C S craft are what, flying research labs?
Next chapter of the story is infiltrating the Martian under ground colony which will happen once the troop carriers arrive.

 

[Richie]

...and they did 48 hrs later, five STORMTROOPER craft each carrying 2000 soldiers comprising fast deployment contingents from all free world space armies. The convoy did encounter some resistance from Martian craft in their atmosphere but between the carriers own armaments and the Darts joining them the resistance was easily crushed. Tex Dunning was now convinced that Earth Space Force had air superiority.
Now for the ground invasion by the troops who were itching for some revenge on the Martians......

 

[Grier]

Keeping an eye open Peter in a Dart, along with other Darts, kept scrying the lands below and skies above, as did the Crimson Stalker 2000 km above the surface. Peter had dozens of Drones sniffing out other rat holes, taking soil samples looking for similar soil chemistry to the Entrances and Martian landings already known. Especially those very heavy shiny black ores fusion engines eject as waste, mildly radioactive heavy ore pellets and a good clue to finding the hidden large Bug Metal Gates to their Underworld. Even dust patterns around big gates like where Martian fighter craft swarmed out of to be obliterated by many Darts and even the Crimson Stalker.

With all the goings on six Martian attack craft quietly emerged from Mars' closer and larger moon Phobos.



Before the Crimson Stalker could react six of those Martian Fighter craft fired in sequence at the Crimson Stalker, beating down its shields and armour and it taking damage.
It was a fly-by surprise attack as the Martian fighters headed for the descending Stormtrooper Crafts.

By then the Stormtrooper Crafts were already desending and coincidently already most of the the Mission's Darts being directed to safely escort the five Stormtropper craft down to a destined firm landing area on the Argere planitia.

Beating off the Martian attacks lots of help also came from within the Stormtrooper carriers themselves with more drones, missiles, Darts, ... emerged and even a damaged Crimson Stalker I came back hard at them with all guns blazing knocking the Martian Fighters for Six.
Not quite Six, as two badly damaged surviving Martian Fighter craft Surrendered.

Col Tex accepted their surrender and put the process in motion, some seeing him respecting the Martian Bugs as, ... well, something to be respected.
He'd even learnt their language ...

In his down time Cpr Blunt of Peter's Dart had almost unbeatable scores in Combat Simulations.

Being big the StormTropper craft carried numerous Darts, Drones, shields, good armour and high damage able.
Ten thousand Marines and equipment were arriving.

Peter with 4 other Darts kept Scrying around Argere Planitia with Drones scooping up dirt partially analysed by the drones themselves and then the interesting samples delivered to Peter's Dart where he had installed a mini lab with high tech analysing equipment, like a quality Spectrometer..
Peter's Staff Sergeant Turnbull did most of the piloting of Peter's Dart. along with two other Marines, Lieutenant Doctor Ley and Crp Blunt.
The 4 flanking Darts used many of their Drones to help Peter out with sampling
"Got one" said Peter to his flanking Darts. "Back away gently and move your drones away too.
I'm calling Colonel Tex Dunning for instructions."

 

[Richie]

Who will lead the troops. I suppose it best be a Yank, General Chuck Randell with his second and third in command colonels James Wallace an Australian and German Hilda Muller. Yes there are women in the Space Force ranks. Their adjutants are captains Wally Gustafson and Reinhart Weber. The first to breach the steel door to the Martian underground colony will be a contingent of 100 soldiers led by Gustafson and Weber under orders from the top brass to reconnoiter then pass on the lay of the land to their superiors. If the Martians are found and they attack first then engage them...

 

[Grier]

Col Dunning advised Peter to keep checking out the Planitia for more such entrances to the Martian Bugs' underwold.
Meantime Peter had stealthy drones plant sensing devices, cameras, ... around the area he felt highly suspicious of being another such Large Martian entrance.
Thinking ahead Peter had the drones quietly plant highly explosive mines over the area, default auto and easy to override or explode with encrypted coded commands.

All done Peter and just six Darts now with him kept scanning around the planitia Argere for 'Bug holes' according to Cpr Blunt. The phrase caught on.
It was reassuring that the tough Crimson Stalker was in low orbit ready to pounce and assist if needed.

