I've been standing in front of the sensors console for hours now, watching the little dots move around in the cluttered 3D map. In that crowd, near Mars surface, one of those 'blip's were Tachibana's shuttle. The shuttle was approaching Port Cydonia, the main civilian transportation hub of the capital of People's Republic of Mars.
"Sir, Rear Admiral is reporting." Ensign Aziz warned me.
"Patch them through." I said.
"Lodos, this is the admiral." Tachibana's voice was... worrying.
"Did you locate Shuttle Tahan, admiral?" I asked.
"Negative. Unfortunately, the news are bad." he said. "We still couldn't contact Port Cydonia, but from the looks of it... The spaceport is not in a good shape."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"A part of the spaceport seems to be damaged and collapsed, but we can't tell the damage from this distance yet. We will close up and I will update the information. Rear Admiral Tachibana, out."
I sighed. Without Port Cydonia, not only the logistic services of Mars would be disrupted, but the entire Martian economy would suffer badly since mining operations and space tourism was the backbone of Martian economy, which both relied heavily on the presence and services of highly-developed spaceports.
"Sir, Port Cydonia is broadcasting a message!" the sound of Aziz almost ripped my eardrums. He put the sound on without me saying anything.
"Warning to all vessels in vicinity of Port Cydonia. The spaceport is currently unable to provide services. Landing permissions will only be granted to emergency vehicles. Remaining craft are advised to leave the area and redirect to Obsidian City Spaceport as soon as possible. Sorry for the inconvenience."
This message repeated a few times before I ordered Aziz to mute the sound. Then, we contacted the admiral.
"Admiral, Port Cydonia has just-" I started speaking.
"We know, commander." Tachibana interrupted. "Port Cydonia was targeted by a terrorist organization. There were two explosions; one at the apron, one at the staging area."
"Anything new about Shuttle Tahan or it's crew?" I asked.
"No. I'm about to land on Port Cydonia to get more information, but my shuttle will be on the lookout." he said.
"Understood, Admiral. When shall we expect your return?" I said.
"Not any sooner than four or maybe five hours... But remember, this is the minimum." he said. "It depends on the amount of information I can get."
"Yes, sir." I said.
"Carry on. Rear Admiral Tachibana, out."
The bridge went silent again. I looked at the clock. There were only two hours to the declaration of war. There was a great pressure on me. Was it the responsability of looking after a warship, or was it the impending doom of the Republic? Mars was already suffering from it's political fights and related terrorism, and like that wasn't enough, we were now getting into a war with a superpower!
It was true; the Republic and the Federation has always had a bad impression of each other, but this could very well be President Melik's attempt to remain in power for an extended period.
At wartime, no matter their ideologies, Martian people would prefer unity over political gain or influence. They would be willing to stop the fight inside and unite under a single rule to defeat an outside enemy. This was one of the greatest characteristics of Martian people, but in this case... I think it was being exploited in a bad way.
Thinking about politics and possible war scenarios, I had spent a lot of time talking to myself.
"Five minutes to the declaration of war, commander." Ensign Aziz pulled me out of my ocean of random thoughts.
"Any orders, Ensign?" I asked him.
"We've got no instructions from either the headquarters or the Homeland Defense fleet, sir." he reported.
Everything went silent again. I was now looking at the clock on one of the screens in the bridge. A few minutes later, Ensign Aziz broke the silence again.
"We've got a message from headquarters, sir." he said. I walked over to his duty station.
'---===DECRYPTED OUTPUT===---
People's Republic of Mars - Combined Forces
People's Republic of Mars has now officially declared war on Atlantic-Pacific Federation. The first strike has begun with the 2nd Fleet's attack on Tethis drydock and the 4th Fleet's simultaneous bombardment of Enki Catena Industries. For the time being, other factions (including the ex-Federation states) will be considered neutral.
A Martian diplomatic convoy is expected to lift-off from Brussels on Earth to head for Obisidan City on Mars. Their return to planet Mars will be overseen by a stealth corvette of Shadow Filotilla, until they enter the space protected by Homeland Defense fleet. In case the Federation commits a war crime against those VIPs, the evidence will be sent by the escorting stealth corvette once it retreats to a safe distance.
Further updates will follow as the battles progress.
---===END OF DECRYPTED PACKAGE===---'
"Ship-wide announcement, Ensign." I said to Aziz after reading the message.
"Ready, sir." he replied.
"This is the XO. As of this moment, we are at war with the Atlantic-Pacific Federation. All Federation personnel will be considered hostile. In case of encounter, immediately report to the bridge and follow the rules of engagement." I made a short announcement to notify the rest of the crew.
"Oh my..." said Ensign Aziz. "Civilian channels are going wild!"
"Let me hear." I said to Aziz. He gave me a headset to listen to the communications. Many people all around planet Mars was in shock and confusion. Civilian pilots asking for instructions about what to do, overdramatic citizens terrified by the news, politicians critisizing and supporting the government, Federation citizens and businessmen demanding transport back to Earth, the Federal embassy condemning and denouncing the Republic, news agencies copying each other's words... It was a total mess.
While I was busy listening to the chaos, Ensign Aziz suddenly pulled the headset away from my head.
"Sir, weapons discharge reported near reactor number 2!" he said, slightly panicked.
"Reason, casualities, damage?" I asked.
"Unknown, sir." he said.
"Reactor number 2 has suffered minor damage, sir!" Ensign Katyusha reported.
"ALCON 1!" I ordered. Red spinning lights were lit, and sirens were sounded. "Get Sergeant Lucas on the line!" I said.
"Sir, may I remind you that Sergeant Lucas is on the surface with the admiral?" Aziz said.
"Right..." I said. I was sweating already. "Emergency lockdown!" I shouted.
"Lockdown underway!" Ensign Katyusha shouted back.
"Order the marine team to surround the reactor." I said.
"They are on their way." Katyusha said.
Perhaps it wasn't space combat, but with the war declared, action had already found us early on.