Lori was jolted awake with a force that sent his stomach into his chest and rattled his teeth. Immediately he grabbed the straps keeping him pinned to his seat. The temperature inside the craft began to rise and noise returned, a dull roar as new air rushed past them. He heard the lieutenant shout that they had just hit atmosphere. Two minutes to impact. Lori whipped his head around to look out the porthole just in time to see the last of the stars vanish into flame as the outer hull began to burn up. The rest of the brigade was awake now, but no one said a word. Lori felt himself being lifted off his seat as their velocity increased and held the straps tighter.
When he thought that he couldn’t take the speed anymore and his bones would crack under the strain, the craft was slowed so violently that each person inside was slammed back into their seats. The cushioning wasn’t nearly enough to absorb the impact. The lieutenant called out to let them know the air chutes had been deployed successfully. One minute to impact. He stood and went to each soldier one by one, securing their oxygen masks and checking weapons. He got to Lori, made a quick survey, then smacked the top of his helmet in approval and moved on. When he was done, he strapped himself in and called out for a brace. Lori’s breathing was shallow, and he fought his pounding heart for every breath. Only seconds now. The craft had slowed considerably but the impact on the Martian surface would still be intense. The anticipation built to unbearable levels and Lori squeezed his eyes shut tight, hugged his arms to his chest and held his breath.
There was a crash and the sound of rending metal exploded through the small space. Lori blacked out. Less than a minute later he was shaken awake. Through his blurred vision he saw someone right in front of him and felt them shaking his shoulders. Shapes of men moved around the craft, and suddenly blinding white light made him cover his eyes. He felt his straps undone and was yanked to his feet. Sound returned, the roaring and deafening crash of descending orbital drop pods and the lieutenant screaming for him to move.
Lori stumbled through the open hatch and onto the Martian soil. Disoriented, half-deaf and blinded he barely managed to pull out both parts of his rifle and lock them together. His heavy breathing inside the mask drowned out every other sound. The helmet setup was suffocating, and he could barely make out his surroundings through the thick goggles. One had cracked, and he felt panic well up until he realized he could still breath. The Martian air would have choked him by now if there was a leak. He began to stumble forward. He could make out the shapes of Martian buildings looming ahead, but the goggles made it hard to make out anything else.
Shouting pulled his attention to the left. The Ottomans had landed and were charging out in a horde with terrifying speed. To his right and just ahead, the Austrian craft blew open it’s hatch, and the soldiers spilled out. There was a flash of light and the sizzle of electricity, and the Austrian lieutenant burst into flame and collapsed. More arcs of lightning exploded into the ground around them, throwing up dirt and rocks. Lori set his feet running, gripping his rifle tight and keeping his head down. He could feel the Martian artillery shots all around him.
After only a few yards of sprinting, Lori’s boot made hard contact with something, and he went down. Rolling over he saw a blackened and burnt body at his feet. The flag of the British Empire could still be seen on the soldier’s arm. The brigade had gone this way, then. He turned on his knees and looked around. There was chaos ahead of him. The Martians had met them with ferocity. The sound of gunshots and the sizzle of electricity was all around. A hundred yards away and to the left he saw the red flag of the Ottoman Empire being raised. Lori got to his feet and half stumbled, half jogged towards it, sight fixed on the shimmering crescent moon and star.
The dirt was blasted apart in front of him, and he instinctually leapt through the dust, Martian gravity carrying his jump well over the crater. Running on, he whipped his head side to side, terrified of seeing a Martian screaming towards him or a bolt of electricity coming to vaporize him. He saw the British lines falter and retreat, pursued by the armored, hairy men of Mars. The Ottomans still held, and he ran even faster to meet them. When he reached the line, a Turkish soldier grabbed him and pulled him down behind a small ridge, shouting something in Arabic and pointing behind Lori. He turned to see the Martians that had broke his brigade charging towards them, lightning lances sending blue arcs in their direction. They were close enough for him to see the breath misting from their large, ape-like nostrils.