General Chuck Randell thanked Peter for Scrying and said he might keep one of the Stormtrooper troop carriers with 2000 Marines and assets at the ready if the Martians come out of another one of their Bug Holes!
Well done recording with sensing devices and putting down mines. I'll send more sensors and mines to you to you Peter, Bug the Bugs!
"Go check out this Mesa for me please Peter,
just a feeling I have."

 

[Richie]

And the Martians did come out of another bug hole, this time at the Mesa at Hellas Plantia that Randell has identified and Peter and his drone team successfully scryed. Immediately he sent the news back to Randell.

Hellas Plantia was several hundred kms from where the Earth men were based which meant that the Martians were largely spread and likely had a massive civilization, but did they fear outsiders and did they have a large army too for their defensive protection. These were questions to which the Earth invaders did not know but would soon learn the answers. The Martians may have lived underground for centuries having been forced from above ground by various dangers such as; intense radiation, especially on planets with a thin atmosphere like Mars, extreme temperatures, meteor impacts, solar flares or cosmic rays which Earths scientists knew of from data received from several unmanned Rover vehicle missions. Other than a hostile alien enemy to face, these other ponderables could spell danger for the unwelcome visitors too...

 

[Grier]

Initially Peter's Dart and his 4 flanking Darts unleased highly destructive missiles at the hordes of Martian bugs spewing out of the Mesa with various forms of military hardware and at that moment Spring's Sensing alarms on the other Bug Hole went crazy with first dozens of Bug fighter craft rising up followed by hundreds of Bug Warriors on fast flying cycles dressed in black armour.

Peter's little group of Darts turned and fled upwards at 11g's followed by slower pursuing Martian Fighters.
The Darts shields and armour helped along with dodging and weaving.

Peter's left inner flanking Dart took a bad hit and exploded in a white blast.

Within 12 seconds Australian Colonel James Wallace had a dozen Darts followed by the Crimson Stalker itself, with its heavy Armour and Weapons bursting upon the scene from above.

That caught the Martians off guard as the whole Dart Squadron ripped into them followed by the Crimson Stalker unleashing hell upon the Martian craft and Bugs on the ground too.. A satisfying win.
Three Darts were destroyed with 2 Pilots ejecting safely.

Another battle won, at a cost...


General Chuck Randell gave the green light for two directed Bunker Busting Bombs, delivered by the Crimson Stalker, to seal those two Bug Holes. "A good Bug is a Dead Bug!" said someone.
'Those two bombs were very effective clogging up those entrances' said Peter. "Nukes only as a last resort. "
When the dust had settled, General Randell asked Peter to maintain vigil and plant more sensors about the Planitia Agere Region.
General Randell kept 2,000 troops in a Stormtrooper Craft standing by, but directed James Wallace an Australian Officer to oversee 100 Marines in 10 Hover Rovers to assist the search for more Bug 🕳 holes.


Meanwhile, ...

 

[Richie]

Terry you are becoming verbose again mate. Hard to keep up with the flow.

 

[Richie]

Wallace was not convinced that closing the two bug holes with bunker buster bombs would decapitate the Martian bug force. Mars was a huge planet and he believed they had a large civilization still untouched somewhere underground. So on his advice Peter sent his drones to reconnoiter and scry further afield.
Meanwhile back on Crimson Stalker 1 the team of astro physisists Richie Wellham, Lukas Webke and Frida Pederson were theorizing how they could colonize Mars once their enemy was eliminated. Would Earth people have to also live underground or would they find a way to breath Mars air without the need for cumbersome oxygen tanks. The biggest concern was could they find a way to overcome Mars extreme temperatures of heat and cold, the others such as meteors, solar flares or cosmic pulses, they had no control over. That is suggested Richie, unless they built a huge dome, sufficient to house a small city and with the same impervious protective ability of the shields that protected their flying craft.

Richie was missing Jenevieve and Yvette painfully but weekly satellite fone calls back to Earth were sufficing, for the present, but what of the many remaining months, perhaps even a year, the expedition planned spending on this distant planet, how would he cope then?