Lori brought his rifle to his shoulder hard and racked the bolt. He fired and was accompanied by a volley of shots from the Turks around him. A dozen Martians stumbled and fell as pale blue chests, arms and shoulders were blown open in a red mist. There was the sound of twenty or so rifle bolts being thrown back, then another barrage of lead at the Martian lines. The return fire had halted, and the charging soldiers broke apart and scattered for cover. Off to the distance, just beneath a pyramid, Lori saw a flag being raised. He recognized the red and white of Austria. They had established control of their target location. The British were nowhere to be seen, and he had no idea where the American craft had landed.
Lori felt the sizzle of electricity herald the artillery strike, and before he could react the ground in front of him and the Turks exploded, and they were knocked back. Dirt and rocks were thrown twenty feet in the air and rained down on them. Lori felt his throat restrict and a loud hissing noise drowned out everything else. The crack in his goggles had widened and split. He panicked and held his breath. Blood pumped in his ears as he frantically tried to save himself. There was nothing to patch it with. There was no replacement.
Replacement. Lori scrambled around him, feeling around for a body. He found an Ottoman rifleman laying nearby and shook him. There was no response. Still holding his breath, Lori ripped open the seals and tugged the heavy helmet off the man. His face was covered in coarse black hair that caught as the helmet came off. Brown eyes stared unseeing into the Martian sky. Lori dropped the helmet by his knee and undid his own, pulling it off without thinking.
Had he not been holding his breath it would’ve left him as the frigid air enveloped his face. For the first time he could see Mars clearly. Everything was tinged with the rusty red of the planet’s surface, and the weak sunlight lit everything in blueish white light. In front of him loomed red stone towers and the colossal pyramids of Mars. Lori took in the sight, oblivious once again to the war raging around him.
An arc bolt whipped by and brought him to his senses. Grabbing the Ottoman helmet, he jammed it onto his head and sealed it to his suit. The helmet vented and breathable air flooded into the mask. Lori gasped and sat down hard, breathing deep. The Turkish goggles were clearer than his English model, and he could see the battle clearer. The Turks and Austrians had made up for the faltering English and pushed the Martians to the walls of their city. Heavy cannon would need to be dropped for the walls, he thought as he sat and watched the battle diminish.
His breathing was back to normal, and he relaxed against the dirt. The Ottomans around him were doing the same. Lori’s throat caught, and he felt tears well up. All the adrenaline left and a wave of terrifying emotion rushed over him. Slowly he drew up his knees and hugged them to his chest, as much as the bulky armored suit could allow. The Ottoman soldiers pretended not to notice as he sobbed, shaking in the red Martian soil.
When he thought that he couldn’t take the speed anymore and his bones would crack under the strain, the craft was slowed so violently that each person inside was slammed back into their seats. The cushioning wasn’t nearly enough to absorb the impact. The lieutenant called out to let them know the air chutes had been deployed successfully. One minute to impact. He stood and went to each soldier one by one, securing their oxygen masks and checking weapons. He got to Lori, made a quick survey, then smacked the top of his helmet in approval and moved on. When he was done, he strapped himself in and called out for a brace. Lori’s breathing was shallow, and he fought his pounding heart for every breath. Only seconds now. The craft had slowed considerably but the impact on the Martian surface would still be intense. The anticipation built to unbearable levels and Lori squeezed his eyes shut tight, hugged his arms to his chest and held his breath.
There was a crash and the sound of rending metal exploded through the small space. Lori blacked out. Less than a minute later he was shaken awake. Through his blurred vision he saw someone right in front of him and felt them shaking his shoulders. Shapes of men moved around the craft, and suddenly blinding white light made him cover his eyes. He felt his straps undone and was yanked to his feet. Sound returned, the roaring and deafening crash of descending orbital drop pods and the lieutenant screaming for him to move.
Lori stumbled through the open hatch and onto the Martian soil. Disoriented, half-deaf and blinded he barely managed to pull out both parts of his rifle and lock them together. His heavy breathing inside the mask drowned out every other sound. The helmet setup was suffocating, and he could barely make out his surroundings through the thick goggles. One had cracked, and he felt panic well up until he realized he could still breath. The Martian air would have choked him by now if there was a leak. He began to stumble forward. He could make out the shapes of Martian buildings looming ahead, but the goggles made it hard to make out anything else.
Shouting pulled his attention to the left. The Ottomans had landed and were charging out in a horde with terrifying speed. To his right and just ahead, the Austrian craft blew open it’s hatch, and the soldiers spilled out. There was a flash of light and the sizzle of electricity, and the Austrian lieutenant burst into flame and collapsed. More arcs of lightning exploded into the ground around them, throwing up dirt and rocks. Lori set his feet running, gripping his rifle tight and keeping his head down. He could feel the Martian artillery shots all around him.
After only a few yards of sprinting, Lori’s boot made hard contact with something, and he went down. Rolling over he saw a blackened and burnt body at his feet. The flag of the British Empire could still be seen on the soldier’s arm. The brigade had gone this way, then. He turned on his knees and looked around. There was chaos ahead of him. The Martians had met them with ferocity. The sound of gunshots and the sizzle of electricity was all around. A hundred yards away and to the left he saw the red flag of the Ottoman Empire being raised. Lori got to his feet and half stumbled, half jogged towards it, sight fixed on the shimmering crescent moon and star.
The dirt was blasted apart in front of him, and he instinctually leapt through the dust, Martian gravity carrying his jump well over the crater. Running on, he whipped his head side to side, terrified of seeing a Martian screaming towards him or a bolt of electricity coming to vaporize him. He saw the British lines falter and retreat, pursued by the armored, hairy men of Mars. The Ottomans still held, and he ran even faster to meet them. When he reached the line, a Turkish soldier grabbed him and pulled him down behind a small ridge, shouting something in Arabic and pointing behind Lori. He turned to see the Martians that had broke his brigade charging towards them, lightning lances sending blue arcs in their direction. They were close enough for him to see the breath misting from their large, ape-like nostrils.
Lori brought his rifle to his shoulder hard and racked the bolt. He fired and was accompanied by a volley of shots from the Turks around him. A dozen Martians stumbled and fell as pale blue chests, arms and shoulders were blown open in a red mist. There was the sound of twenty or so rifle bolts being thrown back, then another barrage of lead at the Martian lines. The return fire had halted, and the charging soldiers broke apart and scattered for cover. Off to the distance, just beneath a pyramid, Lori saw a flag being raised. He recognized the red and white of Austria. They had established control of their target location. The British were nowhere to be seen, and he had no idea where the American craft had landed.
Lori felt the sizzle of electricity herald the artillery strike, and before he could react the ground in front of him and the Turks exploded, and they were knocked back. Dirt and rocks were thrown twenty feet in the air and rained down on them. Lori felt his throat restrict and a loud hissing noise drowned out everything else. The crack in his goggles had widened and split. He panicked and held his breath. Blood pumped in his ears as he frantically tried to save himself. There was nothing to patch it with. There was no replacement.
Replacement. Lori scrambled around him, feeling around for a body. He found an Ottoman rifleman laying nearby and shook him. There was no response. Still holding his breath, Lori ripped open the seals and tugged the heavy helmet off the man. His face was covered in coarse black hair that caught as the helmet came off. Brown eyes stared unseeing into the Martian sky. Lori dropped the helmet by his knee and undid his own, pulling it off without thinking.
Had he not been holding his breath it would’ve left him as the frigid air enveloped his face. For the first time he could see Mars clearly. Everything was tinged with the rusty red of the planet’s surface, and the weak sunlight lit everything in blueish white light. In front of him loomed red stone towers and the colossal pyramids of Mars. Lori took in the sight, oblivious once again to the war raging around him.
An arc bolt whipped by and brought him to his senses. Grabbing the Ottoman helmet, he jammed it onto his head and sealed it to his suit. The helmet vented and breathable air flooded into the mask. Lori gasped and sat down hard, breathing deep. The Turkish goggles were clearer than his English model, and he could see the battle clearer. The Turks and Austrians had made up for the faltering English and pushed the Martians to the walls of their city. Heavy cannon would need to be dropped for the walls, he thought as he sat and watched the battle diminish.
His breathing was back to normal, and he relaxed against the dirt. The Ottomans around him were doing the same. Lori’s throat caught, and he felt tears well up. All the adrenaline left and a wave of terrifying emotion rushed over him. Slowly he drew up his knees and hugged them to his chest, as much as the bulky armored suit could allow. The Ottoman soldiers pretended not to notice as he sobbed, shaking in the red Martian soil.
